Ok all, so this is where we are for at least a little bit. I've got to get the master of all things web related on seeing about making this a little more familiar to you all, but for now, I had to get this moved over as the old vox site is shutting down. I'll keep you all posted and soon we will have things up and running again here on the blog. Until then, dont forget to friend us on Facebook. Just look up "Team LaCross" and add us!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The win streak is now 3, yet it's a season where "first" means more than just wins
We've been at this a long time, Scott and I. We have won championships, set track records and won a lot of races over the years. At some point, you have to ask yourself if there any things that you haven't done. Well, this season I am finding out that there are plenty.
This season marked the first time we have ever lost wheels two weeks in a row.
This season marks the first time we have lead the points in something other than a VW.
This season, we won 3 in a row for the first time.
Yup, 3 in a row... Quite an accomplishment considering the talented crop of drivers we race each and every week in cars that in reality, are much better than ours. I've said in the past that it takes a tremendous amount of hard work, dedication and luck to win once, let alone 4 times as we have so far this year. As for a streak like this, well, that still amazes me, 3 days after the latest victory. I would love to say that I knew all along that we could pull something like this off, but the fact is each week we go to the track with the plan of winning, but knowing that the odds are against it as there are always 9 or more other drivers with the same goal and desire.
Practice: The car was good, not great, but close enough where there were only a few changes that needed to be made.
Heat Race: There was quite a bit of dicing around and in the end, Scott drove a clean race, perhaps a little too polite though as we finished 3rd and went from 2 points up to tied for 1st.
Main event: Wow, what a race! We started at the rump of the 9 car field (love that invert) and as has been the case in the past few weeks, we made our way to the front quickly, in only two laps finding ourselves behind our Flowmaster teammates and championship contenders Fozzy and Kris. Within a few laps, Kris and Fozzy were duking it out hard, swapping the lead in front of us and Scott settled in about a car length behind them, waiting for his chance. It finally came in lap 10, When Fozzy slipped a little wide coming out of 4, Kris on his outside. Scott made his move down the inside and they came across the start finish line three abreast with Scott seizing the #1 spot on the low side. As they entered turn 1 , he was able to capitalize on the inside position and by the exit of 2 had established himself in the lead and there he stayed for the remaining laps, despite a late caution which gave me a nervous twitch as it eliminated the 10 car length lead we had established.
In the end, it was once again a Flowmaster 1-2-3 finish with Fozzy 2nd and Kris 3rd. Our point lead is now 4 with 6 races to go. A slim margin to be sure. Will we be able to pull it off? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned and follow along as we give it our best shot.
We are off this weekend, but if you're itching for some Mini Stock action, the Outlaw Mini Stocks are racing the 3/8 oval at South Sound Speedway in Tenino and the Formula D US drifting championship series is making it's yearly trip to Evergreen Speedway. Our next race is July 17th and we hope that you can make it out to support your favorite race team. It's been really cool to hear the cheers of the crowd get louder and louder each week and we appreciate all of your enthusiasm!
See you at the races...
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
2 in a Row!
Mid Season championship night was Saturday and we were pumped up to take advantage of the warm weather, arriving at the track a very uncharacteristic 45 minutes early. Everyone was in good spirits as practice began and we spent the time helping out one of our classes rookie drivers. It was fun to watch her follow Scott around for a number of laps and then to see her work on running the line he had shown her as he followed her. Its very satisfying to be able to pass along our knowledge to the next generation of drivers, as one day we will hopefully watch them move up the ladder of success!
Having not pushed the car in practice, we weren't really sure what we had going into the heat race. We made a couple of minor tweaks and hoped for the best, which turned out to be a win in heat race #1. The points leader, Fozzy, was also in our heat race and finished 4th, so we were able to gain a few valuable points on him. In the 2nd heat, Kris also won, so going into the main event, Fozzy still held the lead with Scott and Kris tied for 2nd.
