gringotegra

I thought i would show you guys some of the stuff i have been doing to my 1/2 mile integra.


Obviously its not Time-attack or track oriented but i thought it would be cool to show you guys what i did and at least post some results on how what i did improved the car etc. I am open to any suggestions if anyone has any!


Just over a year ago i went to a 1/2 mile event in my integra. At the time it was making 740whp give or take at 30psi. I did a total of 10 passes give or take.

Fastest pass of the day was a 179.6mph. I wanted to hit 180mph so bad. The next day i taped up the stock 94-97 headlights and seriously nothing changed from pass to pass and picked up just under 3mph and ended the day at 182.33mph in a standing 1/2 mile.

Front View of the car:


Side view:


After i taped up the headlights:



So based on what i found, the 94-97 suck for high speed runs lol. We all know thats why the 98+ front ends come with flush mount headlights vs the pocket style that come in the earlier models.


Video of the 182mph pass:





After i had gone that fast in the car and taped up the headlights i realized there was some mph to be had by doing some Aero mods.


Since i could not lower the car much due to the bigger tires, i decided that lowering the front end and the sides would be the thing to do.

On came some Kiwi Specialties 5" sideskirts:


A cheap $46 Ebay front lip, that was seriously the best fitting lip ever lol:




I then figured i needed to flat bottom the car.. Start of front splitter:



Since i am not going for crazy downforce, i did not need to make the splitter very big.




Flat bottom begins:





Rear diffuser construction:







Finished product:









So after going from 100% bone stock Aero to doing all the mods i just did. I gained a total of 5mph in the 1/2 mile. Is that good, yes not so bad. Could it be better? I am sure.

Here is an in car video of my 187mph pass:


Outside views, this is a bunch of videos from the event. My car starts at 2:50 onwards:






I will tell you, at 180+ mph with the flat bottom and rear diffuser the car is a completely different car as far as stability. It was so much more stable at high speeds i was shocked and very happy at the same time haha.


After i went 187mph that day i thought it would be a great idea to pull off the stock integra wing. While it may look small, lets just say it must have a good amount of downforce on it because when i hit the brakes at about 180mph i locked up the rears and was sideways. Recovered it, then hit brakes again and same thing. Holy **** what a butt pucker moment for me there!!!

If you listen in the video, my co-worker says "holy ****, holy **** Myles almost lost it, holy ****"... lol..

I changed nothing from pass to pass that day other than taking off the rear wing.. So lesson learned there.. lol


For my next 1/2 mile event i decided i wanted to make a drag wing and delete the mirrors.


What the rear wing ended up looking like:



IT is adjustable and can move up about 1" give or take.


After Last weekends 1/2 mile event i went to, i was able to go 186.7mph.

While it appears that i went slower, the track was apparently shortened 40 feet. It is still a 1/2 mile, but the starting line before was further up. So people were actually getting a 30-40ft head start. Based on some of the cars there they were down about 4-5mph vs last time.



The wing: also helped with stability a metric **** ton under braking. The event was super windy and i can say the car used to be much more sketchy under braking than it is now.




Problems i have figured out since i did all this aero.


There is a lot of pressure going into the engine bay at these speeds and it needs to exit somewhere right? Check out the hood flex and flat-bottom flex in this picture:



This picture is from an earlier event this year. So after seeing this i decided i needed to add some supports.

I added X2 3" 1" by 1/4" thick angle aluminum to both sides facing forward. And added a 4x30" 1/4 Alumilite piece right in the middle of the splitter.

The result after 5 175mph pulls:






As you can see, the bottom of this thing was bend down and it was getting worse every pass. So i made a crucial decision at the track.. LETS CUT A HOLE IN THE HOOD.







Yep thats right i cut a hole in the hood. I bought the hood on Craigslist for $80 a year and a half ago so i was totally cool cutting the hood lol.

I added a small Gerny flap (SP?) to the front of the hole i just cut so that it would suck a little air out...




The end result, felt better and based on this pic it was needed:




If you look closely you can see the heat coming out of the hood vent and you can almost see the Aero profile of the car.




I will keep updating this thread over the winter with things that i plan to change.

I plan to close the front end of the car, and when i do that i feel like i should eliminate a lot of my high pressure areas in the engine bay.

If i do close up the front end, i am not sure if i will be keeping this hood like it is or doing a custom hood with a proper shrouded vent etc..



I hope to have some rear data of everything i have done. IE, height sensors etc.


IF anyone has any suggestions feel free to let me know as i am all ears. I am not aero engineer, i am the Office boy at English Racing that likes to tinker with his car and go fast .

Thanks!

Myles

Ps: like i said i posted this in here because i feel like most of you guys are more Aero savi than anywhere else and figured you would appreciate this more than most people...

gringotegra

Great article that Revvolution.com did on my car:

No Competition: Myles' 800-HP 1994 Acura Integra GS-R by English Racing - The Modified Lifestyle | Revvolution

Caoboy

Could you have done an OMG JDM hood prop to vent the engine bay vs cuttin the hood? I know you didn't care about cutting the hood but I'm wondering how that affected the aerodynamics. There was a thread a while back in this forum about directing airflow through the front grille and intercooler and out a vented hood....

bspeed

Myles, check out the DIY aero thread on turbomiata. Those guy track test a lot of their modifications and then rate their efficacy vs value. Lots of info on flat bottoms, vented hoods. There is a removable kammback mocked up with coroplast that the guy ended making out of fiberglass. Venting front fenders to evacuate high pressure. One dude made a bad *** F1 style active aero air-brake rear wing.

