My bad day at the track...
03-05-2011, 07:47 PM
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My bad day at the track...
Lap leading up the crash,and the crash itself.For some reason,this site decreases the frame rate,so the video is very jumpy.It's much better viewed directly on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBJtiSyExsQ
BFGoodrich tires was filming a comercial at the track on Monday.I believe I got in some of the footage.Whether or not they use any of it,I have no idea(I can hear it now" WTF is that Piece of shit?!Cut!").
Anyway,things were going pretty good until............The engine let go on the front straight,right at the kink.My first thought was to try to ease the speed down,and get off the track to try to spill as little fluid on the surface as possible.That plan lasted about one second until I actually got to the kink after the flagstand.I spun in my own oil,hit the armco at approximately a 46.7788 degree angle(that's for you,LXative) at around 115MPH,then spun several times back out into the track.At some point fluids(there was a ton of oil,and it looks like the impact jarred the fuel rail loose,so I guess there may have been some gas too)caught fire,and I was straight Days Of Thunder Cole Trickle up in flames blowing up.Between the tire smoke,coolant steam and oil/fire smoke you couldn't see anything,and I knew there were at least three cars pretty close behind me,as I come to a stop dead in the middle of the track.I was scared to get out of the car for fear of getting hit,so i stayed put until I saw the rescue crew coming,then hopped out and they put out what was left of the fire(most of it died down after I came to a stop)....
So,anyway,fffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!11
The damage doesn't look so bad in the pics,but the whole front clip is shifted several inches to the side.From looking at the armco,it looks like the tow hook penetrated it,so I guess that sort of jerked the front end around.Both airbags deployed,windshield shattered,radiator support bent down,radiator(that I put in yesterday!)busted,and fenders/bumper/hood torn up.
The hood was still useable(just cosmetic damage in the gelcoat for the most part),then halfway home the dry-rotted bungee cord I had holding it down broke,and the hood flew back,completely breaking,and pushing in the front edge of the roof!
*UPDATE*
Full pics on page 3:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=3
And page 5:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=5
I'm not gonna say I have a horseshoe up my ass,because if I did,this wouldn't have happened...I may very well have a shoe off one of those mini-horses in my peehole though.
I started tearing the car down today.The culprit for the oil?The oil filter gasket.For shits and giggles,I tried to start the car when unloading it.It started right up,but was puking oil,so I killed it.The puddle of oil was right below the filter,so I grabbed it and was able to turn it about a half turn.I spun it back off,and the gasket was almost doubled over on itself.I'm not sure if maybe I didn't put enough oil on the gasket and maybe it "grabbed" the block when I installed it,stretching the gasket.Maybe that led to it eventually blowing out that section?I'm very anal about the prep of the car,and I installed this filter the day before the event(last sunday),and I distinctly remember tightening it corretcly.There was still almost one quart of oil left in the pan,so I dumped over 4.5 quarts on the track.The coolant I'd seen was from a hose that got pinched and busted from the impact.
I know this was a freak deal,but I'm still going to start safety wiring the filter.
Oil filter(gasket has returned to it's normal position:
The front camber readings are about .5 degrees shifted to the side,so the shock towers aren't bent too badly.From the shock towers forward the ends of the frame spars are bent pretty badly.I've talked to several body guys,and they've all said this is easily fixed by a frame shop.I'll be taking it next week to be fixed.Then I'll throw on the new body panels and get my ghetto paint job on.
Body panels off:
Pile of junk:
Pics of damage,looking down sides of car:
*UPDATE*
Full pics and story on page 6:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=6
Tuesday I picked the car up from the frame shop.I was really,really happy with their work.Automotive Frame in Salem did the work,and I've got to give them a plug.They were really great from customer service to the work itself.
Got my Windshield put in yesterday.My friend Chris(VTEC101 on here)works for Safelite,so he helped me out.
Today I got all my body panels on.Everything lined up pretty much spot-on,despite the fact that everything is made in China,Ebay crap.Some of the bumper to fender/hood gaps are off in the pics,but I just had the bumper sitting up there.All that will be taken care of when it's mounted for good.
*UPDATE*
Full pics and story on page 7:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=7
I also did a compression test,and all four cylinders were in the 200 psi range,with the variance from the lowest to the highest cylinders being 8psi.I really think the engine's okay,although I'll still be pulling the oilpan off next week when I have to take the header off to do some welding.
