THSCC was at Roebling this weekend. This is an event of note becaue it marked the return of Karl and his Integra to the racetrack.

I should say *brief* return. It's busted. Again. As he was pushing it back to the pits he said he had "a box full of neutrals". I'll let Karl fill in the details.

My goddamn 5th gear is popping out again. Dammit, I just spent 1.4 assloads of money to fix that. Fvk!

Personal highlight: Setting front sway bar to full soft and picking up what felt like 2 seconds.

Lowlight (tie): The 5th gear thing, and having a rear well divorce istelf from my students car in the carousel. Guess who climbed over the wall into the woods to retrieve it?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MaddMatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My goddamn 5th gear is popping out again. Dammit, I just spent 1.4 assloads of money to fix that. Fvk!</TD></TR></TABLE>

That bites. Let me know if you want any spare parts of mine... I have a few transmission internals laying about. I have an input shaft but it has a busted 5th gear, too.

Andy - who is finally coming to a track near you sometime soon.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have an input shaft but it has a busted 5th gear, too.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
I apparently already have one of those, what would I need with another??

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">who is finally coming to a track near you sometime soon. </TD></TR></TABLE>

About damn time.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MaddMatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I should say *brief* return. It's busted. Again. As he was pushing it back to the pits he said he had "a box full of neutrals". I'll let Karl fill in the details.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Will Karl ever catch a break!?!??!

 

Ahh, good times, good times.

I had just spent tons of time and money getting the car to work again. Or so I thought. Went out for the first session on the same used Grand Am Cup tires I had on it last year that sat in the garage for a year. Not surprisingly, the car was diabolically bad.

Switched to some fresher Hoosiers for another session and the car was GREAT. Lee and the gang at KONI really do know their stuff. I was remembering how to drive the thing again, remembering that lift throttle oversteer CAN be your friend, and enjoying having my car back.

I pulled in early because I had a student in the next session. As it turns out, my driver side outer CV joint committed suicide ON PIT ROAD. Felt like I'd lost the diff, and we couldn't *see* that it was the CV until I had it on the trailer. It gave up at such a low speed that I didn't get the telltale greasing of the wheel.

BTW I had replaced this axle with a brand new axle. Brand new. Lasted ten laps. NOT an AutoZone axle (I'm witholding the vendor name pending my phone conversation with them this morning)

So let's see...several weekends. Several hundred dollars to fix the car. Probably $200 in travel and food related expenses. 900 miles on the tow vehicle. All for maybe ten laps. Sweet

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krshultz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So let's see...several weekends. Several hundred dollars to fix the car. Probably $200 in travel and food related expenses. 900 miles on the tow vehicle. All for maybe ten laps. Sweet </TD></TR></TABLE>

It *could* have been the diff/transmission. Figure if you carried a spare axle, you would have easily been back on the track Sunday (did you try to fix it at the track, assuming you could locate a spare axle locally?), not that it would have been that much fun to change it out, but axles are pretty easy in the grand scheme of things (at least on Celicas).

Don't forget the cost of renting a trailer in your expenses

Was it fun enough during the 2nd session to make you want to fix the car and bust it again?

At least you have a kick *** tow vehicle!

Scott

PS: In my last two track events, I've toasted 2 engines (one minor, one major). Both of them lasted until the 2nd or 3rd Sunday session, so at least I got a good weekend out of each one.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by celica73 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">(did you try to fix it at the track, assuming you could locate a spare axle locally?)</TD></TR></TABLE>

Nope. I refused to. Buying a reman AutoZone axle is what got me into this whole mess in the first place. I'm not about to spend 80 bucks on another one just to have it fail in a day.

Anyone want to buy a tired-*** H3 car?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krshultz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Anyone want to buy a tired-*** H3 car?</TD></TR></TABLE>pm me if yourserious

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MaddMatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I apparently already have one of those, what would I need with another??
</TD></TR></TABLE>

To minimize the time you have the tranny open. Just a thought, I wouldn't charge you nothin.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">To minimize the time you have the tranny open. Just a thought, I wouldn't charge you nothin. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm going to nurse it to the end of the year and get another entire trans from a junkyard this winter. If I don't sell it before then. I'm not planning on Roebling or VIR full or Charlotte again this year and those are the only tracks where I *need* 5th gear.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krshultz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Nope. I refused to. Buying a reman AutoZone axle is what got me into this whole mess in the first place. I'm not about to spend 80 bucks on another one just to have it fail in a day.

Anyone want to buy a tired-*** H3 car?</TD></TR></TABLE>

get 'em at pep boys, limited lifetime warranty, I always bring a spare ('cause the car breaks one driver side axle everyweekend, which i can now change in approx 1/2 hour or less,) that way, my whole weekend isn't shot, then when i get home i take the broken axle back to pep boys and they give me another, go back the next race weekend, break another axle and repeat .........

actually, i bring two driver side spare axles, cheaper to spend another $70 for a spare then to blow a whole weekend in the first sesssion ;-)

 

I think he just has a problem with re-mfg axles.... can't blame him. Autozone does the same with the lifetime warranty and free replacement. Either way, Pep Boys or Autozone, you're getting a re-mfg axle.

 

I don't blame Karl for not fixing it. With 96F temps, stupid high humidity, and 110F heat index, and a couple of students, crawling around on the ground fixing a car isn't really an option. At least for the less-insane of us.

Mike &lt;- who feels like he was hit by a freight train. Heat owns me.

(edit - spelling)


Modified by whitney at 4:11 PM 6/21/2004

 

Okay - perhaps a dumb question: Is there a chance that at low ride heights, you are running out of plunge capacity in the CV joints? This might already be Acura common knowledge, one way or another, and I've just never heard...

