my daily track toy build

[teders]

Went to an HPDE event this past weekend at Summit Point WV, this will be 1 of 3 HPDE events i'll be doing this summer. I've never been on the main circuit at Summit, but it was a ton of fun. Great track with some very fun mid and high speed corners. Have been experimenting with different camera angles and recording processes. This time i added a foot pedal cam and i think it's going to be a standard angle from now on. Next i think i'll try to get an over the shoulder angle.

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[teders]

During the weekend i kept hearing yet another metallic rattle. Captured this video and its pretty clear that something is amiss. Either we have some heatshield contact or the new vibrant resonator is the culprit. I tend to think that whatever was the latest change is the most likely source if something is going wrong.

Will be getting the car up on a lift tomorrow to inspect a few things, one of which will be the exhaust situation. If it turns out there is no external contact, i'll likely be investing in a catback exhaust. I've been looking at the HKS dual tip and the aFe Takeda. Anyone have any recommendations? Nothing too obnoxious, and prefer dual circular tip.

 

[teders]

Summer 2020 update:

So i've been dealing with some annoying issues as of late.

First issue is the exhaust rattle. About a month or two ago, i installed the Vibrant Ultra-quiet resonator, which fixed the rattle i was experiencing at the time. Recently though, like within the last 1-2 weeks, i've had the rattle come back. So the other day i took apart my exhaust: DP, FP, catback. I was looking for loose bolts, contact spots on heatshields or undertray, or even rattling resonators/cat/mufflers. Two spots seemed like the could be the cause: my catted downpipe sounded like it had something moving around inside, and then the FP flex section seemed like it was about a 1/4 inch away from my oil pan.

Thinking that the catalytic converter could be the culprit, i reached out to PRL. I explained that my DP sounded like the cat had come loose, which upon closer inspection it had in fact separated from the inside of the pipe. Turning it upside down or shaking it, i could hear the filter moving around inside. I figured this must be it, and Spencer at PRL agreed. Being the awesome company that they are, they gave me a replacement DP, this time catless, for free.

Well i installed the new DP and no change....Rattle still there at 3.5k-4k rpm. Completely sad and defeated i decided to go back to the exhaust shop that installed my reso and see what they think. The same guy who did the install, laid down next to my car and listened as i reproduced the sound in neutral. He observed that the rattle was loudest towards the middle of the car, rather than the rear. His diagnosis was that the new resonator had a loose baffling inside, which apparently ins't uncommon. He also informed me that the reso which i had him install wasn't his first choice as he's had issues with them in the past. He suggested i install the vibrant bottle style resonator part no 1793. It's a bit longer and more slender and should have more clearance. fingers crossed for this one...

The second issue is my squeaking suspension. This issue is only slightly less of a mystery. I'm hearing a rubber on metal squeaking, like spongebobs shoes. My first guess was swaybar bushings, so i sprayed some silicon lubricant into the bushings on both sides, and while i was at it, also hit the control arm bushings (3 to be exact) and the endlink bushings. This did the trick for a few days, but the squeaking has come back. Originally it sounded like it was on both sides, but now it's primarily on the right side. Maybe the lubricant helped out a bit and i just need to hit it again. Evidently i learned there are sway bar bushings that have grease groves and a grease fill nipple. If this problem persists i might explore that as an option.

 

[DmK]

Did you had a chance to install pro civic grill? I’m really curious about your opinion.
Planning to install intercooler soon, and since I’ll need to remove bumper anyway probably will swap grill same day.

 

[teders]

Did you had a chance to install pro civic grill? I’m really curious about your opinion.
Planning to install intercooler soon, and since I’ll need to remove bumper anyway probably will swap grill same day.

yes i did install the procivic grill. I like it! There is a gap along the top line, where the topmost edge of the grill meets the bumper, and i suppose you could do the ziptie trick on the inside of the bumper, but it's not bad enough for me to want to take the bumper off. Before you put the bumper on, you fit the grill into the bumper and everything looks good. It isn't until you reinstall the bumper, and snap the plastic push clips in place (the ones inside the engine bay that secure the top of the bumper under that plastic tray) that the bumper then pulls itself away from the grill along that top line, creating the gap.

