93allmotorcoupe

Those tops hats are pretty slick!! Nice design for sure, hope you can get the setup dialed in now that you've got the adjustability

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

if i can get this car to be neutral with these changes... hopefully the ASR bar comes in just in time to get loose.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

Well, the suspension bits are done and on the car... it slammed in to 4.5* on the new top hats... i'll be dialing some camber out now.

my next issue is one i thought i solved... during the last race a P0340 code (cam sensor A circuit code), additionally the battery light came on. the tech bulletin from honda did indicate low battery could cause this... i charged the battery, tested and replaced the bad alternator, cleared the code... fired up the car 4-5 times and it was gone.

I went to move the car saturday AND it came back... alternator and battery check out this time... I struggled testing the sensor and the harness (the sensor isnt activating from the tests i have conducted... but i also cant get a 12v constant on the harness)... so i ordered a replacement sensor (they are cheap enough) and i sourced a used harness on the cheap to see...

its always something

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

I've been semi chasing this P0340 code... my buddy decided i wasnt good enough to deal with it (he was right) because i just read the internet and my diagnostics skills arent near his level... especially with electrical stuff (I've been gun shy since i burned down a harness on my old integra).



I think he gets more help from this Snapon Scanner tablet thing then he is letting on... but he also jumps into the service manual first... not google [img]data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7[/img] The service manual helped us find this...





This is the 10A alternator fuse... I'm going to assume the alternator that i replaced after last race went bad, surged, and popped this fuse... and caused the P0340 code. This is responsible for providing the 12V to the intake cam sensor.







We are trying to make sure the alternator is the only reason for the fuse to blow. The ground wire off the intake manifold has 36ish ohms of resistance... He's a toyota mechanic by trade and that makes him nervous. I'm going to validate on the harness that is supposed to come in today... if it reads the same i'll leave the original harness in the car, if it reads near 1 ohm... its going in the car just to be sure.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

Nut and bolt check complete... everything is ready to go... it even got a good scrubbing. we have a +14 car field and i have A LOT of friends and family coming to cheer me on. lets get this party started.

93allmotorcoupe

Digging that Nascar decal. Good luck!!

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

I've never had a better weekend racing... even with a blown transmission (stay tuned).





I say this a lot... but I race with the best group in the WORLD... If we start racing on Mars with Elon, my group is the best in the star system. we have some of the CLOSEST and CLEANEST racing out there... and no matter where we go, no matter the track, our group is a force. Like most race groups there are "tiers" of drivers BUT we all help each other, push each other, encourage each other... and we pull no punches on the track. We have a top tier of guys that can go to a new track and set a track record... these guys swept the podium at nationals, etc. we have a mid tier group (i'm apart of) that could win in any other region.... then we have the "back markers"... they are rookies or guys that are still working on developing their race programs...



yes... race programs. we all have one... all of us in my region. everyone does things a little different... everyone has slightly different goals per season or race. but we are ALL (every single tier) working on ourselves as drivers and the cars development. Even our top tier of drivers continue to push themselves and the cars capabilities... because they are still competing against each other.



This is my first year with the new car... duh... and i spent the first two race weeknds gathering data (race program plans)... this weekend we made adjustments. we did the first shock adjustments (my tutorial to come soon), we tested the first suspension piece change, AND we were able to test tire size... all yielding positive results at the track my car is supposed to be WEAK at.



Saturday:

I kept blowing the 10amp fuse again... in practice and qualifying it put me in limp mode... but i got one extra lap in qualifying before it blew.. good enough for P5 (aka fastest mid pack racer). we found the issue with the wiring, my brake pedal and the dash harness were rubbing and under hard braking i would pop the fuse... track side repair was done in time for the race... and thank god... we had a field of 15 cars... 15 in my class to battle with... and it would be epic!



I started in P5 and was able to latch onto P4... I refused to let him go and i found some sections i was faster than him... 5 LAPS of trying to time my pass (video will be coming this week) before i pull it off... and then i ran like hell just in time to navigate slower traffic. to finish P4 and sort of jump a tier... i was stoked... the guy i passed as at least as happy for me as i was for myself (we are true track family).



Sunday:

No fuse issues, the front sway bar actually feels good... momentum from the previous day... and one of the "back markers" (a dear friend from college no less) asks me if i want to try his 255 tires on the front so he can try my 235 tires on the rear (his 9th gen civic is running a 255 square setup... and he wonders why he cant get it to turn).... i jump at the opportunity to test staggered without spending money... the data is invaluable to me in chassis development... there is no way i'm saying now.



My initial impressions of the 255 is that they are slower to react to steering input... on the warm up lap i noticed it... i knew i needed to move my hands a little faster and an little earlier to make it work... and boy did they work... qualified P3 with the big tires on sunday... so i ask my buddy if i can keep them on for the race... he says yes (hes also seeing more success with getting the car to turn).



