The Late Bloomer: Hootie's 2008 GD3 Build
#41
11-29-2013, 03:08 PM
Hey everyone, just chiming in to update. hope you all are having a safe and happy Thanksgiving.
There hasn't really been any real updates on my GD other than simple part replacement due to age/early signs of failing since I've been on the fence/saving on either doing a mild NA build tuned for 93 octane or retro-fitting a GE's Sprintrex S/C...
Regardless, I'm still keeping it pro-dominantly functional with a few simple/tasteful aesthetic touches here and there. Recently, I put the TRMotorSport C1s with the 205/50 ADO8s up for winter and put on the C1s with my 195/55 ENVigors as well as aquired a Spoon oil cap, their blue tinted rear view mirror, and their radiator fan switch. I have yet to install the mirror and fan switch due to how windy and cold its been lately. Just waiting on two other parts to come in and I should be done with parts for 2013.
On the 14th of this month I did replace the starter with a Honda re-man since it began to drag, replaced the turn signal stalk due to it turning my high beams on when indicating for a left turn (steering wheel needs to be pulled), and inspected my drums because they were still squeaking like hell.
Which I'm glad I did... about 40 to 50 percent of the friction material on my shoes ended up getting covered in brake grease. Took a good 30 to 45 minutes to actually disassemble both sides, clean off the grease from the backing plate and shoes, scuff the shoes with sandpaper and brake clean, re-lubricate, adjust and drive. These shoes are going to be the death of me... I'll be looking into going rear disc sometime next year if this keeps up.
There hasn't really been any real updates on my GD other than simple part replacement due to age/early signs of failing since I've been on the fence/saving on either doing a mild NA build tuned for 93 octane or retro-fitting a GE's Sprintrex S/C...
Regardless, I'm still keeping it pro-dominantly functional with a few simple/tasteful aesthetic touches here and there. Recently, I put the TRMotorSport C1s with the 205/50 ADO8s up for winter and put on the C1s with my 195/55 ENVigors as well as aquired a Spoon oil cap, their blue tinted rear view mirror, and their radiator fan switch. I have yet to install the mirror and fan switch due to how windy and cold its been lately. Just waiting on two other parts to come in and I should be done with parts for 2013.
On the 14th of this month I did replace the starter with a Honda re-man since it began to drag, replaced the turn signal stalk due to it turning my high beams on when indicating for a left turn (steering wheel needs to be pulled), and inspected my drums because they were still squeaking like hell.
Which I'm glad I did... about 40 to 50 percent of the friction material on my shoes ended up getting covered in brake grease. Took a good 30 to 45 minutes to actually disassemble both sides, clean off the grease from the backing plate and shoes, scuff the shoes with sandpaper and brake clean, re-lubricate, adjust and drive. These shoes are going to be the death of me... I'll be looking into going rear disc sometime next year if this keeps up.
#43
01-27-2014, 12:47 AM
Hey everyone. Hope you all are doing well and those who are in the colder climate areas have safe travels on the road and are staying warm.
A little bit of an update on the GD3. Recently crossed over the 89k mile mark... mechanically, the car is as sound as it was with 4 miles on the clock. Just need to replace the ATF within the next 1k or next month as a part of basic maintenance.
Back in September, I had installed Techna-Fit braided stainless steel brake lines both front and rear. After returning from TOTD (Tail of the Dragon), I had noticed that at low speeds when doing tight turns in/out of parking spots that there was a momentary "bind" or "pop". It turns out that my driver front brake line was actually RUBBING against my WHEEL. The passenger did as well but was remedied by taking some slack out of the brake line.
I shot Techna-Fit an E-mail or two and they sent me a pair of new revised front lines. I was told by the president the lines they sent will be the "updated"/"replacement" for the lines I originally ordered if they would work. They feature a mild 35 to 45 degree elbow to help "clock" the line in place for optimum clearance AND to help give the line a little more slack/room to run when going from full steering lock to lock. It works like a charm.
Old (top) vs. new (bottom).
During brake line replacement I noticed that the EBC front rotors showing quite a bit of wear and actually had a nice lip on the inner and outer sections of the rotors. This seems like its a result of running these aggressive Carbotech AX6 pads. Rather than turn them like most people would do, I went ahead ordered some StopTech Cryo-treated slotted rotors. Hopefully these will hold up well against the AX6s.
