WekFest 3 : Fort Mason : SF 2/20/11

It goes without question that everyone covers the standard "front of car" photos. With that said my mission for wekfest3 was to bring something different to the table. I'm obsessed with the details that usually go overlooked. Originality is the name of the game so here's my take on wekfest3.

All was shot with my OG D200 and a 12-24mm 2.8f



Photos by:  Jeremy Forbes

BlackTrax Raffle Winners @ Wekfest SF 2011

Wekfest 2011 was a great event. Big thanks to Weksos for organizing it. Also thanks to the hundreds of people who stopped by our booth to chat about projects and to join our raffle. Check out the short flick as we pick our winners. Congratulations to all the winners! We'll be in touch with you soon!

REMEMBER: "It don't matter how good your car looks. If it runs like $@%#, you shouldn't be calling it your car. Function precedes form..."

PRIZE WINNERS:

1) Free 1 Hr Dynotune

Ticket# 7758408 

Henry Lazaro

2) Free Baseline Dyno - 3 pulls

Ticket# 7758303 

Andy Nguyen

3) Free BT Shift Knob

Ticket# 7758198 

Earvin Mendoza

4) Free Still Sideways T-shirt

Ticket# 7758662 

Gil Tapia

5) Free BT Lic Plate Cover

Ticket# 7758302 

Son Vo

6) Free BT Flat Bill Cap

Ticket# 7758533 

Paolo Mendoza

7) Free Track Car Ride Along

Ticket# 7758734 

Kyle Leong

BT Valve Adjustment DIY Day 2/12/11

Orchestrated with S2K International Bay Area, BlackTrax held a Valve Adjustment Demonstration Day showing tips and tricks on how to perform a valve adjustment on F20/22C engines. Donuts and Coffee started off the day followed by a 1hr demo by Jei Chang. Thereafter, Aki Maseba and Jei Chang performed valve adjustments for the group of S2000's. Simultaneously S2ki.com members interested in tackling the job themselves were offered tables, gloves and assistance. Having this day actually helped identify cracked valve spring retainers on one of the cars preventing him from future catastrophic engine failure. All in all it was a perfect sunny day to educate and work on your ride outdoors!


Photos by:  Jeremy Forbes

Dyno Page: Hytech's N/A S2K Header

There has been much anticipation for the release of this S2000 header designed, tested and fabricated by John Grudynski of HyTech Exhaust Inc. Those who've used Hytech products are familiar with the material and weld quality, the precision taken to the merge collectors and his patented anti-reversion chambers. We had the opportunity to get our hands on Hytech's N/A 2010 model header and put it to the test on on our Dynapack Dynomometer. Though this header is lighter in weight than OEM (all s2k aftermarket headers are), we were only interested in power results during this test. 


All tests were performed with the Hytech header are on an '08 S2000 CR. Comparison dyno charts were performed on 2006+ S2000's. Tuning was performed with Hondata Flashpro.

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Here is a comparison between an OEM stock CR vs Hytech Tuned vs Hytech Tuned with a more effective intake system. Note gains from 4500 to redline. Also note the powerband carries past the stock redline to 8500 rpm.

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This is our best comparison between the Hytech vs Stock Header using Hondata Fpro Tuning for both.  The Hytech header allows for vtec to be lowered to 4500 yielding respectable mid-range gains over the OEM header. Top end gains are realized but not as significant as mid-range.

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This is another good comparison between the Hytech's 4-2-1 header vs Comptech 4-1 header (Fpro tuned and untuned). The 4-1 design by Comptech yielded respectable numbers after 6k rpm, however Vtec crossover could not be lowered under 5200rpm.

BT's Conclusion:

A general rule of thumb is a 4-2-1 header will make mid-range gains where a 4-1 header will make gains at the top. In our case, Hytech's 4-2-1 2010 N/A Header clearly shows what a properly designed header is capable of resulting in gains across a broad powerband. 

1.     Which offers the broadest area under the power curve? 

Hytech's 4-2-1 does over OEM and Comptech

2.     How are the gains from the Hytech header attribute to the design? 

The gains are attributed to design (stepped tube diameters, tube length and 1-3 & 2-4 pairing)

3.     Craftsmanship? 

Hytech's quality and craftsmanship is quite top notch

4.     Cost?

Hytech hurts a bit with ~$1700 for header and test pipe vs Comptech's ~$900

5.     Are the gains significant enough to justify the cost? 

This question is subjective....see next question..

6.     Which header would benefit from a sanctioned racing class rules which allow for external bolt on modifications? 

Hytech will give the engine every edge in this racing environment 

7.     Revert back to question #5?

Ultimately, it’s truly up to you to decide if you need this caliber of a header for what you plan to do with your car.