I just joined the SCCA and am looking forward to running auto-x and maybe some track days. I don't know much about racing, and all input would be greatly appreciated.

I have an '08 FG2. Right now, it is bone stock (save for a K&N drop-in). I just want everyone's opinion on how the setup will work. This is my daily driver, and I won't be changing tires/brakes or any parts that I don't normally use on a daily basis, for race days. All input is welcome, because like I said, I don't know much about racing. If you think parts won't work together, or you have heard negative things about a product, let me know. I want the car to be civil, as far as sound, but I don't mind a rough ride.

2008 Honda Civic Si coupe

<U>Power Mods</U>:
Injen SRI
Vibrant Cat-back Exhaust
Magnaflow High-flow Cat

<U>Suspension Mods</U>:
Eibach Anti-roll kit (front and rear)
Megan Racing H-brace
Megan Racing Rear Lower Tie Bar
Strut bar?
HFP Suspension Kit
Rotora Slotted Rotor (front and rear)
SS Brake Lines all-around
EBC Yellow Stuff brake pads

In a couple of weeks, I am planning on swapping my all-season tires for BFG KDW's. I don't know if these are a good street/track tire. But like I said, I am not swapping anything for track day. I'll probably take out the spare, and will definitely raise tire pressure, but other than that, it will stay the same between track/street. I want to know if all the suspension pieces will work together, or if one will cancel out the other. E.I.-would the h-brace cancel out a sway bar in the front? Will I need a camber kit with the HFP kit?

I am just looking for a car that will perform nice in the twisties and be civil during daily driving, but also performs well at the track on the weekends. I will be competing in the Solo auto-x in the stock class, I think.

Good things to say? Bad things to say? Prefer a brand over one I picked? Something I missed? Speak up. All input is welcome and I appreciate patience. Thank you to anyone who helps.


Modified by 2008fijibluesi at 9:52 AM 3/6/2008

 

With the setup that you want to run you will be in the STX class for SCCA auto-x.

I'm not sure if the H brace is legal though. It doesn't sound like it is.

You could also do a lot better than the HFP suspension. Your car will be fun and nice to drive on the road but it probably won't be competetive. To some people that matters, to others it doesn't. I say jsut have fun and learn to drive the car the way it is.

The tires are a good choice but very expensive and they aren't competetive with the Bridgestone RE-01R, Falken Azenis and the new entries from Toyo and Dunlop.

Good luck and welcome to the world of auto-x!

 

you might want to check on the allowed modifications to your suspension and intake and cat for the stock classes....

how much experience with auto-x do you have?

you are going to hear this 8 million times. i would spend the season with the car unmodified to learn it. i mean unless you have a good amount of experience auto-xing, and even then, its best to learn the car before modding.

i know the st classes are super competitive were i am and even though i would play with crap tires, i would still do better in h-stock.

 

If you are mainly thinking autox then I highly recommend you leave the car bone stock for the first year. In stock class you will be in GS competing against Cooper S. Those mods you have listed will put you in STX where you will compete against Non-M BMWs, WRXs, VWR32, Mini Cooper S and Acura Integra Type R. Better off staying in GS.

Autocrossing is all about driver skill. Not too much about car setup when you are starting out. If you put a lot of go fast pieces on the car it might be faster but you will be in a tougher class. More importantly you will be focused on adjustinng the car and you will change things constantly. Therefore you will be unable to learn the car because its performance will be changing.

Trust me, I have been doing this for 11 years and my '06 Civic Si will be bone stock except for tires.

If you still are thinking about mods here's what i think about your list:
Injen be junk.

The cat-back exhaust will not produce more power than stock. Honda has really optimized it. Look to save weight by going titanium $$$

No opinion on the high-flow cat - is that legal in STX?

The HPF suspension kit and the Eibach roll bars are over priced and not nearly stiff enough. Look at Ground Control Coilover kits and Koni Yellows.

By and large with a stiff modern unibody strut braces and tie bars just add weight.

All the brake stuff is a waste for autocross. EBC is crap and will be destroyed quickly on the track. I like Porterfield R4S as a good pad for ax and light track days. But by and large for track days pads and rotors are comsumables. Expect to go through a set of front brake pads for ever 2 track days and rotors every four. Always bring spare rotors and pads to the track so you can stop on your way home.

 

The 2 posts above me said it very well. Read them a few times.

Learn to drive the car before you plan to mod it.

Also read the rulebook and pick a class you can afford to compete in before you mod the car. Some minor mods will do nothing to make you faster, but will force you into the deep end of the competition pool.

Rulebook can be downloaded here:
http://www.scca.org/contentpage.aspx?content=61

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 00R101 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">No opinion on the high-flow cat - is that legal in STX?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes...it is legal...but it's not necessary. I wouldn't do it unless the stock one took a crap.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 00R101 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you are mainly thinking autox then I highly recommend you leave the car bone stock for the first year. In stock class you will be in GS competing against Cooper S. Those mods you have listed will put you in STX where you will compete against Non-M BMWs, WRXs, VWR32, Mini Cooper S and Acura Integra Type R. Better off staying in GS.
</TD></TR></TABLE>i thought the cooper s and itr were in ds?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thisisntjared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i thought the cooper s and itr were in ds?</TD></TR></TABLE>

ITR= DS

Cooper S= GS

There was a proposal last year to move the Minis to DS since they were running DS times, but it was not adopted.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thisisntjared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i thought the cooper s and itr were in ds?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, all of the cars he mentioned are in D Stock except for the Mini S. The Civic SI is in G Stock, but none of the mods the OP talked about are legal for stock except for the K&N drop in filter and the tires.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bender &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

ITR= DS

Cooper S= GS

There was a proposal last year to move the Minis to DS since they were running DS times, but it was not adopted.

</TD></TR></TABLE>ah ok. i had to re-read his post to see what he was staying about the cars and bumping order.

on a tangent. does anybody have a link to any info as to why the mini s wasnt bumped to ds? i heard the same rumor and (blindly) took it for truth.

 

Andy Hollis, who is on the rules committee, posted an explantion on page 17 of this thread:
http://sccaforums.com/forums/1....aspx

-begin Andy quote-
"I'll take a stab.

And as always, this is my personal view of the matter, and is not official, nor complete. Nor is it an opening to debate the issue with the rulesmakers. Just some rationale because it was asked.

1) This proposal went out early in the year, right at the deadline for next-year actions, based on early event results where it appeared that the new car was possibly a LOT faster than the old. You can thank your eventual National Champ for some of that. Because of the deadline, the proposal had to go out just to put it on the table. In the end, it was deemed that this early hysteria was premature. Later data proved that it was very much a course and surface dependency and that any improvement was relatively small.

The above was probably 80% of the decision.

2) There was some concern of what GS would backfill with, and how long it would take. Certainly the Spec-V was a bit of a concern as there isn't exactly a huge installed based of these within our membership and they are no longer being made. Would the Civic Si do the job? VW? This was not a dealbreaker, but was a concern.

3) DS is a problem-child right now. It needs to get faster to fit into the scheme of things. And it needs more participation. ITRs are not going to keep it afloat. On concrete, the diff-less BMW's could compete but not on asphalt. So we lost many of those folks. And the ITRs keep disappearing both from being old and from being stolen. Expect some new cars to get classed in DS over the next couple of years that will make it faster than it is now. If the Mini was already there, the Mini would get stomped by these new dogs. So consider this prepping the field for some new entries.

That's how I remember it. I'm sure there's more, though.

--Andy"

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Type_RS_59 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yes, all of the cars he mentioned are in D Stock except for the Mini S. The Civic SI is in G Stock, but none of the mods the OP talked about are legal for stock except for the K&N drop in filter and the tires.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Re-read the rulebook then. Not all of them are legal, but I know I read the brake section a couple times. And you are allowed to upgrade rotors, as long as they are the same size, and you can use whatever pads you want. The ss lines are legal too...but all the other things, I'm not too sure on.

