Vtec – Gripshiftslide

CRX Australia :: Satay & Cars Melbourne Style

Grant — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:59:01 +0000

If you’re into modified cars and you know your way around the internet then you’re probably familiar with the term “Cars & Coffee”, These social car meet ups usually take place frightfully early on a weekend and the idea of a hot coffee is used to lure tired souls out into the cold morning air to talk about all things cars… This is Melbourne so things are a little different, the usual club meets and greats take place around some delicious piping hot food and carry on late into the night.
CRX Australia was due for a reboot after some months of hibernation so the always popular and recently re-opened Garage Cafe was the venue of choice, Honda’s, Targa tops, Wedge backs and Satay was on tonight’s menu.

Tucked away on a side street in Carlton lies a factory with no high-vis, no machinery and no workers… Instead inside you’ll find a few car spaces, a pool table, some cozy tables and the aroma of spices.
Garage Cafe have been operating for years but after a short hiatus due to council disputes they’re back open for business with regular car meets all week long.

The occasion of course was for CRX Australia, a club that’s been running since the heydays of Honda’s original boy racer. The CRX.
We arrived long before dozens of noisy Honda’s entered the building to the beautiful sight of two pristine C63 Mercedes parked up next to a very classy BBS coffee table (A favorite of ours from previous visits).

Not long after the CRX’s started to arrive, soon proving that over the years the club has shifted it’s dominance to the newer Del Sol chassis, as prices have come down, the older generations have become rarer and have held their price on the second hand market. Ultimately young drivers have won having Honda’s ever popular DOHC Vtec engine and a removable targa top all in an affordable package.

The popular modifications seem to be wheels and seats, you would be forgiving thinking that they all came with bucket seats as new walking around this group. The factory fitted cloth seats are now as rare as rocking horse poo.

Some had more character than others, however all still maintained a simple approach…

No body kits in sight, just clean factory lines and the addition of front lip. Remember less is more!!

One of the most popular seats in the Honda world, SR3 Recaros removed from a Type R equipped Integra or Civic.

The final numbers finished on 6 x Del Sols & 4 x 2nd generation CRX’s, all in all a nice mix of what is becoming one of the biggest cult cars in the Honda stable.

The 2nd gen’ CRX’s have always been popular in Melbourne with a large amount of owners lucky enough to have the imported SiR version.
Factory fitted with the first run of B16a, suspension tweaks, facelift and some with a moon roof panel from window to window giving the driver a unique experience.

Melbourne has been home to the largest amount of SiR/EF8 CRX’s in Australia with the club seeing as many as 15 at events in recent years.
Some CRX have changed owners in that time and it was great to see an old hero of the club with a fresh lick of paint and a great set of wheels.

This particular car has kept the original B16a power plant with a healthy amount of boost thrown at it thanks to a turbo conversion by Rev Zone, in it’s years with it’s original the car has claimed several trophy’s and awards thanks to close to 200KW at the wheels.

Any colour other than black is quite rare for these imported versions.

Adding a set of BBS wheels the owner has managed to really stand out amongst the sea of black CRX in Melbourne.

Keeping the German theme with the wheels the owner has fitted a sticker from one of the best blogs around, check them out!
https://www.facebook.com/SehrGute

We also spotted a GSS sticker on this rad Del Sol sitting on some Work Equips.

With everyone feeling full from the feast of Satay and Mi Goreng the group decided to venture out into the cool fresh Melbourne air for some photos by the water.

Several J-turns later we arrived together at another iconic Melbourne location for car fans. Underneath the Bolte bridge.

Now with some space to spread out we got to compare all the cars together.

Volk TE37 work on everything, literally!! Post a car in the comments that doesn’t look good on these wheels, we dare you!

It was great to re-visit the old spot now that the Melbourne Star Ferris wheel is finally operational, the light show it puts on as it spins looks great reflected on the dark water.

While the group kept chatting away we moved two of the Del Sols off for a quick snap together. The black one made the trip all the way down from Sydney to join the fun!!

One of the must underrated Honda’s of the 90’s, it’s great to see them finally get their time to shine.

