2000 replies to this topic

[rpr]

Beautiful work as usual! One suggestion: I would seal the slight gap between the splitter and lip, any air getting through there would ruin the effect. Some black caulking would do the trick.

[kakabox]

Beautiful work as usual! One suggestion: I would seal the slight gap between the splitter and lip, any air getting through there would ruin the effect. Some black caulking would do the trick.

Thanks Tom!

Good point about diminished aerodynamic effects when running w/gaps btwn the splitter and the dam.

Since the splitter and it's bracket attach to the air dam as a unit...


...I slotted the fastener holes in the air dam so that any gap that might form when attaching the splitter could be zeroed out.



I've zeroed out any gap btwn the two pieces except in a couple of locns where the gap is ~the thickness of paper (.004")...evidently I didn't get quite a 'square' cut on the edge of the air dam!



Also, the vertical portion of the splitter's aluminum angle bracket is right behind the the air dam, so there is still something there to block the air.

Thanks,
J.

[rpr]

Ah yes, I forgot your attention to detail is much better than mine. You shouldn't have any issues...at least not seat of the the pants measurable ones

[Performance Freaks EG]

kaka- ive followed this project since day one and ive seen alot of builds on other sites. everything from tucked and shaved bays, turbo builds, k20 swaps, 10,9, and 8 sec racecar builds. this is hands down the absolute best build ive ever seen period. for real, im jealous of the work you can do. i will never in my life have a car this clean and its just plain freaking cool to me man. keep up the amazing work man

[OG Wagon]

kaka- ive followed this project since day one and ive seen alot of builds on other sites. everything from tucked and shaved bays, turbo builds, k20 swaps, 10,9, and 8 sec racecar builds. this is hands down the absolute best build ive ever seen period. for real, im jealous of the work you can do. i will never in my life have a car this clean and its just plain freaking cool to me man. keep up the amazing work man

what he said.

[Old School REX]

what he said.

+1^

[Scoore]

This thread is awesome Make sure to take and post Many pics of the traction bar mod.. im fetchin info to make one myself

Also: Those "pins" on the plastic here ( ive seen you use them on the splitter also and probably more stuff).. what are they adn what are they for? http://www.redpepper...rfpnl_klco2.jpg

[strudel]

Also: Those "pins" on the plastic here ( ive seen you use them on the splitter also and probably more stuff).. what are they adn what are they for?

Kakabox Splitter:

Using 'cleco's' ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleko ), I attached the brackets to the air dam...

Scoore,

Cleco's are predominately an aviation tool used in fabrication. If you go into a parts store, welding dealer or body supply shop you will get a stupid style "Duh!" look as they normally don't have a clue as to what you are talking about. They are very reasonable in cost to buy per piece but you do need a special pair of pliers in order to use them. Just Google "Cleco fastener" and you will get all the answers. Hope that helps. JS

Edited by strudel, 11 December 2010 - 01:06 PM.

[kakabox]

kaka-
keep up the amazing work man

I'll try!
Thank you for the kinds words everyone,
J.

This thread is awesome Make sure to take and post Many pics of the traction bar mod.. im fetchin info to make one myself

Also: Those "pins" on the plastic here ( ive seen you use them on the splitter also and probably more stuff).. what are they adn what are they for?

Thanks Scoore.
I'll do a 'typical' post covering the install of firstgencrx's (David) traction bars AND his spherical bearing torsion bar & radius arm kit.

Last year I picked up a spare 1/3g suspension subframe, dismantled it, cleaned it, and welded up all the seams in hope of increasing it's stiffness. I'm in the process of installing David's bearing kit. The traction bars help w/the longevity of the radius arm's spherical bearings by providing an reaction path for the axial load the bearing would see. Whether or not they will help w/controlling wheel hop (traction) remains to be seen. I should be able to report out on that some time in 2011.

Like strudel explained above, Cleco's are commonly used in aviation fabrication for temporarily holding together panels and thin gage parts for fitment, hole drilling and fastening. I bought mine and the special pliers from: http://www.aircrafts...sheetholder.php

J.

