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Not at all. I've gotten at least 15 to 18k Mikes in the Tokico HTSs and have yet to have an issues othere than their price really... BUT this is one of those "You have to pay to play" cases.
Hey hey... Long time, no update due to personal life and work but still have been making progress with the GD.
The first question many followers may ask... Did you install the KWSC?
Answer: No, not yet.
Reasoning: During the initial install attempt last December, the allen headed bolt that the S/C pulley secures to had stripped out during installation (see pic of S/C below). -.- This happened when I attempted to install the pulley mounting plate with a contraption
I rigged to prevent the S/C's turbine/propeller shaft from spinning in the housing. Unfortunately, I was distracted and rushed while doing this so I didn't notice this until it was too late. Since then the Rotrex has been repaired and is awaiting installation. Attempt number two will happen after I snag another daily and can afford to have the GD down for a few days to a week.
On the brighter side of things... this mishap wasn't a complete loss. In fact, it actually motivated me to focus more on N/A engine tuning as well as getting more in depth the car's chassis setup.
First dyno and fuel adjustment...
Prior to the S/C attempt, 94.41 WHP in a series of baseline pulls was made without any adjustments when running OEM spark plugs, aFe's Stage 2 intake, T1R's Response Header, Megan Racing's resonated test pipe, and Spoon's catback (B-pipe and N1 axle back) with Flash Pro of course.
After the unsuccessful attempt, stepped down to colder plugs and reinstalled the OEM/stock airbox (the aFe S2's bracket's broke... again) as mechanical changes then headed back to the dyno. Made just over 100 WHP untuned then ended up at 103.51 WHP after adjusting the fuel tables on the high side only at that time... There's still more power to be found though. May try out the aFe S2 again.
Minor suspension repair/rigging...
During one wheel/tire swap at work I had found that something wasn't quite right with my struts. The upper spring seat was actually drooping down and sitting on top of the spring... which is odd since my front springs have ZERO pre-load on them and naturally have a gap between them and the upper spring seat anyway.
... it turns out that I broke the strut bearing. Which likely happened during autocross (... or while playing Ingress). Here's the damage... Note the broken plastic lower bearing race.
And here's the "rigged fix". A friend/mentor had welded some plates to help try to reinforce and evenly distribute the load being put onto spring seat. These were installed in conjuction with spring helpers to prevent the spring from dropping out in the event where the strut is completely unloaded and the spring would move freely...
... unfortunately though I recently broke at least one (but likely both) bearings again. I will inspect later when I have time and will more than likely upgrade to spherical bearings during the next attempt. >.>
Getting a little more tail happy...
During February, I happened to acquire a few Nitto NT01s from my friends at MSR Houston for such a deal that I couldn't pass them up at all. The only downfall with these though... They are 225/45s. Running a tire that wide on a 7 inch wheel is do able BUT they will be a little "baggy" (as I refer to it) when installed and will have more sidewall flex as opposed to being on an 8 inch or wider wheel.
With this in mind, I decided the Fit needed some new shoes... So I ordered Avanti Storm S1s from Good-Win-Racing.
With such these big front feet, I installed camber bolts and adjusted camber to -2.5 degrees as well as toed out the front (rear is untouched for now). Soon after a test drive was done with the 195/55 ENVigors in the back of the car... no pictures or videos were taken during this experimental test drive but HOLY CRAP throttle lift oversteer was fun!
A couple of months later, a matching rear set of Storms were purchased and installed with 205/50 Toyo Proxie R888s with black NRG lug nuts. After a quick trek around the block to check for clearance, it was time to try them out in autocross.
Photo credit for autocross pictures goes to David Leung. Thanks so much!
Running these R comps was quite an eye opener. The Fit actually had too much grip for these and in this particular course configuration didn't have nearly enough power to fully benefit these tires. In some cases, I would actually have to give the car a nice, solid flick while lifting off throttle to get it to rotate. Keep in mind, the rear axle's alignment has NOT been adjusted yet...
That is all for now... stay tuned. More things are in store for my trusty VBP.
cool thread. I'm going to start autoX soon myself. but i want to get some coilovers first. any recommendations? I'm pretty much stock with just 15" rota slipstreams and a progress rsb
For those looking to start off in autocross I recommend going out and driving their car AS IT IS modification wise. Yes, go ahead and do any preventive maintenance and/or repairs to that needs to be done (if any)... but I do not advise in modifying the car or investing in an additional set of wheels and tire prior to your first few events.
