[JMURACN]

Some people know... I've been racing a 2000 Civic Si (EM1) with a B18C5 (190hp/2500lbs) in the Honda Challenge H2 class. This was a well used chassis and a hand me down... finally the passenger side frame rail started to fail. The failure showed signs of failure by breaking passenger side axles ALL the time. This car is mostly parted out now... SO... it was time to move on.

A new chapter begins... apparently i have a coupe problem (CRX, Integra, bench seat F150, EM1, now this!)

We towed +2,300 miles down to Calhoun LA (from Northern Va) to get this beast. Its a 2007 Si coupe... OSG diff, Redshift Motorsports Double Adjustable coils, other suspension bits, Hybrid Intake, Skunk2 Alpha header, custom exhaust... hondata flash pro, spare trans, etc.

whats next? A trip to Piper Motorsports to get the custom cage installed... TL-S Brembos/Master, stainless brake lines, PCI seat bracket, all my old safety gear, my old 9 Lives wing, DIY splitter (i havent found one that is made commercially for the car), and 8 more RPF1s in 17x8 +45.... A2 oil pump conversion with a TracTuff baffle.

this car will be "built" for H2... 2725lbs, 200hp, and a 235/40/17 toyo RR

the "after" build picture:

UPDATE:
My VSA light is on because i removed the steering wheel angle sensor when installing the steering wheel setup. It is the green/white plastic that bolts to the turn signal stalk/back of the steering wheel. THIS IS A MISTAKE... DONT MAKE THIS MISTAKE! You want to keep this product if you intend to run ABS... or potentially VSA in the r*&n. There arent many 8th gen builds online for racing... no one says this. they are yellow plugs, i assumed they were air bag BS and removed it.

The ABS and VSA use it to modulate the systems. I have had to order a new one (yay $80 because i threw stuff away lol)...

 

[JMURACN]

Disassembly and dry ice... prepping the chassis for the cage. Chassis prep is extremely important when you are building a race car. Take your time, be methodical, do it right...

 

[JMURACN]

The car is home from Piper Motorsports and getting the cage installed. It took a while (and tons of help from my wife) to get it sealed up. Im recovering from surgery so things arent as easy as they used to be... but we are pushing ahead.

The cage came out great... so protecting it is really important. I got some carbon protection from IPGparts.com ... actual carbon tube covers. Being that i live the open trailer life for now... they will take a beating moving tools and parts in and out as i use the car for storage while in transit.

 

[drtye]

WOAH, BIG UPDATE. LOOKING GOOD.

 

[JMURACN]

WOAH, BIG UPDATE. LOOKING GOOD.

lol there is more... i just didnt want to overwhelm the forum with one/string of posts. is almost time to remove the engine/trans to get the oil pump, oil pan, and final drive done

 

[Them Witches]

Thank you for sharing your build on the forum. The activity is picking up here finally and not in a bad way. Track builds have always been king to me. Raw open and honest.

 

[Them Witches]

Chassis prep is extremely important when you are building a race car. Take your time, be methodical, do it right...

Should be in Top 100 Quotes..

 

[JMURACN]

To add more bling to this car... vs. the aluminum i was using on the old car.... i found a couple of small time carbon guys (well at least one small timer) for a couple of bits. lets just say both required fitting... but the Loveland Racing carbon fiber sunroof plug probably wants worth the price.... $400 for the part and 4 hours to make it fit. i could have purchased a bead roller and made my own aluminum drop in panel for the time/money.


the original fit

after installing and removing it for 4 hours, marking the tight spots, sanding down the carbon, etc...

we have strict bumper rules... and the previous owner did some cutting... so i got a carbon heat shield. They recommended double sided tape (LOL)... first off, that wont last... second there was no way it fit with just tape. I'll likely black out the bolts to make them less visible. Same hardware set will hold in the Y&S lexan for the car.

