88-91 USDM Crx Differences

Baker · Mar 15, 2007

88-91 USDM CRX differences

General Specs and Info
The 2nd gen CRX ran from 88-91 and came in 3 different trim levels,
the Hf, Dx and SI.

Trim Levels:
Hf, "Dx" and SI. All came with a variant of the d series SOHC motor.
Hf having the lightest curb weight, lowest hp, but best fuel economy. and available only as a 5spd.
Referred to as "Dx" model, which is unbadged & is the middle of the road trim. Available as an auto or 5spd.
The SI is the highest trim level, has the best motor, the most options and was available only as a 5spd.

USDM motors and ECU's:
88-91 HF
D15B6, 1.5 8V, SOHC MPFI(Multi-port Fuel Injection), 62hp
PM8 ECU
Uses a slightly smaller radiator compared to the Dx/Si, about 3/4 the size.

88-91 "DX"
D15B2, 1.5 16V SOHC DPFI(Dual-port Fuel Injection), 92hp
PM5 ECU

88-91 Si
D16A6, 1.6 16V SOHC MPFI, 105-108hp
PM6 ECU

Transmission info:
https://crxcommunity.com/viewtopic.php?t=246

Curb Weights
1988 CRX HF 1819lbs.
1988 CRX DX 1922lbs.
1988 CRX Si 2011lbs.

1989 CRX HF 1834lbs.
1989 CRX DX 2048lbs.
1989 CRX Si 2138lbs.

1990 CRX HF 1967lbs.
1990 CRX DX 2103lbs.
1990 CRX Si 2174lbs.

1991 CRX HF 1967lbs.
1991 CRX DX 2103lbs.
1991 CRX Si 2174lbs

-90-91's are the heaviest, the '89 is lighter, and the '88 is the lightest. In each year the Hf is the lightest model, with the Dx in the middle and the Si weighing the most.

The HF is the fuel economy model, has the lightest curb weight and was only available in the US.
-45-50mpg
-only came as a 5spd manual, tall gearing for fuel economy.
-no rear wiper
-no passenger mirror
-lightweight 13 x 4.5 inch wheels
-no factory clock
-2 spoke steering wheel (Dx and Si have a 3 spoke wheel)
- 10.6 US gal. tank /8.8 Imperial Gal.
-"HF" designation on the rear passenger side, next to the hatch

The "Dx" model. Unofficially designated but could be considered next level down from Si.
-no badging, no designation of model on car
-30-40mpg
-both auto and manuals were avail.
-rear wiper available on 89-91's, '88's did not have them.
-passenger mirror
-11.9 US gal. fuel tank / 9.9 Imperial gal.

The Si is the top of the line US model.
-All Si's have "ED9" in the VIN
-30-40mpg
-No autos, only came as a 5spd.
-rear wiper, clock and passenger mirror standard
-black/gray interior only
-11.9 US gal fuel tank / 9.9 Imperial Gal
-All Si's received a factory powered, metal panel sunroof.

-Si designation on rear passenger side

The '88 Si rear decal is a flat sticker.

The 89-91 Si rear badge is a raised plastic decal.

VIN ID: What model do I really have?
If it starts JHMED836 it's an HF, JHMED835 is DX Manual, JHMED845 is DX auto, and JHMED936 is an Si.

Interior

*Interior is not model specific, unless it's the SI, which only came available in black/grey.
The Hf and Dx models came in either black w/grey or blue interior.
The interior colors were based on the exterior color:
Superior Blue Metallic and white had the blue interior, the other colors had black/grey interior.
-88-89 black interior cars had NH83L "Off-black" interior
-90-91 black interior cars had NH167L "Graphite Black" interior

-All '88 models and the '89 HF have pillar mounted seat belts.
-The '89 Si/Dx and all 90/91's have door mounted belts.
Federal US mandates in 1990 required US cars to have a "passive restraint seat belt system." Honda mounted the seat belts on the doors instead of the "B" pillar for the 1989 standard(Dx) and SI models, which shortened the glass, and increased the width of the "door sash" trim.