That way you learn both your limit and the car's natural limits... THEN start tweaking to tailor to your way of driving.
As for coilovers for your GE8, I'm honestly not too familiar with what is offered... BUT if I were looking for a set it I'd look and see what Megan Racing, Tein, or perhaps T1R if they offer anything if you want a plug and play (semi-)complete kit. If you want something that'll give you a large amount of interchangeablity, go to RedShift Motors ports and get some Koni yellows with Ground Control coilover sleeves. This combo gives you the ability to adjust your strut/shock dampening along with give you a wide range of springs to choose from.
Last edited by Hootie; 07-27-2015 at 10:32 PM.
Reason: I don't proof read.
I currently can't remember what the exact model is, though they are NGK's that are a step colder than stock. The ones that are in it are actually not Iridum plugs like equipped with the car (these Copper and used in Spec Miatas)... my dyno guy happened to have them laying around and we swapped them in.
I'll likely be replacing those with NGK Iridums from the 2008 to 2012 Accord since I think they're already 1 step colder than the OEM's for the Fit. Will research before that though.
Hey everyone, I hope you all are doing well! No real updates at this time as the only near changes for the GD will be simple maintenance items consisting of an oil and filter change and new AD08Rs as the daily tire set.
Though I do have a small tidbit for any local Texas members who are following this thread...
Would anyone folks around the Houston area happen to be interested in autocross? My autocross club and I have been interested in making a 4 cylinder front wheel drive class for a while and would like to extend an invite to anyone who would like to try or like to gain more interest in autocross. A bit more detail is at the link below.
Houston Autocross Anyone?
Originally Posted by gd3david
How do you like the NT01's? ps. that has to be the longest antenna I've seen yet! lol
The NT01s are interesting for me as I got them used. For how I drive in autocross, I can get them up to proper temp in like one or two HARD runs then they just grip like no one's business. Mind you, I haven't driven on these in the wet (nor are they very good in standing water/wet conditions from what I have read) and this is the first time I ran R comps in competition. While I DID like the gobs of grip the tire had... though the jump IN GRIP was too great in my opinion. Basically had too LITTLE power and momentum to fully utilize this, may try another set of NT01s once the KWSC is on.
Haha, I LOVE my VW antennae. People can have their shark fins and stubbys, I'll keep this one. It helps me find the Fit in parking lots when locals park next me in SUVs and lifted trucks (even though I park WAAAY in the back lot) as well as gives the car an RC look from a distance.
Hey guys, I hope you all are well! I'd like to thank all of those are still following my build thread/blog! It really helps me keep going in this rough reality called life.
Now on to the updates...
Autocross
About two weeks prior to the Houston region BMWCCA autocross, I was still addressing a few last minute maintenance items and trying to do some fuel tuning with FlashPro to prep for our next session in class X3F. The JHPUSA lower radiator hose was replaced with a Skunk 2 hose (was in stock, better quality AND CHEAPER ) since it was actually causing coolant to seep from the hose where it attaches to the thermostat housing.
While the factory air box was out, I also went ahead and reinstalled the aFe stage 2 intake. YES, I know... in a pass dyno I did gain more peak (KEY WORD) power and torque with the stock intake BUT at the time I wasn't quite sure how to adjust my fuel maps. Now that I have a better idea on adjusting fuel, I can experiment with fuel and ignition between the two airboxes.
During a few live tuning datalogs, I found that FP kept detecting knock during moderate to hard pulls. Which was a bit baffling since I couldn't physically or hear feel it. So after a few different sessions and the same result, I consulted my dyno guy and he was mentioned that it could either be a noise from the engine that produces a frequency that the knock sensors can mistake as knock OR crap fuel.
I started from scratch again with a tune specific for the aFe (using my 103WHP tune as a baseline) and adjusted from there. Knock was still present... Refueled at a different fuel station using 93 octane as usual, knock is gone. Conclusion? Always use top tier fuel and noted to NOT use Buccee's fuel again unless in a major pinch.
Now the end result of fuel tuning? A peak gain of........................... 1 WHP.
BUT from the RPM ranges of 3k to 5k AND 6k to 7.2k... a CONSISTENT gain ranging between 5 to 8 WTQ was found. And as the old saying goes, "Horsepower sells cars, torque wins races" so I will gladly take this. After taking the GD to our old stomping grounds, this little jump in torque was greatly appreciated.
