Building for the road course...again

[gotovato]

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

I’m intending to stick with my motul sport - 5w40. This stuff seems to be pretty good. Ran it last season and the oil analysis was solid.

I need to install my oil temp/pressure sensor, as well as my massive oil cooler from the Mazda. That will definitely keep oil temps in check

 

[L337TurboZ]

Are you running any form of shift light indicator? I think it's awesome how well it's performing for you. 50hp NA is a massive gain!

I'm using a Setrab oil cooler with good results. What brand have you gone with?

 

[gotovato]

Are you running any form of shift light indicator? I think it's awesome how well it's performing for you. 50hp NA is a massive gain!

I'm using a Setrab oil cooler with good results. What brand have you gone with?

I had a Setrab 34 row BEAST on my Mazda. I still have that setup as it never went back on the car after I swapped the motor.

i will be running that Setrab setup on the civic. It’ll be way overkill but I already have it so yea!

shift light is through my AIM dash. It’s currently set at 8300 for my old setup. I need to change that.

my phone also acts as a shift light if I have the Hondata app open.

the power gain is definitely extremely noticeable. I am not complaining lol

 

[SyntheticAtmosphere]

I am glad you got it all ironed out. Cant wait to watch some good vids this summer.

 

[gotovato]

I am glad you got it all ironed out. Cant wait to watch some good vids this summer.

Can’t wait to make them!

 

[gotovato]

Cars a ton of fun. No it’s not rip your face off fast but it’s got so much more punch now. It’s awesome. Roads I use to take flat out before I have to lift now to avoid dying. I’m on stock suspension but still damn. The brakes are getting a work out now lol.

shifting higher up in the rpm’s has proven to make a huge difference in multi gear pulls. I end up so much closer to my peak power its just pulling constantly while rowing gears. It’s awesome.

I’ve gotten a ton of great info regarding safe rpm limit. 9000rpm is OK with good oil cooling and using good oil, for no longer then 0.5 seconds. If I hold it past 8600 and just keep it there I’ll lose a piston. That’s danger. While rowing through the gears shifting at 9000rpm however is totally fine. Works for me!!



it sounds absolutely insane past 8600rpm. The engine note just changes so much. Everything’s screaming in perfect harmony. It really is some shit. And it fucking pulls up there too. It’s an experience. Can’t wait to hit the track.

going to look into an external microphone setup for my GoPro so I can get some good under hood audio hopefully


new shock will be here next week. Coilovers going back on way sooner then expected!!

 

[L337TurboZ]

Considering ITB's? My old Silvertop engine screamed at high RPM with those. I'm sure a K series with ITB's would sound nuts.

Also I have a really old version of Hondata on my laptop I've used for tuning B series. Is the software you're using specifically for K/J series or has the program been upgraded over the years to look like what you have now?

 

[gotovato]

Considering ITB's? My old Silvertop engine screamed at high RPM with those. I'm sure a K series with ITB's would sound nuts.

Also I have a really old version of Hondata on my laptop I've used for tuning B series. Is the software you're using specifically for K/J series or has the program been upgraded over the years to look like what you have now?

If I was gonna go hardcore NA maybe itbs? They aren’t even considered the best anymore. My cars drive by wire so I don’t think it’s even doable really.

I think it may be the same software? When I installed it it lists a ton of cars. Anything that supports flash pro probably. Not sure about the b series s300 ecu’s

 

[gotovato]

Small stuff today.

oil temp / pressure sensor installed.

A Bosch 2in1 sensor was used. It does both temp and pressure. Nice unit.

the harness was custom made and custom pinned/soldered by me. 4 pins on the Bosch sensor, 2 on one of the AIM connectors, and 2 plus a 2k ohm resistor on the other AIM plug. Soldered those tiny ass wires on the AIM plugs. It sucked. Like 28ga wire.

I didn’t take any pictures. Damn. But, it works great

Honda minimum spec is 10psi at idle at 176f, and 44psi at 3000rpm at 176f.


Great thing about the AIM is it’ll log this with all my other parameters during track duty. Awesome!

 

[gotovato]

Update. Ya'll might find this one interesting.

So since my dyno day...i have been experimenting with different Maps. A member on the K20a forums(kinda a tuning guru for these engines) took a look at my MAP from the dyno tune and immediately pointed out some less then ideal areas.

One problem i had was vtec crossover. at 4500rpm the car would engage vtec and immediately fall on its face for a split second. Total torque drop/cut. Then it would pick up and take off. Not ideal.

K20 member found the issue and corrected it then sent me the map. It was night and day better. Smoooth as it should be.

He has now taken over tuning my car. I have logged 10 different maps from him so far, and sent back at least 20 logs by now. Each revision the car is pulling even harder, all the way to 9000rpm...and he says we havent even added power yet. Thats at the end.

He has sent me 3 maps with different ignition values, then 3 maps locked with different VTC cam angles, amongst other various maps. He overlays everything and looks through it to find the ideal values. Scientific approach and very efficient / professional. Guy knows what hes doing and he shares/explains every change he makes, and why hes making it. My favorite comment from him so far "I have more to offer you for your top end, but we will get to that near the end of tuning".

