ITC Civic--Recipe?

S

steamcorners

New member
OK, sorry for lurking here for so long. I'm interested in building an ITC 88-91 Civic. Short of sifting thru all of the cr@p at Honda-tech, is there anyone who can give me a good idea as to how to start? Specifically, is there a better year amongst those? Also, suspension--Konis and Ground Controls a good start, or should I try something else? Header/exhaust? Other things I need to think about? I'll likely make this a long project, autocrossing and HPDEing (is that a word?) until the car is properly prepped/caged. Thanks for the help!
 
Hey, I'm in CBus too (well, Delaware actually). I raced ITC for years but never personally raced an '88-91 ITC Civic, but I know several guys who have or still do. I'm sure I could easily put you in contact with some of those guys.

I don't think any one year is more desirable than the others, but I could be wrong. You can't go wrong with a Koni/Ground Control/Eibach combo. You shouldn't need to do anything really trick for your exhaust (at least right now) and could easily just go with a DC Sports. Actually, you can find really cheap brand new D-series headers on eBay. They're not going to give you the absolute greatest numbers ever, but they're really not that bad at all. My roommate seriously had a header on his ITA CRX that he bought brand new on eBay for about $20, shipped to his door.
 
Contact Scott Giles...Catch 22 on this site. He built one of the fastest ITC Civics in the country of the year models you're talking about. Sadly, the car was killed to death at the ARRC last year, but he should be able to help you.
 
OK, sorry for lurking here for so long. I'm interested in building an ITC 88-91 Civic. Short of sifting thru all of the cr@p at Honda-tech, is there anyone who can give me a good idea as to how to start? Specifically, is there a better year amongst those? Also, suspension--Konis and Ground Controls a good start, or should I try something else? Header/exhaust? Other things I need to think about? I'll likely make this a long project, autocrossing and HPDEing (is that a word?) until the car is properly prepped/caged. Thanks for the help!
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'89 is probably the best year. I don't remember exact numbers, cut the service manual states a 100-150 lb difference in the '89 WITH A/C and the 90' WITHOUT A/C. I can't find the weight. I know that the doors have a bit, but I swapped those out and am still 135 lb overweight. 30lbs could come from me, but otherwise.

Depending on teh experience you have, I went with the Tokico/Ground Control setup initially. It taight me a lot about the car. This year I bought a set of Konis to replace the Tokicos and gained a bunch. I know everyone wants to build the best car they can initially, but I am a firm believer that you can put someone in too good a car too quick. It's harder to drive a slow car fast then a fast car fast. If you know how to drive a slow car fast, then when you get into that fast car you'll know what to do with it and won't become a hazard.

Setups are going to be different beween autox and roadrace. You are going to have different spring rates and such for each.

HTH

By the by, Scott helped me get things setup too.
 
Scott replied to my crosspost on Grassroots' Motorsport's board. Looks like he will be a great resource!
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You can also find him on The Sandbox as Catch22

I'll second the votes for Koni, Ground Control, and Eibach for the suspension. You can start with "off the shelf" valving on the shocks and then have them revalved at a later date. You'll probably want to go with no front bar and the 3/4" Suspension Tech. rear bar (I'm 99% sure that's what Scott was running). Spring rates will probably be in the 500-600F and 700-800R depending on your presonal preference.

You can probably go cheap on header and exhaust to start with... a cheapo Ebay special or a used DC sports header will get you most of the hp gains for little out of pocket. Match the header up with a miffled under car dump (rear of the driver) and you're done.


As others have said, if you set the car up correctly for autoX it will hinder it at the track and vice versa. Pick one as your primary goal and be prepared to make sacrifices in the other.

Good Luck!

Christian
 
As others have said, if you set the car up correctly for autoX it will hinder it at the track and vice versa. Pick one as your primary goal and be prepared to make sacrifices in the other.

Good Luck!

Christian
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O, I definitely understand the differences btwn AX and Track setups. I will likely just start using the car at AX's for cheap sorting purposes. I have no illusions of being competitive, so I don't plan on optimising the car for an AX. Thanks for the help!
 
Steamcorners: Have you joined SCCA yet? I imagine that you have been to Mid-Ohio because of your nickname. Come on up to the WOR Games on 10/7-8. We paddock on the top of the hill.
 
Oh yeah, I've been a member for a few years now. I autocross my Miata currently with OVR--not so much this year, as my wife had our first child early this year--so I've had babysitting duties most weekends. That'll be the problem with WOR Games. I'm shopping for my Honda now for next year!
 
I ran a '90 Civic for about five years. Happy to answer questions. I think Devin Box might be selling his car. It's Tracy Nine's 2001 ARRC winning car. That's probably the cheapest way to get a well built car. I can put you in touch with him if you're interested.

Ed.
 
I might certainly be interested! Don't know if I can come up with the funds for something more than a street car for now--probably will have to make "payments" periodically by buying new parts--but I might be able to swing something. No trailer yet, too. Heck, my tow vehicle leaves a bit to be desired--though a possible promotion will come with a car allowance!
 
I ran a '90 Civic for about five years. Happy to answer questions.
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And I own Ed's car now. Still trying to figure this 4-speed thing out, but it's a blast to drive in the corners.
 
Hi Steamcorners .

I'm Devin Box's brother . I can vouch for his 91 Civic . I have drove the car for several years too and will be co driving with him in the ARRC enduro this year . Great car no doubt . In fact he just set the track qualifing record at Mid-O and race lap record on the same day two weekends ago .
Very fun car top drive and forgiving too . If your interested I can pass the message along .




This car has raced and won against Ed Ho's ITC car at Waterford Hills two seasons ago .
 
I can't believe how fast Devin had that car hustleing at Mid Ohio two weekends ago. That was just awesome and I'm glad to see that he's going to be making the trip to Atlanta. He told me that the car is definately going to be up for sale after the ARRC since he's already bought Alex MacDonalds old red/yellow/black ITA CRX.

Devin & Todd - drop me a line on when you guys are going to be heading out for Atlanta. We're bringing at least two of our cars down, and possibly three. Then there's several other CenDiv cars also making the trip - hopefully we can get our own little paddock area.
 
Steamcorners ,
I'll let Devin know you are interested . In fact if you want to email me your email info or tele # I'll make sure he gets it . email me at [email protected]

Kevin ,
I think we are going to leave from Bay City about 3:00 Am on Wed 11/8 . When I went with Ed Ho a couple of years ago it took us about 13 hrs from just north of Detroit . We are about 1.5 to 2 hrs north of Detriot . We still need to register and find or resreve a paddock spot . Is it possible to do that ?

Eagle7 ,
Alex bought Dave Beyersdorf's ITA CRX Si . I'm not sure where he raced this year . Gratten once I think .
 
Todd - you should probably go into the ARRC forum section and look for the thread about ARRC Parking by Sandy. She requests that all competitors email her and let her know how big of a rig they have so she can plan parking accordingly. It's all spelled out in her post. If you guys wanted to try and park all of the CenDiv cars together, we'd need to consolidate our info into one submission to her and she'll try and do her best to get us all together. I think we will be leaving the Columbus area (10-11 hours) around 4pm on Wednesday afternoon. We'll probably drive through the night and then just run the afternoon sessions of the Thursday test day.

Marty - As Todd said, Alex bought Dave's old CRX (for a steal). I think he raced it at Grattan twice and Mid Ohio twice this year. He adjusted to it pretty well and gave me one serious run for my money at the Memorial Day Grattan race.
 
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