Well it was a good outing at Phillip Island this time. Great weather for it, midday it got a bit too hot and the tyres went off a bit, but by the next session after it had cooled down enough to continue the good times.
Like the last Winton day, I started things off pretty slow getting used to the car. The stiffer rear swaybar setting felt a bit better this time, but it could still do with being a bit stiffer. Ran the tyres at 30psi front and 28psi rear, these felt pretty good overall. Managed to beat my previous PB by .5sec straight off, and just got a feel for the suspension and tested put some lines during the rest of the day. I have a lot more confidence in this new suspension and predicting how the car will handle, an example of this is the first corner where I used to come in at 140km/h an with the new setup I was going in at 170-180km/h.
By the end of the day I had knocked 2.5aec off my PB and ended up with a 1.55.4 for the day. The exciting part too was if I did the last 3 corners better as I had done on a previous lap there was another .5sec, and the RaceChrono says there is another 1.1sec in there if all my best sectors are combined. So next up is trying to work on some consistency and try to get that 'ideal' lap time closer to my actual lap time.
Things to work on and note was turn in, car felt great mid corner and perfect on the exit, but turn in felt a bit washy...probably my driving is the cause, but a few things I can do to the car to help I think. Cars desperate for new bushings all round, so will get onto that, and I think stepping up to 16" wheels with some 45 series rubber will help out with less tyre sidewall roll, and mid corner stability.
Getting close to the times I was after, at which time I will step the car up with some aero mods all round, then later proceed with a 2ltr engine build.
Best time: 1.55.4
Monday, 26 November 2012
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Few little tweaks
Few track days coming up so thought I better make a few tweaks to the car.
Started with the handling, I have adjusted the rear swaybar to make it a little stiffer. This should help reduce the understeer, and if not then I will look into aero mods and increasing front track. I want to get all my aero onto the car before I play around with track, so hopefully early next year I will have the aero completed.
Next up is my intake. As I am running ITB's the location of these in B series engines are pretty bad as they are at the back of the engine. So this means it is constantly sucking in the hot air that is generated from the radiator, exhaust, and block. To help with this I decided it was time for some hood venting. First up I grabbed a NASA vent to get some cool air under the good, nice easy install and a few air diverters to make sure the air goes to the right place. Then I concentrated on getting the hot air out, so off to bunnings and $5 later I had 2 louvred panels, once again with the fibreglass bonnet install was easy and they seem to have done the trick...we will see the results next time but hopefully there will be a few extra kw's for me.
Started with the handling, I have adjusted the rear swaybar to make it a little stiffer. This should help reduce the understeer, and if not then I will look into aero mods and increasing front track. I want to get all my aero onto the car before I play around with track, so hopefully early next year I will have the aero completed.
Next up is my intake. As I am running ITB's the location of these in B series engines are pretty bad as they are at the back of the engine. So this means it is constantly sucking in the hot air that is generated from the radiator, exhaust, and block. To help with this I decided it was time for some hood venting. First up I grabbed a NASA vent to get some cool air under the good, nice easy install and a few air diverters to make sure the air goes to the right place. Then I concentrated on getting the hot air out, so off to bunnings and $5 later I had 2 louvred panels, once again with the fibreglass bonnet install was easy and they seem to have done the trick...we will see the results next time but hopefully there will be a few extra kw's for me.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Winton 01/09/2012
Long time, no update!! Well a few things have happened since last time so here it goes.
Had an offer on my Zeal Super Functions that I was running on the ED that was too good to pass up so ended up selling them off. Picked up a set of KW Version 3 Coilovers which are 3 way adjustable and heard some great stuff about. So ordered away so I would get them in time for a Winton day I had coming up. As usual got stuck up in customs and the date was getting closer and closer...with 3 days left they arrived and I made a special trip back from Geelong where I was working to install...and this is where the fun begins!!
