Wheatley's 6262 build
After the IDRC race there were a few things that needed to be addressed.
1. Easier access to rear catch can drain.
2. Radiator cap replacement.
The rear catch can drain has always been a hassle. I had a hose going down to a petcock between the body and the subframe. On the lift its very easy to drain and zero mess. At the track is another story all together. With it being that far in and that close to the ground I couldnt get a catch pan in to catch the draining fluids and open the drain at the same time. It also covered anyone who opened it with oil and ethanol.
My fix for this was to use a levered ball valve at the bottom of the catch can to a hose routed out the side of the front wheel well. This allows me to slide a catch pan in to collect fluids without getting junk all over my hands. At a test n tune or regular race its no big deal to put gloves on and take your time. After running the IDRC race and what I think were called "Robin Rounds" its a whole different routine to racing. I suppose normally I wouldn't be trying to dial in a tune and address all the other things I was during this first race of the season but I figured anything to make it faster and cleaner to service the better.
The radiator cap failed at the idrc race as well. This is something I should have caught during first test runs the day before the race but since it was raining the bay was getting messy anyways. Come to find out the secondary seal had fail so as soon as the cap pressure was met to flow into the over flow it would spew all over the engine bay. We didn't have time to get another cap between races so we just kept an eye on temps and made a blue towel gauze zip tied around the neck to keep it from spraying anywhere. It worked to finish up the race but was something that needed addressed immediately.
I could have just ordered another like cap for $20 or a stant for half that but wanted to address another issue that had been in the car since I did the ff kit. I bought the civic mishimoto as a test fit item only for a ridiculously cheap price during black Friday deals. The core was cut crooked and over all just wasn't well made. It did however cool perfectly. Driving around it would stay at 176 F, during hard pulls it would stay under 200. I hated to change something that was working but in all reality it was going to cause a failure at some point. The lower hose was running right on top of the front engine mount and the bottom was rigged into place.
I weighed my options of paying for material and labor to just have the lower hose moved over and priced the koyo half size evo radiator. I ended up finding a koyo on amazon for $280 shipped. I figured by the time I paid for labor and material I could just buy this one and sell the mishimoto and break even.
The koyo came in two days and let me tell you how much nicer this is than the mishimoto. The core is a true dual pass core unlike my mishimoto, welding and mounts all look very well made. It even has provisions for stock evo fan. The koyo has an aluminum oringed drain that faces down from the bottom instead of backwards towards the transmission like the mishimoto. It also has bungs for temps sensors. I went back and forth between this and the cbrd unit, the cbrd looks fantastic but I just couldn't justify double the cost at this point and time.
I did have to drill the spot welds on the lower radiator mount and move it over a few inches due to my exhaust manifold runner being over further than most. When we made my manifold the mishimoto was mounted really far left towards the driver side since its overall height was shorter than the koyo it would fit partially under the core support without trimming.
1. Easier access to rear catch can drain.
2. Radiator cap replacement.
The rear catch can drain has always been a hassle. I had a hose going down to a petcock between the body and the subframe. On the lift its very easy to drain and zero mess. At the track is another story all together. With it being that far in and that close to the ground I couldnt get a catch pan in to catch the draining fluids and open the drain at the same time. It also covered anyone who opened it with oil and ethanol.
My fix for this was to use a levered ball valve at the bottom of the catch can to a hose routed out the side of the front wheel well. This allows me to slide a catch pan in to collect fluids without getting junk all over my hands. At a test n tune or regular race its no big deal to put gloves on and take your time. After running the IDRC race and what I think were called "Robin Rounds" its a whole different routine to racing. I suppose normally I wouldn't be trying to dial in a tune and address all the other things I was during this first race of the season but I figured anything to make it faster and cleaner to service the better.
