civichb20

HOW WOULD YOU BUILD THE ULTIMATE TRACK CAR FOR $5000?


Hey track junkies I have not been here for a while but I thought I would post this in the behalf of a friend that wants to build the ultimate track car. His goal is to run down Corvettes and Porches and other pesky rich people who do not know how to drive lol.


So how would you build the ultimate track car for $5000?

HERE ARE THE RULES:
STARTING BUDGET IS ONLY $5000
Must be reliable and safe and some what streetable
Must be NA or Naturally Aspirated and push out at least 200hp
The rest is open...

Q: What Chassis would you use?
Q: What Engine combo would you use?
Q: What suspension and tires?
Q: What aftermarket parts would you use to get the most bang for your buck?
Q: Would you start from stock or buy a track car already built?


Let the Madness begin lol we welcome any examples of current projects or race cars please post specs and real examples and any pictures thanks.

...AND IF YOU KNOW ANY GOOD TRACK CARS THAT ARE FOR SALE THAT FIT THIS BILL PLEASE POST OR INBOX THANKS

TypeRfit

iTrader: (6)

Crx HF or 92-93 cx/vx hatch

K swap is too expensive and making 250hp out of a B would push you over the $5k limit.

So turbo LS would be my choice.

Koni/GC suspension

4x100 Type R brake kits Fr/Rr

Start from stock

civichb20

Thanks TypeRfit I know its a tall order.

How lite can you get the CX/VX Honda Civic Hatch?

TypeRfit

iTrader: (6)

They weighted 2094 from Honda, you could easily take off another 200-300 lbs, even a B16 in a 1800lb car would be pretty quick. Depending on the level of track car you wanted, put Lexan in place of the glass, cut the inner doors apart etc and drop even more weight

rallyrcr

TypeRfit. So if I understand you right a stripped CX/VX is about as light as a CRX?

civichb20

Thanks again TypeRfit

TypeRfit

iTrader: (6)

A CRX HF was the lightest CRX made, an 88' Crx HF weighted 1800lbs from the factory, now of course you could do the same weight stripping as the Civic an possibly get it down to 1500-1600lbs. Personally I think the Civic hatch is a little better chassis.

civichb20

I seen some CRX HF weigh in at 1,400lbs and talk to some drivers that CRX is the most rewarding chassis to drive but I am not sure if they are referring to it easy and fast to drive or hard to drive but if driven right results in a faster lap time lol.

Charlie Moua

iTrader: (3)

let me start off by saying that you should allow for turbo setups as that is often the best way to offset lack of displacement. But i'll bite.


Q: What Chassis would you use?
ef/eg whichever is cheapest or even free (as long as it's still structurally sound) the less i can spend on a chassis the better since it would be gutted.

Q: What Engine combo would you use?
Since your wanting to keep it NA, I'd go with H2B + cams and boltons + itr lsd tranny

Q: What suspension and tires?
15x7.5 rota or anything cheap or free...who cares what it looks like as long as it's not 20lbs rim. Tires would be in the 125-135 range. 205/45/15
suspension... used gc with koni yellow... plenty of guys have old springs which they have upgraded to.

Q: What aftermarket parts would you use to get the most bang for your buck?
turbo... lol
crome
evo10 610cc injectors, fpr, fuel pump, e85
DIY ported manifold
used plm header
action clutch stage 5 clutch
cams



Q: Would you start from stock or buy a track car already built?
Depends on the car & the deal.
Chances are any "track prepped" shell will take up a decent amount of your $5 budget. So i would bet on finding a eg coupe/ef hb/crx for under $800 before finding a "good" deal on a solid track shell.

civichb20

I wonder if we can get some veteran CRX track drivers to chime in like Andy Hope, Sam Rothschild or Jeremy Croiset lol.

civichb20

Thanks Charlie Moua good post but the turbo would be to easy lol

Yeah I am saying the same thing you better off building it yourself and maybe buying used parts to keep cost down.

But do you think that the H swap would be to heavy? or make the car front heavy?

rice_classic

http://exomotive.com/exocet/

Just a tad over $5k but it's beats anything else mentioned in a similar price range. Poor man's Atom.

TypeRfit

iTrader: (6)

That's just a tad over the $5k budget by time you get it running/driving

civichb20

This is very interesting but I am sure this will cost a lot more and I dont think but I could be wrong its wont be street legal lol.

civichb20

On my search for some ultimate track cars for $5000 here are a couple of CRXs that are awesome and of course way over $5000 lol.


TOP SET UP CRX - Smashing on Vipers and NSX

Charlie Moua

iTrader: (3)

damn... this will be my new project next year... seems fairly doable.

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

Cute. What kind of meathead goes on track in shorts?
5k IMO isnt a realistic goal for an Ultimate track car even if its a starting budget.
Safety: cage or roll bar?
Harness
Helmet... hans device or screw it let me take my chances.
suit or no suit?
Seat

Suspension... variables there, nothing cheap though.
Tires and wheels
Engine... used from HMO?

Somethat streetable?
Answer this: your friend... whats his driving experience?
Why does he need 200-250 hp?
Ive seen near stock hondas with a very good driver run down vettes, evo's and anything else driven with superior hp.
FYI most of the old so cal HC guys dont really post here very often.

Matt_EH3

I had this exact plan a few years back (5k$ budget).

