[kommon_sense]

i take it you never made it to VIR this past weekend? (i dont know if there was an event or not, i just remember you saying something about the first weekend in march)

btw
did you hear they are moving the Ariel Atom facilities to VIR :clappy
i was at a car show this past weekend in richmond and they had a guy representing VIR up there with an Ariel Atom, the thing was sweet!!

Unfortunately no. I keep having schedule conflicts. The event that I originally thought was the first weekend, is actually during the week (today and tomorrow if I remember correctly), and i didn't want to take the time off work.

The porsche club is hosting an event this coming weekend, but they never responded to me when i emailed them to ask if they allowed non-porsche's to participate in their event (sometimes they are restricted). I've got conflicts with April events. My sister is getting married the same weekend as the May event. I think I have a graduation to attend the same weekend as the June event, etc.... Just having bad luck with getting in an event right now. I even got a video camera and a mount at Christmas

yeah, I heard about the Atom folks, that should be cool. Right now I'm really excited about High Rock Raceway - The Track . That should be about 1.5-2hrs from me.

 

[kommon_sense]

Small Update. I took the car to get inspected a month or so ago. I was told that if you disable obd2 that the ecu would essentially "lie" and report passed on all tests. *THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!* If you do this your car will fail obd2 emissions tests because the system will not be able to communicate with the edu. Plain and simple.

So. I re-enabled obd2 and fixed the wiring on my secondary o2 sensor (conversion harness instructions were incorrect), and took it to get inspected the other day. It passed with no problems whatsoever. So a few notes on passing :

- North Carolina OBD2 Inspection Testing
- OBD2 enabled in k-pro
- Correct Vehicle VIN number (matches your registration) programmed into k-pro
- Catalytic converter is installed on car w/secondary o2 sensor
- EVAP system is still in place with a charcoal canister (they check this for tampering)

Now, the next thing that I need to fix is that I believe that my hybrid conversion harness is missing a wire. My SRS light is on, and my horn does not work. When I looked at the wiring diagrams, both of these items are fed off the same wire, so I don't think this is a coincidence.

 

[Fuster_Cluck]

I really like how the modification to the radiator for the sensors.
I'm going to see if a local shop here can do the same thing to my Mishimoto :w00tz

I haven't been happy with HASport since the beginning with the mounts. Anyhow, I'll be glad to ditch the hose adapter to have the correct reading on my gauge cluster for the temp :rolleyes

I've been looking at the bushings and with your review really thinking about getting a set. Where did you get them and how much? If you want to PM the info that's :cool

Always good updates and info in your thread :number1

 

[GSRxBoy]

topic = sex. keep it up son!

 

[coop3422]

looks badass. props

 

[kommon_sense]

Ok, so I got some more gremlins worked out. Thanks to Trek95 I was able to figure out that my cord reel was broken. This is why my horn didn't work, cruise didn't work, and my srs light was on. Installed the new reel and all was good. The srs light was on for so long that I got used to it. I almost miss it now that my cluster isn't lit up But at least I won't die in a head on collision.

Here is the busted cord reel.

I also did a valve adjustment this weekend. Only 3 or 4 valves loosened up. The rest were all good. While I had the valve cover off, I installed a new upper chain guide. This is from the 06 civic si. Notice its wider than the stock rsx one. The civic unit is on top.

Here is an updated pic of the engine bay. Still more work to do here to clean things up the way I want. I re-installed the lower splash guard/undertray and removed the pre-filter from my air filter. The prefilter doesn't seem to be restrictive at all as I didn't notice any differences in my a/f while driving, so I'll probably put it back on to help keep the filter clean.

And here is a little preview of the next project on my plate...

 

[kommon_sense]

Small Update.

The brackets that I had made to reuse my skunk2 front strut tower bar didn't work out, so I was back in the market for another strut tower bar. I have other ideas for mounting something on the shock bolts, so that meant that I needed one that bolted directly to the shock towers. After looking around, getting an OEM ITR bar was the cheapest. You can find them for $55. This one was $75 shipped in nearly brand new condition.

I have an ek, so I had to drill the holes to mount the bar. I spent quite a while playing with it to line it up properly. Once you drill a hole, you are kinda stuck with it.

I used a 17/64th drill bit and an 8x1.25mm tap. I used a tap so that I could screw the bolt into the hole from the bottom and not have to worry about it falling out while working with the bar.

I expected the front end to tighten up a bit, but I was actually really surprised at how much this bar did for the car. My 2-3 gear wheel hop is now gone. I used to have to baby the throttle in 2nd, and go light on 3rd because the wheels would break loose (falken azenis, new bushings, quaife, etc.). Now, just punch it an go...