All in all, i think the fit and finish of the procivic grill is probably going to make it the best sub $400 aftermarket grill.

 

[LampRod]

How are the F500 coils holding up after multiple track events? Would you recommend them with the swift springs?

 

[teders]

How are the F500 coils holding up after multiple track events? Would you recommend them with the swift springs?

They are performing wonderfully, zero issues so far. The only complaint i have is that they don't come with any kind of rubber shoe for the springs where they sit on the front damper and/or rear perch. So they are a little creaky/noisy sometimes.

When i installed them, i reused the OE rubber shoe from the rear springs and they fit pretty nicely. however that provides some cushioning between the rear spring and the lower control arm, but the top of the spring where it sits in its perch is still bare. I only recently solved this by taking off some of those plastic spring guards from an old set of lowering springs i had, and installed them at the top of the Swift springs where the make contact with the perch. That really helped snug everything up and so now they are much quieter. The fronts are still spring on damper, but its designed that way so its just a little noisy but it isnt hurting anything.

 

[teders]

Fall 2020 update.

Well here it is now October, i think the last update post i made was back in July around the time I did a two day HPDE at Summit Point. Since then I've attended several more single/double HPDE days as well as the final trackcross event from a spring/summer series. All this track time had given me more things to think about in terms of improving the car, and several updates have been made. Several things have broken as well.

Old issues:

1. Exhaust rattle has been solved. The culprit was the flex segment of my FP, which I only realized after swapping out the DP (went catless for a while, now back to my original catted) and then also after buying and installing the 27won catback exhaust (more on that later). After all my changes i kept hearing the rattle so there was only one thing it could be. I put back in my OEM FP and voila, rattle gone. Upon inspecting the inside of the pipe, i saw a visible crack in the thin flexible metal inside the flex segment. That was the PRL FP, which along with the PRL DP (stock turbo variant) was among the first mods i did over 2 years ago. So, i'm currently running the stock FP and have a replacement PRL FP on delivery. I'm not sure if i'll put the PRL FP on when i get it though, since i installed the 27won exhaust, the car is much louder and drones at certain RPMs on the highway. The power loss from having a 3-inch DP > 2.5-inch FP > 3-inch catback, doesn't feel like much, but maybe i'll feel it after i swap back and go full 3-inch.

On the 27won exhaust, it looks amazing and gives the car a gorgeous sound at idle and throughout the rev range. There is just that annoying issue of the drone on the highway, which honestly isn't terrible if its a short drive, but on longer drives i've started wearing ear plugs. Makes for quieter drives anyway.?‍

2. Squeaking suspension issue identified, not yet fixed. It's the stupid rubber bushings on my front sway bar, they're just sliding against their seat on the subframe and the bracket holding them in place. The rubber bushings are fused to the OE sway bar, which isn't how aftermarket swaybars/bushings interact. With aftermarket bars/bushings, the bar rotates inside the bushing and the bushing remains in place. They also come with grease fill nipples, so when they do get squeaky you can just add grease. I think the plan will be to one day cut off the OE bushings and install poly bushings, and keep the OE FSB (more on handling dynamics later in the new updates).

New issues:

1. Broken upper-side engine mount bushing. After 2 years of track abuse, 3 years of ownership, the OE side engine mount bushing (passenger side) had completely split and was allowing the edge of the engine to make contact with the upright post of the engine mount. This produced a loud vibration/hum on hard left hand turns, which caused the engine to shift to the right and make the contact on the mount. At first i thought it could be my tire rubbing on my fender liner (a known issue i've had since my first set of aftermarket wheels/lowering springs). The tire had completely worn through the fender liner, and so i replaced the liner ($30 from honda, not bad), but the sound was still there. Then i thought it could be the front right wheel bearing, but a Honda technician debunked that theory with a stethoscope. I only learned that it was the engine mount after an independent shop looked at the car and discovered the volume of the vibration/hum directly correlated to engine RPM, so something was touching the block that shouldn't be. I replaced the broken mount with another OE mount for $70, so we'll see if that holds up for another few years. I'ed rather not get an aftermarket engine mount as they are noisy as hell.

