I am looking for a new project car.

I want to daily drive it and autocross.

Stock class is what I hope to run since I am pretty new to the game.

Any ideas?

 

Too heavy and too under powered.

Suggest something older that you don't mind beating up on.

 

Say a 4th gen prelude ?

 

I think it could make a competitive regional auto-xer depending on what region you are in. I finish pretty competitivly in my 00 si in STS. It is heavy but has 40 more hp than my car which can't hurt. Just my opinion though. You're still going to have to drive very well to be competitive though.

edit: Since you're new to auto-xing though you shouldn't really care about being competitve yet.


[Modified by ryan12321, 6:55 PM 12/10/2002]

 

It wouldn't be my pick for trying to be competitive in Stock. The Type S against the ITR, WRsuX, IS300, BMW 325/330, Celica GT-S etc. while the base will be outclassed by the Celica GT, Cooper S, and BMW 318.

 

driver is a bigger factor in regional competition, so if you like the car, buy it and have fun. You can be assured that there will be aftermarket support for it.

 

I agree. I hope Atlanta gets the national event they are hoping for so i can see how much i'll get smote by a real STS car and driver.

 

I think I am going to go with a fourth generation prelude and run the stock class until I get settled.

Anyone in the NJ area wanna help a kid out

 

In the stock classes I think the Base RSX could be pretty competive in G Stock. But the TypeS will get smote where it is currently classed in D Stock.

But I think the RSX Type S would make a great STS class car. It has the best stock power to weight ratio of any STS elegible car I can think of. It seems to respond VERY well with the bolt ons and an ECU flash - both of which are STS legal. As soon as people start getting the suspension sorted out, it will be a competitive car. Are Koni's and Ground Controls available for the RSX yet?

Andrew - Who drives a Prelude in STS and wishes his car was as light as the RSX...

 

the wonder of stock classes is that the attempt is made at keeping equally competitive cars together. on a regional level, once you get good, i think it can be competitive. nationally.........who knows. build it, get fast, and we'll find out. keep in mind, stock classes REQUIRE running r compounds to be competitive (unless your local club has different rules) and a full set will set you back a hefty chunk of change (comparitively). my suggestion would be to play in sts, but keep the car stock. upgrade the tyres only. learn what alignment and tyre pressure do to the car's handling and do some driving schools. it is easier to learn on street tyres, not to mention cheaper.

nate

 

The RSX-S isn't going to compete with a 89-91 civic Si, but it could trophy out at nats with a good driver.

Personally, I think the Base RSX, or even better, the 02 Si would be a better STS car. The Si has more torque and a much shorter gear ratio than either RSX, not to mention much less body overhang. The superior HP of the S at 7000rpms+ isn't going to help an autox car much, especially on tall street tires.

We saw the grassroots motorsports Si almost trophy this year with about 6months of development. It will probably never win the class, but it did/could do well. A 225/50/15 on a 7.5" rim still won't be enough rubber to counteract the weight.

Ya can't fight weight, especially with a FWD car on street tires.



[Modified by Todd00, 9:28 PM 12/10/2002]

 

So what car would you reccomend under 10k?

(Yeah, the S is more, but I was willing to splurge on that )

 

neon ACR = cheap

 

No joke the ones at my event rip it up.

 

Come up to Canada and get the base 160hp stripper model, which weighs "only" ~2600lbs... No featherweight CRX but which is still relatively light by todays new car standards... The base model also comes with 15x6 rims. You should be able to squeeze a 225-50-15 r-compound on there no problem. I think it could be really competitive in GS, at least regionaly with the right hands...

I wonder if a Canadian base-RSX would be SCCA legal. Prolly not...

 

has anybody ever built one to scca sts ruleset? i mean everything, a/c out, stereo out, seats, etc. it's amazing how much weight can come off a car with just the sts ruleset.

nate

 

Find a second gen NA MR2 with hardtop or sunroof (no T-top) and run ES.
ACR Neon for GS
GT Celica for GS
2nd Gen CRX Si GS
1st Gen CRX Si GS (85 being the best)
1.8 Miata for CS (1st Gen R model would be good)
89-91 Civic Si for HS
Porsche 924S for GS

Here are a few. All of these would be competitve locally and most nationally (with the right driver).

