At my track day, I did very well. The car was smooth with the RA1s in the rear because I wasn't constantly oversteering. My girlfriend got some shots of me in my Civic and my friend Ken in his white Integra.

Here's a shot of the campsite I set up after arriving at ~10 PM after running over a huge pot hole and having to meet up with Ken and Damien:



And this is me being the essence of what my girl thinks I am (at least I think?):


After getting done with my first session, my brakes got softer, so I decided to bleed them.



And then for the rest of the day, the car ran great.




I got a chance to play cat and mouse with my buddy Ken as well.



My girlfriend took a picture of me sitting in my driver seat being sweaty and tired too.



We went to bed overnight and I tried to help Ken as best I could to make up for my needing his RA1s because of my blown tire. It didn't really work.



Then, the next day, we went out in rainy weather and got to test the Glen with different lines as a result.



After the bus stop, I was chasing an AMG and got two-off on the exit of the corner of the bus stop and hit a cone. I went into pit and found my corner signal knocked off my car.



And after lunch, when I was coming back to the track, I felt the car pulling weirdly. I discovered that my NT-05s were corded up front and my alignment was out ~ 7/16 up front (toe out).

I tried to fix the alignment to drive it home, but the problem persisted.

Knowing that the tires were corded and ran on the previous alignment, I figured the issue was related to the tire wear from the previous alignment, and I decided to drive it home on the cords. I made it ~200 miles before rain happened and then I had to get a tow home.

I was 60 miles and it cost me over 230 dollars.

 

I always like check out your thread. Thanks for sharing.

 

+1 One of the best threads on the entire forum!

 

damn, some bad luck this go around. You looking into a tow vehicle yet?

What do you use to bleed your brakes? I have speed bleeders, but feel like I still get some air in the lines.

 

Thanks guys, really appreciate the love.

was supposed to be looking at one today, but my boy went ghost so that's not happening I guess lol. I use a vacuum line, a brake bottle, and I put grease around the bleeder screw to prevent air in-leakage.

 

Awesome updates man! But is that blood by your rear camber kit?! Sorry to hear about the issues, but the great thing about these cars is that they're fairly cheap to fix.

 

Yeah it is blood. Hahahah, I found out that box cutters are very sharp. This is not my first time "finding out" either. I'll learn eventually...maybe.

Thanks for your condolences friend. I appreciate it. You are right though. I bought all of the parts to fix the car and some stuff to do preventive maintenance as well and they were all very cheap. I'll post updates on that stuff as well.

Anyway, as far as updates go, I'm behind-- but I'm working on it. As mentioned before my computer was down and I have been getting used to my new job, new commute, and maintaining a relationship. With popped tires and a bent wheel, I was lucky enough to get some wheels and tires from my friend Anthony. He charged me $200 for straight 14s with all-seasons to get me to and from the track and I was very grateful. You can sort of see the tires here:



And while these were great for the rain/wet/cold, I didn't have something to run for the sun/dry/hot. Until I remembered that I did-- some old Hoosier SM6s and SM7s that I originally got on my Team Dynamics. So, I got the bent wheel fixed by my friend Ken in North Jersey for $100 bucks, got my tires monted for $40, and I hit the road!



The next event was at NJMP's Lightning with NASA NE. I was hooked from my last day at the Glen, so I had to do at least one day before my vacation to Florida with my wonderful girlfriend. As a result, I only paid for one day-- Saturday. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough.

I was having this strange issue where the wheel would go to the right on acceleration, but off of the pedal it would go straight. I decided I would take the car out for the first session and take it easy for the first couple of laps. So, I did. It was scary. However, I decided that I'd try to push it a little bit anyway when traffic cleared up and then I ended up spinning...quite violently.



I brought it back into pits and found four suspension bolts loosened up. Go figure!

In the meantime, after getting my car ready-- I discovered that my friend had done something interesting with his Integra...

 

To get his hatchback ready for H4 as many of us in NASA NE are now doing, he bought a parts car. With parts from his friends' cars and with parts from his hatch, he decided to make his own track rat of sorts:



On Ebay coilovers, the car was a bit unpredictable, but he received feedback from multiple instructors that it was one of the most fun cars to drive they've seen in a while. That's what these old cars are made of!



After fixing my suspension issue and running my third heat with all-seasons, the day went very well. I had some sweet matchups with my bud Damien in the red Integra above and with Ken in the white Integra. We all plan on going to H4 when we get enough money and can make the jump for our comp licenses.