Ecomodder has a bunch of aero tech as well, especially focused on frontal cd improvement. Sealing the intercooler/radiator to bumper would increase their effectiveness and allow you to partially block the bumper opening.

The guy on autospeed down in Australia did a bunch of testing with vortex generators and their benefit based on location.

Love the progress!

miamirice

Gringotegra- thanks for posting. Very impressive and pioneering work in some ways.

JDM_rolex

That was an awesome read! Maybe it's just me but some pictures do not work.

gringotegra

Thanks for all the info.

I will be taking a look for sure

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

I think you are a few minor tweaks from 190mph.
Afterhours Automotive sells the hood scoop that you should be using.
Brian Kono is the contact there.
Maybe swap that nose piece for one that doesn't need to be taped up, and isn't stock weight.
Rough is drag, and smooth is speed.
Look at the Drag forum for such a part or online.... Something you can put your own holes in for the intercooler venting, other that that it should be slippery.
Great work!
One piece of safety advice... HANS Device! That pic shows a hans-less neck there.

Caoboy

I'm assuming you already read this?

Technical | Special Projects Motor Sports

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

I'm sure since he bought the pci side skirts he has come across Kiwi's technical article.
If not, a definite must read.
There is an aero guru who used to post here... Where is Johnny when we need him.

rice_classic

This is very cool and congrats on those numbers.

Wheels also generate a lot of turbulence so you may want to consider covering the rear wheels similar to the 1st gen honda Insight.

Root of all Evil

Pretty nice man! You look pretty good in that miniskirt with the slit up the side. Pants=slow

gringotegra

LOL

Thanks.

Caoboy

MOON DISCS!!

MOON Discs


I KNEW I would use this knowledge someday.

scottdh20

have you thought about front bumper block off...a lot of air is getting around the intercooler into the bay. chanelling that through the fmic will help to lower temps and keep less unused air out of the bay

essex

It needs to be vented at the front edge of the cylinder head just like he did. There are 2 things going on one is drag from the front of the motor and the other is lift from the air riding up the block/head and hitting the hood. If you lift the back of the hood air is getting sucked in at that area.

He doesn't need a $400 carbon hood vent , no offense to Brian from Afterhours Auto as the piece is beautiful but it is nothing this guy cant do with sheet metal and what he did was working as you can clearly see in the after pic.

Why he even bought those side skirts when he fabricated his own flat bottom lol

Thanks for sharing these awesome pics with us!

Caoboy

What's wrong with the side skirts and flat bottom?

essex

Nothing I was just saying I was surprised he bought the side skirts when he has the ability to make his own beautiful flat bottom and wing.

gringotegra

Thanks for the kind words guys.

The reason I bought the side skirts instead of making them was the price. Those things were cheap and looked great and came with hardware and all that. I talked to kiwi and he had a lot to say and share with me so I returned the favor and bought a set.

As far as closing the front. Yea I agree that would fix all of these issues.

That being said I do want to keep this car how it is I feel. I will be messing with more areo on it though. I have some plans and ideas .

Egezzy

iTrader: (2)

Good stuff, Myles!

SovXietday

Good stuff!

I would highly suggest considerably reducing the front air inlet and either switching to W2A or making post intercooler duct work somehow that will help direct upwards out of the hood. Do NOT go down, you will be lifting the front if you do. At 100+mph you do not need 4x1 feet of area in front of the intercooler. Why not make a smooth insert that will make a nice gradual change across the bumper with a much smaller inlet directly into the center of the IC?

Also, think about venting the rear portion of the front fenders. You have significant amounts of air flowing into that area from underneath and it has no where to go. Same thing with the rear area, make sure that you are not allowing air to get up under your flat bottom because it will pocket and slow you down.

Lastly, a note about your high end stability. You are locking the rears for the exact opposite conclusion you are coming to. You have LITTLE TO NO DOWNWARD FORCE on the rear wheels when you hit the brakes which is making it very easy for you to lock the rears up, in fact you may even be doing exactly what a lot of the drag guys do and completely lifting the rear wheels off the ground.

Think about either changing the brake bias with an adjustable proportioning valve, or move the rears to a separate lever arm all together so that you only have fronts on the pedal.

Keep at it though, it all looks like a ton of fun.

TheToaster

iTrader: (1)

Weld ducting on the front of the car that takes it from the bumper cover, into the intercooler, then into the radiator, then over the exhaust, up and out the hood.

Into your intercooler should look like an industrial building.

Lots to be gained with ducting, move the air around the front of the tire,

Look at OEM Cars,

If this is a Race car, Delete the wipers, cut out the tray, weld a piece of sheet steel ramping the firewall to the window, washers under the hood.

Direct high pressure out of firewall.

redzcstandardhatch

Yeah....moon discs all around!

Very cool stuff.
And to whoever mentioned the "JDM hood prop"....no! That's a high pressure zone (the pocket where the windshield meets hood).. venting tthe back of hood will actually pressurize it more.

You might want to put tape over the wiper/cowl area and make it "smoother"

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

Plus one on the JDM prop. I recall Johnny (aero guru) mentioning the above before.
Some believe it vents the heat from under the hood. In essence it disrupts the flow over the hood.
Most of the heat is created at the exhaust, and turbo areas in the front of the engine bay.
Gringo is going to get his 190 top speed he is soooooooooooooooo close.

BMA EK_Hatch

Badass!!! Keep it up, you're almost there