Zen and the Art of reverse automotive engineering1970-01-01T00:00:00+00:00http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2Shop Tipsdrummingpariah2008-11-11T12:59:35-06:002008-11-11T12:59:35-06:00http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/?p=702I had disappeared for awhile, and there’s quite a lot to update on. I’ve sold Project Anger, and handed it off to a guy who is just barely getting into cars now.  He doesn’t really know what he’s doing, but has a few good mentors. Darth Z (260z with a 351ci Ford Winsor v8 ready to swap [...]http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/11/11/back/feed/http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/11/11/back/Uncategorizeddrummingpariah2008-09-25T17:00:27-05:002008-09-25T17:00:27-05:00http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/?p=690“Rice Racer” or “Rice Burner” is a commonly-used derogatory term for automobiles. I consider RICE to be an anagram for “Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancements”. If you toss a body kit on your car for purely cosmetic reasons, it’s likely that you suffer from Rice. It’s an epidemic. There are varying degrees [...]http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/09/25/rice/feed/http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/09/25/rice/crxdrummingpariah2008-09-13T18:05:15-05:002008-09-13T18:05:15-05:00http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/?p=674I searched around on Craigslist for a bit today and found a few deals that I decided to jump upon.  First up is a freshly tuned ZC package for $600, pictured to the right.  It came with the following goodies: front crossmember DC sport ceramic header shift linkage new axles Si transmission + intermediate shaft AEM ram air intake motor mounts (with [...]http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/09/13/600-worth-of-glee/feed/http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/09/13/600-worth-of-glee/crxautocarhondalemonsracedrummingpariah2008-09-08T18:30:03-05:002008-09-08T18:30:03-05:00http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/?p=664If you haven’t already heard of it, the 24 hours of lemons race is a parody of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.  I have decided to participate next year, and will most likely be sporting a 2nd-gen CRX.  I need an inexpensive 2nd-gen CRX though (something under $500 total). The basic rules I have [...]http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/09/08/24-hours-of-lemons/feed/http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/09/08/24-hours-of-lemons/Keys to the Shopthe Mad Scientist2008-08-19T04:00:56-05:002008-08-19T04:00:56-05:00http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/?p=578The torque wrench is one of the most universally useful hand tools available to the home mechanic.  These magical little tools take the guesswork out of the amount of twist you’re putting on bolts, greatly reducing the risk of shearing the heads off of them.  You can also rest assured that high-torque bolts and lugs [...]http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/19/torque-wrench/feed/http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/19/torque-wrench/Shop Tipsautocarforcedhorsepowerinductionturboturbochargerthe Mad Scientist2008-08-12T04:00:19-05:002008-08-12T04:00:19-05:00http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/?p=361Establish Starting Point As with any project, the first thing you should do is establish your goals.  This is going to require a bit of math, but we’re going to determine the ideal target crank hp gain for your vehicle.  A good rule of thumb is that every 10hp you make with a gas engine requires [...]http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/12/turbocharging-101/feed/http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/12/turbocharging-101/Choose a CRX EngineMonthly Specialsautob16b16a1crxenginehondahybridswapthe Mad Scientist2008-08-08T04:00:02-05:002008-08-08T04:00:02-05:00http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/?p=569The b16a1 ROCKS. The b16a1 is the holy grail of CRX motors.  It boasts true vtec, aggressive dual overhead cams, a high safe redline, a lsd-equipped close-ratio cable-driven transmission, and a very tuneable ecu.  It really is as nice a fit for the CRX as Honda ever made. All b16 motors are good choices because of the [...]http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/08/you-want-a-b16a1/feed/http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/08/you-want-a-b16a1/Choose a CRX EngineMonthly Specialsautob18b18a1b18bcrxenginehondalsswapthe Mad Scientist2008-08-07T04:00:56-05:002008-08-07T04:00:56-05:00http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/?p=560The LS engine is the least expensive way to break into the performance-oriented b-series engine family.  The b18a1 was produced from 1990 and 1991 in an obd0 model and 1992 to 1993 in obd1, then the b18b1 was produced from 1994 to 2001 as an obd2 engine.  All models were available on the USDM market, [...]http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/07/ls/feed/http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/07/ls/Choose a CRX EngineMonthly Specialsautocarcrxd16y8d16z6enginehondaswapthe Mad Scientist2008-08-06T16:01:52-05:002008-08-06T16:01:52-05:00http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/?p=547The d16z6 and d16y8 amount to the same gains.  Both are economical single-cam true-vtec engines.  Both are common in salvage yards, available in 1992-2000 Civic EX and Si’s, and some models of Del Sol.  Power output is roughly 130hp for each model, but a frankenstein of the two is reputed to work best.  The d16z6 [...]http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/06/d16z6-and-d16y8/feed/http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/06/d16z6-and-d16y8/Choose a CRX EngineMonthly Specialsautocarcrxd16zcenginehondajdmswapzcthe Mad Scientist2008-08-05T04:00:42-05:002008-08-05T04:00:42-05:00http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/?p=542The ZC is a smal but venerable 1.6l engine that shares motor mounts with all other d-series engines.  It is also obd0, making it a simple plug-and-play swap from a previous MPFI engine.  If you have a stock CRX DX, you’ll need to convert the wiring harness to MPFI and use the ZC ecu. The ZC [...]http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/05/d16zc/feed/http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/2008/08/05/d16zc/