Show or Race car..?


P

ParisTia

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Jun 24, 2014
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Hi..

So I've recently bought myself a new Honda Civic EJ9 1.4 Sport. After owning it for two weeks I drove it for the first time yesterday and I LOVE IT!!!! :D

This is the first Honda I've ever owned and I have all these ideas, however I am stuck.. Originally it was going to be a show car.. BUT I quite like driving fast, and it drives like a dream! I don't even have vtec yet.. (This makes me wonder if once its to show standards if I'm going to regret it and want to race it instead. I've not yet been to any Honda events, races or meets:angry: )


It's a great shell with no rust, all it has is a few scuffs on the bumper and some car park dinks on the doors. I plan to respray the car anyway so this isn't a problem..

So I'm stuck on what to do... Show car? or Race car? how can I decide? :((

Any help, suggestions or ideas would be much appreciated!!

Thank you in advance, and thanks for reading :) Xxx



 
To be honest, a race car is appreciated by most and it is still a race car, so you can have a blast on track.

Going full on show car, you'll always be too worried about scuffing bumpers or general damage.

I'd recommend you go down the race car route. It could be an idea to get yourself used to the EJ9 and then move up to an EK4. It has the bigger engine, bigger brakes, more suspension and handling goodies so it would be a better base to work off of if you want to go down the race car route.

I personally have the same car as you, except my one is Clover Green Pearl year 2000.
I already want to upgrade to a civic with more grunt (I've owned the EJ9 for 4 months, use it everyday).

In short: Race car.
 
2Slow2Sensible said:
To be honest, a race car is appreciated by most and it is still a race car, so you can have a blast on track.

Going full on show car, you'll always be too worried about scuffing bumpers or general damage.

I'd recommend you go down the race car route. It could be an idea to get yourself used to the EJ9 and then move up to an EK4. It has the bigger engine, bigger brakes, more suspension and handling goodies so it would be a better base to work off of if you want to go down the race car route.

I personally have the same car as you, except my one is Clover Green Pearl year 2000.
I already want to upgrade to a civic with more grunt (I've owned the EJ9 for 4 months, use it everyday).

In short: Race car.
Click to expand...


With a race car, is it all about weight reduction?
I was thinking about maybe in a few months a B18 conversion? I see where you are coming from about being afraid of damaging the car if it was a show car, and I do use the car as my daily.. so maybe you're right...

It MIGHT be a race car.. still deciding though! Wanna see what other people think too :p

I wish I had enough money to have a race car and a show car :((!
Xxx
 
If you want to go fast, you need to focus on:

Stopping,
Cornering,
Weight,
Stability,
Tyres,

Power should sort of be the icing on the cake. Afterall, if you can out-brake and out-corner everyone, you'll keep up on a twisty track.

Don't get me wrong, you're going to want to do power as well, but power before handling gives room to a hairy ride which isn't what you want on track.

Just my opinion :)
 
I think the fact your questioning it already kinda tells you something? Can have a track car and still be fresh,clean and take it to shows but with all the handling,power ;)
 
Nice EJ9 you have :)

I have had my EJ9 for 7 and a half years now, in that time, I have built it to be driven, I am not interested in stance/hellaflush and what not, you can make it handle really good with handling upgrades easily, I am pretty sure you will also upgrade the B16 if you got an EK4, I would focus on handling first, meaning coilovers and Arbs, power can come after, I had 5 years of D14 so I know it can be annoying, its a slow process but brings you such joy to see it grow :) Mine is show and a car that is enjoyable to drive.

I would stick with race.
 
2Slow2Sensible said:
If you want to go fast, you need to focus on:

Stopping,
Cornering,
Weight,
Stability,
Tyres,

Power should sort of be the icing on the cake. Afterall, if you can out-brake and out-corner everyone, you'll keep up on a twisty track.

Don't get me wrong, you're going to want to do power as well, but power before handling gives room to a hairy ride which isn't what you want on track.