The radiator cap failed at the idrc race as well. This is something I should have caught during first test runs the day before the race but since it was raining the bay was getting messy anyways. Come to find out the secondary seal had fail so as soon as the cap pressure was met to flow into the over flow it would spew all over the engine bay. We didn't have time to get another cap between races so we just kept an eye on temps and made a blue towel gauze zip tied around the neck to keep it from spraying anywhere. It worked to finish up the race but was something that needed addressed immediately.
I could have just ordered another like cap for $20 or a stant for half that but wanted to address another issue that had been in the car since I did the ff kit. I bought the civic mishimoto as a test fit item only for a ridiculously cheap price during black Friday deals. The core was cut crooked and over all just wasn't well made. It did however cool perfectly. Driving around it would stay at 176 F, during hard pulls it would stay under 200. I hated to change something that was working but in all reality it was going to cause a failure at some point. The lower hose was running right on top of the front engine mount and the bottom was rigged into place.
I weighed my options of paying for material and labor to just have the lower hose moved over and priced the koyo half size evo radiator. I ended up finding a koyo on amazon for $280 shipped. I figured by the time I paid for labor and material I could just buy this one and sell the mishimoto and break even.
The koyo came in two days and let me tell you how much nicer this is than the mishimoto. The core is a true dual pass core unlike my mishimoto, welding and mounts all look very well made. It even has provisions for stock evo fan. The koyo has an aluminum oringed drain that faces down from the bottom instead of backwards towards the transmission like the mishimoto. It also has bungs for temps sensors. I went back and forth between this and the cbrd unit, the cbrd looks fantastic but I just couldn't justify double the cost at this point and time.
I did have to drill the spot welds on the lower radiator mount and move it over a few inches due to my exhaust manifold runner being over further than most. When we made my manifold the mishimoto was mounted really far left towards the driver side since its overall height was shorter than the koyo it would fit partially under the core support without trimming.
Last edited by Wheatley; Jun 9, 2013 at 09:49 PM.
Came out great like always Wheatley.
Im sure im going to run into issues with my rear catch can setup as well. I may just switch to one big one in the front though and be done with it.
Im sure im going to run into issues with my rear catch can setup as well. I may just switch to one big one in the front though and be done with it.
5 weeks until Shootout and I feel like its just another typical year of racing to rebuild a car in time.
Does anyone else ever notice when you don't need the car to work its flawless but when it's time to perform something comes up?
Does anyone else ever notice when you don't need the car to work its flawless but when it's time to perform something comes up?
Story of my life man. Story of any car builders life.
That statement is true.
2012 DSM shootout, car had loss of compression the morning of race day. Was fine the day before on Buschur's dyno for the dyno day and that night, lol. Motor been fine for 3 years with good power.
2012 DSM shootout, car had loss of compression the morning of race day. Was fine the day before on Buschur's dyno for the dyno day and that night, lol. Motor been fine for 3 years with good power.
It seems we have all had engine issues lol. 2010 I lost the engine a few hours before I was going to load it up and head out due to an injector failure.
My car currently, had a buddy come and look at it today so he can write an estimate tomorrow. Its scheduled to hit the frame rack the 27th to make sure everything is straight still. Bumper, hood, tires, roof and windshield are toast. Damage to almost every panel along with wheels, and fmic is what I can see so far.
My car currently, had a buddy come and look at it today so he can write an estimate tomorrow. Its scheduled to hit the frame rack the 27th to make sure everything is straight still. Bumper, hood, tires, roof and windshield are toast. Damage to almost every panel along with wheels, and fmic is what I can see so far.
Hey Matt it's Alex been messaging you on FB. What happened?? :-(
I feel your pain. Slide into a guard rail in my Evo 2 months ago. 5k+ in damage hope to get it back early next week. Never fun to see a car like that hope its alright for ya!
I feel your pain. Slide into a guard rail in my Evo 2 months ago. 5k+ in damage hope to get it back early next week. Never fun to see a car like that hope its alright for ya!
Sucks to hear to what happend..glad your alright, ill let Matt explain. We both are in the same boat now and have fixer upers before shootout. Like you said everything happens last minute...guess it wouldn't be the shootout without that.
