The Honda Geek

Jackson Racing CR-Z Review

2012-09-03T00:22:00.001-07:00

TOV has now published our own review impressions of the Jackson Racing CR-Z. Our reviewer Shawn Church who wrote the review in fact knows Oscar Jackson quite well, a fact he clearly disclosed right at the start of the review.

Highlights from Shawn's reviews of the Jackson Racing CR-Z are a power increase of 40% or 50hp - 189hp up from the base of 138hp as measured on a Dynopak dynamometer which measures power at the wheel hubs. Being a car tuner in profession, Shawn also covered the build quality of the kit plus details about the fit and finish.

Shawn obtained a 0-60mph acceleration time of 6.9 seconds (using a Racelogic Driftbox GPS based meter) with a full charge and an average of 7.2seconds when the charge was around 6 or 7 bars only.

For the full TOV review, go to http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-article?article_id=1087352&page_number=4.

Jackson Racing supercharged CR-Z - TOV early impressions

2012-08-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

News of the Jackson Racing CR-Z is now hot news in the Honda scene. TOV engine expert Shawn Church currently has a unit for testing. We hope to be publishing his impressions on the car in a few days time after he has finished testing it.

According to Shawn, the Jackson racing kit uses a Rotrex supercharger. Other than the Jackson kit and a Hondata reflash however, everything else on the car he has is stock. In the U.S., the car is also CARB legal which is a very important factor. Very early driving impressions suggests that Jackson's claim that the fuel economy of the car wasn't affected by the modification is quite accurate because he got 37.5 mpg (US) which is around 15.9 km/l during an initial drive comprising 20 miles (32km) of stop and go and 100 miles (160km) at an average of 73 mph through mildly hilly terrain, with A/C on the whole time.

The kit will be available either as standalone (buyer to source for engine management) or kit with a Hondata reflash or kit with a full Hondata Flashpro engine management system. The favoured and recommended engine management is Hondata. Shawn estimates around 8 hours for a full install without tuning time. Note however that these info are specific to the U.S. only as Hondata doesn't yet support the ECU used in ASEAN CR-Z's.

Also, another well connected TOV'er who has already driven the car much earlier reported "It's FUN.... that early torque and it doesn't drop off until around 4700 rpm.... surprised a few at the stop light(the car didn't have stickers on it). But just getting very happy with the top end power and you have to shift".

More details to come soon.

Effect of RON rating on Hybrids

2012-03-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

At the launch of the Jazz Hybrid by Honda Malaysia yesterday, I had the chance to chat with its LPL Mr. Shingo Nagamine. One of the topics I raised concerns the petrol grade requirement for the Jazz Hybrid. This relates to the issue of having the choice of either RON95 or RON97 petrol in Malaysia.

Firstly is the question of the petrol grade the Jazz Hybrid has been set-up to use. For this, Nagamine-san says that models like this Jazz Hybrid are imported into Malaysia directly from Japan but they are not completely identical to the JDM units. There are some work done to ensure the car optimizes into the local environment and that includes the quality of petrol available here. In this case, Nagamine-san says that Honda tuned the Jazz Hybrid to work best with the RON95 petrol that we get at our fuel pumps.

But there is another quite common question and that is whether RON97 petrol will deliver any difference. My understanding is that once an engine is designed to work with a specific octane petrol, then the use of higher octane petrol should not deliver any advantage. The octane, or RON rating as we use here in Malaysia are a rating for the degree of resistance of the petrol to combustion and is needed for high specification engines in order to avoid knocking/detonation and pre-combustion. There is a common misconception that higher octane petrol somehow contains some 'magic' which allows engines to deliver more power and economy the higher the octane rating. This is not true.

But there is still the fact that I have gotten countless feedback from readers that they did get better mileage and better 'response' (i.e. power) when they use RON97 petrol even on cars which supposedly don't need it. Like the Honda City. Or the Accords and regular Civics. This I can even correlate as I myself have often obtained slightly better mileage whenever I switch to RON97 from the RON95 I am regularly using for my 1G Jazz VTEC.

So I put this question to Nagamine-san. And I was surprised and enlightened by his response.

