mr.autox

well first off i'll start with a little background on the car. I picked this car up from the old owner of kore motorsports after he told me he was going to drop it off in my yard if I didn't take it off his hands. It was the old kore shop car but had been sitting in a storage field for 2-3 years and needed some work. The clutch didn't work, the heat didn't work and the interior was gutted. Sounded like the perfect budget race car. I dubbed the car the stinkbug after getting into it for the first time, the smell was overwhelming(for those that haven't smelled one think industrial strength lemon cleaner). I decided since the car already had a 2.0 swap i'd race in scca's new street mod fwd class. the car came together for about $1500 and was a blast to drive this season. I will be putting this up for sale in a few months so if anyone is interested pay attention.



enter project stinkbug

97 x3 L - scca smf autox trim 2045 lbs with 1/4 tank of gas



engine:

2.0 beta1 w/beta trans and clutch on custom side engine/trans mounts

full 2.0 ecu conversion

urethane filled crossmember engine mounts

obx 4-1 header

cat delete>2.25 kore motorsports exhaust

braile 6lb battery on modified factory tray

no a/c or power steering



suspension:

quest coilovers

stock front sway yaya bushings, whiteline adj rear sway

full yaya bushing kit

alignment -2.5 camber up front -1.5 camber out back zero toe all around



brakes:

full lc 4x100 conversion(knuckles, rotors, drums, calipers, hubs...)

stainless braided hoses



wheels:

street- adr 15x6.5 195/50/15 hankook summer tires

race- 13x9 diamond racing steelies 255/40/13 front 225/45/13 rear hoosier a6



interior:

corbeu forza/schroth harness

deleted airbags, heater core, all a/c equipment, radio, speakers, rear seat

and hatch trim.



exterior:

trimmed front fenders to clear the 13x9 0 offset wheels and 255s

deleted front hood latch replaced with hood pins

wheel_of_steel

Wow man, I really like what you've done so far! That is essentially what I have planned for my LC. I've got the beta swap and stripped out part going on so far



-How much more modification does your scca class allow?

-How does the car perform in auto x with the weight distribution as it is? Do you lift the back left wheel? What is the handling like on the street?

-How do you like the quest coilovers, and did you have much hassle buying them?

-How is your steering effort with 9 inch tires and manual steering?

-Did you have any hassles converting to the LC knuckles and hubs?



Cool car so far man, please keep us posted.

mr.autox

Alright let's try to answer some questions



Smf allows much much more the scca uses a formula for displacement/forced induction equals weight. Legally I could take away more weight and add much more power(turbo/cams...) This project was an afterthought so I'm spending as little as possible, in the end a civic is the way to go for the class. My good friend and 2 time national champ in the class has proven this.



The car has made an awesome budget autocrosser. The car is setup to be fairly oversteer happy so it rotates well trail braking and with small lifts of the throttle. It will ocassionally lift a rear wheel but a stiffly sprung limited travel fwd will. Street driving is stiff and the alignment causes a lot of dartiness but that is the sacrifice you make to have it work on track.



The quest coilovers came with the car so I don't have any experience dealing with the company. I can say they have worked much better than ksports. The inverted shock seems to be pretty durable, the adjusters are at the bottom of the shock so I don't use them. Adjusting the front would require removing the strut or axle. I haven't messed with the spring rates either just the ride height. The only other thing I did change was I ovaled the strut to knuckle bolt holes to get the alignment I wanted.



The steering sucks it is the worst part of the car its not the effort that bothers me its how slow the ratio is. If I was motivated id covert it to a electrohydro unit. Transitions and slalomns are a workout even more so with the 13x9s. If you have the option keep the power steering.



Swapping the lc brakes to an x3 is a complete bolt on. If you need details I can provide them



Anymore questions just let me know I have quite a few years experience with the x3 and lcs

187sks

Yeah the steering ratio drives me nuts too. I think I'm going to install a doubler. If that doesn't work (I suspect it may become too hard to turn quickly) I'm going to have to find another solution. A new rack or something.

mr.autox

I never had too much trouble when I was racing my lc with the power rack but the combination of zero offset wheels and slow manual rack in the x3s makes it very difficult to drive quickly. I always feel like I'm playing catchup in slalomns and quick transitions and catching a slide is tough if you can't predict it. I had a codriver this year almost dislocate his wrist trying to correct a big tank slapper. I haven't had much trouble with it rallycrossing yet with stock wheels and skinnies most the sliding can be corrected with some gas or brake not much side to side rowing is involved.

wheel_of_steel

Cheers for the detailed reply man. The powered and manual rack is interchangeable on the X3, I had a local forum member swap his over on a hill climb X3. I'm sure you could probably use an LC rack if need be.



Do you change anything in your setup when going from rallycross to autocross events?

mr.autox

Yeah converting to a power rack in the x3 wouldn't be too hard since ps was an option I just have never had the motivation. The white x3 is solely used for autox the silver x3 is used for just rallycross now.

Juanra

Nice project!



I didn't know Whiteline made adjustable rear sway for us. Were did you get it?

187sks

It is no longer in production. Watch the for sale forum or post in wanted.

Juanra

Have been watching for some time, never seen one!