Rob43

Hi, I've been club racing in SCCA (ITB/ITS/ITR) for a long time, but all my experience has been in different BMW rear drive race cars. I've decided to race my 99 Honda Civic EX Sedan (5spd), currently this is a bone stock street car with about 108,000 miles. The motor & trans are in great shape, so besides all the safety equipment I'll first concentrate on the race suspension. This is where I need your input, if you have ever road raced (tracked) or autocrossed, I need your knowledge on: Swaybars (F&R), Linear race springs (Rate), Single/Double Adjustable Shocks/Struts, Bushings, & Stress bars.

What works great,......Just on the race track.


Thanks,
Rob43

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

I don't race but I would recommend BFG Comp Sport 2 tires if you need a street summer tire that handles very well. I am currently using them and they are great.

Energy Suspension poly bushings will be nice also.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

uuuuuuhnh.
opposite to a RWD, you will want a stiff rear and a "softer" front.
don't go too far on the stiff rear, they might work on tight autoX confines, but the balance could be wrong to higher speeds at the track.
ah, yes, opposite to RWD again, alignment would be opposite, though the 99 would be better than the 7th gen I have, double wishbone vs strutted mcpherson.
I am unsure of the spring rates, but surely you want a non-understeer car, so rears should be stiffer, also considering the difference of the arm lengths (lever act).

and a lot of the stiffening of chassis are kinda... not sure what to say, since it's a double wishbone mounted quite high in the chassis, so there *might* be some gains on the performance from a "strut" bar. rears have enough sheet metal in between the towers, so don't see much to gain in there.

rustycivic

Do you plan on tracking the car full-time, or is the car also a daily driver? That will play a big part in how you set up your spring rates. I'll let you answer that before I give my suggestion on springs/shocks.





For sway bars, definitely want to go big in the rear. I'd say at least 22mm. The most cost effective option would be an OEM Integra Type R or Civic Type R rear sway. There are plenty of other brands though.....Eibach, Suspension Techniques, Progress, ASR......they vary in diameters.

With a larger rear sway bar, you will need to get a rear subframe brace as well. The subframe is a weak point in the Civics suspension, and if you run a large diameter bar with a brace, you risk ripping out part of the subframe....especially on the track.

For the fronts, I'd say just upgrade to a Civic Type R one if you can find it. If not, your OEM one would be sufficient. You don't want a huge sway bar up front, since that will only increase understeer.

For Bushings, Energy Suspension polyurethane are the best bang for the buck. There are also Prothane, which are a little stiffer than ES I believe, and also Hard Race, which are hardened rubber bushings.

By stress bars, I'm assuming you mean strut bars? For the front, a 3-point is the best. A 2-point is also good, but don't get any of the "adjustable" cheapo ones. You want something that is solid welded such as the Ultra Racing or Mugen




Same goes for the rear, solid is the way to go. But for the rear, the best choice would be a full roll cage, or at least a rear X-brace.