The BME #618 LHD CTR Build


Is That An Intake? Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

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This past weekend, I was forced to replace my old Spoon intake elbow due to the broken mounting tab leaving a nice sized hole in my intake... This was not good, and led to considerable losses during tuning. My tuner, Mikey, bolted up just a plain old aluminum tube to see what kind of losses we were seeing due to the restrictive/hole-y setup, and we gained 7whp! Zero tuning change, simply run-over-run...

This past weekend, the CTR received its new intake and I had the joy of installing it.

The intake of choice, against the pleas of my tuner at ProFunction since the intake had already been ordered, was the Password:JDM Power Chamber. I must admit that I was a little bit intrigued by this... Throbbing whale-****, monstrosity of an intake. Regardless of the performance, I can say with much assurance that my car is rocking a jones that has far more girth than your's.

Ok let's get to it... The intake itself looks decent in person, but the construction is very thin and multiple times through the installation I thought that it was going to crumble in my hands. I wish that they would've at least done one more kevlar overlay with an overlapping seam to give it a little more rigidity, but hey I'm not the one making the thing... They did short me by a hose clamp and about 3" of tubing in the kit, as well, luckily I have hundreds of random old parts from all of my previous cars laying around the garage so I was able to scrounge up what I needed to finish the install.

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The size of the fatty intake made it difficult to get lined up properly and took a couple of shots at it. I also had to trim about 1/4" off of reducing coupler in order to get the intake to sit near-flush with the entry of the 70mm throttle body.

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In order to improve the cold air flow to the intake, I had to route some tubing from the front bumper to a hole near the fender... Problem is that not all 96-00 civics come pre-cut with the hold. So $15 at home depot later, I found myself drilling at my car's frame with a 2 1/2" hole saw drill attachment.

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Ducting all plumbed in, cut edge finished and sealed.

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I did have one casualty... I snapped off a damn valve cover stud while installing the spark plug cover... Stupid thing was so brittle...

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Now I just need to figure out the best way for running the heatshield...
 
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Well, I put the car up on the stands tonight to give the suspension a once-over before this weekend's event. I decided to change the transmission fluid while I had it in the air.

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Vacuum pump makes filling super easy.
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I also found that both of the outer tie rod ends have blown boots... So I guess that I will be replacing those tomorrow... It's always something.
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Outer Tie Rod Replacement

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Nothing too special here today. While I was doing some last minute checks on the car before this weekend's event, I noticed that both of my outer tie rods were destroyed. Yesterday during my lunch, I ran to AutoZone and picked up both driver and passenger side Duralast Outer Tie Rods. The products are OEM replacements, and carry a Lifetime Warranty. The warranty covers everything from bent parts to boot tearing.

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The new tie rod...
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And here's my Personal Assistant... Overall it took me about 45 minutes to do both sides; includes lifting the car onto stands, putting it back down, and cleaning up. Quick and easy.
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In honor of replacing tie rods, here is my favorite clip from the movie Hot Rod!
HOT ROD (whiskey) - YouTube
 
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BME's New SMF Contender

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I spent this past weekend hanging out with some great people from my Alma Mater; drinking beer, working on cars, eating, sleeping on a mattress on the floor of my friend's house, and most importantly... Racing.

10/19/13 was the SMF debut for the BME #618 car. Even though it is the end of the season and the car will more than likely be stored until March, I wanted to get it out on the course to see what it could do. Check the handling characteristics, the response, powerband, etc. Simply put, the car won SMF out of 5 drivers in its class and placed 20th raw out of 64; 25th in PAX. While I was quite happy with the end result, there is still a lot of work to be done...

The car's entire setup is set to be a loose SMF competitor. And when I say loose, I mean LOOSE. Any amount of lift on a turn will swing the tail out, and it's going to take a lot of practice to really hammer down my technique and learn how to properly drive the car. There may be some setup tweaks for next season; added negative camber in the rear, disconnect the RSB for cold/wet days, etc.

Overall, I was extremely proud of the car and its capabilities. I look forward to pushing it a lot harder next season!

Enjoy the media!

BME #618 Civic - SMF Best Run - YouTube

BME #618 Civic Spin/Drift Compilation - YouTube

BME #618(5) Civic - SMF Co-Driver Best Run - YouTube

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My New Co-Driver... The Battle Puppy

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Two weeks ago, my wife and I put down a deposit on a 36-hour-old yellow English Labrador Retriever puppy. So it looks like as of December 14 (the day we pick him up!) I will have a new co-driver. He's going to be a big boy, with his dad weighing in at 83lbs.

