i might be taking the chance of getting flamed for this question but here it goes anyway. I have a GSR and originally i was going to put in a turbo including necessities. Then I was introduced to autoX and now I'm hooked. I'm still young and stupid (hence the altezza's) and I still want to be a FI'ed integra to beat all the other integra's in this area if I happen to pull up to a red light. So now I'm pondering a supercharger; the JRSC I'm considering. Those guys who know who I am......yes I'm gettin some good tires once I find the rims I want. That will be my next mod. and rodney if you read this, i havn't lost the idea of the limited slip. But I would like speed for decent 1/4 mile times and competitive times in autoX. I already have Intake, exhaust, pulleys, springs, struts, and strut bars, not sure what sway bar to get, so I'm reading through this board for info. advice about supercharging, turbo, or stayin N/A would be great! Thanks guys and sorry fo tthe long post.

 

If you ask around at the autocross you will soon find that hp is the last step to making a fast car at the autocross. First you need some good tires. If you don't know what tires do a search, it's been asked before. Secondly your suspension needs to be fine tuned. Proper spring rates matched with a proper alignment will make you faster then any amount of hp. After you have all this then I would think about adding more hp.

*ignoring the few comments about altezza lights and stop light racing*


[Modified by Geratol, 12:55 PM 8/1/2002]

 

Street racing is for babies. Race them at autoX and smoke them. It's all driver there. Anybody can just slam on the gas.

Also, I think N/A works best for our cars in AUotX. Maybe Supercharger, but even then, i'd still go N/A. Turbo's have the smae problem they have always had. The lag. And they would shoot you up to Street Mod class with cars that also have turbo, built blocks and engines, and all run on R compound tires or racing slicks, and they are also strippped with wieght reduction.

OTherwise, you would die if you only ahve a turbo and street tires. Which... is why I'm going to do too. !

 

the #1 universal rule in autoX...get good at driving your car before you throw money at it! BUT...if you are set on modding it...buy a LSD first! and FYI....any type of boost on integra's puts you in SM...a class where the brave FWD'ers get preyed upon by Supra's, M3's, Mustangs and F-bodies.

try this for a season:
run STS (street tires, so buy yourself some azenis and save some money), get a feel for driving your car at 10/10ths, then in the off season build your car to your liking. I'm doing something similar...except my buildup is happening as we speak...but next year I'll be running SM with a JRSC on my Integra and all kinds of other top secret mods that I can disclose as there might be some SM runners from my region on this board j/k!

again...as a novice in SM with a boosted Integra (depending on the SM crowd in your region) you'll be hopelessly outclassed. the only reason I'm doin it is for the challenge...I have been running a 99 Cobra in ESP and I've basically conquered that class in my region...time for a change.

most importantly---have fun!!! so far I haven't won an autoX yet in my integra, but man do I have a hoot out there trying to get used to a low HP FWD car!!!

 

he runs with nasa alot, so he might end up being ok. but if he comes to an scca event, it would be tough. theres some serious turbo cars there (civic and 1.8t audi) and some other stuff (s/c civic) that have good drivers pioliting them.
i know its hard to resist power mods. believe me i know. (i have 70hp in my civic) but resist them if u can and just work on driving. if ur not so serious about autocross, then do whatever u want. but if u want to get serious, get ur driving down first.
spencer- who will hopefully have suspension work for next year and about 80-90 hp.

 

thanks for all the advice so far. I will not be doing any major work this season because I am still new and I definitly just want to work on my driving skills. Yes I did a lot of street racing but thats why I was so open to autocross, it gets me off the streets and on a track, or parking lot, legally. I love autoX but i don't think i'm ganna get too serous with it. I would like to have a master plan so having more HP is hard to stay away from.

 

Yeah, good luck with that. Everyone says that, and the next thing you know you've got a dedicated track car with a roll bar and 16 wheels. A few years ago r2x said the same thing. She'll be at CMP tomorrow getting her comp license in her Spec Miata.

The track pipe is hard to put down and walk away from.

 

for real!! hey, at least it ain't CRACK!!

 

I swear sometimes it *has* to be more expensive...

 

well, you are right. tires followed by lsd. i have seen you drive, and you very talented. you hit the line just like i had told you, and it was only your second nasa event, that's awesome! F fi! buy a final gear and a lsd, and ditch the subs and leather seats (heavy) and then go from there. gimme a call, i think you are ready for a huge rear sway bar, you can handle it. autocross this sunday, orange co airport. it's harder than nasa for sure, but you should still enjoy it.oh, and sell the altezzas to your brother, maybe he can fab them up on his celica.......lol

 

With street racing there's nothing to prove except who's dumber. With autocrossing you gain respect for your skills, you could move onto Nationals, then become famous like Matt Bookler

 

.....if you don't road race, get a turbo that spools up quickly - that'll be a lot of fun.

s/c is gonna give you the oomph down low, but be just average on the street.

allmotor is fun, but won't put you back in your seat like turbo...

You definitely need lsd no matter which direction you go in.

