Review – importnut.net

R-Axles Review

importnut — Thu, 14 May 2020 17:24:19 +0000

Discussion:

Direct replacement parts don’t tend to generate a great deal of excitement. It’s not a turbo or a fancy set of coil-overs. Most people don’t think about half shafts unless they are pushing serious horsepower numbers and need more robust units. What if you just need new half shafts for your daily driver?

New vs Remanufactured

It’s easy to order re-manufactured half shafts from virtually every shop out there. They are cheap and plentiful. Are they worth the money? I suppose it depends on how long you’ll keep the car. Usually, re-manufactured half shafts reuse the cups which have been worn through normal use. They may even machine the surfaces for the bearings. Replacing the bearings and repacking grease will get you down the road but they won’t last as nearly as long as half shafts made using brand new cups.

What are your options?

Click on the logo above to visit their site.

I found R-axles years ago and hadn’t had an opportunity to buy from them. Recently, my ’13 Accord needed new half shafts due to inner joint wear causing a bad wobble during acceleration. I decided to give these guys a shot.

My experience started by exchanging a few emails. My contact was Marty. When I committed to buying, I called and Marty answered the phone! After a short dicussion and exchange of information, I had a pair of axles ordered.

The axles are built to order so it took time to arrive. If I recall, it was within a couple of weeks. Once they arrived, I was was pleasantly surprised to find the personal touch each order receives. Not only is the part number printed and attached to the box, my order number and name was printed as well! Once installed, my Accord was back to normal and I’m confident it will be for years to come.

Show and Tell

Not necessary, but shows how they manage inventory control. A very nice touch.

The axles were well packed.

As would be expected, they dropped in with no issues.

Closing Thoughts

I was very pleased with the experience I had with R-Axles and Marty. The quality and personal care goes above and beyond. I recommend spending the extra money for these direct replacement axles over reman units.

Also worth noting: R-Axles will do custom axles to fit your engine swapped application. They also offer upgraded units for racing applications. Please contact them for more details.

Click on the logo to visit their site!

Hybrid Racing 8th Gen Civic Clutch Master Cylinder Upgrade

importnut — Tue, 26 May 2015 21:36:02 +0000

One thing that always bothered me about my ’07 Civic Si was the fact that it was almost impossible to shift quickly at redline without grinding or missing gears. To me, it never felt like the clutch fully disengaged. Fortunately for me, my daily commute didn’t require the kind of driving that would find me exploring this problem.

One day while browsing websites for performance parts, I stumbled upon Hybrid Racing’s clutch master cylinder upgrade for the 8th generation Civic Si. Curious, I clicked on the link and found a simple solution to a nagging problem.

Hybrid racing describes the problem as follows:

On the OEM 06-11 Honda Civic clutch master cylinder there is an offset chamber that the fluid travels through to get your foot motion to transfer to the clutch. This chamber actually causes the fluid to slow, resulting in a clutch that does not disengage or engage fast enough. Which leads to an inconsistent foot-shift movement and in some cases transmission grinds.

Their solution is to replace the original clutch master cylinder with one from an EM Civic Si. Complimenting the OEM Honda clutch master cylinder is a great looking and functional fluid line that replaces the rubber and preformed steel lines found under the hood. You could skip the clutch line and buy the master cylinder from another source however the installation while using the original lines, will be diabolically difficult.

I picked up their kit and a few hours later, agonizing as they were, my Civic was transformed. While driving to an area conducive to red line shifting, I was concerned that nothing had changed. The clutch felt exactly the same as it did before. Once I was out in the open, I hammered down. My anxiety level was fairly high as I approached red-line in 1st gear and started to clutch and and pull the shifter. So many times before, more often that not, something bad always happened. Not this time. Clutch in, pull back, clutch out, no drama. Awesome. I continued “experimenting” with the new clutch master cylinder and it continued to live up to expectations. This is a cruicial upgrade no matter what you do with your Civic!

Check out the kit here.

What about the installation? Well, if you’ve tried to do anything under the hood of an 8th gen Civic, you know that even trivial maintenance can be frustrating. Access to the clutch master cylinder is limited to what you can feel with your hands.

