Quote:
Originally posted by nissanguy_24
I think some crazy guy is on here is trying it. But understand the difficulty involved in a drivetrain conversion, not to mention the fact that there are few RWD hondas to take parts from. Not exactly something for your first drift car project .
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You mean me
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Depending on your definition of the word a CRX can drift, but it's nothing like RWD drifting. Not only does it lack driven rear wheels, but because the car is so light it doesn't carry the same momentum through the turn that bigger FWD cars do. Add in super-gripping double-wishbone suspension and crappy drum brakes (mine's a DX) and trying to brake the rear loose with the E-brake won't help much to get you sideways...
Although my car is setup mostly for the touge, I have a good amount of oversteer dialed in to my car through spring rates and dampening (higher in the rear). I've also completely removed the front sway bar and added a stiffer one in the rear. Using braking and throttle-off techniques with low-grip rear tires it is very possible to initially kick the rear out, but don't expect the dramatic full-sweep tire smoking pandamonia that you get with RWD.
Honda, and one that has been a favorite of tuners for years and years, CRX's have the benefit of an enormous aftermarket and a plethora of used parts. (I just recently got adjustable KYB AGX's for around $250 and good spring rate coilovers for $50!) However, there is also a stigma that they carry in the drifting scene, as they tend to represent the creme of the crop of FWD platforms. Depending on where you go, people will either have the reaction of "that's awesome that he's using what he's got" or "get that jerk off the track". Either way, people usually don't expect it.
I started my drifting on mountian roads with a high-power AWD car and have just sort of gradually gotten more into the flat ground incarnation of the sport, but still feel more at home behind the wheel of an AWD car. I'm saving money right now and am in the process of setting up to start an aero parts company, but my CRX is destined to have the AWD system from a CR-V. This is probably where my experience will deviate from the norm, since RWD is really the drivetrain of chioce in drifting...
The RWD Integra Type R in Florida was built by Blake Fuller and crew at
www.brailleauto.com, and they certianly had their hands full. Blake is a Honda guy at heart but has a huge interest in drifting and wanted to combine the two. I've talked with him several times and the plan may even be to market a kit that could convert a Honda to RWD. The motor is still the B18C that came in the ITR but it has been bolted to the CR-V transmission (since the B20 CR-V motor still has a B-series block) which has been modified to transmit power to the rears only. Before the car was built, a lot of people were saying that the differential would never hold and that everything will tear itself apart, but the Braille crew has since participated in several drift events without any catastrophic mechanical failures (although they did rip the front bumper off taking it off the trailer in Miami on its first public outing
).
The idea that a transverse-mounted motor will not transmit power rearward effectively is a common misconception - all the drivetrain needs is a ring gear on a pinion and BAM, your power is going another direction. Differentials in RWD cars are able to transmit loads and loads of power at right angles to the engine's axis, so it would be no problem to redirect 200hp from a dinky 1.8l. Due to the low weight (made lower by the folks at Braille), there is also less resistance on the drivetrain as well, which increases reliability and durability.
If you're thinking about making a RWD Honda, you have a number of options - you can essensially do a body-drop of a CRX onto a Miata or other drivetrain, you can transplant an entire driveline from one car into a CRX shell (which is what I would prefer, so that you can keep more of the originoal CRX), or you can adapt the car's engine and transmission to RWD...
It's definately cool to see people interested in taking the CRX out to slide, and I'd encourage you be safe and work with what you got!
I hope this scatter-brained post helps!
-MR
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