JDM Spec-C V9 Interior & SRS Swap

Did a bit of interior work this weekend.

A few weeks ago I picked up a JDM V9 Spec-C interior so I decided to paint my door cards black. I used Duplicolor Vinyl & Fabric matte black. Much cheaper option than Alcantara... we'll see how it holds up, but for now I think it looks great!

Along with the new JDM seats, I swapped my USDM seat base so the driver side has height adjustment, added the passenger OCS bladder for airbag detection, and also retro-fitted the side airbags back into the seats.

Overall I'm very happy with the JDM V9 seats after figuring out how to keep all of my original safety equipment. The seats add a significant amount of back and leg bolstering, as well as some needed thigh support. They provide just as much bolstering as the Recaro seats in the Evo X, but with a less intrusive feeling since the seat foam is softer. My body dimensions are 5'10", 160 lbs, 34" waist.

GS350 F-Sport Brake Ducts

Today I had the pleasure of playing around with a 2013 GS350 F-Sport. One thing I noticed was the simplicity of the brake duct system that is implemented into the lower bumper grill and fender liner. Considering last year's design failure (bdon vs. brake ducts 0-1)... I gotta make something work this year or I might as well hang up my iron ring. This gives me something to think about...

Oswald Lightweight Subframe & Rear Triangle Brace

On the topic of improving the chassis this year ... these showed up today :)

I can't believe how light both of these pieces are! I can pick them up with 2 fingers yet they feel so incredibly stiff and well built. The subframe should drop 14 lbs off the front end and stiffen things up nicely and I already know just how good the rear triangle brace will be from the Litespeed cable version I had previously. Come on Spring, stop teasing and reveal yourself already!



Thanks Mickey @ Oswald Performance for hooking me up! I want to wait until I at least put my summer rubber on before I give these pieces the review that they deserve... plus I have a few 'extras' which haven't arrived yet ;)

I believe Touge Tuning carries this piece now, for anyone else interested. Chris, I wish you had told me you were going to carry these before I went out and bought them on my own :P

Oldies but Goodies

Just going through my archived files and I dug up two old videos. My first and second time at the track ever!

Hard to believe after only 3 seasons of tracking that I'm already so obsessed about time attack lol.

Can't wait for the 2012 season to start! At this rate, winter will be over by next week and I'll be putting on the summers again





One thing I noticed is that with my old ghetto digital camera mount the boxer rumble really comes through. I guess I should look into fixing that annoying rattle noise from my GoPro mount...

2012 Goals

This year's focus will be on improving the chassis and suspension. 

Here's a little teaser:



(Got these forged rims off StE, they weigh just under 12 lbs each)

[9/18/2011] SRTA #5 (DDT)

Event: Sigma Racing Time Attack #5
Track: Mosport DDT (CCW w/ 2 kinks), Bowmanville
Weather Conditions: 14°C sunny




Test & Tune



Run 1 - Dampers +18F/+20R, Cold Tire Pressures 33/35 psi
I went out on track to warm up and then spun out on the uphill. I came back into the pit lane and had something from the rear suspension howling like a banshee. Now, I should mention that for the past few weeks I've had a faint howling noise from the rear creep up once in a while and it was getting worse just this past week. But seems like that spin out really aggravated whatever was happening back there. It's probably a wheel bearing but I can't be 100% sure at the moment. The car still drives fine apart from the noise (and no body damage phewf) but I decided to play it safe by posting a DNS and having my car towed back for free. CAA Plus ftw! I also noticed later on that there is a clunking around in the front and a crunching feeling when turning the steering wheel left. Hrmm...



The day wasn't a total write off though. I was able to give my friend Jason some pointers in his Evo X and help him break into the 1:08's (previous best was 1:09.3). Was a great feeling even though afterwards I felt sick! LOL... I'm a terrible passenger, it's not your driving! Free BBQ by NEX was also yummy. Unfortunately I couldn't stick around to spectate the OTA because the tow truck came a bit early...

Conclusion

It's safe to say that my 2011 track season is over. It's been such a crazy summer with 10 track days!!! In 2010 I only did 4 track days, and in 2009 when I first started it was 3. More track days this year than my first two combined. To be honest it's nice to finally have a break. I'm a little exhausted mentally, physically, and especially financially.

I learned so much this year, but still have so much more to learn. Really thinking hard about what to focus on for 2012: which events to enter, and if/how I want to tweak the car. There are a few options I'm considering but at the end of the day it all boils down to the budget. This year was a bit of an exception and I might not be fortunate enough to have as big of a track budget for next year. We'll see though. I'm sure I can make something work, or I'll just have to work more.

TiC Fender Braces

T-5 days until SRTA #5
TiC fender cowl braces are in!

Stock (top) vs. TiC (bottom):

Installed: