Whew! This weekend was a whirlwind for me, including 12hours in the shop working on the miata. She seems determined to make us earn her respect... or maybe she's just mad about sitting in the parking lot for so long.
We got the airbag computer fixed, finally on Saturday night after a long session of plug and check and diagnose. I've learned more about that system than I care to have. We installed some CGLock seat belt tensioners late Sat night to feel like we accomplished something else.
So, Sunday morning we went to work on replacing the brake pads, swapping in the new-used sway bars and finishing the airbag computer re-install. The bars took longer than expected, and required some shimming on the front bar. Also, it turns out the car already had aftermarket bars on it, albeit with smaller diameters. So we ended up with an upgrade after all; which makes me all the happier about not buying new ones. Although getting them into place with the new endlinks took a bunch of work that my pansy-sitting-on-my-whatoosie-in-front-of-a-computer-code-monkey bottom isn't used to. I enjoyed each minute of it, even knocking my head into the suspended rear brake caliper a total of 3(!) times.
However, we did find a cracked rear piston boot, and with the other assorted difficulties will have to lean on R&R to finish up preparations on the car before Robert's track day on Sat/Sun. Like I said, it's good to have their support, and experienced hand checking over the car before then.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
OneLap Preparation #1
So, last weekend Robert and I spent most of Friday in the shop fixing items on the miata. We replaced the window and rear tail light that unknown persons decided to smash in with fist-sized rocks. After retrieving the window-smashing culprit from the passenger side pack shelf, Robert suggested we mount it in place of the "toilet-bowl" mazda logo on the front bumper. I've decided to pass on that, for now.
We also dug into fixing the airbag computer that had failed and started flashing '51'; which has precluded my getting the car through VA safety inspections... which unfortunately caused us to pull apart most of the driver's side dash and instrument console... whereupon we found that the speedometer cable was on it's way out. So I've got a new one of those on the way as well.
We also spent a couple hours cleaning the rust off a set of JacksonRacing Sway Bars sourced via craigslist... thanks mainly to the eagle-eyed watch of my previous OneLap co-driver (an miata nut) Greer. They're clean and painted.
So that leads to this weekend. The tasks ahead are pretty clear: finish up the airbag fix, replace the speedometer cable, and install the sway bars. If we've got time left over we'll look into the brakes... the pads have arrived, but I'm not sure about the rotors. The clutch and flywheel are here... but that task is a bit daunting, so we'll put it off for a bit more.
We also dug into fixing the airbag computer that had failed and started flashing '51'; which has precluded my getting the car through VA safety inspections... which unfortunately caused us to pull apart most of the driver's side dash and instrument console... whereupon we found that the speedometer cable was on it's way out. So I've got a new one of those on the way as well.
We also spent a couple hours cleaning the rust off a set of JacksonRacing Sway Bars sourced via craigslist... thanks mainly to the eagle-eyed watch of my previous OneLap co-driver (an miata nut) Greer. They're clean and painted.
So that leads to this weekend. The tasks ahead are pretty clear: finish up the airbag fix, replace the speedometer cable, and install the sway bars. If we've got time left over we'll look into the brakes... the pads have arrived, but I'm not sure about the rotors. The clutch and flywheel are here... but that task is a bit daunting, so we'll put it off for a bit more.
OneLap 2011 Intro
So, a funny thing happened on my way to a life-change. It looks like I won't be able to run OneLap after this year for a couple of years, so I sent an RFI to the usual car nuts I know. Eventually, a close friend from way back expressed some interest, and then (more importantly) managed to get spousal approval. I also go some interest from another friend, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to put things together.
Originally I planned to use the Fit again. However, after some consideration about the life-change, some introspection about not wanting to be last again, and then having someone vandalize the miata... I finally pulled my thoughts together and have decided to take it to OneLap this year.
Robert and I have some work to do to get it ready. We'll need to add back some of the interior, and figure out a way to play some tunes (an area Robert is quite qualified to assist in). I'm also going to toss a new set of rotors and pads on (moving up to HP Plus'), get some stiffer sway bars, and do a clutch change. I can't tell for sure, but I think the car is still on it's original clutch @ 175kmi.
