Keef's Car Thread | Wheels on the Bus | 09/08/23

[Keef]

A Motorsports Hero Wide would be ideal. But, da monies. I start real work here in a couple weeks, so I'd love to finally get one. Suction cup mounts and all sorts of cool stuff.

Speaking of cool stuff, Cesar's Miata was the most exciting car I've ever driven. It's only bettered by the go kart from a couple years ago, which i drove on a different layout of this same track. The car was just so awesome. It made me want one super bad, but Azuremen talked me into keeping the Civic. There are a few things I could do to greatly improve the feel of this car, the lack of which the Miata made glaringly obvious. My stock seat soaks up a lot of bumps and vibration, so a seat would help a ton. A steering wheel would help me turn better without my hands flying everywhere, and it would save space around my legs so I could move better. I'm going to stick with the Si and see what I can do with it.

 

[Omnis]

This guy can help inspire you to fulfill your modifications... especially that steering wheel.

 

[Holdenhsvgtsr]

A Motorsports Hero Wide would be ideal. But, da monies.

Dont its rubbish the sound is terrible and the picture isnt great due to the fact its an ultra wide lens also skip the oregon ones as they are just as bad,proper bullet camera kits have good visual but again ive never got on with the sound on this too,had to create my own sound recorder for those.

 

[homeforsummer]

No, and it sucks. They have "quick" manual racks, but those are still slower than this power rack. My old Del Sol's rack was a good bit quicker than this, but I haven't found anything on the internet of anyone swapping them easily. I did find a thing where a guy swapped the innards of an Integra GSR rack into an EM1 rack (mine), but that's the only mention of that I've ever found. It worked for him supposedly, and he does have pictures of it. I considered it a while ago but I'm only going to tear everything apart if I know it's going to work.

I read that post you mentioned after I'd posted in this thread actually. It does seem like there's very little out there in the way of quick racks for your Civic which is strange given that there are a load of people asking about them. I was thinking the one from the EK9 Type R would have been a dead cert but apparently RHD and LHD racks aren't interchangable, which is a pity.

There are a few things I could do to greatly improve the feel of this car, the lack of which the Miata made glaringly obvious. My stock seat soaks up a lot of bumps and vibration, so a seat would help a ton. A steering wheel would help me turn better without my hands flying everywhere, and it would save space around my legs so I could move better. I'm going to stick with the Si and see what I can do with it.

With regard to the wheel:

You know you want to.

As for racing seats, they're fantastic. Preferably with harnesses. It's great how little you move when it's all done correctly and it allows you to concentrate 100% on accelerating, cornering and braking without having to brace yourself on the wheel or stop yourself rolling about in the seat. And they're amazingly comfortable too.

The only disadvantage I could see to a bucket seat is that it sometimes makes using the gearstick and/or the handbrake a real nuisance as the side bolsters inevitably mean you have to try and bend your arm around them. Though you do get used to it.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Do they do quick rack kits for the Civic? If anything that'd be more useful than an aftermarket wheel, even if it doesn't come with the same cool-points.

Quaife makes kits for the older Eg Civic manual racks, but they don't work.

With regard to the wheel:

I've mentioned it before, but that wheel is one of the largest aftermarket steering wheels available. The fact that the center of the stock steering wheel is bulky isn't the problem, it's the fact that it's so large that it requires a lot of hand movement to get around it. That steering wheel won't help.

 

[homeforsummer]

I've mentioned it before, but that wheel is one of the largest aftermarket steering wheels available. The fact that the center of the stock steering wheel is bulky isn't the problem, it's the fact that it's so large that it requires a lot of hand movement to get around it. That steering wheel won't help.

Yeah, I know. It'd still be a small improvement. The Nardi wheel is 330mm in diameter (though I do believe they do smaller versions too). Having driven a Civic of the same vintage as Keef's the wheel felt huge, I'd be very surprised if the Nardi item isn't still a fair bit smaller. And it looks awesome.

Personal opinion though, obviously.