Take a close look. Can you see the clutch master cylinder? No? Look harder. Still can’t see it? That’s because it is completely buried under the cowl and brake master cylinder. This work is done completely by feel.

Comparing the original CMC, you can clearly see the pressure damper that simply doesn’t exist on the new old style CMC.

The bolt pattern is the same. The only modification necessary is swapping the rod and clevis which is straight forward.

Rod and clevis swapped and the new line attached, it’s time to install the new hardware. It appears that Hybrid racing modified the CMC side of the hose by utilizing a banjo fitting. A minor change that will make installation easier.

Secure the line with zip ties or similar fasteners.

Once the CMC is in bolted in place, route the line to the clutch slave cylinder. Make sure the routing doesn’t interfere with any moving parts.

Hybrid Racing provides a detailed installation guide. They do a fantastic job of giving you the resources to complete any project with confidence. Check out the CMC guide here.

H-Motors Online – Review

importnut — Tue, 05 May 2015 22:00:01 +0000

When I managed to destroy another engine, through a rather embarrassing water compression experiment that failed, I needed another one. The shop that I had used for years for swaps was starting to have quality control issues and as it turned out, customer support after the sale was poor. After searching for a supplier, one name stood out above all others.

H-Motors Online

Click on the image to check out their site.

Pricing and shipping costs were on par with other shops. My concern was the quality of the engine. B-series engines are getting older as time goes on and trusting claims of low mileage and high quality tends to diminish. Banking on the good word of many sources, I ordered a replacement for my Civic. A B18C (JDM GSR) long block.

One of the bold claims that H-Motors online makes is that the engine will arrive with all sensors intact. Anyone that has ordered a used engine knows that the throttle position sensor is always destroyed. Considering my experiences, I was skeptical.

A short time after the order was placed, the engine arrived. Regrettably, I was so excited by what I saw that I completely forgot to take a picture of the engine before I peeled away the wrap. What I saw, looked like a giant white cocoon attached to a pallet. The engine was wrapped in an amazing amount of Styrofoam padding! My urgency to unwrap had to do with confirming the claim of “all sensors intact”. I found more than I ever would have anticipated.

Before I move on to what I found under the packaging, I put a call into H-motors and asked if they would send me a picture of a packed and ready to ship engine. I spoke with Steve and he was more than happy to provide.

Shortly after speaking with Steve at H-motors, he sent me this picture. This is exactly what showed up on my door step. I’ve never seen this much attention to detail and quality with respect to engine shipment. The efforts pay off when you find what’s hiding underneath all of that material!

The fine folks at H-motors delievered on their claim and did so by removing the intake air temp sensor (IAT) and throttle position sensor (TPS). They were attached to their respective connectors on the harness and tucked safely aside.

You can see the TPS dangling in the picture. In all honesty, the way they wrapped the engine, the sensors would have survived. This extra step ensured that there would be no problems.

Having noted that they honoring their word on the sensors, I noticed that the engine was immaculate! There were minimal signs of use especially for an engine that was fifteen years old (at the time when I ordered it). The way it was attached to the pallet also protected the oil pan from being damaged. Topping it all off (pardon the pun) was a valve cover that had been refinished.

If the exhaust manifold bolts weren’t rusty, you’d swear this was a brand new engine.

Other than a freshly built engine, I have never seen the area around the crank so clean!

Appearances aside, once I completed the maintenance and installed the engine, it started immediately and ran well.

There are many sources for used Japanese spec engines as well as many opportunities to run into a bad sale. H-Motors online is a reputable shop that lives up their word and can be trusted to deliver. Whenever I’m asked for engine sources, I always recommend them.

240SX B&M Shifter Install

importnut — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 05:43:27 +0000

(Originally posted in 2004, slightly updated in 2015)

One of the biggest disappointments that I had with my 240SX was the extraordinarily sloppy shifter. There are quite a few companies out there that offer upgrade shifters for the 240SX. B&M’s shifter is probably one of the most aggressive shifter upgrades. In this article, I will outline the installation and explain the difference between B&M’s shifter and other manufacturers.

