Now the Rubber Hits the Road!
After five and a half months of effort, BB drove around the block tonight!
Issue #3: muffler dragging on every curb
And there were some issues. Sadly for my self-esteem, some were basic physics issues.
Issue #1: interference with the axles
I knew this was close but forgot one of the basic rules of statics: Every system is compliant so, if you apply load, it will deflect. Therefore, the barely visible clearance between the axle bolts and the Honda sub-frame are insufficient under torque. So, you deserved to hear the wheel speed proportional rubbing noise you heard!
Eventually, I figured out that just one bolt was causing the issue. These "wild and crazy" bolts continued to loosen until I applied a box end wrench to give more torque. Since then they have held steady.
Issue #2: rolling eliminates friction
I have experienced this multiple times during the butt kickings I have received in my career. However, it is easy to forget. For example, when one lowers a car down from jack stands, the wheels slowly spread apart until the friction with the floor equals the load stored in the suspension. When you roll the car, the wheel friction drops and the wheels will spread more widely apart. This is exactly what happened to me and was a head scratcher until a friend pointed this out. Head smack! So, I'm re-adjusting ride height!
One helpful point was making a proper cantilever for the coil overs. In my hurry to finish this insane project, I "convinced" myself that I could cantilever the lower shock mount on the rubber bushing from the S2000 lower A-arm. This was a poor idea. I thought I would gain about 1/2" of ride height by correcting this sorry situation. It took me around a week to make the adjustment you see from left to right below. The situation is much safer, unfortunately, I only gained about an 1/8" of ride height. So, I had to crank up the coilovers more than an inch on each side! I've not done this before so I was nervous, but it worked out fine. Coil overs are truly awesome!
One helpful point was making a proper cantilever for the coil overs. In my hurry to finish this insane project, I "convinced" myself that I could cantilever the lower shock mount on the rubber bushing from the S2000 lower A-arm. This was a poor idea. I thought I would gain about 1/2" of ride height by correcting this sorry situation. It took me around a week to make the adjustment you see from left to right below. The situation is much safer, unfortunately, I only gained about an 1/8" of ride height. So, I had to crank up the coilovers more than an inch on each side! I've not done this before so I was nervous, but it worked out fine. Coil overs are truly awesome!
Issue #3: muffler dragging on every curb
This is related to #2 but the forward muffler is hanging a bit low. It's also close to the header, so there is not much flexibility left. I think I will correct the ride height and see how it goes.
As you can see above, I managed road worthiness! What a beautiful day! It gets not much better than this!
Keep having #funwithcars !
Keep having #funwithcars !
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