As the main event rolled around, we were starting 8th out of 9 cars, due to the full invert (based on points average) and our rule that the previous week's top three must start at the back, regardless of points average. We had 10 cars, but Nat got into the wall hard with another car and was unable to make it out for the main event. On the start, Scott was cautious, but aggressive and made his way into 2nd by lap 2. For the next 12 laps, we played follow the leader until on lap 14, he overcooked it into turn 1 and Scott easily took the lead on the low side with Kris in hot pursuit. for the next few laps, Kris was better going into the corner, but Scott was better coming off the corner. It went that way for a while, Kris gaining a couple car lengths in, Scott gaining a couple off.
Eventually, Scott was able to pull out to about an 8 car length lead and we came across the line 1st, Kris 2nd and Ryan Rasmussen in 3rd to complete the Podium finishers for the night. When the dust settled, we found that in addition to our 3rd win of the season, we had also taken over the championship points lead. With the top three cars within 5 points of each other and the season just past the halfway mark, it's anyone's game!
Next up, Armed Forces night at Evergreen Speedway on July 3rd, with the Super Late Models and Street Stocks on the big 5/8 mile oval, the Mini's on the 3/8 and Stingers on the Figure 8 track. And on Sunday July 4th, dont miss the annual fireworks extravaganza at Evergreen Speedway, which this year features the Demo Derby, School Buses, Boat races, roll over contest, Hornets, Renegade V8s, Bus jump, Suicide car explosion stunt and "The Beast" jet Dragster!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Ahhhh, sweet redemption!
When you've had a run of bad juju like we have over the past few weeks, a good run goes a long way towards making the pain go away... a Win erases it. Consider the wheel failures erased!!
When we arrived at the track, the skies were threatening rain, so we hit the 1st practice session available to scuff in the new tire and test the set up changes we made. Scott said the car was free, so we made a wedge change and played with different items to help make the car better. (I later learned that we had turned the fastest lap of all the practices, so go figure!)
During the heat race, Scott broke out front and stayed there, winning it in fine style. He mentioned that the car was still pretty loose, so we made a few big adjustments and got ready to run the main event. (again, later I learned we were the fastest car in the heat race...)
In the Main, We started outside row 2 and once they waved off the first start, the second was a gem. Scott made a couple of quick moves and was in the lead by the time they hit turn 3. When they crossed the line to complete lap 1, we already had a 5 car length lead and eventually it stretched out to a full straightaway. By the end of the race, we were taking it easy on the tires and took the checkered flag having completed the clean sweep on the night. AFter the races, scott said that the car still felt loose, so we still have some work to do to get it dialed in, but that's what we do.. we keep tweaking until it's fast enough, which it never is of course! (Note: we were the fastest in the main event as well, so watch out if we get ol' tonya dialed in!)
Next up is Mid Season Championship night this Saturday, with all 5 NASCAR featured divisions racing!
Gates open at 5, racing at 7... be there or be square!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
SSDD... can you say, "Frustration?"
Same S***, Different Day - Or so the saying goes...
Race 5 of the season took place on June 5th. Now, after the wheel fiasco of the previous race, we did our due diligence and checked out every wheel and they all looked fine. We replaced the front rotors, cleaned Tonya up, put on a fancy new hood and were feeling pretty confident going into the night. After a 2nd place finish in the heat race (due to a questionable call from the tower on a restart) we made some adjustments and felt that we had a car that could run up front in the main.
Well, thats exactly what happened, Scott was able to get to the front quickly and as he made the pass to take the lead, the caution came out due to a crash on the back stretch. They went back to the last completed lap, which put us back into 2nd... No problem, right? Everything was going along fine on the restart and Scott looked to patiently move back into the lead when I saw him up in the grass on the backstretch and losing a couple of spots. At first I figured that he just got up there coming out of 2 a little hot and he was gathering it back up before getting back on the racing surface. Then I saw a tire bouncing along side the car. Scott confirmed my disgust as he told me the tire had come off, this time the right front.
This is what a wheel "should" look like...
This is what the right front looked like when I got back to the pits...
Notice anything strange here?
