Light and fast – Andrew Windmill’s Honda Civic with Samsonas Dogbox
Samsonas Motorsport is best known for it’s RWD and AWD gearboxes, both dogbox and sequential. However, there is also a dogbox in transmission gama for FWD cars, that is EP3, DC5 and FN2 Honda Civics, and Samsonas Motorsport are very happy that this type of gearbox is still going strong in a variety of motorsport competitions, from circuit racing and rally to drag. One of the Samsonas dogboxes sits in what is probably one of the lightest Honda Civics, winning competitions and setting records on world-famous circuits in the UK. Engineer, car builder and racing driver Andrew Windmill has told his story about his amazingly fast Honda Civic EP3.
How and when did your racing begin?
I started out competing in sprints and hillclimbs in a Golf GTi MK2 and then a Renault Clio 172 with some success back in 2004. I started circuit racing toward the end of the 2012 season in a Renault Clio 172 after doing a few track days and deciding to take the next step in circuit racing.
What are the specifications of your Honda Civic?
The Honda Civic is believed to be one of the lightest competing in the country at the moment and possibly in the world. Reducing the weight of the car has been an ongoing challenge during the last 8 years of development. For this season the Civic is 290bhp@ 8800 rpm and 195 lbs/ft @ 6300 rpm. The car weighs 906kg without fuel which is almost 300kg lighter than a standard road car. Highlights are the carbon roof, bonnet and door skins. The lightweight RAYS wheels and the Tillett carbon race seat. The engine is built around a Walford steel crank which is 6kg lighter than the standard Honda crank along with forged rods and Omega pistons. A big valve head and Clockwise Motion throttle bodies and cams complete the engine. This year also sees the introduction of a custom titanium exhaust system that saved 7.5kgs on its own.
How did the Samsonas Dogbox end up in your car? What are your impressions?
The dog box was last winter’s upgrade to the car after a conversation with Dan at HPE Automotive who has the same gearbox attached to a K series engine in his ultralight Lotus Elise. I suggested the Samsonas dog box would transform his car and that’s exactly what happened. I bought the kit from Samsonas via my friends at Co-ordSport and coupled it with a CUSCO RS limited-slip differential. Gear changes are lighting fast and the spacing of the ratios are far better suited to circuit racing than those in the Honda synchromesh gearbox. I don’t have trouble constantly damaging synchro’s either which is great.
What championships do you compete in with the Civic?
For the last 8 years, I have completed in the Classic Sports Car Club Tin Tops race series. During this time the car has collected a number of wins, class wins, fastest laps and pole positions. This seasons races is also being streamed live on YouTube through the CSCC channel. The next race being at Donington Park on 12th April.
Tell us more about circuit racing in the UK. Is racing having a good period?
In the CSCC the Tin Tops regularly sees full grids at all rounds during the year and the club in general is very popular and busy very race weekend with well over 300 competitors regularly attending. I’m always amazed at the pace of development of the variety of cars that competes and almost everyone improves their cars each winter ready for the season. Racing is an expensive hobby, but I love the atmosphere and pitting my car against the best at this level in the country. We visit all of the major circuits in the UK including Sliverstone, Donnington, Snetterton. Thruxton and Brands Hatch to name a few. My local circuit is Donington and also one of my favourites, although I have also had great success at Thruxton which is the fastest circuit in the UK. Last season my car clocked 140mph at the end of the back straight!
The Tin Tops series is a 40 minute race with a compulsory pit stop. Some teams opt to change drivers where as I do the whole race on my own. If you win a race outright, then you are served with a winners penalty of 30 seconds which is served in the pits on top of your pitstop. This generally means that the same driver doesn’t keep winning although I have managed 2 wins in a season on a few occasions.
What are the most interesting discoveries and solutions you have been able to make with your Honda Civic?
Weight reduction has been a huge part of the cars story. The use of composites, carbon, fibreglass, PLA etc have all helped. We even use titanium bolts where possible to further reduce mass. Engine development has taken years but is now in a really good place with good power and reliability. 3D printing has given us the tools to produce numerous parts for the car that a few years ago we could only have dreamt of.
This season we have a titanium exhaust, a new lightweight rear brake set up and a new adjustable blade front anti roll bar. Further to this I am looking at Quantum from dampers to match the rears I had made last season. The ultimate goal with the car now is to get it under 900kgs and win more races.