2. The hunt for a better brake pad. This summer i leveled up my track competence, and it's meant that my old Hawk HPS 5.0 front pads were no longer suitable for the demand, at least not for continuous lapping. For autox/trackcross/street they are a great pad. I was experiencing significant brake fade on Summit Main after multiple laps. At one HPDE event, it got so bad that i had to take action. I didn't think the pads were the problem at the time, since it had been over a year since i had changed my brake fluid. I bled the brakes in the paddock and put in Motul RBF600 dot 4 racing fluid. That really helped firm up the pedal feel, but the car still wouldn't stop. The pads still had quite a bit of life left in them, they were just beyond their heat limit. On my next pad change, i tried the PowerStop TrackDay pads (PST1697, which by the way is the FMSI number for the OE 10th gen Si pad backing plate, so use that number if you want custom pads). The pads performed well, no brake fade at all, but were worn through after only 1 HPDE day. However those PowerStop pads were $70 from Rock Auto, and are now my street/trackcross pads. For HPDE though i was still without an option. Then I was put in contact with a performance brake shop, who recommeded the Raybestos ST43 pad compound, which is a race pad. I had to get the pads custom cut for my backing plate, $250 for the fronts, so expect an update on their performance later.

I also noticed that the outer pads would tend to wear a little bit more than the inner ones. Not sure if this is just a result of the OE style single piston caliber or what, but something i will keep track of.

New Updates:

1. Whiteline 22mm RSB and track alignment. I wanted to try a stiffer rear bar, as well as make some alignment adjustments after reading a recent article in Sports Car magazine. The RSB was installed before the alignment was done, and i could really feel a difference. I wont say that the car has a tendency towards oversteer, but it is certainly easier to rotate. Whiteline adjustable endlinks were also installed, but i have since switched back to the Accord endlinks. In my opinion the adjustable endlinks are not necessary since the ride height is still the same, so why add complexity where it isn't needed. I drove the car with the stiffer bar for about a month or two on a factory/street alignment. The new track alignment leaves me with -2 degrees camber in the front and -1.7 camber rear. This has been a significant improvement and also quieted down my screeching tires on hard corners. Now I am able to get the car to rotate in corners with a quick lift of the throttle, and then plant the rear again by getting back on the throttle.

2. Hankook RS4 tires. Last set of performance tires i had were the Nitto Invo 245/40R17. I'm not sure how i feel about them. My gripe with them was that they were very talkative in corners, too talkative. Like they would be screeching very early and still holding grip. However when i got the performance alignment, that effect was significantly reduced and they felt fine. The new RS4s are a 255/40R17 and seem to be very capable on track. I should have done a better job of rotating the Nittos as the rear tires still had some life left in them when the fronts were past due. I picked up the Hankooks used with hardly any wear for $400, so i couldn't pass that up.


Here is another video, this one is from my latest track day at Dominion Raceway, where i crushed my old fastest lap of 1:42ish with a 1:37.3. Also a few pics from the day.

 

[BoostinIX]

Nice to read about a local for a change nice job logging everything.

 

[teders]

Oookay then, it's time to update the build thread. Lot has changed since fall so lets get into it. First, lets close out some old business.

Old issues:


Squeaking suspension: I honestly forgot about this issue, and now that i think about it, it might have been the broken side engine mount bushing and not the front sway bar bushings like i originally thought. Around the time last year when i replaced the broken side engine mount with another OE mount, the squeaks went away and haven't come back. Who knows, that was just an annoying thing anyway and not really a serious issue.

Hunt for better brake pads: Well this is no longer a problem for me, since i've upgraded to the 27won BBK. The issue of simply not having a source of good track capable brake pads is eliminated since the 27won BBK uses the same pads as many of the AP Racing calipers. Plenty of race applications there...

New issues:

Honestly right now there are none, at least nothing significant enough to mention. Everything is good the car is just amazing. Its so versatile and practical, yet thoroughly competent and composed on track. See rain videos below.

