Project Rookie

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honda#72
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Re: Project Rookie

Post by honda#72 »

I was at work and didn't have sound when i watched the video when I first posted. What/ where was that click type sound ? I thought I heard it after you cycled the key off also. Was it just you shuffling around, or was it the car? It is hard to tell in the picture, but I will asume the signal wire to the solenoid is connected?
1997 cc + Vtec + 9,200 rpm fuel cut = Fun !
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walterclark
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Re: Project Rookie

Post by walterclark »

Everyone should at least have one of these in their tool box:

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Simple to use - if 12V is present the bulb in the handle lights up. And cheap.

You used to be able to buy them at any auto parts store or the automotive section f places like Sears and K-Mart, but it would not surprise me to find out none of those places carry it any longer. The image above came off Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M5 ... H8GX8EYG8V)
The older I get the better I was.
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linc44
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Re: Project Rookie

Post by linc44 »

Well this update is a long time coming, so bear with me. Project Rookie (Sophomore?) has taken quite a turn in the past months, so I will be bringing this thread up to date in one big post. I promise there will be plenty of pictures along with plenty of words. Enjoy.

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When I last left off, I was begging for help to diagnose a starting issue on the 1992 Honda Civic hatchback I planned to run at Ascutney 2 in 2011. Long story short, I never got it started, missed Ascutney, and it sat parked until February of this year. FAIL.

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Now some of you may remember my 2009 Honda Civic from allll the way back in Part 1 of this thread. It served me well for 3 years of daily driving and numerous autocross events. Sadly, it was a leased car, which meant I was due to return it to Honda in March.

In preparation of the new car search I sold the parked Civic HB, along with my dirt bike, and started putting together a list of potential cars to research and test drive. The top 10 list was: Mitsubishi Evolution, Subaru WRX and STI and Forester XT, Honda S2000, Acura NSX, Mazda MX-5 and RX-8 and Mazdaspeed 3, and Toyota MR2 Spyder.

Now I know that list seems pretty ambitious (it is), but after scraping by with two jobs during college, landing a good job using my major, and finally paying off all my school loans (big thanks to my parents for letting me live at home rent free while I did this, you can never really thank the people who support you enough)....my next car would be a gift to myself.

So I spent the next few months on Craigslist and tweaking the list. I even took a trip to Ohio to test drive this absolutely gorgeous 1993 NSX.

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I loved the look, the drive, the sound, the price...it was fantastic. And I passed on it. I will kick myself until the day I die for watching that car drive away, but my rational side got the best of me that day and I just couldn't bring myself to turn such a wonderful piece of machinery into a daily driver (albeit just for the summertime, but still). Maybe someday I will be able to have one parked in my garage...

By mid-February the list had been whittled down to just 5 cars. The Evo, WRX, STI, Forester XT, and Mazdaspeed 3. New England seems to be the epicenter of AWD cars in America, and knowing I would need to eventually drive in the winter, the RWD cars were cut. And after finding it nearly impossible to find a Mazdaspeed 3, I was down to just 4.

And then a deal of deals fell into my lap. I was driving home after looking at another very beat up WRX in Hampton, NH when I drove past an Acura dealership with what looked to be a very ricey, slammed WRX parked out back. It had an STI hood scoop, white multi-spoke Rota wheels, and two carbon fiber STI baby seats in the back. I went in to ask about it and was promptly told it was not for sale. DAMN. And even worse for me, it wasn't a WRX at all, it was an STI!

A little dejected about striking out twice in one afternoon, I continued home and searched car classifieds for the 12th time that day.

While at work the following day, my phone rang. It was the Acura dealership asking if I was still interested in the STI, but that there would be stipulations if a deal was to be done. I drove down after work.