 

[JMURACN]

Thank you for sharing your build on the forum. The activity is picking up here finally and not in a bad way. Track builds have always been king to me. Raw open and honest.

you really get to see the bones of a car when you take it down to build a race car. heck... i'm looking for a similar coupe for a street car... but i'll know whats hiding under every panel now!

 

[KBuilt]

The car is home from Piper Motorsports and getting the cage installed. It took a while (and tons of help from my wife) to get it sealed up. Im recovering from surgery so things arent as easy as they used to be... but we are pushing ahead.
View attachment 106805

View attachment 106806

View attachment 106807

View attachment 106808

The cage came out great... so protecting it is really important. I got some carbon protection from IPGparts.com ... actual carbon tube covers. Being that i live the open trailer life for now... they will take a beating moving tools and parts in and out as i use the car for storage while in transit.

I have never seen those carbon covers before. This is turning into a badass race car really quick 👍 coupes are the best 😆

 

[JMURACN]

I have never seen those carbon covers before. This is turning into a badass race car really quick 👍 coupes are the best 😆

I run the smallest open trailer you can get a honda (this size) on... and pull it with my reliable #metricmule 2008 Toyota Tundra... i have more carbon roll cage covers coming from IPGparts because I transport my splitter and tools in the trunk of the car.

 

[KBuilt]

To add more bling to this car... vs. the aluminum i was using on the old car.... i found a couple of small time carbon guys (well at least one small timer) for a couple of bits. lets just say both required fitting... but the Loveland Racing carbon fiber sunroof plug probably wants worth the price.... $400 for the part and 4 hours to make it fit. i could have purchased a bead roller and made my own aluminum drop in panel for the time/money.


the original fit
View attachment 106816

after installing and removing it for 4 hours, marking the tight spots, sanding down the carbon, etc...
View attachment 106817

View attachment 106818


we have strict bumper rules... and the previous owner did some cutting... so i got a carbon heat shield. They recommended double sided tape (LOL)... first off, that wont last... second there was no way it fit with just tape. I'll likely black out the bolts to make them less visible. Same hardware set will hold in the Y&S lexan for the car.
View attachment 106819

Looked like a backwards hat at first 😂 nice job making a proper fit and finish👍

 

[JMURACN]

Part of my chassis prep was removing the chassis wiring harness and removing all the airbag, rear defrost, and sunroof wiring. It seems like Honda laid out each sub harness for the car... THEN bound it all together in one big line. well i had to clean it up a big. I couldnt let the wires lay out in the cabin.. things happen, thrashing track side means you dont always watch where you step, etc.

this split loom stuff is rated up to 370*.... so that should help with the interior cabin heat... just not fire (fire suppression is on the way)

 

[LotusElise]

his car will be "built" for H2... 2725lbs, 200hp, and a 235/40/17 toyo RR

Welcome back to the Forum. Long time no read man! I am sorry for your damaged B-series chassis. Looks like you start with a K-series now?

I am looking forward to your new race car development!

 

[KBuilt]

I run the smallest open trailer you can get a honda (this size) on... and pull it with my reliable #metricmule 2008 Toyota Tundra... i have more carbon roll cage covers coming from IPGparts because I transport my splitter and tools in the trunk of the car.

Tundra= best truck ever. I grew up driving my dads 04 sr5 and loved it although the bigger v8 and more cab room will likely be what I go for in a 08+ when it’s time to get a new truck. What size is your trailer ? I will also be using an open flatbed type and was curious way you’re getting away with. Dual axle ?

 

[JMURACN]

i'm mostly caught up... mostly... there are more things to post but they are semi small moves... still recovering from back surgery so my time on the car is limited to a couple of hours at a time.

Christmas came early... originally I was going to run all RPF1s, but price, caliper clearance (i might work on the brakes this weekend), etc.... I went with Konig Dekagrams in 17x8 (rules) +40

I hated synching the gopro (and their 13 minute clips) and my AIM data. I would never do it track side... its a pain to drag the laptop around and do it. So I went looking for a new option... enter the Garmin Catalyst... The tablet controls all the data, the camera... and is a built in driving coach. I will no longer have to wait event to event to make up significant time... i can now do it between sessions/races.