Fast forward to today, ran the Fit in another autocross event. Very fun like usual despite running my daily tires which are all seasons this round. I do need to experiment with rear suspension setups a bit. I'm not to fond of how the rear end just KICKS out so abruptly during higher speed constant radius corners. With that said, I picked up some EZ shims to align my rear axle from GROC80 (thanks a bunch dudski!!! ^.^) and will have to play with those a bit.
Still waiting on exhaust components... Currently debating on doing a few simple bolt ons in terms of intake, header, and exhaust. In addition to that, been tinkering with Flash Pro's Launch Control function. It seems that the only way you can properly use it is with an M/T. A/T's, at least mine, don't like being foot braked past 2,250 RPMs.
Anyway, that's pretty much it for now...
Edit: Here's a quick picture from one of the runs.
A little bit of an update on the GD3. Recently crossed over the 89k mile mark... mechanically, the car is as sound as it was with 4 miles on the clock. Just need to replace the ATF within the next 1k or next month as a part of basic maintenance.
Back in September, I had installed Techna-Fit braided stainless steel brake lines both front and rear. After returning from TOTD (Tail of the Dragon), I had noticed that at low speeds when doing tight turns in/out of parking spots that there was a momentary "bind" or "pop". It turns out that my driver front brake line was actually RUBBING against my WHEEL. The passenger did as well but was remedied by taking some slack out of the brake line.
I shot Techna-Fit an E-mail or two and they sent me a pair of new revised front lines. I was told by the president the lines they sent will be the "updated"/"replacement" for the lines I originally ordered if they would work. They feature a mild 35 to 45 degree elbow to help "clock" the line in place for optimum clearance AND to help give the line a little more slack/room to run when going from full steering lock to lock. It works like a charm.
Old (top) vs. new (bottom).
During brake line replacement I noticed that the EBC front rotors showing quite a bit of wear and actually had a nice lip on the inner and outer sections of the rotors. This seems like its a result of running these aggressive Carbotech AX6 pads. Rather than turn them like most people would do, I went ahead ordered some StopTech Cryo-treated slotted rotors. Hopefully these will hold up well against the AX6s.
Fast forward to today, ran the Fit in another autocross event. Very fun like usual despite running my daily tires which are all seasons this round. I do need to experiment with rear suspension setups a bit. I'm not to fond of how the rear end just KICKS out so abruptly during higher speed constant radius corners. With that said, I picked up some EZ shims to align my rear axle from GROC80 (thanks a bunch dudski!!! ^.^) and will have to play with those a bit.
Still waiting on exhaust components... Currently debating on doing a few simple bolt ons in terms of intake, header, and exhaust. In addition to that, been tinkering with Flash Pro's Launch Control function. It seems that the only way you can properly use it is with an M/T. A/T's, at least mine, don't like being foot braked past 2,250 RPMs.
Anyway, that's pretty much it for now...
Edit: Here's a quick picture from one of the runs.
Last edited by Hootie; 02-23-2014 at 02:30 PM. Reason: Updated with pictures
#44
02-23-2014, 04:04 PM
Updates, autocross videos and teasers... 
Hey hey, finally getting a chance to update here. Since the last update, I've pretty much gotten the bulk the parts I've waiting for... plus a few that were to great of a deal to pass up.
First up: Autocross. I'm still competing locally in Houston's BMW CCA auotcross in their "X3" class for now. May transition to SCCA in a couple of months since I am now getting really comfortable with pushing the Fit on closed courses. Mechanically speaking, the Fit is still the same as when I went to January's event with the exception of the Stop Tech Cryo-treated rotors which were installed afterwards and are holding up well against the AX6s. Videos to both events are below.
In the February video, the first two runs are mine and the final one is a friend of mine. Run times... clip 1: 39.946, clip 2: 38.188, and clip 3: 38.014 (beat in my own car
).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM_h...ature=youtu.be
Now, I've finally figured out what was the source of the brake squeal. Turns out that the noise was actually coming from the Carbotech AX6s due to their friction composition along with them actually wearing groves in the EBC rotors which also created high spots in the pads themselves (actually could feel the brake pad pop in and out of the grove do to the high spot).
So, I sanded down the high spots, re-lubricated components, and installed the StopTechs.
Now that is that is all said, here is a little taste of what will going on this half of the year... Courtesy of Spoon Sports and T1R.
And a hint of what will be going on in 2015. I am not only trying to run with an ITR... I'll be aiming to BEAT an ITR on the autocross course... just need a bit more grunt.
Hey hey, finally getting a chance to update here. Since the last update, I've pretty much gotten the bulk the parts I've waiting for... plus a few that were to great of a deal to pass up.
