Just curious if anyone here autox's/roadraces their Del Sol. I've been driving my girl's car lately and I find it to be quite nible, shifting is quick, and cornering is kinda tight. I could only image the improvement with some aftermarket goodies. It's nothing like my Type R was but I could see it tearing up R's with the right setup. Could this be a nice car to track with the right engine and suspension setup?
thanks for any input
-Will

 

get in touch with frank lin, his name on here is "frank@b16a.com", he knows a little about del sol's and tracking them

Brian

 

Wasnt his car in sport compact car a month or two ago? It looked szweeeet...

-Ryan

 

isn't there a guy with a Supercharged del sol that comes to the track?

 

mmm...b16 del sol

jason- who would love to have one

 

Except for the weight... it should be a nice track car.

Will

 

yeah, its teal, with a Jackson Racing unit. Looks like a sharp car

-Ryan

 

Yes, they have a lot of weight, to add structure to the car... unfortunally, they arn't as light as they look..

 

picky, picky

 

... and they still flex like crazy!

Also get with "SoloSol" around here, he has opentracked his Sol at least a couple times that I know of.

Jon

 

http://www.progressauto.com/USTCC/USTCC1.html

 

With racing the Del Sol, be careful of the rear window. I have heard of several people cracking them due to body flex. Just a thought.

 

Good info guys, thanks
sounds like I should stick to the 240 project though, but maybe my girl will get interested in running her car now.

 

crosser if you believe that then del sols must have wings that defy gravity too...

I've heard this several time, and everytime i begin to forget it, i'm reminded of how dense the world can be.

Anyways back to the topic, my sol does have the aftermarket support, however you do get some delayed rebounds from flex, so probably your first mod should be a roll cage(me not having one is the biggest mistake so far.), then some stiff adjustable shocks and spring rates, high front low rear, this is very important as there is no weight in the rear section and a spring rate over 300 ibs almost guarenteed to help you loose control. Tie bars (top and buttom rear )and front stablize banked cornering and allow you to slide keeping the wheels to the ground and due to its small size I would go to extreeme with sway bars. Mine kicks out real easy as it is and as you wear out tires you will realize this even more. If you go real extreme you can strip the weight, i'v gotten mine right at a ton w/ 2 gal gas. This of course is after removing everything except engine, one racing seat, and replacing hood to cf. Really rare light weight wheels, apexi coilovers progress camber kit, energy suspension bushings, Its so light infact I have beyond traction problems with the lightly moded b16a.


[Modified by TheShad0w, 7:10 PM 1/17/2002]

 

For your info Shadow, I have seen windshields crack while autocrossing including CRX's which are much more rigid than the Del Sol.

I am not saying to not race it, I am saying that it would be smart to stiffen the chassis up if you are going to. And no I do not believe everything I here.


[Modified by Crosser, 11:19 AM 1/17/2002]

 

del sol is similar to EG/DC except for the shorter wheel base. the main drawbacks are

- biggest drawback is weight. it is roughly 250 lbs heavier than a similarly stripped civic HB.
- not as aerodynamic (matter a bit above 100 mph)
- flexible chassis even with hardtop in place, but i don't really notice it when tracking, it's only when drive around town.

it's still a very fun ride. and it certainly has no problem keeping up/beating R's. for example it edged out an ITR in the g-force challenge... with the originial b16a my car runs 14.3 @ 98 and handles well. but my car is getting tired... all the track miles is adding up, roof is getting very noisy, motor is burning oil, gas milage getting worse... my delsol just might be the most "hard used" delsol in US.

you can see my car setup here:

http://www.g-speed.com/eg2





[Modified by frank@b16a.com, 1:28 AM 1/18/2002]

 

Frank, your Sol and Dave's (darksol) have to be the 2 most abused Sol's in the US!


KEEP IT UP!