I had managed to find a decent rolling chassis (93 SI), which was B-swap ready wiring-wise and with a GC/Koni suspension and Integra knuckles/brakes and a good sway bar setup for 2500$. It originally seemed like a good deal, because the car had about 2k$ in parts and racing goodies on it to start with. I had also ridden in the car before and knew it was a good setup.

My plan was simple: get the car, not worry about the suspension because it is technically ok, buy/install a "full swap" (needed engine, transmission, axles, shifter, shifter rods and engine harness) and run. Easy enough, right?

Well, it did not turn out that way. I had a bunch of missing engine mount screws and nuts/hardware, which alone ran me a 500$ bill that I had not planned for (I know I should have, but I had not). The car also came with a bunch of bearings and ball joints that were shot, one corner had improperly sized extended studs which were stripped, I had to re-run a part of the fuel filter/evap setup, etc.

In the end, it cost me about 10k (double my original budget) and many, many days of work to get the car in decent shape before I could even set a tire on the track.

Even this year (3 seasons later), I found out about an issue in the rear (the only part I had not taken apart yet).

Just to tell you, sometimes, buying something already built is not necessarily a money and time saver. I am happy with my track car, don't get me wrong, but I am still trying to figure out what was done to some parts of the car and what was the original intent of the other owner.

If I were to redo it again, I would start from scratch and know exactly what is going on, like I did with my previous track car, or simply buy a built track car that runs and plan an additional 5k$ to get it ready.

rice_classic

I don't understand how $5000 and the word "ultimate" even belong together in talking about a track car. And to make it worse you want to DD it also? Since when is an "ultimate track car" a DD. Wouldn't that make it the ultimate DD for a track?

The only real answer to the question is: "You don't."

You don't build the "ultimate track car" for $5k. $5k will build a ChumpCar. $5k can buy you a used spec miata or ITA/H4 Honda.

kingofbattle909

iTrader: (6)

DC2

2.3 H2B

F1

Fabricate own parts

Shell (I don't need someone else's problem. I can make my own thankyou )

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

So it looks like the consensus is that for 5K it cant be logically done and call it "Ultimate"
5K is a bit on the conservative side.

Charles............ can you answer the other questions about this "friend"?
This should be considered before the friend entertains the idea of an Ultimate track/DD car.

rallyrcr

So using "ultimate" to describe most anything car related is a likely obsequious.

While we can pick at the wording (as most forums usually do to people's posts), I think the spirit of the OP's post is to ask what is the most that can be done with a budget of $5k. Its not a lot, but we're also talking about regular street cars driven by regular people with regular paychecks. Most of us car guys aspire to go to the track even with our meager paychecks, and this is just another friend of the forum trying to get advice on how to do so for not too much.

rallyrcr

I can answer that. I am the friend Charles posted this for.

I can explain this by describing the Honda that opened my eyes about the big motor small chassis wonder that are the cars that make up the Honda community.

Last weekend I was at the track with a bunch of high dollar Porsches, Audis, and BMWs that I had a very difficult keeping up with. These were quick cars with competent drivers, but all day long this little CRX caught and smoked each and everyone of them. That for me was a revelation. Here are these $60-100k sports cars being lapped by a tiny low cost Honda.

In the end the Honda wasn't an exoticly built NSX with special turbos or nitrous. It was an 88 CRX HF, gutted with a 6 point roll cage, and all motor putting out a claimed 210-230hp by its driver. I thought he was lying but he popped his hood and all that was sitting there was a Poor Man Type R build under the hood. No nitrous jets, no turbo headers, and no Jackson superchargers, just an all motor Honda. Amazing!!

Now by setting the $5k limit, I'm not looking for the ultimate track car. Charles was being generous with his wording. What I am looking for is the best platform to start out with. So the search started bringing up questions I couldn't answer and didn't find easily on the web.

Was the CRX HF the best way to go, or is the Civic HB better? Should I start with an SI? Should I just copy the one I saw? Is a Poor Man Type R more practical than just getting a Type R to start with? Can I get away with using this as a daily? Should a build like this stay a track only car? The owner of the CRX said he spent about $15k, is there a way I could replicate 80-90% of that car's capability for less? Did he have a lot complications in this build? Will I?

I could look up specs all day long, but specs and project builds by car magazines on the internet don't really answer what normal guys can build to go on the track and go toe to toe with high dollar cars like this CRX did. That's what I want, and it might take years to build up (and spend) to the level of what this CRX I saw can do, but it starts with the right platform and I wanted to know if copying was the best way or others had good opinions on something better.

I hope this answers the direction I've started from and am headed with a build I want to do. I have $5k burning a hole in my pocket and I'm looking to get started!!

And for everyone that has responded so far, you've given me some good ideas and pitfalls to consider. Thank you and I appreciate your time!!

rallyrcr

I found your post especially informative. You lack of sarcasm and genuine helpfulness is much appreciated Charlie!

opc

If it was me, and i have a fresh start, 5k, and the goal of hot lapping a douche in a 100k porsche..

88-91 crx or civic, model doesn't matter but no sun roof
-
d16z6 built(rods/pistons, ported head, aftermarket cam)
skunk2 intake manifold
68mm tb
-
transmission 92-95 si
obx lsd
-
take out all the suspension, replace all the bushings, bearings, tierods, etc
stitch weld the frame
koni/ground controls
gut the fenders
put on wider fenders/fender archs
15x9's all around
32mm sway bar
-
gut the interior, light aluminum seat(used)
nice ebay china suede deep dish steering wheel


go take a few classes at your local track, buy a 1500$ trailer, borrow a disel if you don't have one...

6 pack of beer

and play