CRXs... holy damn!

[mcflux]

Has anyone here ever been in a CRX before?

Two of my mates have them, both with the B16A engine (known as "the torqueless wonder"). One is basically stock apart from a cold air intake, insanely huge t/b (66mm!) & upgraded exhaust. He's putting all his money into the suspension currently. Anyhoo, I drove it (mostly sedately) last night and was amazed at its responsiveness. He's taken me for a spin in it previously, but when I drove it myself, I couldn't believe the performance these little things have.

Taking off in 1st it felt like it had some up 'n' go about it until around 4500rpm, then pulled like a train to ~9000rpm! I guess that's why the ricers all rave about how "the VTEC just kicked in yo!" Anyway, it wasn't just its responsiveness that impressed me, it was how happy it was lugging around in taller gears. For example, Whitehorse Road, 60k zone, travelling uphill in 5th barely touching the throttle, and it was doing it with ease. Certainly didn't feel like a 1.6L.

Now on to the other CRX. This one has a little more done to the engine department. It has a full exhaust system, with extractors suited to high revs rather than low-mid range,. It too has a cold air intake, 66mm t/b, and an upgraded intake manifold, plus an aftermarket ECU. This thing was a little animal! It was a little better than the first CRX in the high revs, but it felt like it had the same power down low... No noticable cam timing change in mid revs... And its clutch was so heavy it felt like the car wanted to break in two whenever he dumped it between gears.

I won't even begin to describe the handling of both...

Apart from the first CRX having ricer tail lights and a kanji symbol on the fuel flap, they're both devoid of bodykits, big rims, neons, and shopping lists. And both exhaust notes are great, they sound like rally cars! No 4" pipes or cannons here...

I took them for a spin in the EB, and although they thought it was OK (and probably had similar pace), it just felt like it was very lazy.

Anyway, the point to this thread... Who here has driven/been for a ride in a CRX? What were your experiences? What modifications were done to the car?

Finally, no, I'm not interested in getting one, but both examples far exceeded my expectations.

-Dave-