Month: February 2016

Rear anti-roll bar
The blades and end links are installed, just need to set the preload on the alignment rack.

Battery Isolator Issues
Randomly the other day the (new) battery isolator started to acting up and of course right when I get the car finished. When pressing the power button to activate the unit, the device will turn on, however, it won’t open the ground circuit to the car. Without the ground circuit open, the car doesn’t get a ground connection to the battery. In speaking with Mark over the weekend, he told me it’s a common problem, but one typically seen after being exposed to high amounts of moisture. Most likely my unit is just defective since is brand new and hasn’t been used aside from a few dozen power cycles while the cars been on jack stands. I’m still waiting for a response from on the company (they’re located in the UK), however, worst case I’ll simply bypass the ground circuit until I can get it replaced. Additionally, and Mark’s suggestion, I’ll carry a back-up unit in the event I have problems at the track.

Continue reading “Finish line is near”

Brakes
I started around 1pm and didn’t finish until 5pm so this process took around four hours but I wanted to make sure I got the bleed just right. Since the entire brake system was overhauled (except for the rear calipers) the bleeding process took much longer than normal. For the fluid I’m using Torque RT700. This stuff is awesome and has worked wonders on my pig of a street car that sees the occasional track duty. Previously the race car was running on Motul RBF600, which worked fine given the extensive ducting system, however, I figured I might as well run Torque, especially given the higher friction pad compound (more friction equals more heat). As for bleeding process, since the entire system was new/dry, I was able to use the fluid recirculation method by running clear tubing from each corner and back into the reservoir. Additionally, speed bleeders were added to each caliper, allowing me to do a single person flush. The bleeding process went perfectly. I was able to get the air out of the front calipers almost immediately whereas the rear took a little longer. Given the lines and master cylinder were new, it took a while to get the air out of the rear. Also one problem with using new lines and master cylinder (that isn’t bench bleed) is that the fluid will become highly aeriated with small microscopic bubbles. This issue also arises if you pump (or bleed) the brakes too quickly or recirculate the fluid in too fast in the reservoir. To fix the issue you need to do a slow bleed and allow for 15mins of rest between each cycle. You’ll notice the microscopic bubbles in the recirculation (clear) hose will form larger bubbles after resting for a while. Eventually and after a few more cycles the fluid will become very clear and without any air. It’s a little OCD but you’ll get a perfect bleed.
Also for the pads I’m running titanium shims in the front with new Pagid RS29 (race compound) in the front and used RS42 (mild street/race compound) in the rear. Since I was having issues with the rear locking even with the bias control, I chose to add more bias by adjusting the pad compounds (previously I ran R42 front and rear).

Continue reading “Brake Bleeding + Fuel System Calibration”

The rear trailing arm arrived! A huge thank you to Mark Hein, Frank Gyuru, Integral Machining, and Roy at Crummy Welding. The machining and welds look fantastic and I think it’s better then the original modified arm. This is beyond my best expectations!

Things are moving pretty quickly now as already got the arm painted and hopefully will be ready to reassemble later tonight or tomorrow (assuming the paint/coating is cured).

Continue reading “Long awaited Arm returns home”

Over the weekend I flew out to Florida to visit Mark and his wife, and what a fantastic weekend we had. Mark is such an increasable guy and a wealth of information. His history in racing is stunning, especially his involvement with Honda since the 80’s. I’m not going to go into all the details of the trip as I want to respect his privacy, but here’s a small sample of pictures I’ll share:

His British Super Touring Accord:

Continue reading “Visit to Mark in Florida”