Ordered some Falken Azeni RT615k+'s a few minutes ago. 205/50R15 :hump:
Colin, do remember (or have any idea) what Koni charges to rebuild their Yellows to race spec? Also, is there a spring they (or you) recommend to match them with?
Well, SOB. Time to back things up a bit.
Took the car for a test drive around the neighborhood and the throttle response is just complete sh*t. I had thought MAYBE the problem was bad gas (or water in the fuel tank) since the car has been sitting for 7 months with the tank only 25-30% full. So I took the car over to a station and filled it up with 93. Made no difference.
What did I do wrong? Did I majorly screw up the engine’s timing when I replaced the timing belt?! As mentioned in my other thread, the timing notch was “barely” off alignment with the hash mark on the lower timing cover. Or is it something simpler like adjusting the position of the distributor?
Update: Used a timing light to set the timing of the distributor. It was off by around 2 inches (on the crank pulley). Adjusted distributor so it’s perfectly lined up now.
And that had ZERO effect on the engine problems. Made literally no difference.:bawl:
To go into more detail of the engine’s behavior…If you floor the throttle in neutral the engine will first sputter a bit (rev’s will drop) and then revs will slowly increase. Under load (driving around in first and second gear) the engine for the most part refuses to rev beyond 4000 rpm. Somehow I manged to get it up to VTEC a few times but for the most part 4000 is where the engine stops. Increased throttle only results in more noise. This all seems really odd and I’m a bit stumped.
Tonight I’m gonna re-install the old spark plugs and (maybe) spark plug wires. See if that does anything.
Here’s the list of stuff replaced since the car last ran:
-timing belt
-water pump
-tensioner
-distributor
-spark plug wires
-spark plugs
-engine mount
-fuel filter
-VTEC spool valve filter & O-ring
-Valve cover gasket & spark plug tube seals
-timing covers rubber seals
To me that sounds like your mechanical timing is off. Those drive-ability issues you describe are basically how the car will drive if the timing belt is off. If the ignition timing was off by 2" on the crank then that is a LOT - I’m actually surprised you were able to adjust the distributor enough to get it in spec.
As I mentioned before I think you need to approach the timing belt differently. You said the timing mark was off at the crank pulley compared to the timing cover but when doing this job the crank needs to line up first, that’s your starting point. Get the crank where it needs to be THEN get the cams where they need to be. I like to use a screwdriver in the cylinder to check for crank TDC because it allows you to easily see the crank position AND cam position simultaneously and ensure that both come into alignment at the same time. If they aren’t then you need to start over - set the crank at TDC, set the cams to TDC, install the belt starting at the crank pulley and move counter clockwise, get the belt lined up with the intake cam then the exhaust cam. Lock one cam in place and rotate the other with a wrench if needed. Adjust timing belt tension, rotate engine and check to make sure everything is lined up. If it’s not, start over and try again - try to make note of where you’re off. When you set the crank to TDC to check for alignment note the position of each cam and determine which direction it needs to rotate in order to line up probably. Again, focus only on the cams, never the crank. The crank should always be at perfect TDC, then mess with the belt and cams to get it lined up. You’ll probably just be a tooth off on one or both cams.
I missed your other question about the shocks. IIRC the cost was basically the same as a new set of Koni’s. When they rebuild them you can have them shortened too. Unfortunately, they don’t make a RACE shock for the DA so they don’t have a “standard” length for the RACE version for our chassis. As for springs, what are you trying to do with the car? Based on your tire choice I’m assuming it’s just a street car. Not sure if it’s living and learning or just me getting old but I don’t see much reason to go with a really stiff spring unless it’s a dedicated track car or you’re a masochist. I have 700f/600r springs on my car and it’s super stiff. Of course half of my interior and all of my sound deadening is gone + I have stiffer bushings and spherical trailing arm bushings so all of that factors in as well, but this setup is not comfy. It’s loud, rough and uncomfortable. For a street car I’d stick closer to the OTS rates from GC, maybe as high as 450f/400r then if that isn’t as extreme as you want it I’d work on suspension/alignment settings and sway bars so that I could improve handling without as much compromise to ride quality.
