Hello all,

I have a 97 civic. I want to have a car that I can drive on the track on the weekends and I was wondering if anybody does sprint type racing with theirs. I ask because I am worried about the handling since it is front wheel drive.How is it in the corners? I've built drag cars before and the frankly bore me at this point so I want to do something with turns, is the civic a good candidate?

Thanks,

MC

 

It's a little difficult to build a car that will do extremely well on the track and yet still be comfortable or really driveable at all for every day street use. You can find a happy medium, but again it won't be at it's fullest potential on the track.

A '97 Civic isn't a bad car to track. Out of the Civics, it's not the best, but still not bad. Lots of great suspension options for a wide range of budgets. Being FWD has it's disadvantages but generally, it doesn't matter if you set the car up right and you know how to drive it. Older Civics are light and can get even lighter, which helps a lot in cornering.

There's a lot I can suggest for setup and all but first things first. Get out on the track! There is no modification that can beat seat time. It is always best to start out learning your car and it's limits when it is as stock as can be. You'll begin to learn your car, how to drive on a track, and it'll give you a better idea of where to start with modifying your car. What good is a $2,000 suspension setup if you don't know how it works, why you have the spring rates you have, and most importantly how to drive the car with that suspension to it's limit.

That out of the way, are you planning on actually getting involved in racing or just doing open track events(HPDE)?

What would be your budget for your build?

If you have mods, what are they?

Is the car already mechanically sound?

Are you willing to/can you afford to lose this car out on the track (something to seriously consider even if you are just doing open track days)?

 

I would call it mechanically sound (it still needs a few things before I would take it on the track) and right now it is bone stock. It would be a weekend track day type thing because for now at least it is my daily. I had an airbag deployment (long story) but it has been repaired with the exception of new airbags. I'm not totally sure on a budget since I'm a minimuim wadge slave and College student but I plan on doing a little bit at a time.

EDIT: Also it is a 4-door, does that change anything besides adding more weight?