brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Roll Bar & Rear Seat Painting Part 1 - Preparation

Supplies to prep interior for painting.


Supply List
Mineral Spirits
Plastic Roll
Newspaper
Tape
Gloves
Paint Prep Wipes
Sandpaper
Wire Brushes
Dremel
Scissors
Sand Paper
Lights
Steel Wool
Pliers
Screw Driver
Mask
Glasses

Decided to paint rear seat area first, then mask rear seat and paint roll bar after to avoid overspray.

Masking begins. It is a long & tedious process.



























Supplies to Paint Rear Seat Area.


Rear Seat Area after Paint.




Had a hole in floor from a chunk of metal road debree being flung at me on highway driving back from National Acura Meet. Had King Motorsports weld the hole up. I added some JB Weld to clean it up and painted.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Decided to replace the Seat to Chassis Hardware with Titanium since I seem to be replacing OEM quite frequently.

Weight saved .26 lbs.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Roll Bar Painting Part 2 - Primer

Finished masking for paint, then sprayed primer.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Looking good man, can't say I'm looking forward to painting mine when it's finished!

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Thanks. Yours will be even more of a pain since it is a full cage. Are you painting with the front and rear windshields removed or installed?

Masking takes a lot of time and patience. Another annoyance is working and crawling around plastic and roll bar. Probably hit my head on bar dozens of times. Hard to crawl under the bar when painting without touching and smearing paint. Then you can't breathe from the gas mask, the paint makes your eyes water really bad, and the space to paint is limited.

Should finish sanding primer and painting today. Will be happy to finish this project. Definitely not one of my favorite projects. Would rank it close to removing sound deadening.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Does anyone know where I can source one of these badboys? Would be great to use at my events.



Curry Acura Parts has it listed on their site, but the site does not let you put it in your cart. Emailed them, just waiting for a reply.

http://www.curryacuraparts.com/coolstuff

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Still working on painting roll bar. Almost done.

My wheels won't arrive till the end of the month, so my 1st track day will be without new wheels or bbk. This should give me a good base to compare the bbk with racing pads too. Maybe use up my tires so I can buy fresh rubber for new wheels also.

Still a good amount of work to make it track ready in next 2 weeks.

Will be running Motul RBF 600 Brake Fluid at first event and switching to my Prospeed fluid when bbk is installed.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Ordered a pack of 5 Black M5 Countersunk Washers from Pro-Bolt Aluminium Countersunk Washers M5 Pack x 5 Black

Their prices are rather high, but they are one of the few sites that sell M5 Countersunk Washers in style I wanted.

Used 4 of them, 2 per side view mirror.

CLassy02

Looking great Brian! You plan on attending Import Alliance in Kentucky this summer?

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Roll Bar Painting Part 3 - Painting & Unmasking

Before painting, sanded primer with 600 grit sandpaper then cleaned.

So glad to be done painting. I kept applying coats, then going back with a flashlight looking for areas that weren't fully covered. After about 10 painting sessions I was happy. I think it turned out great.

The bar is so close to the sheet metal in some areas that it is hard to get full coverage with a spray can. It is a delicate balance between getting full coverage but also avoiding drips.

Here is the Primer & Paint used. You can buy it at Walmart or Menards. I used this matte black paint in the past and like how it applied. Ended up using 3 cans of primer & 4 cans of paint.


Unmasking





Painted











Used this Zaino Dual Action Paint Cleaner & Swirl Remover to clean up the little bit of overspray. Love this stuff, use it for all my paint correction also. Zaino is all I use on exterior besides 303 spray on vinyl and rubber.



Ordered these Split Collars from Split Collar for Harness Bar-Stable Energies about a month ago. Had to wait for them to be powdercoated. Finally arrived. These will prevent harnesses from sliding on the bar.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Hey whatsup. Been a long time since I saw you at National Meet.

Never been to Import Alliance or Kentucky. Wasn't planning on it.

Only car meets/shows I have planned is National Acura Meet. Might go down to Tennessee for FocusFest and to drive the Tail of the Dragon. Not sure yet. Might do 1 or 2 car shows in Chicago area, but that is about it. Car shows aren't really my type of scene. Will be my busiest car related summer yet.

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

That's a lot of work, props, turned out great.

CLassy02

Yeah no lie man. I've lived in TN for two years now and still haven't made it to the Tail of the Dragon. I really need to.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

I didn't even realize you lived in TN when I posted that.

ahxChun

iTrader: (1)

seen some ze40 on FB that someone was selling,

Volk Ze40
18x9 +25
18x11 +15


would the x9 work for you?

there is also a square set x9 +45 but im not sure if its still available.

CLassy02

Yeah unfortunately TOTD is still 3 ish hours away because Nashville is in CST and TOTD is EST. If you go let me know I really want to get out there. Merc could use some good driving.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for looking. No square setup for me, reverse staggered. Already purchased rear wheel set that I will use on the front at the beginning. I am pretty set on getting 18x9 +35 for next 2 wheels. No other size makes sense for me. +25 would stick out too much. Will probably need to pull front fenders. Could go with 18x8.5 + 42 square but that is boring and limits tire size to 255. The 18x9 +35 will have a more concave face then my other 2 wheels (18x8.5 +42). Eventually want to run 265 or 275 front tires and 245 rear tires.

I will let you know. Focusfest is on 8-28 so kind of far off. Hopefully TOTD won't be too crowded to have some fun.

