Best drag chassis?
 

Alright, before I ask, I know that suspension set up, weight reduction, tires, and even the tune has a LOT to do with how a car hooks up at the track. But between eg coupes and hatches, ek coupes and hatches, and dc integras, which chassis seems to be the best at putting power to the ground at the drag strip? Like I said, I know that there is so much more to do with hooking up rather than just the chassis it self, but who here has experience with more than just one of these cars at the track? Experienced opinions?

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

generally speaking:

*most of these cars have very similar suspensions with some needing radius rods (traction bars) and some not
*the smaller the car, the less it's gonna weigh.
*the longer the wheelbase, the better it hooks up and better stability at high speed.

Keep in mind that the base weights matter more for street cars. Even the cars that were much heavier in factory trim (integra GSR vs a base eg hatch for example) can usually still meet class minimums in race trim.

Also, some bodies are more aerodynamic than others and that matters on a Honda, where most of the power is put down past the 1/8th with 150mph+ traps.

Those are some of the compromises you have to choose from.

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

not a fwd Honda

well someone had to say it

I think in race mode they are all comparable...as they can all be reduced down to similar weights.

street mode I would say eg>ek>dc just because of weight

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

Ive heard good things about dc tegs in the street and on the track. I've got an eg hatch now and it just seems like it is so light it floats on the tires and spins pretty bad.

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

My personal opinion if your running in a class where everybody has to weigh the same same turbo same everything I thing the teg and eg ek coupe is more aerodynamic... It's more fluid... You don't see hatch back dragsters for a reason. The air tumbles off the back.

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

yet all the hatchbacks were Hondas mileage cars and the hatches have the trap records. If I remember right the 1g Insight is hondas most aerodynamic car followed by the crx then the rsx.

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

With all the aero parts available today it's really just your preference, they all go fast. I think the integras may have a little more room in the front of the engine bay from the radiator support. Perhaps a bit more room to make things fit.

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

Hatches have a couple trap records so does a couple coupes... I doubt the rsx is the third most aero car. It's actually not even in the top 5. The integra almost share the same drag coeffenicy civic .32 the Integra is .33 but if you think that 1 point really matters might was well get an 04-08 TL which is .29

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

I'm primarily looking at getting off the line/ hooking up rather than aero. I mean, like you said, they are all pretty close aerodynamically.

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

Look at the wheelbases then. According to motortrend and wikipedia, an EK hatch has a 103.2" wheelbase and an integra coupe has a 101.2" wheelbase. I was kinda suprised by that. If you're primarily looking at 60' times, you should be building an old corolla or fox body mustang or something.

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

Ek hatch has a longer wheel base than an integra??????

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

according to google, but I don't know if that's true.

I doubt its true. The coupe and sedan are over 10 inches longer so I could imagine them being 103.2 but I camt imagine the hatch having the same wheelbase as a coupe.

The integra 4dr vs 2dr were 2 inches longer for their wheelbase for the 2nd gens

...well damn I just schooled myself.

I looked at some pictures of the hb vs coupe and the damn hatches are just coupes with the trunks hacked off. No wonder why they have such a long wheelbase

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

yeah, I think an EK with an EG front subframe would be a pretty sweet combo

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

And the sedans share the same wheelbase as the coupes. My sedan is 2420 factory weight. Same as my 94 EX Coupe was with ABS. Swapped over to a manual EG crossmember, saved some decent weight. 35 lbs.

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

lots of us ek guys do this already

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

Personal experience:

My itr weighes 3000 or so with me in it, I swapped everything to an eg hatch for weight and more sidewall on the slick. Best time in the eg was 11.3@132mph and 1.71 60ft. Decided I liked the itr better and swapped everything back over. With less power(boost tuned down), less sidewall, no alignment, and more weight it went 1.67 60ft and 11.1@122mph(blew head gasket and lifted) on its 4th pass

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

Now that's what I like to hear. I've got an eg hatch now and it's just old and kinda problematic... And I'm wanting to do a teg.

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

Back about 7 years ago. I swapped over a really simple 350 whp setup from an em1 to a ek hatch. Didn't change anything. No gutting or anything. The weight difference was about 250 lbs. Fastest time in the em1 was 11.89. Fastest time in the ek hatch was 11.21.

Re: Best drag chassis?
 

It's super lame that we have to do that instead of there being a product on the market for a solid compliance bushing for the EK. I was thinking about designing one, but I have so much other shit going on in my life at this point. Hard to find time.