-88/89 CRX's don't have side impact beams in the doors, the 90-91 do.

Radio console/storage pocket/cig lighter/ashtray
(Optional EQ shown)

88-91 Crx Si has light up ring around cig lighter, Dx and HF do not.

88/89 Gauge cluster

90/91 Cluster

Other than the model year differences, the Dx and Si share the same cluster.
HF clusters have factory shift light and 5k redline.

-90/91 have a rounded instrument cluster and cover while the 88-89 is more squarish
-88/89 cluster covers also have different switches mounted in them compared to the 90/91's.
-88/89 has a cluster dimmer knob on the left and a large rear defroster button on the right. Hazard/flasher button is on the steering column.
*90/91 has the hazard/flasher switch on the right and dimmer wheel and rear defrost on the left.

Comparison:
88/89 cluster on top
90/91 cluster on the bottom

Gauge clusters can be swapped between 88/89 and 90/91, but needs some modification to work;
88-89 HF cluster wiring will be different however, so the following only applies to DX/SI models.

downest said:
Here are the pin-outs for the 88-89 and the 90-91 cluster, this should help anyone wanting to swap clusters between cars. Remember that you also need the corresponding cluster shroud/cover, as well as defroster, hazard, and dimmer switches.

88-89 Cluster

90-91 Cluster

-90-91's have a red seat belt warning light built into the dome light.

-88/89's have the hazard light switch on the top of the steering column, 90-91's have it mounted on the dash.

The HF model did not come with a cargo divider or trunk cargo cover.
-The cargo lock box has the trunk carpet attached to it.
HF cargo box

-HF side plastics do not have the triangular cargo cover supports in the rear.

-HF rear panels also DO NOT have the cargo cover clips either.

-HF rear speaker covers do not have a hole in them to accommodate the cargo divider latch.

-Dx/Si rear speaker covers have a hole in them for the cargo divider latch.

-Si glovebox is cloth/felt lined, "DX" and HF do not have this.

-Dx/Si box came with the extra trunk privacy covers (cargo divider and cover), the lock box does not have the trunk carpet attached.

The trunk carpet is then attached to the cargo divider.

Also has the rear cargo cover supports

Floor mats, available in two colors only, black or blue, white stripe w/felt Crx lettering.
1988 mats are slightly longer than 89-91.
Made shorter to prevent possible interference with the gas pedal.

'88 mats in black but missing letters.

89-91 mats in black

Seats:

-88/89 Si seats have a white pinstripe.
-90-91 Si seats have a red pinstripe.
-ALL '88 models & the '89 Hf have pillar mounted seatbelts
-'89 Si's, Dx's and ALL 90-91 CRX's have door mounted belts.
Models with door mounted belts have a wider pillar at the end of the door to accommodate the belt mount, this also means that the glass is and inch or so shorter.
The seats from ANY '88 CRX or the '89 Hf will not interchange and swap into the '89 Si, Dx or ANY 90-91 CRX and vise verse.
'All trim model 88's and the '89 Hf seats can interchange with each other.
The '89 Si, Dx and ALL 90-91 seats can interchange with each other.
Basically if your car has door mounted seat belts, seats from a CRX with pillar mounted seat belts will not bolt right up.

Hf seats:

-Dx and Si share the same style seat, the Si seats being different with style of fabric and different headrests.
Dx seats

88-89 Si seats

90-91 Si seats

-'88 door panels have a storage pocket

- All Si's have the fabric inlay on the door panels with "CRX" stitched in them.

-90-91 Si's had suede flip down mirrors (on the side that hits the roof while the 88-89's had vinyl

Exterior

-All 88-91 Si's have a Non glass, metal panel, power sunroof.

-All 88-91 Si's come with a rear wiper standard.
Hf's did not come with a rear wiper.

-88/89 door moldings are taller and flatter, the 90-91 ones are shorter but stick out further and have a beveled edge to them.
*These do swap over,interchange without any gap, meaning you can use either style 88/89 to 90/91 or vice verse.
88/89 molding

90/91 molding

All 1988 models and the '89 HF have pillar mount belts, therefore taller and slimmer b-pillar trim.