The autocross day itself was a blast as usual and in addition to that, we had a new comer! Space Egg decided to come out and join us in dodging cones in his 5 speed M/T GE8 Base! Glad you made it and hope to see you for the next event.
The course format this round was seemed to cater to vehicles that were agile with GOOD low or midrange torque... Mazdaspeed Miatas, C5 Z06s and N54/N55 powered BMWs were predominantly putting down the faster times of the day. Unfortunately I was having issues with the GoPro (as usual on AX days ) and couldn't record more than 20 seconds worth of footage each attempt.
Which is a little disappointing since I wanted to get the runs of both Space Egg and I recorded... But eh, things happen. Results at the end of the day, I placed 44th overall RAW time with a 51.587 and Space Egg placed 63rd with a 55.805. This is not bad at all considering his GE is other wise stock minus Progress RSB and 17 inch wheels... with VSA on the entire time due to lack of tire pressure sensors.
Yes, you've read that right. I'm currently piecing together a rear disc conversion using apexanimal's research and install threads as guidance... But of course, I'll be adding my little mix to the conversion. I currently have the Scarebird conversion bracket that apexanimal has us out with as a community with the R&D. In addition to that I also have Centric Semi-Loaded calipers and parking brake cables (and soon OEM Honda rear pads)... From an EP3 SI.
These will of course get Speed Bleeders prior to install and should be a good investment since proportion wise, EP3s appear to run close the same (if not the same) size front rotor and caliper combo as our GDs. In addition to that, both share the same part number for the front brake pads via Carbotech's website. So when it comes time for pad replacement, just search for pads on a 2004 or 2005 Civic Si hatch and get front and rear sets.
Rotor wise, I think I'll be the rear discs from the R56 non-JCW MINI Cooper... more than likely blank hi-carbon and cryotreated rotors from Centric. In terms of sizing the discs are just shy of 260mm, of course have the same 4x100 PCD along with have the same hub bore. Which seems to be a match made in heaven BUT I would like to confirm this beforehand though. Install will likely happen this fall or winter, depending on how things go with work.
nice! I'm planning a rear disc brake conversion as well...eventually. Gotta find a junkyard or two first though. I'll def try and make the next autocross -- what 2-3weeks from now? Hopefully have my ground controls installed by then. Also i'm planning the buddy club ball joints if I drop low enough to benefit from them.
Sweet! I'm not sure if the Scarebird brackets will work your GE BUT its always worth a try to find out.
The next autocross is October 18th so you should have plenty of time to install and get the car aligned by then. It also wouldn't hurt to install some camber bolts and shoot for about 1.2 to 1.5 degree of negative camber for a fun street, mild autocross car.
As for the lower ball joints. They're a must if the car is so low that the LCA (Lower Control Arm) is put into a position were the LCA will beyond being parallel with the road surface (be it under load or static ride height) from I understand.
so pissed i missed. I need to get out there to test out my settings. i have other things i want to do but i can't move on them until i've tested the stuff I've got... gggrrrr. stupid flu.
So... I did a thingy and the GD isn't the daily anymore... ^.^
Hey everyone, finally getting time to do an update.
As of 12-8-2015, my GD3 has gained another member in our little "family"...
And that member is...
NOT...
A...
GK5...
WTF?
I ended up becoming impatient and cancelled my order on the Mystic Yellow Pearl EX 6 speed. As much as I would have LOVED to another Fit to the stable, I couldn't see myself getting a vehicle in a trim level that I don't want (Why did Honda have to kill off the Sport trim?), extra features that I didn't want, a color choice that wasn't exactly what I wanted (either Helios Yellow or Sunset Orange II), AND end up modding the car in effort to make my rendition of a "Sport". Now mind you, this is NOT a knock against the GK5. I do still have a soft spot for them but ultimately I wouldn't be satisfied with the vehicle's configuration regardless of what was done...
So without further wait, meet the Fit's relief for daily driving as of 12-08-2015.
My 2016 Ivory Pearl CR-Z EX... 6 speed manual of course.
That's all for now. The GD3 and I have cones to play with in the morning.
10-16-2014, 12:15 AM
May try out the aFe S2 again.
) since it was actually causing coolant to seep from the hose where it attaches to the thermostat housing.
) and couldn't record more than 20 seconds worth of footage each attempt.
I currently have the Scarebird conversion bracket that apexanimal has us out with as a community with the R&D. In addition to that I also have Centric Semi-Loaded calipers and parking brake cables (and soon OEM Honda rear pads)... From an EP3 SI.