Next weekend I'll hopefully be bringing the car back to get painted.I want to get that out of the way so I have some time to street drive it before the next track event.
Soon I'll be ordering my H&N restraint.I found a good deal on a pair of CCW Classics for my M3,so I took some money out of my fund to get those.Either way,I'll still have the H&N before my next track day.
-Hooked up an oil pressure gauge to the car and rode around for a while.My last suspicion that there was some culprit other than the gasket O-ring was that if the oil pressure was for some reason too high.Riding around today,pressure would never go over at 80psi all the way to the rev limiter.Check that off the list.
-I had planned on painting the car before the next event,but that doesn't look to be happening.It's amazing how quickly things creep up on you.I talked to a friend of mine who runs a graphics shop about wrapping the car in red vinyl.I thought it would be cool since you could just recover the fenders and bumper when they got chipped up from track use.All he had in stock was matte black.While this looks cool on a newer,expensive car,on a 20 year old shitbox Civic it just looks like you've primered it and can't afford to paint it.He's checking on pricing for a new 3M vinyl that is very glossy and looks like paint.Assuming it's cheaper than painting the car and I can get it done in time,I'll go this route.
One other option I'm going to look into is roller painting the car.When I heard of this,it seems like something a ghetto ricer would do,but apparently it can look pretty good.I've got to research it more.
The biggest thing is that I just hate relying on somebody else for anything.The person that was going to paint my car can only do it on weekends,and I won't have a free weekend for a while.
-Today I installed the body panels for good(I will readjust for better fitment later,just running out of time for now).Installed the chin spoiler on the new bumper(I decided to leave the green Armco paint on there).Installed overflow tank(had to relocate it since the CAI covers the stock mounting point),CAI,and any other parts I'd removed for the frame shop.
For the most part,I'm ready to go except for getting the hood on and brake/tranny fluid flushes.I really wanted to drive the car back home today to start getting some miles on it,but wasn't able to finish everything.Hopefully next weekend i can get it done and get a few hundred miles on it before VIR.
-I cut out most of the rear fender lips to gain more tire clearance for later.The quarters are so rusty the rolling tool just busts up the metal,so this was my only real option.I left about an 1/8" lip which I then spot welded periodically since I cut out the original spot welds.Sprayed the exposed metal with primer and put seam sealer on the new joint between the body and quarter skin.
-I also picked up an upgrade for the car.A friend's sister had this Fluidyne Integra radiator sitting around brand new for a few years now.I gave her $100 for it!Score!Sorry,no pics of her.neg rep.
rear fender lips:
How the car will look for now(plus a hood,of course):
*UPDATE*
Full pics and story on page 8:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=8
So,change of plans.......
The 3M vinyl that looks like paint for wrapping cars would be like $800 for enough to do my car.That's not economically feasible right now,and I don't have the money to get it painted either right now.So,today I was looking and found pics of the Art Project BMW M3 from the Le Mans series last year.Basically,I'm thinking about replicating this(though in not nearly as much detail)on my car for the next two events,then getting it painted.My friend that runs the sign shop should have enough scrap vinyl to do most of this,so I should have very little money in it.
What do ya'll think?Gay or cool,not that gay is a bad thing,m'kay? Keep in mind it's a track car,not street car.
Started the graphics today.....So much more of a PITA than I figured.Spent about three hours on it today and almost finished half of it.
Also safety wired the oil filter and finished up little details like putting in fender liners and other crap.
Drove the car some more,and had no issues.I've pressure washed all around the engine bay about five times now and a couple days later I still have oil seeping out of crevices.
The point at which I quit today:
I need to add more color.Will be stopping by my friend's shop this week to pick up some yellow and more blue and red.
For reference,I'm going for a ghetto copy of this car:
*UPDATE*
Full finished pics and story on page 9:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=9
What a fucking waste if time.About halfway through the driver side,I got a severe case of the fuck-its.If I'd have known it'd take this long,I'd have never done it.
Big thanks to JP at Longwood Signworks!
*UPDATE*
Lots more pics and story on page 10:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...386447&page=10
Took the car to VIR to shake it down.Everything went great,no issues at all.Sarge came down and took some kick-ass pics:
Thanks Sarge!BTW-he does shoots for very reasonable rates.Hit him up!
M3s get rollzored
UPS came,finally got my HANS.Just in time for CMP
*UPDATE*
More pics and story on page 11:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...386447&page=11
Off to CMP for ITR EXPO!