The 1989 Si/Dx and all 1990-91 models have door mounted belts, therefore wider and shorter b-pillar trim.

'89 Si door panels do not have piping around the fabric section with the CRX logo on it, as 90-91 Si panels do.

90/91 Si panels

88-91 front splash guards are the same.
88-89 rear splash guards are SLIGHTLY different than 90-91's and do not directly swap over to fit correctly.

88/89 set

Rear comparison
90-91(part # 08P09-SH2-100) on the left and 88-89(part # 08156-SH2-10AH) on the right.

-88/89 headlight brackets differ from 90/91 but can be swapped and interchanged.
-The '91 headlights have a vent in them to help prevent moisture buildup.

-90/91 rear lights have a 1/2 inch black edge all the way around them, the 88/89 do not.

-90/91 have have fake air ducts molded into the front bumper

-88/89 have slightly different front and rear bumpers than the 90-91

-90-91 bumper mounted turn signals are clear with amber inserts in them, the 88-89 lenses are just solid amber and shorter in length.

-88-89 corner mounted parking lights have 2 mounting screws visible that mount to the fender while the 90-91 ones are attached by tabs with one screw to the headlight frame.

88/89 Corner lights

90/91 Corner lights

The 88/89 headlight brackets differ from 90/91 because of the redesigned corner lights.

See the difference here;
90/91 on top, 88/89 on bottom.

-90/91 have larger reverse lights, shaped differently and are set further to the sides than the 88/89

88/89 front lips differ from 90/91.
HF and Si came with front lips, the Dx model did not.

88/89 Front bumper
-smaller bumper/turn signal lights
-wider molding
-no fake "air duct" openings under the bumper lights

90/91 Front bumper
-Larger bumper lights
-thinner molding
-"air duct" openings under bumper lights

88/89 CRX Rear - Thicker molding, no flaring at the bottom

90/91 CRX Rear - Thinner molding and slight flaring out at the bottom of the bumper to give the look of a lip.

HF front bulkhead: HF's have "flat wings" below where the bumper support mounts. Dx/Si does not have these.
Dx/SI support pictured

HF support mounted.

Front bumper supports - Dx/Si on top, Hf on bottom,

Rear bumper supports - Hf on top, Dx/Si at the bottom.

For comparison purposes:
90/91 on the left, 88/89 on the right.

The taillights can swap over and interchange between 88/89 and 90/91, but the plugs are different. You need to keep and use the bulb harness that matches the year of your car in order for it to work.

Suspension/Motor/Transmission/Misc.

-All 88's & 89's have rear drum brakes as do 90-91 NON SI CRX's.

-90-91 CRX Si's are the only ones that came with rear disc

-'88 manual transmissions have 21 spline input shaft, the 89-91's have a 20 spline shaft

-90-91 clutch is 212mm, the '89 is 200mm and the '88 has 190mm.

-88 does not have a clutch safety switch. Which means it will start without having to press the clutch in.

-88 Si models have 105hp, the 89-91's have 108hp due to different ecu settings and possibly a slightly different cam.

-The '88 models have a unique body mount point for the compensator arms, and stamped lower control arms instead of cast, which accept eye-bolt rear shocks instead of the fork type. The rear lower control arms and the rear shocks have different mounting points. The trailing arms however, are the same.
-'88 uses slightly different sized front shocks.

'88 LCA

89-91 LCA

89-91's are all the same and interchange.

-The Si's have a rear sway bar, and the Dx/HF don't. The HF also has a smaller front sway bar than the Dx/Si.
The HF front sway bar is 17.2mm while the Dx/Si have 18mm bars in front. The Si rear sway bar is 15mm.

-The '88 ecu has a different internal design than the 89-91 but the inputs and outputs are the same and ecu's can be swapped between years.