Failing that, something like this would be cool. Looks around 300mm or so:

He'd still have to do all that twirling anyway as it's the high ratio rack that looks the main issue. Ideally you want your hands to spend as little time as possible off the wheel even on a tight circuit like that - the MINI Cooper I drove around essentially a kart circuit (probably tighter than the one in Keef's vid) had 2.5 turns lock-to-lock and even on the hairpins my hands didn't need to leave quarter-to-three (albeit my arms were completely crossed).

 

[Perfect Balance]

Yeah, I know. It'd still be a small improvement. The Nardi wheel is 330mm in diameter (though I do believe they do smaller versions too). Having driven a Civic of the same vintage as Keef's the wheel felt huge, I'd be very surprised if the Nardi item isn't still a fair bit smaller. And it looks awesome.

The Nardi Classic wheel is 360mm. They come in 330mm, but they've really got no shape to them at all. Great for drifting where you use all parts of the wheel, but otherwise a round wheel doesn't have much going for it.

Personal opinion though, obviously.

Failing that, something like this would be cool. Looks around 300mm or so:

That's a 360mm Spoon wheel, Unless it's something else with a spoon horn button.

 

[homeforsummer]

I stand corrected. Though Nardi do do a version of the classic (with another name though) which is 330mm. But all that considered then I'm assuming the stock wheel is even bigger than 360mm. Maybe Keef (or indeed yourself, from your old Civic) can enlighten me?

I'm not sure what the deal is with that Spoon one but it certainly doesn't look bigger than the Nardi one I posted further up. Maybe it's the angle.

Regardless, how was Keef not using "all parts of the wheel" in his vid? I'm still not entirely sure how the diameter is the main issue. Ideally with all the twirling he was having to do he wants a round wheel otherwise he'd be grabbing anything else in odd places or on the bumps of a contoured wheel. Really, he'd only realistically be wanting to downsize/go for a fatter rim/a contoured rim if he didn't have to take his hands off the wheel - i.e. if he had a quick rack.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Regardless, how was Keef not using "all parts of the wheel" in his vid? I'm still not entirely sure how the diameter is the main issue. Ideally with all the twirling he was having to do he wants a round wheel otherwise he'd be grabbing anything else in odd places or on the bumps of a contoured wheel. Really, he'd only realistically be wanting to downsize/go for a fatter rim/a contoured rim if he didn't have to take his hands off the wheel - i.e. if he had a quick rack.

Keep in mind though that a well designed contoured wheel is round everywhere else on the wheel, except for the 9 and 3 position, so if you have your hands anywhere but there, it will feel just like any other round wheel, so you don't really sacrifice anything, but you gain comfort and feel for the 95% of the time you aren't driving around on a tight karting course, like day to day daily driving. Even a normal track is usually big enough not to require that you move your hands from 9 and 3.

Having driven my buddies Miata (same guy keef is talking about) with a 320mm Momo Monte Carlo wheel, you notice the difference. It requires only a few inches of hand movement to grab the wheel completely on the other side, instead of the foot of movement keef makes to get his hand on the other side of his wheel.


Either way, I kind of feel that this isn't the place for this discussion, unless keef wants it here for advice or something like that.

EDIT: Although I agree that the Spoon wheel looks smaller than the Nardi, I'm just going by the fact that it's got a Spoon horn button. If it is in fact a Spoon wheel, specs say it should be a 360mm wheel.

 

[Keef]

Cesar's Momo Monte Carlo is a 320mm wheel, and it felt fantastic in my hands. His steering rack is quite a bit quicker than mine though, to where I never had to take my hands off on that track. Shuffling a wheel that small might be a job though, so maybe something slightly bigger would be more suitable? 350mm? I don't know. For now I love that 320 Monte Carlo.

 

[homeforsummer]

Funnily enough the Monte Carlo doesn't look dissimilar to that "Spoon" one I posted above. Though there are quite a few wheels along that design from different manufacturers.