Scottyknows007

Is the reverse staggered to keep traction on the front end?

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

That is part of it. Bigger tire in front or stickier compound will aid in front end traction. So will a front splitter and downforce.

For the rear, that is basically just along for the ride, I do not need bigger tires. Rear wing & diffuser will help with grip and aero balance though. Smaller tires should help with aero efficiency, remove some weight, and be cheaper.

Rear grip is more needed at track than autocross. For autocross I have even been thinking of going with stickier tires up front than in the rear, hoping it will help car Rotate more. To really Rotate car properly I have to master left foot braking. In those cases it seems like weaker brakes are better. When you use your left foot to Brake without being used to it, you use it like an on/off switch. This means you will always be slamming the brakes everytime and sending your head through the windshield.

Pretty much any serious fwd track car I've seen runs reverse staggered setup.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Applied 2 coats of Zaino Z2 Show Car Polish to Roll Bar. Finished it off with Zaino Clear Seal.

Here is the bracket for Flare.



This spot is perfect for mounting it. There is a threaded hole and a depression for that tab on the bracket to fit into.



Flare Mounted.



Fire Extinguisher Mounted. Thought this spot gave me the best access to it in case of an emergency.







Driver Harness Mounted to Roll Bar.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

ohhh Lord....your car is coming along very well Brian...

see you at the meet

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Thanks. Looking forward to meet and seeing familiar faces.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

So my cooling system seemed fine last time I drove it, but not today. This seems to be an ongoing issue.

My Radiator fan only turns on when a/c is on. According to manual this is a Radiator fan switch A issue. Is that the only cause it could be?

Don't think I can order a new part in time for my event, so might have to forfeit 225 bucks.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

whats an AC?

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

AC is what I have to run in order not to overheat engine instead of myself.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

its a track/diet car, delete that ish already

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Eventually. You try driving 9 hours straight to National Meet in 90 degree weather. Keep in mind exhaust heat gets inside the car also so it is kind of like a sauna. Tried that once and my shirt was completely drenched with sweat. Always reminded of Top Gear episode with James naked in the race car.

I like to run A/C at autocross events to keep me cool between runs, otherwise you get really hot and sweaty.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

When idling, what temp should the radiator fan kick on with or without cooling mods?

If I let my car idle without A/C it gets to 190 degrees before both fans kick on for less than 1 minute and drop temp down to 180-185. Then it goes up to 190 and process repeats.

If I leave A/C on temp never goes above 170.

Shouldn't the radiator fan come on seperate? Mine are either both on or none. My fans also never run after shutting car off.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

The temp you mentioned looks/sounds about right....with my MS3, I have it programmed to kick the fan on after 180degs and stay on until its back down to 175...

Let me keep an eye on my fan(s) and see how/when they come on

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Yea let me know. Trying to figure out if I really have an issue or not.

Have been driving with the Pspec SS on the shortest throw setting. It seems like that setting is too short for the clutch/master cylinder to sync/function right. Going with a longer throw and extending the shifter as far up as possible. Will report back after a few drives.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Definitely shifts better with Pspec throw set in one of the middle positions.

Think I will wire up both fans to a switch on my dash panel so I can run them whenever I'm in traffic or idling.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

This is WITH the Mugen cooling mods.

When I perform the 'idle relearn' procedure, for instance, after disconnecting the battery for whatever reason, I just start the car, let it idle with NO A/C and/or with as little electrical load ON as possible.

Keeping an eye on the ScanGuageII water temp function, the temp slowly rises to 186 degrees before I hear the radiator fan ONLY come on. The Radiator fan stays ON until the temp. goes down to around 175-180ish then shuts OFF (Maybe 60-90 secs). It's hotter than two Hells down here in FL, hehe.

It will do this consistently for as long as I let it, usually three times, to 'relearn' the idle. Then I will turn ON the A/C to check that it works and BOTH fans usually turn on at the same time.

However, I have never left the A/C on, at idle, long enough to observe when and if the fans shut down together or separately, sorry.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Flushed Brake Fluid and power steering fluid and replaced with Honda PS Fluid and Motul Brake fluid. The steering feels a little better.

Ordered other 2 Volk wheels, but won't arrive till June or july. Price has gone up almost 100 per wheel since I purchased first 2.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Ordered this Lisle Funnel to burp coolant. It makes avoiding over-spill easier. It comes with multiple attachments. One fits Honda radiators.



Did burp procedure again, but no more air was found in system.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Removed a box of parts from trunk of car and set it on floor. Forgot about it and backed the car into the box. The tow hook saved the bumper, besides for a few small paint cracks I noticed under the tow hook.

Decided to cut that section off and reshape it.



Noticed that the bumper beam foam support and plastic bumpers were loose in bumper area and not really doing much besides collecting rocks.

Removed the plastic bumpers and foam. 1.1 lbs removed.





Here is just one pile of the rocks that fell out of rear bumper when removing foam.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Rescheduled my 4-22 track day to 9-16.

Only 3 events scheduled for May.

May 3 - Autocross Boomers Stadium Schaumburg

May 13 - Track Day Blackhawk Farms Raceway

May 17 - Autocross Boomers Stadium Schaumburg

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

good work dude

n3o

iTrader: (2)

Words cannot express how happy your build thread makes me.

johndo18

I agree....your detailed explanations make your threads both enjoyable and educational

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for kind words everyone.

Should have another update to post later today.