MAPerformance
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2017
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- Location
- Cottage Grove, Minnesota
- Website
- www.maperformance.com
- Vehicle(s)
- 2017 SI Coupe
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- #1
A day at the track 9/5/2018
Modern Automotive Performance and their 2017 Honda Civic Si travel to Brainerd international Raceway for initial testing.
We arrive to the shop at about 6:30am. As we arrive, it’s still dark, the ground it soaking wet. All around, it appears as if it’s going to be a dreary fall morning. We had prepared and organized everything we needed to bring the night before into nice, neat piles. We also prepped a checklist in anticipation of how easy it is to forget things that early in the morning. We loaded the trailer and filled the bed of the truck with all the tools and spare parts we felt could potentially be needed for our first day out to the track with this car.
By 7:30am we were on the road, clutching coffee and “Red Bulls” in hand. The drive up goes smoothly, as the sun is coming up, but it’s still cloudy and wet. No matter how much we watch the weather, its still in the back of our minds that we might not be able to use the track due to moisture and temperature upon our arrival. With positive mindset, we crossed our fingers and maintained our heading, hoping that things would eventually change! As we pull into BIR (Brainerd, MN) we were met with dry ground, as the clouds slowly began to shrink away. We quickly unloaded the car and set up our pit area, excitedly walking the track and reviewing our plan for the day. As luck would have it, we were only a week out from the NHRA Nationals held here every year, so the track was in tip top shape with a very well prepped surface. Dan, the head starter for BIR arrived and we gave him the rundown of our plans. He was an amazing host and decided to hang around with us for the day, always willing to lend a helping hand. At this point, the anticipation is building and we began to prep the car. One last nut and bolt check performed to verify everything is in working order, and we swapped to the slicks, and began to warm her up. While we are doing this, Dan jumps into action and begins to prep the track for the days activities.
We once again talk over the plans and goals for the day. After all, it’s our first outing for both the car and the team, and we want to dial in the launch of the car. We hoped to work on the 60ft times, and progress to full passes as we get the car more dialed in and generally considered, as a first time out, that would represent an extremely successful day. At that time we decided to shoot for a 12.9 ET by the end of the day, as we honestly did not know what to expect. Given all of the variables, that goal seemed like a great goal for the first day which we had based on feedback and information we had been presented with from other active racers in the community.
We pulled the car to the line and Brian, our Driver and Calibrator for the day proclaimed his plan: he has set the 2-step at 4500RPM and will just be launching the car and maybe taking it to the 60ft just to get a “feel”. “Don’t even bother taking a video” he said, so I don’t. He set the car on the 2-step, while letting out the clutch, and boom he is GONE! It’s a full pull! None of us expected this but MAN, did the car look and sound great! Brian pulls back to the line with a massive grin on his face “It just felt good” he says “I decided to keep going”. The result: 12.88ET at 110mph off the trailer!! We met and exceeded our goal on the first pass!! Humorously, I asked Brian if we were done for the day, as the 12.9 was what our original day’s objective was. He quickly proclaimed “NO WAY!”.
Back at the line we make another launch attempt at 4500 and he let’s off at the 60ft. We begin to chat about what he was feeling and the call was made to raise the launch RPM to 6500 to see if we can keep the car more in the sweet spot out of the hole. With the Ktuner software this was as easy as a few keystrokes and we were ready to hop back on the line. We laid down some water for a nice smokey burnout, line up and we were ready to go. The revs bounce aroun 6500RPM, as we all watch. Brian dumps the clutch and SNAP, the car doesn't even move off the line. Brian begins to sing “All around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn out faces” as we all put on our sad faces for a few seconds. No time for that!
We quickly pushed the car back to the pits to get it up in the air. The drivers side axle had snapped directly after the CV (I guess Dan prepped the surface a little TO well). No fear, for we had already had a feeling that may be a weak point and brought a few spares with us. Kyle, our lead tech on the car quickly swapped the axle out and we drove it around the pits to ensure everything was tight and right. Back in action, and ready to rock.
At that point, we made the call to pull into the less prepped left lane, and leave the car at 6500rpm launch. Having surpassed our original goal, we had a quick chat about setting a new goal. After some discussion, we decide that a 12.5 ET would represent a very successful next step for us to achieve! Once again Brian pulled up, and we set the car. A couple of seconds later, he takes off and everything looked perfect. As a bystander, it looked like just the right amount of slip and just the right amount of tire hook and the result is that the car is made a beautiful pass! Much to our dismay, the lights malfunctioned and we did not get a time. “Oh well,” We resent and head back to the line. Next pass out, car set up on the 2-step and took off: 2.00 60ft, and a 12.5et at 113.96MPH flashes at us on the board! I could not have scripted this better even if I tried. At this point, we were ready to just start hot lapping the car to get seat time. With the goals in mind “repeatability and experience” we set back up and proceed to get to work: 12.4, 12.5, 12.46, 12.36, 12.34 and BOOM 12.19 pops up on the board! We were all ecstatic, and just ready to keep going at this point. But the call is made to let the car cool down for a bit and re-group.
