I have a curious question, do you or anyone you know race a turbo honda at the track? I've asked this question in the forced induction forum and they say it's not a smart idea because of all the load the engine will take while boosting in 4th etc...but dammit, I see a handfull of turbo miatas out there all the time and they pack up their little tool/tire trailers and drive home in it, what the hell would be so dangerous when racing with a turbo honda at track days? TIA

 

as long as its tuned, fueled, built and cooled properly there should be no problem.

 

keep in mind that the Miata motor is based off the turbocharged 323 GTX motor.
So it is, in effect, a turbo motor being run N/A.
It has relatively low compression, oil squirters, and other things turbo motors are designed for.

 

Where's the "Miata Boom" video when you need it? Warren?

Sure, you could build a turbo Honda, but why? Making it anywhere close to factory reliable would cost thousands of dollars. For that money, you could drive for several seasons and pick up all that speed in pure driving skills, which could be tranferred to any car. Also, there is tremendous satisfaction to be had from turning respectable lap times in a shitbox economy car.

 

Are you talking about "road racing" or HPDEs? This question seems to keep popping up...

 

What Evan said. I've been doing this track thing pretty regularly since '99. EVERY after-market forced induction car I've seen at the track eventually winds up on the back of a flat bed for the trip home. Even the ones who claimed to be "tuned properly" several of them Miatas, the car with the best engine for boost.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by elgorey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">keep in mind that the Miata motor is based off the turbocharged 323 GTX motor.
So it is, in effect, a turbo motor being run N/A.
It has relatively low compression, oil squirters, and other things turbo motors are designed for.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is true, but it should be noted that they did increase the compression ratio for the N/A version - it doesn't have the same C/R as a 323 GTX engine. It also has lighter (weaker) pistons/rods and a lighter flywheel. So it isn't exactly a turbo engine minus the turbo, but it does have several qualities making it better for boost.

http://members.aol.com/solomiata/MX5Engine.html

 

I mean occasional track days, like one every couple months at the most probably. I knew I would get a response to spend the money for experience, but the other 99% of the time I'm driving the car I really enjoy the turbo. And I see I'm getting a little mixed opinions here as well. Towing the car home is definetly something I do not want to do, so I'm leaning over towards the n/a side. Does anyone here have first hand experience track racing a turbo honda, or is it all observations? I've been at this crossroad of whether to turbo again or go n/a for months now, and I just need some help deciding. Thanks, and keep em coming!

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=468456

this was covered recently. my comment is at the bottom.

 

http://www.taner.net/vids/wwan...m.WMV

Turbo Miatas and I do not get along anymore.

Warren

 

****...can't view the MS format, damn you macintosh!

 

Cliffs notes for you Mac impaired:
Miata goes boom. Sprays parts and oil all over track. Warren never lifts...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sporkcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">****...can't view the MS format, damn you macintosh!</TD></TR></TABLE>

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/p...t.asp

 

More heat on-track=kaBLAM! Track cars have enough heat to deal with as-is.

 

Honestly, the biggest problem is that there's no way to keep people from rampantly cheating if there were turbo classes for full blown road racing. This is why they're not allowed in most series.

Warren

 

Are there any series that let you run a boosted honda anyway? There is no HC class for a boosted honda right? I don't think IT has one either.

 

Not sure what class it's in, but there's a boosted miata that runs NASA road racing here on the right coast. At least I'm pretty sure it's forced induction.

 

to build it RIGHT takes A LOT more money. I just built one that is planned to be
on track from time to time. Its not cheap.

On a side note, NA cars are much more consistent than turbo cars.

 

Yea, I just bought a vtec head off a buddy for cheap, so I guess I'll just run n/a...mainly b/c I just dont want to be towing my car from the track.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sporkcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yea, I just bought a vtec head off a buddy for cheap, so I guess I'll just run n/a...mainly b/c I just dont want to be towing my car from the track.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Smart move Sean...I'd hate to be at a track day and see the engine go BOOM, then watch it get towed home

 

i know a guy in the area with an ls motor in a 96 up hatch, with a little mitsu turbo and good brakes/suspension. road races that thing like a mug. apparently it rips.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Austin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Smart move Sean...I'd hate to be at a track day and see the engine go BOOM, then watch it get towed home </TD></TR></TABLE>

Pff, screw towing it home...I'd just sell it to someone in the exciting towns around the track.

 

I think it was about a year ago I read in Sport Compact Car an interesting article where they, amongst three other "tuners", built up Honda Civics for some kind of challenge.

The overall winner and car with the least problems was naturally aspirated. The other three were running forced induction, either turbo or supercharged. They had issues.

I'm leaving out lots of details and facts, but it didn't matter then and it doesn't matter now. The #1 most important thing I got from that article was not to go turbo.

And to second what someone else said, spend time on making the driver better before waisting money on the car. You can always transfer your skills to other cars, but not necessarily transfer the mods.

just stirring the pot,

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by emwavey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think it was about a year ago I read in Sport Compact Car an interesting article where they, amongst three other "tuners", built up Honda Civics for some kind of challenge.

The overall winner and car with the least problems was naturally aspirated. The other three were running forced induction, either turbo or supercharged. They had issues.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I remember that article. I *think* the force fed cars all failed on a top speed run on an oval. And if memory serves, they performed this test *before* some of the arguably more important tests.

 

The test was done at Vegas (IIRC) in the middle of the summer. Bad combo for FI cars.

Paul Tracy was also driving, and he has a very strong propensity for breaking whatever he drives.

FWIW. I'd be leery of boosting a car on track on a hot summer day. But i'm sure it can be done and not blow up the motor.