Our rides.
I forgot I had autocross videos. Scroll to the bottom for a YouTube link to all my autox video. So here’s a small sample. None of these 3 were clean runs – I goofed and got the car sideways (which … Continue reading Autocross Videos Posted
Olessia just purchased this 2009 Honda Fit Sport. She ordered it a couple weeks ago and word was it would be 8 to 10 weeks for it to come in (6 weeks just to ship!). The dealer pulled some strings and got one a bit sooner. So Friday the dealer called and told Olessia the car was in. She ran over to the dealer and did some paperwork while they spent the day preping the car. She picked it up at 5pm and it was just about good to go (it was missing floor mats since they thought they were … Continue reading Olessia’s Fit
Brief Acura Integra 3rd Generation History
The first year for the third generation Integra was 1994 and the GS-R did come in four door and hatchback flavors. The 1995 models are very similar to the 1994 editions but minor engineering updates throughout the car. The 1996 Integra received OBDII (the ’94/’95s had ODBI) and minor engineering updates.
The GS-R was the top end model until the release of the Type-R in 1997. In 1998, the third generation Integra line saw a slight cosmetic update and is usually known as version 3.1. The easiest way to tell a version 3 Integra from a version 3.1 Integra is to check the rear tail lights. If the turn signals are amber, then its a version 3 (’94-’97). If they’re red, then its a version 3.1 Integra (’98-’01). Another trick is to watch the blinking front turn signals at night. If the entire turn signal module blinks in sync (there’s two bulbs), then its a version 3.1. The ’94-’97s two bulbs blink opposite each other producing an interesting on/off effect. You have to watch out, the front turn signals appear to be a favorite for kids to modify.
The third generation Integra design survived for seven years until the release of the 2002 Acura RSX, the predecessor to the Integra. The RSX was discontinued in 2007.
Brief Acura TSX History
The TSX was first introduced in 2004, in the USA. Outside of the US, the TSX is known as the Honda Accord. The 06′ TSX model is based off the Accord Type-S found in Japan. The TSX fills gap left when the Integra sedan was discontinued and replaced by the RSX (which only came in a hatch back flavor).
There was little change from the 2004 to 2005 TSX. The 2006 model had minor model improvements (for example: minor bumper style changes, fog lamps included, bluetooth included). The 2007 model introduced tire pressure sensors.
The 2006 Acura TSX was awarded 2006 10Best Award “Best Sports Sedan” from Car & Driver.
The Maintenance Minder codes for the 2006 Acura TSX, from page 274 from the “2006 TSX Owner’s Manual” by Acura.
My TSX has some miles under it now so I think it's ready for an autocross. I just want to autocross it once or twice to get a better feel of the car. It's weighs in at 3200lbs so it is not going to be as nimble as the Integra. It should be fun though. I hope to have some pictures to post from the event.
Continue reading “Autocross 2007”
Olessia’s Civic is for sale. We’ve got some pictures up in the gallery. Its a ’95 Civic, 5-speed manual, new tires and exhaust, MP3/CD player, and about 171k miles on it.
Continue reading “Civic for sale”
I compiled the specs for the TSX (just like what I did for the my GS-R). These are the 2006 Acura TSX (manual) specs. Kind of fun to compare it to the GS-R.
Finally!
After talking about it for 2 years, I’ve finally done it. I purchased a 2006 Acura TSX 6-speed (no navi). Silver, dark gray, and black were the only colors to choose from that had a manual transmission and within the 6 states. The silver is sharp (in my opinion).
The TSX isn’t as fast as my Integra. But it does seat 4 adults very comfortably. The bells-and-whistles are amazing. The Bluetooth connection does work with my Nokia 6600, although all call data is missing, such as phone number, battery level, and signal strength. All the cables for my MP3 player and cell phone tuck nicely in the center console where there’s a power adapter and audio jack. The automatic windows down option on the remote has been great for cooling the car off after its been sitting in the sun.
The car has an amazing amount of power. Put 4 people in it and it still pulls just as hard as if there’s just one person (this wasn’t the case in my Integra or Civic). I drove down to Columbus and the car did 32.8 miles per gallon. That’s about as good as my Integra, which has a much smaller engine.
The car is amazing…
Tuesday I found out the dealer was getting in on Wednesday a dark gray with gray interior TSX, in a 6-speed. On Tuesday evening Olessia and I checked out the shade of gray and concluded neither of us really liked it (we’d both take the black over the dark gray). So I visisted the dealer on Wednesday and talked to the sales manager (both my sales guys were out that day). He checked the colors I was interested in (blue, silver, white, black) and found only 2 silver cars and 1 black car (all with black interiors). I told him to I’d be interested in the silver. Wednesday evening he told me he was able to get one. Hopefully today I’ll find out when it will be in. It would be awesome if it came in today.
Update: My TSX will be coming in to the dealership on Friday and I can take delivery on Saturday!
Update:
The www.honda.co.uk website is a lot of fun. The Acura TSX doesn’t exist outside of the USA. Outside, its better known as the Honda Accord.
The “Teg” is holding up great. The time has come where I could use a 4-door. At the same time, I want something that is reliable, fun, and looks professional. Having some bells and whistles would be great too!
