The forecast yesterday was for rain, but luckily it held off long enough so that I could get in a few sessions at ICAR. This would be my first time with the new wing and the wider front wheels. The temperature was somewhat cool, so I knew that if all went well, I could set a new personal best lap time. I arrived just in time to set up for the first session. My cell-phone holder had lost one of its rubber pads, so I used a dash vent holder instead. This was a mistake, as the holder, along with my phone, fell off after only one lap. I could see my phone sliding around on the passenger floor, but decided to stay out, figuring the protective layers around the phone would do their job (they did). I couldn't see my lap times as a result, but I knew I wasn't quick, as the front tires didn't seem like they were biting. The car felt fine otherwise and I guessed I had accomplished a best lap in the 1:15's, which turned out to be the case. I decided to drop the front tire pressures by 2 psi and this helped. The car felt better in the second session. My GoPro stopped filming after a few seconds, so I don't have video, but I managed my best ever lap in this configuration of ICAR, a 1:14.45. I was happy with that, but even then, I thought I could go quicker, as I wasn't driving as well as I knew I could. I chatted with Carl after the session and he recommended I leave it in 4th gear for the chicane. I told him my time, and he said "Congratulations, you are as fast as a bone-stock Civic Type R!". I know he recently did a 1:14.0 in his FK8 Type R, but I told him I was fine being as fast as him in a stock CTR... It's not like I could have bought one with the money I spent on my Civic!
Before the first session
I had tried the chicane in 4th before but wasn't too sure about it. I decided to give it a shot, and it was worthwhile. I wasn't losing any time and it made for one less thing to think about coming into the tricky corner. I headed out for my third session after fixing my old phone holder (I found the missing rubber pad near the brake pedal), and was having a good time playing with the other cars. The vtec was slow to kick in on certain corners and I suspected it was the oil level, which was not over-fill enough. I managed a 1:14.58 near the end of the session and on the following lap, I was several tenths ahead when the checker fell. This would have been a low 1:14, so I was a little disappointed. Still, I figured if I added oil and drove well, I could hit a low 1:14 in my fourth session. By the time the 4th session rolled around, it was beginning to sprinkle with rain. My vtec issue was solved (because I added a bit of oil) and the car felt hooked up, but I could not bring myself to drive as aggressively when there were constant rain drops falling on the windshield. Probably there was enough grip for me to beat my personal best lap time, but I didn't have the guts to go for it in the light rain. I managed a 1:15.15, then on the 4th lap, I felt fuel starvation. It got much worse on the 5th lap, so I pulled in, ending my evening there. This was the first time I was unable to complete four sessions on one tank of fuel! I will have to start keeping a fuel jug in the car. Anyway, the drive home was uneventful (although I did have a lot of trouble winding up the driver's side window, like in the old days!). I am confident that the car can hit the 1:13's of I manage myself and the car properly (right tire pressures, right oil pressure, consistent driving). Hopefully I will get my chance next Tuesday!
I decided to finally install this wing I had in my basement. I ordered it three years ago but wasn't sure about installing it without a splitter in front to balance things out. I was thinking about it and I remembered that my old Civic had an almost identical wing with no front aero and it seemed to be nicely balanced. Anyway, it's worth a try. I also installed some new front pads (the old ones were toast) and the 15x9 inch wheels I recently bought (after grinding the knuckles a bit and moving the wheel weights)... if this gives a bit more front end grip, it may go well with a slight increase in rear downforce. We'll see soon enough I hope. My next chance to hit the track will likely be on a Tuesday evening at ICAR.
The summer cars
Cool M4 in the neighbourhood
St-Jacques turns into NYC for a shoot
Orange interior M3
Phoenix yellow M4
Which one is more fun to drive?
Cool spec GT3 Touring
Kei van on Parc Avenue
Race colour for an STi
Nice Volvo 740 Turbo Intercooler
White and gold 997
BBS on a WRX
Rare Alfa Romeo 164 with super rare Speedline wheels
It was a strange weekend at Tremblant... I had signed up to instruct at the BMW Club of Quebec "Spring Fever" HPDE at Tremblant on May 18th and 19th. I helped to get my buddy Choo onto the club's instructor list, which made my weekend much more enjoyable, as I had someone to share a room with and generally hang out with, because I don't know that many of the other instructors in this club (at least not any more). I realized that it had been a while since I had been to a BMW Club event (2019?) and two years since I had been to Tremblant (Ferrari Club). When I was last there in 2022, I was able to run reliably for a whole bunch of sessions and click off a satisfying lap time in the 1:58 range, and I was hoping for a similar type of weekend. It turned out quite differently...
