TCJB'S NEW CAR ?

TCJBOLDIE

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Location
Brisbane
Car
2011 Honda FN2
I have been searching for an unmolested example of Hondas FN2 and driven1.5 hours to check out a nice clean white 103 K's FN2 Type R Civic and advised the seller that the brake rotors were obviously so badly worn and grooved that they would/should not pass a roadworthy certificate.

The owner a female got a bit antsy with me when I advised that she needed to get a new RWC and that any competent workshop would recommend fitting new discs and pads all round before a new RWC is issued.

Today I am heading south interstate to have a Red FN2 with 82klm's that I have arranged to have a pre purchase inspection and if it passes will be bringing it back on my car carrying trailer to take up residence in my man cave. I am towing my trailer to eliminate having to make a second trip to get the car if it is a good one so fingers crossed it is a good one.
 
The red one has a new home :)

It's quite a bit wider than the Starion and only have 3 inches clearance on both sides of the trailer so will need to be careful loading and unloading.
 
Have only driven it a little but am loving the motors willingness to rev and the best gearbox shift feel ever and am looking forward to getting used to the different handling and grip levels of the car and front wheel drive when I head off to a track day or 2 before years end.

I'm interested as to how much slower my times will be at all the street sprints I enter next year seeing that the Honda only has all 1/2 the power of the Starion.

I asked Obi if I needed to change my NDP and he advised just to change the pic.
 
Sounds good, keep us updated with your times and progress. I wonder how it compares to the original unfettled Starion.

I'm sure after a year it will outperforming most things on the road!
 
Obi the JB had 125KW's before I started my tinkering and the weight is nearly the same so it will be interesting to see how it goes when pushed .

I am loving the air con and Bluetooth as I can now hear incoming calls via the radio as I was having trouble hearing anything with the sat nav set at the highest level

Am having a bit of trouble rev matching down shifts due to the close ratio box and the motors willingness to rev along with my industrial deafness so I may need a not so quiet muffler fitted to help better co-ordination.
 
IME it takes about 6 months to fully mesh with a new car. Even the same model feels different when you jump in another one. I think the car has to get used to your driving style as well.

FBW = More responsive?
 
It just feels either too light or sensitive as my old car had extra throttle springs to comply with our motorsport rule sand I had been driving it for 26 years so I have to get comfortable with the FBW in a much shorter time frame as I seriously doubt I have 26 years of driving left in me.

Will see if there is some way to add a spring to the pedal so it feels a bit more like the old girl :)

Quite a few have asked why I sold the Starion and I tell them that there were 2 old things in my life one for 26 years and the other for 55 years and I took the cheapest option :lol:
 
Am slowly getting used to it and love all the gizmos like the glove box cooler,adjustable headlight height, auto on headlights and wipers, the slick 6 speed box,Blue tooth that I can turn up loud to solve my hearing problems when an incoming call arrives and that digital speedo position sight line above the steering wheel makes so much good sense.

Still have to do a track day to help get used to FWD and push my limits to learn and feel the different grip levels and handling when trying to set a good lap time.

PS 2 of lovely grand daughters call the car Lightning Mac queen from the cars movie:)
 
Was told that there was 5000+ k's left in the pads by the roadworthy test workshop but managed to wear the fronts out the last few laps on the track :( so it's off to get a BBK upgrade fitted :)
 
Even though I wore thru the front pads I have only just stopped :)ing as was impressed with the grip and drive thru the corners as the Torsen LSD seems to pull the car closer to the inside when powering out. It never missed a beat and the water temps never moved and it was a 30+deg day.

I have shown my suspension guru the tyres and he says that in spite of there being rear neg camber from the factory it needs a bit more to get the full width gripping.

As expected the front end needs app -2 deg negative before the next event.

Am still trying to find a way to install a 4 piston front brake upgrade that will have 2 piece rotors with the possibility or the alloy hat being custom made with built in additional thickness at the hub to push the factory wheels further out so they will fit under them.
 
Just back from my suspension guru and he has set it up with app 2.5 deg negative on the front so am looking forward to it's next track day when I can push it and self a bit harder to find out how much better it will beat at rotating (not spinning) and being able to get on the power before the apex with hopefully reduced front end push.

FYI rotate is a term used by pro instructors that basically means how the car responds to steering inputs into corners.

The custom front 4 piston BBK upgrade that still allowed the use of stock wheels is doable but the cost was more than I was prepared to spend so I now have a set of used 18 x 8's that have sufficient clearance to allow for an off the shelf conversion that almost certainly won't be in place before it's next track day.

FYI I knew that a minimum of 65mm was needed between the inside of the wheel spokes to allow for the calipers and I test fitted a wheel before buying them.The factory wheels only had 50mm over a single piston sliding caliper.
 
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Have decided to do any mods in steps to evaluate them individually.
The factory Sachs dampers seem to me to be fine.

The next step may be fitting shims to the rear torsion beam suspension to adjust the camber setting.

PS bump/rebound :)
 
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There was still some front end push after the front end was reset with 2.5 deg negative camber so maybe it was the Stability control that was interfering when I tried to get some lift off oversteer so at the next track day it will be turned off to see if that will reduce the push by allowing the rear to move around a bit to help turn in and allow me to apply power earlier to help exit speed that will lead to a higher top speed on the straights and hopefully lower lap times.
 
New brake upgrade kit has arrived and will be fittedalong with the braided lines next week and the existing fluid will be drained and replaced with RBF600 that is more suited to the higher temperatures on track days.
 

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