WHEEELMAN

iTrader: (14)

Those COBALTS are nice gauges with a perfect blue led, I use them myself.
Would have sprung for the Full Sweeps myself, for more accurate readings.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Hey Guys,


Just wanted to throw a quick update out for the Lightest TL in existance! After removing the navigation, stock crank pulleye, and a few other misc. things the car now should be in the 2780lbs range which I will confirm next week when I can get her down and get her weighed.


I have my first track day of the season coming up on the 16th and 17th of April at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL with NASA. Should be a great event and I'm REALLY looking forward to see what kinda difference 800+ pounds will have on the car when on the track.

Projects still in the works include:

New Bridgestone's replacing the Pilots
HP12 or ST47 front race pads
Some sort of hoot venting to keep that baby cooler
Some catchy vinyl to give her a bit of personality out there
Also going to try to develop a shifter extension and see how that feels
Probably getting an NRG quick release with suede steering wheel

There's more I'm sure but for now that's what on the radar before I head out for Autobahn in a few weeks. I'll be sure to get some pics up soon when she is in her full race trim and hopefully you all will like it.

Happy Dieting!

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

first you can do like inaccurate did with his ultimate cooling mod, but for a temporary solution, maybe put some washers under the bolts for the hinges on the hood, to try and let any of the heat builtup to escape at the back, along with going upwards

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

also i was trying to remember something i saw, and i found it

http://www.honda -tech.com/showthread.php?p=43638057






let alone also losing some weight from that hood too...

Aman

CF hood?

Inaccurate

Thanks for the update. We are looking forward to what you think after your first track day without those 800 lbs.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Hood Venting is very much a possibility. The under hood layout on the TL isn't as easy and sexy as the S2000 but it would certainly help with underhood temps and probably wouldn't too bad either.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

there was also an integra at the link too (click it in a new tab, then delete the space i added, so it would not get "censored"), with hood venting, in which the hood bracing does not have the best layout for "venting"

Inaccurate

vill0169,

I am posting the link below just in case you have not seen this thread yet.

The Ultimate Cooling Mod (click here)

jwr0ng626

iTrader: (1)

Will u be able to compare results to previous track events?

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Oh man I'm all over it lol

Good to have linked in this thread as well though

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

My first event this year is at a track I haven't been to with my own car before. But hopefully I'll make it back up to a track I've been to before very soon and should have very good results!

Inaccurate

Any updates ?

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Hey Everyone,


Just got back from Autobahn Country Club last night and have some great stuff for you all...

Let me get home tonight and put it all together and I'll upload it for your viewing pleasure!

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

in!

pohljm

looking forward to a little viewing pleasure!

Majofo

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

OK guys here's what you've been waiting for -

Results from Autobahn Country Club 2011



Well the last 4-5 months have been really busy and I'm happy to say it was all WELL worth it! I think I've already done a pretty good job proving the TL is a worthy and capable track car and last weekend just takes that evidence to a whole new level.

So re-capping last season
-Stock weight minus maybe 150 or so pounds
-255/40 Michelin Pilots with a treadwear of 200
-EBC Yellow pads, mostly street but still a trackable pad with slotted rotors
-CAI, full exhaust, coilovers and RSB


New for this season
-Biggest ever TL diet with a weight around 2740 lbs
-245/40 Bridgestone RE050's with a treadwear of 140
-Carbotech XP10 race pads again with slotted rotors
-Modded hood for the best possible cooling
-Underdrive lightweight pulley and MDX Spacer
-Race buckets with the same Schroth Harnesses from last year
-Some other small things I'm sure I forgot


The only thing sucky about the weekend was the weather. Saturday was cold and raining the whole day so very little grip/speed but was good to experience how to still be fast in the wet even though every apex was under water. Sunday was a lot better but still was cool and damp. But even with all that the car was absolutely fantastic. I passed tech inspection with no problems and mechanically the car was perfect all weekend. BTW, still averaging less than 8mpg out there lol

As you can probably imagine the weight had a huge affect on the track. The car was just so nimble I was convinced I was in a completely different car. The turn-in was almost instant and very predictable, I could just flick the car pretty much where ever I wanted to. With all the weight gone, the chassis is unbelievably more rigid. Even with my soft dampers, it'll tripod pretty much any driveway, including the front tire when backing down it. lol It'll be really interesting to see what it's like with a cage someday and some stiffer dampers.

The Carbotech XP10's were incredible. Even in the wet they were very consistent and had very little fade if any at all. Showing very little wear and rotors still look great so I'm sure I can use this setup for many events to come. I was planning to get the more aggressive XP12's but thanks to my diet, they wouldn't have been the best match for the car therefore I went the XP10's and have no regrets. I am now considering disengaging the ABS cuz it's way to easy to get into it now and it's hurting a lot more than it would ever help.

