First race, some typical FD issues
 

I had my first race at Tsukuba on the 4th. The car ran pretty good and fast. I had some real troubles shifting though. It might be that it was my first time driving in 6 months, first time driving RHD, first time with FD, and first time on Tsukuba, but I think the shifter bushings are shot. Even when it's in gear there's a couple inches of wiggle and my FC's transmission was never like that.
Anyway it led to issues where I was grinding gears, accidentally shifted into 1st instead of third, coasting down half of the back straight trying to find gears, fish tailing during downshifting, etc etc. It just screwed me up pretty bad. Afterwards Nakayama-san at Mecca racing told me that I shouldn't exceed 7k rpm when racing, and I had been hitting 8k because I was reluctant to shift up. Yeah I know I'm an idiot.

Anyways the damage is the power steering pump puked out all the fluid and was whining after the race, the PS fluid was burning and dripping under the car. The radiator overflowed, the brake fluid boiled, and it drank the engine oil from the full mark to the empty mark.

I didn't think I'd have such a problem with heat because it was supposed to be spring cool weather, but it was probably 80 degrees out. I think I need to fix the car before the next race.

Anyways I had a couple questions for you guys. I read that the sequential turbos are supposed to be pretty smooth. But I felt a kick of power around 5-6k rpm and sometimes it would make the car kind of unstable. What is that about?

For some reason the car felt heavy, heavier than my FC. The brake pedal was soggy and the braking response was sluggish. The weight transfer felt really heavy and slow even though it was balanced. And the acceleration just felt like I was lugging around a lot more weight. Is that how an FD is supposed to feel?
I was really surprised that the Honda S2000's were beating me in braking and staying even under acceleration.

Anyway video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbfEwA84CzQ

what your describing sounds like an array of problems, whats the millage on the chassis? this could play a huge role into why your car feels sluggish in corners. Also miles on the motor? and everything else, i would suggest if your tracking the car drain all fluids and replace with all synthetic (trans/diff) also burning that much oil i would check to see if your turbos are leaking oil, this again would explain the problem on the straights. and lastly from the sounds of loss of coolent and oil you could have a motor issue, do a compression check and check for white smoke during cold start up and struggles during hot starts. as for your transmission issue i suggest sourcing another transmission as a back up just in case the current one is on its way out.

Thanks for the tips. To answer your question:

44,000 miles on the chassis, original motor I believe.
Compression is over 120 PSI on all rotors. I think it was burning the oil because of blow by because I could see puffs of black smoke coming out during cornering in the video. And the throttle body elbow had a little spill of oil on top after the race like it was leaking out.

Is this sanctioned racing or just lapping? If it's sanctioned, what are the options/limits around modifications?

They told me that I had to have a license plate or FIA rollcage, numbers, FIA helmet and gloves, etc etc. They made it sound all official and I even had to get a license card.

But I get there, they take my money and there is no tech inspection, no driver's meeting, starting order etc. They didn't even time it. Everyone just jumped in their cars and everyone kind of went crazy. You couldn't tell them it wasn't a race. Actually it probably would've been safer if it was a race. There were a few crashes.

About restrictions: This is Y class which is "family touring" or essentially just street cars. You have to keep everything street legal, besides that it's anything. Nobody checks so you could totally have like 600 HP and road racing slicks and they'd never know. I was running R-compounds because I figured it was the most aggressive street legal tire. I don't really know to tell you the truth. I was pretty confused about it all. Some of these cars had modifications which aren't legal in WRC even, like the loads of carbon fiber on that widebody S2K. I'm not sure how he keeps his car road legal. Some of them had WAY too loud of exhaust systems, I heard them miles away. Then there was a turbo integra too and I didn't think they came with turbos.

What do you have for brakes?

i was going to ask the same question, with brake fluid boiling it sounds like you really were getting on the brakes or the fluid was not able to hold up the the extreme brake heat. my suggestions would be all new pads and rotors look for slotted or drilled, and upgrade the fluid and possible look into stainless steel brake lines.

I think they are stock. I only got the car in November.

R-Compounds are going to be too sticky for the car in stock form. My suggestions to get you going:

* Underdrive main pulley - This will reduce cavitation in the cooling system as well as reduce stress on your other accessories like Power Steering.

* SS brake lines
* Better brake fluid. Something like Super Blue or Motul.
* Better brake pads. You need something track oriented.
* Oil catch can - With R-Compounds, you'll be putting enough lateral forces for the oil to creep back into the intake track.
* Upgraded radiator

The brakes were fine for the first hairpin and after that they started to lose power. Maybe it's a street pad only.

Thanks Mahjik. I didn't know I could do an underdrive pulley, but that makes sense. I'll do the brakes stuff ASAP.

I've been reading Damon's thread on the catch can and it seemed like a good idea. I was thinking about using a Mann&Hummel Provent 200 catch can.

