Building for the road course...again

[L337TurboZ]

Have you disassembled the exhaust system to see if there are any soot markings on the exhaust?

A smoke test as stated above would work. The machine we use at work has inflatable bladders that go in the muffler, get aired up with a tire gauge, then connected to the smoke machine so it somewhat pressurizes the system.

Are you sure something isn't burning and is not exhaust? Maybe some type of insulation behind a heat shield? Or plastic/electrical/fluid that's getting burned off?

Is there an EGR on the motor or is that controlled with VVT? A lot of manufacturers have gotten rid of the EGR and controlled combustion temps through controlling valve overlap.

 

[gotovato]

I think I found my leak. Holy shit. I knew the car had been hit in the rear quarter. Previous owner had told me this and there was a dent in the quarter. I had the dent fixed but I guess there was more damage and the shop never bothered to say. Useless

missing vent. This is direct access to the ground. Exhaust gets trapped under the parachute of a bumper and has nowhere to go. Holy shit


seam is cracked. Tack welds broken. Seam sealer broken. I have a buddy who’s gonna bring the mig by so we’ll just weld that back up. Not a huge deal but damn. This is some shit.

my temp fix for now to keep the smell out. I might seal up a little from outside as well just to be sure but this should take care of it

 

[L337TurboZ]

Good thing you found it! That would suck breathing all that in and possibly passing out driving it.

Do they make a low profile bumper or can you do a bumper cut to alleviate the parachute effect? A lot of Miata guys do that and it helps with down force

 

[gotovato]

Good thing you found it! That would suck breathing all that in and possibly passing out driving it.

Do they make a low profile bumper or can you do a bumper cut to alleviate the parachute effect? A lot of Miata guys do that and it helps with down force

I could cut the bumper. It’s common around here on older civics/Miatas/brz’s. Low power NA shit can definitely benefit from the drag reduction. Seeing as my car is still a street car I’m not sure im ready to commit to that look. Sometimes it looks great, sometimes it doesn’t

 

[INVALID]

So, maybe one of you can offer me some guidance here.

I’ve been chasing what I thought was an exhaust leak all season. The smell of exhaust in the cabin is unbelievably strong to the point I’ll get dizzy on longer drives(even to the track).

EDIT: The culprit of the problem didn't show up on my end. Disregard.

 

[gotovato]

Final fix is now done.

my buddy came by and welded all the broken shit. We prepped it well. Wire wheel acetone. The works. Then we hammered the sheet metal back together nicely. Actually came out well.

Buddy then migged it all back together nice. Seam welded everything. We then cleaned it up and seam sealed the final welds.

I used some aluminum foil tape on the exterior and sealed the shit outta everything.

fixed properly. It’s great. Took us maybe 3-4 hours total but fuck not too bad at all. That includes a stop to the shop for supplies.


Tomorrow after the track I’ll hit it with some spray paint then drop the carpet back in and we’re mint.

 

[Easter Bunny]

Is there a flex section near the motor? That could be sealed when the motor isn't running but as soon as the motor moves and it flexes it opens up

Check your trunk lid gasket too it could be getting pulled in from the rear when you are driving

 

[gotovato]

my exhaust leak issues have been sorted! turns out it was that missing vent and that split seam. Its perfect now!

 

[gotovato]

Car was awfully loose this Sunday at the track. It was real cold. 10c(50f). Was very difficult to get any heat into the rear tires. Took like 2-3 warm up laps and I’m generally pretty impatient and push too hard too soon lol.

I spent the day just trying to keep the car straight. Was definitely working hard. New PB by half a second so that’s not bad!

cars real real loose lol


Civic does drifting

 

[gotovato]

Went to the track this past friday with my MS6 buddy. He wanted to try out his garmin catalyst unit as well as the BNR s4 setup.

We just went to our home track in cayuga, toronto motorsports park.

It was 10c(50f) again...maybe cooler as the evening went on. Some how, some way, i managed to break into the 1:22's which is properly quick. Its a REAL laptime that cant be debated. Doing it in a sub 200whp full interior car? yea...thats some shit lol. I was beyond hyped for that.

Basically, ive gone 2 seconds faster in the civic now vs my mazda. This year the civic has received 0 mods since the start of the season. Its actually received a downgrade with the stock calipers going back on. No matter...i dont use brakes like i used to lol.

My MS6 buddies car is FAST. I miss that turbo power...sometimes. I went 3 seconds faster then the MS6 lol so i cant complain. He may have been a bit out of practice but definitely not a total noob.

heres a 1:23.4 lap. i was not running the gopro on friday as i honestly didnt expect anything crazy. With how cold it was i was just trying to manage rear tire temp and not completely die every single corner. Some how...that worked lol

this lap is from the previous week, where it was also cold AF lol

 

[Easter Bunny]

crisp fall air always makes na motors pull better

 

[gotovato]

crisp fall air always makes na motors pull better

Yup. I can feel it. Cars picked up some power as the temps have fallen.

that said, them turbo boys are also enjoying the lower air temps.

 

[Code Monkey]

crisp fall air always makes na motors pull better

And turboed cars too. My RacePig Mazdaspeed6 in 40F weather felt properly quick, boost creeping to 26psi (from 21psi target), about 360whp.

 

[gotovato]

Not running the falkens next year. Pretty annoyed with them. They’re definitely cheap for a reason.

having issues with the warranty now too of course. Still haven’t gotten that sorted yet.

This happened at the track yesterday even though it was cold and raining almost the entire day. Got maybe 2 dry sessions.

This should’ve lasted one more track day which I have next weekend. So annoyed.

Totally delaminated

 

[Easter Bunny]

Just the one tire?

 

[gotovato]

Just the one tire?

Yup. Just straight up delaminated. This is the 3rd tire that’s done this to me

 

[gotovato]

Dyno’d my car tonight at the shop. Lowest guess was 180whp. Everyone else guessed higher.

This is ridiculously low but it is correct. My lap times just went from pretty good to wow. Jeez lol. Car has a 3.5” cold air intake, and long tube header(the best one for the platform without going 3” merge collector) and a 2.5” muffler. Still has the stock mid pipe which is like 1-7/8”. 3” is recommended for stock K series. These engines breathe a lot and stock exhaust is known to kill power.
Also has a questionable etune.

163whp 130wtq peak numbers.

 

[Easter Bunny]

Wow fyhn

 

[gotovato]

And to think this car has gone 2 seconds faster a lap vs my speed3 lol. Just goes to show driver mod and corner speeds are what really matter.

Officially the slowest car out of all my friends. I used to have the fastest car lol

 

[L337TurboZ]

The question is do you have the fastest times out of all your friends?

Also I was waiting to buy tires and considered a set of the Falkens you're using but seeing your tire failures I'll go with a different manufacturer.