Let's see a pic of the hood closed with the new venting/louvers.

 

[



I was going to ask how can you afford all of this (Then I saw the Natural Light)
Looks like a bunch of fun to me fabing and driving

 

 

Not quite Natty Light but I don't drink that shit anyways


You might be amazed what you can accomplish if you DYI 99% of the work

 

diy + $600/month new car payment you don't have = awesome projects.

Purpose built, so I love it. Seriously does look great for a track car!

 

you know it, no debt here other than my house!

thanks man, it's definitely coming together

 

Yes sir...same here, basically!

 

hehehe


looks great!

 

I'm curious, what's your DD?

You've made great progress since starting this thread 5 years ago, can't wait to see it 100% track ready!

When is the next event? What cars do you compete against generally?

 

mostly civics and tercels

 

but he's still lighter!

 

either a Tahoe (tow pig) or an 02 TL base...whatever the wife's not driving.

I'll be doing some testing over the coming months and will see what the NASA events are looking like in the fall. TT3 cars include everything from M3's, Evo's/Sti's, Boss 302's, etc. Anything can compete in the class and there are few restrictions for aero, tires, etc.

 

Just knowing he's 400 pounds lighter than our S2000s makes me go

 

Here's a collection of video from a friend of mine at BIR last week. Couple clips of me in it for your enjoyment. I used to wrench on and test drive the black/green STI in the video as well.


I took some gopro footage but haven't even looked at it yet. I had it mounted to the inside of the windshield but it was shaking pretty bad at high speed so I don't have much hope for it.

 

that black big wing porsche...fuck i love it.

 

old red civic hatch, love that too!

your car looks like it has no problems in the turns, that is for sure.

 

looking great! Just a suggestion, put some mesh on the opening so a piece of rubber/gravel on the track doesn't bust your radiator open mid race.

 

Could do that I suppose. Would be kind of a bitch with the splitter supports going through that opening as well but I'm sure it could be worked around.

 

fucking sick Rex...love it...

am gonna def try to make it to one of your track days...keep me posted!

 

Thinking about hitting MAM or RPM as it's called now on August 7th if you're interested. They have a track driving school that day as well if you want an instructor for a while.




or just strap one of your seats in and ride with me for the day haha

 

After AutoX, I really want to hit the track....

August 7th might be doable...isnt that around the IceCream Cruise weekend? i was planning on making it out to that

Will def keep u posted brother!

 

I think the ICC is the 1st and 2nd. I thought about going as well but it's probably going to be a parking/logistical nightmare so I might pass.




Maybe we could get Brian over as well in the CL for a little AZine track day ???!




disclaimer: this is all pending me not being deployed by then

 

I know he doesnt mind the drive


I havent taken my TL to another STATE in a whileeeeee, so am definitely going to try to make it to ICC...and will be at Mam as well....


Disclaimer: all this is pending approval from the kid and his mommy

 

sounds good, let's do it. I have some buds from work interested as well.

 

as long as you bring me a USAF sticker and a F22 Raptor, we have a deal

 

Interested in your impressions of the new setup and do you have lap times to compare?

Azine track day would be cool, but am booked with events in August.

I'll be at Blackhawk Farms on 8/19 & 9/16 if you wanna show up there.

 

I ran within a few tenths of my last time at BIR on the new setup, and I feel I could have been a bit faster but I spent most of the day just getting comfortable again in the car being it had been almost 2 years since I had been out on track.


When you run this much aero, you really have to learn to trust the grip in the high speed turns and push harder than you think you can. Case in point, my bud's STI runs through the fast sweeper at BIR at like 140 or so and I'm only pushing 125. Same tires, similar aero, but he definitely has the hp and trq advantage over my little J32. So to me I feel like the aero is good enough to hold the car with the bump in hp I'd like to get someday. My car just sticks like crazy, you just have to know how to make it work best for you on track.


I'll most likely be gone for those two dates at Blackhawk Have wanted to go there for some time though.