Guy lives in germany so theres a 6 hour time difference but its been working out no problem.

Vtec transition is extremely smooth now with no delay, no torque drop off. No weirdness. I told my honda buddy/local tuner about this. He wanted to see the fixed map. I sent it to him and he couldnt see where he had gone wrong. Once i read him the email from the k20 guy, right away he goes "yup. Thats my bad. my mistake. Simple as that i messed up there. Tell your k20 buddy thank you for pointing this out as I mightve never found it. Super not obvious mistake".

My honda buddy was blown away at how quickly this guy found this error and corrected it. I guess this just proves that platform tuners exist for a reason. It matters. K20 forum guy has tuned 100's of k20s NA. He knows these engines/ecus inside and out both in race/track trim and street trim.

The car feels fantastic now. Making good power. I logged 6 maps yesterday. All on the same road, starting at the exact same starting point, 2 wot runs for each map.

his "extrasharp" ignition map felt the best to me and i told him this. He then explained that the data shows that map was definitely the fastest. Apparently there is some timing headroom left as well.

I will definitely have the car loaded onto the dyno once the tune is completed. Would love to see the differences. It feels like a different car yet again lol.


As for cost...i have asked him for pricing like 3-4 times now. He just ignores the question and keeps sending me maps lol

 

[Easter Bunny]

hopefully your prodigious posting makes you an "influencer" and you can pay for your map in "exposure" lol.

 

[gotovato]

hopefully your prodigious posting makes you an "influencer" and you can pay for your map in "exposure" lol.

Lol would be nice. Buddy is already very very well known in the k20 community and all over the k20a forums

 

[gotovato]

My tuner be like “next year, you bump compression slightly. We run big dirty camshaft, spin to 9500 and make 250whp”

I’m like yup. That sounds like an awesome idea lol. I’m definitely in less of a rush for boost and being broke right now, NA life seems much more appealing haha

 

[gotovato]

Hmmmm. So turns out I’m having the same coolant issues from last season.

losing coolant. Strong coolant smell at idle/when rad fans kick on. 0 drops/drips. Leaves nothing on the ground.


Looks like I found my issues. Definitely a pinhole. You can even see the blue dye from where the coolant evaporates


Is this worth any time trying to fix/repair? Or just replace? If I replace it’ll be with the koyo rad. $450cad. It’s a good one. Don’t really have that cash now however so I’m not sure.

try and find the pinhole(yea Goodluck) and JB weld it? Does that work here?

what a pain. I don’t wanna drain this thing lol

 

[L337TurboZ]

If you were in a pinch (such as broke down on the road only) I would recommend Alumaseal Stop Leak. It's a powder you add into the coolant and it does work. Had a small hole in my 300ZX radiator back in the day. Used that and it never leaked again. Never overheated or clogged either.

I know that product works and it's up to you. Another option is trying to braise it or use solder to close the pinhole. Might be difficult if it's in between fins.

Amazon product ASIN B000FW61M4

 

[gotovato]

If you were in a pinch (such as broke down on the road only) I would recommend Alumaseal Stop Leak. It's a powder you add into the coolant and it does work. Had a small hole in my 300ZX radiator back in the day. Used that and it never leaked again. Never overheated or clogged either.

I know that product works and it's up to you. Another option is trying to braise it or use solder to close the pinhole. Might be difficult if it's in between fins.

Amazon product ASIN B000FW61M4

Ahh stop leak lol. I haven’t heard anything good about any of those products but in a pinch I definitely get it.

I’m thinking finding the pinhole itself will be trouble. I’d need to get one of those coolant pressure tester units and pressurize everything to see if it even leaks at that point. Then trying to find the pinhole. I feel like it’ll be a pain.

I’m not sure I’m at the point of using stop leak. I might leave it for now but it’ll probably get worse.

sounds like I better just save a few bucks for a new rad maybe

 

[Easter Bunny]

The redneck in me says to just figure out which tube is leaking and smash it shut with pliers

Or a radiator shop would be much cheaper to fix it than buying new. If you had it out that's like 20 min for someone to fix

 

[L337TurboZ]

Get an old bicycle inner tube and cut it to connect end to end of the radiator outlets. Then put the radiator in a tote of water and put however much psi your system holds in it. You should be able to find the leak that way. Kind of like testing a heater core for leaks.

 

[gotovato]

Thanks for the input guys!

I guess I’ll try and find the leak myself maybe. Removing the rad is all of an hour job including waiting for the coolant to drain out. It’s not terrible.

I’ll search for a radiator repair shop first maybe. If no luck, then I guess I’ll have to DIY it

 

[gotovato]

My coilover has shown up today! Wooo. Need to assemble it, install everything back on the car. Get an alignment, and maybe we’ll be off to the track on Sunday??? Weathers looking great. Hopefully I can get it together