[tyson]

like the title says, i want to know the history of this forum.

whered it start from? who started it? (crxfisher?) when? howd composimo get control? where (other forum) are most of you previously?

just curious. pm me if you want to keep stuff private or are shy.

if you didnt catch my introduction post, ill repeat my history. i got my first crx around 98 in college. back then, there was only the resource.crx.org. not what the CURRENT resource was at all. it was run on FIF script. then something happened or other and the forum url got taken over by steve and john started his thing at crx-perf as i call it. i bounced between the two, never liked the "new" resource and all the vets were at crx-perf. in 02, after i had already graduated and moved to the west coast from maryland, i started racing, autocross at first, then SCCA ITA and got sucked into honda-tech for their "competition" (now autox/road race) forum alone. didnt care for the rest of honda tech then, or even the EF/CRX forum. but as the season ended and i crashed out and was left jobless (no pity, i was fine then and doing great now) i got more involved in the general EF/CRX forum. and then even petitioned to start the new "suspension" forum. so im majorly involved in both CRX and suspension forums at honda tech, not so much competition forum since most of the members left and theres not much to talk about.

after being jobless for 18 months and finally finding a job i moved to socal in 04, then crashed my old crx 2 weeks after moving and got a new 88 crx. paid off my all my bills and got an s2000. its pointless for me to ever get rid of my crx, its in great shape and id lose money selling it since i literally know how to take it all apart and rebuild every single component and have spare transmissions and engines at my disposal. plus, at 30mpg on 87 octane (86 if i could find it), its a great way to save on gas prices. so i own both. i sold my honda hawk motorcycle (the CRX of hondas motorycles if you know of them) last year since i never ride here in socal.

meanwhile, ppl have mostly moved on from crx-perf and on with their lives. some of us old timers are still around. but its not the same there as it used to be. the reason im even prompted to start this thread is because theres a thread over there wondering why its so dead. the answer seems so obvious to me. but anyway. here i am.

so howd you get here?

8)

 

[downest]

FWIW, there is a thread similar to this already, but it's a bit different. Anyway I like this stuff, I'll go...

I got my first CRX, the 90 Si, in May of 2005. I found the resource first at the end of May and stuck around there until last January (2006). During the winter last year I got on H-T a lot, because the resource was so dead I couldn't really get anything out of it. John linked me here in a pm, and I never really went back to the resource. I came here during a big rush of new people from what I understand, it was really nice to have a lot to read and other people to get info from. I was still on H-T a lot, mostly while I was doing my swap, since nobody here really knew what I was doing. There's a lot more information on here now than there was even last summer, I'm pretty sure we cover most of the bases for swap and wiring stuff now. Since I came back to school in September I haven't really been on Honda Tech much. I'm primarily here, and on local forums for here (NY) and home (NH).

Since this site has grown, I'm less and less inclined to go elsewhere. I'm also trying to make more tech articles and stuff so that we can attract and keep more new members, it's really nice to have a big, friendly community of people here. I also like that I almost never see false information here, and if something is wrong, someone posts the correct info, and nobody is mad. I also like that the two times I've blown/broken my motor severely, I've had guys on here help me out within a day or so with a new one.

My CRX is my only car, actually I guess the only cars I've ever owned are both CRXs, so I spend a lot of time with it every day. It helps that I haven't had a serious commitment elsewhere (girlfriend, etc) for most of the time I've had it, I seriously spend a large majority of my time doing something related to the CRX every day. That's why I'm here, I like to learn and especially like to share stuff for the next guy who's going to do what I'm doing. [as an aside for that, I'm pretty stoked about how many people are building up D16s lately!]

I think it's somewhat natural for car-related boards to cycle like this until the cars are sufficiently old. What's happening now is that the CRX is getting cheap enough that a lot more (typically younger) people can afford them. This shifts the crowd a lot from the guys who bought them new (or only slightly used) for a bit more cash. Think of the typical RSX owner now, and what that will be like in 10-15 years (I was talking about this with my roommate tonight). Right now we are getting a mix of, at the extremes, grumpy old men who like their stock rexes, and younge tuners, who don't have tons of cash to spend, but want to go as fast as possible.

This is the death of other boards, their established members are disappearing, and they aren't getting new members due to personality differences and such. On the other hand, some boards, like H-T, have TOO MANY new, dumb, cheap, ricer--- I better stop... members for their own good, and it makes the more knowledgable members leave. If you look at boards for older cars, even RPR might be a good example, you see they are relatively stable over time. My friend has a 1970 Datsun 240Z, his groups are very good, and they've been around for a long time. Once the CRX gets old enough where it's not attractive simply as a cheap car any more, things will level out.

