Hey guys,

My car was built for drag racing and I really don't enjoy it as much as I do road racing. I attended ITR Expo 9 and loved it!!! I signed up for WMHM and couldn't make it because I fried some internals at ITR Expo 9.

Below are the specs. I'm boosting 350whp at 11psi in low boost, and 420whp at 16psi in hi boost.

I was told that turbo honda's produce too much heat and are difficult to road race, i.e. require a lot of maintenance. I do understand this but I don't because I see so many other turbo cars on the track. What do I need to do to convert my car into a road race car?

2000 Si
Fully built B16 p&p head/B18 sleeved block 83mm
SC61 turbo
Neukin Ramhorn exhaust manifold
3in downpipe with recirculating dumptube
3in exhaust
Turbo XS dual stage boost controller
Etc...

Any input is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Ken

 

Suspension and a really good set of brakes to start.

 

cooling, large radiator, oil cooler and some way to shield that turbo heat.

 

Forgot to mention...right now I am sitting on Tociko Illumina R Coilovers that are 5 way adjustable. Also, I upgraded my front brakes to Spoon Calipers with 11in rotors, and rears to 10in rotors.

 

I also have power steering and ac still on car. My guess is I will have to remove the ac in order to put a large radiator in there???

 

sell the boosted motor, buy a GSR/ITR/B16a

with the money from the sale of the boosted motor, you can get some suspension, freshen the brakes, get some pads and have fun.

 

This link has a lot of info from people who have had a turbo setup:
https://honda-tech.com/forums/road-racing-autocross-time-attack-19/does-anyone-run-boosted-set-up-road-racing-2517504/


Personally I love boosted cars, but stuff is always getting loose or breaking.

 

Haha sorry but definitely not selling the boosted motor. I drove an NA car on the track and it just wasn't fast enough/as much fun!!!

Brakes are minty fresh!!! I picked up new calipers, rotors, and pads for ITR Expo 9.

As far as suspension goes, what would you recommend? Should I upgrade from the Tokico's?

 

spring rates are going to be what you need to address. you can get seat time with the suspension you have. are different rates available? that's where you'll be making the first changes. once you have a way to keep the engine and drivetrain cool, you can start getting seat time. cooling really is the most important thing i can think of. lap time really will bring up oil and coolant temps. with a turbo it's increased that much more. fresh oil from a quality place like redline, torco etc before an event is even more insurance.

btw. your brakes are fine, it's the pads you might be changing. try what you have and go more aggressive with the pad as needed.

your suspension concerns will take awhile to figure out. you need seat time to really figure out what you want. i'd almost say see if you can get 500lb front and rear springs. drive it and then figure out if you need more roll stiffness or need to go lighter/stiffer at one end or the other. another smart thing to do is copy someone with a similar car that has a fast combo. it saves a lot of parts buying time since it's likely you won't be changing as much.

 

Thanks for the link...doing more research now!!!

 

Any suggestions on an oil cooler kit?

Found several...

-Greddy Oil Cooler Kit - $600
-MFactory Competition Oil Cooler Kit (w/oil filter relocation) - $400
-Mishimoto Universal Oil Cooler Kit - $200
-Flex-a-lite Engine Oil Cooler Kit - $215

 

Step 1. Remove turbo set up.
Step 2. Remove shoot (if applicable)
Step 3. Reinstall sway bars.
Step 4. Replace drag suspension and alignment settings with appropreate track suspension and alignment.

 

Humongous front wheels help.

 

You say what every other turbo guy says in the beginning. You'll get tired of braking transmissions, burning hoods, having heat issues, blowing through front pads and everything else. I'll let don, stu and chris chime in about their turbo track car experiences.

 

Do other turbo track cars like sti's and evolutions have the same problems, or are they built better for road racing?

 

Step 1: Remove turbo
Step 2: ?????
Step 3: Profit

 

Sti,evo, new gti, ect don't have such intense isues stock. Aside from being big heavy cars that can eat up pads. But since they were designed as turbo cars they work a lot better (without getting into specifics)

 

Sweet I was thinking maybe 20's or 22's...what do you think homo?

 

it is still an issue at least with some stuff, in stock form.

I worked for a turbo'd Ga ST car.

Constant issues with melting plastic, pop'd intercooler end tanks, INTENSE HEAT.

 

You just need more doors and yellow wheels if you're NA

 

Haha, I was in the EXACT same situation last year when I "tried" to transform my turbo dc2 into a road race car.
You WILL need a big aluminium radiator or after 2 laps you will overheat.
Even with that and my mfactory oil cooler AND 300V motul oil, all the temperature was going to the sky. My oil temperature gauge was always hitting 250F and If the gauge can go higher, i'm sure I would be able to read HIGHER temperature lol
And i was only boosting 6psi...
Also big HP with FWD, was not easy and fun to drive... wheelspin, not predictable, not consistent ...
I bought a Type R only with dc headers, stock exhaust, stock air intake, and I have really more FUN to drive it on the track

 

That's what my friend is dooing. Selling the turbo set up for a c5 swap for the reliability on track. And u definately saw more than 250* oil. I see more with my stock gsr and I got my b16 with a cooler up to 260*

 

I think turbo cars are just fine for road courses. But you would have had to design your turbo setup for this kind of driving from the beg. Can you fit a full length rad with your setup? Can you properly fit a shrouded cooling fan with a full length koyo rad?

If you are just going to track days, then you might have to cut all kinds of ugly holes in your bumper for venting. Get a vented hood too. Also get a large oil cooler and make sure that it will recieve good air flow. and be prepared to break stuff

 

Safety wire and nord-loc every bolt on or near the turbo.
Heat shielding, big radiator, full cage and lots of brake pads.
Think about an LSD.
Truthfully I think your turbo is too big. You are going to experience turbo lag at inopportune times as you get more track time and dial the car in.

 

**chime ****chime!!!!
Im telling you from experience my man. A few years ago i built a turbo motor (and yes poured a bit of dough into it) and it was primarily for drag (gay) but once i got tired of that i got sucked into auto x and HPDE's. Even a well built turbo set up will be just more headache out there on track session beat downs.
Yeah its great to have the boost but in reality its not practical, especially when coupled with all the added preparation, maintenance, and money to run it. Not to mention all the additional stuff that can/will fail at one point or another. Its disaster waiting to happen.
Like it was said earlier I am converting to a c5 for a nice stout, reliable motor that makes "usable" power out there. Different strokes for different folks. Do what you feel you need to do, but dont stay boosted just to be "fast" cause in the end it'll come down to the driver, and half throttle, constant throttle modulation gets pretty old, pretty fast with the boost.

(i.e when compared to my turbo civic 350whp/300tq on r comps to my stock motor 91 integra on falkens in an auto x, pound for pound I'm faster in my teg cause i can drive it ***** out to the limit. rather than my civic which is a handfull to keep together.)

yeah auto-x v.s track is kinda oranges and apples but none the less they are both fruit, get what i mean? Take it from me a true boost junkie, loose the boost for track days