The Ever-Changing HT - Page 44

Hey, I know that area.........I'm a Universtiy Place resident working in Lake- hood, I mean Lakewood, my wife works in Fife.

Rain rain rain, can't wait to get back home to Texas, been here in WA for far too many years. That's cool though, just a few more years to go.........

Hey Tim, it's been tolerable lol. I've been in the N.W. long enough to enjoy and appreciate it's beauty, heck, by now I've spent the better part of my life here since getting stationed at McChord AFB back in '79, going back to TX in '82 and coming back in '83. If anything, I've learned how to be a successful racer in the rain being licensed with WA and OR motorcycle road racing associations.

The one thing I haven't been able to get used to is that no one here knows how to eat a decent breakfast

I've enjoyed the pictures of your H.T. very nice!!!

Portlands straight;



Seattle's turn 4; note the local sponsors Freeway trailer and NW Mortgage



and one more, Portlands turn 9



Just for info, photos 1 and 3 were in 2005 on a Suzuki GSX-R 750, photo 2 was 2006 on the monster Suz GSX-R 1000, by far the coolest bike I ever rode.

Okay, what the heck, one more photo of the beast;





Oops, how did that crash picture get in there, not always fun and games huh?

Peace my N.W. now H.T. brother

Geoffrey

Thanks Tim. I've been out of racing since the end of '08, economy put a crunch in my sponsor budget, expenses rate right up there with your H.T. configuration

The absence of racing is what put me in the H.T. drivers seat in the first place, dog gone obsessive hobby habits. But I've started with a very modest entry level and have been upgrading to a less modest level. After seeing your system changes and experiencing my own personal tastes, I see this thing is for life

Wow, I hadn't read that, there's hope for the hopeless, man can come to his senses

"Words of wisdom Loyd", I can appreciate that after being in for a year and half - being skeptical of what manufactures and others hear-say of what a particular component can do for your system, speakers is what your sound ultimately comes from, and room acoustics will help harness the sound. Right so far?

And yes, I've been nothing but tickled with my set up and enjoying every aspect of it from the beginning.

Thanks for asking, original set up, LG42" LCD, LG370 bluray player, Onkyo TX-NR870 and Onkyo SKS-HT870 7.1 with an additional Energy sub from the Classic take 5 series.

Upgrades; LG50" plasma, LG390 bluray player, PolkAudio Monitor's 70, 40, 30 and matching CS2.

This tax return, in addition to prioritizing bill paying, the boss, I mean wifey gives the ok for one toy. I had been considering an Emotiva XPA-3 for my front three, but after careful consideration, I've decided to upgrade my subs and run a single Epik Empire.

What else you can advise?

Right on Tim, thanks for all the positive information. Being a total newby, I have tons of education waiting for me.

As a racer, having huge amounts of horse power is one thing, being able to put it to the ground and have it manageable is another. In racing, the rule is to work on the suspension to improve handling before increasing horsepower, it would make since the same rule applies in H.T., work on improving the sound before pumping up the power.

Thanks for looking in, I appreciate all the experienced input I can get.

Speaking of enjoying what you have, you should watch the Pacific HiFi. One of the best soundtracks I've heard in awhile, the use of the surround speakers in the battle scene's is fantastic. Which soundtrack has impressed you the most since your new speakers were installed?

I have a question for you if you don't mind HiFi. I'm replacing my receiver with a Marantz AV7005 and am wondering about the matching amps. Do think it makes a big difference that the Marantz power amps are rated with only two channels driven vs all channels driven? Most power amps are rated with all channels driven if I'm not mistaken. I like to listen to my Paradigm Studio 100's full range for two channel and like to drive them hard once and awhile. Right now I've got five Emotiva UPA-1 monoblocks but would like everything to match if possible. I still have a couple of weeks left in the thirty day trial and hope the processor arrives before it's up, Marantz Canada is very slow at filling orders. Any thoughts?

12 ft. Like you this is the last kick at the can for awhile and I like everything to match but I would also like the best performance. I'd like to get some room treatments next and then move on to something else for awhile. We'll be taking similar paths as a sports car is next on my list. It looks like Marantz just takes a receiver amp and puts it in it's own box, Integra seems to do the same thing. So far the Emotiva's are getting the job done well enough, they don't seem to change the sonic signature very much. The pre-amp seems to have more of an effect on that.

funny, I'm an active "gear-head". I follow much of the popular major-league auto racing series (ie. F1, ALMS, NASCAR). I've spent a number of years playing around with my modified Honda cars (which are very popular here in Southern Calif- the "Fast & Furious" rice-burner capital).

I owned two brand-new Acura Integra's (over like a 17 year period), these were the coolest, fun, little fast cars ever. And the after-market accessory variety was infinite and mostly cheap or moderate in cost. Intakes, headers, exhaust's, cam-gears, shocks, springs, sway-bars, rims, tires, computer chips, it's endless. Always something new to buy or have. And price-to-performance is/was fairly cheap depending how deep one chooses to modify or "tweak". It's a lot of fun.

But after years of driving around as a "marked-man" in my cool-sounding, low, Integra's I've moved onto a new [stock] Cooper Mini-S and have been so happy and relieved when I drive pass a cop or highway patrol. I used to get [kids] on the freeway's and major boulevards wanting to race me all the time. Are you kidding me?

