And so it's off !

Washed and detailed, prepared and dropped off at the shipping agent's location in Chiba on friday where it will depart on a 2-3 week boat journey to Fremantle (a port in Western Australia a few kms south of Perth).

Next post on http://racinginaustralia.blogspot.com/

Final visit to SEEKER

Today was a very, very long day !

Around midday on this HOT and STICKY day I dropped off my car at SEEKER's to have the new SPOON baffled oil pan fitted to my car.

This is more of a precautionary insurance policy against a sudden engine failure which can occur under heavy and prolonged cornering. Why now you ask ? Well having bought ADVAN A050s I expect to be pulling more G's and I just don't want to risk exposing the engine to oil starvation under such forces.

The installation itself is actually quite a feat. It requires a complete removal of the bottom engine frame, complete draining of engine oil, removal of the existing pan and then an installation of the new pan. SPOON recommend that a heat bonding adhesive is used to seal the pan to the engine instead of a typical gasket so that in itself requires precision, patience and attention to detail. Anyway it was all done by about 5pm and the end result was something like this ...

Oil pan fitted.
You can see the red bonding agent if you look in closely

Bottom engine frame removed

Before the frame went back on, SEEKER's mechanic Ko had noticed that one of the engine mounts was broken and so we had no choice but to desperately try to find a replacement one somewhere amongst SEEKER's parts. Fortunately Ryo had a single brand new Honda engine mount in stock and so we replaced it on the spot.

Here is what the broken mount looked like...You can see the rubber split on top of the mount.

Apparently these original Honda engine mounts don't last very long if you take your car to a circuit more than 5-10 times a year (in my case 20-30 times perhaps!). They tend to break quite a lot in those situations. I was lucky it was just one, the remaining 3 seemed fine. Ryo recommended using non-OEM mounts which are stronger but result in more vibration throughout the cabin. Not ideal for those sensitive drivers. Anyway MUGEN mounts are supposed to be about 10% tougher over the OEM, followed by SPOON which are even more tougher. I didn't have the luxury of choosing or waiting today so I went OEM.

And so that wraps up my day!

Before I end this post, there is one last piece of performance at last ! I'll let this picture speak for itself :)

This is none other than the brain behind SEEKER's DC5 race car !!
All mine now !!!

And here is their DC5 race car now (retired unfortunately but with a lot of history!)
Loads of appearances in HOT VERSION DVDs and VTEC CLUB DVDs !

And lastly, here are some parting shots of me and the guys !

Ryo Teraoka and I

Ko Omino and I

Thanks guys !

-Rod

SEEKER's new website

Ryo and his team updated their website and my car got a mention !

Check out USER CAR section !
3rd car from the top. I should perhaps put in some comments about the car :)

Shipping preparations

The car's been raised up today in preparation for shipping. The additional 2.5cms all around should help it go on and off a boat ramp quite easily. Ryo from SEEKER did a swift job adjusting the suspension in a 35degree heat of japanese summer and teaching me how to undo it once the car arrives in Perth.

The guys also rolled the fenders in front to accomodate those A050s recently purchased. I must say I am going to miss watching those guys work on my car as it's always been very educational for an amature mechanic like myself.

Other than that, I splashed out on something I'd been thinking about for quite sometime, a SPOON baffled oil pan ! Unfortunately due to time constraints, it won't be fitted until this coming friday but better done in Japan than Perth !

In other news, I took it upon myself to disconnect and remove all electronics however that didn't go without a headache. After disconnecting my HKS lap timer I started getting a Check Engine Light warning and the error was that of a faulty Vehicle Speed Sensor in the transmission. It turns out that disconnecting HKS lap timer without closing the loop on the circuit cuts off the signal from the VSS sensor. Anyway this is not a big deal and i'll ship the car with the CEL on and reset it once it arrives in Perth.

So, probably one (maybe 2) more posts on this japanese blog (I think that would make it 100 in total !) before the car is shipped next week !

Got the import approval !

After 2 months of gathering documents, providing translations and chasing up various evidences I was finally granted an import approval to ship my car to Australia ! (I will write up a whole article dedicated to this interesting process once all the dust settles and the car is safely registered and on the road in Australia)

The car leaves my hands July 29th and hopefully will arrive in Western Australia in the first week of September !

Project Mu HC-CS pads !

Available only in Japan and released a few months back are these new Project Mu pads HC-CS. CS stands for Circuit Spec and promises a higher level of controllability (meaning less lock-up), lower initial friction (meaning the initial bite is gradual and therefore less obrupt) and a better pedal response. The downside is a little more aggressive wear of rotors.

I bought these pads and haven't tried them yet but i've been seeing very positive feedback from other drivers and it looks very promising.

Available from 24,150yen ~ / 22,050yen (front/back)

さようなら 日本 (Goodbye Japan) ！

After about 5 years in Japan I'm moving back to Australia and resuming a much more relaxed lifestyle. Starting August this blog will no longer be updated and in its place a new blog shall be born !

Yes, you can follow my adventures and my car's (it is coming back to Australia with me !) on http://racingInAustralia.blogspot.com

I am moving back to Perth in Western Australia so if you're around Barbagallo Raceway and you see a championship white Honda Integra make sure to say hi ! For those of you who want advice on parts or Honda tuning continue sending your emails and as always i'll try to answer them as best as I can !

I will also continue my close association with my friends from SEEKER whose advice and help I found invaluable ! Thanks Ryo & Ko !

So, without further ado, here is my last ever japanese circuit video before I depart ! It was taken at Fuji Speedway on a very, very wet day on July 7th ! Watch it in its entirety especially towards the end when I spin out ! Enjoy !

Time Attack Battle 2010 - Barbagallo October 29th
The car will be there, I will be there, it will be at night, it will be my 1st in Perth, can't wait so stay tuned !

- Rod

ADVAN A050s !

These babies arrived earlier today !