Honda Fan Club - under new management

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Off topic:
Did anyone see this month's car and driver?
A short section showed the new Civic Type R for japan (or maybe europe) and to my amazement, it is not going to have the same rear suspension as the US model... Instead it will be riding on a twist beam suspension, also commonly called a Torsion Beam suspension.
Anyone else read about that?
Quite a shocker if you ask me.


All of the hatches have torsion beam suspension, its a design flaw i spose you coud say, theres just not enough room for mac struts. :/ Maybe they should just make the type R in Sedan trime only :D:dopey:

@taurine: NZ? Sun? Those rims look sweet on the rex.
 
Time_Attack: I know the feeling bud. I live in Wisconsin, so when Friday hit, all heck broke loose. Nothing says fun, like shoveling snow to open your car door. :( Plus, being lowered didn't help me any. :)


Oh, and for those who were wondering if I'd do it.... Yeah, I bought the Auswuch's. ;)
 
In response to Sp33 and timeattack addressing my comments about the new Civic Type R running a Torsion Beam suspension...

Believe it or not, the torsion beam (or twisted beam) can give an underdog greatness to a suspension.

One of my favorite aspects (in a "this is totally wrong" kind of way) is the extreme camber changes a torsion beam under-goes during hard lateral Gs. Because of this dramatic change, the rear wheels may actually lose grip and inturn, you may be able to induce oversteer thanks to the rear wheel traction loss.
Another one of the torsion's advantages is the fact that the Beam itself acts in a similar fashion to a strut tower bar possibly stiffening the rear-end's side to side motion.

I suppose the "possibilities" of the torsion beam are greater than most of its real world executions. 👎

Since Honda is allegedly using the twist on the euro Civic there may be hope yet (of course, the info is still just a 2"x2" article from an issue of car and driver featuring a shootout where the Mazda3 wins and an american muscle shootout as well).

In any case, I'm down with it.
My Corolla already rolls on a torsion beam. :sly: :lol:

Put some work into it and found this...
Yahoo UK on some auto show
To give a quick primer, the previous model had relatively sophisticated multi-link independent rear suspension (much like a current Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf) whereas the latest car has a simpler and cheaper to produce torsion beam rear suspension. Enthusiasts have seen this as a way of cutting costs, money which they claim has been lavished on the cars extravagant styling. There may be an element of truth there as the torsion beam setup is very compact and allows the rear seats to sit lower and hence the striking coupe-shaped roof of the Type-R Concept becomes a reality. What other car in this sector also has a similarly sweeping profile? The Astra VXR, another car with torsion beam rear suspension.

Ask many of these so-called enthusiasts to assess the shortcomings of such a system on a race track and theyd probably be left stumped. General Motors have shown that this suspension type is hugely tuneable and Honda are no mugs when it comes to finessing ride and handling.
Link Here

Btw, weather...
I'm in SE LA, as long as you have rain-worthy tires and the clearance for bad puddles and horrible pot-holes- your good to go.
 
Its not that hard to find oversteer in a civic... Trust me.

Time_Attack: I know the feeling bud. I live in Wisconsin, so when Friday hit, all heck broke loose. Nothing says fun, like shoveling snow to open your car door. :( Plus, being lowered didn't help me any. :)


Oh, and for those who were wondering if I'd do it.... Yeah, I bought the Auswuch's. ;)

Yeah it was storming like no ones business the past few days... Last winter it felt like spring the whole time and now its not even january and its gone to hell and a handbasket.

Those wheels are cool btw. Can't wait to see them on your car its going to be different thats for sure.

also. were you the one telling me about a meet?
 
Its not that hard to find oversteer in a civic... Trust me.



Yeah it was storming like no ones business the past few days... Last winter it felt like spring the whole time and now its not even january and its gone to hell and a handbasket.

Those wheels are cool btw. Can't wait to see them on your car its going to be different thats for sure.

also. were you the one telling me about a meet?

Yes. There's one in Madison, probably happening around April.
 
@kent my '90 civ' sedan has more sophisticated suspension lol, it will be really interesting to see what the journalists think about it when they finally get a hold of one. Im hoping its no a let down, it looks so darn awesome.

And whats all this talk about snow? 30*C today :/ nothin' but shorts ladies.
 
@kent my '90 civ' sedan has more sophisticated suspension lol, it will be really interesting to see what the journalists think about it when they finally get a hold of one. Im hoping its no a let down, it looks so darn awesome.

