Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Green EK4

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    The past weekend was the EXE weekend at Winton.
    These events are always great, giving you a chance to hang out with great people and also put a heap of effort into the weekend and hopefully come out with a PB!

    I drove up on Saturday morning, arriving at Wallan about half an hour before the people I was meeting, so continued onto Benalla to top up on fuel and have a coffee at McDonalds.


    The weather was ABSOLUTELY perfect!! Blue skies, nice and cool, with no chance of any rain through the day.


    After scrutineering a few cars and drivers briefing, we went out for our first session.
    I was in Group E with the big boys, which despite being a bit intimidating in the pre-grid, is a perfect group to be in because everyone knows their track etiquette and I'm only worried about what is coming up in my rearview than what is in front of me and going slower.
    From the first few laps, the grip was definitely there and I knew it was going to be a pretty quick day. I didn't push too hard and came back in to check tyre pressures and prepare for the attack and hopefully triumphant 1:39 lap!

    My laps for Saturday.
    1:51.4600 1:42.5900 1:46.5980 *:**.****
    1:54.1850 1:40.6470 1:41.2800 2:05.0020 *:**.****
    1:49.2400 1:46.9500 1:47.2530 2:08.4290 1:41.1820 *:**.****
    1:48.0470 1:43.0130 1:43.9270 2:00.4630 2:04.5950
    1:51.4610 1:40.6780 1:55.8680 1:40.7840

    As you can see above, I was able to get back on pace with 1:40, despite the change in gearing from the FD change (4.9 down to 4.4) from when I was last running laps this fast. Earlier in the year when it was a tad warmer, I was unsure on gearing for a few corners, but seem to have sorted that out.
    The places that caused me concerns were through the boobs, where I was unsure if 2nd or 3rd would be quicker, as I was hitting the limiter a number of times before the middle, though 3rd really bogged down and changing from 2nd to 3rd back to 2nd or any combo like that meant I was doing too much and getting a bit overwhelmed.

    The only other issue was pushing understeer through the dog leg and the back two corners. This is a pretty common issue for me and despite running my coilovers on hard on the rear, I was still unable to make the rear rotate how I had wanted it to and was pushing the tyres far too hard.
    This resulted in a few off road adventures and committing to the dirt instead of dealing with the back of some of Winton's worst ripple strips.

    I'm not sure what happened in the 3rd session, maybe I got caught in traffic?!

    4th session was a passenger session with my pit buddy Bong. He commented on my increased commitment to corners compared to him. He runs similar laps in his JDM DC2R on RS3s.

    The last session I went out in the cooling afternoon to try and throw together a good lap. I was on a reasonably quick one, when I came up to my nemesis aka the dog leg! I turned in and the car just pushed forward towards the ripple strip. I was committed to this lap and aimed off the back of the ripple to get onto the dirt and just stayed with my foot on the accelerator and came back on the track and continued on from my dust cloud! I came around to the start/finish for it to basically match my quickest lap for the day! Could have been something nice!

    So end of Saturday, we were sitting at a 1:40.64, though I was feeling pretty good at the pace of the car despite the 'slower' gearbox. I was definitely having fun!!

    Tom and I in the pits on Saturday.


    After a pretty early night, due to a 4am start, we were back at it again to smash some PBs! I had left my car at the track, so had nothing to setup. I just checked the fluid levels and headed back out.
    From the very first out lap, the track was in GREAT condition and on my first hot lap I pulled out my quickest lap for the weekend so far!!
    I usually PB 2nd lap of the 2nd session, so to do it in the first session was quite surprising!

    Previously I was all about smashing bulk amounts of laps, but at Winton I much prefer an out lap and then aiming to smash my quickest lap for the session on the following. It seems to work, the car/tyres/driver aren't too hot and I find it easier to focus on one lap than one session. More of a hill climb focus.

    2nd session I went out and do another 1:40! at least I'm consistent and I would have probably been pretty happy with that, when a friend offered up his RPF1s with a 225 Kumho V70A tyre.

    He had previously run NT01s before moving to these on the front and was impressed with the initial turn in and how precise they were compared to the NT01. I had lunch and then switched the wheels over before heading out in the 3rd session in the middle of the day.
    By T2 on the out lap I knew this was going to be THE LAP for me. The turn in was so crisp and EXACTLY how I have wanted the car to handle at Winton but had never been able to achieve.
    I crossed the start finish and headed out in the lap and turned in as I would, but had to correct as instead of catching the understeer, the car went where I wanted it to! In T2 I was able to get on the power earlier than I ever have and then out through the sweeper. As I exited the sweeper, I saw a certain CR-X driving friend off in the dirt, so lifted ever so slightly and then straight into the boobs. Again, the turn into the boobs was great and I was bouncing off the limiter more than previously because of this extra drive. After coming through the boobs and towards the dog leg, I turned in and got through the corner probably the cleanest I ever have!
    The Racechrono lights were going green by this stage and I got through the back corners with no issues. Coming in through the esses, I knew it was going to be a PB, so shook my fist at my pit buddy Bong who had done his first 1:39 the day before. As I crossed the line for a 1:39.1, it was a pretty good feeling!
    I pulled off after that, knowing there was more in the car with the V70As on the front, but also happy with what I'd achieved.

