#ChelseaTheCivic, Part 3: Aftermarket Headers and Hondas

Last season, I was in a rush to get my car together.  I skimmed over a lot of details while doing so in an effort to pass competition school with the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) and to race with my friends in the Honda Challenge H4 Series which we were reviving in the Northeast.

In the process, I ordered a DC Sports header with a 2.25" collector for an exhaust system that had a diameter of 2.5".  I was struggling to make it to my first event of the season at Lime Rock Park to test the car.  And on my final weekend before trailering up to Connecticut, I was faced with the dilemma of making this header work with my exhaust system.

With no flux wire or gas, and minimal welding experience, I welded the monstrosity you'll see above.  This monstrosity is a 2.5" PLM (Private Label Manufacturing) test pipe.  I thought I had a 2.5" collector on my header, but this is when I first discovered that I was mistaken.  As a result, the collector on my test pipe did not fit and I was forced to improvise.  So, I cut the flange off of my 25-year-old catalytic converter, cut the flange off of my brand new, shiny test pipe, and welded it onto the test pipe.

As you may be able to see, this last-minute concoction left a leading edge entering into the test pipe, providing for turbulence and most likely a loss of power.  On the dyno at Lime Rock Park after a race, my car had less horsepower than the three other H4 cars dyno'd-- most likely due to this and my janky intake, which I will not discuss in this post.  Additionally the welds were not very good as you can see below...however, the test pipe held up for a full season of racing.

When the off-season came, I knew I had to put this on my list of improvements for the 2019 racing season.  So, I started by purchasing a $211 PLM header off eBay.  

If you'd like to see more photos like this, you can follow me on Instagram:

This header is a replica of an SMSP Tri-Y Header.  It has a 2.5" collector and is a 4-2-1 which leads to less turbulence and higher flow than the 4-1 DC-Sports header I was previously using.  It's also fully stainless steel, very light, and tig-welded together.

The reason I was able to get this header for so cheap is because it is an open-box sale.  PLM and 1320 Performance are two brands which both sell a lot of headers for Honda.  And they have sales like this going on a lot of the time.  

Think of it.  

Your Facebook friend car meet fanatic wants to make 5 extra horsepower on the butt dyno.  He or she goes on eBay and buys a brand new, shiny, tig-welded header that has no damage at all and intends to put it in a car that is likely daily driven, and if not, is street-driven in his or her leisure.

This header is shipped through FedEx, UPS, USPS, or another service that throws the box around, sets it on fire, or dips it in a bath of acid (they damage it).  It gets to the customer, and they no longer want it.

As a racer, you can take advantage of this scenario by buying the scratched or minorly dented header second-hand, and you have a new, but unboxed item delivered to your door for a fraction of the cost.

Next, I purchased a new PLM test pipe.  This extendable test pipe was ~40-50 dollars and its length can be adjusted to fit your new header to your existing exhaust.

I mounted the header, mocked up the test pipe and got to work cutting and welding.  Having a vise is great for almost anything in the garage.  I even use it to hold pipes or other objects that need welding as I don't have a welding table, I have a wooden table.  The picture below shows one section of my three-piece test pipe in a vise with a white mark around it where it is to be cut.

  After cutting, I then mocked the test pipe up between the header and the exhaust one more time and welded the pipe in the appropriate spot.  This time I used flux core wire, to preclude accelerated rusting as seen on my older test pipe.  A better weld with less slag and less porosity would likely be achieved with gas, but this blog is about doing racing on a budget, so forget about it.

Mounted up, this is what the test pipe looked like.  It fits well, not pulling the exhaust too far forward or pushing it too back.

I also noticed that the SMSP tri-y header was touching the oil pan after I installed it.  Even in a 25-40 minute race, conductive heat transfer from a header to an oil pan could be bad.  You see, exhaust gases leaving an internal combustion engine's cylinder are typically around 1,000 degrees F (based on passing knowledge).  I knew I had to increase the clearance between the header and the oil pan.