Robert and I are also going to try and do this on a tight budget. Life-changes tend to shrink the excess income situation, plus I've been interested in trying this out after hearing people complain that they couldn't afford to do OneLap. So we're going to look into ways to reduce the costs of hotels, and food. The miata is already pretty good on gas, and a couple of the transits aren't going to leave much option other than sleeping in the car. As for food, bringing some of it along will be a little tough in such a small car, but not eating fast food the whole time will help our wallets and our waistlines.
So, that's the plan... for now. We're still gathering things together and working out how we're going to pull this off. Fortunately, we've gotten at least one sponsor: R&R Automotive who have offered to provide free lift time, and 'at cost' pricing on parts. They've been good to me over the years, keeping some expensive BMW's going, along with most of the rest of my mini-fleet of cars; and I look forward to having their logo on the miata's hood.
Originally I planned to use the Fit again. However, after some consideration about the life-change, some introspection about not wanting to be last again, and then having someone vandalize the miata... I finally pulled my thoughts together and have decided to take it to OneLap this year.
Robert and I have some work to do to get it ready. We'll need to add back some of the interior, and figure out a way to play some tunes (an area Robert is quite qualified to assist in). I'm also going to toss a new set of rotors and pads on (moving up to HP Plus'), get some stiffer sway bars, and do a clutch change. I can't tell for sure, but I think the car is still on it's original clutch @ 175kmi.
Robert and I are also going to try and do this on a tight budget. Life-changes tend to shrink the excess income situation, plus I've been interested in trying this out after hearing people complain that they couldn't afford to do OneLap. So we're going to look into ways to reduce the costs of hotels, and food. The miata is already pretty good on gas, and a couple of the transits aren't going to leave much option other than sleeping in the car. As for food, bringing some of it along will be a little tough in such a small car, but not eating fast food the whole time will help our wallets and our waistlines.
So, that's the plan... for now. We're still gathering things together and working out how we're going to pull this off. Fortunately, we've gotten at least one sponsor: R&R Automotive who have offered to provide free lift time, and 'at cost' pricing on parts. They've been good to me over the years, keeping some expensive BMW's going, along with most of the rest of my mini-fleet of cars; and I look forward to having their logo on the miata's hood.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
More Car Experiences
so, yeah, that last post got started a month and a half ago. But I just popped it up today. I've actually had some other car-type experiences, like going to my first Great Falls Cars & Coffee event in August.
That's because I'm ultra-motivated again, finally. Part of that is I've signed up for a the TrackDaze event @ Summit Point (Shenandoah Circuit) this weekend. So I'll try to be more dilligent about writing up that experience.
Also, today I tried out Do It Yourself Mechanics for the first time. They're a shop with a bunch of lifts that you can rent, and it comes with a 104-piece craftsman tool kit. There are other 'extra' tools that you can rent by the hour, with a 1-hour minimum. Plus, they've got some mechanics that can look over your shoulder if you're just starting out (like me). Since I'm trying to 'squeak' by on expenses through the end of this year; and so that I can be more independent in maintaining the miata, I headed over there to do an oil change, swap on some centering rings & 949 racing lugs with the Enkei's on the miata. Oh yeah, did I mention, I've put the stock wheels (with new Khumo all-season tires) back on the fit. Things went pretty well; I only had a couple of boneheaded moments, I got to scope the place out, and learned a bit more about the miata. Plus, the lift time cost me $46 (including an hour of rental for a brake bleeder). So my oil change cost me ~$100, including the $50 I paid for Mobil1 oil & filter. And it meant I wasn't trying to squeeze around/under the miata in my tiny 1-car garage which is overstuffed with other stuff.
So, stay tuned, and I'll have more info about the track day this weekend (hopefully including some video too).