K

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by whitney &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't blame Karl for not fixing it. With 96F temps, stupid high himidity, and 110F heat index, and a couple of students, crawling around on the ground fixing a car isn't really an option. At least for the less-insane of us.

Mike &lt;- who feels like he was hit by a freight train. Heat owns me.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't blame him either. After blowing up on day 2 of my last two track events, I've pretty much decided that I'm not going to take spares/tools to the track anymore. The biggest burden of a track event is the packing and unpacking (for me), I'd rather just take basic brake bleeding tools and call it good. If the car busts then it's time to go home!

As hot as it was in Durham on Sunday I imagined that RR was pretty miserable. Evidently, I was right.

Scott

 

Gotta carry spare axles. With help you can get that puppy replaced trackside in 30 minutes or less. No reason for an axle to end a weekend.
I never leave home without 2 spares.

And there is something going on with Karls front geometry methinks. I don't know what, but it seems odd to blow 2 axles in 10 laps. Of course, it could just be really bad luck or really bad axles.

Scott, who's glad Karl finally got some at-speed enjoyment before this happened. He'll get back on his game "with a little help from his friends."

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Catch 22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">"with a little help from his friends."</TD></TR></TABLE>

Crack Junkies unite!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Knestis &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Okay - perhaps a dumb question: Is there a chance that at low ride heights, you are running out of plunge capacity in the CV joints?</TD></TR></TABLE>

A fair question Kirk. But here's the thing. First of all, I've been running the car at this ride height, or sometimes even lower, for *years* now and only recently has it developed an appetite for axles. Additionally, the passenger side axle was sourced from the same vendor (raxles.com, who seem genuinely interested in figuring out what went wrong ) has been on the car for nearly three years.

I have not crashed into anything, bent anything, or otherwise mangled the front suspension geometry in any way as far as I can tell. The first axle, an Autozone reman, failed because it was a reman. This one's just a damn mystery. I mean, it broke on PIT ROAD. Going 15mph in a straight line. Car was fine.

Now as I typed this out, I had a revelation. Quite common with this car is a behavior I call "steering wheel creep" where over the course of a session, "straight ahead" means the steering wheel is turned more and more to the left. I always wrote it off as a tire pressure thing and drove through it. Been doing this for years now. BUT...when the axles have let go, it's been a similar sensation. The car wants to pull to the left when I let go of the wheel.

Coincidence?

--Karl, suddenly confused and worried

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Now as I typed this out, I had a revelation. Quite common with this car is a behavior I call "steering wheel creep" where over the course of a session, "straight ahead" means the steering wheel is turned more and more to the left. I always wrote it off as a tire pressure thing and drove through it. Been doing this for years now. BUT...when the axles have let go, it's been a similar sensation. The car wants to pull to the left when I let go of the wheel.

Coincidence?

--Karl, suddenly confused and worried</TD></TR></TABLE>

Pardon me for butting in, but I wouldn't have gotten in the car again until I found the source of that situation. Well I probably would have, but I'd been real nervous.

 

Walt, it's been doing it for so long I kind of stopped thinking about it. Like I said, I figured it was a tire pressure thing, with the left front getting so much more abuse at most tracks.

Have never seen anything that could be causing such a "shift over time" of where center was. I nut and bolt the car regularly and have never crashed it seriously. I don't get it, and certianly welcome ideas...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krshultz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
The car wants to pull to the left when I let go of the wheel.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Always, or only under acceleration, or only under braking? I think the distinction is important.

And does it go away after a session / when things cool down, or does it take an axle replacement to fix it?

I have never experienced a regular heat-related pull, but right before I sold the Civic it started having a pull under acceleration only. I assumed it was a CV problem.

 

This "creep" didn't start right after you tried to mate the car with the curb at belle isle a few years back by any chance?

Sounds crazy, but stuff like that happens. We're still stumbling across issues on the Neon from Renee hitting a huge sink hole on the edge of a highway (at about 65mph) 3 years ago. The most recent invloved the left rear having a tendency to toe itself out over time. It was a torn bushing on the rear lower control arm that couldn't be seen unless the arm was removed. Now fixed (we think).

Cars can develop little things that aren't very obvious after you crash them into stuff. My guess is that something isn't square up front in the GSR. Not to say that you don't *also* have a bad axle issue. It could be two little things causing one big problem.

 

Karl, also remember what we talked about (or i meant to mention to you and didn't, it was really daymn hot this weekend, and everything after the <U>frog </U>jumping on you in 3 is fairly blurry)

Maybe your old-*** motor mounts are introducing some movement, and maybe your not-quite-as-old-*** bushing are doing the same, and causing a bind under heavy side loadings.

Bowie

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RacerBowie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">everything after the <U>frog</U> jumping on you in 3 is fairly blurry)</TD></TR></TABLE>

What was up with the wildlife this weekend?

First there were the migratory turtles ambling across the carousel which shut down our TT for a while on Sat.

Then on Sunday, MaddMatt, thecaptain, and I were hauling down the front straight "in formation" (not quite bumpdrafting) and a damn family of ducks thought it would be a good time to cross the track. I didn't see them until Matt in front of me swerved!

Then of course the frog that jumped out of Bowie's glovebox (?).

And then this in the Sunday TT:

Oh, and ask thecaptain about the ants in his helmet sometime.

 

That butterfly would have resulted in an overheated and blown engine if it were NASCAR.

You would also have gotten a bit loose due to the extra front end bite/aerodynamic changes.

Scott