Jeff's build - for occasional light track use

[Milktealord]

Thanks Kevin. It appears that the Type R already comes with an oil pressure sensor so Im going to first try a gauge to read oil P from the OBD II port. I ordered a Lufi XF Revolution gauge on E-Bay a few days ago. Once I get it in and installed I let you know how it works out.

The Lufi XF Revolution gauge looks very interesting, do let us know how it works. I did try to order a few OBDII gauges off amazon and they all won't give any OilT,OilP, ECT reading, only boost. Then tried it on my other cars (2010 accord & 2008 scion tc) and they gave all the readings. So I am wondering what's going on there.

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[the8rotor]

Interested how that Lufi gauge work for you Jeff. Definitely an easy option wiring wise haha.

 

[metal_driver]

The Lufi XF Revolution gauge looks very interesting, do let us know how it works. I did try to order a few OBDII gauges off amazon and they all won't give any OilT,OilP, ECT reading, only boost. Then tried it on my other cars (2010 accord & 2008 scion tc) and they gave all the readings. So I am wondering what's going on there.

Interested how that Lufi gauge work for you Jeff. Definitely an easy option wiring wise haha.

I'll let you know if the Lufi gauge does in fact work on the CTR for oil P once I get it.. I expect that may be a while though, with this pandemic slowing down shipping, etc.
Sure hope it works. As you say its a much easier option for wiring.

 

[ApexEight]

I believe oil pressure and temperature is accessible through CAN, but not OBD - that's how I understand @Lust gets oil pressure and temperature data via his AIM Solo 2 DL. Would be amazing if that Lufi gauge works though.

 

[metal_driver]

I believe oil pressure and temperature is accessible through CAN, but not OBD - that's how I understand @Lust gets oil pressure and temperature data via his AIM Solo 2 DL. Would be amazing if that Lufi gauge works though.

Good point Anthony. For some reason I just assumed I could get the oil p through OBD 2...
Lust confirmed he gets oil p on his Aim Solo 2 DL with a OBD2 connection, but as I just found/read on another thread Baldheadracing states the data is “on the CAN bus (and) Not necessarily accessible via OBD unless you have the Honda proprietary extensions.”
So, it could very well be that the Lufi gauge does not have the appropriate Honda extensions for it to read/convert oil p via OBD2 for our car. I’ll post the results once I finally get the gauge. In the meantime I would recommend holding off on buying a Lufi gauge as it may not give us oil p readings.

 

[yargk]

Looking forward to hearing how hot track days work out. Not as many people are running two oil coolers!

 

[metal_driver]

Thanks Yargk.
I have an appointment in a couple of days to get the following put on in preparation for a track training day next Friday;
- G-Loc R-8 front pads, GS-1 rear pads,
- Girodisc front brake discs, and titanium brake pad shields,
- Motul RBF 600 brake fluid,
- Hardrace front lower camber adjusters, and
- NSX wheel install with brand new Michelin Cup 2's.
I would have tackled most of this myself but the other half is getting tired of me spending time on the car..
It's looking like it may be warm for sure, which will be a bit of a test. Not going to be pushing the car very hard though as I'm just staring out.
I'll let everyone know how it goes.

 

[metal_driver]

OK, two updates as I get closer to the first track day on 24 July.

First, I finally got my oil temperature gauge wired up and working. I used Littlefuse-add-a-Cricuit (Mini) [https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/littelfuse-mini-add-a-circuit-fuse-holder-0201615p.html] to source 12V power from the no.1 Accessory fuse. I used the bolt directly above the interior grey fuse panel for the ground wire. I got to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the CNSpeed temperature gauge worked given its price, when I plugged it in and went for a drive. Note that when it first comes on it reads out the cars voltage for about the first minute while the oil heats up and then switches to the oil temperature readout automatically.
I sourced it off E-Bay a while back along with a cheep 52mm gauge pod/cup [https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-52mm-Aut...457626?hash=item3aec4b3f9a:g:XFQAAOSwcmBbaQhW] and then mounted it to the bottom left side of the front window with a suction cup designed to hold a cell phone (uses a magnet and small metal plate). The only minor down side to the gauge is that it only reads in degrees C. So to work around that, I created a mini conversion chart to have with me until I get use to working with C for oil temps.
When I took the car out yesterday it was 84F outside and the hottest I got the oil temp to read out was 83C (180F) after some pulls on the highway and some city traffic. I have to say having an oil temp gauge is kind of reassuring. I thought at first I would just put it up for track days, but for now I'm going to drive with it in for a while to keep an eye on temperature trends.
I also realized as I was driving arounds that the installed Greddy oil sandwich plate, which came with the USR oil cooler kit, has a thermostatic cut-off which essentially stays closed until approximately 170-180F. Above that temperature it then opens up and allows engine oil to feed through to the two external oil coolers. Until it opens up, the engine oil runs internally only.
This means that when I finally get an oil pressure gauge I can at least establish a baseline internal engine oil pressure under 170F..