 

I think the RSX Type S would be a better choice than a 4th gen Lude but the 4th gen is a perfectly good car and a fun ride. The Type S is gonna have stiff competition. No one has yet to fully develop the RSX for stock class autocrossing so getting the correct setup will be tough.

If I were buying a new car as a daily driver/autocrosser I would look at these cars in these price ranges:

$15K-18K - Mini Cooper, Mazda Protege 5, SVT Focus

18K-21K - Celica GT, MazdaSpeed Protege, Mini Cooper S, RSX

$21K-25K - WRsuX, RSX Type S, Celica GTS

The cars are listed in order of competitiveness

 

http://www.acura.ca/AcuraEng/Models/RSX/features.asp

Base model, 15x6 heavy *** steelies, no sunroof... 1197kg = 2633lbs to be precise...

 

seats and stereo cannot be removed for STS. Not sure on a/c.

 

stereo can, under convenience and appearance. so can a/c, and you can change the seats (front) as long as they are still reclinable. don't know if you can install them without rails, i'll have to contact the seb on that.

nate

 

sorry, i thought you meant removal of seats...

 

That's a good one. While I don't claim the GTS is the car to have for DS, I will say right now that it will SPANK a RSX-S in SCCA stock competition, hands down the GTS is the winner. The WRsuX has very little for a properly setup GTS so long as it stays dry and there isn't a 100 foot straight for the launch (the GTS will out corner, out brake and out transition a stock class WRsuX).

Of course I'm biased (it has nothing to do with the fact that the WRsuX's couldn't keep up with the lower class Celica GT at nationals).

In stock classes the RSX-S is at best a good local competitor, at the national and divisional levels it will probably lose.

Scott


[Modified by celica73, 3:06 PM 12/11/2002]

 

if you are really really looking for an autoX/daily driver project....find an 89-91 Civic Si and run it is STS....all you need is a set of Koni's, Ground Controls and some 15x7 wheels with 205 azenis....that is what has been winning STS nationally for the past two years....although this year I hope to buck the trend with a 92 Civic Si we are building to STS spec

i'll also be campaigning my 94 integra RS in STS....it should be competitive if I can ever find that elusive 'right set-up'.....it has a HP advantage over the Si's, and it isn't that much heavier

but if you don't care about brand loyalty....snag yourself a neon ACR....very cheap, and competitive in GS and DSP, don't know about STS, but I imagine it could be....and dodge just brought back their contingency $$$ so who knows....if you ever get really good

there is always the miata....throw some koni's and R-compounds and you have an extremely dominant CS car (with the right driver of course) but make sure it's the 1.8, b/c the 1.6 is in ES, and it gets murdered by the MR2's

if you want awd goodness....a 98-00 2.5 RS is a good choice.....i say those years b/c it gives you the desired rear viscous LSD....although not too competitive nationally in GS, they do good locally, especially if your region has most of its events on asphalt

my choice? if i were to do it all over and get a car to run in SoloII stock class, i would probably pick an ITR and run DS....it's a proven winner....if i was feeling like spending a tad more dough I'd go with a S2K and run BS...but that's not the best daily driver...espeically if you have snow to deal with

 

i love these comments. they are almost as good as "you need "x" car to win in "y" class". need i remind you that last year everyone said the 2.5rs was the car to have if you wanted to win in sts, and this year they are now saying its an 89 civic si. 2 years ago daddio slaughtered dsp with a neon, while everyone around him was saying you needed a 325is. this year he trophied with the same car in SM, a class that claims you need 450hp and all wheel drive to compete. don't pre-judge a cars autocross performance until somebody comes along and builds one right then drives it good. i'm still waiting for a fully built sts sentra se-r or neon acr, still waiting for a well setup stx WRsuX, and a fullty built dsp 5th gen civic. not to mention a fully prepped EP 00 civic si, etc, etc, etc.

nate-who thinks the real challenge is building a car that nobody thinks is competitive into one that is.


edit: or even a fully built sts 5th gen civic _coupe_ AND a good driver!


[Modified by solo-x, 3:45 PM 12/11/2002]