racewagon

Hello HT track ******!

New to the Honda tunning scene.

My History;
Had a stock 91 CRX that I drove the hell out of in the Santa Monica Mountains. Then modified the wifes 97 SOHC 4dr Neon into a track car with cheap ebay items. Now drive a highly modified Neon SRT4 that sees the track monthly for HPDE instructing.

Wanted to go racing. Looked at Miata, 944, HC. Decided on HC since I drive a FWD. Looked around for a while and came across a deal on an H2 car. I liked the idea that there wasn't too many people in H2 and couldn't pass up a deal on a car some of you already know. It's a '94 Accord Wagon that has 2700 miles on it. Never been a street legal car.

Car History;
I picked it up minus a few things that would be nice to have, but not necessary.

1. Not much camber-
   
   Owner said he ran -4front /-3rear camber but there is no way of adjusting it any more. I have been looking at sites, forums, and posts for weeks now and can't decide on what to do for camber on a 94 Accord. Any help getting close to those settings with reliable components?
   .
2. Stock H22 ecu-
   
   He had a custom chip ecu for the car, but it got misplaced. Not something I'm worried about now but would like to squeeze a little more out of it later with out giving up it's reliability.
   .
3. One set of 16x7 rims with 45mm offset and a spacer in front to clear NSX front brakes-
   
   Looks like the rule of thumb is to go small on the rim diameter and wide as possible for a 7" wide rim. Looking at going to 17s to get a shorter sidewall or 15s to go silly wide. Don't know if 15s will clear the NSX caliper. Don't know jack about Toyo's. It looks like most HCs are running a 225. The size that is on the car is a 225/50/16 and I'm looking at going 225/45/17 and possibly 245 front 225 rear. Think they will clear with more camber and a 38-35mm offset. The rear bumper is the only place that rally kills the options which I will take a BFH to if need be.

Any help I can get would be greatly appreciated. Trying to get the car ready for Cal Speedway at the end of March.

nsxtasy

The NSX came with two different front calipers, one for '91-96 and the other for '97-05. The '91-93 NSX came with 15" front wheels, so it's possible for that 15" wheel to clear, assuming you're using the stock '91-96 NSX rotors; whether any specific 15" wheel will clear is a function of a bunch of other factors like spoke design, etc. The '97-05 NSX came with 16" ('97-01) and 17" ('02-05) front wheels, and the stock '91-93 15" front wheels do NOT clear on the later car, although (a) I suspect that the main reason that 15" wheels don't clear on a '97-05 NSX is because they also increased the rotor diameter from 282 mm to 298 mm, so it may have nothing to do with the caliper itself, and (b) again, it's possible that perhaps some other 15" wheel might clear.

If you're not sure which year NSX your calipers came from, you can measure the piston diameters; both versions have 40 mm larger pistons, but the earlier ones had 34 mm smaller pistons, and the later ones had 36 mm. However, if you're using front rotors other than stock NSX rotors or wheels other than stock NSX wheels, you're probably just going to have to try it and see.

Toyo makes a lot of different tires. The ones of most interest to track junkies are their two R compound track tires, the older RA-1 and the newer R888. The performance of both is very good, and they are a particularly good value compared with other track tires, with a low purchase price as well as reasonably long life compared with some other track tires. AFAIK the only other R compound track tire whose price is anywhere near as low as these is the Nitto NT01 (which is not surprising when you realize that Nitto and Toyo are part of the same company, and some say the NT01 has the same compound and design as the R888 although the tread pattern is different).

Toyo RA-1:

The RA-1 has been around longer and, with full tread, does fairly well in the rain, better than other track tires. The factory tread depth is 8/32" and has diagonal as well as circumferential tread grooves; when they wear down to 4/32" of tread depth, only the circumferential grooves remain. You can shave them for maximum performance when new; that reduces their capability in rain.

Toyo R888:

The R888 has bigger tread blocks and fewer grooves, and has 6/32" of tread depth when new. Most folks say the R888 is stickier than the RA-1, but there are a few dissenters and that may also be a function of the shallower tread depth when new. These offer very good track performance (although those who are in competition and absolutely must have the fastest tires are more likely to be running the Hoosier R6/A6).