The suspension isn't quite stock. It has blue springs that are obviously a little bit lower than stock. I have no idea what it is, but it seems like a street suspension and not capable of track duty. The car flopped over as soon as I asked it to turn in the first corner so I could tell the suspension wasn't keeping up with the tires, but still better than stock. The tires are Nitto NT01 235 series front, 255 rear.

Suspension wise, you can go crazy with as there are a lot of options. Adding a good front sway bar and some decent coilovers will go a long way to improving performance with sticky tires.

:icon_tup: as Mahjik suggested start with the little things, i would first address the cooling and oil issue. get yourself a good catch can an upgraded KOYO radiator and a good metal AST, follow those cooling mods with brake mods then finish up with a nice set of coilovers. being in japan i would imagine that the choices and availability are much larger than on the US market. Best of luck as your driving on the track i wish i could put my FD on.

you need to know what's in your car...it's pretty ignorant to take a car you just bought without any prior knowledge on what's in it and beat it on a racetrack.

Yes you need to know what's in your car, and I agree the above situation would be pretty ignorant if that was the case.

How are you enjoying my radiation cloud over there?

Here's an older thread, but still has tons of good info:

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/fd-road-racers-only-your-upgrades-your-rationale-136678/

Not trying to seem harsh but it seems you're asking all the questions you should know the answers to. Especially if you're tracking the car like RE Mamamia said. Was this your first road racing experience? Also, you speak of a turbo integra. You can put a turbo on any car naturally and no, they werent turbocharged from the factory. Just do the mods explained in this thread and you should be good to go.

There shouldn't be a turbocharged Integra in that class is because it's a street legal class.

You car needs you to surrender your wallet, and all your money in your bank account. It wants you to do it! And in some sick way, you know deep down you want to do it. Buy some parts and go out there and start Charlie Sheen'ing it up!!! Good luck

Thanks Northern Minnesota. I get it. At this point I've accepted that this is my fate. Whether it's a cheap car or an expensive car I'll always spend every paycheck on it. It's just an addiction. And I might as well win instead of wasting my money on a slow car.

Good info from mahjik as usual. Listen to his advice above. Your transmission sounds like the shifter bushing is gone. Should be solid with very minimal play while in gear. They are common to break, and easy and cheap to replace.

If you are going to track the car often a good set of oil coolers (dual aftermarket or stock dual r1/r2) is a must in my mind, especially on a car with stock twin turbos.

What does your boost pattern look like? You commented on a surge of power, that could be the normal transition when the second turbo comes online, or you could be having problems in your turbo control system.

Some helpful things for us to know would be car model (base, touring, r model, etc), all aftermarket mods, boost pattern, coolant and oil temps on track, and any other info you can provide is helpful.

aw man that sucks. i have been in a similar boat, my car likes to run hot.

what temps were you seeing?

I have yet to get an oil temp gauge. I usually run hot after 3 laps 112c on the H20 and have to cool it down. (gheyness due to a FMIC which I am wanting to change). The other guys I was with were only seeing high 90s, these cars can be very different. You need to know at least this at all times. Heck, I feel bad for not knowing my oil temps.

I also have some blow by on my primary turbo but I have never seen it completely drain the oil, MAYBE 1/4 of the tab loss. I would investigate this a little further.

Cgotto6:

The temp gauge never moved from it's regular spot very much. It was always about 1/4 or 1/3 of the way up. The boost gauge is in kg/cm squared and I can't understand it. Plus the thing has no back lighting and the inside is fogged up so I can't read it worth a darn, no peak hold or replay function either.

The best pattern seemed to be fine most of the time but at certain times it was surging, like if I let off for a second and then got back on. It's probably just because I'm not used to it and being too picky for a 90's turbo system. I never saw the boost gauge spiking and it never lacked power, so I'm guessing it's still working somewhat as it's supposed to.

It's a 1995 base model. The mods are an HKS suction kit, HKS BOV, strut tower brace and that seems to be it in the engine department.
There is a Cusco LSD installed, very grabby.
And it's got some sort of cup kit suspension with blue springs. It's not bad for the street, but not meant for racing. It's got 72,000 km's on the clock.

there are 2 settings for the OEM temp gauge...normal and OMG you blew the motor. You need some sort of aftermarket readings.

Thanks Meiogirl.
I was really impressed with the simplicity and features of the Prosport digital gauges. I might have to do those. The best feature is the warning buzzer, peak hold, and replay. That way I don't have to look down to know if I am overheating, it will buzz and tell me.

lol, i was on here yesterday browsing around for 'triple gauge pod' and saw those Prosport gauges and thought about getting the oil temp one myself!

I had the oil pressure and boost gauge from Prosport, actually the older model that didn't have peak hold or warning, just a gauge. They looked sweet when the car was turned off because they blacked out. The two color backlighting is the best feature because you can wire it any way you want. So parking lights can turn on one, and then headlights the other. Or you can have one turned on all the time and the other come on with headlights, etc.

