daytonagp4

Hey guys just wanted your opinion on what to do to this car. The local track has a FWD class and I will have a CRX for next year. What would you guys do to the car. Object is to go fast and turn left. What spring/stuts and other suspension goodies would you do? They want you to stay "stock" but rules are meant to be bent a little right? I will not share where i am or where the track is....

turbohatchBnuts

what are the rules? can you do motor swaps?

daytonagp4

well they say factory but 1. the tech does not know honda's...and 2. they don't really care in this class. 3. there is a guy that runs out here and he has a b16 with a b18 head and i know it has work done but he says it's "stock" so as long as it's stock looking i think i'm good lol

OneBadTurboCRV

I have extensive knowledge on what to do for both dirt and paved circle track racing, as my son has been in that class for a while now (as well as others). We beat the brakes off others, but it's all in the game. You give out your secrets, then what do you have left. Even in stock trim you can do things. Any good track has a list of what came in what car - it's almost ALWAYS a favoritism game that you have to fight... Be prepared to be disappointed and you better hope it's not a claimer class.

The few tips I will give you is run the widest low profile tires they allow. Strip it down to the minimum they allow. Run your cage as close to the main "frame" supports as they allow. When it comes to the engine/transmission well obviously the sky is the limit... I had over $6k in parts to build this seasons motor alone... Oh and it's stock.

daytonagp4

well i can tell you now that it IS whats going on right now....BUT... what they don't know is that i have puppets to use myself. I've been around the sport for a LONG TIME as well as my family. I have years of prior experience in racing and i know how it works. Kinda bs if you ask me though. I've been watching this person cheat all year and i'm tired of it. I wanted to get back into it to prove a point, that you can beat this person. I do see that you don't have a "location" lol i hope your not my competition i've been talking about. Thanks for the advice though

OneBadTurboCRV

Never know, I just may be - it's a small world... haha... Also I do have a state listed, but maybe it doesn't show it to you because you are a trial user?

daytonagp4

I do see the state.....thats what made me question it.

OneBadTurboCRV

Haha... Now that is comical... Never know... Just like trying to find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop... I'll give you a hint though, I am in the north half of the state.

daytonagp4

like in the Orbitz commercial.........as am I

OneBadTurboCRV

*duhm duhm duuhhmmmm*

Now this is getting interesting...

I don't always post personal information on the Internet, but when I do, I make sure it's vague.

Tyson

cheaters.

daytonagp4

hahah anyway lets get back to the subject at hand.....^^^^It's not cheating till ya get caught. But i will be getting the cr in the next couple weeks and i would like to see maybie some pics of your cars. I need a paint scheme as well. Let me know anymore tips tricks for these cars that easy/cheap to modify.

j3wman

d15 block, vtec head, deck the head, port the exhaust side and arp headstuds. 4-1 header cat delete and a straight pipe. problem solved. or no headers if theyre not allowed.

daytonagp4

no headers but i can port the mani' why only exhaust side? Are they that bad?

OneBadTurboCRV

What he is telling you to do will make that thing a turd at the track aside from milling the head especially if you are racing 1/4 or 3/8 mile tracks with low banks... If you want to even come close to touching any B-series that has work done you will have to do a lot more than that...

Before we get into what you should or shouldn't do - what engine do you want to run? SOHC or DOHC? What length track are you running? What type of bank (you don't have to know the degrees)? What surface - dirt or pavement? A lot of this matters (and more) as to what you should or shouldn't do... For circle track racing Hondas have the upper hand over a lot of cars because a bulk of the weight is biased to the drivers side already.

daytonagp4

I'm not for sure what engine to run that's kinda why i was asking, I have not bought a thing yet just trying to get a feel for the whole honda thing. I've been overloading on research with these engines and my brain hurts. The only thing i've ever worked on honda wise is a Sohc ....so don't really know any others.
Track length is 3/8 and it's decent banked turns and flat front/back stretch. It's asphalt....shitty asphalt lol but it works. The more i look into it i keep hearing b16a...that seems to be a common denominator in engine swaps.
I don't wanna spend 5k on the engine but i am willing to spend some money. I'd like to keep the engine around 2500 if at all possible. I'm trying to get a list together to go out and present to sponsers but it's kinda hard to get a list when you don't know wtf to but thanks for the help.