Oil pans are cheap and made of soft, malleable, durable steel.  Headers are expensive and made of more expensive stainless steel.  When push comes to shove, one must give-- and in this scenario, I made the pan give with a hammer-- I mean I massaged it gently and carefully as I am a skilled fabricator:

In the above picture, the horizontal lines at the bottom of the pan mark where the header and oil pan were originally touching.  The dots at the top of the oil pan tell me in which order I need to torque the oil pan bolts.  5 bolts tells me that a given bolt is the fifth bolt in the sequence, 17 dots tells me it's the seventeenth bolt.  There are over 17 bolts on a B Series oil pan.

The hardest work was complete, but the last thing to do was to install the O2 sensor.  The problem with this is that on a 1992-1995 Honda Civic with a B Series Engine from an Integra or something similar is that the O2 sensor wire for the B Series Engine is too short for the Honda Civic engine wiring harness.  As a result, you have to lengthen it.  I began by cutting my brand new Denso sensor in half.

Next, I grabbed some wire, measured from the sensor to the connector in the engine bay, and cut the appropriate amount to connect the O2 sensor on the Integra engine to the Honda Civic harness.

Here's a tip: when you take apart any electronics for anything, save the wires.  Good wire is hard to come by at local hardware stores and if you can find it, you have to pay for it.  I save wire from cars that I part out, or machines that break around the house.  I then take these wires and use them in automotive projects.  I haven't spent money on wire in three years.

Then I grabbed my soldering gun and got to work.  I cut all wires needing connection, stripped all said wires of their insulation, soldered all wires together, and added heat shrink around the soldered connections to prevent damage via water intrusion or other external factors.

Here is the heat shrink I applied.  You can get it from a local hardware store, a local auto parts store, or online:

Lastly, I taped the wires together and wrapped the lower part of the wires that sit next to the header with insulation.  I was careful to wrap the soldered joints with tape so that they would not flex.  I was also careful to ensure an equal spacing of tape about the length of this loom of wire.

The finished product is shown below:

Lastly, I installed the O2 sensor...

...And I fired up the car.  The car was difficult to start at first, but ended up idling and running with no check engine light at temperature for several minutes.  The car was sitting for months not having turned over and it didn't even need a jump start.  I love this Honda.

I have some actions going forward to make the car faster, but for now I am focusing on getting it on track next month (April of 2019) at Lime Rock Park for testing with NASA NE.

I appreciate you all reading and wish you the best.  Peace!

B Series Axles-- Problems and Solutions

EJ2 Track Rat: B Series Axles

If you road race or do HPDE with a Honda that has a B Series motor such as a B18B1, B18C5, B16A2, etc, then you’ve likely run into axle problems.

Figure 1: Integra Axle with Torn Outer CV Boot

Many cars with continuous velocity (CV) axles, even street cars, encounter torn boots every once in a while. But when you throw in hard braking from 100 MPH to 60 MPH once every minute-and-a-half, or when you subject your CV joints to excessive stress with a lowered car, or when you toss R comps and excessive lateral loads at your vehicle, you’ll quickly find the limits of physics.

Figure 2: Damien’s Dirt-Nasty Low “EK” Hatch Race Car

Excessive heat from rotors, loads from cornering, and aggressive articulation angles all result from the conditions mentioned above. With the added heat and stress, the components inside of the CV joint typically wear in an accelerated manner-- and for those who are racing, that could mean a DNF or last place. Either way you’re losing points toward your championship and wasting money with a broken car on track.

This writeup provides a solution for those of you who hate your axles. Do you want to drive on R comps? Do you want to be dirt-nasty low? Do you want to crack rotors with heavy braking? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

Figure 3: The Chaos That is Racing

Problem 1: Grease

The first problem associated with many parts-store brand axles that are made for B-Series-equipped Hondas is that they likely don’t have enough grease in them. Even if they do have enough grease, one has to question how high quality said grease is. When a single CV axle costs $35, do you trust it to hold up to the stresses of racing or track days?

Figure 4: These SurTrack Automotive Axles are Cheap at ~$35 from RockAuto

We solve this problem by replacing the old, crappy grease originally present in your axles with high-quality grease. For this DIY, I chose to use Redline CV-2.

