Vince's Stuff: October 2018

Two track Civics in the ICAR paddock

I was really hoping for a last 2018 track event at St-Eustache, but it was not to be. On the two Mondays following Thanksgiving, it rained and Carl decided that it wasn't worth it to have lapping in such conditions this late in the year. This left me with only one hope to get on track one last time this season: a Wednesday evening at ICAR.

I found myself constantly checking the weather starting on Monday... I didn't want to get my hopes up afther the disappointment of the last couple of Mondays. It seemed as if there would be clear skies Wednesday, but when I woke up Wednesday morning, it was raining, and almost snowing. It was hard to imagine that any track in the area could possibly be dry by the evening. Then, after lunch, a miracle: the sun came out. I messaged the organizers to confirm the event was on, and left the office early to try to get ahead of the traffic heading north out of the city.

Sometimes, everything comes together to create an unexpected, memorable time. Wednesday was one of those times. I hit pretty serious traffic, even on my way to the highway, but the car seemed OK, and I had left myself a nice time buffer to make sure I was at the track before it opened at 5:30. I really wanted to be on track as early as possible, as my last time at ICAR, a few weeks ago, I only got to see the track after dark. When you drive on a track you don't know that well (and where you had a major crash only a year ago), it's not easy to drive fast, as you can't see the details around the track. These days, the sun sets at around 6:00 pm, which meant that I could only hope for one session in broad daylight.

After stopping for gas, I was at the track well before 5:00 pm. Even though I didn't have access to the paddocks, I was able to park in a nearby lot and start to prepare the car. I was joined by a fellow Civic coupe owner whom I had met before and we chatted as we checked over our cars. Like me, he needed to add a splash of oil. By the time the gate opened at 5:30, I had checked my tire pressures, added oil and installed my GoPro.

There were only 3 cars ready to roll (myself, the grey Civic coupe, and a Mazda 2 driven by a guy I know whose RX8 is in the shop). We headed out (in broad daylight) and I wasn't really worried about my lap times. I just wanted to refamiliarize myself with the layout and try to figure out how I had been seven seconds slower than Pat in my car last time out... on that occasion, I had managed a 2:04 while Pat had hit the 1:57's. I didn't plan to hit 1:57, but I figured I should be able to get close.

The session went well. Visibility was good and I was basically alone out there, since the other two cars were slower than mine. I managed to dip under the 2-minute mark after a few laps and figured I was starting to string together a few good sequences of corners. The car still understeered loudly in the slower corners, but it felt good over all. Late in the session, my lap timer indicated I was 1.5 seconds faster than my best lap of 1:59, but the checker fell before I reached the finish line, so my potential 1:58 lap didn't register.

I came into the pits and there were still very few cars around, and none seemed ready to go out on track. Normally, I take a break between sessions and add some engine oil, but I figured I would take a gamble that I had added enough oil for two sessions before the first one. I lined up straight away for the next session to make the most of the rapidly fading daylight. I didn't get a good look at the cars behind me, but saw that there was a Ford Focus coming out on track. I was sent out right away, before the other cars even lined up behind me. I was quite happy about this, as I would not have to spend a couple of laps warming up the tires and I would get a second session in mostly daylight. Coming around certain corners, I could see the Focus' headlights in the distance, but it never caught up to me. By my third lap, I was in the 1:57's and on my last complete lap, I caught the Mazda 2 as I managed my best lap of the day, a 1:56.83. The session was almost over and I began to feel a vibration through the steering wheel, so I decided to end my session (and season) there, on a high note.

I had managed to get in my two sessions by 6:20 pm. I was happy to note that the Focus that had not caught up to me was a Focus RS, which is a pretty quick car. I think that running in the 1:56 range will put me square in the middle of the pack, based on what I saw when Pat was running my car in September. On my way home, I could feel the vibration and I am pretty sure it's an axle problem, as it only occurs under acceleration. I got home much earlier than expected, and very satisfied about how my last track event of the season had gone.

Could the evening have gone better? Maybe... it would have been fun to dice with other cars on the track. But I really can't complain: I shaved 8 seconds off my lap time from September and confirmed that the ignition problem was solved by the replacement of the distributor. The Civic will likely only need only minimal work before being ready for the 2019 season. Even though there is still room for improvement in my driving, I look forward to returning to ICAR now that I have a better handle on the track. I made some detailed track notes that should help me next year. I still enjoy St-Eustache more than ICAR, but I have to face the reality that St-Eustache will only be open for one more season, and that I will find myself lapping at ICAR more and more in the future. Basically, I have to learn to love ICAR...

