Building for the road course...again

When I’m at the shop Saturday I’ll try. It really does sound like it’s everywhere right now anyways

 

Those are awesome gains. Tons of area under the curve in the rps you will be living at.


Also lol stock ms3 whp

 

It’s not bad right!! Hoping maybe for another 10whp. This is already fantastic though. Need to rev it a little more still

 

Went by the shop today hung out a bit. Took this thing for a rip
Nothing below 4500-5k but past 5 it TAKES OFFF like lighting tires at 6500rpm in 3rd lol. This thing is awesome


ALSO redid valve lash on the civic. My pro buddy showed me how to. My lash adjustment was WAY out to lunch.

after correcting it, we have no more ticking. Who woulda thought lol.

things got hectic today so no tuning. Hoping tomorrow or Monday we finish off the tune.

 

Shelby's are simply delightful! Glad you got the valve lash fixed! Looking forward to seeing the tune

 

Great news...now you can send it proud!!

 

I can’t wait!

 

So what was the difference in methodology for adjusting the valve lash

 

The amount of drag felt on the feeler gauge. For me…I was like “oh shit this is plenty of drag it must be tight”

i asked the shops mechanic to come give me a sanity check and he’s like “well spec is 6, and I’m able to get the 8 in there pretty easy see” and I was like well shit. I did em all like that lol.

basically the boss man told me “if spec is .006, 7 shouldn’t go, but 5 should go pretty easy.”

“use the smaller and larger feelers to get a calibration on what the correct tolerance should feel like”

turns out almost every single one was way way loose. Also the angle at which you stick the feeler in makes a huge difference. I learned that too. If I hold the rocker up it makes it a lot easier. My exhaust side was way way out. Makes sense since it’s harder to get back there and any slight drag I was feeling I was calling “tight” and moving on while they were definitely not correct.

the first time I did my lash I followed the Honda manual and I thought it was all good. I had 2 buddies telling me don’t worry about the manual fuck it just turn the lobes so they aren’t pressing on the rockers then do your lash. So when I did my second lash check i didn’t follow the manual.

my Honda buddy at the shop told me the manual exists for a reason. These cams ain’t stock, and even stock isn’t perfect. Apparently I shouldn’t assume the lobes are all perfection so the “top dead center” check which is out lined in the manual at least gives you a consistent way to check spec at each cylinder VS just turning the crank shaft until you think the lobe isn’t touching. Which is what I did the second time. Also wrong

 

That's some great knowledge to have, how much damage can the valve lash being out cause? Hopefully everything looked good when setting it all.

 

So according to my Honda buddy with the lash being loose you won’t damage anything. Just loud ticking. Tight lash is when you can have issues.

when I popped off the valve cover the mechanic walks by “damn it’s nice and shiny in there” lol. Everything is super clean and looking great. Cam lobes look to have the same amount of wear as when I installed them(they’re used so that was ok) so I think we are all good.

from what I’ve read I may pick up a little power and engine response from having the lash now set correctly. We’ll see when we finally dyno again

 

Well today was a bit interesting lol. Finishing off the tuning on the car. First up, it was 10whp down right off the rip. Did a few pulls. Same. We revved it out to 9000rpm and it was rolling off bad by 8200rpm. Well wtf. All that changed? The valve lash.

I called BC. They said tighter is better. .006/.008 intake exhaust. That’s what I did and yea the ticking was gone but wtf?!

my buddy told me to set the lash back to ticking spec lol. He actually said he sets his to 9/11 intake exhaust so I did it.

And it picked back up to 225whp lol. We tuned the cam angles getting the torque curve shaped nicely. We played around with vtec getting it set at an rpm that works/makes sense. We added timing. It didn’t pick up anything with timing so it’s maxed out. This is all she’s got. MBT. Fueling is perfect.

225whp@8600rpm
160wtq@5200rpm


These are not the big numbers I wanted and I’m definitely bummed about that but over all it’s a huge gain from last year. It should be a pretty different car I think. Rev limiter is set to 8800rpm. Peak power is a 8600 but it’s still making over 220whp at 8800rpm. Stock cams don’t do much past 8k so we’ve definitely added some top end here.

I finished the day by starting to take my coilovers off as I’m swapping the stock shit back on for the next few weeks while my leaking shock gets rebuilt. My first track day will be on stock suspension!

 

Is there another component that you are missing to take better advantage of what you have?

 

Yea maybe a healthier bottom end?

I posted up on the k20 forums and the replies have been great. Lots of mentions of “that is fantastic power, making power well over to 9000rpm”

Apparently my numbers are solid and the internet has just inflated the dyno numbers I’ve been seeing for “stock” cars. Seems everything is inline.

I just drove the car home…it’s an entirely different beast. Review to come

 

Ah the pesky inflated Dyno numbers, like guys posting vydno without showing things like cf and occupant weight etc can make it read whatever you want.

Good drive home I hope

 

I will say…it’s ridiculously hard to keep up with the rev limiter. From 7-9k it’s pulling so hard and it feels so strong it just smashes limiter lol.

Exactly this. Inflated junk. I’ve spotted a few now too so it’s pretty funny.

drive home was epic. The engine is so tight and responsive. It just feels right. And the noise is incredible. Specially the last 500rpm up to 9k. It sounds awesome and pulls strong

 

Why not spin it faster?

 

Need forged pistons for more rpm’s

 

The car fought me all day on installing to stock suspension. It did not want it lol. Feels so squishy and soft now. I have no camber, no turn in, no front end bite. IS THIS HOW NORMAL PEOPLE LIVE?! ew.

My drive home last night was amazing. the car is a total beast. That peak torque at 5200rpm, vs stock cams peaking at 5800rpm, i have so much usable meat for corner exit now it actually gets up and GOES. it goes like absolute hell ALL the way to 9000rpm. Cant avoid limiter it just comes on so quickly. Its hard to explain how quickly this engine revs now. Without those balance shafts too?! its crazy. You think "oh just watch the tach shift at 8800rpm and youre fineeee". Yea...no...from 7-9k the tach moves so quickly you just cant do it lol. Im not a drag racer, not a gear banger. One of those guys would be fine but ill definitely need to adjust!

To think its still makes tons of usable power up there. DAMN. Good job Honda. flat foot 2500rpm in first, by 6500 the tires are SCREAMING to 9000rpm, hit second and tire still just howling. The cars never been able to light the tires before. That put a real smile on my face lol.

corner exit is noticeable now. It actually loads up the rear suspension. Its not a ton of torque but with the gearing its felt. The thing is pulling hard. my brakes will show their worth this season for sure. The way the car builds speed now is actually impressive. before i could check my phone during a 3rd gear pull. now? i have to be ready to shift and avoid limiter lol.

I will most likely limit myself to 8600rpm for reliability. My K20 forum info is coming in and apparently the heat is immense past 8500rpm. Pistons siezing in cylinders is common on 9000rpm stock piston engines. specially when mistakes are made. GOOD oil, and GOOD engine/oil cooling is apparently a must. I guess its a good thing i already know all about cooling lol. Oil cooler will have to go in ASAP.

I cant wait to enjoy this thing on the track. no...its not big power. no, its not mazda power. BUT, its a hell of alot more then i had before, and the car was already a weapon with everyone thinking it was already making k series power(200+). haha...now i finally am. Its time to use it well

 

what weight oil are you going to run, a heavier oil will run cooler under extreme use