I'm really looking into racing. I would like to race at Mid-Ohio the most, because I live in Ohio. I read Dave's book Go Head Take the Wheel and loved it. I plain on trying some hpde's next year. I have a smashed 89 civic dx and a 90 civic dx. I have $400 in both. I thought about building the 90 really cheap and I know I could use it for hpde. However, I don't want to put money into a car that isn't good for SCCA, NASA, or the Honda Challenge. That's is which ever I try to race in. I know the dx isn't the best. I would love to have a si but then I would have to but more money into find a car. Plus, si are getting hard to find stock. So my question is what is good cheap way to use the car I have, or should I just look for a si? Please let me know what you think.

 

If you put money into the dx, make sure you're upgrading things that can be swapped over to an Si (e.g. suspension, rear disc, safety stuff). Another option is to convert the car to an Si via the Honda Challenge body swap rules.

One thing you'll find out quickly in this hobby is that "cheap" means different things to different people. Most of us would think of $5-7k as "cheap" for a decent track car and $7-10k as "cheap" for a turn-key racer in H4. The truth is to build the car to competition levels from scratch to where it will be anywhere near competitive will require more than those amounts. The best deals are used cars IMO. If you just want to build a fun car for DEs, it can be done much less expensively. If you have limited funds, spend them on good safety and reliability items first. Worry about performance later. You'll find out quickly that it's not easy to get 100% out of even a slow car.

- Scott

 

Racing is a blast, even though I only did it for a year. Definitely look into it but know the following:

You mention "cheap" and "racing" in the same sentence... can't work. There are some great racers on this board who are thrifty (I believe Chad, Zephyr, etc are a few of them), however, I bet they still spend thousands a year.

Do a search on here and it may be in the FAQ at the top but before you take the jump into racing, know this:

Initial car cost: $3K and up to buy; probably $7K and up to build
Tow vehicle and trailer: $7K and up (for some this is optional, many have street "legal" race cars, in fact the ECHC H5 - Zephyr champ drove his car to tracks).
Race weekend: $1K (typically)
Add another 10-15% a year for maintenance, damage, etc.

 

Thanks for the info. Maybe I should have said a lower budget or something other than cheap. But I understand that things do cost money. I have a lot of d series stuff that I can swap and that's what I think will keep my cost down. Like, my other question is that with the Honda Challenge swap rules they say you need to keep stock intake and throttle body. I have a y8 and z6 intake and throttle body with injectors and wiring. Does anyone know if I can just bolt that to my d15 and if it would be legal and worth while? Or do I need to swap in a d16a or something to use the intakes?

FlyZlow, I agree with you on swapping si parts. Do crx's have the rear disc or should I look for integra rear brakes. Last I know the 90 si civic were rear drum. And do they make any good drum brake parts?

Thanks again.
Bob

 

Okay, I was been stupid there for a minute. I re-read the rules for Honda Challenge and if I build my dx up to be a si, I should be able to race under H4? I don't just want to have to race H1 because I'm using a different intake or something stupid that would be a hybrid. My goal is to be able just to run mid-pack if I decide to try. I think I can save money and time if I just build a car to do the hpde that is up to code. However, I will definitely spend my money on safety stuff first and brakes.

Just thinking out loud, my idea was to swap intakes and do exhaust to get more air in and out of the engine. Then I have a 93 si trany I can but lsd in. That would make the car run a little better. Plus, it would run better on the track. But maybe I just need to get out there and have fun.

 

I am assuming you don't have lots of HPDE experience, so just get out there and do HPDE's for a year or two. Get to a point where you are a signed off Level 3 HPDE'er and then think more about racing.

Just take things in steps.... can't run before you walk.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by davidnyc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am assuming you don't have lots of HPDE experience, so just get out there and do HPDE's for a year or two. Get to a point where you are a signed off Level 3 HPDE'er and then think more about racing.

Just take things in steps.... can't run before you walk.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree. Do whatever the minimum it would take to get the DX safe and reliable for HPDEs and nothing more. Spend every penny you would have spent on a part to make the car "better" on track days and you'll be better off. Once you're ready to take the leap you may be better off finding a good deal on built a HC car and still be able to sell your DX as a street car.

BTW I'm reading Dave's book right now as well. While I've been participating in HPDEs for a few yeras now and have done a ton of research into racing, it's still really a good resource. Once I get a little more time and money to devote I will be applying some of the tactics that Dave talks about in his book.