The sunday race was the wildest time i have every seen... the group (tiers) are SO CLOSE... P1 qualified .5 seconds ahead of P2... BUT P2 to P8 is .2 seconds apart... several of us go positions by .00X seconds. As the green flag drops on our standing start I bully my way under P1s bumper, close the door on to keep P2 and use my K power to pull away on corner exits as God intended. By lap 3 i can still see 6 cars in my mirrors and we catch lapped traffic and my data says we are ahead of our qualifying times... the vtec is singing and we are trying to pick each other with lapped traffic and create a gap...



I successfully create a 7 second gap on P3 and the group 14 laps into the race... and then i lost 4th gear going into T10 before the straight away... i drop it in 5th and convince myself to run it as a 3/5/6 car and pray for a white flag soon... that dream is short lived as i brake for T1 and it wont go into 3rd gear either now... i get it into 5th and limp it in... i'm done for the day.... i know i have work to do and money to spend, i'm dying from the heat... but my wife, crew chief, and i have the biggest smiles on our faces... P2 for that long, alone, on the 3rd race weekend... just put the whole paddock on notice... we are coming for you all... and that front tier is about to get a little bigger (not just me, but the whole mid pack took a step).

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

Kaan

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Apparently my 255 testing caused some drama... you know, even though someone in my class has been running them for 2 years. SO we might get slapped with a max tire width soon for the Restricted Prep cars. I'm 100% open about my car, what I do to it, how it is setup, etc. I post in on social media, you see pictures of me working on stuff... I have nothing to hide.



Rules change requests by racers require data to support the change, as a racer I expect the same from the rules committee... this is grass roots motorsports, not mother russia... the rules committee folks are racers too.



In an effort to hide NOTHING... here is my data that I currently have on hand right now (while i'm at work) ... I'll update when i dig into my Garmin, but i know i'm under around .25% lap and line variance according to the Garmin algorithm. This means i hit the same line over and over with a variance of .25%... 1/4 of a percent... thats... consistent.





SATURDAY QUALIFYING: 235 square setup... my fast lap was LAP 1 because I blew the 10amp fuse (just like i did in practice). After the qualifying we found what we thought was the issue and it ran fine the rest of the weekend (until the transmission issue... TBD).





SATURDAY RACE: 235 square setup... same "cold" tire pressure setup... and the video posted above. Please note my FASTEST lap in the race was Lap 13 (of the race)... the tires were plenty hot by then.







SUNDAY QUALIFYING RACE (BOTE): 255 front, 235 rear... same cold pressure setup as the day prior.... my fastest lap was LAP 9... again, plenty late in the race to have over heated the tires on this car





SUNDAY RACE: 255 font, 235 rear... same cold pressures as before.... my fastest lap was LAP 12... right before the trans let go...







On 235s my fastest lap in a race was 13 and on 255s my fastest lap was 12... without deep dive data (which i dont own anymore because the infrastructure required to use it properly is a pain in the butt for me to deal with track side) it doesnt seem that the wider tire provided any performance advantage. EVERYONE got slightly faster all weekend, some people more than others (this variance always happens).



Subjectively, 255s might have felt like they took longer to grease out... but my lap times dont support it. 255s definitely screwed with my gearing a little bit (and the Garmin should be able to measure that) and subjectively it felt like the 255s were slower to respond to steering input... again the lap times dont support that either but maybe i adapted quickly.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

Sunday race with the infamous 255s... and the broken trans... sorry for the yellow dot, its the beat of the east identifier.

ross2004

Did you run the same air pressures in the 255's vs 235's?

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

i did in deed... they came off basically the same.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

UPDATE: 255s will still be legal to run on the 8 inch wide wheel... they will spend at least this year collecting data on all the restricted prep cars in H2



I personally will be looking to run 235 square with the big ASR bar. I'll work with that for a bit and then possibly try the 245/225 stagger with the ASR and Progress bar.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

here is a different perspective... this is the sunday morning race. I qualified 4th and finished 3rd.... in this video you will see the fight between 2nd and 5th for most of the race.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

SO... i spent the independence day weekend with friends and working on the car... Getting the car prepped for the trans/engine removal. I picked up the engine/chassis harness, rear calipers, and a slightly better front bumper for the car for cheap... but i thought i was going to die in the heat getting the harness out





I was told to drain the fluid and look for major chunks... there were none. Pro Tip... use a plastic bag on your magnets to keep them clean.





The next tip was to check the shift selector... they can break and cause a similar issue... well... it was fine... BUT through the selector port i found a broken shift fork... i've already reached out to AFHkparts.com to get shift forks (complete new oem set), all the transmission seals, and a new main seal for the engine... because i hate leaking stuff.





I need to drain the oil and remove the header... do the last of the wire check to make sure i unplugged everything... and it will come out.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

a couple of weekends ago... we got into the transmission



Yes I broke a shift fork... the synchro ring broke and killed two bearings... and the synchro and 3/4 sleeve needs some work. I'm still waiting on seals and shift forks but we should be good to go soon.







This is what left of my synchro ring...

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

If you have a race program... it cant be solely focused on the car.... you have to focus on the driver also. As I get older I know heat bothers me more and more... So I have to find a way to get into the heat and work my body and mind an test myself.



