16 replies to this topic

[ZcSi CRX]

Hey all my friend has bout talked me into helpin him build a car for the Grassroots motorsports race in florida in apr o5 an was gonna do a 86 si , it consists of 3 parts a auto cross a drag race an a car quality for no more then $2000 cash

We got a 86 si timing belt victum for 200 an a rb25 an intercooler for 40 bones at a partn pull
we are gonna put a hoop an 2 running bars to the rear (any specific ) that would be best.
were buildin our own strut bars an pan hard
I need all your auto cross imput cause this is the first time attempting to make somthing corner an not co in a straight line.
Daniel

Edited by ZcSi CRX, 27 June 2004 - 10:13 AM.

[Doodson]

You need to find some good racing shocks, Koni's . Tockicos, or KYB's
If you can find some torsion bars that would be good to, to get the car to rotate on the auto cross course buy or make a rear sway bar. Most autocross guys remove the front stock swaybay aswell. Goodluck

[eadohcturbo]

to keep mine cheap i used 3gstation wagon torsion bars, And stock 2g eclipse (fr) cut a bit but there tappered and fit right for the rear. Get good tires there worth it because" you can't win a race without your tires."

[ZcSi CRX]

*the 2g eclipse are you referring to the springs? will the sway bar out of a teg work in the front as well with the rear .
*removing the front swaybar completly or upgrading?
*an doodson you come across and of the lsd's for the teg tranny like you had a while back?
*as far as the torsion bars tegs should suffice ?

Edited by ZcSi CRX, 21 June 2004 - 10:31 PM.

[PacerRacerGirl]

86 Civic Si or an 86 CRX Si?

Anyway, I have tons of suggestions because my friends and I were considering doing the same thing for the $2003 GRM challenge with an 86 Civic Si. I'll be happy to share our ideas ... but right now I have to go to work!

One thing to keep in mind, the way to win on the autocross course is by driving. You could have a well setup car, and loose it all by not knowing what youre doing. Get out there NOW and start participating in autocross if you want any chance at winning anything.

...It sounds like you know how to make the car go fast in a straight line already.

Yikes! Late for work!

[davens]

A couple buddy's and I started but never fielded a car for 2003...I "helped" prep a car for the 2004 event.

A couple suggestions...
decide what your goal is...just for fun or to be really competitive.

If you want to be really competitive, look at the the previous couple years results and be honest...can your project match a 12 second 1/4 mile or look as decent as some of the concours winners? The autox is realistic with some tuning, race tires and a good driver.

Race tires
Race tires
Race tires
Did I mention you'll need race tires?

You want to be finished at least three months before the event so you can get some shakedown runs under your belt at local autoxs and drag strips. Based on those results, maybe modfiy your setup.
So many people show up literally having just finished the car the night before. They breakdown or perform worse then they expected.

[ZcSi CRX]

the car is gonna be a crx si like my own . i found some 13x7 wheels from another post on the forum for slicks (m/t) and still talkin bout nittos of falken 's depending on the cost of the build up . my be sellig the interior to recoupe the money put into the budget?????? not sure

[PacerRacerGirl]

Davens gives you some good advice.

If you want to win, Falkens or Nitto's aren't going to cut it. You will loose. (Sorry, but in autocross, tires are worth seconds of time!)

You found some 13x7's! Cool! Hang on to them! They're gold! Get some used Hoosier 225/50/13's for autocross tires. ...If you want to win.
I reccomend asking the local CSP autocross driver at the end of the season to sell you whatever he has leftover. (At a steal!)

For a suspension setup, you baisicly need to copy a CSP CRX setup, but on the cheap. Not easy to do because the shocks and torsion bars are hard to come by. The rear springs should be easy and so should the rear sway. If you're good at fabricating (read = welding) you should be able to construct your own adjustable panhard bar out of the stock one.

Front torsion bars. Teg bars are too weak. Anything shy of 27.5's are too weak. Good luck finding some. Do some horse trading, but find some. Get creative. Find some out of another car, or maybe out of a Toyota truck. (They used torsion bars, maybe you could mod some to fit the Rex, I don't know, but that would be COOL!)

Shocks. You need something that can control the rebound of those bars and the springs you're going to have to use. Koni is by far the best, but they're expensive. You might do some research on this site about the Ranchero Ford Ranger rear shocks somebody put on the back of their Rex. (9 way adjustable, something like $80 bucks) You might be able to get away with Tokiko for a while, but they won't last ... they can't handle that kind of spring. (They might just long enough though)
If you could find a set of used Koni yellow's you'd be golden though...

Rear suspension. Weld the internal rear bar in place. (easy, works awesome) Then open it up, cut out the internal rear bar, it's just weight and does nothing now. Get a Teg (or maybe something lighter) front sway bar and some universal end links and do a "RPR special" rear bar. It should be cheap and stiff! For rear springs, get in touch with your local roundy-round racers. They should have TONS of springs in all kinds of sizes and weights. Depending on the front torsion bars you end up with, get rear springs that are roughly 20% stiffer. Or I reccomend if you get 27.5 front torsion bars, get 400-450 pound rear springs. You get to figure out the length and stuff because you'll know what kind of shocks and mounts you have for the springs on the back. (This is where some cool fabrication skills come in again.)