First up: Autocross. I'm still competing locally in Houston's BMW CCA auotcross in their "X3" class for now. May transition to SCCA in a couple of months since I am now getting really comfortable with pushing the Fit on closed courses. Mechanically speaking, the Fit is still the same as when I went to January's event with the exception of the Stop Tech Cryo-treated rotors which were installed afterwards and are holding up well against the AX6s. Videos to both events are below.
In the February video, the first two runs are mine and the final one is a friend of mine. Run times... clip 1: 39.946, clip 2: 38.188, and clip 3: 38.014 (beat in my own car
).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM_h...ature=youtu.be
Now, I've finally figured out what was the source of the brake squeal. Turns out that the noise was actually coming from the Carbotech AX6s due to their friction composition along with them actually wearing groves in the EBC rotors which also created high spots in the pads themselves (actually could feel the brake pad pop in and out of the grove do to the high spot).
So, I sanded down the high spots, re-lubricated components, and installed the StopTechs.
Now that is that is all said, here is a little taste of what will going on this half of the year... Courtesy of Spoon Sports and T1R.
And a hint of what will be going on in 2015. I am not only trying to run with an ITR... I'll be aiming to BEAT an ITR on the autocross course... just need a bit more grunt.
#45
04-09-2014, 09:44 PM
Hootie,
When you ordered your speed bleeders, was it $7 for a pack of 2 ($14 total) or $7 for each bleeder ($28 total)?
When you ordered your speed bleeders, was it $7 for a pack of 2 ($14 total) or $7 for each bleeder ($28 total)?
#50
09-01-2014, 05:06 PM
Hey everyone… long time, no update. Been busy with life, stress, and other personal situations BUT I’m finally settling back in to my old comfort zone.
I’m still competing in autocross and have a couple of videos that need to be edited and uploaded online from April to June’s events. After the June event, the autocross club I run with has taken a break till September to escape the summer heat. During this down time I swapped the rear 8 inch long, 400lb rated Eibach springs for 7 inch, 500lb Eibachs and lowered the rear of the Fit approximately ¼ of an inch, along with that installed (temporally) an aFe Stage 2 cold/ram air intake in combination with the Kraftwerks cowl scoop to help lower IATs during AX events, and most recently had 205/50R15 AD08Rs mounted on the track set of TRM C1s (really eager to try these out).
So far running the 500lb front/rear spring with the Progress rear anti-roll bar is aggressive but manageable on the street. With the Tokicos at 2.5 full turn from stiff up front and 1 turn in the rear, the car pushes (understeers) noticeably less than before and with that I’ve been seeing noticeably higher speeds while cornering on my daily route. Throttle lift oversteer is much more predictable and controllable than before which should help a lot on the long sweeper on HPA’s training course (the car would push like crazy) as well as the few decreasing radius and off camber turns there.
As for the KWSC… a new C15-60, 330cc injectors, colder spark plugs, new drive belt, and a couple other odds and ends needed to complete the kit. I need to “clock” the new C-15-60 and transfer the mounting bracket from the old compressor to the new one. Once that is done the install, break-in and dyno should likely happen in November/December.
That's it for now... still need to edit and upload some AX videos here
I’m still competing in autocross and have a couple of videos that need to be edited and uploaded online from April to June’s events. After the June event, the autocross club I run with has taken a break till September to escape the summer heat. During this down time I swapped the rear 8 inch long, 400lb rated Eibach springs for 7 inch, 500lb Eibachs and lowered the rear of the Fit approximately ¼ of an inch, along with that installed (temporally) an aFe Stage 2 cold/ram air intake in combination with the Kraftwerks cowl scoop to help lower IATs during AX events, and most recently had 205/50R15 AD08Rs mounted on the track set of TRM C1s (really eager to try these out).
So far running the 500lb front/rear spring with the Progress rear anti-roll bar is aggressive but manageable on the street. With the Tokicos at 2.5 full turn from stiff up front and 1 turn in the rear, the car pushes (understeers) noticeably less than before and with that I’ve been seeing noticeably higher speeds while cornering on my daily route. Throttle lift oversteer is much more predictable and controllable than before which should help a lot on the long sweeper on HPA’s training course (the car would push like crazy) as well as the few decreasing radius and off camber turns there.
As for the KWSC… a new C15-60, 330cc injectors, colder spark plugs, new drive belt, and a couple other odds and ends needed to complete the kit. I need to “clock” the new C-15-60 and transfer the mounting bracket from the old compressor to the new one. Once that is done the install, break-in and dyno should likely happen in November/December.