So they don't come with any top hats, but you are meant to be able to use your stock ones on the KW's. So take off a top hat and it doesn't fit. They had made the shaft in the middle too big, 12mm instead of the 10mm standard. So this meant the 14mm with 2mm sidewall tubing in the top hats would not fit over it. So searched for some 14mm tubing with 1mm sidewalls so it would fit with no luck at all for 14mm. So ended up going 16mm with a 1.8mm wall, but this also meant I needed to get the 16mm tube to fit in the 14mm hole in the bushes!! Front's weren't too bad as I used the softer stock bushes, but at the rears using aftermarket bushes it was a bitch!! Took about 3hrs work out and put together 2 setups. So in the end got them on and installed the night before I headed up to Winton. Adjusted heights when I got up there and was ready to roll.
Besides the suspension my new Wilwood caliper and brake pads arrived. So stripped off the busted caliper where the piston pushed through and installed the new one with the new pads on the front. In went a fresh batch of Motul brake fluid and the brakes were back to feeling how they used to. Will repair the old caliper with some spare parts I bough and keep it as a spare from now on.
On top of this I have made up a new custom dash to hold my gauges, still haven't installed 2 oil & pressure gauges into the oil line but they are now in the holder in the dash which I am happy about. Also while I was at it I had up a spacer for my rear vision mirror so I could see more than a rollcage bar when I looked into it. A new fixed holder for my RaceChrono which places it nicely in my view without being in the way. Also managed to roll my rear guards finally...so no more scrubbing, but getting a bit from the front now!!
So Winton came around (01/09/2012), got done pretty bad at scruteenering and was left with a list of small things to do. Metal valve caps, box in my fuel surge tank & lines, new fixing for battery, plus a few other small additional things. Nothing too serious though. So started off, spent the first session slowly getting a feel for the suspension, running in the brake pads and warming things up. 1.47 for that session. Next one pushed it a little more but was a bit scared of oversteer as I had been getting quite a bit previously, 1.46.7 for that session. Next session out 1.46.7 again, was playing around with higher tyre pressures and nothing had been working and was still being very hesitant with pushing it. Next session out dropped the pressures down and decided to just go for it, car felt great, brakes were solid and progressive, and suspension had a lot more roll but a lot more grip. Car had gone from snap oversteer to mega understeer. Came out with a 1.44.2 - equal to my PB and 2.5 seconds quicker than I had gone all day. Went out for the final session dropped the tyre pressures down to 34psi rear and 28psi front and saw nothing but green on the RaceChrono, walked away with another 1sec off with a 1.43.2. Wanted to be in 1.41 - 1.42 mark but I was still knocking off major chunks of time off at the end, so confident I can get into it next time.
The time was good enough for me to once again take the win in my class for the Victorian Super Sprint Championship, which also means that I have taken the win overall in my class as that was the last round. Over the course of the championship I managed to place 17th overall with some average lap times and some excellent competition, so looking forward to next year and hopefully moving up that overall place closer to the top 10 mark.
So in the end, with some major understeer issues (couldn't even get it to lift off oversteer in a fast long corner with some violent lifting off!!) I was pretty happy with the result. My rear swaybar is adjustable, so had stiffened that up and next step will be to soften up the front if I am still understeering. Trying to avoid stiffening up the rear to prevent the rear wheel lifting up and causing loss of grip and snap oversteer like before.
Best time: 1.43.2 (new pb)
Next plans...well I am broke now so not much, just play with tyre pressures, stop the understeer and get to know the car. Been changing suspension setups so much I have not done more than 1 day on the same settings. So time to get used to the car.
Had an offer on my Zeal Super Functions that I was running on the ED that was too good to pass up so ended up selling them off. Picked up a set of KW Version 3 Coilovers which are 3 way adjustable and heard some great stuff about. So ordered away so I would get them in time for a Winton day I had coming up. As usual got stuck up in customs and the date was getting closer and closer...with 3 days left they arrived and I made a special trip back from Geelong where I was working to install...and this is where the fun begins!!