Just my opinion :)
Click to expand...


Ok, soo sort of upgrade everything else first and then do the power last?
Excuse me if this sounds stupid.. i'm new too all this.. by tyres do you mean wider tyres so there is more tyre on the road? therefore more grip etc etc..?

I am expecting to recieve my MeisterR Zeta R coilovers tomorrow, so that's a step in the right direction, right? :)
Xxxx
 
kellsled said:
I think the fact your questioning it already kinda tells you something? Can have a track car and still be fresh,clean and take it to shows but with all the handling,power ;)
Click to expand...

That is a good idea, and yeah I think you're right about the fact I'm questioning it already haha! :))

The one thing that puts me off is I don't really wanna take the carpets out the front.. I'm happy to strip out the back but not keen on the front as I would be using the car for my daily also.. Would this look silly? Again, I've not been to any track days so I don't know if I'd get laughed at -.- lol Xxxx
 
shuthanbala1 said:
Nice EJ9 you have :)

I have had my EJ9 for 7 and a half years now, in that time, I have built it to be driven, I am not interested in stance/hellaflush and what not, you can make it handle really good with handling upgrades easily, I am pretty sure you will also upgrade the B16 if you got an EK4, I would focus on handling first, meaning coilovers and Arbs, power can come after, I had 5 years of D14 so I know it can be annoying, its a slow process but brings you such joy to see it grow :) Mine is show and a car that is enjoyable to drive.

I would stick with race.
Click to expand...

It is a very slow process for me at the moment, I'm doing a proper job of the car so I'm buying the top quality stuff for the car so money disappears very quickly!
Hopefully I'll have my MeisterR Zeta R coilovers tommorrow! Fingers crossed!! Xxxx
 
Yes wider tyres help, however don't go crazy with width as it affects the drive especially if it's a daily.
Personally, I'd say 7.5 would be ideal for a daily with a bit of fun on track, but please make sure that the car is suited to your needs :) everyone drives differently and you may prefer a wider tyre.

Also, the actual quality of the tyre is crucial. There are quite a few good tyres out there, such as the AD08's, Toyo R888 etc.

However different tyres shine in different situations. There are a few people here who gave great reviews on the AD08's so it could be a good starting point for you. However as a daily, you have to take into account that, semi slicks could be a bit sketchy in the wet etc.

Most importantly though, if you're getting the Meisters, make sure you refresh/update the rest of your set up. and then go for a fast road and track wheel set up. You get the best of both worlds and tyre wear is something you can predict and plan for in the future when you change rubber.

Hope this was helpful :)

(again, this is all just my personal opinion)
 
2Slow2Sensible said:
Most importantly though, if you're getting the Meisters, make sure you refresh/update the rest of your set up. and then go for a fast road and track wheel set up. You get the best of both worlds and tyre wear is something you can predict and plan for in the future when you change rubber.
Click to expand...

Again, I don't mean to sound stupid, but what do you mean by update the rest of your set up after fitting the Meisters? Stuff like having the wheels aligned again orr..? Xxx
 
Drop links, control arms, seam brace, front and rear anti roll bars, replace rusted out bolts etc.

Also, leaving the front in isn't silly.
It would look weirder if you were using a fully stripped car as a daily haha.
Could be an idea to maybe freshen up carpets or something :)
 
2Slow2Sensible said:
Drop links, control arms, seam brace, front and rear anti roll bars, replace rusted out bolts etc.

Also, leaving the front in isn't silly.
It would look weirder if you were using a fully stripped car as a daily haha.
Could be an idea to maybe freshen up carpets or something :)
Click to expand...

