Woods Racing

Hope the holidays went well for you, and of course, WoodsRacing.ca wishes you all the best with high horsepower and low track times for 2011!

.

Normally, we kinda wither down over the holidays, but it was pretty busy this past set. No real modifications, but general maintenance work, general sales…etc. This stuff pays the bills during the slower winter off-track season. I do though enjoy it..(minus brake lines, hate doing brake lines). You tend to learn something new every time you fix an older car and even the later models. There’s the standard wonder and amazement of 90’s GM engineering, the “what were they thinking kind of thing”…the “how do these imports do…oh…I get it” deal and the “why do they insist on routing it that way?” scenario.

.

.

But anyhow, back to the new year and what’s in store for Woods Racing in 2011.

.

Although I can’t go into exact details, there are a lot of cool things being lined up for this year. We’re continuing to work with Mats Baribeau, and the Gold in the Net DMCC Drift car which is bringing with it new and exciting ventures for us. As 2010 being a trial run for us in the drift scene it proved potent and desirable to say the least. We’ve really picked a great group to work with in the DMCC and between Mats, his family and team, we’re going to have a great relationship on and off the track. After all, both Mats and I are racers and gearheads alike.

.

.
The car itself is stunning to look at let alone see it smoke the heck out of them Kenda’s on the track. It not only serves the purpose for them to go fast, it also provides valuable data for us here back at the shop. The car runs solely on Amsoil fluids, and as you know, we take lubrication pretty seriously around here.
.
It’s truly a win/win situation for both of us.
.
Of course, Dave Seguin and the 7x Racing Team will be back for 2011, bigger and badder then ever. This dirt car is built with more heart than I’ve ever seen in a race team. Dave is tireless when it comes to this team and earns nothing but respect from the WoodsRacing crew.
.

.
With the old engine out and a new one waiting to go in, this, I guarantee will be a force to be reckoned with come Sunday’s at Cornwall Motor Speedway. With a bit of a rough go ending the season early last year, and as some of you know, we’re shifting some more weight over there and we stand behind Dave for our third year and can’t wait to see him in the checkers multiple times. Although due to time and distance, I can’t personally get out there as often as I could, but every Sunday I can’t wait for an update on how the race went. It’s gonna be a good year for WoodsRacing/Canada Synthetics and Dave Seguin Team 7x Racing.
.
This brings us to Mr. Martin Cote. As I’ve said before, arguably one of the best Crew Chiefs in the business and surely a sniper in the CTCC class, we’re continuing work with the Fastco Motorsports CTCC race team and can’t wait to see Lee and Glenn tear up the asphalt.
.

.
Martin and I work well together, we understand racing and understand the demands. We’ve also made contacts through each other which in this business is everything. He runs a strict shop and his cars are impeccable, they perform as good as they look and I’m proud to stick the Woods Racing logo on the front of those Hyundai’s.
.
This relationship is valuable to WoodsRacing/Canada Synthetics on so many levels we look forward to 2011. We’re going to dig a little deeper into these cars fluid wise and it’s going to be nothing but hard work and good times. A new addition also to the Fastco Team is my buddy Chris. We’ve been friends for years and I’m happy that he will have the chance to work and learn on such a high quality team.
.
Louis at Technika Industries is really helping me out this year also. We’re expanding with our tuning capabilities and he and his crew will be a the fore-front of that. Louis is a real down to earth guy who at the end of the day, just like us, loves going fast…and…he just happens to be really good at it too. There’s some pretty cool stuff in the works over there and we can’t wait to dig in and get started. Stay tuned for some more info on that.
.

.
We’ve surrounded ourselves with such smart and talented people over the last couple years and our supporting friends and affiliates really help us stay on the top notch of the race world. Gabe at Amsoil, Rebecca at Indy Car, Fred at Napa, Pat at Steeda.ca, Frank at Ford, Danny at PjF4x4.com, Mitch at MJK Photography, Alex at Stangette.com, The crew at Jeepforum, Fast Wheels, Montreal Embriodery, Danny at Montreal Racing, Megan Racing, the list goes on and on and it’s wonderful. I’m very excited for this year and can’t wait to get started.
.
I will have to say though, my customers, my base, my stones, we’d be nothing without you, cause after all, you’re the reason why we’re in this game. You trust us with your babies and we remember that while reaching for the torque wrench. We’re proud and stand tall, and without your support, we’d be nothing. And to my friends & family who puts up with our craziness…hell, they’re just as guilty, but non-stop support is all they have for me. It’s awesome. Who could ask for anything better?
.
Thank you to all who have supported us these past years. 2011 is going to be pretty big for us and we’re glad to let you come for the ride…if you can hang on that is!
.

Jan 07th by Bannon

Continue Reading

It’s true…and those of you in the know have been grilling me to bits about it. I don’t care though, go ahead, make fun…you’ll see.
.
It all started a few weeks ago when Scott’s newly acquired 2000 Honda S2000 came in the shop. It was in for some “I just bought the car now tell me what I bought” kinda thing.
.
Here it sat on the lift with sneaking suspicions of mods. Lowered, check, big rad, check, CAI, Check, …check engine light? Oh ya, CHECK. hmmmmm.
.