Anyhow, fortunately the track does not count yellow flag laps, so we were able to get a new tire bolted on and Scott came back out onto the track just as the leaders were entering turn 3 after the restart. He held them off for about 4 laps, hoping for a caution, but it was not to be. We let the leader by and dropped in behind him, now solidly in about 10th place, first car a lap down. As the laps clicked off, we were keeping pace with the leader and he began lapping cars, which in turn we then passed, picking up positions along the way. By the end of the race, we had gotten all the way back up to 4th! Not a bad position considering how bad the night started out.
I would be remiss if I didnt mention the kick ass work of everyone in the pits to get the tire changed and back out on the track... Geoff and Dennis you were great!
Next up, June 19th at Evergreen Speedway, It's Kid's Night/Fire Safety night featuring the Super Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks and Hornets. Also, the Guns N Hoses grudge match which pits the Police and Fire departments against one another in a special race!
Also, don't forget that Sunday is Father's day and what could be more fun than to bring Dad to the Rock Church Father's Day car and bike show at the Speedway. The show is free to come see, with hot rods, hot bikes, inflatables for the kids, food and best of all, Drag, Drift and Super Late Model racing demonstrations! If you have a car you would like to enter in the show, the fee is only ten bucks and you could win 500.00 for best of show and people's choice. If you've got a late model race car, why not come out and get some laps in as well. entry for the late models is 5 bucks a head, no car fee!!! Any motor, any shock, any tire(as long as they aren't new), just show up and race! 1 - 30 minute practice session and a 20 lap race, no prize money, no points, but SWEET trophies for 1-3 place.
Check out www.therockchurch.info/carshow/ for more info or check our facebook page!
See you at the races!
Monday, May 17, 2010
You picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel...
Well, more to the point, Broken wheel... but I should start at the beginning.
It's been a trying couple of weeks... during the heat race week 3, we had a terrible motor stumble that was caused by moisture in the distributor cap, relegating us to a last place finish. We fixed it and ended up with a strong 3rd place run on horrible tires.
This week, Week 4, we were on a mission. No more bad stuff happening, we were going to kick some butt. And we did at the start, winning our heat race in fine fashion. The car was a little tight, so we spent our time between the heats and main working on the set up and boy howdy, did it show up in our performance come race time.
We started the main 8th and through a series of awesome moves, Scott took first place on lap 4. A caution on lap 7 led to a restart that put us back into 2nd, but by lap 14 we had the lead back and were looking great. we held a 1 to 2 car length lead on the 2nd place car, occasionally he would get right up to the bumper, but couldnt make the pass. Scott was driving his lines and I was confident we were going to win. Then on Lap 20, coming out of turn 4, I watched in horror as the left front wheel came shooting off of the car. Scott was able to swing the car wide off the track onto the 5/8 front stretch and avoid piling up himself and the other cars. When the car was brought back to the pits, the race was restarted and we went to inspecting what went wrong. I took one look at the car and noticed that all the lug nuts were still firmly attached and knew right away what happened. A look at the wheel confirmed my suspicions...
Eyup... Shredded... torn right off the car. Project for this week... replace chrome wheels... I hate those things anyways!
Our 8th place finish has placed us squarely in a 21 point hole, now 4th in the standings. Not insurmountable by any means, but we have our work cut out for us. Stay tuned to see what happens... Next race is June 5th... See you there!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Back in the Saddle again!
Boy howdy, what a night! After a heat race in which we saw the horrid sight of a gigantic puff of blue smoke come from the engine compartment, Team LaCross showed everyone in attendance that the old adage, "It ain't over, till it's over" is completely true as we won our first race of this young season in the 25 lap Mini Stock feature event on Fan Appreciation night at Evergreen Speedway.
The day started out under threatening skies and the rian kind of sputtered here and there. Qualifying was dry and we once again qualified 3rd fast. As we lined up for the heat race, Britt noted that I should probably grab an umbrella and of course, refused to believe the rain was going to come and boy, was I wrong! A steady light drizzle began just as we took the track. Scott was fighting for the lead when suddenly about halfway in, the motor appeared to let loose on the front stretch as a huge plume of smoke came from under the hood. The push truck brought Scott back to the pits and the guys jumped all over it, immediately looking for signs of "ventilation" as we call it in the racing world, which to those who don't know, would be a hole in the engine or transmission that shouldn't be there.