I’ve been keeping a watch on the Acura RSX when it came out. I always wanted one. The RSX replaces the Integra. And I’ve had a TON of fun in my Integra. I’ve driven the RSX (both the base RSX and the RSX-S). Fun cars.
Then one day, I had my Teg in for some work. The dealer loaned me a 2004 Acura TSX. Wow. It looks sharp (inside and out). Its a blast to drive. And its the right size for me. I’ve driven the Acura TL for a week which is also an awesome car, but too big and expensive for me. The TSX on the other hand is just right for me.
The Civic has been another option. The 2006 Civics look sharp too. I’m not sure I’m sold on the front end design. I do like the design of the back end – the lines are very sleek. Comparing numbers, the Civic is about the same size as the TSX (with the TSX being a few inches longer, I believe). The Civic has a handful of bells-and-whistles while the TSX has everything, standard. I’ve also owned a Civic and it was a great car. But I want something different.
So I’ve been keeping an eye on Acura’s website. They have a financing deal going on and it looks like I can take advantage of it. I played with the numbers and they all add up. I put a little bit of money down on Saturday for a 2006 Acura TSX, manual, no navi (as they call it – there’s an optional navigation unit available). The dealer I went to had only one TSX with a manual transmission and it was a black car. Black is ok, as I told the dealer, but I’ve had black cars for the past 8 years would like to try something different. Locating a manual transmission TSX is going to be tougher than I thought. Many dealers only have a few TSXs and the ones they have are mostly automatics. What was nuts is they had the color combo I really wanted, on the show room floor, but the car was an automatic. The automatic is actually really nice. It lets you drive without thinking, or you can micro-manage the shifts. But the manual is really smooth and effortless. It makes driving the car a blast.
So here’s the colors I’m looking for, in order of preference:
The blue and silver cars can have a black or gray interior and my choice is the gray (or “quartz” as they call it). The white and red cars come in black or tan and my choice there would be with the black. I know. I know. Black is hot. It is. But tan makes me sick in my stomach.
The goodies? There’s plenty:
I should find out this week if the dealer can get a car in the colors I’m looking for. If not, no worries. The Teg is still doing great. If I get the TSX, the Teg will go to Olessia and Olessia will sell her Civic (think we found a buyer already).
Continue reading “TSX in the near future?”
Its hard to get all-season tires for the Teg so this summer I was stuck getting summer tires for it. The tread looked like they might be ok in winter. Well, winter is here and no, they’re not ok. Luckily no damage has been caused. I got caught on a hill with a traffic light at the top of it and I spent the entire duration of the green light trying to get the car to move forward (it was creeping at about 5-10 miles but wouldn’t go any quicker).
Olessia and I were going to go to Mentor yesterday evening. I had heard from John they had 12 inches of snow already and snow tires would definitely be a requirement for getting around over there.
I slip-slided home from work and pulled the snow tires out from the shed. I had them mounted in an hour. Then I went to put some air in them and what a difference! Sure, they still slip here and there, but for all the silly things I did, I had grip and no loss of control. I went into the gas station and they hadn’t plowed or salted and there’s an inch of snow and the snow tires gripped. Starting and stopping was not a problem. With the summer tires, you’d have to gently slip the clutch and hope there’s enough traction to get the car to start rolling. Then once its rolling, you kind of have to keep egging it on to move forward. Then braking is a whole other problem. My car has ABS and at 20 miles an hour, would have to plan on 50 feet at least for stopping distance! With the snow tires, its not a problem! The car has plenty of grip to get going and stop, almost as if its summer outside.
The other cool part? I was able to change tires IN THE GARAGE and with plenty of LIGHTS! Whoa! Awesome. Not long ago this wasn’t possible…
Continue reading “Amazing what a set of tires can do”
Now available on this site is the next autocross events for ASCC and NORA. Ahh, the beauty of RSS feeds.
Continue reading “ASCC & NORA Events”
Ah, the Teg is back in the shop. I was hoping it was just going to be an oil change and alignment, but it turns out the suspension needs some work and rear brake pads and rotors need to be replaced. Not cheap! BUT…
The Acura dealer hooked me up with a loaner. Usually they do 50/50 with Enterprise and I get a rental (always nothing exciting like a Ford or whatever the popular people mover is of the day). But Wednesday they hooked me up with a 2005 Acura TL (automatic, no navigation). Wow! wow wow wow…
I’ll start by saying its a big car. I bit too big for me, but it makes getting around easy and fun so I can deal with it. It had only 1450 miles on it when they gave me the keys. So it still has that new car smell with a strong hint of leather. Mmm… The weather has been crappy out so the outside of the car is a complete mess. Inside is roomy, comfy, and very cool. The instrument panel is almost a work of art. You put the key in and the blue hash marks on the dials glow along with the red needles. As you turn the key to power everything up, the white numbers and auxillary info comes to life. Every time I get in, I stare at the dash for a moment to soak it all in.
