I can pick up an insight for really cheap, I've been looking for a light car but it's hard to find a cheap one without rust, especially a crx. I've got a turbo d17 (don't hate besides the point lol) I can swap into anything. I've got the means to fabricate the mounting points for independent suspension off a civic or something like that. This car will really only go fast on the drag strip but I do want to try autocross with it. There is an insight stock engine, front suspension, and about stock weight that's running a jetta torsion bar suspension and it chases down miatas, its pretty funny, but I've watched it pick the back wheel up and that is NOT what I want. I understand the car is completely aluminum and I'm going to weld up all the seams. Is it at all a good idea to replicate the rear suspension off a civic or something? Will the chassis take it? It's also getting a light duty roll cage and strut braces.

 

Picking up a back wheel while entering a turn isn't necessarily a bad thing. All it means is you're getting maximum weight transfer to the front wheels. LOTS of very quick cars do it. In some cases, picking up a back wheel is better than not, since the weight shift will pull all the weight off a wheel and drag it, scrubbing the treads as the car goes through a turn.

Rear wheel drive cars will pick up the front wheel exiting turns for the same reason as why front wheel drive cars pick up the rear on entry

 

Whether or not it is best is an argument that started shortly after the first time a FWD car went around a racetrack.

OP, what class are you planning to autocross in that will let you completely reconfigure the rear suspension of the car? Most classes do not allow relocation of the attachment points at all, let alone completely starting over. I think you need to start with a rule book and pick a class before cutting and welding anything.

 

I know it's not because I want it faster, it's a safety thing. I know it's pretty hard to roll, but I'd feel better with this car if I didn't lift, maybe later in a more carefully picked car when I'm more experienced in driving and setting up suspensions.I did not know that. I've never autocrossed and I didn't think of it violating and rules since I was doing it more for safety than anything else. Interesting. It's not stopping me though, I can start autox in my daily and have this car. This car is a big learning experience for me, I've hand built the engine and I wanted to set up the suspension you'd normally find on a Honda, but I'm resorting to an Insight for various reasons.

 

I forgot to mention but lifting the wheel has a lot to do with the anti roll setup on the car, so you can dial out the lifting by tweaking the cars front/rear anti roll balance

 

But that would also change the cars ability to turn.

 

Not matter what you, it's gonna be damn near impossible to eliminate the rear wheel lift in a fwd car. Only cars I can think that keep it to a minimum are modern btcc/wtcc, but the time, money and technology invested in those cars are beyond us mere mortals.

 

So there's the argument that, if you've fully transferred weight to the outside tire, does it matter what the inside tire is up to? Like I've said, you're not the first person to worry (or not) about it...