VW Guy Wants A Honda Fun Car

[Exit109GTI]

Hey guys nice site. I'm from NJ but Brian sent me over here to get some advice. I have a 2003 VW GTI, and it's damn expensive to mod, so I'm looking into a secondary project car like a Honda CRX. So where do I go from here in choosing the type of car I want to do a swap on etc.... What are the costs involved availablity of parts etc..... Should I go honda? Mitsu? What will take a turbo kit better? Thanks in advance guys.

[Mario]

Well, what kinda performance are you looking for? Do you run drag... autocross, or just street? What are your goal HP and track times?

[Exit109GTI]

I want an all around pretty much, if this is possible with a track time of low 13's. I don't mind using NOS and turbos.

[Mario]

Ok, all round... well, if you go Honda you'll wanna get a pretty light car to start with. Any 88-91 CRX is a good start... HF or Si preferred since they are MPFI. 92-95 Civic hatches are light as well if you go with the CX or VX - the Si is heavier.

If you go with one of those, an engine swap is gonna be a must. You can do pretty much any Honda engine swap. Someone here is doing a built ZC turbo and is expecting to run 12's. You can do a mild b16a, b17a, or b18c1 or b18a/b setup and prolly hit 15's with basic bolt-ons. Turbo will get you into high 13's for sure. You could do the less popular b20 setup... insane torque in a light car. There are lots of options.

I don't know much about things other than Honda's... DSM's are a popular choice, but can often have problems from what I hear.

Oh yea - wht kinda price range you looking at?

[Exit109GTI]

Under 8K otherwise I would just STG3 my GTI.

[Slava]

If you want a fast car and 13 with just the motor then a 92-95 civic HB with H22 run mid 13 on all motor down by sealevel. But you will have to work on suspension a lot. Turbo H22 civic HB is pretty close to 11's and bult H22 turbo will run a 10 yeasy add nos you might hit 9's if you build everything right.

[David]

Originally posted by H22Eg6Rus
If you want a fast car and 13 with just the motor then a 92-95 civic HB with H22 run mid 13 on all motor down by sealevel. But you will have to work on suspension a lot. Turbo H22 civic HB is pretty close to 11's and bult H22 turbo will run a 10 yeasy add nos you might hit 9's if you build everything right.

but that hurts the cars suspension, or so i've herd. If you want an all around car that wouldn't be the best choice.

[forum]

Originally posted by 4g63_KickAss
but that hurts the cars suspension, or so i've herd. If you want an all around car that wouldn't be the best choice.

It's all in how you set the suspension up, if you put the right kind of suspension on it you won't have any problems

[PFI Pros]

The H motors are quite a bit taller than the other swaps, they usually have the bottom of the transmission and the oil pan very close to the road when installed in the Civic. If you plan to alter the suspension, be advised...

[Mario]

Well, you can't really just build the internals of an engine, turbocharge an h22a at 15psi, and be running 10's. There's a lot of factors that are involved, namely the transmission will need to be taken care of, as well as this little problem called traction. With all those problems, a supposed 10 second Honda would run 12's because with all that power you can be spinning your wheels through the end. :) Now, maybe you have a race clutch, heavy duty pressure plate, flywheel, etc. all your little tranny goodies setup, and you are running on slicks.. then yes, you may be a bit closer to 10's. ;)

$8k? How reliable do you want this to be? If it's track only, then do any b or h series swap and homemade turbo it. If not, then go the supercharger or N/A route. An h22a in any Civic/CRX chassis is gonna be fast, but take care of the suspension. :)

[Mark_H]

I'd build the GTI. Little odds and ends add up constantly on a "project" type CRX or Civic.
Mark

[TedR719]

Alright here is my advice on building a a "Civic Project" I put together my car for a total cost of about 10,000 (includes cost of the car) It's a 1992 Civic Si.

I say stick to a 92-95 Civic, why because it will be the easiest and there are endless parts avaliable for the car. It's obd1 so no headaches with odb2 cars or obd0. Also the cost of the older vehicle is not too bad you can find a hatch or coupe around $2,000 - $6000 at most. I got my Si for $3000.

I got the Si because of all the little extras I wanted, power steering, 4 wheel disc brakes, a/c, sunroof, factor tach in the cluster are the most important ones I can think of. You cant get that with the CX,VX (has tach) ,DX as well (all hatchback models) unless it was included as an option. But on the other hand those models are about 200-300lbs ligther since most of them dont have all these extras. But again the oppertunities are endless since you can pick up a cx hatch and swap over some integra disc brakes for about $400.

Now the motors, you can chose almost any motor to drop in this chassie, I went b16a Sir II. These are the ones I would recommend. b18c (Type-R), b16a SiRII, b16b, b18c (GSR). I got my motor from Steve at www.hmotorsonline.com. They range from $2300 - $5000

As far as times I ran a 15.4 up here at Bandimere 5800ft above sea level, down at sea level I would run a mid 14. You can drop the b18cR motor in a CX hatchback and run 13's all motor with minimal mods.

So in general look for a 92-92 (5th gen) Civic $2500, get a B18cR motor $4500 (complete), throw some good suspension ($1500), and do it yourself (free). You will have a reliable 13 second car for under $10,000. I dont know if you are a hardcor drag racer or like to tear it up in the "twisties" but this car can do both. It would be a very well balanced vehicle.

Whats you budget?
What are you looking to get out of the car?

The best site for Honda-Acura question I found is www.honda-tech.com

If you have any questions let me know.... I personally love to drive my car and I think I will be keeping her for a while (was debating to sell but for different resons) but overall a good car.

[Mario]

Nice little write-up... appreciate it. :) Ted what mods do you have on the hatch?