The only aftermarket steering wheels I've used before have been in MX-5s (like this one) and they've both had completely round rims. The car I've owned for six years doesn't have a contoured rim either. I've never driven a car where the wheel has been uncomfortable to hold day-to-day - in comfort respects a seat is much more important. For comfort and feel the material wrapping the wheel is much more important than the shape - a nice leather or alcantara/suede rim will always be more pleasant than textured plastic (and also offer more grip).

What you've mentioned above Keef is exactly what I'm getting at - I can't really see any benefit in a reduced rim diameter when you're having to shuffle the wheel anyway. If were being honest whether one wheel is 30/40/50mm or whatever larger than another isn't really that much of a chore to navigate around in a hurry, and personally I reckon you can be more precise with your inputs with the greater leverage of a slightly larger wheel. And as mentioned, many aftermarket wheels will still be smaller than the stock item.

 

[Keef]

Making it smaller would make my steering heavier, which wouldn't necessarily give me any more steering feel, but it might help. The only major benefit would be giving my legs more room to move underneath the wheel. A lower seat would also help that fact.

 

[homeforsummer]

A seat would really help a lot. You'll have much more control over the wheel in the first place with a seat because you won't be having to brace yourself on it.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Funnily enough the Monte Carlo doesn't look dissimilar to that "Spoon" one I posted above. Though there are quite a few wheels along that design from different manufacturers.

It is a Momo Monte Carlo. Except with a $200 horn button because the normal Monte Carlo costs half of what the Spoon wheel does. But hey, it's mad tyte JDM.

The car I've owned for six years doesn't have a contoured rim either. I've never driven a car where the wheel has been uncomfortable to hold

It's not that their uncomfortable, it's just that a good contoured wheel is more comfortable. Grab on to a Momo Monte Carlo if you get a chance sometime.

A seat would really help a lot. You'll have much more control over the wheel in the first place with a seat because you won't be having to brace yourself on it.

Yes, a seat helps a massive amount, much more than a steering wheel would. Get one keef.

 

[Keef]

Guys, I've got so many updates and so many pictures to edit. It's crazy. I still have IA pics to do, and that was way back in July. I don't know if I'm gonna find time to so all this stuff, I'm so lazy!

 

[Perfect Balance]

Oh.

EDIT: I know something you've got.👍

 

[Keef]

Their version:



My version:



Gravity Cavity is so fun. The thing is like 6 feet deep at the edge of the road, and it gives you that roller coaster feeling when you're going fast. Which in this case is actually not much over the speed limit, and certainly within a reasonable margin of speedometer error...

Maybe this will give me motivation to get more of the Dragon stuff edited and posted. I'm so lazy!

 

[TorqueHappenS08]

Where did you get that big dent in the side of your em1?

 

[Rotary Junkie]

His driveway.

 

[Keef]

Yeah, my mom totally backed into my door. There's also a big scuff on the left rear bumper. That happened in my driveway too. And the scratches on the left front bumper--those are from when I spun out and hit Cesar's mountain, lol. But hey, at least it's a real battle scar.

 

[Joey D]

I want to do MINI's on the Dragon, that looks like a blast.

 

[Eric.]

I want to do MINI's on the Dragon, that looks like a blast.

And I want to do 8thCivic.com Conquers the Dragon...

*sigh*

I could probably make it if I wanted to enough.

 

[Keef]

 

[Omnis]

If you're going to put a camera in the wind, at least mic it up to something behind the windshield.

 

[Casio]

Could you drive any slower Keef?

 

[TorqueHappenS08]

Keef you need to come down to NC with me and hit up The park way. i'll show you some "cliff" and rock side twisty bit's lol. Nice lines btw.

 

[Perfect Balance]

If you're going to put a camera in the wind, at least mic it up to something behind the windshield.

Can't really do that when you're simply holding a digital camera.

 

[Slicks]

Keef, you look short.
Also, that road is amazing.

 

[Prosthetic]

Lots of roads that look just like here! I guess I'm a bit spoiled with the large amount of hills and open roads around here.

 

[Omnis]

Can't really do that when you're simply holding a digital camera.

Sure you can. You just need a camera with a mic input.