This could all be true, but the ZX5 is paying the price for it's troublesome first year on the tracks. That car should never have been released as it was. I'm not a heavy crasher, but when I raced it I finished on average one final out of 3.
. Biggest issue back then was the drivetrain that couldn't cope on high grip astro. Some guys were even using AE TC3/4 gears !
It's a reality that once a car gets a bad rep, it's very hard to shake it off. doesn't matter how much they improve it afterwards. Look at the Predator : it still suffers from the poor reliability record it got during the 90'ies.