Turns out that the car would not pass New Hampshire inspection because of completely blown Megan Racing coilovers (explains the "slammed" look) and failing the NH emissions test. The car sputtered at idle but ran perfectly at any other engine speed. Not wanting to waste my time on another beat up Subaru, I came back the next day with a friend who works as a mechanic. He quickly pointed out that stock Subaru's blow off valves do not make the massive "whoosh" sounds coming from the car. I mean this thing was ear-splitting. As I now know, the Turbo-XS RFL (Real F---ing Loud) blow off valve is really REALLY loud. It also has a bonus feature of making a MAF-sensored car run like crap by being 100% atmospheric as well.

After talking with the dealer and agreeing that the car would come without a warranty and without an inspection sticker (NOTE: I would not normally recommend, or do, this but after having two independent mechanics confirm the cars issues, I felt a little bit better)...I purchased the car at a very discounted price. The following weekend I found a set of stock springs, struts, and top hats on Craigslist. I also scored a stock air box, K&N filter, and stock blow off valve in a trade for the COBB intake that came on the car. With all of that installed, the car now sits running very strong, completely stock except for the wheels and tires

The car the first day at home.
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The car after I drove up to Burlington to pick up the original wing.
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New non-snow tire shod wheels
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Ready for hillclimb.
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Which brings this story to Ascutney 1. My first hillclimb in this newer car. I had known all along that whichever car I purchased might be taken to the hillclimbs, so this would be the first test. I ride a Kawasaki KE100 motorcycle to work during the summer, so the STI is basically my winter/rainy day car...still very much a street car, but I could still get to work if something were to happen to it.

Ascutney went surprisingly well. I started out slow, but as I got to know the car and the course, I kept getting faster with every run. By Sunday afternoon I had dropped 39 seconds off my time to a 3:38!

Here are a few pictures taken by Erik Saunders at Ascutney. Thanks Erik!

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The car ran very well and had zero issues. Having a functioning, strong car underneath you is very confidence inspiring for a new driver like myself. I know that I am not even close to hitting the car's limit, which helps me to focus on my goals for each run. Slow in, fast out...looking further ahead to the next corner...linking the corners and settling into a rhythm...being smooth in my inputs...there's so many things to think about! Hopefully a few of them will become more second nature in time, but for now, just learning and feeling on every run is the ultimate goal. The car seemed to lack front grip but I'm going to chalk that up to driver error and not knowing the feel of the car.

Just 3 weeks later was the Burke 'climb. Again, the car ran perfectly with no issues whatsoever. All went well and my times fell run after run until I ran a 2:37. Only 7 seconds from breakout time! Needless to say, I was very excited following the weekend and it got even better when I got home. Steve Jones and Nick Wheelock took some fantastic pictures at Burke. A few examples are below. Thanks so much both of you.

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All weekend long at Burke I had been noticing my front tires were rolling over badly and the car would always lose grip in the front before the rear. I had upped the air pressures to 40psi hoping that it might alleviate the sidewall wear but in turn I was reducing the grip of the front tires.

From reading up on the STI, like most Subaru's they are camber limited. The consensus seems to be that around -2° of front camber and as much caster as possible are the best settings for street/weekend track STI's. Does this seem like a lot to anyone else?

My alignment settings are as follows (verified after I got home from Burke) :

FRONT (left/right)
Camber = -0.6°/-0.7°....max stock adjustment
Caster = 4.1°/4.1°
Toe = 0 total

REAR (left/right)
Camber = -1.2°/-1.5°....max stock adjustment
Toe = 0 total

There seems to be two schools of thought on how to get more negative camber without going to full coilovers with camber plates. The first is to add a larger front sway bar and therefore reduce body roll in order to reduce camber loss. The second is to use offset strut top hats to add more negative static camber. Anybody have thoughts on which method may be better? I am thinking that attacking the issue head on with the offset top hats (specifically the Whiteline COM-C http://turninconcepts.com/product_info. ... ts_id=1137 ) may be the best approach, but I am not nor do I pretend to be a suspension guru. I am looking for a set it and forget it kind of solution. Also, a front sway bar or COM-C top hats would bump me out of Unprepared class correct?

