Ever had that feeling that you’re running late for something, but you’re just sitting round waiting for something to happen?
That’s where I’m at right now. I’ve got so many things to do for Superlap in May but at the moment there’s nothing to do. The car is with Dr Honda at the moment. Here’s where my story starts…
The car hasn’t been tested at all. The first time the engine has been under load was when Scott from Insight Motorsport dyno tuned the car a few weeks ago. Shortly after I could’ve thrown the car out on the track and done some shakedown laps. But I didn’t. Instead I sent the car to Dr Honda for another going over. I paid Phil (Dr Honda) a visit two nights ago to see how he was travelling. I was a little down on the fact that I was going to be down at least 50-60bhp on my two main rivals. BYP and MTA/Insight Motorsport are both running EG Civics with K24 (2400cc) engines. Both cars also weigh around 80kg less than mine. Given that Eastern Creek is a power hungry circuit I felt as though I was going to be left in their wake. I told Phil exactly that and we put our thinking caps on to see where we could makes some inroads.
Sulking aside, the plan was to check everything was screwed on and to fit a shift light and a few bits and pieces. Less than an hour later the plan had… deviated slightly. We’re now installing a new air box, drawing air through a custom made intake which replaces the passenger side headlight. This should see throttle response, intake temps and pressure all improve. The off the shelf item would’ve served us well but just didn’t fit well with the RBC intake manifold. Another dyno run before shakedowns should show a slight increase in power too, albeit small.
We took the opportunity to assess the engine bay with a fresh set of eyes. After a quick inspection we saw the catch can location and plumbing weren’t ideal. The battery was also relied upon in the catch can installation previously. Now that we had planned a new catch can location we could send the battery to the back of the bus, helping to get some weight away from the front end. It’s a basic mod, but we were rushing a few weeks ago to get the car on the track. Three weeks later and we’re still not on the track and we’re doing the things we said no to in the past.
We also decided to do away with the factory thermo fans to free up space and dump some unnecessary weight. These will be replaced by a smaller front mounted item from the US. Only minor things, but all contributing to my goal sub 1000kg kerb weight.
As I mentioned, I was going to be looking for things to help bridge the gap between us and the Civics. This got me thinking about improving downforce and reducing drag. The car already has a full aero package so I had to turn things upside down, so to speak. Research showed that the easiest way to improve airflow was to flatten the bottom of the car. With that in mind, once Phil has finished with the car it’ll be going to Westside Mufflers for a full aluminium bottom and rear diffuser. The details of this will follow in the next week or so.
So there you have it. The slow rush. The extra work at a time when we should be on the track. But, if things go to plan we could be looking at some serious gains that will close the gap.
This is my first blog post so please leave any comments and feedback you may have. Don’t forget. the Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix is on this weekend too. It should be interesting to see where the teams sit after a very boring round one.