OneBadTurboCRV

Personally, especially with the budget, go with the B16 hands down. With little work you can have a budget screamer that can withstand the high RPMs at the track. Before I help you with specifics - what is the octane limits at the track or what are your limitations? 97? 93?

The things you should try and get your hands on regardless would be ITR or CTR cams (even aftermarket ones with similar specs for that matter). With spings/retainers to match obviously. One of the downsides is VTEC is loud with that setup so a stock air box with a resonator is a must. Light porting and polishing of the intake and exhaust especially - mainly gasket matching everything for those. If you can get a Type R stock exhaust manifold (to keep it stock looking). The best transmission all depends - for a 3/8 mile track I would say Integra XSi (JDM S1) because you would be sitting at ~60mph at ~8k RPMs with stock size tires. So with the above mods you will be able to rev around 9k safely and your top speed should suffice for that track.

How much should you mill the head? Stock or Type R pistons? Stuff of that nature depends on how much money you can buy/do the above listed for and octane limits. Now you could do more with tuning but I think that would take too much out of your budget for what you are trying to do.

If you couldn't tell - I like me some healthy competition; keeps it interesting.

OneBadTurboCRV

Forgot to add ^ that's in second gear on the transmission (the preferred gear to stay in when racing).

turbohatchBnuts

What about a ls/vtec? Can't rev as high though but makes a little more torque.

OneBadTurboCRV

That's not the problem when racing circle track since most of your racing is done in the upper RPM's especially with a banked track. Basically you need a setup that you don't have to shift on such a short track. That's the secret to being fast. Of course - I give all this information out because these are the basics - tricks are still in the bag.

daytonagp4

thanks!!! The stock air box has to be used the actually check that, and as far as the fuel i can run race gas if i want. I'll be keeping my eyes open for these items. Also i'm going out next week to try and get some sponsers so we will see how much extra i have to spend on this turd!! I don't think you are my competition but we will see. THanks for the tips!!! I'll let you know what i get my hands on. Keep the tips comin!!!

fastsaab

ive been asphalt circle track racing for years with front wheel drive cars. in a "stock" type class imo suspension is way more important than the engine will ever be. i would be willing to bet a stock si motor would run well in this class if you just get the car to turn and make it easy to drive. i would get rid of the front sway bar and install the biggest rear bar you can find. find some sport springs that look like stock ones. paint them black and roll them around in some dirt. lol. everything is stock if you paint it black and make it look dirty. dont focus on the motor, you are wasting money. get through the corner faster than everyone else. everyone that we ran with used the falken azenis tires. not sure if they still make those but they worked well.

OneBadTurboCRV

Interesting theory, but seeing as I do race and have been for along time - while conering is extremely important being able to enter and exit the corner with speed is even more important. The modifications to the suspension are typically dirt cheap, if not free (just time), in the stock classes anyways... We haven't gotten that far in the discussion yet as far as vehicles are concerned.

Since the discussion has headed somewhat in that direction I'll tap it a little... You can do a lot of things - what's allowed is a different story. The easiest is to slot the passenger side strut towers and shorten the "dog-bone" for the trailing arm and put negative camber in the suspension. You can also run Integra springs on the passenger side to stiffen it up as most places don't allow you to use any types of stiffeners. Although, I do agree about removing the front sway bar and leaving/upgrading the rear. There is more but now I am questioning how much I am sharing haha...

Or you can run it like people say (stock stuff) with minor upgrades and continue to get your butt handed to you. I actually know what I am talking about, not just shooting the crap.

daytonagp4

children......stop fighting i do know about putting the camber in and taking it out, my brother is in this class too. I have been working on his car for a couple weeks now trying to figure out how these FWD's work haha but i'm starting to get the hang of it. As for as sway bars....what is the strongest that will fit in the crx? And is the preload adjustable on those cars? if not i can make something to preload it. Now here is a ? i should stiffen up the pass side? Why? now when i ran modified we put a 1000 pd spring in the right side? why opposite?

OneBadTurboCRV

I know you were joking, I know I am probably old enough to be your Dad... No stock preload adjustment - No stock bolt on sway bar without modifications (besides aftermarket), Integra can be made to work - It is a strut... No way to preload other than obvious strapping/chaining and they will check for that no doubt.

Also - you already said yourself that you put a stiffer spring on the RIGHT side of the car - AKA passenger... You can't preload, so how do you minmize suspension compression? Run a stiffer spring...