I have some experience with auto-x (probably about 12 events), in my friend's '06 STi. He raced on the track, and last year he'd let me use his car in auto-x.

Also, guys no offense, but my OP was about my plans. To everyone who gave their input on that, thank you, but I really don't care what class the Mini Cooper is in. If your post isn't going to help me, kindly don't post in this thread.

 

Off the top of my head, the cat back is also legal in GS, but it would be low on my list of mods since it will prolly be of benefit more for weight savings than a power increase.

No offense taken, as one of the participants in the off-topic tangent. But where the Mini S ends up may be of interest to you if you are running GS. The Minis absolutely dominate GS (took the top 9 places at nationals last year), and they apparently aren't going to move. Might as well know your enemy

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bender &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Off the top of my head, the cat back is also legal in GS, but it would be low on my list of mods since it will prolly be of benefit more for weight savings than a power increase.

No offense taken, as one of the participants in the off-topic tangent. But where the Mini S ends up may be of interest to you if you are running GS. The Minis absolutely dominate GS (took the top 9 places at nationals last year), and they apparently aren't going to move. Might as well know your enemy </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah they definitely have an awesome platform.

 

Right now, just focus on getting out there with your car as-is.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by granracing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Right now, just focus on getting out there with your car as-is. </TD></TR></TABLE>i agree.

OP: i forgot to ask earlier, do you have a helmet yet? or are you still using loaners?

as i have recently learned, having your own helmet is a really nice luxury.

if you feel you have to spend, i would just get a nice set of konis, or a spare set of sticky wheels with tires if you feel like changing them when you get there

 

Leave it stock

 

I used to borrow my brother's helmet, but I just ordered this one a couple days ago.

http://www.helmetcity.com/page...pfsa1

Can't wait until it gets here, to see if a large will actually fit my melon head. According to their sizing guide, it will.

 

You have 12 events, I do around that many a month. After you get a few hundred events under your belt you'll get a good idea of whether this is for fun or competition. That will in the end discern where you spend your money.

 

nice! i cant believe you were ok with buying a helmet without trying it on. hopefully you are ok with just basing the size off your brothers.

did you buy anything that you havent put on the car yet?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thisisntjared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i thought the cooper s and itr were in ds?</TD></TR></TABLE>

If you read what I wrote I was saying why he was better off in GS than STX because STX has Mini S, ITR, WRX and Bimmers as opposed to GS where he only has to worry about the Min S.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 00R101 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you read what I wrote I was saying why he was better off in GS than STX because STX has Mini S, ITR, WRX and Bimmers as opposed to GS where he only has to worry about the Min S.</TD></TR></TABLE>if you read what i wrote later i acknowledged that <TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thisisntjared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ah ok. i had to re-read his post to see what he was staying about the cars and bumping order.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thisisntjared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nice! i cant believe you were ok with buying a helmet without trying it on. hopefully you are ok with just basing the size off your brothers.

did you buy anything that you havent put on the car yet?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I didn't base it off my brother's. I went to a motorcycle place that sells helmets, and tried on a bunch, and the overwhelming average, was that my head needed a size large helmet. Then I went on the internet and searched for helmets. On the website, where I bought mine, they had a sizing guide. I went by my hat size (7 1/2) and that said I needed a large.

Only thing I actually purchased on my list in the Injen SRI (being shipped now). That's why I made the list. So I could see if it would be worth it to buy most of the stuff. I am definitely buying the Vibrant exhaust, so that will be on my car shortly too.

 

i woulda opted for tires... before the intake...

the intake just threw u in stx... where your gonna need tires, suspension and the most important SKILLS

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vietnameeh &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i woulda opted for tires... before the intake...

the intake just threw u in stx... where your gonna need tires, suspension and the most important SKILLS</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's why I might send it back. I bought it like 2 weeks before I made my list, and the thing was on back order or something, but it is on the way now. I am all ready to get the tires, but I am waiting until it gets warmer. The high performance tires are not gonna do well in snow, in the event that mother nature throws us another surprise.