B&M’s shifter will work on either the stock KA’s transmission, the SR’s transmission, as well as a few other Nissan applications.

Tools Necessary:

socket set
box wrenches
jack and stands
Possibly a hole saw or large drill

You will need to raise and secure the front of the vehicle. This is necessary to reach the front two bolts on the shifter plate. I’ll get to that shortly.

Let the fun begin!

Remove the shift knob

Remove the shifter trim bezel. This is held in by clips. Pull up on the bezel and it will pop out without any problems.

The weather seal needs to be removed. There are 4 bolts that hold it in place. Also, cut the zip-tie on the top part of the boot.

With the weather seal out of the way, you can remove the four exposed bolts that keep the shifter plate in place.

The front two bolts offer the greatest challenge during this installation. I was able to remove the bolts from under the car using a box wrench. An alternative to working from under the car is to use the method described by “russian” from Zilvia.net:

One thing can be done, you can drill holes in drive shaft tunnel. A hole cutter or a large drill will work well. Once you are done with the shifter, lay 2 layers of Dynomat over it. I got it for like 10 bucks at a stereo shop just ask them for some pieces, they may have some for free. Spraying some paint over the bare metal will help avoid rust down the road.

Whichever way you chose, with the 6 bolts removed, the shifter and cover can be removed.

With the shifter out, you can easily see the difference between the two shifters. B&M produces a much shorter shift than the rest because of the redesigned top plate. The plate moves the fulcrum point significantly higher allowing a shorter throw. To top it off, they also shortened the overall length of the shifter. Finally, to increase shift feel, the shifter is a solid piece rather than two pieces separated by rubber.

The large portion of the stock shifter is the encased rubber that helps reduce driveline vibration in the shifter. The solid shifter makes the B&M shifter rather noisy.

Most aftermarket shifters cannot offer much of an improvement given the fact that it is difficult to change the length of the bottom portion of the shifter. B&M was able to do this by including the new top plate.

This shot shows how much higher the fulcrum point is in the new shifter.

Once you’ve finished marveling at the engineering masterpiece, it’s time to slip the new shifter into the transmission.

You will be reusing the factory gasket. If you tore the gasket while removing the old shifter either buy a new one or use a silicone sealant to repair it. With gasket in place, slide the new shifter in place.

Tighten all six bolts and make sure to install the clamp on the boot. (shown in the picture)

Reinstall the weather seal and use a zip tie to clamp down the top portion of the seal.

Finally slip on the shifter bezel and the included knob, or the knob of your choice.

Driving impression:

The B&M shifter is a spectacular improvement! As soon as you start rowing through the gears you will notice the throw is substantially shorter. Shift feel is very firm with obvious engagement. There is absolutely no play from side to side. The shifter is definitely different than anything I’ve used and did take some time to get used to, but I can definitely see improvements in racing situations.

The only negative drawback is a vibration after 5000 rpms. Since they removed the rubber section that normally joins two parts of the shifter together, there is nothing to quench the vibrations in the transmission. The performance gain is definitely worth the minor inconvenience.

As a final thought, you may want to take a suggestion by “uiuc240” of Zilvia.net:

While you have the stock shifter out, you might as well replace the gear oil. Simply use the end of a 1/2″ breaker bar to loosen the drain bolt from the tranny and let the fluid spill out. After it stops dripping, put the bolt back and fill the tranny from the top (5-1/8 pints, or roughly 2.5 quarts).

Bob Earl Racing VRC MKII Virtual Racing Chassis

importnut — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 18:42:27 +0000

I love Gran Turismo. I’ve loved it since the first one and I’ve owned every version on every console (well…the PSP version wasn’t very good…) When I picked up my first steering wheel for the game, it opened up a whole new dimension to the game. The only problem was trying to find a way to mount the wheel and pedals that kept them solid and secure.

For a while, I used a cheap TV table I found at Walmart and it “worked”. When GT5 came out, I got serious and used an old kitchen table, however, that proved inconvenient when I wasn’t playing the game. I needed something better.