Also, when the weather (rain) get's bad here in Socal the potholes are life-threatening (to my rims, headers, etc.,...). I've had many mishaps- bent rims, dented/ruined (stainless) headers, etc.,...Always having to have something replaced or fixed.

My Integra's were "racey" but subtle, they had a clean "stock" look to them. The mods were all done in taste. The power gains were noticeable. I kinda wish I held onto one to use in SCCA events. I guess a moderately modified Porsche RS would be nice to have in my garage under a cover, to pull out and drive for fun on weekends, or trips up to Laguna Seca

I'm happy to now "settle" into home theater/audio, it's very engaging in a different way. However the performance cost's [are] rediculous when comparing to auto mod's, this dicotomy really bothers me at times.

I think I'll order the MM7025 and compare it to the Emotiva's running my speakers full range. If it doesn't compare in performance then it should be fine running my Studio 20's in my two channel system. The MM 8003 is still available though, which would you go with the newer amp combo or the older amp? Price wise they're all close enough that cost is not a factor. The thing that's frustrating is no dealers have either model available for me to listen to in my city.

I'll order the 7025 tomorrow, I just hope it arrives before the trial period on the Emo's is up, Marantz Canada isn't exactly quick at filling orders in my experience. I've got two weeks, so hopefully that will be enough time. I'm running seven channels so I would go with two amps but I'll start with one and see how it goes. I've found that your one of the few people who understands my want for things to match, thanks for the advice.

Thanks Tim, sounds like a solid order to me.

Catch you again sometime

a few odd shots...........

You'll always have the pictures HiFi. Soon you'll be thinking this sounds just as good as that system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYwO_...1&feature=fvwp

you're somewhat correct, my mods were on the "tamer" side of radical. I purposely kept things more street-clean, driveable, and not over-stress the motor.

Factory power rating specs for the 1.8L Honda (B18B) engine used in the 1996 Acura Integra LS was listed @142 hp. I had my car dyno-tuned without any mods, it outputted 135hp (measured at the wheels) which is decent.

After installation of performance intake, stainless racing headers, (illegal) stainless hi-flow catalytic converter, racing exhaust system and adjustable cam-gears it was re-dyno-tuned at 164hp (measured at wheels), approx 30hp gain.

Moreover I installed H&R coil-over shocks/struts/springs, front strut-tower stress bar, stiffer front sway bar and VolkRacing alloy wheels.

The complete package totally changed the character of the car. It had very noticeably more "punch", improved low-end torque. I could easily spin the front wheels at take-off. The ride was moderately lower and stiffer, but smooth. The strut tower bar really makes a huge difference, roll was minimized. Steering was much more sensitive. It cornered much more stable, like on rails. Mileage was still pretty good as well. The exhaust had a nice deep roar to it. My friends and neighbors used to tease me that they could always hear me coming home from a few blocks away (but so could the police). A very fun car to drive, and reliable all around (trips, etc.,...).

While driving to Vegas maybe 6 years back I got this car over 130mph and sustained it for a few miles, it was fairly stable, and the engine wanted more (was still far from red-line).

Also, you have to realize, this Honda utilized an automatic ("sport-matic") transmission as I use hand-controls to drive (being I'm paralyzed and use a wheelchair). The guys at the various shops thought that was cool.

I avoided screwing with my computer, or turbo-charging, or high-current ignition systems, etc.,...You just get into trouble, and can over-stress and screw things up. This was my main mode of transportation I've seen comparable B18B motors turbo-charged (plus all other mods listed above) dyno-tuned @300hp! They were also using racing fuel (110 octane), crazy.


bottom-line, cam-gears allow for largest HP gain (next to turbo-charging). Adjustable cam gears allow for radical advancement, or retarding, of cam-shaft timing. You can use these cam gears alone (on stock cam shaft), or along with installtion of a racing cam-shaft. Thing is, when you go to this extent, you want to have a very experienced mechanic who has much history with racing engines and related equipment. This installation process is usually performed along-side while dyno-tuning. There are a number of shops in Socal that are equipped in this manner.

http://www.aemelectronics.com/tru-ti...e-cam-gears-1/
http://www.dcsports.com/421headers2acura.html
http://www.dcsports.com/singlecanisteracura.html
http://www.greddy.com/products/exhausts/ti-c/
http://www.hrsprings.com/products/coil-overs/
http://import.neuspeed.com/207/0/0/1...t-tie-bar.html

I notice a lot of whitish dirt in my engine compartment as well as on under-chassis area, I drove through a construction zone, un-mixed concrete powder everywhere Also, if you notice, the cam gears are exposed as the stock Honda valve cover was machined on the side, this allows for easy cam gear adjustments. Otherwise you have to remove the valve cover every time you make an adjustment.

This Integra was 14 years old at this point in time, original paint. I modified suspension and engine maybe two months after purchasing brand-new from dealer. These cars became so popular over the years in local culture that they became targets for trouble- ie. thefts, getting tickets, pulled-over, etc.,...

Hey hifi,

Beautiful rack, man!

The Classe stuff is gorgeous. Do I see a PPP hiding in there? Yes I do. Nice.