I had the white backlight on all the time so I could easily read the gauge at any time. The digital movement of the needle was smooth and accurate. It didn't jump like a mechanical type boost gauge so it was much more useful. The start-up sequence also made me feel cool every time I turned the car on with the gauge sweep :)
But at night when I turned on the headlights t was wired so the orange backlighting turned on and it matched my instruments very well. I've seen a few cars with gauges that are so bright the driver's face is lit up like a Jedi and he's probably got night blindness from it. But these don't light up like a light bulb, just the needle and the numbers like OE style.

The only problem was after a while the electronic senders pooped out. First the boost gauge started jumping and getting innaccurate readings unless I was on the boost. Then the oil pressure sender just went to max all the time. I was pretty sad about it, but Prosport said they would replace it under warranty. So as long as they work, they're good. And the new ones have the peak hold, warning and I think replay.

Anyway here's my old setup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djRuijG4KGQ
http://prosportgauges.com/amber-whit...ost-gauge.aspx
Their website kind of sucks, it doesn't really show the detail of how the gauges work and I think they have the wrong one shown because I don't see the button for warning/hold. I guess it doesn't actually have a replay feature. But you can have an external warning light, as well as the buzzer. So you could wire the warning light to both the water temp, oil temp, and oil pressure. So if that light ever starts blinking you know to back off and check the gauges.

You should know that in Japan everything you can afford to put back to stock every two years is street legal. And a lot of aftermarket exhausts are only legal with the silencer installed. Obviously on the track it's not an issue.

And turbo kits aren't necessarily illegal. A lot of commercial kits can pass shaken.　HKS bolt on kits are street legal.

The rules they post in the member's handbook don't match up with what they enforce at the track. I was just surprised at how blatant people violate it. Sure I've seen people run ECU re-flashes in stock SCCA classes, but never stuff like this where they don't even have a rear bumper.

I'm not complaining, I like it. If someone makes their car faster than mine then they deserve to win. I never liked the tech inspection guys crawling through every inch of my car anyway. It's just a big shock compared to what we do in America. But either way it's easy for me because I don't have to worry so much about keeping everything %100 street legal and you know how much trouble I had getting that license plate Valkyrie.

I thought bolt on turbo kits were illegal like they were in California, thanks for the correction.

Glad to hear you're having fun up there. I know the inspections are a pain, but the last thing you want is to be running behind someone spewing coolant and oil going into a turn lol.

The JCI stuff is just goofy. This year I did a rebuild before road-tax season + JCI at same time and just put most of the emissions stuff and oem cat on while I was at it to pass inspection. On the other hand I found out a few guys are running open exhaust (well over the 113db sound inspection mark), no air pumps, etc and were able to get their JCI no problem. It seems, like most inspection places, it just depends on where you go and who you know.

Just make sure you keep all of your oem stuff in case you need it. I've never had a problem with the cops down here near Iwakuni. Unless you're doing something really dangerous they see that "Y" plate and don't waste time trying to deal with the communication barrier. The 18-20 year old MPs are fun to deal with though, nothing like getting driving tips from someone who has had their license for 2-3 years.

You might want to consider just getting some BNR's and ceramic coating everything, they'll never be able to tell they're not OEM turbos.

Thanks for the tips twinsinside. You have a whole different challenge there with the 'Y' plates. I've heard about the animosity with that. Luckily I don't have Y plates or any military affiliation so I can avoid the politics on that. It's hard enough to be a foreigner without being judged and put into this tiny box of what their idea for military Americans is.

I did see how those Prosport gauges work and it looks cool. However, doing some further investigation today (even your post) and poking out my feelers it seems as if these gauges are exactly what you pay for.
Im prob gonna go STRI or Defi.

The only thing I didn't like about Defi is you have to get the controller box for them and it's expensive.

I like the PLX stuff. Not cheap, but they're VERY easy to hook up (12v and ground), multiple sources can go to one gauge, logable, and is a very clean install.

twinsinside I just wish I could get some place to work on my car to fix this stuff

If you're storing it at Tsukuba Circuit they've got to have garage space there. I'm sure you can rent it. Getting things like engine lifts and transmission jacks will probably be harder since we don't have Harbor Freight in Japan...

Yeah I rent a garage there but I don't have any tools. The garage is 180,000 yen for one year. I guess it's time to call Tim the tool man Taylor and buy some tools.

IIRC a lot of car magazines would advertise tool sets (possibly specific to the car the magazine is about, IE AE86s) for maybe 15,000 yen.

Picking up a copy of REV SPEED's RX-7 magazine might be a start.

Or look for them on KAKAKU.COM

Maybe one of the shops based at Tsukuba would rent you their big tools if you needed them.