Here are the first pictures of him from yesterday, at only 13 days old.

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Keep an eye out for more PUPdates! heh heh...
 
PUPdate! 4 weeks old!

Well I went to visit my little guy today. He is exactly what I wanted, and I can't wait to bring him home Dec. 15!

(I apologize for the crotch shots... I was trying to get the angles of his face)

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Aaaaaaaand my wife and I have decided to name him HENRY. I know that it has nothing to do with cars, but I really liked the name. Nicknames will be "Special Agent Hank" (Breaking Bad) and "Hank the Tank"!
 
Wow... it has been a while since my last post!

Well, just for good measure, here are some pics of my pup.

at 8 weeks
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today
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I picked this up yesterday, and am LOVING it! 2014 Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition in magnetic gray

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The 4Runner got its maiden voyage in about 4 inches of snow today, and handled it without any hiccup. The thing is a beast. I am sure that over the next couple of year I will get a trailer for it so I can begin towing the CTR to events.
 
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So I've been working on my sponsor/journal website, hoping that it will be something good to send to sponsors and tip the scales in my favor for 2014/2015 support.

www.618CTR.com

Let me know what you all think!
 
top work man. love the attention to detail and innovation. looking forward to how the heat shield turns out as a had this idea a while back but never chased it. also like the 4 runner. good choice there.
 
Thanks, man! I appreciate the kind words.

I'm not 100% sure of how I want to run the shielding, now that the intake is in. It is bigger than I imagine, lol...

I may just make a shield for the front portion just behind the headlight, to keep the heat from the header away.
 
618ctr.com Blog Post - Muteki SR46 Lug Nuts

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Well, I decided to post a semi-update that is a bit of a teaser of what's to come... Typically new lug nuts = new wheels, in this case it is no different. However, they are in the process of being made to my exact specs. I expect to have them in my hands sometime next week!

For now, you will just have to wait... And enjoy these couple of pictures of my new lugs. Nothing too fancy, but simple and effective Muteki SR48, 12x1.5 in black.

The lugs and wheels were both purchased through my good friends over at All Speed Innovations.

Keep an eye out for my next update!

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^^ Thanks!


Pre-Season Tune-Up

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I took the day off of work on Friday to bring the car into the shop for Timing Belt & Water Pump change + Valve Lash Adjustment. They did an outstanding job, and were done with the car in just under 3 hours. The engine sounds fantastic, and runs super smooth. They said that they had to adjust 13 of the 16 valves. Big thanks to Pat and Mikey at ProFunction for helping get the car ready for 2014!

Here she is waiting for me!
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I also decided to slap on the Tire Rack windshield banner that SCCA requires for certain events.
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And put some painters tape on the adhesive backing for race day stickers. I would've just done magnets, but when you have so many on the car the weight actually starts adding up. And I think they will look cleaner like this. My one worry was how long the adhesive would last being placed/removed, so I tested a sticker that I had laying around. After about 20 peel and sticks, it was still laying up perfectly. Good enough for me!
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My buddy and I have also been coordinating some team-based league competition for the 2014 season. We call it AutoX League, or "AXL". Check it out at Autocross League | The First Team-Based Driving League!
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I also purchased a set of Hankook Z214 C71 in 225/45-15 this morning! Let's pray they fit the car with my new wheels (which should hopefully be here this week!). I'd prefer not to need to roll/pull the fenders, but we'll see.
 
Don't Forget Your Rubber!

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My latest order arrived today, and just in time for Saturday's event!

Hankook Ventus Z214 C71 Compound ... 225/45-15

I think they'll look nice and stout on the little EK hatch, don't you? I ordered through Discount Tire Direct, since Tire Rack was out of stock in this size. I must say, DTD amazed me with an overnight delivery. Even with the heat cycling!

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I also drove the CTR to work today and swung through for a quick front wheel alignment. Dialed down the front camber to -2.8* with zero toe. The shop did a really nice job and the Manager used to be a Honda guy. Glad I finally found my alignment shop! :D

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Haha thanks! I have seen you post pictures of your car before. It's a beautiful vehicle.

Unfortunately my state is a lot stricter on emissions, etc. So having a true CTR would be near impossible. Plus, SCCA would class a real CTR in XP class. But since mine is a fully-swapped USDM civic and still LHD, it is legal in SMF. So just happens to work out for my needs :)
 
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