 

[JMURACN]

Welcome back to the Forum. Long time no read man! I am sorry for your damaged B-series chassis. Looks like you start with a K-series now?

I am looking forward to your new race car development!

Thanks! its been a while.... not that i was outside of the members forum too much lol.

I took a new job... it was crazy... racing took up a lot of my time (still does)... I have had K series parts in my yellow/black bins since 2008... it just seemed fitting to use them and update the car to something where i can easily find parts!

Tundra= best truck ever. I grew up driving my dads 04 sr5 and loved it although the bigger v8 and more cab room will likely be what I go for in a 08+ when it’s time to get a new truck. What size is your trailer ? I will also be using an open flatbed type and was curious way you’re getting away with. Dual axle ?

its 14 feet with a 2ft dove tail... and this car uses every inch of it. to the point i had to get MAC straps special "compact" kit and it still just fits on it. It has dual 3500lbs axles, just a short deck. If i have time im going to update the trailer with a tire rack and fuel jug holder (all currently sit in the bed) since i'm going to use twice as much fuel and go from 15s to 17s... i'll need to free up the space.

 

[JMURACN]

It took some time to reassemble the interior. there were a lot of grounds to line up, sand down to metal, and then add diastolic grease to (keeps moisture off but allows the ground to work).

I learned a lesson last year... keep the heater core... except Honda made a HUGE one (i know it has AC too) and then had a HUGE fan attached to it. well this 30k BTU muscle car heater core with fan ... well its half the weight of just the fan assembly. R*$n races and cold races... i no longer fear the fogged up windshield at 130+ mph. you also might spy more carbon in this picture... i just had to do it... black/gray/carbon and a couple of surprises will be the color combo of this car.

the shape of the windshield, dash, and required cage placement made it hard to cut the dash... i probably cut an inch too deep. i guess i'll be making some block off plates... out of carbon of course.

 

[JMURACN]

This past weekend was a little crazy. Owning a home can be a complete joy and the largest pain in the butt possible. BUT... i did get some work done on the car.

Some people think I take chassis prep too seriously. I always get the "oh just drive the car" or "you can just balance the car later" ... I dont listen to doubters. If you have the time and the means, prep like a pro level car... this includes leaning on pro level resources AND finding all the spy shots you can get on modern race cars and research the "why".

Currently the car has 1/4 tank of gas, no windshield ( i placed a 15lb bar bell on the dash instead), the car still has AC (to account for splitter weight), the car has no lexan added in the rear (i know it weights 2.5 lbs), and the car had no wing when i scaled the car ( i put an 8lb bar bell on the trunk)... the only other things i was missing was the battery

the car needs to be 2725lbs for competition weight. Thats me and the car coming off the track after qualifying/racing... so i have some weight to find.

This is the weight with the battery and fire bottle.... no wiring or lines yet.

the last car i was able to get to a 55/45 weight distribution. Honestly in a FWD car its not optimal. We move some stuff around and dialed the coil overs and ended up at a 58/42 weight distribution that i liked. most guys will tell you that a 60/40 is good for a FWD... and it might be for them... but 2% less weight makes the car significantly looser.

 

[JMURACN]

the last bit for last weekend was the wing and lexan. I needed to get the wing sorted out to make sure it fit... if not it needed to be sold. I measured a random car at Lowes one day and it should fit... but you never know.

YES... the EM1/EK Coupe 9 Lives racing wing fits the 8ith Gen Coupe... I even used one of the stock holes on each side to make sure is was as far back as possible.


Y&S lexan for the back and side windows... the area in white will be clear, the rest of the window will be black. I need to get a warm day so i can paint. I need to clear the sunroof plug and paint these windows... but i might just use vinyl on them... i have decided yet.