ok heres the deal.. i was discussing with my friends that my civic hatchback can handle just as well as a prelude... they disagree claiming the body of the prelude is made for better aerodynamics but i claim that my civic is lighter and with the same suspension/tire setup my car can outhandle the prelude... but the guy owning the prelude is a pretty good driver i think ...

anyways.. my friends seemed pretty insistent that i will never be able to beat him on the track but i would like to prove them otherwise... i know i cant make up for the years of experience he has at the track but i know i can damn well build a good car and learn to drive it well...

heres what he has done to his car:
koni yellows
skunk 2 coilovers
pirelli p7000 super sport tires (imported from italy?!) (in the front only but not sure)
i think the car is lowered to the max
carbon fiber wing
i dont know if he has upgraded sway bars but i know he has a front strut bar
its a 2001 prelude and i think it is pretty heavy.. leather seats.. he still has his back seats in... and i think his trunk is full

my car is a 98 civic hatch.. heres what i plan to do (please let me know if u think something shouldnt be there or should because im looking for top of the line or close to top of the line parts for my car... i would rather save up a little more and wait for the better parts):
b18c1 swap w/ LSD tranny
tokico illuminas
eibach springs
rear disc brake conversion
wilwood big brake kit
falken azenis (are these better than his pirelli p7000? if not let me know a tire that is better) rapped around 15'' konig heliums
front and rear upgraded sway bars
front and rear strut bars
some sort of wing for downforce
i plan to take out my back seats and possible get a carbon fiber hood later on ... and possibly get flexite windows in the rear

any recommendations/help/information is greatly appreciated

ps. what is the difference between a coilover and a shock and do u need both on a car?

thanks alot

 

i would recommend tein ss coilovers instead of the shock/spring setup. true coilovers are the shocks/struts and springs all together, perfectly matched to each other. the other type of coilovers are just like adjustable springs. true coilovers are better then separate springs and shocks.

you won't really need all that much downforce. you'd also want to look into replacing your bushings.

 

my friends seemed really insistent that my car cant.. "hug the corners" like his car.. i just thought the downforce would help that..

ok so with coilovers u dont need springs/shocks? its all in one?
also what bushings u recommend

 

bushings is a big plus.. i got the energy suspension kit. i haven't gotten the car running yet because of my motor swap, but i can already notice how much stiffer the suspension is with the bushings alone. well worth it...

look into the crossbar that goes from your rear seat belt bolts. i forgot what that was called.. c-pillar? :thinking:

 

yeah ive seen this other guy with a h/b that took his seats out he put a bar there.. i think its a strut bar.. is that what u mean? or is a crossbar different?

 

btw, i really don't think downforces is going to be an issue between both cars unless you plan on taking your car around a corner going 70-80+mph. that's kinda like saying you're going to fold in the mirrors to reduce drag forces. :thumbup:

 

whew that takes a load off my back cuz i think his wing is top of the line... titanium brackets holding up a big carbon fiber wing..

 

it's a crossbar..strut bars are used to attach struts, unless you got some struts holding your seltbelt down..

 

hm im not sure what it is but whatever it is when u take the seats out... it looks exactly like under the hood where u mount the strut bar tho... i dunno... also im looking in my honda tuning mag and i see this Energy suspension.. hyper-flex master set which is performance polyurethance front and rear control arm bushings, front and rear sway bar bushings, and motor mount inserts.. it says it will give a significant reduction in wheel hop (needed for track? or only strip?), provide more steering response and cornering control and give you more control under braking... is this a kit i want?

 

Here's what I would do:

Koni Yellow shocks
Custom rate Ground Controls (the over-the-counter ones are too soft)
Front/rear sway bar kit (Cusco, ST, etc...)
New bushings (ES, etc...)
Front/rear strut bars & tie bars (look for the solid non-adjustable ones. The adjustable ebay ones are trash).
A set of lightweight 15" wheels (you can get Rota's from me for cheap [shameless plug] heh heh)
Falken Azenis sport tires (poor man's race tires)
Depending on how fast you plan on going, canards in front can help high speed traction (but somewhat reduce acceleration up top and also the top speed).
A wilwood big brake kit would be overkill IMO. Just swap in stock GSR/SI(6th gen) brakes all around with AEM pads.
And reduce as much weight as you safely can (i.e. taking out the seats, some of the interior, removing the tar, getting a CF hood, lightweight battery, etc...)