Figure 5: Redline CV-2 “High Moly Content” Grease

Redline CV-2 is the grease of choice for rebuilding these troublesome Honda B-Series axles as it is made by a reputable company, withstands temperatures up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, high pressures, which are common in CV axles, and because it contains an “organic moly” as stated by Redline. This organic moly is likely a compound referred to as molybdenum disulfide. Due to its molecular structure, it provides superior lubrication like graphite but it also adheres to metal surfaces very well.

Figure 6: My Friend Alex Lubing up an Axle with Redline CV-2

Problem 2: The Heat

As I mentioned at the beginning of this writeup, the axles are subject to a lot of stress on a FWD race car. Heat is transferred from hot rotors to the axle spindle through the hub and heat is generated by the bearings in the CV joints as they rotate and articulate. The effects of this heat can be exacerbated by other factors mentioned in this article such as poor grease and poor manufacturing tolerances in cheaply made axles.

If the grease can’t handle the heat, its lubricating properties degrade, subjecting the bearings in the CV joints to excess friction-- compounding the problem. If the ball bearings are pitted, the bearing races are cracked, or the cages are cracked, the axle may begin to vibrate and eventually fail catastrophically.

Figure 7: Cracked Cage on a Subaru CV Joint

To solve this problem, we firstly use better quality grease. However, we can also vent the CV joints.

Venting CV joints has not been empirically tested to the best of my knowledge-- however, it is a practice that has been employed in the Honda road racing community for a long time by reputable axle manufacturers such as Gator, RAxles, Insane Shafts, and Driveshaft Shop. While the efficacy can be debated for days, it still doesn’t hurt to understand the theory and construction of axle vents.

Figure 8: Venting the Outer Boot of an Acura Integra Axle

When the axle is rotating at a high speed, it is believed that the centrifugal force generated by this behavior disperses any excess grease around the inner diameter of the axle boot. This, in theory, creates an air space in the center of the CV joint. Heat from the hot, rotating CV joint is transferred to the air space, and if the air is not vented, it is believed that this can accelerate axle wear.

Figure 9: Diagram Showing Air Pocket at Center of CV Boot

To evacuate this hot air, it is believed that a small “vent” (which is actually a tube inserted between the boot and axle shaft) can be used.

Figure 10: Diagram Showing Added “Small Tube” Which Serves as a Vent

Problem 3: Manufacturing

I’ve taken apart brand new parts store axles that have failed on my race car and discovered that they were adequately greased, but failed anyway. This, and other anecdotal evidence I’ve read online and heard about from other B Series drivers leads me to believe that “they just don’t make ‘em like they used to.”

This last section isn’t me saying that a parts store axle with high quality grease can’t last. Contrarily, I have seen and heard of people regreasing parts store axles with high quality grease and having great success at a reduced cost. However there is a generally true inverse relationship between quality and cost with auto parts that suggests machining tolerances and material quality may be compromised for the sake of pricing-- especially with economy-priced axles.

So, let’s not focus on how true the above statements are. Let’s just make sure that our axles are well made. The easiest way to do this is with visual inspection and with precision measurement tools.

Figure 11: A Starrett 0-1” Micrometer I Bought for $10 on OfferUp

When disassembling your axles to regrease and vent, measure any components you can and visually inspect the friction surfaces. Visual inspection should always be implemented as it is cheap and easy if you know what to look for. If you don’t have precision measurement tools, it’s not the end of the world, but they do help.

Starting with the outer joint of an Acura Integra CV axle, it consists of six ball bearings, an inner race, a cage, and an outer race which is integrated into the spindle. This type of CV joint is called a “Birfield joint.”

Figure 12: Diagram of Outer CV Joint

Disassemble the outer joint and begin visually inspecting the components. The following video is a great DIY on how to disassemble the outboard joint of a CV axle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-R11jtnyV8. Things to look for during inspection include: metal pitting, hairline fractures and cracks, and discoloration.

Figure 13: Discoloration on the Spindle Caused by Overheating

If you can see pitting on the metal surfaces, it could be due to contaminants in the grease such as sand that entered through a torn boot or corrosion from moisture. If you see discoloration, it is likely that grease was not lubricating effectively in the affected area and the metal is now distorted. If you see cracking, the affected area may have overheated at some point or may have been constructed from cheap metal.