Now pushing the 25 year mark the original boy racer is now thinning in numbers and I hope more owners hang onto their original gen’ 2’s as they’re a pretty special car in the Honda line up.
Well done to CRX Australia and it’s admin team for keeping name alive and bringing these people together.
If you need any help with anything CRX related whether it’s maintaining one or simply finding one jump on the forums or join the facebook group.
http://www.crxaustralia.com/
CRX Australia Facebook Group
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Honda Nationals 2013 :: The Power Of Dreams

Grant — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:47:27 +0000

When it comes to Honda owners they’re usually considered the ‘black sheep’ of the car community and often shunned by other modified car owners for being too extreme with their love for all things Honda and their endless ramblings about the benefits of that magical thing known as VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control).

So what happens when you invite all of these fanatics to one race track in regional Victoria located close to the NSW boarder? You get some of the most intense Honda build this country has to offer, some 110db of ear piercing, valve bouncing, limiter bashing adrenaline and some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet at a racetrack!

The idea was simple, enthusiasts getting together for a once a year occurrence to celebrate all things Honda!
Winton was the racecourse of choice for it’s unique ability to cater for both novice and professional drivers alike, with very wide corners it is a forgiving track to learn on but allows those determined for fast lap times to follow a precise ‘racing line’ and see some blisteringly quick lap times!
The BYP Integra was the defending champion from previous years of the Honda National series (2011-2012).

The reigning champ was the car to beat with one of the best setup packages for time attack racing, just earlier that month the BYP crew set a new record for front wheel drives at Winton. The team won the Vic Time Attack series with an astonishing lap time of just 1:26.8670!!!
All things were looking good for the team to record some similar numbers, here the Integra is treated to a quick bath before it hit the track.

Before any racing could happen everyone was called on for a quick but informative drivers briefing.

It was great to see so many people racing for the first time, so meetings like this are a must so that the safety of other drivers and of course those precious cars are always maintained.

Drivers were also allowed to request an instructor for the first session so they had all the tools they needed to set some new personal bests which is what the day is all about really.

After the meeting it was time to walk the pits, first up we spotted a favorite of ours. This little EP3 Civic is always head turner and it’s always a pleasure to see another sticker of ours on a car!

Another Civic that gets our hearts racing is Trevor’s pocket rocket ED Civic, expect more on Trevor and his Civic that could soon!

Vyet’s S2000 is a simply car that crosses the boundary’s of street, track and show car all in one perfectly executed package. We have nothing praise for his car and his dedication to enjoying it to the fullest!
This was one of three cars representing Melbourne based Time Attack crew Nakama, these cars are all about looking great, driving fast and not holding back.

While not as polished or refined as Vyet’s S2000 this is another Melbourne based car that always has our attention, in fact we sometimes prefer the ‘driven hard’ look.
Brake dust, chipped paint and big thick slick tyres are a must!!

Inside is much the same affair, plenty of practicality and yet it’s still full of quality parts is perfectly functional.

The track was beginning to warm up after soaking up the morning sun so it was now or never for 60+ Honda’s to hit the tarmac!

To keep the amount of cars on track manageable, cars/drivers were grouped based on modifications and then moved accordingly based on their skill level to make sure there wasn’t an excessive amount of overtaking etc.

Some of the drivers took full advantage of the instructors on offer, here Pboi decided Elmo from Sesame Street was the best bet for chasing those few seconds of his PB!

Things didn’t take long to get serious, after just a few laps we started to hear that all too familiar sound of Honda’s on full throttle around Winton.

Just a few short laps into the first session for some of the serious cars, Michael Hack’s EM1 began blowing a small amount of smoke.
Unaware in the cabin Michael kept pushing eventually coming off the track slightly causing his control arms to bump into an already lose oil fitting as a result the oil pressure dropped suddenly sending alarm bells ringing and Mike pulled off track immediately!

After a tow back to the pits a later inspection found the source of the problem and everything was corrected and the oil was again re-filled.
Even though Michael had the green light to go back out it was hard to regain the trust in the car and push it to the limit, after all the last thing he wanted to do was drop more oil and ruin it for everyone.

We took advantage of Michael’s down time between session and filmed a quick interview which we will be cutting together and releasing soon so keep your eye’s peeled for that!

David Napoleon is young driver chasing his dreams, his car is rumored to have it’s duties soon restricted to track use only as his build gets more serious.
We eagerly watching as he continually beats his best lap times track day after track day. So far for Winton David’s tracking a 1:42.0350 with room for improvement as the car progresses to all out track spec.

Believe it or not David actually drive this EP3 Civic every day exactly as you see it here, wing, stickers and all!!