As JZ and I popped the hood and saw all the oil, we jacked up the car and Rob dove under to take a look. Turns out that the oil filter mounting stud had come loose and the filter or course had come loose as well. We cleaned things up and loaded the car back up with oil, thinking that we could still make it back out to finish the heat race, which was under red flag conditions to clean up large amount of oil that was now on the track. Unfortunately, the O-ring that seals the oil filter sandwich plate to the block had gotten cut and when we fired the car back up, oil still was coming out in large amounts.
As JZ ran to his shop and several parts stores to grab oil, filter and a new o-ring, the rain really started coming down. It was a complete mess. Fortunately, we had about two hours before the main event and as JZ showed back up at the track, the rain had stopped and the sun started to break out. The parts stores were no help on the o-ring, But our friend and fellow racer Nat came to the rescue and had one in his trailer! I was struggling to get my giant mitts into the area where the o-ring goes, but Will came to the rescue and jumper right under the car in the water and oil and was able to get it all fixed up. We loaded the car up with water and oil, fired her up and it was like nothing ever happened! With about 30 minutes till race time, I set the pressures talked a little strategy and headed off to spot for the race.
Immediately, Scott moved forward and found himself in 2nd. The car in first had scooted out to a pretty healthy lead and was running a little drier line than we were, so for 15 laps we were able to make minor gains, but it was starting to look like 2nd would be the spot of the night. Then a car spun and brought out the caution, which was the break we needed. When the restart cone came out, I knew that we had a excellent shot at taking the lead. Scott always is good on the low side, and if the leader went low, we could hold him down and force him to run a lower line than he had been using all night. Leader went high, we went low and that was that. The first restart was waved off as the leader missed a shift and they didn't like the jump we got, On the second, Scott held his line low and the drag race was on, middle of turn 2, we were clear and off like a shot. for the remaining 10 laps, we held no less than a 3 car length lead for most of it and took the win.
Special thanks go out to Johnny Z, Rob, Will, Nat, Dennis, Kris and the whole JZ Motorsports and Team Flowmaster crews. This one was as much yours as ours and we couldn't have done it without your help! Our next race is May 8th... mark it on your calendars and be there!
Friday, April 16, 2010
We're Back!
Well, here it is, Friday, 4-16 and I'm finally getting around to doing a little write-up on the first race of the year. How bad is that???
Well, as many of you know, we have not completed the new car yet. Perfection takes time, ya know! So, we worked out a deal with our Car owners from last year, Kris and Mindy Harriss, to drive Tonya for a couple of weeks until the new Hot Rod is done. We picked her up on Monday night the 5th and brought her back to the shop to get her ready. We had to install a seat, belts, give her a bath and just fiddle with minor things, so we figured, "eh, no problem, we can knock this out in a few hours." Well, with the hustle and bustle of everyone at JZ Motorsports getting cars ready and much procrastination on the part of yours truly, it was late Friday night/Early Saturday morning before we finally were able to put her on the scales and get the set up done.
The car was as good as the day it last hit the track from the get go. 17 cars qualified and we were 3rd quick, won our heat race and really had little to do to the car, other than checking toe, charging the battery and polishing lug nuts. In the main event, we started mid pack due to the invert and the rookies being forced to start in the rear of the field. By lap 10, a very familiar scene was playing out, Kris and Scott, running 1st and 2nd, were running away from the pack. Unfortunately it didn't last, as coming out of turn 4, they got together and Kris ended up being spun out. The black flag flew and Scott took his place at the rear of the field and when the green flew,he set off to get back to the front with now only 6 laps to go, as the race was shortened due to time constraints. Scott dug deep and was able to get back to 4th place.
Our goal was to get at least a top 5 , which we did. There was a lot of anxiety in the pits after the race, which was to be expected after what happened on the track. Our friendship with the Harriss' is much more important to us than any race car or trophy and we've been able to talk and work things out. In fact, we have gone ahead and purchased Tonya from them and now we have 2(!) Hondas in our racing stable... HONDAS... can you beleive it? A couple of old VW guys owning and racing Hondas??? Next thing you'll see is dogs and cats getting married or Republicans and Democrats agreeing on ANYTHING!