My wife drags me to the woods, with 90% humidity and Virginia heat... to do a 5 mile climb, with a steep 1 mile decent into a 1.5 mile steep climb... and then a steady 2.5 mile decent back to the car.





My main distraction from the uphill sections is talking about the car, the race program, and planning with my wife... So its exercise, prepping my body for August racing in Virginia, and planning for work on the car. Its much more beneficial than you think.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

I'm trying to avoid testing too much in one weekend and make sure i'm getting the best driving in to collect the best data... so I am thankful of the Toyo RR 245/50/17 backorder... because i'm tempted... very tempted to add tire size testing to this next event.



In the mean time... i need to find the short that keeps popping the fuse that cuts my timing. lets just say... i didnt plan as well as i thought i did with the dash install... definitely some changes to be made this winter with this dash. My buddy is coming over this week to help me with this... dont let colorblind people wildly wire their own cars... its not advisable.



1. dont put your fire bottle pulls in the dash... if you do, you have to disconnect them completely to remove the dash. that will slow you down for track side service.

2. keep your ducting to a minimum... my ducting is twice as large as it needs to be and roughly 1 inch too long... which makes it hard to get out of the car.

3. Bind and label every wire... hell i think making my own connector setups would be better. my defrost setup is not on a QD, everything else was. dumb mistake.





SO... the next boring task was to put the motor and trans back in. we did find out that the main seal on the trans was installed backwards by the previous owner, which was causing the leak... so that all got sorted out with the rest of the transmission work. normally i would prefer a hand with this, but time is running out and i need to maximize every day i have to myself. I took my time, laid things out, and about 3 hours later it was completely in and full of fluids.









its actually all ready to go outside of the front bumper and the dash work... i'm having a new one painted and i should get it back this week. After the dash is reassembled i'll test fire the car and bleed the coolant system... set it on the ground and wait for the next 10 days before we head south the Virginia International Raceway.



the data says i need to just carry more speed... lines are good, i'm just being slow. thats probably because the only data in this car was the second time i drove it... and its a pain to get used to the 6 speed transmission. The progress i made my second time at Summit Point should be repeated at VIR... we can always hope. The event will be much hotter (+10*)... so "gaining" time will be hard... getting back to where i was should be good enough.



this might be my last race for the year... i'm supposed to be in a wedding for the last race weekend but i might show up and race just sunday that weekend. I'm currently 4th in the points for the year and i'd like to get a little more out of the car. the only hold up might be tires... i'm running dangerously low on tires and I need a certain level of old tires (but in good shape) to run while i break in the new tires for 2023... we shall see if i can get my hands on a set of used 235/40/17s to run and do my half race weekend and my last test weekend of the year in November.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

well, after 12 weeks... my ASR bar is shipping... signature required (even though i said NOT to ship that way)... and will likely get here on a race weekend when i'm not around. time to hit up UPS and see if they can change it up for me.

ross2004

If you create an account with the carrier, lots of times you can authorize a release without signature.

89civicdx

How do these mac strut cars handle vs the 90's cars?

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

Quick recap on a busy day... weather was an issue. heat, humidity, r*(n, no breeze... its was tough on the drivers and equipment. We werent setting track records but we tried.





I went out on friday (test day) with the intent on confirming my findings on the front sway bar from the last race. right off the trailer i set a personal best at the track... i parked the car for the rest of the day.



Saturdays practice was a little slower because of the overnight r*(n... it washes off the rubber every single time. The data said i had some areas to improve on... I qualified 5th with another personal best later on and the race was a wild time... the 501 Acura from summit point (the last race) and i battled ALL race and he pulled off a high speed pass on the last lap to pick up P3! It sucks missing the podium... but this was race 4... not race 40 in the car. I made mistakes, i learned a lot... and thats important.





Sunday started off really nice... and then weather canceled the qualifier race quickly. It r*(ned so hard i left my phone in the truck.





The Sunday race was great... it was a 3 way battel for 3rd place... we battled hard all race and the final spread of 1.2 seconds between the 3 of us was skewed because lapped traffic really got in the way in the last corners... we were maybe half a car length away from each other for the entire race.





my car is over weight, i must find the weight to help the front tires and overall speed... i need to confirm my dyno tune... i need to test the ASR hollow bar that comes in today... but 2022 has been a great year of racing.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

I think the double wish bone cars (90s cars) have an advantage... mostly in tire wear and adjustability (suspension travel, droop, etc). Within the rules of Honda Challenge... the double wishbone cars have a little more corner speed (for now) also... i think you can get a double wishbone car fast with 80% of the suspension dialed, that last 20% gains a little, but not much... i think the Mcstrut cars need the suspension to be +90% dialed in to really handle well... so the "window" for a good handling car is smaller for the mcstrut cars.

they all push, they all burn down tires... but the biggest thing i have seen is that double wishbone cars can go 4-5 events on a set of tire because of the progressive camber and the mcstrut cars are going 3 events on a set.

Kaan

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Kaan

iTrader: (3)

more racing sunday... i messed up by sleeping on the pulling of the virtual pace car (purple flag) and not catching up fast enough