Hey guys, my name is Michael and I autocross in Va Beach, VA. With my Nissan Sentra SpecV. I love my car but am over the monthley payment, I want to buy a home here soon.

My problem is that I dont know much about Hondas or their engines, I think that a 93-95 Civic Hatch would be a great STS car. I'm fimillar with the tires for the class but any other must have mod I'm lost!!!!!!

My Dad has a 88 CRX Si that will be a CSP car in 3 weeks. Thats fine for him but I want my own car. But, I can say with out a doubt his car has no torque at all. So here are my questions
1 Is a 93-95 Civic Hatch a good STS car?
2 What Mods are needed to be competative?
3 Are all SOHC honda engines low on torque in a stock form?

Thank you in advance for posting replies.
Michael

 

All honda engines are huge wimps when it comes to torque (short of the V6's I guess). I'm guessing the CRX has a 1.5L SOHC which is pretty weak, but although my integra has a 1.8 DOHC is still a torque wimp and it's a MUCH heavier car. If you're used to the 2.4L in the Sentra (I think it's 2.4) you had better be happy with the handling, and maybe the high-end hp of your honda...but you'll never get satisfactory torque without FI.

edit: That being said, I love my honda despite its lack of stump pulling torque and I highly recommend you buy one.


[Modified by robbin, 7:54 PM 3/1/2003]

 

The 1992-'95 Civic Si could be a condender, especially on the local scene. It's not a torque monster, but it has a low fighting weight and a nice chassis. Another interesting choice would be the 1993-'95 Civic EX coupe, as one took third at Nationals this past year--behind a pair of 1989 Civic Si's. While the EX coupe was closer to fourth than second, it still beat a bunch of other cars.

 

92-95 Civic Si hatch is a great choice for STS. Just slap some custom rate coil-overs/srpings with Konis, a swaybar (optional), a few bolt-ons for a little HP and some Azenis and you're good to go in STS.

Torque is only a meaningful number when you're peddling along in traffic. On the track, lightweight, gearing and horsepower is what you need. It's not like you'll be coming outta corners at 1,500RPM...

 

this is autocross... it can happen.

--buji

 

With my GS-R you sometimes need to make a choice between downshifting to first or bogging the engine out of slow corners...

 

If your RPMs go that low, just downshift. Problem solved.

Although, compared to other STS cars, the Honda's are only down on torque to the heavy cars (2.5RS, etc).

I think a 92-93 Si would be a good choice for STS. 94-95 Si's got heavier due to dual airbags, power options, etc.

 

That is true. The Civic Si picked up about 64 pounds for the 1994 model year. (I am such a geek that I actually have a spreadsheet comparing weight, wheelbase, horsepower and torque for a bunch of STS contenders.)

 

Would you be willing to post the spreadsheet or something?

 

you can easily get a 93 coupe down to 2300lbs. and the d16z6 motor makes nearly 90lb-ft of torque from 2.5k to 6.5k. with an open diff and street tires, downshifting is a waste in this car because you just melt your tires. one shortcoming of the coupes is that they do not have a lot of suspension travel and too much negative camber on the rear tires. take steps to avoid this and you should be ok.

nate