GRM $2006 Challenge

Hello, guys! First things first, I want to point out that I have no idea about anything Honda at all. I know what the various body styles look like, and how many cylinders are in the engine. That's about it. Oh, and I also know that your aftermarket is dirt cheap. I'm thinking about my various options for the Grassroots Motorsports $2006 Challenge, and the CRX came to mind. I can get the running car for about $700 (max), which leaves a budget of $1306.

Assuming the CRX is bone stock, what can I do to it for $1,306 to make it a competitive racer? Remember, my needs are strictly performance-oriented (I'll probably spend a few bucks on a can of spraypaint, though). The car has to be ready for both autocrossing and drag racing.

Tires, coilovers, and braces are the obvious first buys. What else?

Hmmm. Well I say to try to find some used, but good suspention parts, shocks, springs, tie bars, and strut bars, and swap bars if its not an si. Then I'd say with the budget you have, to forget about any kind of motor swap, and just boost it to like 8 lbs.

Yes, I will definitely start with a CRX Si. It's always best to start with good stuff and work your way up with a racecar. And after some quickie research, I've found that tires will set me back $400, which leaves approx. $906 in the budget for suspension and/or engine. How much is it to turbo one of these bad boys? Engine swaps? I'm not even sure what engine it comes with in the first place, to tell you the truth. I just know it handles really well for a $700 or less car.

Why start with an Si? Look for an HF or a DX at most.. Si rear sway and LCAs, A SOHC VTEC motor, some used suspension from somewhere online (check clubsi and honda-tech), and make it as light as you possibly can. (remove the sereo wires and all that crap, strip strip strip!)

intake,exhaust,springs,strut bar short shifter....or go EBAY

Why start with an HF or DX? What's the added benefit there? I figure the Si will be the fast one, right? What does LCA stand for? Yes, it will be stripped to the bare shell, drivetrain, driver's seat/belts, suspension, and wheels. Anything not absolutely necessary is going on Ebay or the dumpster. Actually, anything I sell can be recouped into the budget, so I'm going to try to sell as much as I can.

Si is pretty heavy compared to the HF and DX, the HF weighs the least. LCA = Lower Conrtol Arm.

i don't think the weight savings help that much to be honest - the engine makes up for it

My suggestion:

Ebay intake ($40), short shifter ($20), header ($100), if possible go without exhaust (earplugs $1) if not, then buy some 2.5 piping for under $100, then springs and shocks ($??), maybe a used Mitsubishi turbo?

sway bars, and strut tower bars, then intake and exhaust. i like the ear plug idea, remove the cat!!! lowering springs, tires. hope its all in your budget.

My suggestion:

Ebay intake ($40), short shifter ($20), header ($100), if possible go without exhaust (earplugs $1) if not, then buy some 2.5 piping for under $100, then springs and shocks ($??), maybe a used Mitsubishi turbo?

A header and then a turbo?! :screwy:

I don't think you're going to get a car, suspension, AND a turbo all for under $2000, thats nuts.
And yes, the weight savings with an HF will be completley beneficial. Lighter = better braking, better accelerating, better handling. Really consider getting a different motor. Si motors can be found for dirrrt cheap if you shop around enough, and SOHC VTECs can also be found for cheap if you know some people and do lots of searching around. (depending on your area I guess)

The only benefit an Si is going to have over an HF is the rear sway and the higher HP motor, but with the same motor in both cars I'd definatley put my money on the HF.

in ALL honesty its only a couple hundred lbs difference at most, that is if you get the heaviest SI a 91. But considereing you are taking out everything you dont need I dont think this will be an issue. Not to mention the heaviest stock crx is probably around 2100/2200 lbs w/o a driver in it.

You are better off starting with the SI because it has a lot of the stuff it needs that the others don't have to begin with and that you would have to make up for in budget. First off the engine and tranny combo in the SI make it the quickest crx and its pretty damned peppy at that stage. It also comes with a rear sway bar and in the case of a 90/91 it has rear disc brakes.

You have the right idea with your plan. Start with some tires (used), coilovers/springs (used if you can), and aftermarket struts (used if possible!)

TAKE OFF the front sway bar. Strip it. As far as cheap power...get creative. You could probably build a homemadeturbo.com setup for some change but scoring the parts might be hard. Nitros might be the better option here for quick power, no more than a 65 shot I would say on stock block. Think about a BIG CAM! If you do plan on adding some sort of FI, please do some kind of fuel management.

You should be perfectly fine with stock engine on the autocross course.

are there any restrictions in these races? like do the cars have to be street legal or anything? Seriously though, if you know how to into the engine, maybe think of getting a vtec head (do a search on here for mini-me). although if you did that you wouldnt have much left for suspension so you would lack in the autocross.
If you would rather do better in the autocross, theres nothing wrong with the stock Si motor. You could throw a cam in it to get some more power. Then you would have money left for stuff like a rear sway bar, stuts and springs.
Also, strip everything out of your car. all you need is the drivers seat and the steering wheel and the seatbelt. get down to all the things like windshield wipers, wiper motor and fluid jug, front bumper support...if you have a/c and/or power steering, ditch them. those are a couple of ways to free up some hp. sounds like a fun project.

No doubt.. I would totally love to do something like this.

I think you're in good hands with a older Civic/CRX. ;)

I doubt nitrous can be used in autox. It can be used in drag though, even though I think he's trying to score big points in autox though.

Sorry about the header comment, I know, you don't need it.

Yeah I agree you deff have the right car.

CRX-$700
Susp.- Tokiko illuminas and tokico springs $455 shipped
Handl.- front & rear strut bar & front and rear tie bar $70 shipped
Nitrous Express main line kit $370 shipped
That leaves you $411 for your tires.

imo, dont waste money on strut tower bars and tie bars. do more beneficial stuff like a good rear sway bar.