Thanks so much (as always) for your input. Thanks for the description. Guess I’ll go back to square one here. I read what you posted, but honestly HOW can I lock everything into position before installing the belt? The cams I get, but (I think I may have mentioned this earlier) the crank gear keeps moving on me! I line everything up perfectly and then spend 10-15 minutes wrestling with the timing belt to get it entirely onto all gears. And then I reassemble things enough to have the crank pulley back on and it’s been slightly off all 3 times I’ve done this:bang: On my 3rd attempt I even compensated for the predictive movement of the crank and started with it misaligned 1 tooth in the opposite direction, and still ended up with the same end result.
Perhaps my problem is the way I install the tensioner? When installing the belt, it’s tight enough that I cannot install the belt if the tensioner bolt is in place (regardless of how loose). When I install the belt the tensioner is in place, held there by the two loops (the peg on one side and the hooked spring on the other). After getting the belt fully in place on all gears, then I install the tensioner bolt. Is perhaps this maybe the cause of my problem, could installing the tensioner bolt be causing the belt to pull one way on the crank gear?
As to the suspension, the goal is to get the car fit for HPDE events. The car currently has Koni Yellows matched with the original OEM springs (which are quite worn out at this point). Actually the Konis are worn out too. They’ve been on the car since 2001 and have close to 170,000 miles on them. Of course, I lost my proof of purchase so “lifetime warranty” is out the window here.
I thought Azenis were a pretty good economical choice for that? More durable than the RE-71Rs for about the same price.
Hmm, that is very odd to me that you’re having problems with the crank pulley moving while you’re installing the belt, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that. Set the crank pulley at TDC and if it moves rotate it all the way around (never go backward) to line it up again and start all over. Keeping the crank in the right place is critical to getting the belt aligned properly, so if it moves just suck it up and start over.
What you explained with the tensioner could definitely be making this harder for you. First off, are you sure it’s installed correctly? Assuming it is, loosen the adjusting bolt and use your hand to push the tensioner away from the belt to give it slack. Push as far as you can then tighten the adjusting bolt to hold the tensioner in place. I’m not exactly sure how you’re doing this with the tensioner bolt out. It’s been a while but I think if the bolt is out then the tensioner ends up being at FULL tension due to the spring pulling the tensioner UP and bringing the belt with it. The goal here is to push the tensioner DOWN and then tighten it in that position to get it to where it’s not putting any pressure on the belt.
Install the belt at the crank pulley first then counterclockwise from there - although, realistically you may be putting the belt on the cam gears at basically the same time. Use a small screwdriver or punch to hold the exhaust cam in place. Usually, at this point I can get the belt partly on both cams but not all the way on. Using a box end wrench on the 14mm bolt at the end of the intake cam I rotate it a little bit to get it to line up better with the belt. There’s a little tension on the cams due to the valve springs and sometimes the cams don’t want to sit exactly where you need them to in order to get the belt lined up. So, you can use that wrench trick to make it easier. Once the belt and cam gear are lined up you can take the wrench out and the cam will rotate a tiny bit (from the valve spring pressure) but the belt will keep it in place where it needs to be.
Loosen the tensioner adjusting bolt. Rotate the cranksaft 4-6 times and then do the tensioning process. Check for alignment and start over if it’s not lined up. Almost all of that is straight out of the Helms manual (which I assume you’re already using) so not sure how helpful all of that is.
If you haven’t done HPDE’s before then I’d suggest doing the absolute bare minimum. If the shocks are actually blown and you can feel their inability to control the springs then I would go ahead and replace them. But unless you’re bouncing around on blown shocks I wouldn’t bother with them - just get out there and get some seat time. Any mods to the car will just mask your skill level and make it harder to learn. This is an EXTREMELY difficult thing to do coming from a tuner mentality. This is even difficult for people like me who give out that very advice. Due to a variety of factors I’ve always had a car that was faster than my ability and I’m pretty confident it has hurt my ability to focus on what matters most - the driver.
