CRX Del Sol vs CRX

Twamgl3

Road Burner
Points
72
Location
Essex
Car
Mitsubishi Carisma
I bought my friend's MR2 when he 'upgraded' to a 1990 CRX. That was a beautiful car (the CRX - the MR2 was good fun, but alas that's gone now), and I remember for some time before he got it we used to stand around talking CRX specs and aesthetics everytime we had a couple of drinks.

He got his example, a DOHC VTEC for £500 and it was in good condition despite being the wrong side of 150k miles. Ultimately problems arose and with him needing to move and the car couldn't, and with me having no where to trailer it to (and also I had three cars already at the time) it went for a quick sale.

I've trawled a popular auction website, magazines and classifieds for a decent version for many years and I can only ever find those that might as well be scrapped, or people wanting to sell them for several thousand pounds (maybe they're trying to subconciously price their cars out of the market so they can hang on to them!).

Subsequently I considered buying a Del Sol, whilst I've been up close to one I've never driven one, and wondered if there are any DOHC owners who can let me know the pros and cons of ownership, and specs if possible?

I definately want to jump on the VTEC wagon!

Any comments greatly received! Thanks
 
having a dohc vtec is the ultimate expieriance (in hondas anyway)
the best about dohc are
bullit proof, leave the engine warm up first though
you think your actually abusing it but in reality thats why they were made
reliable, fast, economic (dont use vtec) and very addictive lol

the bad side
well they isnt any,
but make sure you buy a dohc that dosent burn oil ( blue smoke from the exhaust)
and do regular services, i do a service every 3000 miles thats just me, your ok for 6000 miles, and make sure you keep the oil nice and golden brown, dont leave it go black

if you have a good dohc vtec, you'll never have to worry about breaking down, no matter how hard you drive the thing

if you have any other queries just ask me mate, il even tell you how to service 1 so a service will only cost you the kit = 40 quid
 
Have you had any VTECs other than your Prelude? Which type do you have by the way - I was thinking of getting a early/mid nineties one
 
Have you had any VTECs other than your Prelude? Which type do you have by the way - I was thinking of getting a early/mid nineties one
type r civic, 2 accords 1.8 and 2.0 vtecs and a civic coupe 1.5 vtec
yes, im honda mad:D

id get an early nineties, the del sol is nice looking aswell, but the automatic roof and glass at the back of them leak (not that bad) but the regulaters in them are costly and if im right in what im saying, theres 6 regs in total. been a car that old is likely that they are gone or will go soon, other than that their good
 
i thought you were on about a crx, if its a prelude your after, get the bb4 model (my shape) i think their the best looking, id love the older 1 again but they dont have vtec
however this will be a future project for me
the dashboard in the bb4 is class, and because of it, you'll never get bored of the prelude

look at my car list above and add another 1.4 civic and a lsi accord to the list and thats how many cars i went through in 1 year, i get fed up of cars easily, but not the prelude
if you own 1, you'll understand what i mean
is there any prelude owners out there to back me on this 1???
 
I thought you probably had a BB4 - compare that to a CRX - there's very similar styling points.

No - I'm after any sporty Honda to play with, so that obviously means VTEC is a prerequisite!

The newer the better, although I think the 90s brought about the best styling
 
I thought you probably had a BB4 - compare that to a CRX - there's very similar styling points.

No - I'm after any sporty Honda to play with, so that obviously means VTEC is a prerequisite!

The newer the better, although I think the 90s brought about the best styling
from 97 onwards hondas really stating loseing the spoety shape on their cars

heres a few cars id be looking out for if i was you

1990-1991 box shape civic sir, this was the first honda to have a dohc vtec, because their so light, their very quick, very rare car though

1992-1995 hatchback civic sir, these are very popular with honda enthusiasts, these are the ultimate dohc vtec, better than the type r
and because of this, you will pay as much for 1 as the type r
and they will eventually become a collecters item, if not now

1992-1995 prelude, these are not as popular as other rivals sych as the toyota celica or the type r, mainly because of their age and the fact of tax and insurance, its huge money for 1 of these, the good thing about them though is boy ricers dont have them,and because of the tax and insurance, you could pick up a good 1 for silly money, check out autotrader.uk and you'll see what i mean

now to the 4 door saloons, such as the civic and integra sir, because of the 4 doors, their not as popular as the hot hatches so you could actually import 1 and cleared for 3500-4000 euros, and she would be grade 4 = brand new cars = grade 5, and to be honest mate, when these 4 door saloons are modded up, they look stunning

if you have your eye on anything mate, let me know, il make sure you get a proper runner (not burning oil) and the bad points to it (not many on vtecs anyway):D
 
oh and for the age of a vtec, dont worry, if you get a good 1 and you look after it, i promise you, it will see you through alot of years, so go for 1 that you feel looks nice and fancys your style, on a honda the year is only a no.
 
