Hey all, me again with another Civic.
This one’s a roughed-up 97 hatchback. I don’t have pictures offhand but it’s pretty much stock bodywork. Needs some fixing and body repair.
I live in the land of harsh winters, crap roads, and salt. If I make a super streamlined custom car, it doesn’t work well here over the winter. Thus, I was thinking of building something that could better handle the season, while still getting good mileage. That way I wouldn’t wreck my summer car.
Here’s the car. I’d imagine some gains can be made by modifying the hatch shape.
And here’s a silly idea. Build aero modifications with knowledge taken from WRC cars. Skip the downforce, obviously. 90’s WRC Kit cars could be a good inspiration.
Another silly idea. Safari edition Civic? The pod lights would be super useful. It’s dark as heck here in the winter and light bars are common. A tube frame bull bar or even just a reinforced front bumper could be great too. I’ve cracked a bumper more than once in the winter, yet almost never in the summer.
Anyways, that’s my rambly post for today. I’d like to:
-Reduce the car’s curb weight and find out the ideal weight distribution for ice and snow.
-Build a resilient and durable full undertray that can take a beating
-Reinforce the front fascia to better handle accidents (sliding into a snow bank for example).
-Add external lighting (light bars, flood lights, fog lights, etc.)
-Increase ground clearance by 2-3” without ruining ride quality.
-Limited-Slip Diff
-Add-ons or sealants to reduce corrosion of the unibody.
Lemme know of any ideas. I quite like the new Toyota RAV4 and I find its ground clearance and suspension design very perfect for winter driving. Could be another vehicle to study.