Toyo R1R:

Toyo also makes a supersticky street-track tire called the R1R, which is a good choice for folks who need to use the same tire on the street as they do on the track or at autocross. It just came out recently and is very good, maybe not quite as good as the class leaders from Dunlop (Star Spec) and Bridgestone (transitioning from the RE01R to the RE11) but still decent. They're priced more than the Star Spec and Kumho XS but less than the 'stones.

Where to buy
I've found the best mail-order prices on Toyo tires at TireDeals4Less.com (but if someone knows of an even cheaper place, I'm all ears!). Here are places that carry their track tires:

U.S. CA AIM Tires http://www.aimtire.com
U.S. CA Les Schwab http://www.lesschwab.com
U.S. CA OnLineTires.com http://www.onlinetires.com
U.S. DE Sports Car Tire http://www.sportscartire.com
U.S. FL Edge Racing http://www.edgeracing.com
U.S. IL Frisby Performance Tire http://www.frisbyracetire.com
U.S. IL TireDeals4Less.com http://www.TD4L.com
U.S. IL Vilven Tire http://www.vilventires.com
U.S. MD Radial Tire http://www.radialtire.com
U.S. NY Phil's Tire Service http://www.philstireservice.com
U.S. PA CJ's Tires http://www.cjtire.com
U.S. PA The Tire Shoppe http://www.thetireshoppe.com
U.S. SC Bob Woodman Tires http://www.bobwoodmantires.com
U.S. TN Appalachian Race Tire http://www.racetire.com
Canada BC 1010tires.com http://www.1010tires.com
Canada BC TireTrends.com http://www.tiretrends.com
Canada QC Talon http://www.talontire.com

racewagon

Thanks for in-depth info nsxtasy!

I will pull a front wheel off and check some part numbers off the caliper and rotor.

I have to run the R888. Started a spread sheet for R888s full tread and shaved prices. Only have a third of the places you've supplied. I will check the rest of them as well. So far Toyosonly is the cheapest.

Bryan Shackelford

Toyo's Only

Authorized Motorsports Dealer

Trackside service available

(602) 252-3301 Shop

(602) 252-3319 Fax

toyosonly@yahoo. com

nsxtasy

No website where you can look up prices, huh? (I hate that... ) Oh well, cheaper prices are always a good thing!

Please let us know what ends up to be the cheapest, and for what sizes.

JW racing

I dont know much about setting up the accord,however Jeff at Special Projects may have some of Tom Leppers old accord set-up sheets.

Stinkycheezmonky

-4* front camber is "not much?" I'd be surprised if you needed THAT much, let alone more. Unfortunately, I don't know what camber-adjustable arms are available for the Accord. I know an Accord HC/PT racer, I'll point him this way.

For ECU stuff, Hondata/Crome/EMS/etc is your best bet. It'll be a bit more money than a chipped ECU, but the results (in the hand of a decent tuner) will be much better as well. Find a good local tuner and ask them what they prefer. Local HC guys will be able to point you in the right direction.

PM'd you also.

smokin rubber

Another accord racer, good stuff. That camber should be more than enough, but adjustment is always a good thing. I run a p28 tuned with chrome or neptune, you can use others but I have had good luck with these. I am stilll running 15x7 with 225-45-15 but that may change once the h22 goes in.

hit me up with any other questions you have and good luck.

racewagon

I will, but I have been looking at 225/45/17.
I would love to get a hold of Jeff but he is a very busy man. They don't have a contact link on the page either
Thanks for all the suggestions! As soon as I get done here I'm going to follow up on those.
You sir have a PM!

slammed_93_hatch

Hardrace, skunk2, or omnipower might have the adjustable upper arms. If not SPC has ball joints.
www.hondata.com

If you want a P28 to chip, i have one PM me.


I would stick with the 16" wheels the R888 comes in some very nice sizes for 16"wheels.

racewagon

I've looked at all those and it's appearing the SPC joint is the way I have to go so far.

I will!
I have one set of 16x7 ET45 that I will probably use.

I just bought some 17s from a guy on Ventura craigslist that used to work for American Racing.
He let me take one of each rim home to see if they would fit. Only 1 set did.
The other must be 4x100. The ones that fit are 16lbs billet and the other are just under that.
The front one is the 4x114.3

The others are 4x100 I think and he is selling them for $100ea.
New billet 17x7 ET42 just under 16lbs!
Left one he has 2, right one has 5.



Let me know if anyone is interested I'll give you his #.