The previous posts are dated; however, newbies may be as grateful as I was for any info on Del Sols, regardless of when offered. My '92 Del Sol came from a mechanic owner so I was fortunate that the fundamentals were sound; however, the extensive mods including chipped ECM, Garrett Turbo & Intercooler, Stage 2 cams, light flywheel, new plenum and throttle body plus various other add-ons/upgrades did create some issues. Mostly sorted now after much frustration and love/hate.

One camshaft snapped off the end (faulty installation) so the originals were refitted, the idle from hell persisted for many months until recently and the beast would die at the most embarrassing times after 40 minutes on hot days, but recovered temporarily and spontaneously if switched off for 15 mins. While the idle has been improved, it still does vary at times but this can be stabilized by actuating the lights and interior fan (weird hey?...still figuring that out).

For anyone similarly afflicted, look first at the fuel pump relay (main), then check the IACV (replacing mine did not help), vacuum lines and TPS. It's also worth checking the distributor/coil function for any inexplicable, occasional breakdowns - apparently a common problem. The chipped ECM could not be read by either Honda dealerships or any performance centres so a programmable ECM might eliminate any number of obscure problems. Don't fall for the silly ultra-low profile tyres and extreme lowering - 205/50/15 tyres are comfortable, look good and keep scraping minimal.

Performance is excellent as is economy. Although it was created as a competition car, I use it for sporty driving without the thrashing originally intended. The thing drives very tractably about town but screams when the right foot starts to lower. I always desired a good Fiat X 1/9 but the CRX provides a real engine bay and great boot space with equally-great Targa storage. All in all, very good Honda engineering and a well thought-out package which will last competitively through several generations of more modern 'gee whiz' coupes and hatches.
 
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Time passes and we all gain experience and wisdom, usually at considerable expense. We also find that previous posts were made in a state of relative ignorance and frustration. I have been guilty! In previous posts, I mentioned inexplicable stalling and may have advanced some incorrect conclusions. Well, I still don't know what fixed this issue but suspect that it was the main (fuel pump) relay or the coil/distributor which are historically suspect items. Anyway, I replaced both. I also re-connected the severed VTEC wire, changed all spark plugs and put some cooling air over the induction plenum. If it doesn't help, it won't hurt either.

My little car still gives great pleasure but also causes some jaw tightening and teeth grinding when certain tuning issues seem unsolvable without great expense. It's worse when the previous owner provided confusing info and misleading parts like modified chips and extra ECMs whose status was unknown and probably irrelevant. Now I am in the painful process of learning about EPROMs, methods of 'flashing' and fully-tuneable ECUs.

My Del Sol does run well, produces a modest 163BHP at the wheels and is tractable and smooth around town, apart from the manageable effects of a lt wt flywheel. The WINFAB-flashed ECM does a very good job in the low and medium ranges; however, the high end is off-the-scale rich (8:1). Hence the need to develop understanding of possible solutions via EPROM or some program to access the Honda box and make the minor adjustments. I mustn't be the smartest bear in the woods because, apart from some good professional articles and the rare mature comment on the forums, most of the input has apparently been from aliens. All assume that the reader has a long history with the terminology, development and capabilities of electronic tuning. Sorry guys, not me!
Thankfully, the WINFAB source has been very receptive and helpful.

Again, in ignorance, I am hoping that an inexpensive down-loadable program like Crome Pro can be given to any professional tuner to resolve these frustrating issues. If any knowledgeable person out there can clarify the options, other than an advanced ECM, your input is most welcome. And for those boosting the power of light weight FWD cars; remember, it all has to transfer to the ground and steer as well. There is a finite point at which this can remain effective......and it happens fairly early! Good CRXing all.
 

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