First off , i love straight line drag, the only problem is not many tracks by me. And in drag racing having a 5 speed kills you in bracket racing. Lincoln NE, is 70 miles from me and they race the SCCA I believe (still reading alot about it). I have always loved ripping *** around corners and that is what the SCCA looks like to me.

Car is a 1996 Acura Integra 4 door has a jdm itr b18c with 4.7 final drive. it is also boosted putting down 337whp. I have a trailer, some extra parts, and just want some of those that race in this pylon racing to tell the pros and cons It looks like it could be a nice way to get the family to the track. I am a mechanic, who does his own work any and all advice is welcome. I still have a extra Ls motor and tranny and could take my turbo off to compete differently. really just want to have fun learning a new way to build car. I would be in the front wheel drive catagory.

 

www.scca.com
www.nasaproracing.com

or google autocross

 

Kill the boost, and learn to drive the hell out of it bone stock and have some fun.

 

Ditch the JDM B18C engine if you want to be competitive. Otherwise you are dumping 1000's of dollars before you are competitive.

That's where I'm at with my Fox Mustang, and I just swapped in a 302, subframe connectors, and a torque arm.

If I ditched the Torque Arm, I'd be in a lower class like SP, but not even competitive. Now I'm in C Prepared, just because of 3 mods.

 

I'm with dirty, if you keep that hp on the track it will just cost a whole lot in tires and brakes and you wont really learn how to turn that thing.

 

Thanks, for input, I am reading up the diff. classes for honda especially in the nasa I dont even think you can run boost. I dont mind going back to NA. I am not following why ditch the b18c. it was a factory engine so wouldnt it be ok. I havenet modified it and can put the stock exhaust back on. right now I have 3" thermal exhaust, could put the factory exhaust manifold on and wouldnt I be stock? where does the different suspension issues come into play. like can you have coilovers, the reason i ask is that I am still on stock 190,000 mile suspension. Does the suspension need to be oem? The SCCA doesnt really address the issue I kinda wanted to get into actual competing class and I know fully modified would kill me $$$. Thanks again, I am having trouble reading the class rules and where my car would fall into.

 

Ok, since it doesn't seem anybody has really answered your questions yet....

First of all, the type of racing you appear to be referring to is more commonly known as Solo or Autocross. Lincoln, NE hosts the Solo National Championships, and is a good area to be in as far as events are concerned. Step one is find the website for the local SCCA club. This should then have a sub-section for Solo/Autocross and perhaps even a local message board.

Second, your car, as it is currently setup, would fall into SMF most likely. This category is provisional currently (all that means is that if you attended the 2012 nationals and won you would be a Class Winner and not a National Champion) and to be at the pointy end you would need to spend a fair bit of money. Returning your car back to stock is also not free, and likely no more competitive in HS than in than SMF. The proper advice here is to make sure your car is mechanically sound as it is (brakes work, wheel bearings are good, etc.) and just drive it the way it is. When you start out in this sport, your best investment is in seat time.

Once you've determined that you like this form of automotive crack, then you can look at what class fits your definition of fun, your budget, or any combination of priorities. If necessary, you can then decide if you wish to continue with the car you have, or if you wish to buy something else.

CN: Don't put the cart before the horse. Get your car mechanically sound and drive it at some events. You won't be driving at a competitive level for a bit, so the car being uncompetitive isn't a concern.

 

You mean you imported your car from Japan! Cool!

All joking aside but I hope you get the point. A JDM engine is indeed not a factory engine in a USDM car and in every road race application it would fall under the "engine swap" classification so you would be relegated to running in classes where engine swaps are allowed. In NASA there is a friendly place for this called H2 or H1.

Second: A good theory for approaching road racing: In road racing you are [b]not]/b] building your car for speed (in the outright sense), you are building it to be as fast as it can within a rule set.

Read rules first, then build car = fun, competitive, affordable
Build car first then read rules = expensive, redundant, frustrating, uncompetitive.

 

He would fall under SMF automatically with a JDM engine, which would allow him to keep the turbo.

As for my car, I'm keeping the power of the v8 low, and focus on handling. There are enough point and shoot cars out there, I'd like mine to flow smoothly through a course.

 

Driving the car asap is the best idea get it safe and get it out there. Seat time is seat time is seat time. However with such high horsepower on stock suspension dont expect to put much of it to the road. Most autocross tracks do not have straight sections which means if you're doing it right you should hardly ever have your foot all the way in it. Definitely go in thinking about how to get through the corners smoothly, as you get better you'll find the limits with the throttle. Ask to ride with some experienced drivers when you sign up and ask them to ride with you, its extremely helpful. Also you should check out the picture video thread if you haven't already there's a lot of great examples of what to expect in there.

 

OP, do you still have a full interior in your car?

 

Yes the class the car would be put in is what I was after. thanks,, and yes car is still with full interior, only mods are engine change and turbo, I really dont see any reason to go back to stock when the car originally had a ls which. If I understand the rules I can run any suspension as long as it's not's modified from the original points of attachment. Thanks again .

 

Solo X yes the SCCA in Lincoln is where I am planning on starting next yr.

 

LSD + Ground Control/Koni Yellows + Decent Brake pads =

Thats all you need for a fun Honda Track toy.