MyOwnMechanic

I have a 2000 Civic EX. Original motor with 191k, Original clutch. Yes it was babied its whole life, bought from original owner 2k miles ago.

Since I've owned it, done strictly cosmetic stuff. Typical ctr style headlights, upper grill, lower lip, 6k HID, tint, 17s with sticky tires. I bought this one because I've been looking for a white 2000 shell for a LONG time, and this one was super clean.

I want to get into tracking it next spring. I'm interested in putting together a setup that I will have fun on the track but not drop thousands and thousands into experimenting with tons of diff parts.

What is a smart, proven place to start on a budget with a blank slate? Brakes, suspension components, etc. Since this stock motor has 191k I'll probably leave it alone and the tranny til it goes pop. Plus I'm assuming a swap would put me into a higher class that I'm not going to be ready for right away. Therefore I want to get some part/setup recommendations of what's a good order to go in to get my car track ready. My budget starting out is about $1500. Anything above and beyond that I'll be getting as money comes in. Luckily I'll have all winter.

MyOwnMechanic

And I scored the 17s brand new with rubber for $700. I'll probably sell them and get lighter 16s before track days start up.

98civdx

A good set of coilovers, and a rear sway are in order here. If you like the 17's, great, but personaly loose them in favor of a 15/16'' wheel and a good sticky set of tires. Yoko s drives are a good tire!!


This what I would do, just my opinon here! I would first get a good set of coilovers, and loose the wheels. then, do a couple events with the car and see how she does.

One thing you will notice, oversteer is important in Autox. I, and many others will tell you to get a 22mm rear sway bar. (this will require you use a subframe brace)

Coilovers I reccomend looking at. Progress, Koni/gc(tokico illumnia and GC is also great.)


For the brakes, luckly you don't need much. A good set of pads/rotors and break fuild is all you need.

By far the most important thing is seat time, seat time, and more seat time!! Hell, run a few events with the car just where it sits. She it what it does, and see what you want it to do!

purgat0ry

iTrader: (3)

Koni / GC for a great start, AMR for the gusto if you have 1600 to spend on coilovers.

jbpnoman

There's one REALLY important factor you completely skipped over, and probably haven't thought about at all. What class do you plan on driving in, and which circuit? $1500 will barely get your car track-ready in a strict factory class that a stock EX would get chewed up and spat out in.

ThatSlowEvo

Any good driving coach or seasoned racer will tell you the best thing you can do is get track time in, coaching and experience is key to being fast. When you do modify, start with brake and suspension upgrades first. I'm not a Honda guru but I've been in the Evo world for a while now and from my experiences, I don't recommend going right to a coilover setup. Personally you need to get corner caractaristics of your car currently down, you have to know where the weak spots are and the best way is to take it to an autox and have a friend take tons of pictures while your entering, apex and exiting the corners to show you what the tires/body are doing, then make changes accordingly. Cheap coilovers will do nothing but further harm your handling. If you don't want to put $2k into coilovers, I recommend finding a good shock/strut/spring combo. Currently I run Bilstein HD shocks and Swift Spec-R springs, in the Evo world this is a fantastic setup. Depending on how serious you are, I'd start with...

Big brake setup-such as Brembo, Wilwood, GReddy, Stop Tech and NO drilled rotors, quality solids are usually best for harsh track abuse

Suspension-a quality shock/spring setup that's valved right with correct spring rates
Front sway bar
A GOOD allignment
T/A tires such as BF GForce's or Hankook Venus (personal favorites)
Rear sway bars USUALLY tend to make cars tripod without a really stiff front bar but every car is different.

Then move onto power upgrades.

Gotta pay to play, if you don't have this kind of money to put into it, nothing beats seat time on the track. Practice does make perfect Obviously you don't build a track car over night, get a FULL complete list together then over time knock stuff out. That's what I did anyway. $1500 is a good start, don't get coilovers IMO.

MyOwnMechanic

Bump. Thanks for the replies so far everyone.

Yeah I'm planning on stock class. I'm going to investigate road track racing as well. I'm just excited to get some seat time in.

MyOwnMechanic

what kind of hawk pads do you recommend? Im looking at the HP+ or performance street...is this a good route? Something still usable for a daily driver that won't destroy brembo blanks quickly.

Also brembo makes rear drums. What performance pads are made for still using the rear drum setup? I didnt see a hawk option. I'll probably keep the drums for a bit with a setup like this til i get some seat time in, then I might consider a rear disc conversion.

98civdx

Hawk pads are a great choice. A few of my buddy's run the HP and HP+.. The only negative i've heard is they do create quite a bit of dust, and arent the quitest pads when cold.

For the drums, I honestly have no idea. I've never touched them. lol
A good OEM replacement would probually do just fine.

FlewByU352

-Koni/GC $800, search for used since you're on a budget.

-Add a rear swaybar 13mm or 14mm will do wonders for less than $100 with new hardware.

-I'd also try to find rear disc brakes and they really help with the dive you will get keeping drums, figure $100.

-Brake pads and good fluid is a biggie! Get something aggressive with great initial bite for the front and rear $175.

Buy 15" wheels for the lighter weight and better tire choice. Again find something used, sell your 17's, buy fresh rubber and you should just meet the $1500 budget.

MyOwnMechanic

Very informative, thank you. Yeah the Hawk HP+ on Brembo blanks looks to be the route im going. For the rear disc conversion, without me having looked too much into it yet, what's the easiest route to do this? Guessing off a civic si? What's install like? Again I plan on researching more into this because if I can really pull it off for $100 then that'd be alot smarter than buying brembo drums and oem pads....