Once again,car ran great.On Saturday I corded one of my NT01s,so I had to go to my backup tires-7 year old Azenis that are hard as a rock-for Sunday.I went out first session Sunday and took a couple easy laps to get used to much lower traction they offered.On the third lap,I got a little too carried away on the 4-7 combo,caught the curb with the left side tires(it does great with the R comps),and promptly spun,yaking out some of the marker posts.Minimal damage to the front bumper(good thing it's not painted!).Video to come.
Once again Sarge came down and took pics.Not sure when they'll be available,as they're hopefully going towards an article in Super Street.
Couple pics the clam took with my shitty camera:
Video of my spin into 4 at CMP.The aftermath reminds me of my VIR crash.After the car stopped,I couldn't see the flagstand to be waved back on the track,so I tried to turn the mirror where I could see the cornerworker.I finally had to unlatch the HANS(which I'm still not used to doing)so I could move my head enough to see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2pjiAdajtk
*UPDATE*
More pics and story on page 12:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...386447&page=12
Finally got the full width radiator in today.Also got airbags back in.
Added more Safety Yellow and Safety Orange also.
Still need to clean the engine bay from all the dust from my off at CMP.
Finally getting back on track with the M3 too.Fixing the Civic has killed any extra money to put into it.
Picked these up last week.GC front coilovers with 500lb springs,Tein rear with 550 lb springs.Also included Koni fronts(which I already have)and KMAC camber plates.Both of those will be for sale.Still need to go a little lower front and rear,but ran out of time to fuck with it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBJtiSyExsQ
BFGoodrich tires was filming a comercial at the track on Monday.I believe I got in some of the footage.Whether or not they use any of it,I have no idea(I can hear it now" WTF is that Piece of shit?!Cut!").
Anyway,things were going pretty good until............The engine let go on the front straight,right at the kink.My first thought was to try to ease the speed down,and get off the track to try to spill as little fluid on the surface as possible.That plan lasted about one second until I actually got to the kink after the flagstand.I spun in my own oil,hit the armco at approximately a 46.7788 degree angle(that's for you,LXative) at around 115MPH,then spun several times back out into the track.At some point fluids(there was a ton of oil,and it looks like the impact jarred the fuel rail loose,so I guess there may have been some gas too)caught fire,and I was straight Days Of Thunder Cole Trickle up in flames blowing up.Between the tire smoke,coolant steam and oil/fire smoke you couldn't see anything,and I knew there were at least three cars pretty close behind me,as I come to a stop dead in the middle of the track.I was scared to get out of the car for fear of getting hit,so i stayed put until I saw the rescue crew coming,then hopped out and they put out what was left of the fire(most of it died down after I came to a stop)....
So,anyway,fffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!11
The damage doesn't look so bad in the pics,but the whole front clip is shifted several inches to the side.From looking at the armco,it looks like the tow hook penetrated it,so I guess that sort of jerked the front end around.Both airbags deployed,windshield shattered,radiator support bent down,radiator(that I put in yesterday!)busted,and fenders/bumper/hood torn up.
The hood was still useable(just cosmetic damage in the gelcoat for the most part),then halfway home the dry-rotted bungee cord I had holding it down broke,and the hood flew back,completely breaking,and pushing in the front edge of the roof!
*UPDATE*
Full pics on page 3:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=3
And page 5:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=5
I'm not gonna say I have a horseshoe up my ass,because if I did,this wouldn't have happened...I may very well have a shoe off one of those mini-horses in my peehole though.
I started tearing the car down today.The culprit for the oil?The oil filter gasket.For shits and giggles,I tried to start the car when unloading it.It started right up,but was puking oil,so I killed it.The puddle of oil was right below the filter,so I grabbed it and was able to turn it about a half turn.I spun it back off,and the gasket was almost doubled over on itself.I'm not sure if maybe I didn't put enough oil on the gasket and maybe it "grabbed" the block when I installed it,stretching the gasket.Maybe that led to it eventually blowing out that section?I'm very anal about the prep of the car,and I installed this filter the day before the event(last sunday),and I distinctly remember tightening it corretcly.There was still almost one quart of oil left in the pan,so I dumped over 4.5 quarts on the track.The coolant I'd seen was from a hose that got pinched and busted from the impact.
I know this was a freak deal,but I'm still going to start safety wiring the filter.
