completely new to this

ok...so ive wanted to get a car and race all my life and i just recently came across the possibilities that a civic has and i like it alot, well i have never done shit with cars but i want to get into it more than anything and my parents certainly arnt helping out AT ALL! i can barely even get my own job! anyways i dont know shit about cars all i know is i want to race and i think i would be great at it with my ambition...its like a intuition, well do any of you think that a civic hatchback would be a good first car cause i want to swap engines and all that shit, is that a little too advanced, even if i had some help?

As long as you spend the time to learn about the car and what is needed to do a motor swap (buying a manual for the car will also be a big help), and can get some help doing it; it's very possible. Personally I think Civics are great cars to learn from, even if once you buy the car and do a swap and find something that interests you more. And don't be one of those punk ass kids and race every car on the streets. If you're really interested in racing, be smart about it and learn at the track.

bad way to start you'll meet a pole if your lucky take someone with you if not.

you want speed get a real sports car to start not some grocery getter.

Ambtions and dreams dont mean shit anywhere in life its what you do.

Ok i'm going to leave it at that before i get unfriendly

The best place to get into motorsports is here: http://www.scca.com or http://www.nasaproracing.com

Both have autocross which is the best place to start to get your feet wet AND safest venue for you and your car. Then you can work up the ladder to professional racing.

Also read this: http://home.dejazzd.com/mlouie/autocross.html

Are you talking about street racing or professional racing?

Are you talking about street racing or professional racing?

if possible i would love to be professional but all i would be able to do now for a long time would just be like go up to drag strips and theres this street racing league type thing my friends brother is in but its not street racing...i forget exactly what it is....anyways all we have around here is like 1 drag strip like an hour away and i think there might be oval track somewhere around here, i know we have a dirt track somewhere...im not good with directions or anything of that sort, anyways ive always loved rally racing and formula 1 but all racing kicks ass to me, and to the one who said ambition and dreams dont mean shit, if ambition and dreams are bullshit you wouldnt have cars nearly as fast and great as they are, ambition, to me, is the same as greed...you want to strive for more always, so if noone had ambition think about what life would be like?

off the subject: how old were you all when you got your first car that you ever raced in, i want to get it now since my experience is shit so i would be able to compete with kids the same age as me(knowledge wise) like at least by college, also...is there any type of book that would be like a crash course in mechanics and all that stuff?

thanks for any help or comments on my stupidity...im not the smartest person, at all

alright alright...i guess you were right i didnt see the rest of what you said about that, but ambition and dreams are the fuel for what you do in life

Learn how to DRIVE before you race. If you get your license and take off like a race car driver.. chances are you are going to lose that license.. or your life.

I was like you.. I wanted to get a car that I could get under the hood and make faster and head down to the city and race. Then I realized I need to know alot more about my car.. how it handles, when to shift, all that good stuff before I would even think about taking it to such extremes.

hah i have too many questions, sorry....to go to a driving school, how much would it cost around and would it be better to wait till ive gotten a feel for what its like to race around some track...i might be able to use my parents miata since there too bitchy to let me pay for my own car...i cant wait till im out of this damn house with my own job

"Honda & Acura Performance Handbook" is a great all around book. It's filled with general information about the history of Honda, suspension (wheels, shocks and springs, handling, and settings), fuel, timing and ignition, engine bolt-ons (exhaust, intake, cams), forced induction, brakes, visual mods, transmissions and traction, and engine swaps.

The best way to start getting information is to ask questions. I was lucky in that I have a friend who is a certified technician; and he encourages me to ask questions when I don't know about something. Maybe sign up for some classes at a local technical school. Buying a service manual will also help, the good ones have step by step walkthroughs on how to do things as well as explainations on what certain parts do. Just take your time, be partient, ask questions, and keep an open mind. There are many of us who have been on these forums for years, and we're still learning new things all the time. And if you have a question, it's best to click the old search button at the top of the page; there is a wealth of information out there.

yea yea i know...im more realistic than most kids of my age...i have driven my parents miata with my dad and he said i did pretty good...haha i like to think so myself too, it was my first time driving, and it was with with a stick, so like the second time i stalled out my dad got mad and not really purposely punched me in the mouth

He punched you in the mouth? Mmmmk..


Anyways.. my dad said I did alright first time out too.. doesn't mean you're ready to strap into 200+ hp and hit turns doing 80.

i know, im not saying im ready now and can take on anyone, i just wanted to feel important by bragging a little...haha

thats the same attitude I started out with when I was 16. now im almost 20 and my license has been suspended half of these past 4 years. hell its still suspended right now. street racing is a bad idea period. drive a normal car during the day and when you have the freedom and money, start a project car. otherwise you;ll lose your license faster than you imagined possible, and its even harder to get it back, let alone k eep it. plus you'll have to fill out an SR22. you really only get one chance to have a good valid license, once it gets suspended a single time, it can go downhill quick.

and if its a miata you are go ing to be driving then we'll be waiting for you to come back once its a civic ;) and there are endless possibilities with civics, so theyre very versatile.

take things one step at a time. youre parents arent going to let you drive at all if you go out and start racing their miata the day you get your license. c'mon now.

"Honda & Acura Performance Handbook" is a great all around book.

I helped with that book. I know the author :)

Well I started autocrossing when I was 25 (I going to be 33 soon). So been autocrossing for 8 years. Did my 1st track day back in 2002 and now I'm hooked.

I'm our local autocross instructor as well as for Philly, South NJ and NEPA (northeast PA). I also do some of the autocross schools at Carlisle Fairgrounds during their import shows :)

I helped with that book. I know the author :)
:eek2: Oh snap! That's sic man. That book is great, before I read it I never even had a clue about how suspension really works. Excellent book, I'd recommend to anyone who wants to get into performance; not even just Hondas and Acuras. The one criticism that I have about the book, is the H22a thing. There was only a short paragraph about the swap, and it used the excuse of weight as an issue on why not to do the swap. (And that because I bought the book at a store, I don't get access to the extra 3 chapters. :D)

I helped with that book. I know the author :)

Well I started autocrossing when I was 25 (I going to be 33 soon). So been autocrossing for 8 years. Did my 1st track day back in 2002 and now I'm hooked.

I'm our local autocross instructor as well as for Philly, South NJ and NEPA (northeast PA). I also do some of the autocross schools at Carlisle Fairgrounds during their import shows :)
i'm pretty sure we've spoken quickly last summer IRL its mike right?