It is time to start planning my next project for my hobby car, a1987 Honda CRX Si. Right now the car is at the very peak of performance, it is running better now than it has ever run before. I am not one to leave well enough alone, like Tim Allenā€™s character on the old TV show ā€œHome Improvementā€? I believe that batter isā€¦ well, better. And I will not rest until I have made another improvement to my hobby car.
I have already had my engine tested and tuned on a dynamometer after I finished all of the engine modifications that I plan to do to the car. The adjusted flywheel horsepower registers just above 130 hp from a stock output of 91 hp, an improvement of 42%. Not bad for a backyard hobbyist with nothing more than hand tools and a little effort. Since that test I have lightened the flywheel, cleaned and rebalanced the fuel injectors and recurved the distributor for faster ignition advance. I am willing to bet that I if I were to retest the engine on the dyno I could get the engine to touch 140 hp as an adjusted measurement at the crank. So I think there is very little room for improvement in the engine as it is currently configured. I could add a turbo to the engine, but homemade turbo engines live short but exciting lives. I prefer my engine to live longer and not live such an exciting life.
I could lighten my car some more if there were some lightweight body parts available. Newer, more popular cars have a wide variety of carbon fiber and fiberglass parts commercially available to reduce weight. But for an old car like mine, the aftermarket does not support it with a huge variety of light body parts. I am waiting and hoping for one manufacturer to resume its limited run of light carbon fiber hoods that would take 20-30 pounds off the already too heavy nose of my car. But he has raw materiel supply problems and I will not see any hoods from him in a while.
There is another guy who promises to make a fiberglass plug to replace my carā€™s sunroof, which will save about 50 pounds. But it seems he has not made much progress on the design and has proposed to his girlfriend so his attention is not focused on car parts right now. I am not holding my breath waiting for the sunroof plug.
I have already removed the air conditioning system and that saves about 50 pounds off of the car. I could strip the interior of the car for a few pounds of weight savings. But I like my carā€™s interior and the relatively few pounds that could be saved would not make a major impact on the carā€™s handling.
The carā€™s body is in decent shape although the plastic front fenders (the car came from the factory with plastic fenders. It was an experiment that Honda performed on the 1984-1987 CRX and then chose not to implement on any other car) are cracked and could be replaced. But replacement fenders would need to be painted so I will wait until I get the carbon fiber hood before I tackle any body issues.
The brakes are fine, I have added larger disks and calipers in the front and I sourced a set of aluminum drums for the rear brakes. High performance Porterfield brake pads and shoes make stopping safe and secure.
That leaves the suspension. I have added a rear sway bar, better shocks and I have replaced most of the suspension bushings. Most, but not all of the suspension bushings. The front bushings on my car are easy to change and following the path of least resistance I have done that job. But the rear bushings are a major challenge change and I have never gotten around to that part of the job. But I have reached the point where there are no other jobs to be done and so I must prepare for this one.
The bushings in a carā€™s suspension look like a bunch of hard rubber do-nuts that insulate the various bits of your carā€™s suspension. Over time, the bits breakdown and do a less effective job of keeping your car traveling in a straight line. Manufacturers use the rubber bits in your carā€™s suspension to keep the noise vibration and harness of the road isolated from the passenger compartment. It is worth the compromise of a less than infinite life for the bushings to keep the carā€™s ride smooth and silent when you drive off the dealerā€™s lot.
On my car there is only one large bushing on each of the rear trailing arms. To replace them, the entire rear axle and everything attached to the axle (wheels, hubs, bearings, brakes, etc.) must be removed. Fro a pro mechanic using a lift and pneumatic tolls, the job should take a couple of hours. I do not have a lift or pneumatic tools or even any experience with this job. So it should take me a couple of days.
For an old, fat guy like me, the prospect of wiggling on the ground as I figure out how to get the darn thing apart is not as appealing as it once was. A stiff back, sore muscles and the nagging suspicion that a man of my age and station in life could be using his spare time in a more meaningful manner.
But knowing that my hobby car is at less than 100% efficiency gets under my skin. And so like Sisyphus from Greek Mythology, I will start rolling that giant bolder up the steep mountain. Or in this case, I will put the hobby car up on jack stands and begin my next project.