Went to track tonight... sucked!
 

Hey guys,

Went to the track tonight, made 6 runs... had a lot of fun, but also disappointed.

1) First, what should a stock 98 EX run in the 1/4?

2) I ran a 17.5 (best) and I only have a full intake. Best 60' was a 2.5. I ran against another EX (99-00) and he had a short ram, and he ran a 17.3 against me, and ran a 17.1 the other time. What they is wrong with my car? The time he ran a 17.3 we were neck and neck until the end (bout 2 seconds) and he pulled on me! Arg! Whats going on?

3) I had a bunch of stereo crap in the trunk, and I have 17" with low profile tires but would that really make a big difference? Between another EX?

4) I lowered my tires to 28psi (running 38) and I had my best runs. I'm pretty sure my engine needs a full tune-up and an oil change, but what can I do to improve my times?

Sorry so long, and maybe confusing but I'm confused, specially about the other EX beating me! Give me some ideas to help! Thanks!

well, after first 2000 miles, same cars just faster than some others..... u know what i am saying?? :o

3) Yes, that does matter. Weight is important - put your car on a diet if you want to run faster.

Also, how heavy are those fancy 17s? A weight difference could easily cause the half-second difference.

they are really not that much heavier... i'd give about 5-10 lbs difference.

5-10 lbs per wheel is a huge difference. Rotating mass is the worst kind of mass to add to your car.

and if the overall diameter of the wheel is greater than before, that'll also slow ya down.

but will allow a little higher topspeed on the highway. In theory anyway.

Yup, larger diameter will get you a higher top speed if you have the power to get there.

the overall diameter is the same, i measured it.... but what does a stock 98 EX run in the quarter?

Maybe the other driver shifts faster than you.

Not just the overall diameter - also the diameter of the wheel. If the wheels are heavier and larger than stock, the combined wheel+tire+air likely has a significantly higher moment of intertia (the equivalent of mass when you're torquing something to get it spinning) - this is what slows you down.

Plus, wheels are all unsprung mass, although maybe that's not a big deal when driving in a straight line.

Not to mention changing fluids will get you a little more power to the ground..

Less friction of parts = more power.

Combine that with the added weight, and the fact that you may not be quiet as good of a driver as he was then that may make the difference, we arent talking about seconds here. A little goes a long way.;)

ok, but back to my first question, what should I run in the quarter? A 98 Ex?

Well i guess it depends on how good of a driver you are. If there was something that was wrong with your car you would probably know about it. To answer your question, for you they run 17.5 and maybe as you get better you'll get to 17 flat.

your problem is commonly known as you drive a girls car

I wouldnt call it a girls car, that doesnt make any sense. It isnt a girls car, it is an economy car. You want to know why it is slow? Because it has under 150hp and weights over 2000lbs. Thats why. Not to even mention the torque. Unless you get it fully built with forged internals and a turbo to push high boost (20+ psi) then you wont be going fast in a civic... at least not compared to the big dogs ie: vette, supra, viper, etc.

So good luck making your economy car faster than minivans. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

Here's what to do:

1. PUT YOUR CAR ON A DIET! Dump the stereo equipment, spare tire, and what ever else you can get out of the car. Civics don't have much power, so you need to be light to go fast.

2. Get rid of the 17's. They explained why above. Find some light weight wheels for the front and use those. I'm not sure if it would work, but you could try some really good racing tires on your stock steel wheels (I'm not sure how much they weigh, can anybody help me here?). Use a slightly smaller diameter tire, that will get more power to the ground.

3. Get rid of the power steering. Take off the pump, and splice the high pressure intake and outlet together and then connect both sides of the rack together. That will free up about 5 HP and shed about another 15 lbs off the car. If you don't want to take off the pump, just take the belt off during racing to at least free up that 5 HP.

4. Stick with the CAI. The short rams don't make as much HP, and they make HP later than the CAI. Here's a comparison for the LX. Sorry, but they didn't have a comparison for the EX.

AEM CAI link:
http://www.aempower.com/pdf/results/...X,CX%20CAS.pdf

AEM short ram link:
http://www.aempower.com/pdf/results/...cDXLXCXSRS.pdf

Notice that the CAI made more HP at peak, had a higher gain, and started making more HP earlier.

5. Run 93 octane and advance your timing. This is good for some low end torque.

6. To go fast cheap, GET NITROUS. Nitrous is big HP very quik and very cheap (relatively speaking).

Hope this helps.

Quik

17.5-17.7 It really depends on the temp & track conditions. What rims do you have?

I say strap a 10lb bottle on her. You'll thank me later....;)

I have Velox VX-6's... i love the rims... but I'm prolly gonna buy some racing tires for my stock rims for the track only, or just two 15" with racing tires...

as for the bottle, how high can I go on a stock engine and what will shave off my times? Any addition upgrades? (spark plugs, fuel pump, etc)

With the ZEX kit you can run up to 75 shot on stock engines. The only required modification is colder plugs & retarding the timing.

I ran a 16.1 with 55 shot, AEM CAI, Greddy SP exhaust & ACCEL plug wires. That was in my 98 EX automatic and with a not-so-great start. Bit of wheel spin.:cool:

My engine can handle a 75 shot??? Man I was thinking 50 at the most... but who knows... anyone else on this?

Just because its SOHC doesn't mean its weak. The D series are fairly tough.

WTF were you expecting? i have a 93 ex with cai exhaust and i can't run faster than 16.5 w/o stripping off serious amounts of weight.

WTF are you doing even bothering to bring a stock or slightly modified ex to the track for anyway. i mean come on. You gotta realize how pointless that is. i mean unless your trying to set a baseline.

Also with the wheels YES THEY ARE SLOWING YOUR A$$ DOWN. there is no way your 17's are 5-10lbs heavier than your stock wheels. I'm sure it's more like 15-20 and that is HUGE even at 10lbs thats a big difference. and as far as your tire pressure WTF are you running 38psi normally 32 is really as high as you should go. and on the track more like 20 (of course with 17" bling blings you might dent them.) PUT YOUR STOCK WHEELS ON AT THE TRACK. Also even if the 17's are only 5lbs heavier (no way) the heaviest part of the rim is 1.5" further away from the center of your hub which requires MUCH MORE WORK TO SPIN.

You took you 93 EX to the track, why shouldn't he? What's with the attitude? People go to have fun. And 17's can actually be lighter than stock. There's a couple comapnies that make very light 17's, OZ being one of them.
Yes it takes more to rotate a 17" wheel. I don't really plan on putting my stocks on to goto the track. Why? Because that's not how it is on the street. Its like going to the track and taking out your back seats, spare tire, etc. Its not realistic unless that stuff is always out of the car.