My car is in my sig, also, it's an AT , I should also note that no other weight besides me (130lbs), the Honda spare tire (removed!), some tools (maybe 10-20lbs) and my subwoofer box(will remove on race nights when it gets warmer, probably around 100? dual ported box with two 10's.). The way I drive it, when I race from a stop is 1st to as close to fuel cut off as possible (6.0-6.4K), then 2nd the same way. I never need past third in the 1/4. I just want to say, I don't have dynos, slips, et cetera, this is all amateur "ricer" stuff.

Anyways, I've been beaten by these three cars, but I've also been able to take a couple, one is pretty obvious, two I'm confused as hell about. Is it because my car weighs so much (3100 with me, 3250(?) with sub box/tire/tools) or is it because of the AT, or both? I've almost completed the basic boltons with the exception of exhaust, which I really need to do because I've done a little to the frontend.

Anyhow, I've beaten (this is all from a stop, flagged with painted 1/4 lines, I try to note everything I know possible about the other car)

01 Civic EX 5spd (Stock)
96-00 Civic LX AT (Intake, Strut Bar)
96-00 Civic LX AT (Stock)

I've lost to:

01 Civic EX 5spd (Stock, same car as above) (About 3/4 car length)
Prelude with the triangleish lights H23A (Si?) 5spd (Intake, probably a lot more) (About a car length)
94-97 Accord EX 5spd (Intake, Helix) (About 1/2 car length)
Unknown Nissan Stanza (looked like a POS, this was on the interstate, I was at speed limit in the middle lane, he pulls up, I look over, throw it in third and floor it, got to 105 and shifted to fourth, had him for a while but somewhere around 125 he got the best of me.)

I mean, it's like I'm not really dipping too far out of my class. I know I weigh an awful lot (at least 500lbs more than anything I've raced except the Accord). I've got money, but not the kind of money to go F/I except maybe NOS which I don't want to do. Am I just SOL unless I want to go F/I? Is it the lack of a MT?

Thanks!

 

I would say its a mixture of weight and the tranny ratio on the six-gens. Go F/I and then tell us how you are doing

Long live the six-gens

 

If you have the 4-cyl accord of that year, that's probably where your problem lies. A car with that kind of weight needs a fair level of torque to get it moving, and an NA 4-cyl usually isn't sufficient.

Auto trannys do suck the life out of the engine, as a general rule... but there are some exceptions. Too bad you won't see them on anything less than $40,000.

I'd look into a 5-speed swap. You'd get an additional 5-10% more power delivered to the wheels, which is far better than anything else you can do besides F/I.

 

the 5th gen SS AT does wuite well for 26 grand
a lot better if it had one more gear
hehe 5-spd owns 4-spd

 

id say auto tranny most likly.
my dads 88 camry(auto, short ram) kept up with my friends 02 accord coupe SE(stock).
a manual makes a hell of a diff. in driving compared to auto. the accords jus seem to get bigger and bigger...

 

i dunno...my 1997 civic ex is 5 speed, and i raced a guy with a 99 accord ex 5 speed a while back almost stock on stock (we both had a few bolt-ons like exaust, intake, header).
he seemed to be a pretty good driver, and we both launched well. we pulled even all through 2nd gear, and then slowed down because we were already way over the limit.
my dad's 2000 accord is auto and feels strong, but you can push the car to it's full potential with stick.

 

With you in the car plus all the extra stuff, your car might tip the scales at 2700lbs. The automatic is really hurting you, plus the fact that you only have 127hp/107tq stock.

Some nitrous or a bolt-on turbo kit at around 5psi would help a lot.

 

An auto tranny car is usually heavier than a manual tranny car, which only makes things worse. Being able to drop the clutch on launch doesn't hurt either.

 

The torque is the biggest factor for you.....I would look at some dyno numbers for people who have done mods that make more torque, not always peak power. How about a new camshaft....that will help the powerband if it's within the budget. Don't always think an AUTO is a bad thing, it's much easier to heat your tires in a burnout and if you have ever run the 1/4 or have been at the track then you know that automatics can be quite helpful. If you are going to stay with an automatic, then look into a really good torque converter coupled with a better final drive gear. There are a ot of ways to free up speed out of the stock drivetrain rather than juice the car on forced induction and risk blowing something in the bottom end. Sure, most cars can handle a few PSI, but in the long run that should be the topping on a built motor.

 

Auto w/ high stall > Manual