we'll i've been thinking lately which path should i go for. my car is still stock exept for tbe, intake, utec, bov, and i just recently bought the tanabe 7 w/ TEAS. i'me pretty confident on my driving skills for now but i know that i will still loose to a person who's been in the circuit track once at least with the same mods. so what do you guys think, anti roll bars, and suspension related or power to the engine. i'm not talking about drag racing here but overall driving. sorry i'n in a mental slump that's all

 

Power is only going to take you to the corners faster If you can't keep up on the corners you have other issues.

You know that i'm thinking of this you have to consider what track your going to.. Something like Road America where its just like blah straight and a few turns with large gaps will soak up power nicely. On a very twisty circuit your going to see more improvement with tires and suspension

There are probably a couple of easy directions you can go to improve your times. A look at what the car can loose in weight is one, proper camber by someone with experience on your track, braking is one of those things everyone forgets, sticky compound tires

Hell if your not tuned yet you should be :P
Above all else having a professional driver take you around the "best lines" is by far the easiest way to improve your times

 

most jdm track evo only have around 350, they talk about it on best motoring... way more or less hp will only make the car slower on the track... i do think most of them is stock turbo and engine... good coilover will inproof handling and more power= engine mods.. i think what i trying to say is power, weight ,and balance is the key.!!

 

Power - if you're not tuned; get tuned! If you're going to road-race a lot, think about a FMIC upgrade to prevent heat soak on those 20-30min sessions.

Stop/Turn - Rear sway-bar, upgraded brakes, upgraded brake fluid.

 

I think in terms of what would I want more - to stop or to go. Simple answer, stop.

A suspension and experienced driver will be faster than someone with lots of power, stock susp. and no experience. Thats simple. Even seen a Miata beat a more powerful car? I have.

If you are a track junky, or new/soon-to-be track junky - upgrading brake pads and fluid is a good step. I already had good dragway power. But before I even touched a road track I did my brake upgrade (as-well-as my suspension). Stock was ok, but my previous car had a full suspension. So I already knew what gains that would give me.

Like what was said before - weight loss, and alignment are good starting points.

 

Invest the money on the driver, improve your skills ... the rest will come with time ...

 

I dont know why people think they need to mod the car to keep up with others on a road course. Practice and seat time will make you better. More whp at this point will amplify your mistakes.

Best way to go for a track noob is street tires on stock suspension and stock pwoer levels. After you can outdrive the stock car (most can't) then you might want to consider modding.

Really nice suspension and really nice brakes and lots of power will not make you faster if you don't know how to take a proper line, dont know braking zones, dont know how your car will react in certain situations.

Like instructors will always tell you. Noob drivers SHOULD NOT get slicks....slicks save people that are taking bad lines and thats a bad way to learn. Nice brakes is okay to get if you feel you need the extra confidence. Adding more power or better suspension is useless if you dont have the skills to know what is lacking in the stock car.

 

Gotta agree with this! No need for slicks or R-compound tires.

This is what I've been told.....
Think of it like this, if you hear your stock tires squeeling in a turn - what's that mean? It means you're pushing them near the limit of their grip, so it's a warning (it's also slowing you down). That warning allows you to make adjustments while the car is still under control.
As you move onto R's or slicks; that 'warning' gets smaller and might even go away. So, as you push the car hard, all the sudden you are sliding off the track or into the wall before you know it.

 

I purposely used economy tires which they don't have any grip at all, to practice after i tune my self, i installed my stock tires and went from there

 

i would just use the money on more track days... more time in the seat on the circuit.. the more you know what you want and need out from the car....

 

I would go for handling and braking before going for power. With extra power it's easy to overwhelm the chassis and/or brakes. Evos are plenty quick to have fun with, especially to start out with. It's not like you have a Civic where (a lot of) power is needed.

Once you upgrade your chassis and brakes, your car will be prepared for the power you will throw at it.