Front diff: Hit these guys up and see if anyone has a Phantom Grip setup that they want to get rid of.

Other stuff:

SELL EVERYTHING THAT YOU AREN'T GOING TO USE!!!

You need that money back in the budget! And sell it on eBay. You will get more money by selling stuff on eBay than you will by selling it locally. (Seriously!)

Take pictures of everything. Starting NOW. From start to finish. You don't have to show us, but you do have to document everything for the judges.

Good luck, it sounds like a b*tch, but I would love to do it.

Edited by PacerRacerGirl, 22 June 2004 - 01:06 PM.

[Friction Limit]

Front torsion bars. Teg bars are too weak. Anything shy of 27.5's are too weak.

You must be crazy! I think 27.5s are too much for auto-x usage, but set-up is all about preference.

If you need the stock teg bars, I've got some I could sell to you for a super discounted rate ($15 sound fair?)
anything to help out a GRM challenge car!

Edited by Friction Limit, 22 June 2004 - 06:58 PM.

[ZcSi CRX]

I have a circle track bout 10 min away I'll hit them thiss weekend ..
*"Rear suspension. Weld the internal rear bar in place. (easy, works awesome) Then open it up, cut out the internal rear bar, it's just weight and does nothing now"????? explain I'm a lil confused.
* the panhard is in the works.
* My friend an I both work in body shops an weldin isn't a factor an neither is fabbin just gettin as much info as i can so I'm prepared when he gets the car hopefully this weekend.
* got some 2g eclipse springs (freebie) tonight
* fuel pumps can i use a gsr fuel pump to accomadate for the boost?

[J-dub-U]

OK guys, I'm the buddy thats talked him into the challenge. I entered last year and really wanna do it again this year. We appreciate all of the help and tips you could give us. I need to know some stuff though. First off, I am a domestic guy but appreciate all and have the willing to learn, so the Honda stuff is new to me. I have lots of ?'s. The thing is, to be competitive we gotta be fast. What is the potential for the EW4 that came in the SI CRX? Our plan is to boost and spray. We have a IHI Rhb 5 and intercooler off of a 1st gen Turbo probe. We also have all the nitrous crap we need. Will this motor take some abuse???? or are we better of w/ a d16 swap? We need to have a solid 13 sec drag car to be competitive in the drags. Our car has to handle exceptionally well also cuz we will be against some tough comp. Turbo AWD DSM's seem to do well at kicking butt. The concours part is in the bag for us due to our profession. This profession also blesses us w/ skills to weld and fabricate, so thats not a big factor either. Like I said all of the info is appreciated, so if ya gotta tip we could use, throw it out.

[PacerRacerGirl]

Front torsion bars. Teg bars are too weak. Anything shy of 27.5's are too weak.

You must be crazy! I think 27.5s are too much for auto-x usage, but set-up is all about preference.

If you need the stock teg bars, I've got some I could sell to you for a super discounted rate ($15 sound fair?)
anything to help out a GRM challenge car!

If you want to set up a competitive CSP or STS CRX/Civic, check out some sites like this:
http://members.cox.net/vmalchesky/

Anyway, I got the advice from the people who run CRX's at Nationals in CSP class. They're fast. Anything less than 27.5 in the front and the car leans too much and you get fender rub, especially with wider rims. (Which you want to run!)

Check with people who run CRX's in autocross on the National level and ask them what kind of torsion bars they run.

When I was setting up my Civic for STS I put 27.5's on the front and 450 pound springs on the rear. (and a 3/4 in rear bar ... I think) It SUCKED rocks on the road, but was AMAZING fast on the autocross course. If I could have stood driving it around town I think it would have made a Nationally competitive car.

In short, I'm giving him advice on how to set up a REAL autocross car, cause that's what he'll need at the GRM $2K4 Challenge. I'm sorry but Teg-bars aren't even going to come close to cutting it.

[ZcSi CRX]

heres an up date J-dub-U an I went to look at the car that was supposed to be an 86 but was a 85 an was rougher than we expected so J-dub-U is gonna look a three another guy has ones a hf .

[Friction Limit]

In short, I'm giving him advice on how to set up a REAL autocross car, cause that's what he'll need at the GRM $2K4 Challenge. I'm sorry but Teg-bars aren't even going to come close to cutting it.

Yeah, you're right. The stiffer bars would be the ideal choice. I've always raced my daily, so that's where my head is. You don't have to compromise on a track only car

...and don't foget the cheater gas. I think that's the best power/money ratio for the drag attack.

[fishie63]

If you can find some torsion bars that would be good to, to get the car to rotate on the auto cross course buy or make a rear sway bar. Most autocross guys remove the front stock swaybay aswell. Goodluck

I know a blue hb with number 73 that can use some more rotation