First off, I got it up to 105 on the freeway before it really started to wimper, I was pretty happy with that. It's a 91, white, 104k miles on it. I have just a few questions.
1) it seems that the AC likes to randomly stop working (not fun in Arizona). I will turn it off, bear the unbearable heat for about 3-4 city blocks and then try it again and it will kick back into to being cold. Is there something I'm doing wrong or can fix? Or is this just standard for a 91?
Sounds like the relay that controls the compressor could be bad. Otherwise, "No" this is not normal. I would also check your AC belt to make sure that it's not too loose.
2) Driver side door lock. I have found that to lock the driver's side door from the inside, you need to lift the door latch, lock it and release the door hatch to properly lock it. Is this standard with CRXs as well?
This is very typical with most modern cars. This is to help prevent accidental lock outs.
3) very very tight steering. I know that the CRX is notorious for it's tight steering, but it seems like it takes an act of god to turn the car. The front tires seem a little low, but I don't know what the proper pressure is for CRX tires (stock rims/tires).
If they're stock tires, I believe it's in the low 30s. I believe it should also be on a label inside your glove box. You can also check the sidewalls of your tires.. there should be listed there.
HOWEVER, I do love this car. I have had a lot of fun already. Even without doing any custom work as of yet to it, I have won all but one "off the line"ers (and that was to a 60something Chevy Nova SS).
Mike
The CRX has one of the best power-to-weight ratios. Don't let short-burst acceleration confuse you with overall horsepower. I've got a few basic performance upgrades done to my stock/original (180K miles) engine that gives it a bit more pep off the line (and everything I've done is smog legal) which allows me to overtake many of the *larger* vehicles in the street light-to-street light drags ~ not that I par take in such activities (at least not as often as I once did...) ~ but if it goes for any length/distance, there is no way I would be able to hold them off.
An example would be in my last VW GTi. Pig of a car as far as weight goes. Decent engine, With a few upgrades, it drives and performs awesome. But because of it's weight, many (if not all) of the Honda's that I used to chase after would always take me off the line. But, the horsepower in my GTi (larger displacement and over all bhp), I would soon catch said Honda's and then usually over take them. It's the ones that had the B18's that would give me the hardest catch. :^)
However, the CRX is a very nimble car and it does very well on the AutoX and even at Open Track events (the more turns, the better).
Anyway... this is not to say that the CRX is not a real car. There is a lot that Honda did right with this car (and a few things that makes us believe that they must have been drinking too much Sake or something...) and it's a great platform to build on ~ it's also not as expensive as some of the other cars out there. Downside is that there is not a lot of performance parts as say the Civic (and even less when comparing the first gen to the second gen). But then again, you don't really need to do a lot to get your CRX perform (as you have already found out). Slap in a ZC motor or something larger, upgrade the brakes and you're basically good to go. Or... slap on a supercharger to the stock power plant and you're pretty much legal in all of the 50 states here in the US.
Seeing as you live in Arizona, you should check out HA Sports (http://www.hasport.com).
CRX Owners Group President (http://www.crx.org/southcal)
1990 Honda CRXsi (http://drive.to/jiggy)
ICQ # 3714283 (nickname: godzilla)