98civdx

You could use everything from a 99-00 SI. You can use the disk convo, and soft brake lines from an Integra, but you'd want to get the 99-00 E brake cables.


THe average cost for rear disk is $200-250.

ThatSlowEvo

http://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/part...4_Piston/11220

Vented rotors

jbpnoman

No. No. No.

That brake system is A) too much brakes for an amateur, entry-level track driver, B) requires other supporting mods (namely a larger MC and upgraded lines) C) an upgrade like that will bump the OP into a class that would require a number of other mods to be competitive in, and D) by itself destroys the OP's budget of $1500. Retail on that system is $2500.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

I agree and disagree with alot of this post. I would go with coilovers. with an AutoX set up, you want to be corner balanced which you cant do with springs and shocks. Any real racer knows this. Some decent branded coils w/ warranty will run 700-850. If your going to learn how to drive on a track, wouldnt you want your cars suspension to be tuned? I would want to learn when the suspension is set up for the course.

I agree with the tires and sway bars.



Hawk makes pads for street with bite for track runs here and there.

OEM replacement rotors will be fine for starting up. Once you get experienced, then you will be getting faster and then can upgrade to better rotors.

sway bar sizing fixed
Drum brakes are lighter then discs and brake just as effectively on these light cars

^^
You have alot of research to do. stick with solid rotors!




Somewhere up theres some guy said Yoko S-drives..
These tires are fine for around the street. But all season tires do not belong on a track.


Coilovers - 750ish
corner balance - 200ish ask if they align afterwards and get it done
18mm sway - 100
adjustable sway endlinks for front and rear -100
OEM rotors and Hawk pads -120ish
fresh brake fluid - 20
Wheels and tires vary, so do your best.
Ventus and Azenis are popular track tires.

98civdx

lol no.

Stay with solid rotors.

I said yoko's. I know a few that auto x'd with them with good things to say. Of course there are much better tires for this.

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

Aren't you guys worried about the 191k mile clutch? I can't imagine that would hold up very long to racing.

HondaHomeboy714

Did you strip out the interior and got rid of the back seat?
You say you're going to stock class racing? what's the rules for that?

ThatSlowEvo

You want to learn on a basic suspension setup, if you go with a cheap $7-$800 coilover, your going to want to upgrade to a real race setup anyway so either way you'll have to learn the car more than once. It makes total sense why I said to not opt for a cheap set of coilovers to start. Your always better off learning on a more simple shock/strut combo. This isn't my first rodeo. As for the brakes and setup for class, I just assumed he was going to be running an SCCA autox. From my personal experience, I would seriously go with the strongest brakes possible, a simple suspension and stock power. That is a good foundation for a beginner. The slower the car and the more tame the suspension, the more you have to push yourself to get better.

I wouldn't say I need research. Brembo slotted rotors are awesome, they can take the heat of my Evo Brembo's lap after hard lap. I did previously say not to get drilled rotors, those crack if driven hard.

doctorake

Determine what you can change based on a stock class, I know for SCCA it used to be tires, shocks, brakes OEM fitment though, and a fwe other minor things. The biggest thing you should look into is tires, and seat time.

MyOwnMechanic

All these replies have given me a lot to think about. Thanks for the info guys, appreciated. The track I'm looking at right now is Ginger Raceway on the West side of michigan. It's a 2 mi road course and it's friendly to new drivers.

MyOwnMechanic

Yeah it's a concern of mine for sure, but I'm not putting that into my initial budget because it's not an immediate need. Not if, but when it goes, I will look into alternative options.

By any luck I can get some track days out of this one and get enough seat time in to make a decision on where I want to go from there with this car.

Part of me says don't get too invested, sell it and go with something with more initial power so more $ can be put into other areas. But at the same time, Honda's are cheap to work on and a swap down the road would definitely make it alot more lively. All things to think about, it's an expensive hobby. For now I am fine just using the light EX as a starting point and going from there.

Side-note, anyone know the rules on removing backseats for stock class? Or better yet, which set of rules should I be looking at if I am planning on road courses..i.e. the Ginger Raceway in Michigan. Is it based on the organizers on the track that day? I'm guessing road racing rules are different than AutoX

FlewByU352

No sway bar sizing is not fixed. 18-19MM will require a quality brace to prevent tear out. Which is more money. Also you adjust roll with spring rates and bias with swaybars after your chosen spring rates for maximum grip. High rates, small bars.

I'd also beg to differ that drum brakes are worth keeping and stop just as good. One they are more of a pain to work on, adjust, and inspect. 2, they limit your pad choice which can also make replacements more expensive.

kwong2001

Drum brakes have more surface area on the pads compared to disk brakes. Problem is they don't allow for adequate cooling and are prone to overheating/brake fade. I know with vintage bikes they'll build ducts to direct air into them and also drill holes for cooling. But overall they just flat out aren't as good as disk brakes.

With disk brakes you can do a lot more for cooling like drilled and/or slotted rotors and run cooling ducts to the rotors. That way as long as the combination is correct the pads will have a much easier time staying within their operating temperature.

I suspect it doesn't really matter if you have disk or drums on the back. Most street cars don't generate enough braking force to heat up the back brakes enough to take them out of their operating temperature. Now the front brakes, those are more critical since that's where the majority of the stopping force comes from.