That's because I'm ultra-motivated again, finally. Part of that is I've signed up for a the TrackDaze event @ Summit Point (Shenandoah Circuit) this weekend. So I'll try to be more dilligent about writing up that experience.
Also, today I tried out Do It Yourself Mechanics for the first time. They're a shop with a bunch of lifts that you can rent, and it comes with a 104-piece craftsman tool kit. There are other 'extra' tools that you can rent by the hour, with a 1-hour minimum. Plus, they've got some mechanics that can look over your shoulder if you're just starting out (like me). Since I'm trying to 'squeak' by on expenses through the end of this year; and so that I can be more independent in maintaining the miata, I headed over there to do an oil change, swap on some centering rings & 949 racing lugs with the Enkei's on the miata. Oh yeah, did I mention, I've put the stock wheels (with new Khumo all-season tires) back on the fit. Things went pretty well; I only had a couple of boneheaded moments, I got to scope the place out, and learned a bit more about the miata. Plus, the lift time cost me $46 (including an hour of rental for a brake bleeder). So my oil change cost me ~$100, including the $50 I paid for Mobil1 oil & filter. And it meant I wasn't trying to squeeze around/under the miata in my tiny 1-car garage which is overstuffed with other stuff.
So, stay tuned, and I'll have more info about the track day this weekend (hopefully including some video too).
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
I'm not dead yet!
"I'm getting better"
So, wow it's been a while since I last posted up here. A fair amount has happened.
1st, I got a rather serious infection of "OneLap Withdrawl". It meant that I spent a bunch of my non-working time (which, since I was back in Miami, was minimal) reading blogs and trying to keep up with the event as much as possible.
Then after being in Miami for two and a half weeks, I drove from there back home... helping a co-worker who has difficulty flying... and has parents concerned about her driving solo the whole way back. If I remember correctly, I did it (driving the whole way) in about 16.5hours (6am to 8.30pm), in a rental Sentra, including dropping off my co-worker in Richmond. It wasn't too bad, the rental Sentra had descent power, and I've gotten used to driving automatics. I think I only had one 'oh goodness' moment, which came during heavy-ish traffic and an on-ramp merge area where a honda zipped down the on-ramp and cutoff a semi... or was it dump truck?
Then I jumped on a plane three days later and headed to England for what turned out to be two months (originally planned as 1 month of work, with a two week vacation). In that time I got to learn that the Seat 1.4TDI-eco [is absolutely gutless], the VW Golf TDI 2.0 is much better, and the Ford Fiesta 1.5TDI is somewhere in between. I also found that I prefer driving gas cars, and driving on the left. I also learned how good I am at judging car placement (driving in the narrow street hill-towns of Spain), and how much I dislike Hertz (missed a scratch declaration on car pickup that cost us $135 in 'new damage').
Finally, I managed to arrange a track day @ Summit Point for two days after I got back from England. I managed to get the car inspected, and switched over to some 'consistent' rubber thanks in large part to my good friend Greer. My original plan was to swap my Enkei & OneLap rubber onto the miata, and put his miata wheels/rubber onto the Fit. However, his Borbets had an 'installed' hub-center-ring that meant they wouldn't mountup onto the fit hubs (56.1mm hub vs. 54.1mm miata hub). So I ended up using his wheels/tires for the track day.
The track day itself went pretty well, although I felt pretty slow. I was having trouble trusting the tires, and I still need to sort the brake pedal height w.r.t. to the gas-pedal height so I can do consistent heel-toe downshifts. I didn't pass anyone, and was passed quite a bit. Although, I had shown up for only the second day of a two day event... and it was my first time at Summit Point 'Main'. In the end, despite my lack of pace, my instructor recommended me for the intermediate group. Now, I just need to go to a track for the second time and actually get to be pushed into that group.
So, wow it's been a while since I last posted up here. A fair amount has happened.
1st, I got a rather serious infection of "OneLap Withdrawl". It meant that I spent a bunch of my non-working time (which, since I was back in Miami, was minimal) reading blogs and trying to keep up with the event as much as possible.