Figure 14: Ball Bearings with Spalling

A well-manufactured CV axle, such as an OEM unit, will show minimal signs of wear on the friction surfaces. I have disassembled OEM Acura Integra Axles with over 150,000 miles on them and torn boots with nearly perfect looking wear surfaces.

Figure 15: Outer Races of Said 150,000 Mile Axle with Minimal Wear

Once you’re finished your visual inspection, measure whatever you can with precision measurement tools. Engine builders use this process when disassembling motors. Critical dimensions are measured to the nearest one-thousandth, sometimes the nearest ten or one-hundred-thousandth of an inch to gauge the health of various components. If the components are found out of spec, they are sent to a machine shop where they can be brought back into spec with specialized machinery.

Figure 16: Using an Outer Diameter Micrometer to Measure Ball Bearing Diameter

For the outboard joint of a CV axle, one easy component to “blueprint” is a ball bearing. Take several diameter measurements of the ball bearings and compare the results against all bearings in the axle set. Mark each ball bearing with dots so that outliers can be identified. Record your results for future rebuilds.

My OEM axles that I rebuilt all had healthy looking ball bearings with outer diameters that were the same to one-thousandth of an inch.

Figure 17: Recording Ball Bearing Diameter Results

The process is the same for the inboard CV Joint. Disassemble, clean, visually inspect, and blueprint what you can. The inboard CV joint used on B Series Hondas and Acuras is known as a “Tripod joint.” The picture below shows a cutaway view of the side of the inboard joint on the left, and on the right, a cutaway view of the front.

Figure 18: Tripod Type CV Joint (Image from: http://what-when-how.com/automobile/universal-joints-automobile/)

Below you’ll see the inboard spindle that houses the majority of components comprising the inboard joint assembly. Again, this is an OEM unit and looks nearly immaculate after years of abuse.

Figure 19: OEM Honda Tripod Joint Housing (“Cylindrical Pot Chamber”)

When I disassembled the inboard joints, I only blueprinted the outer diameter of the “semispherical rollers” as outlined in Figure 18. But I could have also disassembled these “rollers” and blueprinted their internals as well.

Figure 20: Semispherical Rollers Cleaned and Recently Inspected

Again, when blueprinting the inboard side, the more measurements you can take the better-- but remember, all of the measurements are relative (unless you’re an engineer at Honda and have access to the dimensions you need!) Regardless of what the measurements are, record them and keep them for future axle rebuilds. More data is always better.

The Finished Product

Disassembling, cleaning, inspecting, greasing, venting, and rebuilding your old axles can be a hassle, but if you’re looking to save a buck, the tips in this writeup should help. When you buy a project car, save the OEM axles! When your friend wants to throw out their OEM axles, save the OEM axles! And if you’re at a junkyard and you see OEM axles, save the OEM axles!

#SaveTheOEMAxles

Figure 21: An Assembled, Regreased, Vented, and Blueprinted OEM Honda Axle

Thanks for reading all. Your time is greatly appreciated.

Figure 22: Chelsea the Civic

Helpful Links

CV Joint Types: http://what-when-how.com/automobile/universal-joints-automobile/

How to Disassemble a Birfield Joint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-R11jtnyV8

How to Replace CV Boot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S-ofMoWsr0&t=329s

Band Tool Operation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBsqyH6xhw0

How Does Moly Grease Work: http://www.nitronine.com/how-does-moly-grease-work/

Thunder at the Glen with NASA Northeast 9/28-9/30/18

Thunder at the Glen with NASA Northeast

9/28-9/30/18

Two weekends ago, I went to Watkins Glen International with the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) Northeast (NE) Region.  It was their fourth race weekend of the season and my third race weekend ever, so I tried as best I could to apply the lessons learned from my first two race weekends to improve my car setup and driving style.

My journey started at 5:00 AM when I left my apartment near Philly for my job in Central Jersey.  I had recently regreased the wheel bearings on my dolly for the first time ever and replaced the idler and tensioner pulley on my truck to try and remedy a noise that ended up being a water pump.  With no time left, I decided I'd keep an eye on my mechanical troubles and trudge forward.

After the work day was complete.  I conducted my four hour drive with my trusty steed and my speedy race car.  Once at the track, I met up with my friend Anthony and another fellow Honda Challenge driver, Mike Fries, and we all chatted for a while before I set up camp inside of my truck.

