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The Spoon Sports Civic is a very pretty car. Its low power aero package keeps the car from looking too ridiculous like many unlimited time attack cars are getting. This may be the last look of cars of this breed. Unlimited class time attack is evolving into a race of how to stick as much power and downforce into a production based body shell and the fastest cars will become more and more ridiculous looking as technology progresses unlesss inhibited by rule changes.
The Spoon Sports Civic runs very high spring rates and exhibits very little roll and pitch of the platform. This is good for aero consistency but the suspension is still a little too stiff for the best mechanical grip. There is still a bit of time to be gained with further chassis tuning. Softer springs, shock valving and bigger sway bars are things that were planned but didn't happen due to time constraints.
Overall, the Spoon Sports Civic is designed to tread lightly and be efficient, making the most of its nimble light weight, simple layout, and exploiting a good balance of downforce, drag, and power. The Spoon car has always been about keeping it simple and that still rings true even with the chassis updates. This car can be reproduced on a relatively low budget compared to other unlimited class cars.
The finished engine updates for this year were not so much to develop more power but to increase reliability.Previously, the Japanese fabricated turbo system was prone to crack which caused a lot of maintenance issues in the previous Super Lap Battle. This not only caused a loss of power and boost control but hot leaking exhaust gasses caused problems with the plumbing and wiring. Leaking exhaust gasses also affected the driver. Dai had to abort several runs due to an inability to breathe properly.
The thin wall easy to crack exhaust manifold was replaced with a longer runner, merged collector Full Race exhaust manifold. The Full Race manifold is made of very crack resistant schedule 40 stainless tubing. The configuration of the Full Race manifold also increased power and improved spool.Eimer engineering also fabricated the short and direct side exit exhaust. This is a lot harder than it seems because the exhaust must pass through a structural part of the unibody. A tubular tunnel had to be built in the unibody to allow the exhaust to pass through without weakening the structure.
Eimer Engineering also cleaned up the charge piping feeding the K-Tuned big plenum intake manifold for minimal bends and the shortest possible length.Having short and direct charge piping has a profound effect on engine performance. It not only greatly improves throttle response and reduces lag, but also increases power as the compressor has to do less work to fill a large volume ahead of the engine. Less compressor work means less power that the turbine needs to recover. This means backpressure on the engine and more power.
Eimer Engineering also cleaned up the wiring and plumbing, simplifying and rerouting wires to areas less likely to be affected by heat.
