No turbos in STL...Ben's talking STU. That class will continue to be dominated by World Challenge cars, with likely very little mods required (if any) to be STU legal.
STL? Best power-to-displacement, easy enough, right? 'Cept there's always that wrench-in-the-works of a very good, greater-than-the-sum, balanced car coming in and doing well despite a power disadvantage...not all FWD get the 50# reduction in STL, only those with struts.
What size engine? Well, If you can get a modern chassis down to 2080 pounds then a good 1.6-liter might could do it, but I think you're pushing it to get weight down that low, and you'll have a significant torque disadvantage. 2-liters will give you a great torque advantage, but now you're weighing a porky 2600 pounds. IMO, the "sweet spot" for displacement will be 1.8 liters, at 2340#, or maybe a decent 1.7-liter at 2210#.
Best engine for the class is probably the Honda B18C1, the GSR engine. Toss that thing into a good-handling chassis (think: CRX Si) and you've got a winner. The Integra should be able to compete at faster course, but the short tracks will be the CRX. Hell, if you want to hit the "easy button" take a strong ITA CRX package with the D16, unbolt all the weight you've got in there, and toss in some cams. I bet that damned thing would rock in the right hands. Or, what about an ITS Del Sol at 2080#?
The Honda K20 is a dark horse. It's a much better engine design than the B18 series, but it's only been installed in strut cars (RSX, Civic). Legally you can probably install it in an earlier, better chassis but since the drivetrain rotates the opposite direction it's a major endeavor to install, and not clearly legal given engine re-positioning rules. Further, the "good" one, the K20A3, starts out at 200 ponies but the camshafts have a higher lift than allowed for STL and the stock compression is already at the class limit of 11:1; lower-output versions (160hp) have room to grow. But, I suspect that once you cut the cams down and allow the rest of the class to catch up with class mods, you may find that the K20 is probably not worth the additional 260 pounds a 2-liter has to carry.
Plus, the STAC is "skeered" of the K20, so it's possible it may get itself banned to STU-only. Until things shake out I'd not be "investing" in that option quite yet.
Other opportunities? The Nissan SR20DE could shine, especially if installed in an S13/S14 chassis. Our SR was putting out ~180 crank in IT trim; toss in there some cams and compression and it would be a torque and HP monster.
The Neon engine got tossed a bone with the alternate rods allowance: no more worries about availability and dependability of the cracked rods. Figure out how to get some serious torque out of that 4-valve with a good bottom-end, then drop 50 pounds for struts.
Then...there's the Miata. Think light '90 M1 chassis with '99 1.8L engine/drivetrain/suspension. I'm sure more than a few people know what that engine could do with STL mods. And it'll weigh the same straight-up as the CRX/Integra gang. And in the end...it's a Miata. 'Nuff said.
There's many other RWD engine/chassis combos I have in mind, from Honda and others. Open your mind and a few may come...
No, it's not just gonna be Honda-land. Yeah, to start with maybe, but if/when someone gets serious in one of these other packages, it'll be an crap shoot.
GA
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