Too much rambling... time for another cuppa and a smoke. :tea:

 

[daveb91]

This is easy

early 98 bought CRX Si, Joined the Resource same year, Steve Jones became a Dicktator, Fisher started this site, Dave is happy.

 

[Ragnaarok]

dave's pretty much got the gist of it as far as the site starting up. I'm sure more details can be had from one of the original guys, but I do know this site was started february 2005 by tom (crxfisher) and he handed it off to john (composimo) in september 2006.

As for me, I've loved the crx since I was in middle school, and I am 24 now. I first wanted an integra, but saw it as a "luxury" type car and somehow I focused on the crx (I guess it subliminally called to me.) I honestly can't remember what my first encounter with the crx was, since no one I knew had one. I just salivated over pictures on the internet. However, many people had civics, and I became more familiar with the civic car family. Meanwhile, my parents provided me with a truck during my high school years and I didn't have the means to have two vehicles. I always wanted a crx though, and one time even made an attempt to get one under my parents radar (that didn't work out so great.)

Flash forward to a couple years ago after a few other vehicles and some life changing events, and I decided to sell my boring accord and live my childhood fantasy - the crx.

I searched for about six weeks starting at the beginning of '06 (my new years resolution was to get a crx ) and ended up buying a rex off ebay from north carolina. A friend of mine went with and I drove a rental to NC, paid for the car, returned the rental, and drove the rex some 670 odd miles home. All in under 24 hours. Pure bliss.

So I've been on this forum since february of 2006, after a search of crx boards, I decided this looked like an active, friendly one. So far I've been right on.

My car has been doing great since, with no major problems. Beside basic maintenance, I've just had to replace a radiator and battle my water leaks in the year I've had it. I'm short on funds, but have a list longer than both my arms of things I want to upgrade, alter, or tweak. Once it gets warmer I'll start doing some of 'em, and make posts or how-to's of course. :wink:

whew, that was long, but you asked for it. can't wait to read the other responses. :arrow:

 

[ludesrv]

Where I came from? Simple.

I bought my 90 Civic, wanting a CRX but couldn't afford the extra 1500-2000$ for a good condition one. Now when I bought it I didn't care much for cars, nor hondas. I had always liked the CRX and my brother had EF hatches before so I got one because he told me it was a really easy car to maintain. I started driving it but hated it due to the automatic tranny. I did my research on honda-tech and did my auto to manual swap. At the same time I did my SOHC ZC and MPFI swap. At this point, I was hooked. I started researching like crazy, everything and anything I could find about EF/CRXs, EGs, EKs, BBs and CDs.

I wanted to know everything there was about Hondas. I then got asked to do a few swaps for people ( http://forums.vitalmotion.net/you-your- ... ccord.html ), and wiring conversions for my brother, and my bug grew bigger and stronger. I met the cool guys on HT, and became friends with a bunch of them. When Bart had his fall out with HT he directed me to the CRXC, and I haven't looked back.

 

[Baker]

Have had 3 Crx's, all '91 Si's. My first was an incomplete b16 turbo project i bought from a friend. It never got off the ground and i sold it. Picked up a beater for the winter, parted it out after the winter season and picked up my current Black Si in May of '05, i beleive.

I am/have been on various other boards but found this place when my father saw a black Crx running around Ithaca with a "CRXCommunity" sticker on it last August. So i checked it out and have been here ever since.

 

[downest]

I am/have been on various other boards but found this place when my father saw a black Crx running around Ithaca with a "CRXCommunity" sticker on it last August. So i checked it out and have been here ever since.

That's my old car!

 

[jfrolang]

I bought my CRX in May 2001, and discovered the resource shortly thereafter. That was pretty much my home until the resource lost its way, and the spinoff sites came about. I posted on CRXHQ for a little while, lurking here, and joined when there was finally some decent traffic. When Cloudpump didn't renew the domain for the HQ, the community became my new focus.

 

[cbp_crx]

I got my first crx back in September of 1999, it was a 89 si that I got from my sister. It was in super good shape, I drove that until the begining of the next year and sold it. I went for a while without having one, but the whole time, I was itching to get another one. Finally in November of 2000, I picked up my current dx. Since the first one I have had, I have owned 6 crxs. I didn't really know about these sites, until 2004, and I joined honda-tech. One day while serching around on there, I found out about this place, now this is pretty much my home, I still post over on h-tech.com, but I enjoy this place so much more.

 

[Ti Rider]

My history - I bought by first CRX in 1991, a '86 Hf. I wanted a Si but couldn't find one or afford a brand new one (I was putting my self through college). In '94 I found a mint '89 Si, bought it, been driving it daily ever since.