Then after being in Miami for two and a half weeks, I drove from there back home... helping a co-worker who has difficulty flying... and has parents concerned about her driving solo the whole way back. If I remember correctly, I did it (driving the whole way) in about 16.5hours (6am to 8.30pm), in a rental Sentra, including dropping off my co-worker in Richmond. It wasn't too bad, the rental Sentra had descent power, and I've gotten used to driving automatics. I think I only had one 'oh goodness' moment, which came during heavy-ish traffic and an on-ramp merge area where a honda zipped down the on-ramp and cutoff a semi... or was it dump truck?
Then I jumped on a plane three days later and headed to England for what turned out to be two months (originally planned as 1 month of work, with a two week vacation). In that time I got to learn that the Seat 1.4TDI-eco [is absolutely gutless], the VW Golf TDI 2.0 is much better, and the Ford Fiesta 1.5TDI is somewhere in between. I also found that I prefer driving gas cars, and driving on the left. I also learned how good I am at judging car placement (driving in the narrow street hill-towns of Spain), and how much I dislike Hertz (missed a scratch declaration on car pickup that cost us $135 in 'new damage').
Finally, I managed to arrange a track day @ Summit Point for two days after I got back from England. I managed to get the car inspected, and switched over to some 'consistent' rubber thanks in large part to my good friend Greer. My original plan was to swap my Enkei & OneLap rubber onto the miata, and put his miata wheels/rubber onto the Fit. However, his Borbets had an 'installed' hub-center-ring that meant they wouldn't mountup onto the fit hubs (56.1mm hub vs. 54.1mm miata hub). So I ended up using his wheels/tires for the track day.
The track day itself went pretty well, although I felt pretty slow. I was having trouble trusting the tires, and I still need to sort the brake pedal height w.r.t. to the gas-pedal height so I can do consistent heel-toe downshifts. I didn't pass anyone, and was passed quite a bit. Although, I had shown up for only the second day of a two day event... and it was my first time at Summit Point 'Main'. In the end, despite my lack of pace, my instructor recommended me for the intermediate group. Now, I just need to go to a track for the second time and actually get to be pushed into that group.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Superlative Sunday
Greer popped over and brought his jack. And we swapped one of the Enkei RPF-01's off the fit and on to the miata... just so i could get a look at the fitment. Looks good. So that helps solve one of the questions/decisions I've been noodling around on for the last couple of weeks.
I also did some web searching and found that Tanner recommends WD-40 to get the black gunk off. I hate to admit it, but I don't have a can in the house :(.
I also ended up at Advanced Auto to buy a replacement headlight for the wife's Beamer. Stupidity aside, I got the bulb and managed to get it in without blowing up the bulb, the car, or the house. Although it did take quite a bit of fiddling, and french before the bulb holder would lock in place.
I also did some web searching and found that Tanner recommends WD-40 to get the black gunk off. I hate to admit it, but I don't have a can in the house :(.
I also ended up at Advanced Auto to buy a replacement headlight for the wife's Beamer. Stupidity aside, I got the bulb and managed to get it in without blowing up the bulb, the car, or the house. Although it did take quite a bit of fiddling, and french before the bulb holder would lock in place.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Quick Note
The Soft Top is out!
Took about 1.25 horus, 4 awkward standing positions, and 1 rain rail bolt down the driver's side rain rail. I'll have to find a pen magnet and fish it out one of these days.
I've gotta figure out the wheel situation, will the Enkei's fit (they should)... and not look too out-of-place? Then that should probably be it for taking the car apart for a while. I may actually put some of the parts back on, depending on the neighborhood reaction. It'd be nice to pull the door plastic and the black gunk off first... but I'm 'concerned' about how much 'trouble' that's going to be.
Took about 1.25 horus, 4 awkward standing positions, and 1 rain rail bolt down the driver's side rain rail. I'll have to find a pen magnet and fish it out one of these days.