Next race is tomorrow, 4-17. It's fan apprciation night at Evergreen Speedway and Ticket prices have been reduced to 10 bucks for 12 and older, 5.50 for kids 6-11 and kids under 5 are FREE! Also, please stop by our Facebook page and find the Secret phrase, that when spoken at the ticket booth, will earn you an additional 2 dollars off your admission!!!! Just go the Facebook and type "Team LaCross" in the search box.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Updates!
So it's been a few weeks and I thought I'd post a couple of pics from today's activities on the hot rod :-)
After doing a little shop cleaning we got a little nutty and this is what happened...
Then, JZ, Geoff and I started making some swoopy stuff...
Meanwhile Scott, Crazy Carl and Golden Toes were getting busy removing all the undercoating, But GT took the opportunity to play hide and seek behind a flashlight!
After a long, long time, finally the bottom of the car looks like this...
I figure we probably removed about 10 lbs of weight by doing that. It was a ton of work, but well worth it!
Next update will be the next time I have a spare moment. I will try to make these more frequent, but we are working hard to get the car ready for the season opener, so most of my time is devoted to that right now. Thanks to everyone for stopping by and following along with us!
Meanwhile Scott, Crazy Carl and Golden Toes were getting busy removing all the undercoating, But GT took the opportunity to play hide and seek behind a flashlight!
After a long, long time, finally the bottom of the car looks like this...
I figure we probably removed about 10 lbs of weight by doing that. It was a ton of work, but well worth it!
Next update will be the next time I have a spare moment. I will try to make these more frequent, but we are working hard to get the car ready for the season opener, so most of my time is devoted to that right now. Thanks to everyone for stopping by and following along with us!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Excuse me, your chassis is showing...
Ok, so back on the 6th I posted a few pictures of the car. I stated that we were just going to start working on the suspension. Well, things have progressed a little so I thought that I would post a few pictures to update you on progress!
You know, it's a pain in the butt to work on Mini Stocks due to the Stock body parts. During this process on a Late Model, you leave the body off until you are done with all the chassis updates and assembly. So that's what we did!
Remember this shot?
Well, these ones were taken about 11am yesterday...
A few strategic cuts and bingo! No more body parts to get in the way!
At this point, I've been going a little nutty with the cutting wheel. You can see on the left that the fuel cell and battery box have been removed along with the rear firewall and a few other items.
This photo and the next one were snapped at about 4:30pm. As you can see, the only thing left in the back are a couple of fuel lines. In the cockpit you can see the switch panel is still there and the wiring harness.
And the front of the car... you can see that the brake lines, booster, wiring harness are all gone now. Not too bad for about 5 hours of work, eh? At this point, we have some grinding to do and a few more subtractions and we can then start doing the adds that we wanted to do. All this effort is going to make the car safer and hopefully, an outstanding performer.
There are some pretty damn talented people working with us on this project and I'll be introducing them to you as we go along. Stay tuned for the next installment... who knows what state the car will be in then!
A few strategic cuts and bingo! No more body parts to get in the way!
At this point, I've been going a little nutty with the cutting wheel. You can see on the left that the fuel cell and battery box have been removed along with the rear firewall and a few other items.
This photo and the next one were snapped at about 4:30pm. As you can see, the only thing left in the back are a couple of fuel lines. In the cockpit you can see the switch panel is still there and the wiring harness.
And the front of the car... you can see that the brake lines, booster, wiring harness are all gone now. Not too bad for about 5 hours of work, eh? At this point, we have some grinding to do and a few more subtractions and we can then start doing the adds that we wanted to do. All this effort is going to make the car safer and hopefully, an outstanding performer.
There are some pretty damn talented people working with us on this project and I'll be introducing them to you as we go along. Stay tuned for the next installment... who knows what state the car will be in then!
Friday, February 12, 2010
How Many Engine options does one really need???