New updates since Fall 2020

27won BBK: This is the big one. Basically in 2020 i found the limit of the stock brakes. The small rotors had a low heat capacity and they simply were not intended for the sort of track usage they were getting. If you look at the backside of the OE single piece rotors, they have a very small channel that supplies the internal cooling vanes with air, so they are really very limited in their capacity to dissipate heat. Additionally the OE calipers, while actually quite large for a single piston caliper, are not suitable for any real track usage. Rubber piston seals get cooked, which is exactly what happened to mine, they were literally flaking apart when i rebuilt the calipers.

But thats all in the past now! The 27won BBK is larger, lighter, and overall more suited to track temperatures. The two piece rotor has enormous internal vanes that are directly exposed to the backside of the rotor hat, no more constricted cooling channel. There are even small openings to the vanes on the front of the rotor, due to the design of the rotor ring and the placement of the 12 bolts that secure the ring to the hat.

The size of the rotor is 330x30mm, which is larger than the Si Willwood kit and the Genesis Brembo retro fit. Again, pad options are numerous since 27won decided to make sure their bespoke caliper used a very common pad form.

In terms of performance, they are also night and day compared to the OE single piston calipers. Brake modulation is far more granular, which i was able to see by monitoring the brake pressure metric in Ktuner. 1-20 PSI is a workable area, when before it was not. The OE caliper would engage the main piston to get you 1-5 PSI but then jump to 40-50PSI when the opposite pad would be pulled into the rotor.

So far i've only given them a lighter duty test with street driving and trackcross, but this weekend i'll be competing in a time trial on Summit Point Circuit, the same track where the old brakes found their limit.

Of course my old wheels would not fit the new calipers, so those had to go. New ones are a set of 18x9 +35 RPF1 which does need a 5mm spacer to clear. One other set of wheels are Wedssport TC105n and TC005 (two and two). Both are 17x9 with plenty of clearance. Currently rubbered with Michellin pilot sport AS3+ on RPF1 and Yokohama A052 on Wedssports.

Custom lower control arm mounted brake deflectors: This was a project that i had been curious about last year, and originally my plan was to explore the possibility of bumper mounted air ducts for additional brake cooling.

Take a look at a detailed post on my imgur for more info.

RaceBox dedicated lap timer with TunerView: This is brand new to me, for info take a look at their website. The RaceBox device is a dash mounted lap timer with a high accuracy GPS/Accelerometer and loads of functionality. I've already had one track test with this thing and i'm very happy. Before i was using a combination of TrackAddict mobile app on Android and a Qstarz external 10hz GPS device, which was cumbersome to pair and provided spotty accuracy.

Long overdue for me was hacking my headunit and installing TunerView. My GoPro has always been mounted inside the car on my sunroof, and so it captures the view out of my windshield, as well as the metrics displayed by TunerView on the headunit. Take a look.

 

[sibanez]

Awesome thread, you were really fast at the last Trackcross, which was close to a river crossing on the main.

How's the transmission holding up? Are you sticking with Honda fluid and just changing it often?

 

[booost]

You still on the stock block?

 

[teders]

Awesome thread, you were really fast at the last Trackcross, which was close to a river crossing on the main.

How's the transmission holding up? Are you sticking with Honda fluid and just changing it often?

LOL totally a river crossing on main.

Transmission is fine, but I'm pretty easy on it. Have used pensoil synchromesh and honda mtf, and both seem to do fine. And yes, I just change the fluids more often than they need, since it's not very difficult. Last change was about 8k miles ago and before that only about 13k. Engine oil gets changed even more frequently, usually about 2-3k miles between changes.

You still on the stock block?

Yes

 

[Theiser21]

What a great read and love the videos. I'm HPDE at Putnam Park in Indiana and the last event the stock rotors were starting to discolor. I also had a problem to get them to really stop after I upgraded to Hawk CP and StopTech rotors with SS lines and high temp fluid. I went with the Wilwood kit and have an event on June 19th. I'm pumped to see how the BBK performs.

 

[teders]

What a great read and love the videos. I'm HPDE at Putnam Park in Indiana and the last event the stock rotors were starting to discolor. I also had a problem to get them to really stop after I upgraded to Hawk CP and StopTech rotors with SS lines and high temp fluid. I went with the Wilwood kit and have an event on June 19th. I'm pumped to see how the BBK performs.

oh you're gonna love them.

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