Today, I also got my car into a local shop to get the following installed:
- Hardrace front lower camber adjusters. I went with plate B - 1 degree extra camber.
- Girodisc vented front brake discs. These things are heavy. Very nice pieces.
- G-Loc front (R-8) and rear (GS-1) brake pads
- Girodisc Titanium pad brake pad shields (fronts)
- Motul RBF 600 brake fluid
- NSX front wheels on all four corners
- Michelin 255/35R19 Cup 2's

Tomorrow I take it to a local Honda dealership to get the guide pins pulled, get a four wheel alignment (they use a new Hunter unit), and have the transmission fluid swapped out to GM synchromesh, modified friction. I recently had Amsoil MTF put in and it was working fine, however, after seeing Michael Baxi's recent Youtube video of the issues he had on the track with the Amsoil transmission fluid, I'm not going to risk it.

Here are a couple of shots of it with the NSX wheels on it. I have some nice matching center caps which I left out for now until I'm done the track day.

 

[ApexEight]

Wait, I'm lost, where is your oil temperature sensor? Is the Lufi gauge oil pressure experiment happening after the track day? Solid update. ?

 

[metal_driver]

Hi Anthony, the oil temperature sensor (1/8 NPT) came with the gauge itself. I installed the oil temp sensor to the back of the drain plug a while back. I had to order in a special oil drain plug to adapt the oil temp sensor to. I originally wanted to put the temp sensor on the oil sandwich plate but ran out of room. I also ran a wire from the oil temp sensor into the car through a small access hole I found when I had the driver side front wheel liner out. The part I had not done up until yesterday was actually connect up the power wires to the oil temp gauge inside the car itself..
Unfortunately, it looks like the Lufi gauge will not arrive in time for the first track day in July. I should have it for my next session in August though. Ill keep you posted once I get the Lufi gauge in as to whether or not we can get oil p off the Lufi OBD2 gauge.

 

[the8rotor]

Nice updates! Good luck on your track day this week.

 

[metal_driver]

Yesterday was the first track day with the Type R. What a blast!!

I attended a HPDE day/evening at Calabogie track. I've been to this track a couple of times before and have had a couple of short sessions out on it on it in my Shelby.

To prepare I removed both fog lights and re-inserted the covers to allow more air to flow over the oil coolers.

I then loaded up my track box, a spare wheel, and some spare 94 fuel and off i went. The drive to the track is about an hour and a half west of Ottawa.

Due to covid this track, like many others, has foregone the traditional in-car instruction method for the season and instead is using an instructor lead, student follow format with up to a few cars in each run group. There were a total of 4 run groups for the day and each instructor used one of the tracks race prepared Mustangs for us to follow.

Our run group started started with four cars; a brand new Mustang GT (sport pack), a fairly new 4-wheel drive Golf R, a Subaru WRX, and my Red R. From what I could tell initially the Subaru had Cartotech brakes, nice front discs, Toyo R888's, lower suspension and the driver had previous rally driving experience. The other cars were stock and both of those drivers did not have any previous track experience.

Each group got to run a total of 3 x 30 mins sessions following a lead instructor in a track car. During each run session we would rotate / pass on the instructors cue so that we all got a chance to be in different positions throughout the run. After each run we would pit for about 30 mins to debrief and hydrate and then head back out. The temperature at the track was 31C/88F and the humidity was 40%. I ran all three sessions in R mode with the VSA off (long hold), and AC off (obviously).

On the first run it was fairly clear that myself and the WRX were quicker. What surprised me though was how I could sometimes pull away from the WRX while exiting corners. The pace was definitely better than I initially expected which I was happy about.