Another EP3 setting some quick time was Chris’s ‘JDMCVC’ with a 1:41.1030.

We also got to see one of our previous feature cars out on track, it was of course Nity’s K20 swapped FD Civic!
You can check out the full feature here >> http://gripshiftslide.com/2012/01/11/double-ks-problems/

The great thing about a track day such as this is that it really didn’t matter what you were driving as long as you had fun out there!!
From stiff setup suspension…

To not so ideal factory shocks/springs, Honda did get the combination right for street driving and occasional track use though. This Type R Integra broke past the 1:50 mark with a fast lap of 1:47.3180!

It was great to see this bright yellow CRX mixing it up with the big boys out on track, this little car is a testament that setup is everything!
No engine swaps here just great suspension tuning and maintenance saw a quick time of 1:42.8340!

All eyes were on BYP and their Integra after setting a blistering time of 1:26 just a few week earlier for Vic Time Attack series.
The car did experience some gearbox issues so the car was retired early but did the team manage to set a fast enough lap to take home the win? Only time would tell!!

Half way through the day there was some issues with the tracks surface after this drop dead gorgeous S2000 unloaded a considerable amount of oil on the track, luckily the car made it back to the pits without any major mechanical issues.
However there was plenty of down time while everyone pitched in to clean up the slippery surface.

In the the extended break it was time for everyone to check over their cars, fluids, tyre pressure etc.

We did a full lap of the pits to see how the cars were going cooling off in the breeze. Michael’s Autosphere K24 swapped DC5 was looking suspiciously clean after a few sessions although we expect he was setting a good example and not driving too hard given that when he wasn’t behind the wheel he was busy overseeing that everything was going to plan, so who says you can’t run an event and race at the same time?!

This Integra was sporting a JDM front conversion and looked the part but something was not going to plan, the car just couldn’t get a full session in. We’re keen to see it progress in the future as it looked great when it was out on track!

Further up the pits the JDMyard team from Sydney had stopped to refuel both the car and their team.

The boys from JDMyard sure know how to build a quick car, this DC5 is their latest creation and no expense has been spared!!

Inside it’s all business with an intense shifter kit, Mugen steering wheel and carbon panels to block up any holes in the dash.

Everyone was excited to see what the NSW’s based team could muster out of their monstrous looking DC5 race car.

The team managed to coax a 1:33.3770 which landed themselves 2nd fastest outright and fastest N/A powered car of the day!!

It wasn’t all workshop builds that had us impressed, check out this immaculate S2000 with an engine bay full of make fast bits and a level of cleanliness that is boarding on obsessive.

We’re used to drift days here at Winton but looking around the pits every car was loved, there were no ‘track hacks’ here every car was treated well…

…Some more so than others, Pboi’s S2000 remand off the track after the oil spill incident, so we just got more time to drool over it.

By now the oil had really been soaked up so it was now time for many to try for that last chance at a quick lap time for the day.

Michael had regained his motivation and headed out once again after the oil fitting issue he had in his first session.

Despite giving it all he had Michael still didn’t manage to beat his PB of 1:36.3, he was still a few seconds shy but he knows the car has plenty more in it as his old PB was set with only 70% throttle!!
With brands like Hybrid Racing on board helping him out, it won’t be long till we see Michael at the top of the score board!!

Lap after lap we saw some very quick passes through the front straight of the course so we were really excited to see the leader board, did BYP do enough before their gearbox gave out??

Our favorite S2000 scored 4th fastest of the day with a blistering 1:36.0440! Well done Vyet!!

So did BYP break their previous record lap of just 1:26.8670??… No, the car had suffered and the gearbox gave out but they managed to cling onto the number one spot with a much more conservative time of 1:31.3800.
With two seconds between them and the JDMyard DC5 which is still an impressive feet though no new records were set.
All in all this was one of the best track days we have been to, with much the same vibe as one of the locally run EXE Crew track days the event was a huge success and a great spectacle even if you weren’t a die hard Honda fan.
The organisers really showed us what a track day should be and we hope that the event gains more popularity in the years to come as we had an absolute ball and who knows… Maybe next time we’ll be driving!!
A big thank you for the warm welcome we received from everyone and of course all the sponsors and volunteers, without you this event couldn’t have happened.
Full results can be found here >>> http://racing.natsoft.com.au/
For more info and post event details check out the H Nationals Face book page >>> https://www.facebook.com/HNationals
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

ClubITR :: End Of Year BBQ

Grant — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 07:01:07 +0000

Sydney’s Honda enthusiasts came together to celebrate ClubITR‘s 6th year online, the popular forum is home to 5,000 members and is continuing to grow thanks to the passion and dedication of it’s admin team and members…

It just so happens that Sydney is home to some of the best Honda’s in the country so it’s no surprise that ClubITR brought out some of the hottest street cars in the scene, this Type S DC5 was looking on point thanks to a set of white Regamaster Evo’s.