-late 89's and 90-91's had the EPROM ECU (a lot easier for chipping)

-The '88 cam indexing is the same for all the engines, 89-91 Si's have indexing that is different from the other engines.

Wheels & brakes:
-88-89 Si, 88-91 DX have Akebono style front brake calipers. Pistons are 50.8mm in diameter and get paired with the small 13/16" Master Cylinder. Front Rotors 231mm x 17mm.
-90-91 Si have Nissin style front brake calipers. Pistons are 54mm and get paired with a larger 7/8" Master Cylinder. Front rotors are also slightly larger at 242mm x 19mm. Proportioning valve is different too.[/quote]

-90-91's Crx Si wheels differ from 88-89's. (90-91 are known as Teardrops or Swirlies and 88-89's are known as Sawblades. Both
styles are 14" rims.

88-89 "Sawblades"

90-91 "Teardrops" or "Swirlies"

The center caps also differ and cannot be interchanged.
88-89 have a larger diameter(157mm) and are more flat while the 90-91's are smaller(142mm) and have a slight bulge to them.

88-91 HF wheels

Original H-T thread:
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=650219

jimwww · Apr 3, 2007

I only knew that there was a model that was an HF (knew I did not have that) and the SI - I have never heard of a DX before - I thought that was only in the Civic hatchback. Unfortunately any place I have gone to about CRX's do not have a great FAQ and specifications list on the car. Most forums have that.
Like this:
http://jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39873

I have not even found a list of what all the engine codes mean.. this b engine etc.

It has been 18 years since I test drove the car and I have never owned one before. I have never seen a designation on the car say DX either.

Anyway.. thanks for the info - now I know.

tubafreak · Apr 3, 2007

It wasn't specifically called the DX, it was actually not labeled at all. It's commonly referred to as the "DX" because it sounds a lot better than "STD" and is faster to type than "Standard" or "No Model Specified".

jimwww · Apr 3, 2007

Now I know.. I never recalled it ever being referred as a DX from long ago.

Baker · Apr 3, 2007

As far as trim levels, the 88-91 US Crx came in 3:

HF- Highest fuel economy, lightest of all, eight-valve 62HP,1.5L, MPFI(Multiport Fuel Injection) engine that could reportedly go 50-60 miles on a gallon of gas. HF appears on the right rear.

Dx - 92HP, 1.5L DPFI (Dual Point Fuel Injection) engine, middle of the road model. No designation of trim on the car.

Si- heaviest, highest trim level and sportiest model, 1.6L, 16-valve MPFI engine with 105-108hp. Si designation on the right rear.

tyson · Apr 3, 2007

its referred to as DX because the civic hatchback of the same specifications and just under the Si spec is called the DX as well. so its only natural to call the "unbadged" CRX a DX.

there already is a "STD" civic which is comparable to the crx HF, but not the same. so calling the unbadged crx a STD would only lead to more confusion.

nearly everyone else knows what we mean as a "DX CRX".

Baker · Apr 3, 2007

tyson said:
its referred to as DX because the civic hatchback of the same specifications and just under the Si spec is called the DX as well. so its only natural to call the "unbadged" CRX a DX.

there already is a "STD" civic which is comparable to the crx HF, but not the same. so calling the unbadged crx a STD would only lead to more confusion.

Sounds right to me.
The "Standard" Civic hatch was unbadged. It is the lowest trim level, 4spd manual, lightest Civic hatch, 70hp, no frills, no amenities, basic transportation.
The Dx and SI Civic hatches are the Civic counterparts to the "Dx" and Si Crx, sharing similar options with the appropriate trim levels.

Dodo · May 22, 2007

Hey, i'll add something, all SI models came with a lip on the bumpers.

Baker · May 22, 2007

Dodo said:
Hey, i'll add something, all SI models came with a lip on the bumpers.

I've also heard that the HF's came with them as well. I'll need to check that out.

stnapycnaf · May 22, 2007

my HF had one until a faithful icy night ... it got split apart ... in the perfect spot that i was able to dremel and fit it to become my rear lip :mrgreen:

Myers · May 24, 2007

good to know! thanks!