Today's post features one of the things that are foreign to us as we venture into full blown Honda ownership. Engine selection and the plethora of options available to us.
Back in the old days, we had 2 tried and true motor options for our VW... the 1.6L (mouse) and the 1.8L (Mule). People had played around with limited or no success with the 2.0L motors, so all of us VW guys ran one of these 2 motors. 8 valve versions of course as back then, 4 valve heads were not legal, we all ran a Holley 350 carb (F.I. wasn't legal then either) and the only computers near the car were when it was at the shop and somebody was playing Solitaire on the desktop PC in the office.
Now, as you know we have a Honda. Here are the Honda Motor options:
- 89-92 B16A Civic - SiR (Japan)
- 90-93 B16A Integra - RSi/XSi (Japan)
- 92-95 B16A Civic - SiR II (Japan)
- 89-92 B16A1 Civic - VT (Europe)
- 90-91 B16A1 Civic - SiR (Japan)
- 91-95 B16A2 Civic - Vti (Europe)
- 99-00 B16A2 Civic - Si (America)
- 94-97 B16A3 Del Sol VTEC (America)
- 94-97 B16A3 Del Sol - Vti-T (Europe)
- 94-97 B16A3 Del Sol Vti-T (Europe)
- 96-00 B16A4 Civic - SiR II (Japan)
- 97-01 B16B Civic Type-R (Japan)
- 92-93 B17A1 Integra GS-R (America)
- 90-93 B18A1 Integra (America)
- 94-01 B18B1 Integra (America)
- 94-95 B18C Integra Si VTEC (Japan)
- 95-99 B18C Integra SiR-G (Japan)
- 96-00 B18C Integra Type R (Japan)
- 94-01 B18C1 Integra GS-R (America)
- 96-97 B18C3 Integra Type R (Taiwan/Hong Kong)
- 96 B18C3 Civic VTi 1.8
- 97+ B18C4 Civic 1.8 Vti (Europe)
- 97;98;00-01 B18C5 Integra Type R (America)
- 96+ B18C6 Integra Type R (Europe)
- 96+ B18C7 Integra Type R (Australia)
- 87-89 B20 Accord 2.0i (Europe)
- 85-87 B20A1 Prelude Fi (Europe)
- 86+ B20A1 Prelude 2.0i (Europe)
- 87+ B20A2 Accord 2.0i EX (Europe)
- 90-91 B20A3 Prelude 2.0 S (America)
- 88+ B20A4 Prelude 2.0
- 90-91 B20A5 Prelude 2.0 Si (America)
- 88-89 B20A5 Prelude Si (America)
- 88-91 B20A6 Prelude 4WS Si (Australia)
- 87-92 B20A7 Prelude 2.0i (Europe)
- 88+ B20A8 Accord 2.0i (Europe)
- 87-92 B20A9 Prelude 4WS 2.0i (Europe)
- 97-98 B20B CR-V (America)
- 97+ B20B3 CR-V RD1 (Europe)
- 97-98 B20B4 CR-V
- B20Z SMX (Japan)
- 90-91 B21A1 Prelude Si (America)
- D-series
- 1991 1.4 L D14 (Civic)
- 84-87 1.5 L D15A2 (CRX) HF
- 85-87 1.5 L D15A3 (CRX) Si
- 91-99 1.5 L D15B (Civic) VTi VTEC
- 96-02 1.3 L D13B4 (City)LXi/EXi/DX
- 88-91 1.5 L D15B2 (Civic) DX/LX, (CRX) DX (LSi in Europe)
- 88-91 1.5 L D15B6 (Civic) Base, (CRX) HF
- 92-95 1.5 L D15B7 (Civic) DX/LX
- 92-95 1.5 L D15B8 (Civic) CX
- 92-95 1.5 L D15Z1 (Civic) VX VTEC-E