Enough jibbering.. Pics :

Trying to line this thing up properly. Pay no attention to the dirty master cylinder. My oil pressure sensor sits back there, and it had a slight leak which is why the MC looks filthy.

Freshly drilled holes

Tapping the freshly drilled holes. I screwed the bolt in from the bottom and will use a nut on the top to secure the strut bar. I wouldn't trust just putting the bolt in by itself from the top even though I tapped the holes.

Finished Install... No, that isn't an optical illusion, the bar really is that close.. However I'm using the ekk2 kit with the motor in the top hole.

I have probably 5/8-3/4" clearance between the bar and valve cover. However the bar sits higher than the motor, so I should not have any issues at all with contact.

 

[Jo060]

Very nice, Kommon...VERY nice!

 

[poopflingr1]

oh, shit, i just sat here for the last 2 1/2 hours and read this entire thing.

sweet ass writeup man!

im actually looking into getting my car lowered a bit and some wheels to replace my steelies... any suggestions?

It's not meant for the track, or to even race, but i want it to have a great look, nice comfortable ride, and still keep my MPG good. as of right now i get anywhere from 39-45 MPG depending on how i drive.

i will def keep checking in on this as its amazing what your doing. i love the whole sleeper look.

u should get a camera and have someone tape u racing... maybe even a dash cam? bwahahaha.
+ rep

 

[kommon_sense]

Ok, on with the pics. I have obd2 enabled and was getting a trouble code for the ELD not being hooked up. So hooked it up from C131 to E15. I added the 3rd wire from the left on the row closest to the camera. I'm not sure why hybrid racing didn't have this included in the harness. I ordered the pigtail with the right ends on it from Sparks Racing. So, my ELD reads correctly now. As I understand it, the ELD is used to turn the alternator on/off, so having this connected should reduce the burden on the alternator and load on the engine.

I got the mr2 p/s pump hooked up. The pump has a high pitched whine... I don't think that I like it. So, have to think about what I can do about it. The steering feel is good and the power improvement is pretty noticeable People reported an 8whp loss on the b-series when using p/s. I'm *guesstimating* that I was losing about 10whp using the smaller Jackson racing pulley for the p/s. I also filled up the gas tank today so I can keep an eye on gas mileage now that the pump is gone. I'm expecting probably 3mpg gain.

I hooked the pump up to the ignition switch, so it turns on when you turn the key. I might still put an on/off switch inline with it so that I can still turn if off when I want.

Taped the pump off to paint the rusty bits with rust inhibiting primer.

Finished product. Wasn't trying for anything fancy. Just wanted to clean it up a bit.

Anderson connectors. These are quick disconnects that I spliced into the pump's harness.

Pic of the 75A relay, and the 100A auto-resetting circuit breaker.

Washers to shim between the pump bracket and the chassis.

A pic of the hole where the pump is going to live.

Bottom view.

Pump and bracket in place. You can see on the right side, the bracket sits on top of the drivers side brace for the hasport mount kit, so you need to use washers as shown earlier to put on the left side between the bracket and frame rail to get the bracket flush. You also need 40mm screws.

Pump mounted up. You can see how I spliced the wires here. The anderson connector is at the other end just slightly out of the picture.

Home-Made high pressure power steering line. This is the Earls line. I probably wouldn't use it again. I would probably go with either Russell or Aeroquip. Once I got the hang of assembling the lines/fittings, it wasn't too bad. I used a 90deg on the pump, and 45deg on the rack.

Tubing cutter. I love harbor freight. This was like $4. I'm cutting some 3/8" tubing that I bought from the auto parts store. Getting ready to bend the line to go from the return line on the cooler to the inlet on the reservoir.

Earls tubing beader inserted into the line.

Fresh bead on the line. Doesn't look big, but gives just enough for a good clamp to bite on and not slip off.

The final bent up line. The part on the right connects to the cooler, goes in the front, tucks around the radiator and then runs straight up the side of the radiator to the reservoir.

Wow, my front end has caught a lot of bugs... I really think that a cooler is required for this setup. I reused the oem screw clamps on the bottom line. They work great...

See it all put in place...

You can see the wiring done up here. Used 8awg wire. I didn't like how much the red wire stood out in the bay...

So, wire loom fixes everything...

 

[kommon_sense]

Well, spent last weekend @ VIR on the Full Course with the Porsche Club. Had a pretty good time. I was pretty out of it the first 2 days. My sister's wedding was the weekend before and had long hours at work, so I don't think that I did very well. I felt better on the 3rd day, but still felt slow getting around the track. Funny thing is, looks like I improved my laptimes by about 8 seconds.