.
Now, Scott, (you may remember his red civic SI in some previous posts) has loved S2k’s as long as I’ve known him. We were all quite shocked to see him pick up that FG2, but it was still sporty, a Honda and of course, their beloved vTec hidden under the valve cover. He spent a lot of time searching for an S2000 and digging up clues, secrets and dirt on previous owners and ruled out each S2K one by one till we weren’t sure if it was just his indecisive nature that kept him away, or for real, these cars in good shape are hard to come by. Well, it’s the latter.
.
In 2000, 15,107 S2K’s we’re produced, and only 412 made their way through our Beaver loving Canadian Borders. The balance spread through the USA, UK & Europe, Japan and Australia leaving us in last place with 512 shipped down under. This one in particular was built at Honda’s Takanezawa plant, lived in Toronto for 10 years before Scott nervously drove it to it’s current home here in Montreal.
.
Now, imagine over the last 10 years. What people have done to these little sporty coupes, modded, beaten, cherished, covered, raced, smashed…who knows how many 2000 year models are left up here.
.

.
I as with many other auto enthusiasts, love rarity in a car and this was only the beginning for me and this Honda.
.
On first inspection, under the hood, I looked at the motor and it was pretty far back with lots of room between it and the rad.
.

.
The entire engine is mounted completely behind the front axle, I assumed that this car had a wicked front/rear ratio and after some research, I was found correct as it has a 50/50 balance tied to it. The 6 speed tranny, rear wheel drive and a healthy 2.0L inline 4 told my American Muscle mind that this wasn’t a normal Honda built with the same intents as the rest of the grocery getting staff it tows in line. A 2 seater convertible, leather, push button start and a hand brake in the Oh so perfect position made me smile and made me instantly wanna take it out and rip a few doughnuts with it. I declined that option however and instead got to work.
.
With a trunk full of parts and a cleared schedule I dug in. First item in order was a valve adjustment. It’s a common issue with these and at 100k it’s due for some re-gauging. While the cover was off, I noticed high quality chains, gears, cams…etc. The Honda Sport Study Model team thought this one out. I could see however future things like…bent valves, cracked retainers things like that but generally seem common with vTec sported engines as well as with burning oil issues. This engine though, seemed fine to date despite a misfire and the check engine light (CEL) which I’ll get into later below.
.

.

.
Once that was done, I outfitted the braking system with Hawk pads and Amsoil Dot-4 brake fluid. It looked a little better once I cleaned up the wheel wells.
.

.
Took a look at the coil-over system and all seemed well with the install and the overall condition of them. However, the camber on this car was eating through tires. We’re gonna have a look and see if I can get some Caster/Camber plates on here to correct it. You So-Cal guys love camber, but personally, I hate spending a ton of money on tires for a crooked look.
.

.
I finished the front end off with an inspection of the rest of the suspension, general under hood items and electrical check. I changed the oil to Amsoil’s OE 5w30 with a WIX filter which will help with the lubrication side of things.
.
Now that the front was out of the way, I was onto a different problem. With the lowering of this AP1 Honda, the angle of the drive axles were incorrect and the interior end of the axle shaft was grinding a pretty good groove in the housing causing vibrations, naturally. With 2 new axles I yanked out the cores and with the help of Megan Racing driveshaft spacers, this is now corrected. Megan Racing made a good product here. Easily corrects the issue, inexpensive and machined to a perfect fit. As of now, I have yet to see a bad piece out of Megan Racing and from a mechanic’s point of view, I want to thank them for actually doing some R&D in this world of poorly manufactured parts.
.

.

.
So now that the correction has been made to the axles, I dumped the old diff fluid in exchange for Amsoil’s Severe Gear 75w90 SVG and while I was at it, got rid of whatever was in that transmission and put some fresh Amsoil Synchro-Mesh 5w30 inside. Fluid wise, this car is extremely well protected.
.
Now to address the misfire count…over 250 in 3 minutes. So, it’s not a fluke. Checked the plugs while they were out during the valve adjustment and they looked brand new so I ruled that out. The check engine light was from a vacuum issue and was cleared earlier along with the misfire code which the the ECU didn’t re-throw, so the CEL & scanner didn’t help me much. With a set of new coilpacks installed, the car now idles fine with no misfires. If it returns, I’ll look into fuel injection issues, but so far so good. Over 100k changing coil-packs is not unheard of.
.

.
She runs good now and I can’t wait to see it on the track.
.
Up to now, my job with the car is done and it is leaving to go into storage for the winter. I spent a good amount of time, over, under, and inside this car, and like a hot girlfriend, it kinda got its hooks into me. Everything was fairly simple to work on and whatever gave me a hard time was a direct result of modifications. The sporty look and dual exhaust give it a, “ya, I’m little, but let’s have a go at it” attitude and as many of you know, the colour of the car, the silver/gray is pretty darn close to the colour I would paint everything I own if I had my way. The stance, weight, power ratio (although as always with Woods Racing is slightly lacking) comfort level and general attractiveness pulls me to this car. I do love it and felt and awkward eye from the WR04 as it lost its resting place on the lift for its stay here at Woods Racing.
.

.
I want to thank Scott for once again choosing Woods Racing for the care of his beloved AP1 S2K. I enjoyed working on this car and I’ll tell you all now, I will own one. I’ve already made it clear to Scott that if he sells it. I’m first in line, no if’s and’s or but’s about it.
.
So all of who have been on my case calling me a Honda lover, Fanboy, and some other names that I won’t write up on here, it’s all in fun and love you guys, but I will confirm my roots and say that an S2K will be my 2nd sports car.
.
My blood runs blue boys! Thanks again Scott!

Dec 21st by Bannon

Continue Reading