 

I autocross in SM with my JRSC'd GSR. It's a very fun and capable setup, but it isn't competitive in SM.

In my experience, if an AWD turbo with a driver who is as good or better than me is at the autocross event, my only hope of winning is them making mistakes.

At my last autox, the SM results were like this:

1) 42.8 seconds - 400+hp Eclipse GSX with R tires and suspension mods.
2) 44.? seconds - Eclipse GSX with boost upgrade, R tires and suspension mods.
2) 45.2 seconds - Eclipse GSX with boost upgrade, R tires and suspension mods.
4) 45.9 seconds - Me on R tires, mild suspension mods, LSD.
5) 46.? seconds - Talon AWD turbo with boost upgrade, R tires and suspension mods.

I never won a local event until a guy running a modded WRX changed classes (and cars).

Don't get me wrong, I love my car and it's faster than 95% of the cars on the street. It just isn't competitive in autocrossing due to the class you end up in.

 

personally, i have never seen a really fast talon at an autocross. they don't come anywhere near my times (maybe just bad drivers) and i don't even have fi. just my little n/a civic........

 

this comming from the guy who got a bump in nasa for just being fast.


[Modified by SOLOef, 2:28 PM 8/2/2002]

 

understatment. rodney thanks for the boost of confidence...the altezza's give me at least another sec. i swear! lol. I'm still not sure if I can make it to sundays event at orange county but i'm going to try. anyway, i guess i'm going to just get some tires and lsd for now and wing it from there. does anybody know where i can get the lsd installed around here..lower ny area??

 

http://www.hsmracing.com/HISPEED%20web%20site/rcg.htm
there a true race shop near my house.


[Modified by SOLOef, 5:41 PM 8/2/2002]

 

yeah, give me a call. you have one of the best acura/honda tuning shops right under your nose.......

 

Another thought is just build the engine to SP spec or however far you want to go in autocross. Then plumb a nice 50 dry shot of nitrous. You'd still be legal for autocross as long as you took out the bottle, and you'd still have some "drag racing" power....just a thought. hell, if you goto DSP, where you can do a clutch, you can probably get away with like a 100 wet shot.

 

thnaks a lot guys. all the help is very much appriciated, see ya at the track

 

I have been autocrossing with my JRSCed GSR for almost 4 years now and love it. It may not be competitive in SM, but I don't usually autocross with SCCA lately, rather with local car clubs (BMWCCA, PCA etc...) I seem to match up well with and usually beat M3s, vettes, F-Bodys etc... Seriously modded Miatas still can kill me, though. Now, it sure is possible that many of these drivers are no good, but I think the truth is that I'm a decent driver and my car is pretty well balanced.

I'm not autocrossing to win trophies, but rather, to have fun and I do know a few things based on my experience.

1. The car is a HECK lot more fun with the JRSC.
2. The Quaife made a HUGE difference in getting the power down earlier in the turns.
3. Instant boost is AWESOME.
4. The look on the faces of V8 drivers (especially the vettes) after you have beaten them in a 4DR 4cyl with a child seat in back is PRICELESS!!!

Read this post: (My first only 1st place overall finish)

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zero...865763#2865763

 

horsepower isn't the name of the game. you said you've got a mild suspension....right there could be why you're not winning. I'm telling you...in my region there's a fellow who has been running a ITR in DS and he consistantly posts FTD (unless the AMOD crowd shows up), and this in a field with 4 Z06's all with proven drivers and a 500+ HP CP mustang. Integras have the potential....ditch you're interior, turn that mild suspension into wild and I bet those eclipses will be chasing YOU!

 

I'm not going any stiffer on my suspension. It's a little stiffer than a stock ITR (H&R OESport springs and KYB AGX shocks). I have a 19mm rear swaybar and an LSD, plus I left foot brake, so rotation is not a problem. It's already at the limit of my tolerance on the street.

I'm just not going to go hog wild preparing to the limit of SM rules when someone can show up with a late-80's BMW 3 series with a new M3 engine stuffed in it plus a supercharger.

SM is as close as SCCA gets to "Run what you brung". If you've got the coin, you're not going to show up in a JRSC GSR.

You said, "in my region there's a fellow who has been running a ITR in DS and he consistantly posts FTD". I believe our regions are VERY different. In my region, FTD is always 7 or 8 seconds faster than the fastest car with a license plate. We have a large Mod class and many, many trailer queens in all classes.

I still love driving though...

 

I was once saw a hybrid 6th gen/B18C1 rip up the track and eat everything in his way in SM. The car probably does a mid 14 sec quarter, but the car handles like a race car and is tuned as such. Obviously this guy has a-lot of seat time to be running times similar to Z06s.

In the end, as many have posted, it is your ability to drive that will make you competitive. You might want to go to several schools as well and learn how to drive, this will make you better.

 

!! UPDATE !! this kid kahlua2323, is very talented! he is very very fast, took 2nd out of 27 drivers in novice! really good considering the track we ran is the hardest in the region. he got beat by a sandbagger that has been running novice for ages....by only 1/10! if he sticks with it, he is going to do really well. congrats mike on a job well done.