Green EK4

[felixR]

That's a clean roof for an ED.

[iwearmoccos]

That's a humorous photo.

Are the knuckles copping a clean before this other guy has to touch them?

They are really dirty, the other guy won't mind.

That's a clean roof for an ED.

Once I gave the ED a good scrub and vacuum, it came up really well. When I get some time/interest, I'll polish it and it should look really nice.

[iwearmoccos]

A couple more photos of the internals of my gearbox, since I dropped some knuckles and parts off to another tall guy today.

Here is the failure with my final drive, which took a while for us to spot when the gearbox was pulled apart last week.


That is about it.
Coilovers have been picked up and should arrive in Queensland on Friday.
All gearboxes required are in Tom's hands, he has my knuckles and now we wait patiently for everything to come together.
I still aim to be at PIARC Sprints in March, which I really don't think is unachievable.

[RC_dc2]

Was that the aftermarket final drive or OEM?

That's pretty poor either way. You said it was a new bearing too?

[iwearmoccos]

Was that the aftermarket final drive or OEM?

That's pretty poor either way. You said it was a new bearing too?

That is the aftermarket final drive, the M-Factory 4.9.
This is the 2nd hand gearbox, so I don't know when it was last opened/built etc. I have a full rebuild kit for it anyway, so it will all be fresh in a few weeks time.

[iwearmoccos]

As my Dad is out of rehab with his new knee, I thought it'd be nice to head down and see him while also doing some work on the Civic.
I've had a carbon sunroof plug in my spare room, that I bought myself as gift when I got a new job back in August, so figured I'd get that installed.
A heap of interior has to come out to get to the sunroof.

After unplugging a few things and then removing a few bolts, I had a sunroof laying on top of me and a big hole in the roof.

And the sunroof plug. I bought it from Narita Dogfight, as Sean had made them originally for his EM1 build. Kinda pricey, but I'm sure if I tried to source one locally, it'd take long/more effort.

As I was working by myself, I had to get inventive with how I was going to hold it in place and mark the holes before I drilled.

Drilled a few holes. Carbon is really delicate when you throw a drill through it. I soon learned that I should drill the hole and then use the file to elongate as required.

After a few test fits, some spacing out with some washers and my rarely used eye for detail, I had the plug fitted as best as I though I could get it. I left it overnight, as it was now 1230am on a Saturday. Still mid 20s, very hot.

This is what the sunroof looks like, all 17.3kg of it. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it, as I don't plan on ever installing it again. I think I'll just stash it at my parents for a few years until Dad calls me and says he is doing a tip run. Maybe it'll be worth something by then.

I went to the hardware store on Saturday morning to get some silicone and also swing past the new cafe in Newborough. I'm not a tradesman, so have never had to use silicone, but figured that a half intelligent person like myself could handle it. I taped up the edges and then went on with the job. As I don't want it to leak, I probably used more than I should have, which has created a bit of a lip where I peeled the tape. I'll try and trim this with a scalpel in the future to neaten it up. If I did it again, I'd put more effort into smoothing it over with a wet rubber gloved finger and removing the excess. I'd rather use more, it look ugly and not leak than look great and it leak. Lessons learned though.

My terrible silicone work, as mentioned.

As mentioned in previous posts, I had also sent my coilovers back to MCA for rebuild and upgrade to Red spec, as well as go from 7 to 9kg springs in the rear. They arrived on Thursday, so I put the rears in to reduce some of the jobs I will need to do when I have a gearbox. Install was straight forward. I do like that they replaced all the collars with red. Look forward to running these and recording the differences. I'll write a piece on it, which will hopefully help future buyers.

The other job I wanted to do was replace my drivers side door handle, which broke months ago.
I tried to find a cypress green version, but came up empty handed. A pair of black handles made their way from Sydney thanks to Todd.

Dodgy alarm installs. This will be pulled out very soon.

Door handle installed. I'll match the passenger side up with the other black one I have, or maybe a green one will surface.

I have entered and paid for Nug Nats at the end of March, so that is now my drop dead date for gearbox install etc, but that is currently in hands of the tall and handsome gearbox man.
I also need to pay for the final drive.

[Toddxxx]

That sunroof plug is awesome!!!

And glad the handles arrived safe and sound. Could always paint the black one if you want green again

[iwearmoccos]

It is a nice carbon plug, just hope it is all water tight!

I'd probably never go to the effort to paint them, I'd be happy to run two black handles if another green didn't show up. No big deal.

[iwearmoccos]

(This is going to be a heap of text. I don't know how those Youtube bloggers get anything done while also filming so much, I can't even get around to taking half a dozen photos)

A week or two ago, Tom had my gearbox finished, which was a really exciting time.
Here are some photos of the build via WhatsApp.
4.4FD out of Grant's JTCC car.