How did I get here? Well I found the Resource around 2000. I lurked there a long time until I finally joined. It was great, so many knowledgable posters, so busy. Over time it changed, slowed down, lots of great posters were banned. I was invited here by a member (really can't remember who now but thank them). I still stayed on the Resource but started spending more and more time here. Now I spend all my time here.....

 

[rex2nr]

I got my first rex in early 2000, joined the resource in either late 2000, or 2001. I then bought my second CRX in Oct 2002. After the resource bannings, I ended up going off to another CRX site which is now defunct (someone forgot to pay the bill), because this one was fresh out of the bag as well, with a whopping 12 members. Once that site closed, I signed on here.

 

[tyson]

so the concensus seems to be that most of you are resource refugees.

as for honda tech, well, yeah, lots of ppl. but i feel that me staying on there helps educate MORE ppl, on the things that im knowledgeable on at least. and occasionally, it does bring some other ppl that i can learn something new from.

yes, i agree there definately is something tied to the lifecycle of a forum, its members and the age of the car. its only natural for sites to peak and die out as ppl grow in knowledge together then not wanting to repeat the same thing, or teach others who have the same question that was asked years ago when those members were newbies.

something ive realized myself as i once used to be harsh on newbies. now i dont care. if its an honest question, i dont expect everyone to search on a question they have no knowledge on. (why else would they be asking?) it does NO GOOD for someone to say "SEARCH NOOB!". the "veterans" who already KNOW the answer are going to be the BEST and FASTEST at searching that topic because they know where to look, what keywords to use and offer the most appropriate link, if indeed its been talked of before. so i either offer help, or i just ignore it. no harm. someoen else will hopefully help them.

anyway, off my soapbox. thanks for sharing everyone.

 

[ComposiMo]

yes, i agree there definately is something tied to the lifecycle of a forum, its members and the age of the car. its only natural for sites to peak and die out as ppl grow in knowledge together then not wanting to repeat the same thing, or teach others who have the same question that was asked years ago when those members were newbies.

There is an interesting and very true article floating around the 'net somewhere, of the "lifecycle of a message forum".... it is my goal to not allow this site to follow the path laid out in that lifecycle... because in the lifecycle, there is the death of a site... i don't want to let this site die, even if it means losing a member or two who are creating waves and beginning to make the site go through that "lifecycle".

something ive realized myself as i once used to be harsh on newbies. now i dont care. if its an honest question, i dont expect everyone to search on a question they have no knowledge on. (why else would they be asking?) it does NO GOOD for someone to say "SEARCH NOOB!". the "veterans" who already KNOW the answer are going to be the BEST and FASTEST at searching that topic because they know where to look, what keywords to use and offer the most appropriate link, if indeed its been talked of before. so i either offer help, or i just ignore it.

This has been discussed here before, and a response by ANYONE that even remotely resembles a "SEARCH NOOB!" type of comment will be acted upon swiftly and firmly by the site staff... that type of response on this forum will not leave you in good standing with anyone here.

We were ALL newbies at one point, and all had lots of questions that needed to be answered... and SOMEONE answered them for us... i have no problem at all with questions being re-asked, and re-hashed... that is what this forum is here for. i want to see ANSWERS to questions... if you want to search yourself, and provide links to the other posts, that is fine, but i'd appreciate an answer from you as well relating to the question asked.... like "yea, that part fits that part... by the way, for more info, also check out this thread:".... thats the kind of answers the 'veterans' should be giving if they want to dwell on former threads involving the same subject.

8)

 

[tyson]

exactly. the other benefit of answering a previously asked question with either the right answer or the right link is that it reinforces the "right answer" for anyone else in the future who is inclined to search on that topic when they see more threads pointing to the same answer. that way the WRONG answers are more easily filtered out.

if different ppl keep asking the same questions, its gotta be important.

 

[ComposiMo]

Long story short:

I signed up on the Resource AGES ago... forgot the exact year... anyway, i helped out that site more than i care to think about. I was treated very fairly over there, until one day it all went south. Not "badly", but just "south"... in fact, i am technically still a moderator on the Resource

Anyway, the time was right for me to cease posting on the Resource due to "stuff", and kinda floundered around for a bit (e.g. H-T, and some other small forums, like HondaSwap.com, etc)... then, Tom invited me to come on board over here... i accepted, and this has been my "home away from home" ever since.

More recently, Tom invited me to take a more central role on this site instead of just being a moderator, and i accepted. We (i.e. Tom) transferred the site to my servers, and i've been hosting it and am an "administrator" ever since.

I don't view it as "composimo getting control" like in your first post.... i am just wanting to help however i can, and this presented itself as a way to help.

The server is paid for, for the rest of this sites existance, and i'm happy with that. There will NEVER be a "donation drive" on this site, and i'll NEVER ask anyone for money to help run the site. I'm not saying this for any other reason than to say i just want people to enjoy this site.... not "pay to play", and no pressure to be a "donator" or whatever like other sites want to have you do, and NEVER be any ads, like google or whatever...