So they don't come with any top hats, but you are meant to be able to use your stock ones on the KW's. So take off a top hat and it doesn't fit. They had made the shaft in the middle too big, 12mm instead of the 10mm standard. So this meant the 14mm with 2mm sidewall tubing in the top hats would not fit over it. So searched for some 14mm tubing with 1mm sidewalls so it would fit with no luck at all for 14mm. So ended up going 16mm with a 1.8mm wall, but this also meant I needed to get the 16mm tube to fit in the 14mm hole in the bushes!! Front's weren't too bad as I used the softer stock bushes, but at the rears using aftermarket bushes it was a bitch!! Took about 3hrs work out and put together 2 setups. So in the end got them on and installed the night before I headed up to Winton. Adjusted heights when I got up there and was ready to roll.
Besides the suspension my new Wilwood caliper and brake pads arrived. So stripped off the busted caliper where the piston pushed through and installed the new one with the new pads on the front. In went a fresh batch of Motul brake fluid and the brakes were back to feeling how they used to. Will repair the old caliper with some spare parts I bough and keep it as a spare from now on.
On top of this I have made up a new custom dash to hold my gauges, still haven't installed 2 oil & pressure gauges into the oil line but they are now in the holder in the dash which I am happy about. Also while I was at it I had up a spacer for my rear vision mirror so I could see more than a rollcage bar when I looked into it. A new fixed holder for my RaceChrono which places it nicely in my view without being in the way. Also managed to roll my rear guards finally...so no more scrubbing, but getting a bit from the front now!!
So Winton came around (01/09/2012), got done pretty bad at scruteenering and was left with a list of small things to do. Metal valve caps, box in my fuel surge tank & lines, new fixing for battery, plus a few other small additional things. Nothing too serious though. So started off, spent the first session slowly getting a feel for the suspension, running in the brake pads and warming things up. 1.47 for that session. Next one pushed it a little more but was a bit scared of oversteer as I had been getting quite a bit previously, 1.46.7 for that session. Next session out 1.46.7 again, was playing around with higher tyre pressures and nothing had been working and was still being very hesitant with pushing it. Next session out dropped the pressures down and decided to just go for it, car felt great, brakes were solid and progressive, and suspension had a lot more roll but a lot more grip. Car had gone from snap oversteer to mega understeer. Came out with a 1.44.2 - equal to my PB and 2.5 seconds quicker than I had gone all day. Went out for the final session dropped the tyre pressures down to 34psi rear and 28psi front and saw nothing but green on the RaceChrono, walked away with another 1sec off with a 1.43.2. Wanted to be in 1.41 - 1.42 mark but I was still knocking off major chunks of time off at the end, so confident I can get into it next time.
The time was good enough for me to once again take the win in my class for the Victorian Super Sprint Championship, which also means that I have taken the win overall in my class as that was the last round. Over the course of the championship I managed to place 17th overall with some average lap times and some excellent competition, so looking forward to next year and hopefully moving up that overall place closer to the top 10 mark.
So in the end, with some major understeer issues (couldn't even get it to lift off oversteer in a fast long corner with some violent lifting off!!) I was pretty happy with the result. My rear swaybar is adjustable, so had stiffened that up and next step will be to soften up the front if I am still understeering. Trying to avoid stiffening up the rear to prevent the rear wheel lifting up and causing loss of grip and snap oversteer like before.
Best time: 1.43.2 (new pb)
Next plans...well I am broke now so not much, just play with tyre pressures, stop the understeer and get to know the car. Been changing suspension setups so much I have not done more than 1 day on the same settings. So time to get used to the car.
Monday, 25 June 2012
DA6, EK9, & a stuffed Wilwood caliper for the ED6
Alright...been a while and a lot has happened. Liberty is still dead and awaiting a block rebuild, as soon as I have it back it will be sold off and something a bit more legit will be purchased for towing.
On the 9th of June I had Sandown, 3rd round of the VSSC and I had my first go in the civic with the new rear swaybar setup. It was a very wet day, so with my time of 1.32 from last time I was there, it didn't look like I had any chance of getting anywhere near that. So my first run out involved my rear end sliding everywhere and about 5 spins...managed a best of 1.52!! So came back in and checked tyre pressure and due to the cold they just weren't getting up to temp. So pumped some more air in and went out again in an even wetter session and came back with a 1.42.
