It's Coming!!!
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 338
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From: Wake Forest, NC
Carmen, he didn't seem the dangerous racer type. Of course everybody who likes performance cars is potentially more dangerous than your average Joe.
I'm sorry to hear about your family's loss. What about letting your son mod the suspension? This will increase both the fun and the safety since the car will be more stable at any speed.
I'm sorry to hear about your family's loss. What about letting your son mod the suspension? This will increase both the fun and the safety since the car will be more stable at any speed.
Former Moderator
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 105,828
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Not to go TOO off topic on this one, but because a person has a CAI, turbo, etc., doesn't necessarily catagorize an individual in the "boy-racer" mold. Boy racer is one thing, street racing is another issue as well. My civic as well as my accord both have engine modifications (as well as suspension modifications).... # of street races since I was 16 (in any car).... ZERO.
Anyway, back to the good stuff.
suspension on neon... check eibach... if you want mild suspension.. maybe pro-kit. you can use your oem shocks and still run pro-kit. If you go with the Sportines, you'll probably have to get shocks as well. I went with Eibach Sportline, AGX Adjustable Shocks, and am waiting for endlinks so I can install a GS-R rear swaybar.
Went From:
TO Installing these:
To Coming Out Like This:
Anyway, back to the good stuff.
suspension on neon... check eibach... if you want mild suspension.. maybe pro-kit. you can use your oem shocks and still run pro-kit. If you go with the Sportines, you'll probably have to get shocks as well. I went with Eibach Sportline, AGX Adjustable Shocks, and am waiting for endlinks so I can install a GS-R rear swaybar.
Went From:
TO Installing these:
To Coming Out Like This:
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,674
Likes: 10
From: Myrtle Beach, SC
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mocky57
[B]Not to go TOO off topic on this one, but because a person has a CAI, turbo, etc., doesn't necessarily catagorize an individual in the "boy-racer" mold. Boy racer is one thing, street racing is another issue as well. My civic as well as my accord both have engine modifications (as well as suspension modifications).... # of street races since I was 16 (in any car).... ZERO.
[B]Not to go TOO off topic on this one, but because a person has a CAI, turbo, etc., doesn't necessarily catagorize an individual in the "boy-racer" mold. Boy racer is one thing, street racing is another issue as well. My civic as well as my accord both have engine modifications (as well as suspension modifications).... # of street races since I was 16 (in any car).... ZERO.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 338
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From: Wake Forest, NC
John: I'm running both the east and west sides of Bath. Most of my time is on the west since there's a convenient loop. I agree thought that the area on the East side is really good if you can time the traffic right. Were those Chicken Burrito Supreme's, or Beef?
Carmen: Bite your tongue. There are those that would would say your car is "only a Honda" too. Personally I would encourage a car interest in your son. If I had it to do all over again I would leave the springs stock and put some adjustable shocks in my car. That would stiffen things up quite a bit without going overboard. It's pretty cheap too.
Mocky: Wow that's quite a transformation from a hatchback to a Civic Si coupe with just shocks and springs!
Oooh, good news. My wife just told me I should take Chloe and Midnight out for a drive after dinner. I guess she's tired!
I'll be hitting the valley probably in about an hour.
Carmen: Bite your tongue. There are those that would would say your car is "only a Honda" too. Personally I would encourage a car interest in your son. If I had it to do all over again I would leave the springs stock and put some adjustable shocks in my car. That would stiffen things up quite a bit without going overboard. It's pretty cheap too.
Mocky: Wow that's quite a transformation from a hatchback to a Civic Si coupe with just shocks and springs!
Oooh, good news. My wife just told me I should take Chloe and Midnight out for a drive after dinner. I guess she's tired!
I'll be hitting the valley probably in about an hour.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 338
Likes: 0
From: Wake Forest, NC
Carmen,
I didn't mean to belittle your worries. I personally would just take a different approach. For instance, do you talk about the Neon to your son like you do here? If so, do you think he will take any pride in it? Maybe if you show it some respect he will take better care of it, be carefull not to wreck it, etc...
Also, I know I don't have any teens, but my impression is that forbidden fruit is much more tantalizing to a teen. For instance, I don't think you're going to kill your son's interest in performance cars and driving fast by not VTEC'ing your car with him, not letting him drive it, etc... I think it's pretty universally proven that if your child has an interest you don't approve of, it makes it that much more attractive for them. If anything you may make it more likely that he will drive recklessly.
Here's what I would/will do when the time comes. If Chloe likes driving like a crazy girl, I will get her involved in autocross, take her to a performance driving school, etc... I think this will instill much more respect for the dangers of operating an automobile and also provide an outlet for any tendency toward aggressive driving.
I think it would be helpful to hear from John Wiseman here. I believe he has been around the autocross scene for quite some time. He should be able to confirm whether or not the young teens he's seen autocrossing seem to respect the dangers of driving more than the typical teen. His daughters are also involved autocrossing go-karts right now and I'll be willing to bet he's pretty confident that they will be able to handle themselves responsibly in a car when the time comes.
Oh yeah, there's a two day autocross in Akron this weekend. Saturday's weather looks like crap, but Sunday may be Ok. So if you're really worried, go show him what responsible high performance driving is all about.
I didn't mean to belittle your worries. I personally would just take a different approach. For instance, do you talk about the Neon to your son like you do here? If so, do you think he will take any pride in it? Maybe if you show it some respect he will take better care of it, be carefull not to wreck it, etc...
Also, I know I don't have any teens, but my impression is that forbidden fruit is much more tantalizing to a teen. For instance, I don't think you're going to kill your son's interest in performance cars and driving fast by not VTEC'ing your car with him, not letting him drive it, etc... I think it's pretty universally proven that if your child has an interest you don't approve of, it makes it that much more attractive for them. If anything you may make it more likely that he will drive recklessly.
Here's what I would/will do when the time comes. If Chloe likes driving like a crazy girl, I will get her involved in autocross, take her to a performance driving school, etc... I think this will instill much more respect for the dangers of operating an automobile and also provide an outlet for any tendency toward aggressive driving.
I think it would be helpful to hear from John Wiseman here. I believe he has been around the autocross scene for quite some time. He should be able to confirm whether or not the young teens he's seen autocrossing seem to respect the dangers of driving more than the typical teen. His daughters are also involved autocrossing go-karts right now and I'll be willing to bet he's pretty confident that they will be able to handle themselves responsibly in a car when the time comes.
Oh yeah, there's a two day autocross in Akron this weekend. Saturday's weather looks like crap, but Sunday may be Ok. So if you're really worried, go show him what responsible high performance driving is all about.