Hey all! Long time member, infrequent poster. I just picked up a 2000 Civic CX (got it home at 11pm Weds and left for vacation at 5:30am Friday), it has a GSR swap and EM1 transmission for now (I am planning on doing a built k24 over the winter). The last Honda I did much with was an EM1 I sold in 2006, which was mainly a DSP autocrosser at the time. This car I plan on doing a lot of track stuff (HPDEs and TT stuff), as well as occasional autocross.

For this build, I have actual budget to do things right, but I have been away from the cars for so long that I am doing a lot of reading to catch up on developments in the past 15+ years. Here are some things I am looking at, please critique and make suggestions, this is going to be very stream of consciousness flow
1) coilovers - The car currently has a set of adjustable a function & form level 2 (I think) coilovers, which are way too softly sprung and didn’t ride very well when I test drove the car, so they are definitely getting replaced. I’d love to get some MCS 2WRemote, but at my skill level, not sure I can justify the cost, not to mention how many other parts below I can buy by saving a bit here. So looking at something closer to the 2000ish range. Some suggestions have been Redshift, Fortune Auto 510s, Shaftworks Bilanx, the old standby Koni/GC, and Whitener Racing built bilsteins. The big issue with all of these is that I want to drive the car on track this summer, hopefully even as soon as mid-July, and all of these options are 8+ weeks out due to supply issues. One option I am exploring is getting a set of Ohlins DFV from Japan, if I get confirmation that they are truly in stock at the place I found them. Interestingly, the springs they ship with are 14k/6k, which seems really low in the back. But if these are actually available, may be what I go with, even though they are not common at all in the US. Any feedback or thoughts on spring rates? Car has no a/c, driver is losing weight but still a hefty 265.

2) swaybars - it looks like there is a pretty big split on running a front bar or not. Since this is a CX with no OE provisions for connecting end links, no bar is certainly an option that is budget friendly, but I think for autocross especially, I am going to want to run a bar. This is going to require different front LCAs, of course, and the other thing I am weighing against is my future K swap plans, which will involve doing an eg/dc front subframe, which will affect FSB as well. So, I am debating between doing front subframe and LCA swap as part of the initial build, vs just waiting until I swap. The latter is probably a smarter choice for budget and time, and maybe I’ll like the feel and decide to skip the front bar after all? For the rear, I am really looking for some suggestions.

3) Other suspension arms - my last track car was a supercharged NB miata, with all spherical bearings up top and Delrin in the lower bushings. It felt great, with immediate response. I’d like to have similar feel with the civic. PCI seems to make adjustable and spherical bits for I think all locations - any arguments against sending them a load of cash for all their things? I know there will be some EK vs EG things on FLCAs when I swap the subframe for the K, which will mean either buying another set of arms in the future, or doing the subframe swap now. I am thinking for time constraints of wanting to drive the car sooner, that selling the EK and buying EG arms over the winter is my plan there
4) Brakes - the car does have discs all around, the PO said he thinks they came from an EM1 (which now is making me think I need to verify which FLCAs are on the car as that can affect the previous 2 sections). I will verify what is there before making any purchases, may do something like the 986 setup up front in the future, but for now I plan on getting good pads (I really liked ST43s on the miata) and seeing how the car does
5) wheels - the car currently has some 15x7 RPF1s and 205 Nitto NT05s. The tires were rubbing in the back especially on the test drive, I think due largely to being too low and not enough camber (unless they are knockoffs and some very low offset). Plan for now is put some RT660s in 205 on(GridLife ClubTR requirement, plus I like them), but potentially looking at some 15x7.5s or 15x8 +35s with 225s with some semi aggressive rolling of the fenders (I am assuming that 15x9s with 225s would require some hacking of the front fenders, which I’d like to avoid).

6) roll bar - are there any real options here besides Autopower or custom fab? Not planning on a full cage, but would like to do a roll bar for peace of mind and proper harness mounting.

7) seats/ mounting brackets - I liked the Sparco EVO 2s I had in the miata, planning on a new set of those (or the L, whatever Sparco is calling them this year). What fixed mounts (not using sliders) are the go to these days? It looks like maybe PCI has my solution again? I used their 1 piece mounts in the miata, they were great

8) harnesses - these are definitely a personal preference thing. I had Schroths in the miata, loved them. Such a huge step up from cheaper harnesses I have used in other cars in the past (Racequips, G-Force). I hear the Sparcos are pretty similar to the Schroths, but it looks like the prices have almost caught up as well.

What else am I missing for handling/ tracking mods?