I hope that everyone enjoys a place like this, and continues to come back.... cause regardless, it'll be here for a loooooooooong time 8)

¡las vidas de la comunidad!

 

[tyson]

well my apologies if i misrepresented saying "composimo getting control". i just meant howd you get into a position of "taking care of stuff" from crxfisher, in his own words. not to infer some authoritarian behavior.

i guess it all clicked why some of you guys' screen names looked familiar. i thought it was either from ht or perf. but i guess its mostly from resource.

quite frankly, dave darling was the only guy i knew and could then respect on that forum. even then i would check in just to correct him sometimes...

 

[ComposiMo]

Its all good, i knew what ya meant

I'm also on HT quite a lot.... been a member there since October of '01, and a lurker there for some time before that.... lately i don't post much there though... actually, i never really have posted much over there.

 

[imgoingforit]

That's what they want us to think. I heard the composimo regime came in to power by a military coup de'tat (sp?) seizing power. It is also widely believed that "composimo" is actually a puppet for much more sinister faction, but we have no proof of this.

Well at least, that's the word on the street. :lol: :lol: :lol:

-Chris

 

[crxfisher]

Well, everybody seems to have told the story already. It's all pretty accurate. I've had 4 CRX's over the years. My first one was bought in 97 when I was 17. I've always loved them. My first was an 88 DX automatic. My last one was a MINT 90 Si that I sold to the guy who posted right above me. I am looking for CRX #5. I can't get away from these cars. We all know that.

I joined the resource I think around 2003 some time. Lasted a while there, enjoyed it. Stayed under the radar most of the time to avoid the banning shotgun. A couple of nasty things happened over there and I emailed composimo and asked if he thought it would be a good idea to start another forum and run it "the right way." He said no, because other people have already tried and done it before, and it probably wouldn't be successful. So I put that idea off to the side and lurked on the resource some more.

Then one day, the admin wronged me in a way that sent me over the top. I immediately left and started this place, and then became a part of CRX history. I'd been throwing the idea around about starting my own web hosting business, and this was the perfect opportunity to jump in. I still own the hosting biz, although this site is no longer hosted there. I passed the admin responsibilities over to composimo when I just couldn't handle the load of work, my side business, family, and everything else.

I started this site with one thing in mind. Make it what the users want. I take suggestions, don't dictate, and make sure not to have an ego. I wanted a place where the users could make fun of the admin with NO CONSEQUENCE. Maybe that's why this place is so successful?

Actually, this place is successful because of all of you guys. I had made friends with "Ollie" via PM's on the resource where we would exchange "Dumb and Dumber" quotes back and forth. Notice he's the 2nd member here. Then, after testing the original site for a couple days, we invited a few more people. Then those people invited more, and it has ballooned ever since. We got some stickers made (thanks stick) and also printed up some very nice CRX business cards to pass out thanks to donations from everybody here. The more content and hits we got, the higher we got on the search engines. It's cool to see how a site grows like this. And it's cool to have such a great group of people contributing to the site. Thanks guys!

 

[signalpuke]

I have been into cars since I was like 10, my best friend back in California raced Jr. Dragster and his dad raced SuperComp at the local strip and I went with them to a couple national events back then in Pamona and what is now Infeneon Raceway. Been hooked ever since.

I have always been a fan of econo box styling that encompasses the 80's. Some of my favorite cars are the Supra/Celica, RX-7, BMW and Datsun 240...I was drawn towards Japanese vehicles because of the technology showcased and simply because they are reliable.

Up until 2002 I had never liked FWD vehicles in general...no particular reason other than from a weight distribution layout that I thought would be a drawback. I fell in love with the new Lotus Elise though, and set out on a jouney to imatate the same performance with my meager budget.

I saw PacMan's Crx in 2004 and fell in love with the potential of the chassis. It was on target as far as the weight was concerned, and the power was more than enough for my budget "Elise" build. So I decided to scrap my other plans and start a K swap. I found a local 91 CRX HF for sale for cheap. It was (and still is lol) pretty beat up. I drove it and loved it. Went to the bank directly afterwards and bought the car. So, next I started researching as much as I could. That week I found a complete K20A2 swap and bought that. I found K20A.org and browsed there for a while, became a member, found this site and became a member.

I love both sites. The members are mature (for the most part) and I have learned a lot from both. I browse other forums, mostly eng-tips, 2jzswap, NICOCLUB and skylinesdownunder, but I call crxcommunity and K20A home.

I don't think I will ever get rid of the never ending money pit I call my CRX, it is just too much fun to drive. I hope to buy another one in the future.