Looking to our meticulous notes to formulate a game plan, we start to refer to our previous attempts and their corresponding boost and tire pressure settings. The 12.19 at 114mph was done on roughly 26psi of boost and 13psi in the tires while running on the less prepped side of the track. It is about 2pm now and things are looking better than we could have ever anticipated for the day. Ambient air temps we hovering around 65f, and the sun is out with the track is warm and very well prepped. As the car is cooling we look it over and decide to try some more changes in tire pressure. We went up to about 17psi as we had been fighting a slight bog off the line, and we had hoped a little more spin would actually help us.
Still in the left, less prepped lane, Brian lines up and cranks out a 12.46 at 114.6mph and a 1.98 60ft, he comes back and nearly replicates that run down to the ET. We make the call to drop the tires down to about 15psi and instantly drop the 60ft to 1.95 and a 12.33ET at 114.40, a few more runs and we are down to 12.2s and low 1.9X 60fts. Spirits are high, and the car was feeling great with the tires at 12psi which seemed to be in their sweet spot.
The car cools down, and Dan is quick to tell us that it is time to move back over to the right lane! We all still have a little twinkle of broken axle in left in our mind’s eyes, but after such a successful day, what better time to make another attempt. The day is getting later, the car is still in one piece, and 11.9Xs seem to be so close! As a result, no changes are made, and the car is pulled back to the line in the right lane.
First hit, we achieve a 1.94 60ft, and a 12.36et at 114.8mph. Boy is that side sticky! The car actually hooked a bit too well it seemed, as it wanted to bog on the line. After a quick conversation, we come up with a plan to air up the tires, and slip the clutch a bit more to try and get out of the hole more smoothly. The plan yielded positive results: 12.29, 12.23, 12.18, 12.22, 12.23, 12.24. These all occurred with a very consistent MPH of 114.XX on nearly every run, along with low 1.9x 60ft times across the board.
The daylight was starting to run out, and in the hopes that we would not wear out our welcome, the decision was made to make 4 more passes. We go to turn the boost controller up, only to find that it is already turned all the way up. OH NO! Quickly, we jump to action, grabbing the needed wrenches and pliers to put a more preload on the wastegate actuator. What's there to lose at this point?
Boost is up, tires are at 14.5psi, track surface is about 95f, and its a sunny 68f outside. The time is now! Brian lines back up and clicks off a 12.13 at 115.62 and a 1.86 60ft, resulting in the best MPH and 60ft of the day! 3 runs left, he quickly gets back on the line yelling “I CAN DO BETTER!” With everyone watching, he sets the car on the 2-step and clicks off a 12.093 ET at 116.54mph and a 1.91 60ft. We can almost taste 11’s, we are so close! Back on the line again, a 12.095 at 115.93 and a 1.87 60ft. One more run, one more chance to do it, 12.14 at 115.90 pops up on the board, we put our heads down for just a second, but only to realize we came here to run a 12.90, that was the goal, we not only hit that first run, but throughout the day nearly beat it by a full second!
What a day. Brian pulls back around, we look at the car and its still in one piece and ready to drive back on the trailer. What a great day!
We are all talking and going over our favorite parts of the day, the surprises, the let downs and everything in between. One big addition we recently made to the car and was a massive instrument in us hitting this goal was the Clutchmasters FX725 Twin Disc clutch, the car did over 50 passes and not a single time did we have to deal with any clutch slippage or need to cool it down. Thats HUGE, and we are so excited to have the on board with the program.
Additionally, the support from KTuner has been tremendous as obviously, this would not have been possible with their support and Buddy Club had certainly chipped in with a generous deal on their wheels. I do want to go on record mentioning that the support from KTuner has been top notch...this is the kind of support you hope and wish for from an enthusiast, who at their core, really want's to see cars go fast!
The specs of the car on this track day are as follows:
2017 Civic Si
- Stock Engine and Head
- Stock ECU tuned on Ktuner V1.2
- Clutchmasters FX725 Clutch and Flywheel
- Hasport Engine and Trans mounts
- MAP Prototype EFR 6258 Turbo kit
- MAP Prototype Intercooler
- MAP Prototype Catback
- Stock Suspension
- 17” wheels with a 26” slick in front, stock rear wheels and tires.
All in all it was the best first outing we could have asked for, from the staff, to the weather, to the car there is not much we could have asked to be better honestly. The car is back home now, on the lift, and plans are being made for what's next! Don't worry, we will keep you updated when we decide what that is, just stay tuned.
Yesterday we took our 2017 Honda Civic Si to the race track for the first time, equipped with many of our prototype parts such as the bolt on EFR 6258 Turbo kit. The intention was to get familiar with the car, and the set up we had, along with stress testing many new components such as the Clutchmasters FX725 Twin disc. After a few runs, and snapping a drivers side axle we really got in the swing of things. Over 60 passes on the car, taking the abuse over and over, we could have not been more happy to end the day on a 12.093! Can't wait to pour over all the notes and see what we can improve on next time out! Take a look at the short video we put together to recap the day, and keep an eye out for a more detailed write up in the next day or so. Enjoy.
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