Oil filter(gasket has returned to it's normal position:
The front camber readings are about .5 degrees shifted to the side,so the shock towers aren't bent too badly.From the shock towers forward the ends of the frame spars are bent pretty badly.I've talked to several body guys,and they've all said this is easily fixed by a frame shop.I'll be taking it next week to be fixed.Then I'll throw on the new body panels and get my ghetto paint job on.
Body panels off:
Pile of junk:
Pics of damage,looking down sides of car:
*UPDATE*
Full pics and story on page 6:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=6
Tuesday I picked the car up from the frame shop.I was really,really happy with their work.Automotive Frame in Salem did the work,and I've got to give them a plug.They were really great from customer service to the work itself.
Got my Windshield put in yesterday.My friend Chris(VTEC101 on here)works for Safelite,so he helped me out.
Today I got all my body panels on.Everything lined up pretty much spot-on,despite the fact that everything is made in China,Ebay crap.Some of the bumper to fender/hood gaps are off in the pics,but I just had the bumper sitting up there.All that will be taken care of when it's mounted for good.
*UPDATE*
Full pics and story on page 7:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=7
I also did a compression test,and all four cylinders were in the 200 psi range,with the variance from the lowest to the highest cylinders being 8psi.I really think the engine's okay,although I'll still be pulling the oilpan off next week when I have to take the header off to do some welding.
Next weekend I'll hopefully be bringing the car back to get painted.I want to get that out of the way so I have some time to street drive it before the next track event.
Soon I'll be ordering my H&N restraint.I found a good deal on a pair of CCW Classics for my M3,so I took some money out of my fund to get those.Either way,I'll still have the H&N before my next track day.
-Hooked up an oil pressure gauge to the car and rode around for a while.My last suspicion that there was some culprit other than the gasket O-ring was that if the oil pressure was for some reason too high.Riding around today,pressure would never go over at 80psi all the way to the rev limiter.Check that off the list.
-I had planned on painting the car before the next event,but that doesn't look to be happening.It's amazing how quickly things creep up on you.I talked to a friend of mine who runs a graphics shop about wrapping the car in red vinyl.I thought it would be cool since you could just recover the fenders and bumper when they got chipped up from track use.All he had in stock was matte black.While this looks cool on a newer,expensive car,on a 20 year old shitbox Civic it just looks like you've primered it and can't afford to paint it.He's checking on pricing for a new 3M vinyl that is very glossy and looks like paint.Assuming it's cheaper than painting the car and I can get it done in time,I'll go this route.
One other option I'm going to look into is roller painting the car.When I heard of this,it seems like something a ghetto ricer would do,but apparently it can look pretty good.I've got to research it more.
The biggest thing is that I just hate relying on somebody else for anything.The person that was going to paint my car can only do it on weekends,and I won't have a free weekend for a while.
-Today I installed the body panels for good(I will readjust for better fitment later,just running out of time for now).Installed the chin spoiler on the new bumper(I decided to leave the green Armco paint on there).Installed overflow tank(had to relocate it since the CAI covers the stock mounting point),CAI,and any other parts I'd removed for the frame shop.
For the most part,I'm ready to go except for getting the hood on and brake/tranny fluid flushes.I really wanted to drive the car back home today to start getting some miles on it,but wasn't able to finish everything.Hopefully next weekend i can get it done and get a few hundred miles on it before VIR.
-I cut out most of the rear fender lips to gain more tire clearance for later.The quarters are so rusty the rolling tool just busts up the metal,so this was my only real option.I left about an 1/8" lip which I then spot welded periodically since I cut out the original spot welds.Sprayed the exposed metal with primer and put seam sealer on the new joint between the body and quarter skin.
-I also picked up an upgrade for the car.A friend's sister had this Fluidyne Integra radiator sitting around brand new for a few years now.I gave her $100 for it!Score!Sorry,no pics of her.neg rep.
rear fender lips:
How the car will look for now(plus a hood,of course):
*UPDATE*
Full pics and story on page 8:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=8
So,change of plans.......
The 3M vinyl that looks like paint for wrapping cars would be like $800 for enough to do my car.That's not economically feasible right now,and I don't have the money to get it painted either right now.So,today I was looking and found pics of the Art Project BMW M3 from the Le Mans series last year.Basically,I'm thinking about replicating this(though in not nearly as much detail)on my car for the next two events,then getting it painted.My friend that runs the sign shop should have enough scrap vinyl to do most of this,so I should have very little money in it.