Tires were outstanding. Tire pressures were kinda pointless with the rain and cold but none the less I put the cold pressure at 38psi and the most I saw the whole weekend was a hot pressure of about 42 psi. Which isn't bad but it would take a whole dry weekend to find the optimal pressure for these so that'll have to wait. Grip was NOTICEABLY improved and I had a boat load more confidence through the corners and really had to work to get the rear end to step out at all, one of which you can see in the GoPro vid I took.


One of the great pleasures of the weekend was meeting most of the Honda R&D racing team, all of which built the TL that won at Thunderhill a few years ago. They were running a newer Civic Si and an S2000, both of which looked great out there and definitely made me wish I worked for them! They were amazed to see my TL out there and even snapped some pics of it to take back to the shop and prove they weren't crazy years ago when they made it. They also informed me that the future of the Honda Team would definitely include a 4G AWD 6MT and maybe even one with F/I but some of those details are just for me! lol

Their Si


I'll throw in some pics of the STI we've been building as well. It's now ready to run in NASA's TTB class next month at BIR and includes an Autopower cage, two-piece rotors all round, Kumho XS's and a killer Sparco/Schroth setup inside. It has rightfully but named the Green Grabber lol


Here's some pix I just snapped cuz I know you like them

Hood Mod from the front- WILL BE WORKING ON SOME MESH OR SOMETHING HERE SOON.


Another from the front


Side with my ladies on the fender/door lol


Side - Low


Track Shots - woulda had some more but it was just too cold/windy to be out there all day with the camera

Paddock


Pit out








Waiting on a Z06 - great car, newb driver lol















STI










Grid/Paddock area - OUTSTANDING FACILITIES THERE



Big winner of the weekend! lol My Boxer on the Podium


Video

Here's the GoPro vid of the last session of the day. A lot of people left before this so the track was really quiet. Unfortunately my main competition left as well, A very quick and pretty modded E46 M3. We were pretty close but I could just edge him out and he was lets just say, VERY surprised by the little TL lol. Wish the video was louder but at least there is much for wind noise. Pretty much can only here the engine on the high cam but whataya do. First/Last Lap are obviously warm up/cool down laps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBeHqYv7sAw

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZapPpZYN5W0




Have a few new things on the horizon I want to get done so stay tuned for that and I'm really hoping my next event is the NASA event at Road Atlanta in June, just now need a light training schedule that week so I can get out there and run that awesome track.

Thanks AZ

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Sickkkkk!


Should mount the cam inside next time. that would be sick!

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

That is inside lol, right where the passenger sunroof would be I guess. But further back you saying?

I hate cars

Very nice, I enjoy following the progress of this car. I think it's so much more fun to be the underdog in an uncommon car and still very competitive.

I'm extremely interested in what happens with disabling the ABS. I realized a few years ago that it greatly increases stopping distance once you put it on sticky tires or in your case sticky tires and less weight. I've disabled it and measured stopping distances and it's a considerable difference. The one thing I'm not sure about is front to rear proportioning and EBFD. That should be interesting. Hopefully there's a way to manipulate EBFD.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Yeah I'd much rather deal with a momentary lock up of the tires and correct it with slight brake modulation then sit there and have the ABS kick in at every braking zone and have no way really correct it.


I'm not sure on the brake bias thing either, might have to look into that myself.

Inaccurate

Wow. My heart is filled with joy and salvation.

Thank you so much vill0169 for doing what I didn't (or couldn't) do. And that is to prove what the TL Diet is capable of. Using video and data logging, I proved that the TL Diet can do a 0-60 in under 5 seconds and accelerate equal to a 13.4 second car. However, I had no means in which to prove the TL Diet's handling prowess (strengths).

vill0169, thank you for showing the readers that the TL is a true thoroughbred in handling if it is unburdened of all that oem weight.





Lol. I have the same issues in daily driving. After I installed my Racing Brake ET500 pads, I am engaging ABS more than ever.

jwr0ng626

iTrader: (1)

good stuff! nice lines
btw, what suspension mods do u have?
The vids were cool, i dnt kno about others - but it lagged during all the good parts like turn in, hitting apex and accelerating outta turns =\ haha

handsom-hustla

iTrader: (3)

Everything looks great. Did the hood have the "stencil" for that cut it out you did. Kinda like how the s2k was. Can't wait to see it w mesh.GL

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Yeah same thing, I just followed the structure of the hood design. looking for the right mesh now and then I'll figure out how to get er secured in there.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

first of all, glancing over the photos HOOD CUTTING FTW


edit: as far as PERMANENTLY disabling the ABS, look into the hard brake lines from a NON ABS equiped Accord, they MIGHT swap over without too much hassle (and i think some of those lines that run all the way to the back can only be like $10-15, so if they do indeed fit, not that expensive to do)