I will most likely just leave the car the way it is now (no need to mess with something that works right?) and just rotate the tires after every hillclimb. The car will only see 6-7 'climbs a year and the rest of it's life is spent on the street, so the added wear shouldn't be too much of an issue. Plus, adding more negative camber may add the same amount of wear from the street driving that I would occur from the races anyway. Food for thought I guess.

So this coming weekend is Okemo 1 and unfortunately I cannot go as I am a groomsman in a wedding on Saturday, but I am really looking forward to Okemo 2 in August. If the first 2 races of 2012 are any indication, it will be another hugely fun weekend. I cannot thank the entire hillclimb “family” enough for making these races the most fun I've ever had. Thank you to the event chairs for putting together these awesome events, thank you to the workers for allowing all of us to race, and thank you to all the other drivers for being so welcoming and friendly and answering the thousands of questions that I always have...this really is the best group of people I have encountered in racing.

If you made it all the way to the end of this...well, I applaud you. It was kind of a departure from the way the first few updates had been written but I enjoy getting my thoughts and questions down on paper (computer screen?). As always, if you have any comments or questions or anything at all, feel free to reply. Good luck to all at Okemo next weekend and see everyone in August!
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sachilles
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Re: Project Rookie

Post by sachilles »

The easy option for more camber is to replace the non adjustable bolt with an adjustable one. Around twelve dollars a side. We were able to get to -4.9 on the alignment rack before setting it to -2.5 in the front.
Sachilles
02 Subaru impreza (Donut) #66
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sdwarf36
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Re: Project Rookie

Post by sdwarf36 »

Anyone out there thinking about hillclimb-this thread is the BEST example of how you should go about it. Start wide-eyed with nothing to lose-and bring something not near + dear to your heart (or wallet). Get the feel (and bug :D ) at a couple events-then figure out where you want to go from there. Ask questions and be willing to listen. Dont worry how quick you are going to be-or that you'll be too slow.
Thanks for the great write up Linc! 8-)
Translating road racing to hillclimbing:
Proper tire selection== nothing hooks up on moss or wet leaves.
Staying on the racing line==anything paved is considered good.
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linc44
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Re: Project Rookie

Post by linc44 »

Holy camber Seth! -4.9 is a lot.

Have you had any issues with the bolts slipping? They are no doubt the cheaper and easier method to get additional camber. I ran the optional Honda factory camber bolts on my Civic when I autocrossed it to stay in Stock class, but I would have to re-align the car after ever event because they always slipped (even with Loc-Tite and crush washers).

This is really my only hesitation with camber bolts. I'm picturing hitting the top section of Ascutney and ending up with a wonky alignment.
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honda#72
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Re: Project Rookie

Post by honda#72 »

I don't think I can forgive you for traveling out to ohio, and not buying that NSX !!! :D
1997 cc + Vtec + 9,200 rpm fuel cut = Fun !
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Rabbit Farmer
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Re: Project Rookie

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

honda#72 wrote:I don't think I can forgive you for traveling out to ohio, and not buying that NSX !!! :D
Chris.. you are a very forgiving person. The rest of us have banned him from hillclimbing until he makes it right.
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linc44
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Re: Project Rookie

Post by linc44 »

I know, I know....I managed to talk the girlfriend into making the trip over to check it out (she's in Indiana, so it was only about an hour away)....easily the most enjoyable driving experience I've ever had. No power steering, slick shifter, and that sound, oh man the sound is just amazing! Plus, you just can't replace the throttle response on a powerful NA motor. Very quick indeed.

In all fairness though, I feel like you wouldn't have forgiven me if I had shown up to the hill with the NSX. I know I would have been cringing every time I drove through the campground and rocks were pinging against the undercarriage, never mind taking a run with it!
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Rabbit Farmer
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Re: Project Rookie

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

Okay, we will let you off the hook this time. The other thing to think about is how hard it would be to install a cage in that car.

Hmm.... think how many "race cars" today have four doors. Big change from many years ago (when many did not have any doors at all).
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