ITRCA

for the past week I have been setting aside a couple hours each night after work to finish up claybar'ing and then polishing heR. Car looks great. I have become very familiar with paint/body condition and know every knick and scratch on the car (all from previous owners).

Yesterday at work, I went outside for a breath of fresh air and there was some student summer city workers (females) chopping down hedges and cutting grass etc. I noticed they were going in the direction of the R with some hedge shears... so I go check out the car and wipe any chalk off my tires (parking ticket free). so good to go.

Me, being nice... asked the girl if the car was okay there or if she wanted me to move to another spot and give her some space to do her work. (me being paranoid after spending so much time making it look new again). She says, no it's okay I have lots of room there. ok, fine.

Go back into the office... end of the day is here, it's pouring outside. I was looking forward to the drive home, but not so much now. I get home, continues to rain well into the evening.

After dinner, the rain stops so I decide to go out to the gym. I walk out to the 97R and notice two big scratch/dents in the middle front of the hood. WTF, those weren't there when I was clay'ing/polishing yesterday!!!!! Basically, it looks like she dropped the hedge shears on the hood and then ran away (18-19yr old not the best looking girl).

So basically, these are the two biggest scratches on the car and now the only two dents. I'm just livid.... right fired up. I didn't see any of this happen and I really have no proof of who did it or how it happened but I am 99.9% sure it was this stupid b*#%(. It could be worse I guess, just hurts after spending so much time and effort on turning it back to mint and now this.

How would you react? specifically after asking if the car was ok there...
Would you be pissed?

What would you do?
Basically knowing that there is no proof of who did this.

I'm just so fired up right now, can't believe some people. Even if it wasn't her and someone else, WTF? Maybe it's just because I wouldn't think of even touching someone elses car. Guess some people just don't have morals or were brought up wrong.

anyways, /rant.
2months of ownership has been a blast. The car is arguably more fun to drive that my S2k and I have def been giving it more attention

to be honest man if it was me i would of moved my car cus i am to scared lol.... but that is to late now. well i would by starting to ask was she working for a company? if so that is the only way to maybe getting it fixed and if not that i would have to say sorry about ur luck...
I know i would hella mad if that was me so i really feel your anger sorry dude

the summer student works for the city I live in. 110k people about. So she is a city works person, I don't even have proof that she did it.

I was confident she would at least respect my can and attempt to not hit it. But then again, I have no proof it was even her so I'm just going to let it go. Not really that big of a deal.

The lot it's parked in is 100 feet from my office... a financial building. accountants, financial advisors, planners, banks etc are all in this building so there are a few video cameras overlooking the lot but I havn't taken it that far, just not worth it.

i would have to say it depends on the scratches to me to say it was worth it or not, but if u dont think it is worth it then bother and next time move the car :=)

Hello MINTY

It is certainly maddening. What you should do it to call the reception desk of the city office (city hall) in which you live and outline what has happened to you. As you say unless the video cameras caught her in the act, it is unlikely there is any hard evidence against her. So you have to give facts that would make a reasonable person believe your argument. If you are rational and sensible to the reception person, the receptionist will understand your distress and forward you to the department that this person works in. From there, you will most likely talk to the supervisor/manager of that department. At that point, still being rationally, you outline the facts as you know them, ensuring to give dates and times and a detailed description of the person and what they were doing. Unless you live in a city that doesn't care about its reputation, after your discussion, the supervisor/manager will discuss this compliant with that person. From there, there is a good chance that the worker will act guilty in some way and the supervisor/manager may give you the benefit of the doubt based on the probability that your statement of the facts has more weight then presented by her.

MINTY FRESH

good advice MINTY, thanks.

on Wednesday we went out to the track for an evening lapping session. Four or five 15-20min sessions and it was a blast. I found out the car drinks more gasoline than my S and also gets a bit hotter

on the third session I got caught up in chasing down a s2k cr so stayed about for a few extra laps and was revving it a bit harder. I looked down and the heat guage was a little past 2/3rd hot. This is with a full sized mishi rad and new coolant (colder mix). I was a bit suprised considering that the brakes (stock pads and oldish fluid) held up through the punishment but maybe there is more to the story and I need a tune or something.

