Hey guys,
When looking through the Honda challenge rules for H5 I noticed that the CRX Dx is listed there. This is the point that the gears in my head start turning. While I know I should be studying for my psychology final tomorrow I can’t stop thinking about this.

My friend has my old CRX Dx and just recently put new front and rear brakes on it, right before the head gasket blew. The car is pretty solid and bone stock. I also have about 500 dollars worth or random Honda parts hanging around in my garage that I can sell as well as the 150 dollars worth of interior pieces I could sell from that car.

That money would go towards the following things:
New brake pads: 100
New shocks (Tokico blues): 100
Springs (400-ish rates?): 50
Rebuilding parts:
- Axles
- Distributor
Inspecting and maybe replacing the clutch with another stock one: 60
New Engine mount bushings: 20
T belt and Water pump: 100

The engine would need to have the head gasket replaced, which I have an extra one waiting and I would then replace the T belt and water pump and tension. So figure in another 100 there.

To me all I can think of is about 350 dollars of stuff and that would be a good car to start with for HPDE getting certified. If I did take it so far that I got licensed I know that I would have to install a cage (the only thing I’m not willing to skimp on) and buy some harnesses which in total would be around 600.

I know that this wouldn’t be the fastest car out there but it would be a lot of fun and it’s getting to the point where all I think about and talk about and read about is racing so I’m going to have to start soon or it’s likely I will ******* implode.

So there aren’t really any questions in here but I would really love your input on the topic, the only reason I am even considering this is because I can get the car itself for free and I have so many parts I can sell. I have really learned a lot from this forum and it’s definitely the least contaminated, least spammed one here, as well as the most informative. Thank you for all your help guys, I’m really interested to know what you think.

Matt Reese

P.S. It's a lot easier to make a coherant thread when it's typed in word first lol

 

Since I'm awake late and kinda bored too...

Some simple thoughts-

1) Are you ready to race? I personally think it is difficult to be clear on what you want to race/invest in if you were still a fairly new to HPDE (assumption). And, as anyone else will say, and I am sure that you already know, racing aint cheap. Actually, I bet you alot of us racing here on HT got romanced into building a racecar becuase of the opportunity to get a cheap chassis. So we thought "The chassis is cheap, so I'll turn it into a racecar for cheap!" only to find out it still cost a grip. Can I get an 'Amen' HT? I know I'm not the only one...

2) Assuming you are ready to race- A good question to ask is, "what do I expect out of racing?" For example- I would not build a H5 car here for So Cal, because there isn't anyone to race in H5. There really is only H4 and H1. We made a decision to build and race H4 this year because we knew that H4 would have the most competition, and the closest (?) racing... so far we were right. Point is, we made a concious decision in the beginning of the year that we wanted really tight competition and went to H4, even though we had a completed and fully built H1 car already. I knew that H1 would be a little small this year (unfortunately). So, what are your goals?

Hope this helps? :goes to sleep. for real this time:

 

Hey man, I really appreciate your input and I know how many threads I have seen saying I started building for cheap and then the cost just tripled out of no where!!! In reality what I want to do is race, and I'm not all the concerned with the competition at this point. I think this would be a good car for me to learn in however if in the future I decided to start racing more and in a competitive series, this same car can run at 1900 lbs. in H4, not that I think it would be competitive but the option is there, and hey whats wrong with not having anyone else in your class, just less people to beat

Normally I get ideas like this and then then a few hours later, after i have thought about it enough i stop thinking about it but it hasnt happened for this though. One thing I TOTALLY forgot about was tires, I can get some CRX Si wheels for free but then tires are another matter, i don't know what I would run but i am thinking I would just pull the nice tires off of my street car for these events, since I wouldn't be driving it for the race weekends.

One other thing to consider is that my friend is going to go in with me on the cost of the car so that I will only be paying half.

I have read every single race car cost thread, and HPDE thread i can find and the more i see the more i want to race. the minimum weight for H5 with this car is 2000 so I would shoot for that as my initial weight which doesnt sound to hard considering it says the stock weight is 2103 lol.

Ok lots of random thoughts not very well organized. Side note tire: Kumho intermediates? cheap and effective? maybe azenis but 70 a tire makes jesus cry, im really cheap

 

Oh another thing!! the tub rule would allow me to put a D16A6 in this chasis, although it would still be easier to use an Si, but maybe at that point i could murder my street car and transfer some stuff from the DX over to my Si

 

If you plan on learning on this car, what are you going to do with it once you're ready for something else?

Converting it to an Si is going to require more money than I'd bet you're willing to part with. Not to mention that you will have to scrounge for parts that might not be readily available.

If you are not going to convert it, but sell it, what is the market for an uncompetitive car? I bet you can answer that one without my help, but... not very good. You will lose your shirt, assuming you can sell it at all. Then you have no money to go buy a new racecar.

Figure out what class you want to run in according to your budget and desire for competition and then cherry pick a front running car that's already completed for a lot less than you can build.

 

Ok so now I am thinking a bit more clearly and I think its a better idea to just take my current street car to the HPDE's because that wont cost me anything other than new pads and tires which i need to do anyway, i appreciate you guys listening to my ravings though lol

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by madhatter07 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok so now I am thinking a bit more clearly and I think its a better idea to just take my current street car to the HPDE's because that wont cost me anything other than new pads and tires which i need to do anyway, i appreciate you guys listening to my ravings though lol</TD></TR></TABLE>

I know you've already made the decision, so this may seem kind of uneccessary, but I thought I'd just offer a little reinforcement/encouragement to stick with your decision. I know that if you're like me, before long thoughts of racing will creep back in. I think you'll be better off in HPDE for now. If you're willing to race in a class with no competitors, it'd be better to just stick with HPDE and not have to shell out the huge $$ that comes with supporting an actual race effort.

Here's a list of the things you will HAVE to have to race, but not HPDE (just food for thought from a voice of experience):

SA2000 helmet - $300 and up
Fire suit - $300 and up
Driving shoes and gloves - $150 and up
Fire extinguisher - $50 and up
Cage - $1000 and up
RA-1's (if you want to run HC) - $500 and up every 6 months or so
Racing seat - $300 and up
Harness - $150 and up

You can see from that list how a cheap/free car will still cost a grip to run in race group. If all you really want to do is drive on track and hone your skills, stick with HPDE. In a lot of ways I wish my pride and competitive nature hadn't convinced me to race. I'd still have my phat 350Z that would run laps around my racecar instead of driving my tow rig to work. On the other hand, W2W racing is pretty ******* cool.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FlyZlow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know you've already made the decision, so this may seem kind of uneccessary, but I thought I'd just offer a little reinforcement/encouragement to stick with your decision.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I really appreciate it man, who knows where I will end up but i think HPDE's are a good place to start for me. Thanks though, I can always use the reinforcement

 

I guess if I started new, I would just HPDE an HPDE car, and start thinking about a RACE car wayyy later. The gap between HPDE and RACING is big. Trying to decide on a rececar/season before you have had enough time in HPDE is like planning your wedding in Kindergarten.

Hit the track with something you will have fun in and works with your everyday situation -AND- at every track day, interact with other racers who I am sure will share advice, and your vision for what you want will become clearer and clearer.

-Dennis "who laughs at himself when he remembers that he thought HPDEs were expensive..." Caco

 

I figure I can't go wrong in a CRX at HPDE's, seems to be a pretty popular choice haha

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by D.CACO &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">-Dennis "who laughs at himself when he remembers that he thought HPDEs were expensive..." Caco </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm still there