I'm glad it was Tom doing this and not me, I'd be well and truly lost by this stage.



And the final late night DM before I picked it up.


As per previous posts, I've gone to a 4.4FD from the original 4.9FD, to give me a higher top speed for PI and also to reduce some of the ridiculous RPMs experienced on the freeway. (It is now 4000rpm at 100km instead of 5000rpm).
At the same time, Tom also installed my new hubs, bearings, ball joints and extended studs on my front knuckles. I used all OEM parts except for Hardrace studs.


I had taken everything back to my parents the weekend before, so all I had to do on Friday night was to catch the VLine to Moe and hopefully drive the car home before the end of the long weekend.
On Friday night I installed the knuckles in the car, while I spoke to my cripple Dad about his new knee.
Knuckle in without the drive shafts, shock etc in.

I tried to lift the gearbox in myself on Friday night, but it did not work at all. Very awkward and I snapped my speed sensor trying to get it in there. It was a clean break, so I super glued it back up and still seems to work.
Saturday morning, a friend came around to help lift the gearbox. We tried the two people one jack method, but in the end it was easier for Luke to get under the gearbox and lift it up into place while I guided it from the top. We tried it a couple times, and eventually the spline just went straight in.
I threw a few bolts in it and the transmission mount to hold it all still and then we had a gearbox in place.

The rest of the day was spent putting everything else back together. I thought I had a pretty good idea of where everything went and bagged things in step, but it had been a while since I pulled it apart, so I just took my time and got on with it.

I did have an issue with the rear engine mount lining up to the gearbox and I tried every which way of loosening different mounts and bolts to get it to line up! I got really frustrated with it and then hit it with a hammer in disgust. What do you know, that's all it needed!!

As I neared completion, I was getting pretty excited and was glad that the car turned on first go.
I then got in the car to make sure it shifted as it should and I noticed the gear shifter was all over the place. Really loose and very difficult to get into gear.
I took the car for a drive and it still wasn't right, so I drove back to my parents and pondered the thought of something not being right and having to pull the gearbox out.
A phone call to Tom and running through the scenarios, he was surprised if it was a gearbox issue and pointed towards my inability to install a shift linkage.
I went back into the garage and Dad asked about the pin that I had replaced with a bolt, which he had commented on earlier in the day as he hadn't seen a dowel like that previous. I was in a bit of a mood at this stage, but figured I'd try as that was the only original piece I did not install because its a pain in the ass to remove and install.
As soon as I was hammering that bitch pin in, I could feel the shifter rod being more rigid and resolving all the floppy shifter issues I was having. IT WAS A MIRACLE!!
I called Tom, apologised for my stupidity and causing him stress. In that time he'd also pulled my other gearbox out and was adamant he had put the new gearbox back together the same. I didn't quite understand how it could make such a difference, but who am I to question Honda of the 90s?!
So the car was back together in about 6 hours time.
I took my Dad for a drive and we spoke about how much I love this car and that he appreciates it also. We gave it a GREAT run through Haunted Hills road, the quickest I've driven with my Dad as I'm usually very responsible around him. It was a celebration!!

Sunday was time for an oil change and sealing up one tiny gap in my terrible silicone job on the carbon sunroof plug. When I went to my grandparents on Saturday night, it rained and a single drop hit me on the head. Silicone job still looks terrible, but is water tight now.
I then drove to my girlfriend's parents for dinner and retreated home soon after as I was EXHAUSTED!

And back in the garage where it belongs, so excited!!

This morning I gave everything a quick once over and washed the car.
I'll get an alignment next weekend if possible and then the weekend following is Nug Nats Winton on the Sunday.
I'm looking forward to it!
Hopefully this reads ok.
Summary - Gearbox is in, I stuffed up but then fixed it and now the car is back home.

[Shakeel]

The read was fine. A drop of 1000rpm on the highway would definitely make a world of a difference. In my car it might be the difference of actually being able to hear music being played.

I wish we had a handy guy like ChargeR up in Sydney!

Keen to hear how the gearbox treats you for Nug Nats.

[iwearmoccos]

The read was fine. A drop of 1000rpm on the highway would definitely make a world of a difference. In my car it might be the difference of actually being able to hear music being played.

I wish we had a handy guy like ChargeR up in Sydney!

Keen to hear how the gearbox treats you for Nug Nats.

It was much more pleasant for the 150km drive back from my parents! Used less fuel also!

I'm not sure ol' ChargeR likes being helpful at times, particularly when I call him with (my own install) issues! This is all a learning process for me, I never grew up doing this and other than oil changes etc, I've only been playing around with cars since I bought this Civic.

