The CR-Z debate

  I am a liilte late on this debate but I wanted to put in my two cents. Recently Honda released the CR-Z hybrid. Honda calls it a sports hybrid. When it was released it brought a sportier version of a hybrid car complete with a manual transmission. For those looking for something in a hybrid that had a little more kick to it. This was your car. But to the Honda loyalists this was a bit of a disapointment. For the honda heads they saw visions of a new CR-X. But felt let down by it being a hybrid and only coming with a 1.5 liter motor. The CR-X is a cult car in Honda land. A liteweight two seater that paired with the right motor can make a great track car or drag car. Even the show crowd loved this car. But when you think of it the CR-X and CR-Z aren't that much diffrent. The CR-X was built as a small car to help get good gas milage. It was not built to be a sports car or to be a track car. But as people began to tune their Hondas the CR-X's lightweight helped make it a popular choice. When people first bought them it was for commuting and to save gas but have a little bit of a sporty side. Is this starting to sound familar? The CR-Z is also a small car built to save gas while being a little sporty.

  I know a lot of people are griping saying the CR-Z should have came with a K series motor. But that is not what Honda wanted. I think some of the current generation of tuners have gotten a little spoiled. The fact that there are performance cars that come straigght from the factories. The whole appeal of the CR-X was when people began to swap motors or turbo their factory motors. These guys built the legened of the CR-X on the streetsand the streets and the track. They didn't get the best motor form Honda to begin with. They made due with what they had. I see wth the CR-Z this is also starting to happen. Look out there at cars from Bisimoto, HKS, Spoon and Backyard Special. They are building some of the best versions of the CR-Z. Take Bisimoto and his 500hp turboed hybrid. Yes it is still a Hybrid. There is even a CR-Z with a swapped K series motor. Much like the the tuners with the CR-X they are finding ways to build a better CR-Z. I personaly like the looks of the CR-Z. I can see where this could make a great car to tune and track.  I think when it is said and done the CR-Z will become a great tuning platform.

  For all those that hate on Honda because the didn't build the CR-Z the way you wanted them to. Well i got a little advice for you. Go out there and build it the way you want it. Don't complain about what it is not. Instead find what is good and make it better. After all if the people that first started working on their CR-X's took the same appraoch as you. Do you think it would have become the legend it is?

Fastest Around the Clock

  It is springtime. Time for cars to come out of their winter hibernation. Also a time when racing begins again. No matter what racing series you are a fan of either he series has started or is about to. For most of us this is the time when you get that itch. You start to feel that fire inside. You want to go racing. Sadly though most of us do not have the funds to go racing. The idea of being on the track though pushing a car to the limit is the dream. But not all is lost though. There are ways to get out racing without breaking the bank. If you to the grassroots motorsports you could easily start by trying drifting, autocross or even track days. One the newer and better ways to get into racing is Time Attack. Time Attack originated in Japan as a way for tuning shops to show who was the fastest. It is a competition to see who can turn the fastest lap. Diffrent classes ensure that anyone from well know shops down to start up teams can run and be competitive. It is about pushing your car to get the fastest time you can out of it. Not only do you race the clock but also other teams to be the fastest in your class.

  For years if you wanted to competitve you had to out run the teams from Japan. If you wanted tobeat the best you would have to beat teams like Sun Auto and their Cyber Evo. OrC Cusco and their WRX STI and of course HKS and their domninate CT230R EVO. For several years HKS held the records for the fastest times in both Japan and their home track Tskuba with a time of 53.589. And in the US at Buttonwillow with a time of 1:43. Of course records are made to be broken and several team from the US wanted to get the Buttonwillow back home. After several tries finally at the Time Attack finals in 2010 the record fell and to a US team. Sierra Sierra and their Mitsubishi Evo, named Christine, ran an astonishing time of 1:41.046. Sierra Sierra hmmmm.... wonder if they were fans of the Circus Circus Hydroplane racer back in the late 80's early 90's? Sorry got off track there. Once again a US team was on top in the US. Sierra Sierra is a threat for the record at Tskuba also. They weren't the only team to best HKS's time. FXMD and their Acura NSX also better the time with a 1:41.949. They were on a hotlap which may could have set a faster time but a mechanical failure didn't allow them to finish. For both teams though this was an excellent showing. Two very diffrent apporches toward track domination. One AWD and a turbo four EVO. The other a RWD turbo six cylinder. Don't think though that just these two shops are contenders.

  GST Motorsports is a team to watch. Last year there 96 Impreza ran a 1:44.586. The team has been hard at work during the offseason making major adjustments to thier Impreza. Their goal is to get a 1:39 range lap. Some might say this is a bit of a lofty goal but I would not bet against this team.

  The next team is WORLD Racing and their AWD Scion TC. That is right and AWD TC. The goal for this team is simple. Be the fastest Time Attack car on the planet. This team is definetly equiped to do that. If you follow the import tuning scene you know what Chris Rado is capible of. Fastest FWD drag car, check. Fastest FWD Unlimited TimeAttack car, check. If Chirs Rado has his mind set on something he will find away to do it.

  Don't think though that Sierra Sierra or FXMD are just sitting back to let some beat them. Both teams are making changes and improvments to go faster. The 2011 Time Attack season should be an exciting one. The teams i listed above all run in the Unlimited class. But there are more classes, Limited and Street classes all divided into FWD, RWD and AWD. You see a lot of teams in these classes like FXMD, AMS, Evasive Motorsport, Reenspec, AQ Motorsports and many others. Ultra competitve classes many diffrent makes of cars all set out for one goal. Be the fastest. It is no wonder why Time Attack is becoming the the fastest growing series. So do you think you have what it takes to be the fastest? I know where you can prove it.

It begins again.

  As you may have gussed by now from my other blogs I am a car fanatic. The last year has been rough on me. First having my Accord let go on me and having to sell her. To some health issues and having to struggle when the economy went bad. A lot of things had to be moved to the back burner. Getting a car and working on one being one of the main things. Well it took awhile but after a lot of hard work and saving I have a car again. Much like my old one this one is also a CB7 Accord. It does need some work done to it but it will have a JDM F22A when it is back up and running. My last CB7 had a H23 swaped into it. I do have a bare H23 block ready for when more funds become avalible. The fire has been reignited in me. I will post pics up here soon and give updates on how she is coming along. Stay tuned this is my chance at doing it all again.