Doing a search for racing simulator seats will yield plenty of options. The only problem I had was the premium each one of those options demanded. Several years ago, I ran across a reasonably priced seat that I never committed to buying until recently. Sadly, I couldn’t remember the name and it wasn’t showing up in searches. I had all but given up on seat until I noticed that I had a link to it on my auto links page.

There it was, the VRC MKII, or Virtual Racing Chassis, by Bob Earl Racing. Much to my surprise, at $349 the price had only slightly gone up since I had originally found the site. Additionally, the reason for the price increase was the updated racing seat that brought the chassis to a whole new level. The icing on the cake, at least over the past year, was free shipping!

Looking through the site, you will find that there are a few options. You can buy the chassis without the seat, provided that you have something that will work however I’d recommend buying the seat. The price is right and it is definitely comfortable. Other options include a shifter mount if you need one and a monitor mount if you want create a complete racing simulator rather than park it in front of your TV.

The chassis as it arrived on my door step.

The seat is shipped in its own box.

The rest of the hardware and instructions are well packed in the other box.

After unpacking the boxes, this is what you find. The chassis itself, the steering wheel mount, heel pad, a bag with instructions, Velcro ties and mounting hardware, and the seat.The instructions themselves are fantastic, printed in color and well written.

The completed assembly with my Logitech Driving Force steering wheel. The steering wheel height is adjustable as is the pedal mount. This chassis will accommodate a wide range of drive heights.

As far as mounting the wheel and pedals, each steering wheel setup is going to be different. The mounts are pre-drilled for a few different options and the instructions are clear as to which holes line up with the various pedal sets. My Logitech did not have threaded holes requiring a bit of creativity. I set the heel pad and pedals in place and made sure I was comfortable with the location. I utilized existing holes to drill holes in my pedal assembly then bolted it in place. For the steering wheel, I mounted it and marked the location of the forward most holes. With the holes marked, I disassembled the steering wheel and drilled holes through the bottom of the case. I passed small bolts through and glued them in place. After reassembling the steering wheel, I set it back on the mount and bolted it in place along with clamping down the table mounts. As an alternative, my brother-in-law covered the entire bottom of the wheel with Velcro. Between the Velcro and the steering wheels’ table mounts, the wheel is rock solid!

For the low price of admission, this seat is a must for anyone who is enthusiastic about racing video games. I’ve played many hours of Gran Turismo and fully appreciate the rock solid construction and layout of the chassis as well as the comfort of the seat.

Please check out the VRC website for more details and ordering instructions.

Update: I recently discovered that Bob Earl is no longer selling the chassis. He does have a classified section where used examples are available.

Blitz Realize TT Exhaust – 240SX

importnut — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 14:29:59 +0000

(Originally Posted in March, 2008)

My original exhaust had about 218,000 miles on it before it finally started leaking bad enough for me to bite the bullet and replace it. I knew I wanted an exhaust with a classic looking muffler…meaning, an oval shaped muffler with a normal looking tip (albeit a large one). Most of the exhausts in 3″ or larger form were the round cans that popped out at an angle. My choices were the Blitz Realize TT and JIC’s exhaust. As you can see, I went for the Blitz exhaust.

The Blitz exhaust was an excellent choice! It looks great and sounds fantastic! With the OBX header and test pipe, the exhaust note was very intense, but not too loud. If you didn’t want to hear it, leave the window up. If you wanted to enjoy it, crack the window open.

Fit and finish were spectacular! Compare the pics of the new vs old and you can see that this is a well executed exhaust. Everything bolted together properly with no interference with suspension or the body.

If you want a subtle looking exhaust that fits well and sounds great, you won’t go wrong with the Blitz Realize TT!

What it sounds like in my garage:

What it sounds like on the road:

Schroth Rallye 3 ASM Street Legal Harness

importnut — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:15:15 +0000

After my first track event, I realized that I could not get the seat belt to hold me in place. The Schroth harness is the best way to install a harness if you do not have a roll cage.

The harness mounts in the same place as the rear seat belt shoulder mount and at the lower anchors. Other than the rear mount, the harness was very easy to install. My Recaro seat is ideal for this type of harness as it has an open slot for the harness rather than two separate holes.

I’m very impressed and pleased with this harness. It is definitely worth the investment!