Once again. NO NITROUS. Not allowed by rules. Forget it.

if you are going cheap i would try and get a first gen crx hf then go get a running first gen integra. swap everything from the integra. that would probly cost you about 1000-1500 plus 500 for tires. i was going to do this but never that the time to go to florda for the challenge

EBAY:
cai - $40
upper rods - $40
no name coilovers - $40
kyb-agx dampers - $150
suspension techniques rear sway bar - $100
tires - $400
TOTAL - $790 for ur complete suspension


add $700 for price of car and that is $1490 which leaves you $516...think u could do a D15B swap for that much

1. go to junk yard
2. find a turbo saab
3. buy piping and build downpipe and manifold
4. boost the si motor
5. buy dsm injectors maybe a used intercooler.
6. take a really big poop before your race

Once again. NO NITROUS. Not allowed by rules. Forget it.

He said the car will be used for drag and autox.

having too many choices can be a bad thing :shakehead

He said the car will be used for drag and autox.
true, but he's more concerned about doing good in the auto-x part than in the drag. If he was trying to win big in drag, than he'd get a camaro.

if you are going cheap i would try and get a first gen crx hf then go get a running first gen integra. swap everything from the integra. that would probly cost you about 1000-1500 plus 500 for tires. i was going to do this but never that the time to go to florda for the challenge

DING! A 1st gen rex or 3rd gen Civic would be quite fast with simple stuff. A friend of mine used to have a ZC in a 1st gen and with basic mods would beat swapped hatches.

probably could beat me in my swapped hatched...swapped a b15b1 for a d15b2

DING! A 1st gen rex or 3rd gen Civic would be quite fast with simple stuff. A friend of mine used to have a ZC in a 1st gen and with basic mods would beat swapped hatches.

i agree, 1st gen crx baby ooo wee

probably could beat me in my swapped hatched...swapped a b15b1 for a d15b2

:lol:


i'd say buy a shell with a blown motor for like 50 - 100 bucks. then get alot of your stuff off e-bay. find a good cheap motor locally. (u need to look, i found a ZC for 100 bucks, just needed to be rebuilt which cost another 200) best way to do it IMO. it doesnt have to pass saftey so just find a shit hole shell and bad motor.

Some of you guys are really catching on here. Thanks!
On the difference between the weight of the HF and the Si: where is that weight coming from? If I take out all the sound deadeners, upholstry, seats, paneling, etc, is the weight still a factor? I mean, stripped to the bare bones, is there a significant weight difference? Obviously, the suspension components of the Si are going to weigh a bit more, but that weight is paid for in performance.
As for the rules, the current rule-set can be found here: http://www.grassrootsmotorsports.com/2005rules.html

Thanks for all your input, guys. This is really starting to look like a doable project. Keep it coming. I'm going to start looking for a sponsor now. :-)

weight would be coming from the sunroof, sunroof motor, ac compoments, rear wiper, rear wiper motor...and that's about all i can think of...i think all those things including every single components (ie. wiring freon, bolts) will add up close to 50-60lbs or more...mabey :dunno:

^Yeah, but almost all those he could remove fairly easily. You could even remove the sunroof completely, just have a hole in the roof, that's weight reduction right there. I wouldn't be surprised if you were able to get it down to like 1750 pounds.

not puting something to cover the hole would cause drag...like leaving the windows down while racing...unless u have a rear window like a del sol

here are the weights from www.honda-tech.com ....IMO he'd be better off starting with an hf :2cents:

1985 Honda CRX Si MT 1883
1985 Honda CRX DX MT 1819
1985 Honda CRX HF MT 1713
1986 Honda CRX Si MT 1953
1986 Honda CRX DX MT 1819
1986 Honda CRX HF MT 1713
1987 Honda CRX Si MT 1978
1987 Honda CRX DX MT 1865
1987 Honda CRX HF MT 1713

Just to add, I have a CRX Si without A/C. Sunroof panel has been removed and replaced with a plexiglass panel. The sunroof motor and wiring is still in place (that weight is not as big a deal as the panel). The rear wiper arm is still in place. My car is light as hell. With the undercoating mostly burnt off (with a few holes here and there as well), lightweight 1986 14x5" CRX Si rims that weigh about 9lbs each (if you don't believe me, I'll throw one at you)... I'd say my Si is a featherweight and really could use a front lip back on it...

Once again. The car is used for Autox. I think 20 lb (guess) weight savings would be more useful than the reduction in drag due to an open top, because speeds usually don't go over 60 mph.

Depends on the autocross course. I've often gotten my WRX up to nearly 100mph on certain circuits. Usually the SCCA keeps the speeds down, and this will undoubtedly be run by SCCA autocrossers considering they're using SCCA rules and regulations.

Ya man, get the HF for sure if you can find one for a good price, 300lbs difference may not seem like a whole lot, but there's probably more still you could drop off from there, consider the fact that 300lbs is like 7% of the cars overall wieght, the difference will really help.

Plus, its already MPFI so it should be easier to put an A6 or a Z6 if he choses to spend the money that way.

The only thing I see thats really more benefitial about getting the Si is that it has a rear sway.


Anyway, I'm really excited about this thing man, when you make moves (even if its not a Honda) you gotta keep us updated.

Wait: the HF is MPFI and the Si is not?!?

Wait: the HF is MPFI and the Si is not?!?

both are

Oh, OK. That's what I thought. SiZ's post just made it sound otherwise.

Both are WIRED for MPFI... the Si has a larger intake plenum and tb dimensions (ie. not designed for fuel economy)...

Ya, what I meant was it would be easier than going with the middle of the road DX model..

Nevermind me.

Nevermind me.

done and done ;)