This TL has the 3.2L engine cranking out about 270hp which gets it moving very quickly when you want it to. Its a blast to rocket it onto a freeway. The rental is an automatic, but it has a sport shift so you can command it to use the gears you want when you want. With the cold weather, heated mirrors and seats really make going to work in the morning much easier. I think my next car will need to have heated seats. Maybe.
What really rocks is I know the guy who did some R&D work on the this TL. He told me to just test drive one and I HAVE to bring a long an audio DVD. Well, now is the chance and yesterday I stopped over at John and Adam’s place and they had a demo audio DVD. We popped it in. I was amazed. Individual sounds were coming from individual places within the car. It was sort of like being IN the performance. I HIGHLY recommend getting an audio DVD and popping it in. If you don’t have one, then give the XM satellite radio a whirl. It sounds good, but not as good as the audio DVD. And with a sound setup like the TL’s, FM just seems old-school.
I get to play with the TL till Monday and maybe then I’ll get my Teg back. But you know what? I don’t mind. I think I can tolerate driving a $33,000 car… (I just wish I could keep it longer!)
Continue reading “Integra in the shop”
Honda updates Asimo. Its pretty slick what they’re doing with robotics.
I just realized the connection between the name Asimo and Isaac Asimov. Clever!
I picked it up today. Its running and feeling great. Maybe I’ll make a clock out of the old fly wheel…
Continue reading “The Teg is Back!”
Ugh. I miss my car! Word is the shop had some stuff come up and they haven’t been able to work on mine. So they plan to get to it on Monday. I’m still stuck with this Taurus. The thing drinks gas! I’m driving it casually and its getting about 19mpg. Probably typical for most automatics, it has a lot of lag from the point in time when your brain says, “time to speed up” and your foot mashes the gas to when the car actually responds with a downshift and moderate acceleration. I do have to admit the ride is very quiet. The seating position is a lot more comfortable than the Focus. I feel I can micro-manage the windshield wipers with all the various variable speeds they have.
I really wished I got stuck with an Acura TSX or even an RSX.
Continue reading “Teg-less for the weekend”
Acura is holding onto my Teg until Friday. They apparently got backed up today and had just started the clutch install.
Continue reading “Teg-less on turkey day”
So Saturday Olessia, John, and I went down to Columbus to see my sister’s new house. It was her house warming party and it was a good time. I drove everyone down since Olessia’s Civic was getting worked on on Monday. No problems going down. But coming back, we decided we’d pick up a snack at Friendly’s at 71N and Bagley Road. Traffic light number 1 wasn’t a problem. And the car pulled away fine from traffic light number 2, but after leaving first gear it wouldn’t go into any gear after that. I managed to coast the car into Friendly’s. Olessia and John pushed it into a parking space. Then I called AAA for a tow.
After some troubleshooting with Bob on the phone, we had a hunch to what the problem was. I tried one more time to start the car with it in gear and it fired up fine. I was able to shift fine. So I called off the tow and we went in to eat. We made it home without any problems.
Sunday, it almost seemed fine. Until I returned home and put the car in 2nd gear and parked. I came back and it got stuck in gear again. So a visit to Acura on Monday was in order.
Monday I dropped it off. I was surprised they were willing to get me in. They had problems with it as well. Turns out it needs a new clutch. Ugh. They got the order in before 1pm and the parts showed up this afternoon. The Teg is now being worked on and returned back to a factory clutch (moving from DSP back to GS or STS in autocross terms).
Good news is Olessia’s Civic is back normal. It had its master cylinder replaced. Then she took it in for its e-Check. She told me the car started steaming after the test. She popped the hood and was able to put water in the radiator. She then took it to a local shop and they found the spring on the radiator cap broke. She replaced it and this morning had the water flushed and coolant put back in. Whew!
Continue reading “Ack! 8000 rpms and no where to go”
Light turns green, engage first gear and apply throttle to complete the right turn.
Scope out the traffic. Two lumbering trucks trying to make their way onto 271S in the left lane and I’m in the right lane also wishing to get on 271S.
Gently and slowly squeeze the throttle and evaluate the situation: Fall in line behind the trucks or zip in front of them?
The engine whine reminds me we’re still in first gear. 5000 rpms. Shift to second.
All clear?
Yup. As the Beastie Boys once said, “Kick it!”
The wind and road noise gets drowned out in no time as the engine revs increase.
The engine pitch changes as the intake opens wider to gulp more air. Left lane change now in progress.
Lane change complete. A quick look back and the trucks barely fill the rear window. The car is still pulling and the engine pitch is reaching its peak. 7500 rpms and climbing. Time to shift! Shift to third.
Evaluate the situation: Time to merge onto 271S. The right lane becomes an exit only lane. Target lane is the middle lane.
Right lane clear?
Negative. Early ’90’s vintage rusted out mini van approaching for intercept.
Engine whine status implies plenty of third gear left and there’s plenty of empty pavement ahead. Complete the lane change.
Just like the trucks, the mini van no longer dominates the rear window view. Shift to fourth.
Middle lane clear. Complete lane change and shift to fifth.
Time to relax and reminisce about the sight, sounds, and g-forces of another fun close encounter with the 8000 rpm red line. This is therapy.
Continue reading “What would you do with 8000 rpms?”