I've gotta figure out the wheel situation, will the Enkei's fit (they should)... and not look too out-of-place? Then that should probably be it for taking the car apart for a while. I may actually put some of the parts back on, depending on the neighborhood reaction. It'd be nice to pull the door plastic and the black gunk off first... but I'm 'concerned' about how much 'trouble' that's going to be.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Additional Lightness
Because of the long hours I pulled in Miami working, I'll be taking some time in the morning this week to catch up with stuff around the house. Today that included removing the hardtop, the door panels, and door speakers.
I was going to give the miata a rest this week. But checking the weather shows a 'clear' spell. So I'm going to make the most of it. If I get real brave, I may remove the soft top as well. I'll see about getting some pictures posted soon.
I was going to give the miata a rest this week. But checking the weather shows a 'clear' spell. So I'm going to make the most of it. If I get real brave, I may remove the soft top as well. I'll see about getting some pictures posted soon.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Official Event Pics Up
Pictures from the official event photographer, from the Green group (i.e. the run group I was in) are now up. I'm the little red miata, with magic blue tape numbers, and front bumper.
Time Flew...
...when you’re working 10hour days in a sealed box. Add to that ~3 days without internet connection, and it'll explain why I don't have a post up about my first track day @ VIR with the miata.
14 hours, 855 miles, no top, not tunes, and 40-50degF OATs, and I was still grinning like an idiot when I got to Miami... other than getting lost in downtown miami. Google didn't know they shutdown I-95 4miles from my their prescribed exit; and my google-maps-phone thought my GPS coordinates indicated I was swimming in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Francisco. Fun times.
So, back to the track.
My instructor's name was Bernie. He drives a miata too. Only w/ race seats, and big sticky kumho vx710s.
We met right after the driver's meeting, and talked about what kind of driver I was, the miata... stuff he needed to know to be a good instructor. I also met Bill, who's parked next to me, and is running in advanced with his b18 swapped civic hatch; who's apparently not far from me in a home setting too.
Bernie took me out in the 'Advanced Group' to show me the line. He was complaining about the cold temperatures, and the tires not sticking as well. It was good to go out with him before my session, because driving the miata is quite a bit different than the Fit... or at least the way *I* was driving the Fit. Particularly turning in much earlier... and how much speed the car could hold through corners; or so I thought.
We ended up gridding late, ending up the last cars onto the grid, behind the skyline and M3. They were quite slow during the yellow flag warmup lap, with the first car out (and aggressively driven S4 Avant) catching up to us. We eventually got around them both, and pulled a little bit away from that S4. I eventually slowed up a little in the 'first' part of the track and let the S4 by under the tunnel. Braking was an area of concern, since I ended up doing my own bed-in, and it seems they weren't quite all the way bedded in. So we worked our way up to braking later and later...
especially into turn 14. Eventually Bernie said 'Brake at the 1'... and I did. However, something in the grey matter didn't like the speed and chucking the car towards roller coaster. So it went for more brake, which ended up locking up the brakes.
Cue the billowing smoke, with Bernie adding "Ok, turn in" before I went off the track. Getting back on the gas I was greeted a nice 'oscillation' in the tires. I tried to collect myself and ended up going off line through roller coaster. We kept driving, and worked up the speed again, ending the session 'ok'. We came back and took at look at the car, and didn't find a flat spot in the tires. I went out to the restaurant to record my thoughts, and download my video... which turned out like carp. During that is when the cold caught up with me.
Second Session
I could tell it was starting to warm up. The 'thump thump thump' of the tires is only bad in a couple of spots so I decided to keep on driving on it, Bernie didn't think it was a big deal; just cautioning me that if I locked up again there was a good chance I'd lock up in the same place. Apparently this can blow a tire.
The session went pretty well. I Passed a mustang after jostling around with a couple of CTS-Vs at the same time. The Mustang let me by under the tunnel, and I had to take the off line way through the upper esses. Bernie was happy with how I took it. Slow up a little to compensate for the bad line, and make sure to hit that first late apex to set yourself up for the follow-ons.