And I also got some good videos from the day. Here's Heat 2:


And for my YouTube channel, if you want to drop some constructive criticism and help me out, the link is here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/lexilaron/featured

Please take the time if you have the desire to do so! I'm always willing to listen.

 

Do you feel a difference with the interior gutted in terms of performance?

Would you reccomend using an ebay/rock auto rebuild kit for the D series motor? im super close to pulling the trigger on a car just like yours but am sort of concerned about getting parts since theyre getting a bit older

I plan on keeping it stock motorwise for quite sometime

 

I don't feel a difference because I have the roll bar in and I'm sure it compensates for any removed weight.

I wouldn't recommend that but I would do it (note: I lack sanity).

why are u concerned about finding parts? They're very easy to find.

 

you probably gained weight adding the roll bar. i did with my integra... still worth it.

 

yeah irdc. It's just an hpde car

 

Did you notice any improvements in chassis stiffness from the roll bar?

 

mine too... with HC aspirations.

 

Nope. This chassis feels pretty stiff for its age regardless of rollbar iirc. My 97 civic coupe is a limp noodle.

 

right there with u mi amigo

 

That's quite interesting, thanks for the feedback. The EK chassis is stiffer on paper, maybe that one had a hard life.

 

I had an AE86 GTS coupe and while I loved the car, it was hard to get parts like brake calipers due to the age. The car was a 1985 model year...

I know the civics are alot more common than these were but like I said..they are getting up there in age.

 

Unless you're searching for OEM stuff then I wouldn't worry about parts availability. Plenty of aftermarkets recognize that these cars are very popular.

 

I can relate. I am currently doing a suspension overhaul on my 93, and I still have no trouble finding new parts. Compatibility with the DC Integra is a ton of help too. For the OEM stuff, if it is for non-wear items, junkyards are full of parts. The car was popular, so lots of these left in the yards.

 

Since NJMP Lightning I've done quite a bit of things. (I know, common theme here, but it's okay). The list includes:

1.) Karting session with about 8 heats with friends
2.) Getting a real alignment for my Civic that a seasoned instructor couldn't drive without spinning at Lightning
3.) Getting some new tires
4.) Going to Summit Point Main with NASA MA again
5.) Going to NJMP Thunder for a two-day weekend with NASA NE
6.) And taking the Civic to a body shop for some rust abatement

Let's get started, shall we?

............

So after Lightning, my friends set up an event for karting at Speed Raceway in Horsham, PA. Normally one "race" costs $25. However, this day, it was only $10 per race, AND, it was possible to get a $10 per race membership that would allow you to get $10 races until August 27th. Guess what I did? Lol.



Speed Raceway does racing by lap times, not position. Every race lasts for 14 laps. The karts are all electric (bummer) so they're fast-- but not as fast as gas-powered karts like at NJMP or like at this place in Newark, DE. So while it's good practice, it could be better.

The best practice this karting provides however, is racecraft. This is particularly relevant when you're karting with aggressive normies who have no track experience but think they're racing for position. It teaches patience so that you don't spin trying to pass them, but it also teaches what lines to take when following someone who's blocking to both intimidate them and slow them down.


At the end of the day, I walked away with the third fastest time of the week. I weigh 210 pounds and I was driving the kart as fast as I could (I had tried multiple lines through questionable corners, different braking points, LFB, and a slew of other techniques). My friend, on the other hand, weighs 180 pounds and was able to get second fastest time of the week. He has less seat time than me but after he started picking up my lines he was blowing my times away. I need to lose weight.

After the karting event we grabbed some beers and headed home for the night.

............

As mentioned above, when an instructor I know tried driving the Civic at Lightning with my girlfriend in the pass seat, she came back and told me to "fix my f***ing alignment!!!"

You can see the car drifting through curves with snap oversteer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fmM...ature=youtu.be

So, based on previous experience with 200 TW tires, I decided to get -3 deg. of camber up front with -1.5 deg. of camber in the rear with zero toe all around. I bought some cheap eBay camber arms for the front UCAs to replace the ones I damaged on my way to the Glen, clocked the bushings relative to what the OEM ones had, then I drove over to Lykon Automotive in Bristol, PA for an alignment with Tyler-- the Service Manager there.

As you can see, the alignment was pretty out of whack on the Civic. Note this was AFTER I installed new camber arms-- so it's not exactly what it was at the Glen, but you get the picture...



So we got the car on the rack and started making adjustments. Tyler was able to get it dialed in easily, and I used bags of gravel to simulate my own weight in the driver seat.