After the first session debrief I got talking to the WRX driver a bit more. It turned out that although his car looked fairly oem on the exterior, it was in fact tuned to 500 HP and weighed about 2800 pounds. He did say that had de-tunedit to 380 hp for the tack day...

About 20 minutes into the second session the WRX pulled off into the grass due a mechanical failure. We pitted early as result. It turned out he had a failure with the engine timer. It was then that I finally got to see what was under the hood

By the third session, we had three cars left and the instructor picked up the pace significantly . I gotta tell you, I was really impressed with how well the Type R moves on the track and I was very impressed with the brakes. The combination of the G-Loc R8's up front and the G-Loc GS-1's in the rear worked well for me (at this point). With fresh Motul RBF600 and the Girosdiscs up front the braking felt very strong and consistent.

The other thing I was really glad to have was the oil temperature gauge. It peaked momentary at 97C (207F) at its highest point. I'm hoping the double oil cooler is paying off here as we really did not have much of a cool down between sessions.

Overall, I am really happy with how the car held up for its first day. It was quite warm (88F) and it didn't feel like the power was being pulled at all. During our final debrief the instructor even looked at me and said "that car is fast".

From what I can tell after dipping my toe in the drink this car can really boogie. I can't wait to get back out again.

Check out these two well prepped M2's (apparently 500 HP each) that were in another run group.

 

[metal_driver]

A couple of other updates;

As mentioned previously I had my wheels aligned following the installation of the Hardrace lower camber adjusters. The factory front wheel camber setting is -1.2 +/- 0.5. I also had the guide pins removed prior to re-alignment.
The end result for the front camber was -2.6 front left and -2.8 front right. I was hoping for -2.7 up front so I was happy with these number. Turned out the front toe was out quit a bit before the alignment and the right rear rear toe was out of tolerance as well (only 800 Km on the car). The steering wheel is definately more centered now as well.

Here is the before (top the diagram) and after (bottom of the diagram). Note that Caster cannot be adjusted and it looks like something is definitely off in that field as the reported numbers don't match the range.. Factory front Caster is 8.0 +/- 0.5.

I also went ahead and ordered a matching oil pressure gauge in case the Lufi gauge does not provide oil p which I am beginning to doubt it will. I will post up results once the Lufi gauge arrives and I get it in.

 

[Lust]

How hard was your oil temp gauge install? Planning to tackle mine on Tuesday. Any tips for wiring?

 

[metal_driver]

Michael, the installation of the oil temperature gauge wasn't bad at all. The trickiest part is finding a route for the (green) wire that connects to the oil temp probe from the engine bay to behind the dash inside the car. When I had the driver side front wheel well cover off, to cut vents in it for the USR oil cooler, I saw 2 spots you can route the wire through into the cabin. I used the hole circled in yellow that simply had a plug grommet in it, which I bored out. Once I got the wire (which I put inside black protective tubing you see in the pic below) through I filed the remaining gap inside the grommet with black silicone along with clear silicone inside the black tubing to seal it off better. You could also feed your wire through the blue hole which I believe is for the hood release cable, as I have heard others have used. I'm pretty sure I saw this cable release hole when I was down behind the dash inside the car wiring up the power to the fuse panel.

You can probably access this area by releasing and pulling the rear portion of the driver side wheel well cover (with the wheel off of course). I imagine you might also be able to run the wire through near the driver side door..

To power the gauge there was a yellow and red wire for power (positive) and a black wire for the ground. I simply soldered the red and yellow together to a Littlefuse mini add-a-circuit holder (pictured below).

This device inserts into a fuse portion and has 2 fuses that sit flat/sideways on it. One fuse is for the original circuit and the second (top one) is for the new device you are adding. It looks like this once installed (not a Civic fuse panel).

.
There are other name brands as well, but make sure you get the "mini" version as I found out the hard way the first time around and grabbed the wrong one.

I used the no.1 accessory 10A fuse position and used a 3A fuse for the gauge or gauges that I will run off of this power source (lower left in the picture below).

Here is a link to what each fuse is for. Note that not all fuses are used in the Type R model -
https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/interior-fuse-question.25171/

For the ground wire I tested a couple of screws with a multi meter and found a silver screw just near the top of the plastic grey fuse box that worked. Here is a picture from one of Zer0's threads showing a ground location.

The best way to access this area is to pull the black cover/panel off just below the steering wheel. This makes working in this space much easier.