Normally I sleep inside a tent, but by recommendation of my friend Alex, I tried the truck.  And I have to say, sleeping inside a truck during the Fall at Watkins Glen is MUCH warmer than sleeping in a tent.  If you get cold?  You turn the heat on and let the truck run through the night.

The next morning, I got up, got in my car, put my NASA NE Volunteer shirt on, and I drove to the garage to help the NASA NE Volunteers with technical inspection.

With NASA NE, you have the option to volunteer and accumulate "credits" for track days.  If you've been volunteering for some time and you get the swing of things relatively quickly, you can even volunteer and drive at the same time.  You don't get credits in the latter case, but it's a great incentive to socialize and develop relationships with great people.

As a volunteer, you'll get to meet racers, learn driving skills, develop wrenching skills, and have a great time meeting new people.  In the pic below you'll see my buddy Alex helping me record data in his NASA NE Volunteer shirt with my good friend TJ who is an instructor with NASA.

Below, you'll see my buddy Ben adjusting scales after a Thunder Group car (a really fast Corvette) came through to check their weight.

The test day went well and the car was well balanced at this fast and relatively loose track.  Though I decided I would need to up my rear bar rate and increase my front spring rate in the long run.  I learned that my top speed was about 113 MPH on the back straight at Watkins Glen at the time.  Ken, the points leader in H4 wasn't there to shake his car down, but Damien was and he and I battled for a long time.  His car was down about 7 MPH on the back straight compared to me due ot his aerodynamics having more drag.  You'll see Damien's car below.

On Friday night, we enjoyed a track walk and a night out on the town.  Mike Fries of Honda Challenge H2 shared his expertise with us, discussing the corners and their constantly changing camber angles.  It served me and Damien greatly as we listened.  Kallie and Ken, our competitors were either off elsewhere or on their way to the track due to life catching up with them beforehand.

Saturday was the first race day.  It was a bright, sunny day, and our first practice and quali sessions resulted in providing the best conditions for me in the 139 car-- pumping out the fastest time of H4.  I blacked out my competitors' last names and times for their own privacy.

However, as usual, Ken pulled a rabbit out of his hat and managed to FLY by the competition.  With Spencer of Honda Challenge giving him LoBuk Motorsports Coaching, he really had some great knowledge backing him up.

I secured P2 by the skin of my teeth, getting lucky when an ST5 car wouldn't let my competition, Damien, by as I struggled with fuel starvation through corners and overheated tires.  Below you'll see a picture of myself and then Damien and Kallie on track (silver Civic and dark silver Integra, respectively).

After Race 1, Ken, Dame, and I went to WalMart to get some beer, some fire wood, and a pumpkin that we put on top of Kallie's car while she was asleep.  IT WAS HEAVY.  They made me grab it from the bottom of the cardboard bin!  You'll see a pic of Dame holding it.

The next morning we woke up and it was damp out.  The radar said that it would be dry for the whole day, but it ended up raining throug practice/quali...  I utilized the conditions to my advantage despite being scared and qualified first once more!

Given the results from the previous race and from previous race weekends, I was confident Ken would secure first, but what I thought would be a predictable race ended up being a tight race between me, Kallie, and Dame.

We all ended up finishing.  There were a lot of incidents and two major full-course cautions accompanying those incidents.  However, Ken, Damien, Kallie, and Myself were able to get through with no major issues.  Kallie did give me a little love tap (my first race contact), but I was able to catch it in T1 and win the race!

In a way, I was lucky that there were so many incidents.

My driver side, 35-dollar axle from RockAuto ended up failing after one practice session and 2 or 3 laps on track.  When I inspected it after the race, the heat damage was apparent...and very blue!

After the race, Anthony and I drove home together since we live so close and we got back safe.

It was a great weekend to be there and I am thankful for people like the Casellas who help organize events like this and to organizations like NASA that make it possible for amateur racers to have such a great time.  Papa Joe Casella is shown policing the event (and his dog Axle) in the pic below.

Lastly, thank you all for reading!  Until next time, keep following my Instagram account at @EJ2_TRACK_RAT and my Facebook Page.

Thanks all :)