| Author | Message | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Intermediate Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 1141 Registered: 8-2001 |
Rikky, VTEC it is! It will take a while to familiarize myself with all the terminology. Regards, Jon | ||
| Rikky Alessi (Ralessi)
Member Username: Ralessi Post Number: 456 Registered: 5-2002 |
BTW Jon its VTEC - if you want to drive the car you've got to learn the lingo  | ||
| Hubert Otlik (Hugh)
Intermediate Member Username: Hugh Post Number: 1608 Registered: 1-2002 |
jon: email me, and i'll furnish you my phone #'s (home, work, cell). i'd even be willing to fly out and help w/ setup/testing if you'd like the help. regards, hubert | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Intermediate Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 1140 Registered: 8-2001 |
Hubert, You email box is going to be full once I get into the car. I am sure I'll have a zillion questions as I have never driven anything on the track with FWD. Thanks for the offer of help....I am sure I am going to need plenty of it. Regards, Jon | ||
| Hubert Otlik (Hugh)
Intermediate Member Username: Hugh Post Number: 1607 Registered: 1-2002 |
jon: if you want some tips on driving FF cars/setup/parts sources, etc. just email me. track hondas are my bag (as you know). regards, hubert | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Intermediate Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 1139 Registered: 8-2001 |
Rob, Yep it's a momentum car and even worse it's a front wheel drive momentum car which means everytime you crank the wheel a few degrees through a turn you lose hp. It's not the momentum thing that worries me (SRF is a momentum car somewhat) it's the front wheel drive thing that will take some work. Will, Not yet sure on the 355 C. Might put it up for sale this fall but haven't decided yet. As we talked about a week ago, the current class structures in SCCA seem really disorganized especially in the open wheel classes. As far as hurting your investment rumor has it that even after buying this Integra from a salvage yard Nonnamker paid something around 15-20K to build each car so 10K ain't bad. It came with a refreshed motor and gearbox. I was at the SVRA vintage weekend and some guy had a Indy Lights car he paid 40K for. Told me that a engine rebuild without pistons ran about $3600 on the Buick engine. Also Frank Sanchez, who runs all those Banana Boat sponsored GT1 cars in the MARRS Series has scooped up three Indy Lights cars as well. He raed one of them at the last round. He wasn't very fast in the car but I venture to guess that a 1:00 flat is possible in that car (430 hp/1100 weight). By the way I hope to have our last track session on the webserver this week. Got some good video of that session. Dave, I got a spare hood, 2 front fenders, front bumper, rear bumper, two extra set of wheels (w/ Hoosiers wet and dry), 3 set of rotors (used and new), bunch of air and oil filters, wheel spacers, couple of cases of Penzoil (sponsor), some oil filters, 2 drive shafts, 2 sets of Hawk blues, and some other stuff. Jason, Sorry...typing in hurry. No disrespect meant to the VTECH engineers. It's going to be fun learning to drive this car fast. As Rob said you can't just blow a corner and then nail your 400 hp gas pedal. Will test the car next month for two days. Regards, Jon | ||
| Jason W (Pristines4)
Member Username: Pristines4 Post Number: 789 Registered: 12-2002 |
Jon, quick note, it's "VTEC." "Vtech" is a phone company. | ||
| Rikky Alessi (Ralessi)
Member Username: Ralessi Post Number: 452 Registered: 5-2002 |
This is awesome! Definitely give us full reports, pics, and vids of EVERYTHING! | ||
| Dave (Maranelloman)
Advanced Member Username: Maranelloman Post Number: 3198 Registered: 1-2002 |
Thanks, Jon! When you say a season's worth of spares, what exactly did you get? | ||
| Will 575 (Willh)
Member Username: Willh Post Number: 354 Registered: 3-2003 |
Congratulations, Jon! I've had a blast at the few enduros I've done, love that seat time. Sounds like a fantastic car, post more pics when you have it in FlatOut livery. Good luck, I'm sure you'll do well. "WE GOT THE CAR AND A SEASON�S WORTH OF SPARES FOR���� 10K���ain�t Honda great!!!" Incredible! Seems like a heck of a deal. That's one of the big problems with getting into pro racing, from my perspective, a rules change or series failure can really hurt your "investment" in a perfectly good race car. Wonder what an Indy Lights car goes for these days? Are you still going to run the Challenge car at all? | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 6741 Registered: 12-2000 |
Jon, now you'll find out what it's like to race a "momentum" car. | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Intermediate Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 1138 Registered: 8-2001 |
Dave, I found it at the www.theracesite.com . Nonnamker racing was selling all their Grand Am Acuras as none will be eligble for Grand Am Cup next year which is being re-organized. They had 3 LS models (what I bought) orginally listed for 13k each but lowered the price to 10K about a week ago. They also have a GSR Acura (Vtech motor) and a Type R Acura (bigger VTECH motot) for sale. Asking prices for those have also come down to 14K and 23K each. Here is a direct link to the board: http://www.theraceforum.com/index.cfm?template=forum_category&form_cat_id=10 Just scroll down to the bottom and look for username "Nonnamker". They were in a hurry to get the out of their shop as they have new 996 Cup cars coming in for next season. Two of the LS models are still available though one has some crash history. The motors are stock LS motors and make about 150 hp to the wheels. I am going to ditch the engine next year for a Type R motor. Regards, Jon | ||
| Dave (Maranelloman)
Advanced Member Username: Maranelloman Post Number: 3195 Registered: 1-2002 |
Jon, congrats. One question: how did you find it, and buy it, for 10K? | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Intermediate Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 1136 Registered: 8-2001 |
Well I just joined the RICER CROWD. Read below.... As most of you know I have been toying with the idea of doing some endurance racing at the SCCA level. My teammate and I started looking at inexpensive racecars that we could run in several 12 hour and 24 hour races. We came to an agreement that we would pay no more than 10-12K total to either build or buy a race ready car to run in some enduroes (car will then be sold). We had it down to a 944, E30 325is, and a few other cars. Ultimately we decided against building one, as this would cost more. We ended up purchasing �GASP����������. A HONDA��.well technically a highline Honda��.namely an Acura. We purchased Will Nonnamker�s Grand Am Cup Championship winning car this past weekend. It�s a GSII Grand Am Cup Class Integra with a 1.8 LS motor. Car comes with upgraded brakes, coil over race suspension and a few other neat goodies. The car garnered 24 podiums, 8 wins, 7 poles, and 10 fastest laps. It was last raced at Mont Tremblanc by Speed World Challenge racer Mike Fitzgerald. We will be installing a Japanese spec JDM Vtech Type R motor with about 220 hp. The car currently weighs about 2350 dry weight. We will also be installing a PI data acquisition system for data logging. While it�s no Challenge car it will be faster than M5 Club racer and with a hp/weight ratio near 10 should by quite quick. And the best news is: WE GOT THE CAR AND A SEASON�S WORTH OF SPARES FOR���� 10K���ain�t Honda great!!! We will campaign the car in SCCA ITS class until the new motor goes in and hope to have the car ready for the annual 12 Hours at the Point (Summit Point) in June of next year. We will also run a pair of races at Moroso next year, possibly a 12 hour race and a 24 hour race. There is some talk among us, that if we got sponsorship we may consider running it in the 24 Hours at the Nurburgring in 2005 in their lowest class. Anyway, it�s not a Challenge car but it ought to be fun. Regards, Jon P. Kofod 1995 F355 Challenge #23 www.flatoutracing.net    |