Ah yeah i'm gunna get all those bits ordered in and do them as well! :)

I think I might get black carpets in, or even a rich/dark purple something funky haha! I want it too look like a smart daily, as well as a good track car.. IF this is the route I decide to go down.. (I think it might possibly be.. still thinking..)
xxx
 
By race car you mean trackcar obviously.
You can go out and have fun standard don't need any upgraded parts for that.
To go faster you will do lol

Coilovers are a good start. I found camber arms front and rear with the correct settings made a world of a difference to. So worth doing them together before you get it aligned.
Ek9 anti roll bars possibly the subframe if you want to be fancy.

Brakes on the 1.4 aren't going to be great, even with the 1.4 engine I'd want to upgrade them to dc2/ek9 system.

Obviously get the weight out. The more the better really, look to reduce weight from high places, like the sunroof,bonnet,boot. These are the places most effected my weight transfer and effect the cars roll much more than similar weight lower in the car. I've done just the back and the roof in mine, like this, plus carbon bonnet etc.


Wheels and tyres. I have 7j or 7" wide wheels and 195/50/15 track tyres, these are good enough for my turbo ek9 so will be more than enough for your 1.4 and any possible future upgrades. I rate ad08s highly for a road/track shared duty tyre. If your on a budget I'll have some federal rsr for sale soon. A lot of people raving about them ATM.

Soon enough your going to want power, the 1.4 will slow you down(obviously) b18 as you've said but make sure you get an LSD gearbox! Your wasting your time otherwise.

Now you've got a list of parts to go collect, see you in a years time lol
 
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If you want to go the 'race car' route, then I would suggest you buy a better base.

It would be far less hassle getting a VTI, as opposed to swapping/replacing parts on the EJ9.
 
zPandamoniumZz said:
If you want to go the 'race car' route, then I would suggest you buy a better base.

It would be far less hassle getting a VTI, as opposed to swapping/replacing parts on the EJ9.
Click to expand...

Rubbish,everything on a vti will need replaced aswell. He's looking power so at least a b18c,suspension will need upgraded on either,bigger brakes on either if it's to be done right so the car he has now is just fine. Plus I've noticed it's a tiptop so no headaches with sunroof issues if you want to put in a cage.
And to the op yes it'll look spot on with the rear stripped out and front with carpet,90% who strip do it! I had all mine stripped and without carpet the floor would get very grubby quickly
 
Some good pointers here. If you are thinking of trackdays, get over to HOT, Hondas on track, there are others with 1.4 engines & you will find lots of help there, on track its very friendly.
Its not worth spending too much on an EJ, bolt on some EP3 brakes etc, another set of rims for track tyres & the dampers you have bought, good to go, get some track time. You have a nice EJ there, if you hack it up to make it lighter, it will not be as easy to sell later.
You have mentioned racing, if you get a chance to try it, get it done its a proper rush, nothing like it, but if you are thinking of it at all, you need to look ahead to where you want to race, if you have a swap engine car you are extremley limited in where you can race & it can cost you, been there done that.
An EK4 is a better base, a B16a is still very competative, spend the money on brakes & suspension, race for a season or two, gain experience then stroke it to 1.9/2.0, or if you want power straight away buy an EP3, but lightness is the real key for racing.
Most things you buy now, you will waste money buying again as the parts will not be good enough for racing, your suspension for example, so its not worth spending massive amounts this early on, better to save while you do plenty of trackdays, choose your upgrades wisely.

People do it with less & it can be done, but in general a decent set of race dampers will be 1.5-2k, a brake kit 1.5-2k, a cage 1-2k etc etc, you might be lucky with used parts but it gets expensive.
 
haitch said:
Some good pointers here. If you are thinking of trackdays, get over to HOT, Hondas on track, there are others with 1.4 engines & you will find lots of help there, on track its very friendly.
Click to expand...

I see where you are coming from, I've just had a look at HOT.. and i think i might go have a look at some of the track days and give it a go myself and see what i think of it before getting into it.. I don't think I'm going to go seriously into track at the moment though as this car is my daily also.. But thank you very much for the help!! Xxx
 
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