Tech Support March 2009 - Rear End

A One of the great things about having a Honda is that most parts interchange like Legos. In your case, you can source the parts for your rear disc brake conversion from almost any Integra or Civic that came with rear discs. Off the top of our heads, this includes any '90 to '01 Integra or '90 to'00 Civic/CRX. The basic parts you'll need are the complete rear trailing arms and E-brake cables. While you can get away with just the spindles, brakes, brackets, hydraulic lines, E-brake cables and miscellaneous hardware, we find it simplest to go ahead and replace the entire assembly, including the trailing arms. Some other recommended parts to source from the donor vehicle are the master cylinder and proportioning valve. For those who really don't want to be bothered chasing down used parts, fastbrakes.com can supply you with a complete kit for the upgrade. We also recommend that you check out issue number seven of Project Car Magazine for a step-by-step installation guide. Although the install was done on JDM Wong's EF, the basics are all the same.

Q What's up Super Street? I am a 17- year-old with a part-time job and just got my license and I'm really into circuit racing and touge. I wanted to know what will be a good car to start out with for that type of racing within a $3,000 dollar budget. (I've been a fan since my big brother first started buying the mag in 2002).
Jaime Cordero
New London, CT

A Getting into circuit racing can be a lot of fun but can get expensive. The cheapest way to get started is to find a local autocross event to join. This will allow you to run your car on an actual race track without a lot of special equipment or a racing license. To answer your question, we would recommend starting out with a lightweight car as it'll help keep the budget under control. Consider the basic costs of racing a car when making your selection. You'll go through a lot of gas, tires and brakes learning the basics, so chose something that will be low maintenance and cheap to run. Focus on handling and reliability when getting started. Save the high power, large tires and big brakes for when you can afford them, along with a truck and trailer. The Honda Civic (EF and EG), and Mazda Miata would be a few of our top picks, due to the vast amount of aftermarket parts available for them. Other great choices in your price range would be the Acura Integra (DA), Toyota MR-2, Nissan 240SX, and Sentra SE-R. There are a lot of other great cars, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind. Be sure to check out Project Car Magazine, as they feature step-by-step DIY builds on a lot of cars in your price range. In fact, they recently built a budget '94 Sentra SE-R Time Attack car and entered it in the last Super Lap Battle.