- 96-98 1.5 L D15Z4 (Civic) LX
- 96-00 1.5 L D15Z6 (Civic) (VTEC SOHC) iLS
- 1991 1.4 L D14 (Civic)
- 86-89 1.6 L D16A1 (Integra) DOHC
- 86-89 1.6 L D16A3 (Integra) DOHC (Australia)
- 88-91 1.6 L D16A6 (Civic) Si, (CRX) Si, (Civic) EX
- 88-89 1.6 L D16A8 (Integra) DOHC
- 88-89 1.6 L D16A9 (Integra) (CRX in Europe) DOHC
- 96-00 1.6 L D16Y5 (Civic) HX VTEC-E
- 97-00 1.6 L D16Y7 (Civic) DX/LX/CX
- 96-00 1.6 L D16Y8 (Civic) EX/(Canada)Si VTEC
- 90-92 1.6 L D16Z5 (Civic) (CRX in Europe) DOHC
- 92-95 1.6 L D16Z6 (Civic) EX/Si, Del Sol Si VTEC
- 92-95 1.6 L D16Z9 (Civic) EX/Si, Del Sol Si VTEC
- E-series
- 1973 1.2 L EB (Civic)
- 2000 1.0 L EC (Insight) Hybrid
- 1975 1.5 L ED (Civic) CVCC
- 1976 1.6 L EF (Accord)
- 1980 1.3 L EJ (Civic)
- 1979 1.8 L EK (Accord/Prelude)
- 1980 1.5 L EM (Civic) CVCC
- 1986 1.5 L EW2 (CRX)
- 1984 1.4-1.5 L EW4 (Civic)
- 1983 1.8 L ES (Accord/Prelude)
- 1985 1.8 L ET (Prelude)
- 1984 1.3 L EV (Civic)
- 1984 1.5 L EW (Civic/CRX)
- 1973 1.2 L EB (Civic)
(Europe)
- H-series
- 92-96 H22A Prelude Si VTEC (Japan)
- 94-97 H22A Accord SiR (Japan)
- 97-01 H22A Prelude SiR, SiR S-spec, Type S (Japan)
- 00-02 H22A Accord Euro R (Japan)
- 93-96 H22A1 Prelude VTEC (America)
- 97-98 H22A1 Prelude VTiR (Australia)
- 93-96 H22A2 Prelude 2.2i VTEC (Europe)
- 1996 H22A3 Prelude VTEC (KU)
- 97-01 H22A4 Prelude SH & Base(America)
- 97-98 H22A5 Prelude (Europe)
- 99-02 H22A7 Accord Type R (Europe)
- 99-01 H22A8 Prelude (Europe)
- 99-01 H22Z1 Prelude VTiR (Australia)
- 99-02 H23A Accord Wagon, SiR Wagon (Japan)
- 91-93 H23A1 Prelude SRS (Australia)
- 91-95 H23A1 Prelude Si (Australia)
- 92-96 H23A1 Prelude Si; SE (America)
- 92-96 H23A2 Prelude 2.3i (Europe)
- 93-95 H23A3 Accord 2.3i SR (Europe)
- 92-96 H22A Prelude Si VTEC (Japan)
- K-series
- (03+) 01+ K20A Integra TYPE-R; Civic TYPE-R; Accord Euro R (Japan)
- 02-04 K20A2 RSX Type S (America)
- 01+ K20A3 Integra IS (Japan)
- 01+ K20A3 RSX Base, Civic Si (America)
- 03+ K24A Accord; Accord Wagon (Japan)
- 03+ K24A2 TSX 200 (America)
- (03+) 02+ K24A3 CRV; Element; Accord
- (03-06) K24A4 2.4L Honda Accord
- 05+ K20Z1 RSX Type S (America)
- (07+) K23A1 RDX
- 06+ K20Z3 Civic Si
- (03+) 01+ K20A Integra TYPE-R; Civic TYPE-R; Accord Euro R (Japan)
- N-series
- 04-06 2.2 L N22A2 FR-V (Europe)/Edix (Japan) - diesel i-CTDi (Common Rail Direct Fuel Injection)
- R-series
- 2006 1.8 L R18A1 (Honda Civic) i-VTEC
- 2006 2.0 L R20 (Honda Stream) i-VTEC
Yeah... you can see that this is a little more confusing than before. In layman's terms, it's like this.