Third Session
That slow M3 from the first session picked up speed, so I let him by. Well, I caught him again, since he was ending up off line a lot; he just seemed to be using more of his engine this session. So, while I hounded him in the corners, he pulled away on the straights. Most likely his instructor was saying to stay out in front, if I'd let him by that meant I thought he was going faster. Meanwhile the 2 CTS-Vs caught up to us, and I let them by. Then I caught up to the M3 again, heading into 14. Bernie was egging me on, to get up on him so we'd get a run going down the front straight. I knew he was going to brake early, so I pulled by brake point back 200ft, trying to use my superior comfort with braking to close the distance. Well that worked too well, as he grabbed more brake than I expected... Hello Flat Spotted City! This time it was the right front. However, I did the right thing, got out of the brakes to stop the lockup and kept it together a little better going through roller coaster. The M3 still wouldn't let us by, and Ryan Fitzgerald was closing up in his well driven 330i so I let him by on the front. I finally got around the M3 going under bridge 6a-7 after hounding him through the bottom esses. Good times, hooked up some areas better. Almost over did it in the lower esses once. Even with all that, I got signed off solo for last session of the day :)
Last Session
Was doing pretty well, had to jostle with some of the cars... and was keeping up pretty well with the Red 'vette after I let it through. Then I got concerned when I got to Oak Tree 1/2 through the session and saw the black flag out. "Man, what'd'I do!?" So I moved over down the back straight and let out of it a bit, signaling the vette by... didn't want him riding me as I was trying to go into the pits for my talking to. But he just sat there, so I waited 'till I got to the top of the hill, and saw from that flag station that the whole track was black flagged. So we all went in and waited for one of the R32's to get pulled in on a tow truck, from what looked like turn 1. After that we got let out under 'green'. I don't know how it happened but the white RSX got around the 'vette and was raring to go. Let him go at the tunnel then tried running hard in a couple of areas, and realized I was starting to get a bit tired... then about two laps later, going down the back straight I looked at the gas gauge which had been
at 1/4, was now on the bottom line. That wouldn't be good to run out of gas, and have to get towed back in, I was by myself and decided to call it a day.
I ended up not going back for the second day. I was worried about my tires, and the impending snow... which might or might not cut the day short. I spent that $160 on two new front tires instead, banking on the fact that it'd be better to have two round tires for an 850mi trip. Ended up with Kumho Solus KR21's (?), which seem ok. I think I'll probably match the rears up with the same Kumhos at some point... and see if I can fit the enkei's from the fit on the miata with their OLOA Kumho's still on. Could make for some better track time fun... and would help the budget a bit.
Ok, end of my book for now.
14 hours, 855 miles, no top, not tunes, and 40-50degF OATs, and I was still grinning like an idiot when I got to Miami... other than getting lost in downtown miami. Google didn't know they shutdown I-95 4miles from my their prescribed exit; and my google-maps-phone thought my GPS coordinates indicated I was swimming in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Francisco. Fun times.
So, back to the track.
My instructor's name was Bernie. He drives a miata too. Only w/ race seats, and big sticky kumho vx710s.
We met right after the driver's meeting, and talked about what kind of driver I was, the miata... stuff he needed to know to be a good instructor. I also met Bill, who's parked next to me, and is running in advanced with his b18 swapped civic hatch; who's apparently not far from me in a home setting too.
Bernie took me out in the 'Advanced Group' to show me the line. He was complaining about the cold temperatures, and the tires not sticking as well. It was good to go out with him before my session, because driving the miata is quite a bit different than the Fit... or at least the way *I* was driving the Fit. Particularly turning in much earlier... and how much speed the car could hold through corners; or so I thought.
We ended up gridding late, ending up the last cars onto the grid, behind the skyline and M3. They were quite slow during the yellow flag warmup lap, with the first car out (and aggressively driven S4 Avant) catching up to us. We eventually got around them both, and pulled a little bit away from that S4. I eventually slowed up a little in the 'first' part of the track and let the S4 by under the tunnel. Braking was an area of concern, since I ended up doing my own bed-in, and it seems they weren't quite all the way bedded in. So we worked our way up to braking later and later...
especially into turn 14. Eventually Bernie said 'Brake at the 1'... and I did. However, something in the grey matter didn't like the speed and chucking the car towards roller coaster. So it went for more brake, which ended up locking up the brakes.