That's it for now... still need to edit and upload some AX videos here
#51
09-08-2014, 11:35 PM
Love the car man. Very interested in the s/c build. Trying to get some more grunt outta my gd3. I live in ATL, GA and have been to the TOTD myself. H22 95 accord and supercharged Crx made it fun! So now time for the Fit. Let me know when you're coming back! I'll come ride with you. Heck if you need a place to stay lemme know!
#52
09-11-2014, 09:26 PM
Love the car man. Very interested in the s/c build. Trying to get some more grunt outta my gd3. I live in ATL, GA and have been to the TOTD myself. H22 95 accord and supercharged Crx made it fun! So now time for the Fit. Let me know when you're coming back! I'll come ride with you. Heck if you need a place to stay lemme know!
It'll be October of next year when I go. I'd like to go this year but currently due to recent occurrences I'm keeping an eye on my financial situation and slowly working out of a motivational slump (hence the lack of updates). This will change soon provided I can get more consistent and better internet access.
#53
09-16-2014, 01:40 PM
I'm interested in your coilover setup, it looks great for the stock look but I bet track days are a breeze too. I can't seem to find those ground control that you are using though.
#54
09-16-2014, 01:57 PM
Hmm, that's a bit weird... the kit isn't listed on their website anymore. The kit part number should be 4537.01 and should feature a 6 inch front spring and a 7 inch rear spring. You can choose your own spring rates based on what is available in the Eibach spring catalog.
Give Ground Control a call and see if you can get a set.
Give Ground Control a call and see if you can get a set.
#55
09-16-2014, 08:24 PM
Hmm, that's a bit weird... the kit isn't listed on their website anymore. The kit part number should be 4537.01 and should feature a 6 inch front spring and a 7 inch rear spring. You can choose your own spring rates based on what is available in the Eibach spring catalog.
Give Ground Control a call and see if you can get a set.
Give Ground Control a call and see if you can get a set.
Thanks again dude! Btw how do the tokico shocks feel?
Last edited by derykisonder; 09-16-2014 at 08:26 PM.
#57
10-08-2014, 09:52 PM
That's for viewing!!! More updated to come when I officially get settled in.
You can pretty much go from Lazy-Boy sofa soft to getting punched on the tail bone hard all in the matter of 7.5 rotations.
I thoroughly enjoy them... Typically I daily them at my autocross stiffness of 2.5 turns from full stiff up front and 1 turn from full in the rear (because I'm too lazy to adjust them softer) and they're still fairly civil on the street to me.
If I were to soften them, then I may end up falling asleep while driving because I'm so used to this current dampening rate.
Edit: For those who are following or just viewing my thread I happened to stumble across an aerial video by a BMW CCA member of our most recent autocross day. The video is just below here for those who would like to check it out and see what our course looks like.
I thoroughly enjoy them... Typically I daily them at my autocross stiffness of 2.5 turns from full stiff up front and 1 turn from full in the rear (because I'm too lazy to adjust them softer) and they're still fairly civil on the street to me.
If I were to soften them, then I may end up falling asleep while driving because I'm so used to this current dampening rate.
Edit: For those who are following or just viewing my thread I happened to stumble across an aerial video by a BMW CCA member of our most recent autocross day. The video is just below here for those who would like to check it out and see what our course looks like.
Last edited by Hootie; 10-08-2014 at 11:25 PM. Reason: Added video link.
#59
10-12-2014, 05:31 PM
Nope, I am running in class X3F at a Houston BMW CCA's autocross events. Over there the classification is a bit looser than SCCA BUT the drivers get more seat time. So, in my class I compete against FWD N/A 4 cylinders which includes but is not limited to DC2Rs (Integra Type Rs), DC5Ss (RSX-S), Mazda 2s, Mazda 3s, Chevy Sonics, etc. regardless of whether the vehicle has an open diff., LSD, full intake and/or exhaust modifications.
The only limitations really is drive type (FWD, RWD, AWD), cylinder/rotor count, tire treadwear (140 and lower is R comp/R class), and whether the car is gutted and/or caged.
The only limitations really is drive type (FWD, RWD, AWD), cylinder/rotor count, tire treadwear (140 and lower is R comp/R class), and whether the car is gutted and/or caged.
#60
10-15-2014, 03:19 AM
No signs of the Tokico's leaking as of yet? I'm currently running Buddy Club N+ and sadly both of the rear shocks have blown out prematurely. This is now my second suspension setup on the Fit, and I'm considering going a different route if Buddy Club cannot assist me.