I don't have a traqmate or anything like that, so I'm figuring our laptimes by watching video from my camera. Best time I've seen so far is about 2:31. Not too bad on a street car with full interior and only moderate rubber. However there is definately a lot of improvement that can happen. I simply wasn't putting together very many consistent laps. If I had, I think I could have gotten it to mid/high 2:20's.

I loved the new brakes on the track. They did great. Lasted all weekend. I went with another set of Carbotech XP10 pads.

The Electric Power Steering did very well. Very smooth and easy all weekend.

Only real issue was on the 2nd session of the 1st day, my shifter broke. The guide which holds the cable in place is supposed to be held in place by a crimp. Mine popped out which caused slack in the cable and I couldn't shift. Thank God it happened in the pits and not on the track. So had to fix it real quick. Believe it or not, but this duct tape and zip ties did the trick and lasted all weekend.


My shifter quick fix...

Look at my front tire. Apparently it was rolling quite a bit. I need to find a way to dial in more negative front camber. I have a camber kit, but its maxed out already. So going to have to get creative here.

Here is the rear tire. It is rolling quite a bit as well. So time to dial in more negative camber. I have a camber kit in the back and still have plenty of room for adjustment.

 

[kommon_sense]

More pics from this weekend.

First Supra that I've seen on track. It was faster than me in a straight line, but I kept catching it in the corners...

I need to get a video from the owner of this viper. He has vids from the last event that I was at, where he was trying to catch me

Porsches everywhere...

And a few bimmers...

I think that I like the rx-7 better than the rx-8.

This thing was ridiculously fast. I heard numbers around 500hp. I was hitting 130-135mph on the back straight and it blew by me like I was standing still... Even in the corners this thing was quick...

I laughed at the park bench wing on the caddy when I first saw it... I didn't laugh when it blew by me. lol...

I was the only honda in my run group, but there were a few others out on the track.

A pair of stg2 srt-4's. They are faster than me in a straight line, but not by much. Considering they are stg2 2.4L turbos, I'm quite happy with my little NA 2.0L

A Z06

With an insane wing on it... Considering how fast a normal one is, it probably needs it.

Another Porsche...

Quite a few GT3's and GT3 Cup cars out there this weekend.

 

[HonCiv02]

nice pics. your car is pretty damn awesome too. keep up the good work.

 

[poopflingr1]

any interest in getting a turbo? would help alot and look SWEET under the hood.

btw, ever dyno? whats the numbers for ur car?

 

[BD]

any interest in getting a turbo? would help alot and look SWEET under the hood.

btw, ever dyno? whats the numbers for ur car?

He obviously doesn't need any help when $80k Vipers are struggling to keep up and I don't think he's thinking turbo ever if I remember correctly.

 

[redonisc]

Any dyno ##??

btw... my preference on this is N/A....

 

[kommon_sense]

The car was a bit slower last time I had it out, so I have to do some troubleshooting to figure out what happened. There were a number of changes between track visits.

I have no plans for turbo. Its just not worth the headache for track use.

Actually havent been to the dyno, but I think that I need to in order to work my cam angle maps properly. I don't know when that will happen as I've got a lot of other stuff outside of the car to get taken care of.

 

[nicefighter80]

yea i just read this whole thread from page one and loved every second of it to bad theres no more to read good job kommon you know what your doing :number1

edit: this should be sticky lol but really though tons of good info i feel like im a pro at this swap already lol

 

[kommon_sense]

Minor Update... Put together a vid from the last track weekend. The course was VIR Full (VIRginia International Raceway - Welcome to VIRginia International Raceway). Posted it up over in the rr/auto-x forum on HT for constructive criticism. This was my first time out on a good brake *AND* tire combination. I ditched the azenis and went with toyo r888's. Lap times were about 2:26-27 with an instructor in the car. Times improved by several seconds when I was signed off to solo.

This wasn't one of my best laps, but I only had a handful of laps the whole weekend where I wasn't slowed down by traffic, so I didn't have a lot to choose from :|

All in all not bad. Most of the places where you hear me back out of the throttle is because I'm approaching redline and you have to be mindful of how much speed you carry through some of the turns. I'm still playing on which gears are best to use in which places. I think that I need to shift to 4th through T3 because I'm at redline early and its costing me too much time.

Most of the feedback that I've gotten is that I'm still braking very early and be more aggressive on the uphill esses. I'm going up the esses at about 110 or so, but I could carry more speed if I alter my line.

YouTube - k20 civic around VIR Full Course MazdaDrivers Aug 2008

Click the "watch in high quality" link just below the video.

 

[fastshift]

nice vid :btu