With the car off the rack, I headed to Texas Roadhouse with a couple of friends and my girlfriend for some cinammon-buttered bread and some steak. My friend also had a surprise for me-- my new tires:



I decided that with my level of experience and my level of boredom with the current power in my car, it was time for some stickier tires. I knew that the NT01s are nearly indestructible for the level of grip they have and I was able to cop them for $400 through a deal my friend arranged for me. The first test day with them would be at Summit Point in June.

 

I had five friends who originally wanted to go to Summit with me, but slowly they started to hand in their resignations and eventually it was just me driving four hours to WV. Luckily I was blessed with a beautiful and trouble-free drive down.


Once I got there I set up camp and made some friends to hang out with since I was bored. We had a couple of beers and eventually hit the sack.



I woke up to the race organizers singing over the PA system as they usually do at Summit Point with NASA MA. I got tech'd, set my car up, and got ready to hit the track.

Around the paddock, there were both really extreme cars and very basic cars. For example, a TT Ferrari and a completely stock Corolla were seen in paddock. It's that kind of diversity you can expect at NASA events.





The first day for me was spent getting used to my new tires. I spent about an hour at one point going over data only to figure out that I just needed to brake less. I shortly after spoke with an instructor about what I was doing on track and he immediately told me exactly what I discovered over the course of an hour, but he told me in a matter of seconds.

Lesson learned: instructor first, data second.



After the first day, NASA MA always has a HUGE barbecue and celebration for the winners of the races throughout the day. My new friends and I had some more beers and some great food and shortly after got together at our campsite to talk about the racing during the day and how we could improve our times.



On the second day I actually brought an instructor with me and was able to get a best time of 1:34.5. I was also able to experiment with my lines.

For example, I discovered that I could go flat through the chute until the middle of the curbing, at which point I lifted and got right on the brakes. It was a little sketchy, but at least I know I can do it now.


At the end of the day, I was one of the last people to leave the track because it's very hard to load my tires and all my tools in this car. However, the car was running-- so that's a win.



Also, WV is very hot in June. Hot enough for me to take my shirt off. The sunglasses over my perscription glasses are from my girlfriend. I still don't have sunglasses...



............

For NJMP Thunder, when I got there I set up camp in the morning (cuz I didn't stay over night) and my friends all wished me a happy belated birthday. After going through registration and tech, I tried to change my wheels-- but my stud had snapped in the rear, so I was left to do a hub change before my first heat. It took me about thirty minutes to get the car in the air take the wheel off, replace the hub, put the new hub on, and put the wheel back on. Note that I had a spare hub with me (I got lucky).




During my first day I spun in T4 at Thunder. It was a scary moment but I was able to avoid the tire walls on the inside of five, so it was a win for me. I also had to spend some time getting used to the NT01s. The car is much faster with these R comps as I'm able to keep up with very fast cars in the corners, but as you all know my car is very slow due to the stock motor. As a result it still does get blown away in the straights. Note however that I was able to get significantly more point-bys with the better tires.

The first day was kind of frustrating overall, however. There were a lot of aggressive drivers and people hesitant to give point-bys which is not common for NASA in DE3. You can see me riding some guy's butt trying to get a point-by because he wouldn't give me one.




NASA NE also has barbecues after their first Saturday to celebrate wins by the racers. During that time we hung out and had a good time throwing back some brewskis and making jokes and telling stories about our track-time for the day.



During the second day I did a side-by-side drill with my friend Jeff in the white Civic with the blue stripes and I did multiple sessions playing cat-and-mouse with my buddy Ken in his Integra with a stock motor.




I spun again in T4 trying to lift at the 3 marker and get back on the gas at the 1 marker as well during day 2. I could have tried to save it and I could probably make it through that corner with the same speed if I used more inside curbing, but it's not worth it for DE.


The fastest time I was able to secure at NJMP Thunder without the chicane was a 1:43.5. I definitely have about 0.5 seconds left in the car by using more curbing on the inside of T1 through T5, but other than that my instructor told me I was maxing out the car.

 

I cracked my windshield a while back trying to install my Wink Mirror as you can see in this thread. I know I could most likely get through the season with this, but with a lapse in driving events, I decided it would be good to fix this and also some rust on the top of my roof due to the previous owner sealing the windshield to the roof with silicone.






So I took my car to TConnor Customs in Bristol, PA for a great price and I am currently awaiting a full fix of the roof and windshield. I'll update you guys when it's fully finished! Until then, thanks for reading.

 

Nice car mate! I wonder if you have spare parts on sale that you don't need anymore because of the racing preparation.

 

Awesome thread, I always enjoy checking up on it and reading about your adventures. The car seems to be coming along nicely as well!