On Saturday evening, Choo and I headed to the main street of Tremblant (what used to be St-Jovite) and found a decent pizza place with outdoor seating. The weather had been beautiful in the second half of the day. We had an early night at our very basic (but clean and cheap) motel.
Cool Mopar in downtown Tremblant
On Sunday morning, I figured I would start out by shifting at 6000 rpm and focusing on carrying speed in the corners. This may not sound exciting, but I was finally driving my own car and it was fun. I managed a lap in the 2:04's by the end, and the car felt good in the corners. I was getting passed a lot, but it didn't matter. I was using 5th gear a lot and even 6th gear on the main straight. I managed to get my decibel level: 89.3! So low! This might have been partially down to the fact that there was no low cloud cover, which apparently affected sound readings. The car seemed almost as loud from my perspective, but at least I was back on track with a 65$ "muffler" doing its job.
I looked at the data after the session and could see I was doing well in some corners, but that was still off my personal best corner speeds in most corners. In the next session, I focused on improving those corners, and was down into the 2:03's. This was close to the lap times I used to do with my 2002 Civic, and with this Civic when it had a 1.8 liter engine. I increased the revs a bit in the next session, as well as the cornering speeds, and this is probably the session where the car felt the most "hooked up". I managed a 2:01.58, thinking "surely I can get into the 1:58's if I use all the revs". I decided that after lunch, in the fourth of six potential sessions, I would "send it", using all the revs, and hope that the muffler was doing enough.
Well, I didn't go over the sound limit in the fourth session, but I didn't go much quicker either. The temperature was rising, I was having trouble selecting gears in some areas, after getting used to 5th gear earlier on... the car felt less planted and I only managed a single lap under 2:01... I couldn't see how I would get into the 1:58's, when it all looked like it would be so easy! I did back to back sessions, and took out Alan, one of the chief instuctors (and a fellow Civic driver) for a few laps, which was fun. Choo was having a blast... he didn't have a lap timer and there was no pressure on him... he just had to keep his borrowed Civic in one piece.
In my fifth (technically sixth) session, I tried to always select the same gear for the same corner, and things improved somewhat. I was carrying decent speed in turns 1-2-3, when faster cars passed me, I could hold onto them in the next series of corners... I'm talking about mainly Porsches and caged BMWs, so really the Civic was punching above its weight. I passed Choo as well, a couple of laps in, after starting right behind him. I was down to a 2:00.27 on my last lap and was improving, according to the lap timer, when the checker fell (half way through my best lap). The 1:58 or better was not to be. I had one more session left and was really hoping I could pull an excellent lap out of the hat, but it was not to be. The car felt like it had less grip and the brakes felt less than 100%... I had checked the pads earlier in the day and there was not much thickness left. Anyway, I only managed a 2:02.80 in that last session, and that was OK. What could have been a disastrous weekend in terms of seat time had been salvaged with a bit of ingenuity, and after driving maybe 5 laps on Saturday, I had managed to do 7 sessions on Sunday. My highest decibel reading was 90.9 (atmospheric conditions must have contributed!) even with full revs. The car performed as it should. I was not the slowest car in the instructor group... all in all, it was a lovely weekend. I think the weekends with a bit of hardship make for the best stories anyway!
I removed the stupid-looking chimney/muffler and Choo had to help me remove the 90-degree bend portion with a hammer... it was really on there! I helped him load his friend's Civic onto the trailer and pin it to his Towareg. There were a bunch of Porsches arriving for a Porsche Club event the next day, and all the BMW people seemed to have hit the road by then... it was a bit surreal. We set off for home, both of us quite happy and tired. It was a satisfying weekend.
Here is a video including my best laps:
And some more photos:
Cool cars among the instructors
Another instructor Civic
Most surprising car on hand: Dodge Omni GLHS, license plate "GLHSRT"
