CRX vs Smart

My 92 dx hatch got a routine 38-40 mpg and that wasn't driving easy. The highest was 50 mpg on a highway trip between 65-75 mph and the worse was about 34 mpg driving around town.

My dads 84 carberated 1.3 crx never had a problem getting over 50 on a diaily 40 mile rural commute. The cat had what I considered to be fair performance as well.

A Smart fortwo starts at $12,200 including destination charge. Given that same amount, a CRX can be built that exceeds it in every possible way.

Start with a '88 CRX HF. It is the lightest CRX (1819 lbs.) with a double wishbone suspension front and rear. Add a roll cage that ties into all shock towers, padding, SFI approved fixed back seats, and a five point harness to bring the safety up to modern levels. The Smart has a Tridon safety cell (roll cage) so the CRX should meet or exceed that specification.

For the powerplant, replace the tired 62 hp d15b6 HF engine with a freshly imported d15b engine that has three stage VTEC and 128 hp. It will have power when you need it and economy when you don't. Replace the cast iron header with a lightweight stainless steel one. While on the exhaust, replace the old crush bent exhaust with mandrel bent piping 2 inches in diameter. Terminate the end with a free-flowing, lightweight muffer.

Next, freshen the suspension with Bilstein Sport dampers (Koni is a good choice as well but Bilsteins are easily rebuilt and monotubes weigh slightly less than twintubes) and Ground Control coilover sleeves (to corner.weight as well as to lower the car for aero gains) with street appropriate spring rates. Since the HF did not come with a rear sway bar, one should be added to the rear. Rear trailing arm bushing should be replaced with the revised Honda part as the old ones invariably tear out. Replace other suspension bushings as necessary.

The final step is to reduce weight as much as the remaining budget allows. Ideas include such things such as a carbon fiber hood, lightweight and aerodynamic wheels, lighter flywheel, sealed glass mat battery, and aluminum rear control arms.

Once you start comparing new with old, all comparison fairness is out the window anyhow. I mean, it's just silly. Especially if all you're trying to prove is how much car you can get for your dollar buying used.

For example, my '98 740il cost me $7500. Compare it's abilities and all to any NEW full luxury sedan. Hell, compare it's abilities to ANY new car anywhere near it's price range. You simply can't compare, as the buy-in price skews everything so badly that any other factor is pointless. And you can even add mods and that cost and still come out ahead with ANY used car that's old enough.

BTW, I get 27-30 mpg highway in it at 60-70 mph (600 miles round trip to CT and back to Baltimore on one 20 gallon tank of gas). So even a full luxury car doesn't have to be that far off an economy car for fuel mileage on the highway.

But, try to build that old car from scratch with all new parts and see how that cost issue plays out...

uniseriate wrote: A Smart fortwo starts at $12,200 including destination charge. Given that same amount, a CRX can be built that exceeds it in every possible way. Start with a '88 CRX HF. It is the lightest CRX (1819 lbs.) with a double wishbone suspension front and rear. Add a roll cage that ties into all shock towers, padding, SFI approved fixed back seats, and a five point harness to bring the safety up to modern levels. The Smart has a Tridon safety cell (roll cage) so the CRX should meet or exceed that specification. For the powerplant, replace the tired 62 hp d15b6 HF engine with a freshly imported d15b engine that has three stage VTEC and 128 hp. It will have power when you need it and economy when you don't. Replace the cast iron header with a lightweight stainless steel one. While on the exhaust, replace the old crush bent exhaust with mandrel bent piping 2 inches in diameter. Terminate the end with a free-flowing, lightweight muffer. Next, freshen the suspension with Bilstein Sport dampers (Koni is a good choice as well but Bilsteins are easily rebuilt and monotubes weigh slightly less than twintubes) and Ground Control coilover sleeves (to corner.weight as well as to lower the car for aero gains) with street appropriate spring rates. Since the HF did not come with a rear sway bar, one should be added to the rear. Rear trailing arm bushing should be replaced with the revised Honda part as the old ones invariably tear out. Replace other suspension bushings as necessary. The final step is to reduce weight as much as the remaining budget allows. Ideas include such things such as a carbon fiber hood, lightweight and aerodynamic wheels, lighter flywheel, sealed glass mat battery, and aluminum rear control arms.

You just built an uncomfortable race car with a full cage that no one "should" drive on the street.

DWNSHFT wrote: My old 1986 Civic Si got 33 in town and 44 on the highway. And it was quick, fun, had lots of room, and was reliable. Fantastic car. Also, the speedomoter in my 1988 Suburban was 3% off, but the odomoter was 8% off (no typo). Don't assume you can correlate speedo error with odomoter error. David

My 1992 Miata is the same. A few percent over for the speedometer, and 1.5 percent under for the odometer!

Joey