With over 100 cars attending it made the task of parking by colour and group that little bit harder, something the boys and girls still managed to do quite well.
Here is some of the black AUDM Type R’s together.

In the sea of weekend warrior/track ready Integras there were a few that were doing things a little different to the rest, this Championship white Type R was sitting pretty on a set of CCW’s.
Something you would normally see reserved for the VIP boys, we welcomed the idea and loved the meaty tyres too!

Not far away was this impressive Accord, definitely something we do not see enough of here in Australia.
The BBS LM wheels were the cherry on the cake for this dark green sedan!

Hiding up the back is recent gatecrasher (and winner!) of the Skylines Australia Nationals trackday, the BYP Racing Integra!
This all out track car has been making all sorts of noise both on and off the internet thanks to staggering lap time of just 1:01.1 around Wakefield Raceway, there was plenty of Skyline owners with a shocked look on their face that day!

Another set of Regamasters Evo’s! These wheels seem to be one of the most popular choices amongst Honda owners at the moment, not a bad looking wheel at all!

Some of the 150+ people that braved one of Sydney’s hottest days this year, with over $2000 worth prizes thanks to some very generous sponsors we weren’t surprised at all by the large turnout.

Here is just some of the people that dedicate their time to this forum week in week out, ClubITR owner Felix thanked all those that came along and supported the club on the day.
“Thanks to all the senior, new members of the club and the sponsors for the support as myself and the moderator team aim to push ClubITR To be the number one enthusiast community” – Felix.
Prizes pool:

teamGROUNDzero – Engine bay dress up kit (25 Fender washers, pack of header washers, pack of valve cover washers and a battery tie down) total value over $240
Works Engineering Australia – 1 x set steel wheel nuts, 1 x set aluminium wheel nuts, 1 x adjustable bonnet stand, 1 x set engine oil cap, solenoid cover and magnetic sump plug – total value over $300
Extreme Project World – AFI Turbo Fuel Rail for K series and a TurboZilla Drift Charm (similar to this) total value over $200
Japanese Sports Car Club – 5 x 1 year memberships – total value $250
Circuit Club – 1 x track day voucher – valued at $235
Scotts Honda – shirts, caps and a jacket!
JDM Yard – 1 x $100 Hardrace voucher – valued at $100
BYP Racing and Developments – 2 x $100 voucher for Gearx, PCI or P1 products
Whatthefad – 1 x J’s Racing Carbon Fibre Cooling Plate for S2000 – valued over $400
Zen Garage – 10 x Zen Garage shirts, 3 x Zen Garage lanyards
Meguiar’s – 4 x Scratch X/Cloth packages
Cars For Hope – 5 x Sticker Packs (1x 50cm sticker, 2x white small, 2x silver small)
Street Cover – 2 x supporter packs (1 black lanyard, 1 sticker)
THE-LOWDOWN – 2 x sticker packs (1 medium, 1 small white & 2 small black limited)

Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.
Photos thanks to Simpson Tien | SB Captures

Royal Honda Meet :: Under The Bridge

Grant — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:13:44 +0000

These days any excuse to get together will do!
Last Monday was a public holiday, so a bunch of Ozhonda forum members decided to have a small meet for Victorian Honda owners.

After a few posts on the forums and a quick heads up on our Facebook page, the location and time was set!

As we were arriving straight from a feature car shoot we were a tad bit early…
We weren’t exactly sure how many cars would come out with everyone recovering from the long weekend, however the turnout was much better than the last Ozhonda meet we attended. This time around 40+ cars were in attendance and a few surprises too!

As with any Honda meet, Civics are still the chariot of choice. With half a dozen EK’s,EG’s and a few EP3’s out and about among all the other Honda’s.