Nagamine-san explains that the use of RON97 petrol on the Jazz Hybrid for e.g., may give slightly better fuel economy than with RON95 which the Jazz Hybrid has been tuned to use. The reason is of course the reduction of detonation. When ECU receives signal from the knock sensor that it has detected detonation from the engine, it will retard ignition timing. This moves the engine away from its optimal performance range and consequently has a negative effect on fuel consumption and also power.

But then the Jazz Hybrid is specifically tuned to use RON95 so why does the engine still knock ?

The issue is this tuning ensures optimal operation over a wide range of conditions but there will still be the very exceptional extreme conditions, very rare occurrences but still possible, that we put the engine under enough stress that it encounters mild detonation. Mild but still enough to cause the ECU to react by retarding ignition timing. Under real-life usage, it is simply impossible to ensure such conditions will never occur. And it is unproductive to accomodate for all extreme conditions. So the tuning for RON95 ensures that under all practical and foreseeable conditions, the engine will run fine without detonation. But on the very rare occasion where we might be forced to struggle up a very steep hill at very low speeds in a very low gear on an extremely hot day, there will still be a chance that the engine detonates, probably mildly.

It is these exceptional and extreme conditions where the use of the higher RON97 petrol will help avoid detonation. However these conditions should be extremely rare for the majority of driving conditions. Thus the statement that RON97 may give slightly better fuel economy and power on the Jazz Hybrid.

How does this information apply to us readers ? Each individual will have to analyze his or her own unique environment and understand the kind of conditions he or she will tend to encounter in daily driving. Again, the exceptional and extreme conditions will deal with issues like trying to force power out of the engine in very stressful conditions. Examples would be like steep uphill climbs and at very low engine rpms, usually 2,000rpm and below. The prevailing environment will have to be very hot. The ECU can compensate for these conditions but there is a limit and beyond those limits the engine will detonate. Usually we won't be able to hear it but engines like the LDA used in the Jazz Hybrid are equipped with knock sensors which are specifically designed to detect these detonations. And the method used to stop detonation is to run richer and retard ignition timing - both of which will adversely affect fuel economy and power output.

So the final decision of whether to use RON95 or RON97 petrol depends heavily on how much stress we put on our engine in our normal drives. RON97 petrol is a lot more expensive than RON95 so a balance needs to be striked. It might also be prudent to use RON95 regularly and to switch to a tankful of RON97 if we expect to encounter stressful driving conditions for an upcoming trip.

Early Impressions : Millers Oils ECOMAX

2012-01-08T23:14:00.001-08:00

Of all the Millers Oils products Cosmic Elite passed to me for testing, the ECOMAX is the easiest to use. It is actually a petrol/fuel additive and so is to be added to the fuel tank during top-ups. As I had just top-up for a full tank prior to the meeting, I added Ecomax to my fuel tank immediately upon receiving it.

Ecomax is a dual function product in that it is both an octane booster as well as a 'detergent'. As an octane booster, it works to a ratio of 1 part to 1000 parts (i.e. 1ml for every litre of fuel) to increase the fuel's rated octane (ON or RON) number by 2. For Malaysia for e.g., this means if I add 50ml of Ecomax to a full tank of RON97 fuel on my Integra, which has a 50 litre tank, I should have RON99 fuel. For Honda owners like me, who have modified our engines to the extent that it really needs high octane fuel - higher than RON97 - to operate optimally, a product like Ecomax will be a god-send !

Besides the octane boosting capability, Ecomax also cleans the injectors and the insides of the engine, supposedly reducing combustion and intake manifold and valve deposits. For a turbo-charged engine like the one in my Integra, the very rich A/F ratios I need to run at directly leads to lots of carbon build-up inside the engine. So if Ecomax works, then it will be a double bonus.

The Ecomax that I was given comes in a generic plastic bottle. According to Tony of Comsic Elite, the standard dispenser bottle that Millers Oils uses for Ecomax is prone to spillage as the cap doesn't seal the mouth properly. So he brings in Ecomax by the barrel and bottles them using his own plastic bottle. This bottle is quite easy to use as mine comes pre-marked for 50ml intervals. So I just put the mouth inside the fuel tank inlet and squeeze the bottle.

Early Impressions on the road
The first impression after putting in some mileage is that the engine runs smoother and quieter. This is always a good thing and it actually corresponds to what I get when I add TORCO's Accelerator to my fuel.