Cue the billowing smoke, with Bernie adding "Ok, turn in" before I went off the track. Getting back on the gas I was greeted a nice 'oscillation' in the tires. I tried to collect myself and ended up going off line through roller coaster. We kept driving, and worked up the speed again, ending the session 'ok'. We came back and took at look at the car, and didn't find a flat spot in the tires. I went out to the restaurant to record my thoughts, and download my video... which turned out like carp. During that is when the cold caught up with me.
Second Session
I could tell it was starting to warm up. The 'thump thump thump' of the tires is only bad in a couple of spots so I decided to keep on driving on it, Bernie didn't think it was a big deal; just cautioning me that if I locked up again there was a good chance I'd lock up in the same place. Apparently this can blow a tire.
The session went pretty well. I Passed a mustang after jostling around with a couple of CTS-Vs at the same time. The Mustang let me by under the tunnel, and I had to take the off line way through the upper esses. Bernie was happy with how I took it. Slow up a little to compensate for the bad line, and make sure to hit that first late apex to set yourself up for the follow-ons.
Third Session
That slow M3 from the first session picked up speed, so I let him by. Well, I caught him again, since he was ending up off line a lot; he just seemed to be using more of his engine this session. So, while I hounded him in the corners, he pulled away on the straights. Most likely his instructor was saying to stay out in front, if I'd let him by that meant I thought he was going faster. Meanwhile the 2 CTS-Vs caught up to us, and I let them by. Then I caught up to the M3 again, heading into 14. Bernie was egging me on, to get up on him so we'd get a run going down the front straight. I knew he was going to brake early, so I pulled by brake point back 200ft, trying to use my superior comfort with braking to close the distance. Well that worked too well, as he grabbed more brake than I expected... Hello Flat Spotted City! This time it was the right front. However, I did the right thing, got out of the brakes to stop the lockup and kept it together a little better going through roller coaster. The M3 still wouldn't let us by, and Ryan Fitzgerald was closing up in his well driven 330i so I let him by on the front. I finally got around the M3 going under bridge 6a-7 after hounding him through the bottom esses. Good times, hooked up some areas better. Almost over did it in the lower esses once. Even with all that, I got signed off solo for last session of the day :)
Last Session
Was doing pretty well, had to jostle with some of the cars... and was keeping up pretty well with the Red 'vette after I let it through. Then I got concerned when I got to Oak Tree 1/2 through the session and saw the black flag out. "Man, what'd'I do!?" So I moved over down the back straight and let out of it a bit, signaling the vette by... didn't want him riding me as I was trying to go into the pits for my talking to. But he just sat there, so I waited 'till I got to the top of the hill, and saw from that flag station that the whole track was black flagged. So we all went in and waited for one of the R32's to get pulled in on a tow truck, from what looked like turn 1. After that we got let out under 'green'. I don't know how it happened but the white RSX got around the 'vette and was raring to go. Let him go at the tunnel then tried running hard in a couple of areas, and realized I was starting to get a bit tired... then about two laps later, going down the back straight I looked at the gas gauge which had been
at 1/4, was now on the bottom line. That wouldn't be good to run out of gas, and have to get towed back in, I was by myself and decided to call it a day.
I ended up not going back for the second day. I was worried about my tires, and the impending snow... which might or might not cut the day short. I spent that $160 on two new front tires instead, banking on the fact that it'd be better to have two round tires for an 850mi trip. Ended up with Kumho Solus KR21's (?), which seem ok. I think I'll probably match the rears up with the same Kumhos at some point... and see if I can fit the enkei's from the fit on the miata with their OLOA Kumho's still on. Could make for some better track time fun... and would help the budget a bit.
Ok, end of my book for now.