DAYTA

So this past Wednesday, I upgraded a vital component on my car - the brakes (phase 3). Up to this point, I was running OEM brakes which to put it nicely...sucked.

Thanks to Josh and Jamie at Excelerate, I'm know running a Stoptech front BBK (black calipers, slotted only rotors) and Stoptech rotors/Stoptech SS brake lines/Hawk ceramic pads in the rear. They did a great job at an excellent price.

I love the progressive feel of the brake pedal now. The sponginess of the OEM brake setup is no longer there, and I can stop on a dime. Vibration issues are also gone with the BBK. I haven't really gotten on them continuously yet (waiting for another few hundred miles first), but the difference is already night and day.

I had to run 5mm spacers to clear the Stoptech BBK, but now I think I have a perfect amount. As a point of reference, my Advans are 18x7.5 +45 with a fairly concave spoke design, so anyone with similar spec'd wheels will have to run spacers to fit this BBK. On the plus side, the wider stance of the car has noticeably improved cornering and stability at high speeds .

Forgive the pics. My wheels are dirty because 1) It's been raining for the past week so there's been no point for a wash yet and 2) The amount of brake dust generated by the BBK was more than I expected.









Also, as many of you have been waiting, I also had the high boost pulley installed along with the 75.5" Gates belt (phase 2). I'm now hitting 8psi under full load, and the car absolutely FLIES (and the blower whine is so much louder ). My A/F ratios have been balanced out perfectly so I now run closer to 12:1 (before, it was 10.2:1) and there is no longer any bogging issues with the water/meth. It takes some getting used to driving the car this way simply because I hit boost so quickly. I tap the gas, and I'm chirping the tires @ 2k because I'm already at 3psi. Still, the car itself is running incredibly smoothly...and the power gains are just awesome.

However, there is one major drawback. When Josh and Jamie took it out for a test run, they ran into some knocking issues at higher RPMs. As a result, I'm forced to shift way before redline (around or before 6.5k). But, their tests were also done using the 175mL nozzle. After coming back, we swapped out to the 225mL nozzle, and the car runs a little richer than before (11.5:1). I haven't noticed any audible knocking, but that's not to say there isn't silent knocking. I plan to dyno the car next Monday, at which point I'll have the guys monitor detonation. If I do find out I am getting some detonation, I'll probably have to figure out some way to tune (E-Manage?).

As a side note for you more tech savvy guys, would the ECU be able to automatically reduce timing in the event that it detected knocking? For instance, IIRC the ECU can sense the octane of gas so that if 87 octane is used, it reduces timing accordingly. Can I assume that it would adjust similarly under any type of detonation conditions?


Here's another quick acceleration vid with the windows open (and me shifting early, unfortunately )




More pics and a dyno to come. Also, stay tuned for phase 4, 5, and possibly 6....

JTso

iTrader: (2)

I don't think the ECU is capable to reduce timing for the entire rpm range when knock is detected. Also I believe it only reduces timing up to certain degrees within the "supporting range". Most generic scan tool will not support knock sensor moinitoring or data logging. However, I think Josh has an advanced version of scan tool that may support more functions. I would check with him and perhaps run a datalog session during your test runs.

godfather2

everything is coming together so flawlessly! i think a lip kit would complete the look

Redfish

iTrader: (2)

Sweet...you have been very persistent and successful in extracting power from a 'difficult' platform.

Get that thing to the track!! I want to know 1/4 times! Test & Tune @ Lebanon Valley Dragway - Saturday October 4th, last one for the year.

CGTSX07

nice vid the RPMs climb FAST. looking forward to the next three phases. any hints?

PrecyseStylez

Vid was ok.. but why arent you redlining it? whats the limiter set to?

Audioserf

If you read his post, you'd note that he's having detonation issues after installing the high-boost pulley and the larger meth nozzles. Until he dynos and monitors for detonation, he's avoiding redlining the engine to prevent doing any damage.

DAYTA

^^^ Thanks man . I thought I had made that pretty clear in my intial post...

DAYTA

I forgot to mention that, but Josh did datalog the test runs and found the timing to be within the appropriate ranges (14-20 degrees). However, I don't think the scan tool was able to detect the exact RPM that detonation was occurring so I'll have to make sure to check that at the dyno shop.

If the ECU can't reduce timing across the entire RPM range, what does it adjust for when lower octane gas is used (as an example)?

PrecyseStylez

Um.. i also READ that you changed the nozzle back to a 225mL and you didnt get any knocking. So i figured you had to have gone higher in the rpms since thats where the knocking accured?

DAYTA

Thanks for the kudos.

Believe me, I'd love to put a kit on my car (leaning towards one in particular).

The problem is that I have to deal with speed bumps and steeply-graded parking garages on a daily basis, and I BARELY clear them as is. If I added a kit, I'd either have to raise my car () or deal with scraping issues which is something I'm not prepared to do. Besides, I'm in it more for the performance .

Eventually, I'd like to track it and see what kind of times I'd hit. But given my current lack of traction, it'd be irrelevant, so one more phase has to be completed...

See above .

DAYTA

I didn't get any "audible" knocking once I switched to the 225mL nozzle, but I still can't verify whether or not there's silent knocking. The car was redlined during the datalogged test runs using the 175mL, and that was where the audible knocking was heard. Once I take it to the dyno next Monday, I'll confirm what's exactly going on. Until then, I'm going (relatively) easy on the car.

To clarify, the limiter/ECU hasn't been changed and the fuel system hasn't been touched beyond what Comptech/Hondata spec'd for the stock S/C kit. The only things that have been added so far are the stage 2 water/meth kit and the 3.1" high-boost pulley.

caligirl2k

Nice video..

xjohnkdoex

iTrader: (2)

badass.

the stoptechs look great!!