I've just entered the cheap skate demo class at Vic Time Attack, so look forward to getting back to PI!

[ChargeR]

Reading this update I could feel the fear all over again. Thanks for making the error Rhys, I'm glad it wasn't me.

[iwearmoccos]

On the weekend was the first round of Nug Nats at Winton and also my first time out in the car since Wakefield last October.
I was very keen to get back out.
The weather was always going to be warm, so figured from the start it was going to be a struggle to reach my previous lap times, despite my overly positive attitude.
I went and saw a movie about RWB at Idlers, so drove into the city before heading to Winton.


The drive up was uneventful, with the addition of some NT01 tyre noise as I figured I'd just drive up on them. This made the morning setup much easier and I may do it more in the future.


The first few laps out, I could definitely feel the rust! I also had to work out my gear selection, as well as the difference in how the suspension would handle.
The changes in gears
- No need for 5th over start/finish.
- Turn 1 and 2 can comfortably be done in 3rd instead of 3rd for turn 1 and 4th for turn 2.
- Sweeper is 4th instead of 5th.
- Through the bewbz, I played around with 3rd and 2nd, though 2nd seems to be a better option even if I hit limiter on the middle.
- I can get to the dog leg in 4th without hitting limiter.
- Back straight is 4th gear only, no need for 5th.
- Esses are 4th, though without the need for 5th gear as I come onto start/finish straight.

I ran my coilovers at the MCA 'suggested', which even with the 9kg rear spring, induced way too much understeer. Winton I've always struggled with understeer, so I'll just go back to full stiff in the rear and see what the upgrade in spring rate gives us. The upgrade from Blue to Red I felt had better transition with change of direction, particularly from the sweeper and into the right hander.

I also came to the conclusion that I worked really bloody hard for my previous 1:40 laps! Even being two seconds off my pace for most of the day was hard work.
I don't know how guys who go out once or twice a year and expect to run quick laps, its really hard! Also confirmed the benefits of regular track days instead of throwing $$ at the car. I'm happy with my decision to do that over the past couple of years.

Laps for the day.
2:02.7150 1:44.8080 1:45.8340
1:57.0070 1:43.4110 1:43.5740 2:02.8360 1:58.0430
1:59.4560 1:42.9470 2:01.2810 1:51.4750 2:09.6350
1:51.9310 1:42.4930 1:42.7520 2:08.4940

You can see I used quite a few cool down laps, just in an effort to preserve myself and the car.
I think this is the least amount of laps I've ever done at the track day, though I did find most of them reasonably valuable.
I won't be at Winton until June for EXE double day, so what I plan to work on then for the v rare 1:39.
- Taking a tighter line through the dog leg. I'm way off the apex and focused on how far over the right hand ripple I'm going to end up.
- Slightly later turn in on most corners. I'm not sure if its a product or a subconscious thing I do, but I turn in too early and then deal with initial understeer and then turn in again to make the corner.
- I don't think these second hand NT01s are as good as my last set, age etc etc. So I'll buy a 225 on the front in an effort for more grip both in type width and new tyre. I won't go to a 9inch on the front just yet, will stick with 8inch to conserve some money.
- Now that I've got my gear selection sorted, I'll just picture the perfect lap in my head. I've been picturing 4.9FD gear changes since September, so it took a little bit to get used to 4.4FD.

Real deal JDM DC2R pit buddy and I.


here is my quickest lap for the day, a 1:42.49 in my last session.

Not my greatest, but still reasonably happy with the time spent in the car over the weekend.

EDIT:
So Vic Time Attack is on the 7th April.
I will check my brake pads and see how much meat are left on those, I did get a new set of HC800 from the Yez guys so will install them and the new rotors I have coming in the mail if needed. Otherwise, that can wait until afterwards.
Will also drop my gearbox oil to make sure there is nothing floating around that could cause harm. It still feels good, so I expect nothing.
May even go for a run through Reefton, as I haven't done that for a little while!

Thanks.

[iwearmoccos]

On Saturday morning I dropped the gearbox oil to make sure there weren't any floaties in the oil. Nothing that wasn't expected was found, some remnants of a pink paint pen was the major highlight.

I was also going to change front pads and rotors, though I will get another event out of them and change before NNxEXE HH in a couple weeks.

Sunday I woke early and had a hung over girlfriend and her friend still asleep, so went up through Reefton for a quick blast before breakfast.
I really enjoy Reefton, though the 1.5 hour return from Marysville is a bit tedious.

Car is now ready for VTA on Friday, I'll drive down on my NT01s again to save some prep time on the morning and hopefully we have a good day!

[felixR]

All the best for VTA!