My lap times at ICAR:
Best lap in a Super Production Challenge race (2013), 2000 Civic SiR with Integra Type R engine and BFGoodrich Sport Comp II tires: 1:56.50
Best lap with the 2000 Civic SiR after H23A engine swap (2014): 1:52.66
Best lap with 2002 Civic SiR, K24 engine and 6-speed transmission (2017): 1:57.94
Best lap with current car, 2000 Civic DX with JDM Integra GSR engine (2018): 1:56.83

Vince's ICAR track notes:

Turns 1 and 2: you can brake pretty late, downshift 4-3, a bit of trail braking can help get the car rotated. After this turn, you can get on the gas fairly hard, almost flat out through turn 2 to the braking point for turn 3.

Turn 3: Stay in 3^rd, early apex it as there is a lot of runoff at the exit. Open up the steering wheel early and get on the gas. After the rumble strips on the right at the exit, cross over the black painted area to get a better line for the esses.

Turns 4-5: shift to 4^th just before the turn-in for turn 4. Hard acceleration through turn 4, then lift and let the car settle before the turn input for 5. Roll onto the gas through 5 and cross over to the right to set up turn 6.

Turn 6: remain in 4^th gear, you barely need to tap the brakes just to settle the nose for the turn in for this very quick turn. There are rumble strips on exit if you run a bit wide, but they are not bad.

Turn 7: Brake hard, downshift 4-3, don’t worry about clipping the inside of the track early. Look through the corner and get on the gas early, as soon as you can see that you will make the super late apex on the left. It's OK to run over the rumble strips at the apex.

Turns 8-9-10: as you accelerate before turn 8, grab 4^th just as you are turning in. Come in close to the rumble strip on the right, then let the car move out left again. When the red and white runs out on the left and turns black, lift or brake for turn 9. Hit the rumble strip on the right to apex turn 9. Cheater/fast line: let the car coast out wide after the apex of 9. Cross over the yellow line on the left onto the green zone, basically outside track limits. Be careful not to come into the area too hot, the barriers are very close on the left! Cross back over the line just after the end of the red and white stripes. Spot the apex of 10 and hit the gas! This whole sequence can almost be done with a single steering input.

Turns 11-13: downshift to 3^rd, clip the apex at the left rumble strip and open up the wheel. Turns 12 and 13 can be taken flat out, with a 3-4 upshift before turn 13.

Turns 14-15: downshift to 3^rd as you brake for turn 14, which is a late apex hairpin. After you track out, you need to cross back to the left to set up turn 15. If when tracking out of 14, you accidentally exceed track limits on the right, there is no real consequence. As soon as you reach the left side of the track, it’s time to turn in for 15. Constant throttle or a small lift to plant the nose before rolling to full throttle. You do not need to hit the inside rumble strip to apex 15. It’s more important to roll onto the gas as early as possible to maximize speed on the front straight. You should be ready for the 3-4 upshift right at the end of the rumble strips of turn 15.

THIS GUIDE IS BASED ON LAPS WITH MY GSR-POWERED 2000 CIVIC WITH JDM ITR TRANNY AND HANKOOK RS4 TIRES

I should have realized it when the rpm seemed to cut coming around the "oval-in" corner at St-Eustache that the distributor was about to fail again, but I stayed on track. Sure enough, a couple of laps later, the car died due to a lack of spark, for the 4th time in the past few weeks... I coasted to the pit lane on the oval part of the track.

Waiting for tow truck number 4

As I was unable to restart the car even after waiting an hour, I called CAA and used my last available tow (until summer 2019!). I had to face the reality that, even though I don't know how much longer I want to keep this engine, I would need to spend a few bucks on a new distributor. There was no point in changing components in the old distributor, especially given that Carl had a brand new one at his home, part of his spares kit for his Integra Type R. It was new in the box. My decision was made for me when I tried unsuccessfully to start the car a couple of days after the failure (usually, it would still start after a cooling off period of a few hours). I needed to move the car to the other side of the street if I wanted to avoid a parking ticket the next morning, so I called Carl and told him I would be over later in the evening to pick up the new dizzy. I installed it, tried to align it like the old one, and the car started (after a few attempts).

New distributor, thanks to Carl

I took the car out on an errand yesterday (buying winter tires for the Saabaru) and it performed flawlessly. I really think/hope the ignition problem is fixed, but the only way to know for sure is to drive the car on track. I like that the Civic is still usable, as a car. I easily loaded in 4 tires, even though the car has all my track stuff in it too. I even did groceries on the way home. The car is much more pleasant to drive with the quieter exhaust, and it's almost therapeutic to drive the car at night when there is practically no traffic. Carl promised he would try to hold one more lapping Monday before winter. It rained Monday this week, so maybe it will be October 22nd.