What do ya'll think?Gay or cool,not that gay is a bad thing,m'kay? Keep in mind it's a track car,not street car.
Started the graphics today.....So much more of a PITA than I figured.Spent about three hours on it today and almost finished half of it.
Also safety wired the oil filter and finished up little details like putting in fender liners and other crap.
Drove the car some more,and had no issues.I've pressure washed all around the engine bay about five times now and a couple days later I still have oil seeping out of crevices.
The point at which I quit today:
I need to add more color.Will be stopping by my friend's shop this week to pick up some yellow and more blue and red.
For reference,I'm going for a ghetto copy of this car:
*UPDATE*
Full finished pics and story on page 9:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=386447&page=9
What a fucking waste if time.About halfway through the driver side,I got a severe case of the fuck-its.If I'd have known it'd take this long,I'd have never done it.
Big thanks to JP at Longwood Signworks!
*UPDATE*
Lots more pics and story on page 10:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...386447&page=10
Took the car to VIR to shake it down.Everything went great,no issues at all.Sarge came down and took some kick-ass pics:
Thanks Sarge!BTW-he does shoots for very reasonable rates.Hit him up!
M3s get rollzored
UPS came,finally got my HANS.Just in time for CMP
*UPDATE*
More pics and story on page 11:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...386447&page=11
Off to CMP for ITR EXPO!
Once again,car ran great.On Saturday I corded one of my NT01s,so I had to go to my backup tires-7 year old Azenis that are hard as a rock-for Sunday.I went out first session Sunday and took a couple easy laps to get used to much lower traction they offered.On the third lap,I got a little too carried away on the 4-7 combo,caught the curb with the left side tires(it does great with the R comps),and promptly spun,yaking out some of the marker posts.Minimal damage to the front bumper(good thing it's not painted!).Video to come.
Once again Sarge came down and took pics.Not sure when they'll be available,as they're hopefully going towards an article in Super Street.
Couple pics the clam took with my shitty camera:
Video of my spin into 4 at CMP.The aftermath reminds me of my VIR crash.After the car stopped,I couldn't see the flagstand to be waved back on the track,so I tried to turn the mirror where I could see the cornerworker.I finally had to unlatch the HANS(which I'm still not used to doing)so I could move my head enough to see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2pjiAdajtk
*UPDATE*
More pics and story on page 12:
https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...386447&page=12
Finally got the full width radiator in today.Also got airbags back in.
Added more Safety Yellow and Safety Orange also.
Still need to clean the engine bay from all the dust from my off at CMP.
Finally getting back on track with the M3 too.Fixing the Civic has killed any extra money to put into it.
Picked these up last week.GC front coilovers with 500lb springs,Tein rear with 550 lb springs.Also included Koni fronts(which I already have)and KMAC camber plates.Both of those will be for sale.Still need to go a little lower front and rear,but ran out of time to fuck with it.
Last edited by TNGChris; 07-10-2011 at 06:59 PM.
03-05-2011, 07:55 PM
#3
WEEEEEEEEEEE
Re: My bad day at the track...
they should have given you some new tires first, them shits are as bald as Dr.Phil, even for a track set.
Sorry for the loss.
Sorry for the loss.
03-05-2011, 08:00 PM
#4
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Join Date: Mar 2003
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Re: My bad day at the track...
Fuck man 
You are one lucky ass dood, gaurdrail at 115 and your fine.
Car looks like its not terribly banged up either which is also a plus.
You are one lucky ass dood, gaurdrail at 115 and your fine.
Car looks like its not terribly banged up either which is also a plus.
03-05-2011, 08:03 PM
#7
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Re: My bad day at the track...
I'll figure that out tomorrow.I'm going to do some measuring and see how badly the front clip is shifted.Hopefully a frame shop can fix it.I just swapped all this shit to this shell a couple years ago,and it's too big a PITA to do again.
They're NT01s.They have a very shallow tread pattern for DOT purposes.They still have 4/32s to 5/32s of useable rubber left.
It doesn't look too bad,but the whole fropnt clip is shifted 3 or so inches to the side.
So far I haven't heard anything.I'm sure they had to replace some armco,and I think they used about a truckload of kitty litter.
So far I haven't heard anything.I'm sure they had to replace some armco,and I think they used about a truckload of kitty litter.
Last edited by TNGChris; 03-05-2011 at 08:07 PM.
03-05-2011, 08:10 PM
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03-05-2011, 08:14 PM
#10
WEEEEEEEEEEE