Next session was about the same with traffic in the way, but the last session the rain stopped and the track started drying up. Watching the RaceChrono I could see I was destroying my sector times of the previous laps and putting down some half decent times on the still damp track. Coming into the first corner on the 2nd last lap I struggled to pull the car up, seemed alright through the rest of the lap, but coming in on the final lap I almost overshot the corner and ended up in the kitty litter...brakes were gone...and as more proof of this whenever I looked in my rear view mirror when I braked all I could see were puffs of white smoke. So pulled it up in the pits and jumped out to have a look and there was fluid everywhere on the front passenger wheel.
Apon getting home and giving it a closer inspection it looks like the pads wore striaght out and the piston has pushed out of the caliper. So time for a caliper rebuild and some new pads. I think I will grab a new caliper too just so I can have a spare. Ended up with a 1.34 for the day which got me the win in my class and overall considering the conditions I was happy with that. Although I still think I should be in the high 1.20's, which after some practice and learning the car a bit more I should get there.
Onto other news, a few car changes have happened lately. My old E30 323i that was kinda a spare car but was always broken down is now officially gone. Had an issue causing the alternator to conatsntly go, so ended up trading that for a DA6 Integra Xsi. Nice solid car with a strong B16a engine. Will be selling that off asap though.
Also managed to buy myself an EK9 CTR!! This will be my road weekend car that I will just enjoy. Won't go overboard in modifying, already has some Buddyclub coilovers, Cusco braces all round, ITR gearbox with 4.7 final drive, titanium twin loop muffler, and Fujitsubo headers. Got a set of 16" JDM ITR wheels coming for it and that's how it will stay for a while. Just enjoying having a nice fun road car again!!
On the 9th of June I had Sandown, 3rd round of the VSSC and I had my first go in the civic with the new rear swaybar setup. It was a very wet day, so with my time of 1.32 from last time I was there, it didn't look like I had any chance of getting anywhere near that. So my first run out involved my rear end sliding everywhere and about 5 spins...managed a best of 1.52!! So came back in and checked tyre pressure and due to the cold they just weren't getting up to temp. So pumped some more air in and went out again in an even wetter session and came back with a 1.42.
Next session was about the same with traffic in the way, but the last session the rain stopped and the track started drying up. Watching the RaceChrono I could see I was destroying my sector times of the previous laps and putting down some half decent times on the still damp track. Coming into the first corner on the 2nd last lap I struggled to pull the car up, seemed alright through the rest of the lap, but coming in on the final lap I almost overshot the corner and ended up in the kitty litter...brakes were gone...and as more proof of this whenever I looked in my rear view mirror when I braked all I could see were puffs of white smoke. So pulled it up in the pits and jumped out to have a look and there was fluid everywhere on the front passenger wheel.
Apon getting home and giving it a closer inspection it looks like the pads wore striaght out and the piston has pushed out of the caliper. So time for a caliper rebuild and some new pads. I think I will grab a new caliper too just so I can have a spare. Ended up with a 1.34 for the day which got me the win in my class and overall considering the conditions I was happy with that. Although I still think I should be in the high 1.20's, which after some practice and learning the car a bit more I should get there.
Onto other news, a few car changes have happened lately. My old E30 323i that was kinda a spare car but was always broken down is now officially gone. Had an issue causing the alternator to conatsntly go, so ended up trading that for a DA6 Integra Xsi. Nice solid car with a strong B16a engine. Will be selling that off asap though.
Also managed to buy myself an EK9 CTR!! This will be my road weekend car that I will just enjoy. Won't go overboard in modifying, already has some Buddyclub coilovers, Cusco braces all round, ITR gearbox with 4.7 final drive, titanium twin loop muffler, and Fujitsubo headers. Got a set of 16" JDM ITR wheels coming for it and that's how it will stay for a while. Just enjoying having a nice fun road car again!!
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Liberty has died and the Civic is how it was...
So not much has happened lately. My ASR 24mm rear swaybar has arrived, but haven't had time to install it yet. Looks like a great bit of kit, so can't wait to get it on there and see how it feels. Might need to remove the muffler to do it, but shouldn't be an issue. Next track day is on the 9th of June at Sandown, Round 3 of the VSSC so just need to make sure I am ready for that. Also need to get it down to somewhere to get a new muffler made up for it, to quieten it down a bit so I don't get kicked off Sandown again.