[firstgencrx]

Thanks Scoore.
I'll do a 'typical' post covering the install of firstgencrx's (David) traction bars AND his spherical bearing torsion bar & radius arm kit.

Ya well, you would have installed them by now if I hadn't goofed up my installation guide! Doh! I'm embarrassed.

I updated the installation thread J. Again, I am so sorry you had trouble with this. It's completely my fault. Here is the link:

http://www.redpepper...e...st&p=508600

David

[kakabox]

Spherical Bearing Front Suspension

First of all, a huge thanks to firstgencrx (David) for designing and fabricating an all spherical bearing front suspension. It was a lot of work in R&D, engineering, and fabrication. The effort that David put into this project should not be under estimated. I don't think the money he charged for these kits came close to compenstating him for the amount of time he devoted to designing and producing them. In addition, even if you did not purchase the resulting spherical bearing kit/s, the 1/3g Civic community (RPR) as a whole benefited greatly from the technical knowledge he shared about the workings of the factory suspension and how to properly design a bearing replacement for the factory rubber bushings. I'd like to personally thank David for raising the technical IQ of RPR. Well done sir! [where's the 'thumbs up' emoticon when I need it!]

Fortunately, I happened to be one the people that bought a complete kit which replaces the factory radius arm rubber bushings here...

[pic: firstgencrx]

...and the torsion bar rubber bushings here...

[pic: firstgencrx]

...with spherical bearings. The spherical bearings used in these locns will effectively eliminate all flex at these points and provide smooth, bind-free suspension operation. Eliminating the suspension flex & bind inherent w/the factory rubber bushings should increase the suspension response and provide more consistent, predictable and controllable handling. This allows the springs (torsion bars) and dampers to better control the wheel motion.

Here is the original thread David posted which details the design and fabrication of the spherical bearing front suspension kit.
http://www.redpepper...e...st&p=467524
There's lots of good discussion about the design and function of the spherical bearing front suspension...I'd recommend reading through it first. I'm just going to cover the install of David's kit here and not touch on the design since David did such a good job explaining it in his several threads he wrote covering it. Search for "spherical bearing" threads posted by: firstgencrx for more info.

Last winter I prepared a spare factory suspension cross member by removing the torsion bar arms and rubber...
http://www.redpepper...e...st&p=470719 ...and...
http://www.redpepper...e...st&p=470803

I also welded all the lap joints of the factory crossmember for extra stiffening.

This winter I want to remove and replace my existing crossmember w/David's spherical bearing optimized one.

I installed the radius arm spherical bearings per David's instructions:
http://www.redpepper...e...st&p=482076

Radius arm spherical bearings installed and plug welded...


After David reduced the OD of the tbar arm stem and pressed on the spherical bearings and housing...
http://www.redpepper...e...st&p=508600

...I installed the arms per his instructions...
http://www.redpepper...e...st&p=472813



Holes for grease ftg and retention bolt. The bearing housing is a press fit...the bolt adds a factor of safety...



Prepped it for paint (VHT Epoxy statin black)...



...painted and ready for install!


I'm going to use a pair of 29 mm tbars for this crossmember. I'm currently using 27.5. I've got plenty of rear roll stiffness w/my custom adj rear stabar. With using the 29mm tbars I want to try to reduce/delay the onset of the inside rear wheel lift and reduce some of the trail brake oversteer I get.

Next up, 'R&R' the crossmembers...

Cheers!
J.

[firstgencrx]

Thanks for the kind words J. You make me blush.

Hummm... I think the stitch welding of the sub-frame is a great idea. I'm going to have to do that to my project now!

As usual, your work is beyond the best.

[cahitapower]

woww....great work kaka(like always!)...

[kakabox]

The Official Kakabox Water Bottle

A Christmas gift from my daughter....the Official Kakabox/RPR Water bottle:



Installed in the 'official' Kakabox kup holder [ http://www.redpepper...e...st&p=454350 ]:




Cheers!
J.

[zakats]

where the heck did that bottle come from?