    Here are my laps for Sunday
    1:51.4690 1:40.4380 1:47.7740 1:41.3870
    1:46.1140 1:40.7140 2:00.7450
    1:48.8560 1:39.1040

    Here is my quickest lap.


    Here is the Racechrono screen shot. The map is slightly off because I was trying to hold the map in the best view while screenshotting it! My external GPS now works perfectly, so all the times and speeds are correct!


    What I learned from the weekend.
    - Despite my 'slower' car via the drop in FD, I'm able to come within half a second of my PB.
    - Tyres are worth their weight in gold, so when these NT01s wear out I'm going to try something else, maybe spend a little more money.

    The car ran quite well, with nothing major to cause me any issues.
    I have concern about the amount of coolant ending up in the overflow. The car gets an absolute beating at Winton, so does get warmer (or I assume so!) here than other circuits, so I'm hoping its nothing serious. There is some coolant traces around the cap on my Mishimoto radiator when I come back in, so I'll replace that cap and see what happens after that. I'm hoping its not a head gasket, though if it is, then I'll just get it fixed.

    Over the next few weeks, I'll get an alignment, have the car dynoed at Nug Nats dyno day and then head to PI in early July. I was planning on doing both days, but the dyno day is the day before, which is fine for me.



    Other than that, was a great weekend and I love this car.
    1997 Honda Civic EK4
    Winton - 1:34.94
    Bryant Park clockwise - 55.58
    Bryant Park figure 8 - 61.30
    Wakefield - 1:10.16
    Phillip Island - 1:55.43

    Comment


      Nice work on the pb.

      Were your nt01's 225 as well all round? It would be interesting to trial the kuhmo front and back to see if the balance was the same or if having the nitto's on the rear gave you a bit more front bias grip.

      Comment


        Originally posted by RC_dc2 View Post
        Nice work on the pb.

        Were your nt01's 225 as well all round? It would be interesting to trial the kuhmo front and back to see if the balance was the same or if having the nitto's on the rear gave you a bit more front bias grip.
        Thanks bloke.
        Nah, I've always run 205 NT01s, so it was a step up in size on the front to 225 with the Kumhos.

        The Kumhos are nearly $350 each, which is getting up there in price, so will do price checks on all the usual semis and go from there. I do plan to go a 225/205 stagger with the next set of tyres, and a pair of 9s on the front if budget allows at the time.
        1997 Honda Civic EK4
        Winton - 1:34.94
        Bryant Park clockwise - 55.58
        Bryant Park figure 8 - 61.30
        Wakefield - 1:10.16
        Phillip Island - 1:55.43

        Comment


          Ah ok. I thought I saw you already had 225's I must have been dreaming.

          Staggered setup looks the goods then! When I last looked at tyres there was nothing in the price realm of nt01's for $160ea, but I don't doubt there are faster tyres out there for the price.

          All the shops talked up a050's but again they were roughly $500-600 more a set at the time. There wasn't any local distributors for the kuhmo that I saw, I think there is an official distributor here in Vic nowadays though.

          Comment


            I've got 225 RS3s on my other RPF1s. I'm sure it can get confusing.

            The NT01 price is definitely a HUGE selling point for them! This is now my 2nd set, so I think I'm ready to commit to something more expensive/faster. Considering how much I got out of one lap with the Kumhos on the front at Winton, I'm looking forward to what the difference at HH will be with a different tyre. All the hill climb guys run A050s and don't really mess around with much else.
            1997 Honda Civic EK4
            Winton - 1:34.94
            Bryant Park clockwise - 55.58
            Bryant Park figure 8 - 61.30
            Wakefield - 1:10.16
            Phillip Island - 1:55.43

            Comment


              Get A050!
              Even just look for a second hand set for cheap.

              I would try 225/205 nt01 set up first though. Where did the time difference come from? More front width or the actual tyre? You'll be able to come to a conclusion by staying nt01 but going up a size first. May even save you some money
              Last edited by Toddxxx; 06-06-17, 04:46 PM.

              Comment


                The friend I borrowed the wheels from had previously borrowed his friend's Kumhos and called me that night, giving the exact same description of the comparison between the two tyres. As soon as I went out them I was thinking, this guy was right!

