caffeineslug.com

More Evo-related

Jay helped me set the alignment before the event, and adjusting it pre- and post-event isn't quite as bad as I thought it would be, even though I have to adjust both camber and toe. Currently running -3.5° camber with 1/4" toe out for autocross, and I have to say, it looks pretty good. ;-)

Some pics I took from the first time mounting up the wheels and tires (at 11:30 the night before an autox, of course).

Evo autocross update

First autocross in the Evo was last weekend, and it was less than spectacular. Kumho SPT's are far from the tire of choice apparently. I started out inadvertently running with too little pressure, and perhaps the best word to describe them was "floppy." Any time the car had to move in something other than a straight line, they caused me problems.

For Time Only runs I raised the pressure and they felt better...but I didn't go any faster. Great. All in all, it wasn't particularly fun.

After finally receiving my new wheels and tires, I went to the Tucson event yesterday, and wow, what a difference. The car turned in a whole lot quicker, there was more grip, everything was great. I can't wait to drive it again.

The Tucson event itself was a lot of fun - low turnout meant only two run groups and five runs each, with pay-per-run fun runs at the end. First car out was around 9:15, and I was packed up and ready to head home by 11:30. Except for a little first gear turnaround, the course itself was a lot of fun, with three slaloms heading out and another three heading back. Even had a fast straight finish.

A productive weekend

Seemingly the entire weekend was spent on car-related stuff, and lots got done. Clint and Brad came over on Saturday, and the previous statement about spring compressors held true to an even greater extent.

First up was the task of putting the stock shocks, springs, intake, and exhaust manifold back on the car. Intake and manifold were pretty straightforward, and removal of each shock/spring takes about 4 minutes. Then the spring compressor fun began.

Basically, we couldn't compress the stock spring without the compressors slipping to one side, and just trying to compress the first one took a solid hour. Final solution? Buy another set of spring compressors, and just put so many of them on that they can't slip enough to create a problem! :-P After that, everything went pretty smoothly.

So now I have the car back at stock ride height, and man, it's not fun at all any more. Turn-in is slow, it rolls all over the place, and ride height feels like that of a small SUV. :-\

After that, we attempted to put my new camber plates in the Evo. The instructions were entirely in Japanese, so they were of no use. The stock strut assembly came out easily, and the whole process went pretty smoothly, except for a couple little spacers that seem to have a place to go.

So both plates go in, I shove the struts all the way in to max out the camber, tighten things up, and go for a test drive.

"Clunk clunk clunk"

Fantastic, it's making noise, and I'm running out of time. I had to leave by 5:20 or so to make it to a softball tournament, and the car work isn't complete.

Fortunately Brad and Clint come through, and offer to stick around and fix it for me. As it turns out, those spacers were needed underneath the top mounting bolt, as otherwise the bolt runs out of threads before it's all the way down. I drove the car when I came home, and it felt great. Now off for an alignment this week, wait for my wheels and tires to come in this week, and I'll be ready for this Saturday's autocross.

Sunday I spent plenty of time cleaning up the Integra parts I removed so they can go up for sale, and cleaning up the garage in general from the previous day's activities. Evan also came over to put a new fuel filter in his Camaro, which made the garage smell all kinds of fumey.

Finally, I went to two different Costcos today, including one I had never been to before (near Val Vista and the 202). :-D

Entries a-plenty - it's Evo time!

I finally bought Brian's Evo, fulfilling the prophesy I foretold just before Brian bought the car himself.

I'll be running it in STU, so some initial purchases have already been made:
1. 5Zigen FN01R-C 17x9 wheels
2. Yokohama Advan Neova 245/40-17 wheels
3. Cusco front camber plates

So to complete the setup I'd still need a turboback exhaust, ecu flash, and some coilovers.

Gas mileage is a bit worse than the Integra - a tank of basically 100% city driving delivered 18.1 mpg, while a tank of 100% highway gave me 22.7 mpg (Integra returned about 26/28 city/highway). At least the miles are more fun now. :-P