The common misconception about using higher RON-rated fuel is always that it 'gives' more power, i.e. enables the engine to deliver more power. IMO, this is a wrong conception. An engine is designed and tuned to work with a specific (or range of) RON rated fuel. Use lower-RON rated fuel than specified and it detonates and knocks. When we use fuel of correct RON-rating, the engine is able to function optimally without detonation. This means being able to deliver the maximum power under all conditions. But contrary to popular belief, using a higher RON-rated fuel than required delivers nothing. In fact, using too high a RON fuel will foul up the insides of the engine. So the key is to use the right RON-rated fuel.

The 'pull' I get from the Integra is more consistently strong after using Ecomax. It is difficult to 'butt dyno' with any accuracy for changes as small as simply upping the RON rating of the fuel by 2 numbers of course but impressions are certainly that Ecomax enables my engine to deliver power more consistently. Most important is how the engine doesn't sound coarser when it revs towards the red-line.

As I continue to test Ecomax, I will be able to form firmer impressions and will be writing a proper review for it in the near future.

Millers Oils comes to Asia

2011-12-30T03:40:00.000-08:00

Cosmic Elite, an advertiser and supporter of TOVA since it first started as a TORCO distributor for Malaysia 2 years ago is now also representing Millers Oils, this time for both Malaysia and Singapore. I met up with Tony, Cosmic Elite's proprietor last month to get my quarterly stock of TORCO engine oils for my Integra and Jazz, during which he gave a brief introduction to Millers Oils. Tony also passed me a boxful of Millers Oils products for my testing and review.

About Millers Oils
Millers Oils is a U.K. company and have been around for more than a century. While I have heard of them before, I did not know the huge range of products they specialize in, not until I started research on them after that brief introduction from Tony. Millers Oils develops products not only in the automotive/motorsports industry, but also a diverse range of other industries including agricultural, marine and even food products. Their range of automotive/motorsports products is very wide and impressive and includes engine and gearbox oil, lubricants like grease, even engine coolants and fuel additives.

One of Millers Oils most significant achievement was at the 2009 World Motorsport Symposium, where their transmission (gearbox) oil featuring their unique 'Nano Technology (NT)' additive won the prestigious "Most Innovative New Product", ahead of F1 legends McLaren and Williams. For the enthusiasts, this product comes in the "CRX" range of Millers Oils transmission oils (a rather nice product name, don't you agree ?!).

Besides the CRX transmission oil, Tony also passed to me for testing a couple of items for areas which I have been looking at for some time. All in, I received four Millers Oils products as below:

CRX 75W-90 NT transmission (gearbox) oil
As mentioned above, this is based on the product which won Millers Oils the "Most innovative product" award above. "NT" signifies the product as containing Millers Oils "Nano Technology" additive (there is a CRX 75W-90 which doesn't contain the additive).

Racing Brake Fluid 300Plus
This is a 'DOT 4+' brake fluid and features an 'extra high boiling point' exceeding 300°C (dry) designed for use in races. The fluid exceeds the requirements of SAE J1703, JAE1704 and FMVSS 116 DOT 4 according to the Millers Oils website.

Extra Cool
Millers Oils 'Extra Cool' is an engine 'coolant', meant to be added to our radiator to enhance engine cooling. Millers Oils also mentions the extra property of it being a multi-metal corrosion inhibitor, which to me is a very attractive feature after seeing so many engines with stained and corroded water passage ways. Most importantly, Extra Cool works with aluminium which is important for Honda owners and is claimed to 'help reduce coolant temperature by up to 15°C'.

Petrol Power Ecomax
This is an octane booster and detergent package. Ecomax is stated to add 2 octane numbers to unleaded fuel, meaning that when I use it on a tank of RON97 fuel, I theoretically get RON99. Detergent-wise, Ecomax will clean the fuel injectors and engine internals. Millers Oils even claims that it "may invigorate catalytic convertors." It is compatible only with unleaded petrol.

I will be testing the products out over the next few months. Obviously some of them can only be used at the proper time, i.e. I can only use the CRX gear-oil when I next service my Integra where I can get the workshop to change my transmission oil. The Petrol Power Ecomax product however can be tried as quickly as the next full tank top-up.

With this new "Honda Geek" publishing medium, I will be able to publish regular updates on my testing so do check back regularly as I start to use each of the products.