                He was running 225 NT01s on the front, so while the jump from 205 to 225 may have contributed, I think it is more the tyre than the jump in size.
                1997 Honda Civic EK4
                Winton - 1:34.94
                Bryant Park clockwise - 55.58
                Bryant Park figure 8 - 61.30
                Wakefield - 1:10.16
                Phillip Island - 1:55.43

                Comment


                  Nice! At least you have some sort of comparison then
                  Still, go A050 haha

                  Comment


                    What a weekend that was!

                    I've probably watched the celebration of that lap x 100 already.
                    1999 Formula Red S2000 Blog

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by eskimo_firefighter View Post
                      What a weekend that was!

                      I've probably watched the celebration of that lap x 100 already.
                      Glad to provide the entertainment!

                      I'm disappointed I wasn't around for your PB party!!
                      1997 Honda Civic EK4
                      Winton - 1:34.94
                      Bryant Park clockwise - 55.58
                      Bryant Park figure 8 - 61.30
                      Wakefield - 1:10.16
                      Phillip Island - 1:55.43

                      Comment


                        Since I've now got some reliable Racechrono data via my external GPS, I thought I'd add it to my 1:39.1 lap from the weekend.
                        I'm not sure if this makes my lap look slower or faster, but its nice to see the data against the video. I've found a few spots that I think I can easily make up some time, so look forward to H Nats in September!

                        1997 Honda Civic EK4
                        Winton - 1:34.94
                        Bryant Park clockwise - 55.58
                        Bryant Park figure 8 - 61.30
                        Wakefield - 1:10.16
                        Phillip Island - 1:55.43

                        Comment


                          I spoke previously about replacing my radiator cap, so I made a mercy dash to the post office on Friday to pick up a Spoon radiator cap and also a baffle for a spare sump I have, which I had bought from JDMYard a few days earlier.
                          Radiator cap looks like a radiator cap, will show the baffle once I've had it welded in next time I visit my Dad. Will obviously also replace the seal etc when doing the sump.
                          Engine bay is a bit dusty.

                          I had washed my car on Saturday morning and had a couple spare hours on Sunday afternoon, so figured I'd give it a clay bar. Other than washing it, I've done nothing to make this car look any better and I was a bit excited by it all.
                          The amount of crap that came off the back of the car was pretty incredible. This is all because of Reefton Spur runs, that place kicks up a HEAP of tar.

                          I'm not much of a detailer, but I gave it a quick pre-polish as well before it got dark. Looks pretty good!

                          On Monday, I went to Autobarn to buy a drill buffer attachment to apply some Dodo wax I had when for my old XR5, but they had sold out, so I just bought some Nu-Finish car polish because I had used that many years ago and knew I could apply that quite easily by hand.
                          While there are still a number of scratches and imperfections in the paint, it is much nicer to touch and has a good level of gloss. All ready for Autosalon!




                          Kumho has a Motorsport warehouse sale coming up, so I'm thinking I'll buy a set of V70As. They don't have 205/50s available in the deal, so I'm thinking a 225/195 stagger is something that could be a good combo. I put my name down for a pre-order, so we'll see if they call me. I will also call Traction Tyres to get a price on a 225/205 A050 set. A set of V70As in 225/195 is going to be $940, so it is pretty good value.

                          An alignment still needs to be booked, which I'll send a msg off this morning to try and line up for later in the week.
                          Other than that, the car didn't move more than 10 feet from the garage.
                          Bit of a nothing update, but it might be the only time it gets a polish!
                          1997 Honda Civic EK4
                          Winton - 1:34.94
                          Bryant Park clockwise - 55.58
                          Bryant Park figure 8 - 61.30
                          Wakefield - 1:10.16
                          Phillip Island - 1:55.43

                          Comment


                            That's not a bad price at all, also not surprised at the improvement going to the Kumhos. Car looks good. Also have always wondered.... did you simply gut the midsection out of your grill and leave it?

                            Comment


                              haha, no one has ever asked me about that!
                              The car had gold badges and I lost the grill badge very early on, so I just got a hacksaw out and cut the centre. I tried to clean it up as good as I could/cared to, it is still quite rough though!

                              Looks like I'll have the car aligned on Saturday.
                              I called about a 225/205M set of A050s. Prices are steep, but will probably be very fast. Not sure I can justify it, considering the value/pace of the Kumhos. It would also mean I'd want to buy them forever, I don't like to take steps back!
                              1997 Honda Civic EK4
                              Winton - 1:34.94
                              Bryant Park clockwise - 55.58
                              Bryant Park figure 8 - 61.30
                              Wakefield - 1:10.16
                              Phillip Island - 1:55.43

                              Comment


                                Go with the kuhmos!
                                Find sets of A050 second hand for cheap and try them out

                                Also the car looks a million bucks with the detail!

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X