Baker · Jul 20, 2007

Which ones came standard with a rear wiper?

I know the Si did, but did the HF not come with one and the Dx did?

jfrolang · Jul 20, 2007

baker423 said:
Which ones came standard with a rear wiper?

I know the Si did, but did the HF not come with one and the Dx did?

Si had a rear wiper of course, all years. HF didn't, all years. Dx models are split up though... 90-91 had rear wipers, and the 88 didn't. I'm not sure about an 89 dx.

Kwicko · Jul 20, 2007

Getting into the REALLY esoteric stuff...

Si models have a velveteen-lined glove box. My DX doesn't have that - just slick plastic inside the glovebox. Not sure if that goes for all 2G DX & Si models, but I've got a '90 Si that is velvet-y and a '91 DX that is not.

And my '91 DX does indeed have the rear wiper and the passenger-side mirror. From my understanding, not all DXs had those, and they apparently weren't standard on the HF model, either.

Mike

Baker · Jul 21, 2007

Kwicko said:
Getting into the REALLY esoteric stuff...

Si models have a velveteen-lined glove box. My DX doesn't have that - just slick plastic inside the glovebox. Not sure if that goes for all 2G DX & Si models, but I've got a '90 Si that is velvet-y and a '91 DX that is not.

Ohhhhhh now that's luxury there!! :lol:

downest · Jul 21, 2007

Also 91 headlights are different from 90, they have vapour vents.

Baker · Jul 21, 2007

downest said:
Also 91 headlights are different from 90, they have vapour vents.

Yea, I had that listed on there, but never heard of it and never had it confirmed until now, thanks man.

dtrain · Jul 26, 2007

quick question. doing a little window repair and i need the molding. is the front window the same on all crx's, and what about the civic counterpart. are they the same size. bout to head over to the yard and pick up some window molding. like ot know which one i can use

jfrolang · Jul 26, 2007

Civic door glass isn't the same as CRX door glass.

There are also 2 varieties of CRX door glass, ones with door mounted seatbelts and ones without.

dtrain · Jul 26, 2007

not talking about the door glass. refering to the FRONT window.

jfrolang · Jul 26, 2007

Oh the windshield. You should have said that.

They're all the same for 88-91 CRXs. Civics are different.

clegg · Jul 27, 2007

hey it was listed that the 88 and 89 do not have side impact beams, but my 88 has what apears to be just that. So what do those beams look like? because maybe somebody put 90 doors on my car. though, the doors do not have seatbelts in them. anyway there has to be some reason the glass hits it's rest in the up position. :cookoo:

clegg · Jul 27, 2007

By the way. The same window regulator from an 89with door mounted seat belts will fit into an 88si. The difference is that the 89 door glass has shorter mounting brackets. But, in order to make it fit, an extra bracket was welded onto the 89 regulator. So to put the 88 glass on it, just ease the glass past the new welded on piece and bolt it on to the original hole.

jmart · Jul 27, 2007

jfrolang said:
baker423 said:

Which ones came standard with a rear wiper?

I know the Si did, but did the HF not come with one and the Dx did?

Click to expand...

Si had a rear wiper of course, all years. HF didn't, all years. Dx models are split up though... 90-91 had rear wipers, and the 88 didn't. I'm not sure about an 89 dx.

89's could be had with a wiper. Unsure if its standard or optional though.

crxsquared · Jul 27, 2007

The rear wiper was standard on '89 DX's, at least on USDM models. I remember talking to a Honda salesman about a year after I bought my '88 DX from him and saying I was damn glad I had bought an '88, as no way did I want the friggin' door-mounted belts or the drag-producing rear-mounted wiper.

So now I'm on my second '91 Si with the friggin' door-mounted belts and rear-mounted wiper.....

Baker · Jul 28, 2007

crxsquared said:
So now I'm on my second '91 Si with the friggin' door-mounted belts and rear-mounted wiper.....

'88 doors and HF hatch swap! :lol:

88-91 USDM Crx Differences

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