Day: Start -1

It's been a long couple of days since we got back from VIR Saturday night. R&R has been wrapping up some things on the car. Swapping the One Lap rubber from the Tire Rack onto the Enkei's. It's a bit odd to see the Kuhmo's from OLoA 2009 finally go, although Robert thought they still had a good bit of life in them... it's better to start off with fresh rubber, and no concern about wearing through the tires during the event. Plus, I'm not sure they'd be allowed back.

R&R also worked through our overheating problem, and then some additional items that cropped up while fixing the first problem. They tracked the problem down to a radiator cap that wasn't holding pressure. Then, while draining the fluid, they found that the AL radiator had an AL drain plug, which had completely stripped out the radiator's threads. So they retapped those, dropped in a helicoil, and then safety wired the plug shut.

R&R also swapped in our new rotors, a fresh set of Hawk HP+ pads (bringing the hardly used ones as spares), and tracked down our cruise control woes to a broken brake sensor switch. Finally they managed to get the R&R decals on the trunk, rear bumper and front hood. Unfortunately, getting all of this done wasn't completed until 5pm today. Which, fortunately gave Robert and I enough time to work through what we had enough time to take, and pack it all into the trunk of the miata. It's a tight fit, but we can make some space by bringing a few choice items up to the package shelf behind the seats and under the hardtop... a space made bigger, and more useful by the lack of soft top.

So, we finally got on the road about an hour and half later than I wanted to. But that's how it goes sometimes, and it's not like this is going to be an especially different drive from the rest of the ones we're going to be pulling the rest of the week. And I'd rather be an hour and a half late, with more peace of mind, than leave ontime or early and have a few things still outstanding... or at least that's what I have to tell my impatient side of myself while the clock ticks past my original schedule. Hopefully, I wasn't hovering too obnoxiously ;).

In conclusion, we're off! We currently in the bumps, slows, and construction of PA wending our way towards Wauseon, OH for the night... so that we're a short hop from South Bend in the morning. Assuming we manage to successfully navigate our way through the conspicuously absent of speed limit signs roadway that is the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I'll try to send another update after we get through tech inspection tomorrow.