The Azenis are fine to learn on and I think they have gotten better but in general I haven’t really looked at them as a track day tire. They used to be a great autox tire but were really heat sensitive and for that reason weren’t good on bigger tracks and longer sessions. With that said, I think they’ve fixed this issue to a certain extent. The Azenis were top tier budget performance tires 10-15yrs ago but now they generally don’t even make the list of top 3-5 tires. But since you’re just getting your feet wet none of this matters, as long as it’s not a crappy all-season tire which may tear apart on track you’ll be fine.
Thanks for those additional tips! I’ll report back on that.
As to the shocks, while they may be worn I don’t think they’re blown. I feel that my main problem at the moment is the springs. If a take a turn really fast and hit a mid-corner bump there’s a very high chance that I’ll hit the bump stops. Dampening control still seems pretty good.
As to HPDE experience, I actually have a lot. Just not a lot in this car. My very first HPDE however, actually was with this GS-R. Way back in 2002 when it had 220k miles and actually all the same aftermarket parts that it has at the moment. Though IIRC at that time it was sitting on H&R Sport springs not the OEM ones (that I switched back to at a later date). Since then, I’ve attended numerous HPDEs with my S2000, supercharged BRZ and Cayman S. (no longer own S2k or BRZ, Cayman is current). I’ve been solo approved at all the tracks I’ve been to. Cayman is amazing on track, but I want to get on track MORE often and it would be a LOT cheaper (obviously) to do that with the GS-R. Also the Cayman’s suspension is getting a bit tired (99k miles) and it’s handling was a bit spooky at times at VIR back in November:shock:
As an aside, I know my profile says I joined in 2010, but I actually joined back in 2000-2001! Just got flushed out at some point from being inactive. So in a way I guess I’m kind of one of the OG’s on here?
Oh yeah, if you’ve got experience like that then do whatever floats your boat 
I’d still stick with relatively mild spring rates unless you have really smooth roads all around you. Around here they’re terrible. IMO there’s just not a huge benefit to the really high spring rates, I’m even thinking of reducing mine.
So I took the car to the shop. Just didn’t have time to keep messing around with it and I’m having (minor) surgery next week so I wanted it done before that.
The problem was the exhaust cam timing was off by one gear tooth. Just wanted to report that news to add to the general body of knowledge we have here on G2IC :rockon:
Glad you got it all sorted out 
Spoke too soon. It would appear I have ONE last problem to sort out. The engine’s power delivery has some problems in the middle of the rev range. It’s varies a bit by gear (odd) but between roughly 3000-4500 rpm the engine’s power delivery is horrible. Engine is still smooth, otherwise I’d say it feels like it loses a cylinder in that range. Engine feels choked somehow.
And this ONLY happens after the engine has reached operating temperatures. When the engine is cold this doesn’t happen at all. A friend suggested that it could be a clogged EGR valve, but I don’t think my GS-R comes equipped with such equipment (based on looking in the factory service manual where it’s only listed for the B18A1 engine w/automatic transmission).
I feel like I’m so close to getting this engine back to running properly. This has to be something minor and simple, yes?
Hmm, that’s tough. I can’t think of one specific silver bullet here but the thing that comes to mind is ignition - specifically an issue with the coil or igniter. And you are correct, your car does not have an EGR.
Shucks, not what I wanted to hear haha. Well given that I just replaced the entire distributor assembly, aren
EDIT: Wow, trying to post from my phone sucks. It cut off my message both times I tried to fix it.
What I was trying to say was that both the coil and igniter are located within the distributor assembly, which was 100% replaced with a new unit. Ugh.
Amazing. After all that work there was still something wrong with the car. Took it to a local Honda specialist and the igniter inside my brand new distributor was faulty! Oh FFS, what were the odds of that happening?
Anyway I’m happy to have all mechanical issues resolved (knock on wood). Just refreshed the exterior with new headlights and a new hood. Up next, removal of AC system (stopped working in 2007) and ABS (stopped working in 2005), then complete suspension overhaul/replacement. Oh, and fixing that damn windshield cowl leak (again).