And whats all this talk about snow? 30*C today :/ nothin' but shorts ladies.

And there-in lies the only problem. :lol:
Are you really interested to see what they say or do you want to make up your own mind?

Industry dogma... It kills me. :rolleyes:
 
Kent - Interesting information. With hearing about the cheaper cost and noticing the body styling, you really have to ask yourself what came first, the chicken or the egg?! I really hope Honda hasn't put style over performance and price on this one. Unfortuantly i'll probably never get to drive one aslong as i'm living in North America, but it will be interesting to see what all the reviews have to say about it.

Sp33 - 30? It was -5 here today. :(
Atleast there isn't any snow yet *knocks on wood*, just lots of rain. Whoopie.

Toyomatt - Hooray! Can't wait to see the pics of them installed! 👍
 
@kent my '90 civ' sedan has more sophisticated suspension lol, it will be really interesting to see what the journalists think about it when they finally get a hold of one. Im hoping its no a let down, it looks so darn awesome.

Well, if you think the torsion-beam-equipped Cobalt SS is a handling let down then I'm sure the Type-R will be also.
 
we've never gone to a minumum of 0, not even overnight in Winter, it's in the high 20's today, we get 45+ during the Summer

As I said in another thread the awhile ago it does reach 0 in the Adelaide hills (South Australia) some winter nights.
 
dsc00673rr1.jpg


B18B that will be resleeved to 2.0L for the Civic

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B18B (absofreaking brand new!!!!!!!) that will be receiving the pistons from the B16A2 block next to it.

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Here it is on my elcheapo engine stand.

:)
 
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That's my disassembled B16A head :lol:

In my arsenal I have:

3 B16A blocks (one running in the CRX, one without a head in the Civic and one sitting on a bench)
2 B16A heads (one running in the CRX, the other in parts on the bench)
2 B18B blocks (one brand new, the other second hand)
1 B18B head (on the second hand motor, it's sold and being picked up in a months time)

:D :D :D :D

dsc00676wj6.jpg


I actually like this photo, block after block with pistons, conrods, cylinder head, flywheel, oil filter and sockets etc etc
 
Dude, they're all manga! That's neat that a car company would do that. Now only if I could read Japanese I could get some wallpapers of the Japan models...

Taurine, that's a fantastic collection of engines and parts! How much are you planning to get from your old B18B? And how much is a new one?
 
Well, if you think the torsion-beam-equipped Cobalt SS is a handling let down then I'm sure the Type-R will be also.

And sadly for many, the Corolla rolls on torsion beam so all the corolla haters will be forced into a corner on the euro civic-r as well. :ouch: Of course, there is going to be a huge difference none the less. :lol:

The thing is, it's not about the technology used, it's about how the tech is used.
Honda should be able to build a good torsion beam and then engineer the rest of the car to fit what is needed.

I mean, just think about how many other parts and settings affect handling... Doing that makes me feel like the ride height, wheel/tire combo, steering system, brakes, LSD, and chasis are all just as important.
With that in mind I have no doubts that the Civic R will be a great little coupe. 👍

Personally, I'm more interested in seeing the weight on the production model than I am in how it allegedly handles.
Fact is, despite all the great parts the car will have, I am sure the performance tires and engine will be enough to keep the civic-r in the top ranks of performance FF coupes.
 
Looks like you have your hands (and garage) full with all the engines your working on. What kind of deal did ya get on them?

NZD$350 all up, $200 for the brand new block and $150 for the complete engine.

Taurine, that's a fantastic collection of engines and parts! How much are you planning to get from your old B18B? And how much is a new one?

My old B18B? I'm not selling the engine, just the cylinder as I will use my VTEC head off the engine in my CRX when the LS/VTEC motor goes in.
 
Looks like you are having fun good Andrew (Taurine), nice deal on the new block, wish I could get new RB block that cheap.
 
Taurine - Sounds like you got a pretty good deal. When do you plan on having the LS/VTEC completed?

Time Attack - Civic Type R sedan? I just came... :drool:
 
Dude, they're all manga!


Which makes it even more rewarding when you stumble on something good :D I spent hours a few months ago stumbling around the site, and got some hella awesome wallpapers of thew civic off it. I also found an archive of all old honda models, with artist impressions and full detailed explanations of designs and stuff. it was awesome.
 
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