Now, for the daily driver and tow car, my Liberty GT Spec B. About 6 months ago the turbo went on it, not while driving hard or anything like that (drive like a grandma on the streets, save it for the track) it just went while the g/f was driving the car on the freeway. Got that fixed up in the way of an AVO 380 turbo with a full turbo back exhaust, top mount, BOV, tune, etc. Ended up with 180kw @ wheels, not too bad for an auto daily driver. But over the weekend my run of bad luck with the car struck again. While on the freeway (again) it started to make a very bad noise and lost all it's power, so I immediately pulled over where it proceeded to die and never start again. It's at the mechanics now getting diagnosed, but all I know is that it won't be good.
So now I am returning it back to stock, selling off the parts and doing what I should have done originally and get a good solid tow car. Currently looking at 4wd's with over 2000kg towing capacity (although all I need is 1500kg for the civic and trailer) and a decent amount of power. Would love a Euro V8 or diesel, but can probably only afford a Japanese 6...we will see...stay tuned!!
Now, for the daily driver and tow car, my Liberty GT Spec B. About 6 months ago the turbo went on it, not while driving hard or anything like that (drive like a grandma on the streets, save it for the track) it just went while the g/f was driving the car on the freeway. Got that fixed up in the way of an AVO 380 turbo with a full turbo back exhaust, top mount, BOV, tune, etc. Ended up with 180kw @ wheels, not too bad for an auto daily driver. But over the weekend my run of bad luck with the car struck again. While on the freeway (again) it started to make a very bad noise and lost all it's power, so I immediately pulled over where it proceeded to die and never start again. It's at the mechanics now getting diagnosed, but all I know is that it won't be good.
So now I am returning it back to stock, selling off the parts and doing what I should have done originally and get a good solid tow car. Currently looking at 4wd's with over 2000kg towing capacity (although all I need is 1500kg for the civic and trailer) and a decent amount of power. Would love a Euro V8 or diesel, but can probably only afford a Japanese 6...we will see...stay tuned!!
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
New DIY Rear Wing
So decided at some stage I would need a rear wing for some additional down force (most likely when I upgrade the car with some more aero parts) and after a bit of searching around decided no one really did anything that great for the old ED Civic besides J's Racing, who also charge an arm and a leg for it. So decided to get a bit creative and DIY myself a GT style rear wing.
Found on eBay what seemed like a good quality universal carbon GT wing that wasn't too wide (as a lot of them seemed to be) and also was fairly low as it would be going up on the roof. So decided to press the go button and purchase it. It actually arrived weeks ago, but only just got the chance to work on it in the last few days.
Decided I would adapt it to my standard rear wing which was swapped over to a EF9 unit way back when I got the car sprayed. So after ripping the plastic bottom piece off so it just left the metal I measured up and drilled the holes to make it work.
The standard rear wing ruled up and drilled:
The new carbon GT style rear wing:
The finished product!!:
Found on eBay what seemed like a good quality universal carbon GT wing that wasn't too wide (as a lot of them seemed to be) and also was fairly low as it would be going up on the roof. So decided to press the go button and purchase it. It actually arrived weeks ago, but only just got the chance to work on it in the last few days.
Decided I would adapt it to my standard rear wing which was swapped over to a EF9 unit way back when I got the car sprayed. So after ripping the plastic bottom piece off so it just left the metal I measured up and drilled the holes to make it work.
The standard rear wing ruled up and drilled:
The new carbon GT style rear wing:
The finished product!!:
Pretty happy with the finished product. Only issue is that it is not adjustable, and the wing seems to be at a large angle. So might need to get some brackets made up so I can flatten it out a bit, another issue is the end plates as the ones that came with it angle inwards quite a lot which I didn't realise when I bought it. So going to do some research into end plates and make a decision as to what I do. Next time I am at Winton or Phillip Island I think I will give it a go and test it to see what / if there is any time difference in the laps.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Sandown 15/02/2012
So yesterday was the VSSC round 2 with the HSV Owners Club at Sandown. My first time down at Sandown and was a bit of a mixed day. After having my 30th birthday party the night before it was safe to say I was feeling a bit under the weather that morning. A few changes had been made to the car since last time I had it out so it was going to be an interesting day. Started off with the drivers briefing and me getting my medal from the last win at VSSC Round 1 at Phillip Island.
