CRX 2000: Turbocharged & Rear Wheel Drive

CRX 2000: Turbocharged & Rear Wheel Drive

by Frank Ewald – with Aaron Weir

This 1989 Honda CRX Si has seen it all. Aaron purchased it in 1996 for his twenty-third birthday. It was stock with the exception of an Alpine Stereo. Then came an intake and exhaust – which started Aaron down the road of improving his ride. Highly modified stock engine. A 50 shot N20 system. A 1.7 engine swap. Then a turbo. After owning and working on the CRX for eleven years, Aaron decided that it was time to move on and in 2007 put it on the market. He was ready to move on to an S2000 project. However, the car did not sell and Aaron was not going to budge on his selling price. Sometimes we see car guys give their cars away and, usually, they wish they had kept them. Aaron didn't sell and still made his S2000 build come true.

There's no way I can wait to show an engine bay picture. It's absolutely amazing and there are so many custom pieces included in this car that I'm sure I cannot count them all. There's a conservative 470 WHP powering this 1989 Honda CRX Si – known as the CRX 2000.

Aaron drove me around the Hamilton area and I was amazed at the ride. I mean, it is an understatement to say that it handles like a go-kart on steroids. As we were on municipal roads there was not an opportunity to push the CRX 2000 even close to the potential that it has, but it was enough to make me grin – even though I was riding shotgun and not sitting in the driver’s seat. I was doing my best to feel every bump, how the car handled the typical road ridges, the way it reacted dodging the nearly unavoidable pot holes that dotted the roads, and how it pushed me back into the seat when the car hit boost. Mind you, just a little boost.

If you're like me, the next money shot that you wanted is this. The rear suspension. I guess I could've made you wait until page three or four, but that simply wouldn't be fair. Fabricated in his own shop, this suspension easily handled municipal roads when Aaron took me out for a drive.

You see, this is not your typical Honda CRX Si. I doubt that Honda Engineers, even in their wildest dreams, ever thought up a car as wild and extreme as Aaron Weir’s CRX 2000. He welded and fabricated a car that combined the best of the CRX with an S2000 drivetrain. Plus he turbocharged it. And it works! This car is one that Aaron has no problem putting his two kids in and taking them for a ride around town. I had no question about jumping in and setting off on a search for some winding roads for our photo shoot.

The car has been massively remanufactured to support this change of platform and it is an incredible build. This project to build the rear wheel drive CRX began in 2007 and has been tested through time. Aaron, sponsored by Vibrant Performance, is so confident in his CRX 2000 that he has entered it into the inaugural Ontario 1500, sponsored by the Canadian Automobile Sports Clubs, and which will take place in the fall of 2015. This seven day event will visit all of Ontario’s road courses and see the cars and drivers participate in 20 event stages (8 Time Attack, 4 Autoslalom, 2 Drags and 6 Transits) with approximately 1500 kilometres travelled between the venues. There can be no question about reliability and build quality when tackling an event like this. Aaron’s co-driver for this week long venture is Robb Smith, who has been a key resource in developing the suspension and improving the handling. Between the two of them, they will be well prepared for this adventure that will test both man and machine. Another key person in the history of this build is Frank Johnson, Aaron's father-in-law and business partner at WeirTech. His willingness to help out in all aspects of the build and frequent questions (such as, will it ever run!) helped keep Aaron motivated. I was in the shop with Frank and Aaron and saw a great team. There is no question, Frank's jokes about the CRX were good natured and he was proud of the build that took place in their shop.

There's a lot of talk and press about Stance. As far as I'm concerned, this car defines stance. Function and form, no extras, all business.