I promise better track video and results from my MAM day coming up. The day at BIR was more to get comfortable and spend time with my friends on track.

 

Yea I understand what you mean about adapting your brain to accept what it believes to be impossible as far as aero is concerned.

Never had experience myself, maybe next year after I do aero this winter.

So the aero is probably too much for the power level of the engine? Interested to see what route you take because I am getting an itch for more power also.

Thinking maybe a stroker build on side with goal of 350 whp NA.

 

Well IMO, having more aero than hp isn't ever a bad thing and for 90% of the track, I've got plenty of hp to maximize the aero. But in a really fast corner, a combination of the aero drag and terrible OEM gearing don't allow for higher speeds. A straight away is one thing but a sweeper is another for trying to pull 5th gear to redline.

I've lost just about all faith in engine builds for this car haha. I don't know if an NA car will ever truly get to a respectable hp to justify the cost of getting there. But then again, I have done tons of research on a remote turbo setup but now even that doesn't look promising. I'll pick a direction someday but first I think I'll do clutch, flywheel, final drive and maybe a gear change and see what difference that makes.

 

THIS!!!

it is fucking nuts...just a decent port and polish/3 angle/5 angle head job with cams and valvetrain will run ya about 2000 to 2500...it will gain you about 20-25 whp....if you do a stroker motor + heads, then you are talking about a lot more power BUTTTT you are about 6-7K in....if you put the 6-7K on a turbo/SC build, am sure you will see twice the HP gain without breaking a sweat or any components...

 

Swoosh you have seen all the issues turbo cars have with heat, etc. Now imagine that running all out for 20 minutes at a time on track. With a turbo you will spend more time fixing the car then driving it. A FI build also requires more additional parts and adds weight.

These engines NA are rock solid. I like the N/A character of the J series.

Whether you do full NA build or a FI build, it will be pricey.

You could do a mainly stock oem part stoker build or go all out with tb motorworx parts.

Already have a turbo car in FoST that can be easily tuned for more power. Seems so much harder putting a turbo on a car that didn't come turbo to begin with. J Series will stay NA for me.

 

^^^ totally agree...

but most turbo cars do not spend a single minute on the track...am sure some ducting can be run to solve the heat issue...thats my main dilemma...its the confusion between if I want to stay NA or go FI....yeah 350 is a goal which is set in my head as well but for some reason it feel very far fetched

fuck it, dual charge it

 

I do like simple builds so I've always liked an NA build but seriously the J series just isn't a promising candidate for one.


Which is why I'm just going to swap in a K series haha

 

I would do a remote mount ComTurbo oiless turbo super simple setup just coolant lines no intercooelr needed very light weight and the added weight would be in the back and where you want it and the lag is not bad at all it would be great for getting off the corner and BAM 450 WHP OOOOHHHHH YEAH
Comp Turbo - Oil Less

 

They wouldent let us run turbos back in my racing days (but we had 500hp) it was fun but a lot of time and money after 13 years I was done took me 10 years to pay off my credit cards LOL

 

I have thought about this being my heater core is removed, I have two coolant ports blocked off doing nothing at the moment...

 

No don't swap to a K series.

Think I'll just do standalone ECU and maybe final drive.

I don't see how the J series isn't a good candidate for N/A build. TB Motorworx has pushed over 400 whp N/A, and Thinjim has pushed over 1000 hp FI on a j32a2.

It might cost more and is done less, but I feel the J Series is the best part about these cars.

 

I do like the J series but I feel the aftermarket is about 3-4 years from making a stout building platform. It's such a common engine but demand for the real performance parts just isn't there yet.


I'd love for TB Motorworx to make us a baffled oil pan, among other things.

 

I was actually gonna have King Motorsports build me a Baffled oil pan this winter. Could see about making you one also.

What other parts are you looking for?

Will do an oil and PS cooler also.

These builds being rare is part of reason I like them. So much more work involved that only the really motivated stay, whereas everyone else moves on to something else.

 

Hi Rex!
a little birdy told me to stop by!