THSCC Forums

Thanks to everybody for another fun event!

Thanks to Charlie and Mo Monroe for letting me take a run in their CRX in the afternoon. Charlie also helped diagnose a problem we were having in the morning and hit the nail on the head. Thanks also to the gang with the black CRX (sorry I didn't catch any names). That black CRX is a rocket ship with a swapped motor and if those guys get the suspension figured out, it will be deadly out there!

Special thanks to Mike Whitney and Dustin Fredrickson for helping me limp my busted CRX home! I would probably still be struggling to figure out how to get the car home if it wasn't for those guys. Thanks again!

For those that didn't see, the left side of the rear subframe decided it didn't want to be attached to the car anymore. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance as it is quite the spectacle. At this point I have no idea what caused the damage and the only thing I can currently surmise is that the car already had some damage in that area. Perhaps a previous owner hit a curb or something as I've treated it with nothing but love and care.

After our morning troubles related to a loose right front radius rod, it was a crazy day. Amazingly the car was still somewhat decent even with the right front wheel flopping all over the place but it was definitely disconcerting from the driver's seat. It was handling funky all morning but it's always hard to tell exactly what's going on when you are pounding through a field. I have a feeling the rear subframe was starting to let go in the morning as well as it failed on the first run in the afternoon.

As usual, the courses were very fun so kudos to the designers. OCS is really a great site and I hope we continue to run there for a long time.

Jim

Hey Charlie, how'd you figure that one out

Note to CRX owners, if the front goes clunkety clunk and everything else seems tight, check the radius rods! This was something I ended up doing nearly every oil change on the now Monroe CRX. Maybe it's just an issue with worn bushings, but I could never keep that bolt tight, and the design makes double-nutting and other locking techniques besides loc-tite nearly impossible.

_________________
Dustin Fredrickson
-- I'm a nobody --

Luckily the radius rod issue doesn't seem to be a common problem. I'm pretty sure my issue was self-induced as the only thing I touched on the car from the last event to this one happened to be the radius rods.

I wound up with an extra set of radius rod bushings and decided to throw them on the RallyX CRX about a month ago. I managed to get the left side tightened down and I'm still unsure how I didn't fully tighten the right side. I may be the world's slowest mechanic but I'm usually very careful to make sure everything is buttoned down properly. I'm guessing I felt resistance enough to make me believe it was tight but it was probably just enough torque to get past most of the rust.

I definitely never went anywhere near the rear subframe or suspension so I'm still not sure what happened there. I did catch Charlie Monroe poking around my car before the event but he claimed he was "teching" the car. Mo mentioned something about sabotage but I thought she was just kidding! I'm going to have to keep my eyes on them in the future!

Charlie was actually a big help as he loaned me a touch of oil as well as a couple of tools to fix the radius rod.

I did the radius rod bushings on the AutoX CRX at the same time and apparently I managed to tighten them enough as I haven't had any issues. Needless to say I checked them when I got home anyway. They were still tight...

Jim

I did pull on the wheels to make sure they were secure but I didn't realize I was strong enough to break the subframe. I need to be more careful in the future.



I am always glad to help. Dustin had noticed and fixed the loose radius rod problem on our (formerly his) CRX at the previous rallycross. When we had miata problems last month, we also received lots of offers of help and tools.

And thanks Jim for driving our car much faster than I did. I hope the car remembers how to go that fast at the next event.

Charlie

The good news is that I don't have to worry about replacing that left rear wheel bearing anymore!



Your car definitely handled very well. As I said at the event, the only thing holding it back slightly is that monstrously tall final drive. I think if I had taken another run in it, I probably would have tried to grab first gear in a couple of spots.

Jim

Quick picture of the carnage.

This is after we used a tie strap to pull the left rear suspension back together so we could move it around more easily. I'll get some more pictures after I have a chance to remove the strap and jack the thing up.

I may be wrong but I don't think JB Weld is going to fix this one...

Jim

JB weld and a lil duck tape should do the trick!!

_________________
02 2.5 RS, 02 Honda Insight CVT, 04 PT GT 5spd, 71 340 Dart

It must be weird to be normal...

dude i have only seen that one other time. It was in a del sol. He was power braking and hit a curb!!!!!!!!!! damn dude

_________________
[color=#FFFFFF][/color]http://www.usedmiatapartsonline.com for all your used miata parts needs
http://www.wagnersauto.com for your salvage needs
2000 miata se Estreet,going to rally
2004 mazdaspeed miata bsp #77
shifter kart also(someone buy this $1500)

I found my replacement for the CRX!!!

It's a Civic but all the good parts should transfer over nicely. You sucka's better not try and outbid me!

Jim

That car will appease all of your voices

_________________
Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R

2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner

Personally I think it is a great strategy for reducing called in cone counts from worker stations....

+1 for #8

+1 for #88

Hopefully T&S will never catch on.

_________________
Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

yes that is a fine car Jim. but i feel you will need to take on a persona similar to the him/her from "Bigtop PeeWee".

It will require a few more paint schemes integrated into it for that.

It is tempting since Dale Jr. is the greatest race car driver ever, though. Shawn Whipple once told me that.



Um, never saw it...

I think the only movie I ever saw with Mr. Herman was a Cheech and Chong movie but I forget the name for some reason.



Jim

He is the Hamburger man in Nice Dreams and plays the desk clerk in Next Movie. Unfortunatly their movies require imbibing in order to be funny(for the most part)

_________________
RedLanternRacing, builders of the fastest cars in last place.
Success is not an option.
1981 Scirocco, "Vera"

Wow, good memory! I remembered the desk clerk but I totally forgot about the hamburger man. I haven't seen those movies in over 20 years. I remember my brother renting those from North American Video when they were the only game in town. Of course, we had to get the BetaMax version because that was the player/recorder we had having shunned the VHS versions. Yea, that turned out to be a wise choice!

I still remember the remote control for the BetaMax unit being a wired unit. We thought it was cool despite having a 10-foot wire attached to it 'cause we could sit our lazy butts on the couch and start and stop the videos.

Feeling a little old all of a sudden...

Jim