*edit* it sure made me forget about the scratchdent on my hood.

Yikes. My oem heat guage never moves past 40% across the range....oem everything in the cooling system.

Doespike wrote:Yikes. My oem heat guage never moves past 40% across the range....oem everything in the cooling system.

Mine never does either.

s2kobsessed wrote:
on the third session I got caught up in chasing down a s2k cr so stayed about for a few extra laps and was revving it a bit harder. I looked down and the heat guage was a little past 2/3rd hot. This is with a full sized mishi rad and new coolant (colder mix). I was a bit suprised considering that the brakes (stock pads and oldish fluid) held up through the punishment but maybe there is more to the story and I need a tune or something.

You might want to bleed the coolant system some more and see if this problem persists.

thanks for the heads up. probably not a bad idea.
I thought I bled the air bubbles out very well when I installed the rad but maybe not.

on highway driving, the temp guage barely goes above 1/3rd hot so I was very suprised.

Doespike wrote:Yikes. My oem heat guage never moves past 40% across the range....oem everything in the cooling system.

None of my three integra's have ever gotten that hot on track. That includes OEM and two aftermarket radiators. I think it would be wise to follow Shawn's advice and rebleed to coolant system.

I may have missed it, but how many miles are on the current water pump?

coolhandluke wrote:

Doespike wrote:Yikes. My oem heat guage never moves past 40% across the range....oem everything in the cooling system.

None of my three integra's have ever gotten that hot on track. That includes OEM and two aftermarket radiators. I think it would be wise to follow Shawn's advice and rebleed to coolant system.

I may have missed it, but how many miles are on the current water pump?

Water pump was replaced last fall... 6k miles ago max.

Rebleed coolant...never really saw aftermarket radiators do as well, but that's just my experience.

to rebleed the coolant, I just pop off the rad cap when it's cold and then turn on the engine to warm it up right? The air bubbles should come out the top with pressure released?

I was at the track last night while keeping a close eye on the engine temp - it was 30+ *C here yesterday and the temp would get to the midway point very easy while drafting other cars or pushing all the way to redline without short shifting.

I ended up cooking my brake pads completely, now there is a rotational metal sound thats coming from driver side front tire in gear and out of gear and the sound goes away when I apply the brakes. I'm completely confused, maybe axel or something?

I'm going to try to diagnose it this weekend but if anyone has any ideas, I'd be very open to hearing what they are.

Regards,
C

s2kobsessed wrote:to rebleed the coolant, I just pop off the rad cap when it's cold and then turn on the engine to warm it up right? The air bubbles should come out the top with pressure released?

Yes. Leave the cap off until its at normal operating temperature. Helm says you can hold the engine at 3K RPMs (sometimes car won't reach temp just sitting depending on ambient temps). You want to wait until the radiator fan comes on. I usually let it go until the fans come on twice, by that point the air should be out. You can also blip the throttle occasionally to help get some of the air out. Keep the coolant topped off. I throw the cap on with it still running and then you're good to go.

okay, I think I may have found part of the problem.... The rad fan DOESN'T come on ahahahah. I didn't check the fuse yet, but can anyone recommend a good rad fan that is reasonably priced and does a good job?

Also, the car has been parked and I still have that brake issue. a rotational metal sound that goes away when brakes are applied. really wierd...

Hey Chris, congrats on the R. Another 97 in HADA.

Before you buy a new fan, check to make sure that it's the fan that's broken and not the switch. Remove the plug from the thermostat and jump it with a paper clip and see if the fan comes on or not. If it does, then the switch in the thermostat housing is faulty. Also, check that the connector is in all the way - my R had/has this exact problem with the connector slipping out.

Send me a PM (on HADA) if you need help or pictures of what to look for.