 

1. I'd call Chris at Redshift and talk to him directly. tell him what you want to do and he will likely point you in the right direction of compromise (track and driving to the track). that Ohlins setup is not bad and the spring rates are "correct" for the magic to happen. the front springs control the roll (no front bar needed) and the rear is soft to eat gators and engage the bar when needed... essentially making you confidently fast in the fast corners and not push in the slow corners when it loads the bar.

2. My EM1 build is somewhere on this forum still... the double wishbone cars dont "need" a front swaybar IF you have enough front spring. there is a magic ratio, not dedicated spring rates (see the ohlins comment)... and then you can use bars to tailor it for you since you likely wont want 1k lbs front springs on a car you drive to the track. the adjustable rear 24mm ASR bar is the minimum to run... and you can soften it for weather.

3. buy once cry once.... but you need to start with spherical compliance bushings, upper arms, and rear trailing arm bushings... all reasonable from PCI and they held up very well on track duty. going to a "full set" will make street driving less comfortable.

4. stock brakes are inadequate and IMHO it gives you a good reason to look over the entire system (we had TWO hardline failures at the track this weekend on older hondas)... i ran the 986/honed setup successfully... but the cheapest upgrade is going to be the ITR/Mini upgrade... second cheapest is either the dynalite willwood or the 986...

5. you HAVE TO do wheels after you decide on brakes. 225 fronts and 205 rears with tires will be your jam.... rears will last forever and you just have to buy fresh fronts.

6. autopowers are okay if installed right... and if your floorboards are in good shape... a custom weld is always safer though.

7. PCI mounts are the jam... set it and forget it. i prefer their adjustable ones... i'm short, my tuner is not... he appreciates it. i just bring a 14mm to slide the seat.

8. $ for $ the higher end line of the GForce is good... FIA/Hands compatible.... PLEASE GET A HANS. add it to your budget now.


If you are looking at the Club TR and all that with GLTC... get some sort of data system. Since you are street driving, id get some sort of Raybestos ST line of brake pads... they last a LONG time. get adjustable rear toe arms... the PCI ones arent the jam, dont bother... there are cheaper and easier to use ones out there.

 

Thanks Kaan!

I ended up pulling the trigger on the Ohlins for now since I can get them in time to still hit the track. I figure if I don’t love them, there are prob some JDM EK9 fanbois who would be interested in buying them for close to what I paid.

I also ordered PCI.* suspension bits, the ASR 32mm x .120 rear bar and a 4 point rollbar from Kirk racing. Going to be a big install party in a couple weeks, haha. I thought I had wheels, ordered some 15x8 mag blue gram lights from ASR, but they were not actually in stock. I’m probably going to go for some 15x8 +35 Hypergrams, at least until I decide how much work I want to do to the front fenders/ how serious I want to build towards SMF/XB autocross vs ClubTr & SCCA TT stuff. They have good clearance with up to 11.75” BBKs on Miata’s, so should be pretty good for whichever brake kit I decide on for the Civic.

I’m not planning on driving the car to the track, I have a dedicated tow vehicle (08 v8 4Runner) and trailer. I will be street registering it for ease of tuning and getting more familiar with it, though, and may drive to local autocrosses.

I have a NIB Haltech Elite 1500 that I can do some logging with for starters (though that will of course involve installing and tuning), will see how I go from there. I also do have a HNR already, too (Schroth FIA certified).

 

Having some issues or at least questions about installing this Kirk Racing roll bar. The thick subframe cross bar that curves forward is keeping me from being able to get all 4 mounting holes over a flat part of the floor. The forward and innermost hole on each base plate lands over one of the depressions/ ribs in the floor pan. And yes, I found some surprise chassis repair here when I lifted the carpet that I am not so happy about. I tried pounding on the cross bar with a 4# sledge for quite a while, but wasn't able to do much. It's obviously very structural, so I am afraid to cut it to allow the bar to go back further. Any ideas on what I should do here?





Note the gap on the pass side is because I stopped bumping the bar back once the driver side hit. The fitment of the bar is nice and snug against the headliner and supporting roof bow otherwise.

 

your pics arent working... are you uploading them on the forum?

 

I was trying to. Wil rehost them this afternoon, or maybe during one of my next calls if I am not active

 

Remove the circled bolts and they should come out. these are just side impact beams. the autopower angles the main hoop in a little to avoid these and also only has 3 bolts if i remember correctly.

 

Thanks Kaan!

 

not a problem... i've been there a dozen times on each of my track/race builds... I didnt even go to the garage this weekend, it was so hot I would have gotten frustrated with something simple and broke something.

 

I feel you, I sweated through 3 t-shirts on Saturday working on the car, most of it being interior stuff (re-did the headliner plus stripped it all out and then tried to get this roll bar in). Trying to get the car together so I can get it aligned this weekend and drive it to Miatas at the Gap next week to hang out with friends, then its first track day a couple weeks after that.