It seemed nearly every car had the bonnet up at some point and with good reason too! As most of these little hot hatches weren’t just your regular grocery getters!!
Nearly all the cars where equipped with Honda’s infamous DOHC Vtec engines, a host of hop-up parts like aftermarket headers, cold air intakes and a plethora of tuning and suspension parts.
But getting groceries is serious business it would seem!

As we said earlier, we had just finished shooting a feature car, so we invited the owner and friends along to see what the Honda kids get up to these days.

The three white imposters stole a bit of attention away from some of the Honda owners, little did they know both the R33, 180SX and Impreza are all N/A powered.
The Subaru packs quite a punch, with a worked SOHC engine it surprises anyone that is game enough to stand near it when the engine turns over!

Did we say there were a lot of popped bonnets at the meet?
Nearly every single car was showing off something under the hood that day!

I still have the S2000 high on my ‘Cars I need to own’ List, with prices continuing to drop it might happen sooner than I think.

JDMST supporter sticker!!
Now they don’t hand these out to just anyone! Well maybe anyone who pays…
Want one? Simply head to http://www.jdmstyletuning.com/

Such a simple interior, and that digital dash…
I really need to cross this off my list!

As well as the Civic’s, there were a fair few Preludes at the meet. I must say, I have never come across a 3rd generation Prelude with as clean an engine bay as this!

Somehow I don’t think the scrape sticker was really necessary for it’s current height…

Now this is just your standard Honda S2000…
F20C engine with your umm a giant oil catch…
No wait, ummm a window wiper jet…

… No, that’s just a dirty great big turbo charger!
The car is currently putting out about 298 rear wheel KW on just 13PSI, there is apparently room to move with this and there was talk of it hitting nearly 400KW with a previous tune!!

Mr Neil Gray of Primal Garage fame’s daily EG Civic, with a passion for sliding high powered rear wheel drive imports and owning one of the best looking 180SX in the country, you can imagine that this isn’t exactly your standard EG Breeze…

Running a B18C2 from an Integra VTI-R and 5 stud conversion this is definitely an exciting daily driver!

One of the only Anime inspired cars in Australia, this tiny Excel turned some heads when it rolled in!

Nity’s FD looking just as good as ever. At every meet he goes to, people are just drawn to this carbon draped Civic.
As soon as the carbon hood is propped open a small crowd forms, like feeding ducks by a pond.

LS Integra’s are becoming a rare sight, so it is nice to see one getting looked after. How clean is the paintwork?

Love it or hate it, this car gets attention for all the right and wrong reasons depending who you talk to. We love it!!

We are also very pleased to have made the windshield hall of fame!

I absolutely love shooting under the Bolte bridge, where else can you find such an awesome background and not be disturbing the public and creating a problem for the local police?!

Yes this is a genuine EK9 Type R Civic, I think I’m in love!

From little things, big things grow!
This turned into around 40-50 cars by the end.

Joshua’s bagged Accord now sporting some “defect me now” plates…

It really was nice to see a bunch of very different Honda’s mixing it up together, normally it is only one group off together and things tend to get a bit too repetitive.

For anyone who is not big into the Honda scene, some modifications can go unnoticed or unappreciated.
The rear control arms under this EK Civic are worth a few shiny pennies!!

One very low and stripped out DC2 Integra sitting on some widened steelies, something gaining some popularity here in Oz.

The car scene has changed dramatically in last 12 months, since attending meets early last year enthusiasts have turned each event into a mini car show.
Everyone walks around and mixes with other groups and they talk cars, parts and more cars!
It really is a breath of fresh air to an otherwise boring experience of parking a car and standing next to it.

To think it’s pretty much winter and we are still able to get an exciting bunch of cars out in the minus 10 degree weather, this summer will be Melbourne’s biggest year for modified cars and like minded enthusiasts.

Another EK9 Type R! Seriously perfect from factory!
If I won the lottery this would be one car I’d purchase and lock away for many, many years!

Being the middle of the year the sun soon faded just past 5pm, having headed to this meet straight from a feature car shoot that started at the crack of dawn, we were also fading so it was time to head home!

Grant and myself finished our last lap of the cars before packing up and heading home, everyone else still continued exploring and chatting amongst themselves as we left and the light disappeared.
If you haven’t been to a recent car meet, make sure you are a fan on our facebook page to get the latest meet and cruise info and get yourself along to the next one!
Otherwise you are missing out!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.