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

also vil, i found that thred i was ORIGINALLY was looking for a couple of months ago , while looking for something else for you to help shave even more weight
anyways they mention the mesh they use, which looks to be of a VERY nice design, while also still being aluminum

http://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/3240...aluminum-hood/

no linky censorship by the looks of it

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

sweet, I'll look into it cuz I'm not finding much local

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

also i i just thought of another thing, which i don't recall being mentioned before:

but since you do have the better ULTIMATE COOLING MOD (basically no trapped heat under the hood), let alone no A/C cooling to worry about, and no traffic to sit in either (or an automatic to cool down either)
do you really need BOTH cooling fans, and just leave one of those suckers on there, for when you get into the pits, so you don't have to worry about overheating there while stopped

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

I'm already down to one. ditched the AC one being it wouldn't ever run without some rewiring anyways. Granted this last event was pretty cool, but I never saw water temps over 200 the whole weekend. Even during a long session, it damn near ran "cold", meaning temps under 170*. Just shows all this is cooling is working wonders!

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

ummm..... that is fucking cold for a motor to run, even more so under race conditions..... (but then again as mentioned it was a cooler weekend, so that definitely helps) the next thing as sad as this may be is to possibly drop down to a smaller radiator, kinda like how the civics have the half radiators, and the reasoning for that is weight, and not having to have as much coolant in the car (or the radiator's weight) especially up towards the front of the car

but it will cost some $ to do though

also fyi (this probably does not apply to you as much as people who are on the street, and daily driving there car, since you probably have just straight water in there) but did you know coolant is actually heavier then oil
iirc a 55 gallon drum of oil is like 550 pounds, while coolant is at 600 lbs per drum....

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

It's not THAT cold for it to run at really. I'm pretty content with the whole cooling setup now. Mounting up a half radiator is just modding to mod and that's not really the point for me, that's a pretty expensive couple of pounds really. And from my experience, most people run half rads to make room for turbo's and different turbo manifolds more than anything else.

I guess I just have bigger fish to fry at the moment. If it ain't broke don't break it type a thing. lol


Just looked up the stock thermostat setting and it is 170* fyi

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

fyi that 170 rating is geneally what it is rated to to START opening, fully opened is a bit higher


looking at the 2g service manual (what i have easily available), is that it starts to open at 169-176 (they give a range)
then it should be fully open by 194 degrees

so if you are even having trouble having the thermostat opening up (since you are barely having it crack open at times) a smaller radiator might be worthwhile, but again as mentioned, it costs $$$ (or maybe even take a old civic half one for cheap, and see how it goes)





edit: but yes generally people get smaller radiators in order to make room for different manifolds and such



edit: edit: some motors run at the 220+ range depending on the manufacture (and yes the system will boil over, if left open, and no the fans will not even attempt to turn on till an even higher temp)

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Well I've been home for a couple days and already have a list of to-do's for the next track day I can manage to get to. Some are already in the works but here's the list.

Finally gonna do some Stainless brake lines and fresh Motul fluid
Rear brake rotors and pads
A custom driver cooling duct and hose (pics soon)
Hood mesh for cutouts
brake ducts for front brakes
NRG quick release and wheel (maybe)
camber kit (maybe)
Hopefully do some exhaust work - Lighter and louder lol
maybe some more vinyl goodness

Stay tuned!

Inaccurate

Diet question - Have you removed your EVAP Charcoal Canister yet? I deleted mine. It was 7.8 lbs. It will cause a cel, but performance is unaffected it.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Yep got it out. CEL's, so pointless at this point! lol

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

So here's a quick little project I did today and yesterday fill the pretty large hole caused by the removal of the climate control system.

I basically just filled over the hole with a few layers of fiber glass and connected a 3 inch duct pipe thing to it to direct air at the me while driving on the track. It's commonly seen on race cars and for the cost and weight involved, it's an easy thing to throw on in my mind.

Here's a nice example on an older Porsche cup car



Here's how the hole started out. both from the top and the bottom. It's a fairly large hole and creates a pretty nice breeze through the car at speed. I'm simply just harnessing and directing that breeze and the driver instead of just filling the cabin with it.






Here it is with the fiberglass over it. I'll admit its not my best work but it's so tight in there it was hard to make it perfect but it'll function without question.






Here's is the "almost" finished product. Just need to permanently attach the duct hose to the cover and we'll be good to go but you get the idea. Duct tape is only temporary.






haven't tested her out yet but I have no doubt it'll be better than nothing lol

Thoughts?

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

DRYER vent FTW,


but yes it will be better then nothing though, have you also thought about a window net, if allowed by the rules, so you can have the window open for necessary venting?

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

The windows need to be open for most events anyways and a window net wouldn't be necessary for anything I'm planning on doing in the near future.