I'm getting started in auto X this summer, pretty pumped. So far the only mods I've done to my car have been speed/power upgrades, as I've mostly been stoplight and dragstrip racing. I'm not ready to fully dive into the world coilovers and expensive slicks quite yet, but I'd like to know what I could tinker with to help out my car a bit. I have a feeling my car will stomp some heads with the mods I have, but the extra edge doesn't hurt.

 

There is not much you can do if you are not going to get coilovers....

I highly recommend the suspension tuning book from g-force

 

list what you have done, and we can give you an answer.

 

I'm a college student with a budget. Spending $500 on one thing when I need new tires and paint will not go good with my budget.

My mods so far-
RB Header
2" Cat Delete Pipe
Zero Emissions
Holley Red Fuel Pump
Holley 465
RB Holley Manifold

Next on the list is a RB muffler and tires. I'm quite unsure at this point what to do with rims and tires, but I'm thinking I'm going to stick with the stock 13s. Sumitomos would be the best tire then, right? 205/60? I've always been partial to the white lettered Coopers, though. If I could find some good rims and tires for a good price I'd be down though. I know tires can make alot of difference.

 

get a helmet and money for entry. as long as your car is sound (suspension bushings and such) you have a nice set up. maybe add an RB front sway bar. pay for skill before mods.

 

I would recommend overhouling your steering and bushings changing your tierod ends and idle arm will make a huge difference in how responsive oyur car will be and also doing a full poly bushing set wouldnt hurt eather since the car is 27years old you would be surprised at how much better it will handle and all that is fow around 300 bucks if you do all the work your self.

 

If i'd take a very wild guess i'd say that your shocks are probably blown by now and should be changed. The tokico HP ones a fairly priced and work pretty good. They run about 220$ shipped from ebay. Or you can get the slightly cheaper KYB gr2 for about 160$. Also the you can get yourself some springs from racing beat for 184$ plus shipping. So say shipping is about 35$ that'll leave you about 120$ to get some sort of rubber. If I were you I'd grab the Sumitomo HTR 200 get atleast 2 on the back tires or if you want to make your budget about 600$ then you can probably get all 4.

That might be your best bet. I'd invest in sway bars next, for your budget i'd for with the racing beat one at 135$ thats the front only. you can get the back later on.

 

Dj-what you said is very doable. Thanks for the suggestion. Sounds like I should go with new shocks, RB springs and 205 Sumis? I'll toy around with that idea. What about a strut tower bar? I figure I could make one, would that help any?

Anybody hear wanna make the arguement that I'd be better off saving my pennies for some larger rims with better tire choice? Or are the sumi's sticky enough?

 

go for tokico. buy slightly cheaper tires. until you do the big brake conversion. try to stay away from RB as their products are expensive and heavy

 

the kyb's aren't that bad ... i've installed them on a buddy's civic before. Anything will beat the blow out shocks that are on the car right now (btw to test out if you have a blown shock just push down on each corner of the car and see if it keeps on bouncing or just goes up and stays there. If it bounces shocks are blown)

As for RB products being expensive thats not really true, you might get cheaper sway bars from other companies, but springs ... i don't even know who makes springs for our cars and the cost for all 4 is pretty cheap and as we all know RB makes a product that lasts.

as for the tires Super82, ya the summi's 205/60/13 should work fine

 

Don't worry about the strut tower bar, as it will put you into a different class where you will be wholly uncompetitive. I did pretty damn good at my first auto-x with RB springs, Tokico Illumina's in the front, blue's in the rear, and 185/70R13 all season radials with a 400 treadwear rating. I also have MSD coils and Magnacore wires. I placed third and was under .5 seconds behind the 2nd place car on a 51.xx second course. Tires and brake pads will help most for you right now. Sumimoto's are sticky and cheap, and get some Hawk HPS pads, because the HP+ pads will eat your rotors and be loud on the street. I also think that the HP+ pads need more heat than the HPS pads.

EDIT: click on my sig if you want to see pictures from my first auto-x, and what can happen with tires that are poorly suited for the purpose in which i was using them.

 

All good advice so far, but I'll throw in my own opinion too.

I would recommend that you throw some Sumi tires on there (I've raced them for years, can't beat the price), and spend the rest of your time cleaning the car and engine bay. You will be running in CSP with your current mods, so you've got some room to play. You can remove anything that's not needed from the engine bay for starters (weight removal is your freind). Also, cover the basics like a tuneup and checking over all suspension and steering parts.

Don't throw money at it!!!! The biggest improvement you will ever make will be the driver, not the car. Give it a year or two before you decide what parts you want to upgrade, and spend that time learning more about how to drive (trust me, no matter how good you think you are right now, there is a mountain left to learn).

On Racing Beat: I started out with all RB parts, and they were a decent improvement on the car. But not enough to justify the money spent in my opinion. Later I ended up replacing all of those parts with coilovers, camber plates, rear springs and adjusters for the rear, and tubular front swaybar all from Respeed. I'd say that the total cost was probably 50% higher than the RB stuff I had, but the return on investment is phenomenal.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I have never before dealt with a company like Respeed. Best products and customer service on the planet hands down....


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I'm hoping to see you out there again this year Whitey, that was a blast.

One note on the strut bar though; since he has already removed emissions he'd be in my class anyway. So a strut bar will be legal, as long as it only goes from tower to tower (doesn't connect to the firewall). If you can do it cheap, go for it.

 

The RB stuff is nice and well made, but theres a very high likelyhood that you will want to change up to RE-Speed in the future. Also the RB front sway bar is ridiculously heavy and that weight all sits in front of the front wheels, which is no help with handling. The only RB product I would recommend that I have used is the exhaust. Though it is quite heavy it makes up for it with power, tone, subtlety and longevity.

I would also recommend the Sumitomos. They are the only decent tires in the stock size that are well priced. I've used them for 2 years and am very happy with them. For a lightly modified car they are very suitable.

 

agreed this is why i made my comment about price and weight. of course i didn't explain it as well as you did hehe

 

Sounds like the sumis are where it is at then. Anyone think I should maybe get a second set of wheels and put some sumis on them so I don't ruin the tread I'd be using on the street? Isn't autocrossing just going to ruin the tires very quickly?

I just chekced my shocks, they appear nice and firm with no bouncing. I think I'll just finish up what I was already going to do and instead of spending money save it and practice driving then eh?

 

Yes, autocross will ruin the tires. I usually only use one set of tires, and they'll last about 1 1/2 years before the outside edges get too worn down...

This was before I started using camber plates though. Since using them, the wearing of the outside egde is minimul. So I guess you could consider it a cost savings (spend cash for plates, but tires last longer).

 

That was a blast. I need to find a job and start saving for trips downstate to auto-x. I didn't realize that I should have been running against you, since I didn't have emissions...