The day seemed a bit unorganised, so by 2pm we had only done 1 x 3 lap 'get to know the circuit' session and 1 x 6 lap session. Spent them working out braking points and getting to know the corners (not that there was too many of them!!). Was defiantly one of the roughest surface circuits I have ever been on. In the first real session I got a 1.35 which was done with some messy laps. Next session I went out on I got stuck out the back and spent the whole session getting past everyone, and as usual just as I got past them all the session ended. Still managed to record a 1.33.9 with traffic which wasn't too bad considering, but defiantly a lot more to come off it. Went to line up for the next session and on my way to the start area I was pulled aside by an official and told my exhaust was too loud for the day and I wouldn't be allowed back on!! So a whole day of waiting around, 2 real sessions and my day was done. Wasn't too happy considering my exhaust really isn't that loud and there was clearly other louder cars...
So that's it...best time of the day of 1.33.9 with only a couple of sessions and some traffic. Was good enough for a win in my class in the VSSC, but I think that is mainly due to a lack of good competition there in my class. At least I got some good feedback on how the car is feeling and what needs to be done. Since having the car down at TruTrack it now feels a lot more settled and more even. Braking is better too from it, and seems a lot harder to lock up a wheel now. With the rear swaybar removed it is understeeing pretty badly, so a new one will be ordered in the next few days and as per TruTrack's recommendation I will be swapping the front one back to a standard unit. Also the shift linkage needs to be replaced as the bushes are stuffed and it's really hard to grab gears (meaning a lot were missed on the day). The new wheel and tyre combo was really good, although with the new lower ride height the rears are scrubbing a fair bit, so something will need to be done there. Also seems like I will need to get a new muffler made up for Sandown.
Best time: 1.32.5
edit...Just checked the results again and they didn't record my last session. So I am going with what my RaceChrono says and that's a best of 1.32.5 on the day.
The day seemed a bit unorganised, so by 2pm we had only done 1 x 3 lap 'get to know the circuit' session and 1 x 6 lap session. Spent them working out braking points and getting to know the corners (not that there was too many of them!!). Was defiantly one of the roughest surface circuits I have ever been on. In the first real session I got a 1.35 which was done with some messy laps. Next session I went out on I got stuck out the back and spent the whole session getting past everyone, and as usual just as I got past them all the session ended. Still managed to record a 1.33.9 with traffic which wasn't too bad considering, but defiantly a lot more to come off it. Went to line up for the next session and on my way to the start area I was pulled aside by an official and told my exhaust was too loud for the day and I wouldn't be allowed back on!! So a whole day of waiting around, 2 real sessions and my day was done. Wasn't too happy considering my exhaust really isn't that loud and there was clearly other louder cars...
So that's it...best time of the day of 1.33.9 with only a couple of sessions and some traffic. Was good enough for a win in my class in the VSSC, but I think that is mainly due to a lack of good competition there in my class. At least I got some good feedback on how the car is feeling and what needs to be done. Since having the car down at TruTrack it now feels a lot more settled and more even. Braking is better too from it, and seems a lot harder to lock up a wheel now. With the rear swaybar removed it is understeeing pretty badly, so a new one will be ordered in the next few days and as per TruTrack's recommendation I will be swapping the front one back to a standard unit. Also the shift linkage needs to be replaced as the bushes are stuffed and it's really hard to grab gears (meaning a lot were missed on the day). The new wheel and tyre combo was really good, although with the new lower ride height the rears are scrubbing a fair bit, so something will need to be done there. Also seems like I will need to get a new muffler made up for Sandown.
Best time: 1.32.5
edit...Just checked the results again and they didn't record my last session. So I am going with what my RaceChrono says and that's a best of 1.32.5 on the day.
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