VW Motor build: Find a junkyard living motor, build a stout bottom end, work over head(port, polish, valve grind, cam, etc.), fine tune carb, add MSD, install and go!
Honda Motor build: Spend a gazillion hours on the Internet and phone figuring out best powerplant to start with, More hours on Internet sourcing internal parts to fit said motor, Install parts, Install bigger cams and better valve springs which cost much more than their VW counterparts(Note: No porting and polishing allowed!on the twin cam cars!), Rewire harness to remove unnecessary stuff, install motor, reconnect wiring harness correctly, cross fingers and hope car starts, take to dyno and tune computer -OR- transplant in a JDM(Japanese Domestic Market) low mile used engine/computer/transmission, leave it relatively untouched (which still is a pain in the butt) and go!
Of course, You also have to decide, V-tec or Non V-tec, Single or Twin cam, Hydraulic or Cable clutch...
I think between LaCrash and I, our collective heads are going to explode soon from the sheer volume of information we have to process. We have approx. 4 weeks until 1st practice and there is still so much to do, I don't know what to tackle first, but rest assured, come race day, we will be there and ready to do battle in the BEST Mini Stock class in the NW.
By The Way, it's also time once again to remind everyone that if you are interested in Marketing Opportunities with Team LaCross, we would love to talk to you. Marketing with Team LaCross is a great way to reach thousands of potential customers not only in the Seattle area, but statewide as we plan on trying to make a few out of town races as well this season. Click the link on the right hand side of this page to send us a message or e-mail with your contact information and we will be happy set up a meeting with you to discuss a Marketing Partnership with Team LaCross.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Team LaCross buys... A Honda????
Well, more accurately, an Acura.
It's been a long, strange off season to be sure. We spent a few months deciding what class we wanted to race, Late Models or Mini Stocks. We already own the Late Model, but really want to buy a straight rail car. We did not own a Mini Stock, but a number of cars were available.
Racing wise, we really wanted to be back out in the Late Model. But running the Mini last season reminded us that Racing could be FUN, not just work. So after much debate and deliberation, it was decided that we would return to the Mini Stock class for 2010.
Next was what car to purchase. Did we want to buy the car we ran the year previous? There were a number of VW's available for sale, along with a couple of rear wheel drive options. When the stars aligned, we ended up buying a 1991 Acura Integra. Yes, you heard it... the VW boys have officially jumped onto the Honda bus.
Here is a photo of the car up on the lift at the shop. We purchased the car as race ready, but you know better than to think we were going to let it go at that! We have stripped off the doors, pulled all the tin, lexan and damaged bits at this point and were giving it a once over before pulling the motor.
This photo was taken last night. I'm sure many of you are familiar with this look right now as we all prepare our cars for battle. There is still some pressure washing to do and then we will begin reworking the suspension, inspecting each and every line, nut and bolt, replacing what doesn't meet our standards.
There it is, the old power plant. You know, it sure does look bigger than the old VW 1.8 liter, especially with that extra cam! And what on earth is that big silver thing? Fuel Injection??? Hey, I'm an old Carb guy, I don't know about these new fangled induction systems :-)
A number of people have asked me, "Eddie, why this car? Why not a VW?" Well, it's like this. We have won a lot of races and championships in a VW. Then, last year we were able to make Tonya(a Honda) a race winner and Championship threat and she wasn't even our car. So when it came decision time and the Acura became available, it was a new challenge. A chance to take a car that has little performance history and see if we have what it takes to make it a championship caliber ride. It boils down to us wanting to challenge ourselves, to see if we can take the ideas we had swimming around in our heads last season as we drove Tonya and see if they will be successful.
First practice is coming up fast and we will be hard at work for the next month or so working on the car. I will be posting photos and keeping updates as frequently as I can, so keep stopping by! And hey, if you're in the neighborhood, stop by the shop and say hello. Maybe we will take a little break, fire up the blender and the the Rock Band and have an impromptu party... you just never know!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Hi there!
Been a while, hasn't it?
News on the upcoming season is on it's way. Plans are being finalized and as soon as we have them nailed down, you will be the first to know!
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