Heart and Soul
Suja 1 Motoring’s 1988 Honda CRX
Words: Mark Waterman
Photos: Brian Jarocki
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The Honda Civic in all its forms is possibly the most modified import. But this means that is comes in many forms from the poorly done ricer mobile to the well thought out and tastefully done care that will turn heads as it passes by. Luckily for us, Jason Su, the president of Suja 1 Motoring and 1988 CRX is one of the latter and not the former.
The first and most obvious question is why build a CRX, a car that has not been in production, not including the Del Sol, since 1991. Jason’s answer to that question is that he wanted to build a car that would be so difficult to build that if anyone tried to copy him chances are they would give up before being able to complete the project. It also helped that he loves the shape of the car. To fulfill the goal of this project, he wanted to build a car that was a fun car to drive, but that could also be entered in car shows and be competitive, fast with class as he puts it. The first step was to find a suitable car to work on. Even this proved difficult due to the car’s age, but eventually in 2005 an ’88 HF model was sourced. The first impression was that it looked in good shape, minus the paint. Once the car was back in the shop and the tear down began, it became obvious that their car was not in good of shape as it seemed from the outside. Even still, scrapping the project was not considered.
The CRX was stripped down of its sheet metal body to see what needed to be repaired or replaced, which happened to be most of the car. After all the rust had been repaired and body panels replaced, an eight point roll cage was welded in place, and then the car was sent off to the body shop. Unfortunately, it took more than one trip for the body shop to get it right. Jason was not going to settle for anything less than perfection for his project. The color that was chosen was a Numbus grey pearl paint. To go along with the new paint, a JDM front end conversion was done, along with the JDM rear bumper and JDM tail lights.
On the business end of things, the stock 1.5L D15 B2 motor, which was rated at a whopping 92 horse power, was dumped in favor of a K20A3 from a 2002 Civic Si. This particular motor was a junk motor that a friend had hydro locked and was taking up space inside Suja 1. It was given new life with an RSX Type-S crankshaft from a K20A2, connected to a set of Crower rods, with a set of Toda pistons doing the compression. The entire assembly rides on a set of ACL bearings. Under the motor a SONEM (Suja ONE Motoring) baffled oil pan holds the lubrication and is pumped through the motor by an S2K oil pump. On top of the motor is a K20A2 head with dual IPS K2 camshafts, Supertech valves and retainers with a set of Eibach EVS valve springs providing the force on the valves.
Air is supplied to the motor via a set of Clockwise 51mm individual throttle bodies with carbon fiber intake cones. To make room for the cones, the carbon fiber hood on the CRX was modified by SONEM with a custom hood scoop making this one of the first things that is noticed about the car. After the air is mixed with fuel, compressed, and exploded in a controlled fashion, the resulting gas mixture is routed through a DTR 4-2-1 stainless steel header, and into a custom made 3 inch diameter exhaust, which includes a stainless Borla muffler and runs straight down the center of the car and out the rear bumper which has a cut-out to accommodate the tip. Holding the potential energy to move the car is a ten gallon RCI fuel cell with a SARD fuel collector with an in tank pump. Fuel is sent to the front of the car by a Walboro inline feed pump through SONEM fuel line. A Fuelab filter and pressure regulator keep the fuel clean and under the correct pressure while a Marshall pressure gauge lets Jason keep an eye on the pressure himself. The go-juice is injected into the compression chamber by four RC 550cc fuel injectors mounted in a BDL fuel rail. Keeping the motor properly hydrated, and keeping all of its other functions running properly for that matter, is a Hondata KPRO EMS.
Now that Jason had the power, he needed a way to get it to the ground. For this he again turned to the RSX Type-S, using its 6-speed transmission. Inside the box, the gears were mikronite treated with custom cross cut synchros. Connecting the motor to the gearbox is a Carbonetics clutch. On the output shaft, is a Carbonetics LSD which splits the power to a set of Gator stage 3 axles. Replacing the stock wheel hubs is a set of JDM Integra Type-R hubs. Fitting the drive train into the car ended up requiring a lot of custom fabrication work. The guys at Suja tried a set of prototype motor mounts, but after having some issue with them, they decided to fabricate their own. A custom radiator and coolant overflow container keep the engine cool and catch can collects any excess oil. The engine bay was also treated to a shave and wire tuck to keep the engine bay looking clean.
On the suspension side, a set of PIC coilovers lower the car and some ETD front stabilizer bars tighten up the front. Suja hard rubber bushings can be found through out as well. In order to increase traction on hard launches is a modified AVID pro-series traction bar kit was used. Bringing the car back down to a stop are Endless rotors and pads at all four corners. On the street the CRX wears a set of 16” SSR type V rims with Falken Azenis giving the car traction. For the strip, Borgarts with M and H slicks and skinnies are used. Increasing the steering is a Quaife quicksteer steering rack.
Inside the cabin, there isn’t much to look at as it has been stripped of all unnecessary components to make an already light car, ridiculously light. What is left of the interior was converted to full black in color and keeping the driver informed of the car’s vitals is the dash from an S2000. Keeping the driver safe and strapped in are Kirkey racing seats with Simpson harnesses holding him in place. The only sound system in the car is the wonderful sound of the motor singing its way to the redline.
All this work took time. The first time the car even started after the build began in 2005 was three years later in 2008. Soon after the car was completed the CRX was taken to the track where it ran a 13.2 @ 113 MPH, but had traction issues. After some tinkering, and another trip to the track, resulted in consistent times of 11.8 @ 117 MPH, but some traction issues still lingered, so more work needs to be done to solve the problem completely. While the car could have been faster, it was fast enough to take first place at the INDYHP Streetcar shootout in Indianapolis in the naturally aspirated class. According to Jason, work on the car still hasn’t been completed. The ITBs are planned to be replaced with larger ones, and there is a possibility that the whole engine setup may be changed, but then what ever motor goes back in, it will still be a 2.0L motor. The fuel system may also be modified as Jason is not satisfied with the current setup.
Even its current form, Jason is very happy with the car. When the gas pedal is stomped on, the result is an almost immediate activation of VTEC, making the car fly. The lack of a flashy body kit, which are commonly found on most Hondas, has not done anything to detract any attention from the car. But like most modifiers, he still has the desire to make more power and go faster. Until then he has a car that can be driven on a daily basis, get 35 MPG, and still be able to beat up on the competition at the track. Jason would also like to extend his thanks to Wei and Janellle, Jeremy, Brandon, Zach, Alex, Rommel, and Suja 1 Motoring.
—JDM Chicago
Gallery (click thumb to expand):
Can I touch this car some time?
i was there on that build lol whats good pb