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Yesterday, Nugget and I had quite a busy day. It started with a trip to John and Dan's shop where we got our cars tech'd for autocrossing this year. Mine failed... The battery wasn't fully bolted down. I had been wondering what that clank was. I yelled at Dan about it (Dan had replaced my battery recently), Dan fixed it and then yelled at the guy who failed me (all of us joking about it, of course). I left my car at the shop as Nugget and I went to Red's Indoor Range, the north location. Nugget had brought his two Glocks and we rented a gun for me. We tried to rent a Sig P239, but it was behaving oddly. The gun would only fire in double action. So we mentioned it to the range employee standing behind us, and he took it back out and brought me another gun to try. This gun, however, had a grip shaped for a specific size finger, and my fingers are much smaller. This leaves one of my fingers on a ridge and is really uncomfortable. So, he went back, again, and brought out an HK USP Compact that shot 9mm. Nugget says this gun fires more like the Glocks than the Sig does, but, well... This one didn't confuse us. I shot nearly an entire pack of ammo and though I enjoyed it, I think I'd like some instruction. We finished up at the range and drove into Pflugerville looking for food. We ended up at a little BBQ place on 1825/Pecan Street. I quite enjoyed my brisket sandwich. After this, we headed up to the Pontiac dealership. If I'm gonna buy a new MX-5, I should at least test drive the competition to make sure the MX-5 is the one I want, right? Well, apparently, the only new Solstice on their lot was an automatic and in the showroom, but there was a 2006, used. So I drove that. The salesperson wouldn't let Nugget come with me - he had to come. Poor Nugget. So, the salesperson and I headed out. Before we even left the parking lot, I knew I didn't like the shifter. It didn't do well going into gear while the car was stopped. It wasn't enough to be a problem, it just wasn't as nice as the MX-5. We get out of the lot and I play with the gears as we head down a very straight street. I made it up to third before deciding that was fast enough for the roadway, then I shifted back down to second. Since I didn't know the car well, I couldn't rev match effectively, so the downshift was a bit unclean. The salesperson said, "I think you got it in second, there." "Yes, that was intentional." What, has that guy never heard of downshifting? Yeah, ok, I did it poorly, but still. We went down some back roads. Pretty quickly, the salesperson asked me what I thought of it. Really, it's a GM car and I haven't driven many GMs, so I wasn't sure yet, and told him as much. Accelerating away from one stop sign I got the back tires to chirp going into second, but the acceleration was a bit disappointing. I could definitely tell that the engine was fighting against the greater weight of the car, in that regard. Eventually, we finally came upon a sweeping curve where I could try to get a feel for the car's handling. Of course, as soon as I started into the curve at an aggressive pace, the salesperson told me to "take it easy, that's fast enough." Well, no, it wasn't quite fast enough. I could only just barely feel the car talking back to me at this point. Still, it wasn't feeling as fun as the MX-5. On the way back to the dealership I got a chance to feel the car at highway speeds. I'd hate to try and pass on a two lane road in this car. Even downshifting, it wouldn't accelerate well. So the Solstice was a real disappointment. Not fun to drive slow, I couldn't really try to drive it fast, and what little I did wasn't a lot of fun. I also sat very, very low in the car - I felt like a midget, like I was maybe 4 feet tall, at most. (Insert crack from John here) Not only that, the attitude of the salesperson was entirely different from the attitude of the Mazda salesperson who came with me on one MX-5 test drive. After a fun corner in the MX-5, the salesperson said, "You drive this car the way it's meant to be driven." Talk about a night and day difference. While I didn't really expect to like the Solstice, I wanted to give it a fair trial. I want to be absolutely certain the MX-5 is the right car, and that drive gave me that certainty. We finished the drive and headed back by the shop to pick up my car. The guys were still there, so we went in to say hi. I mentioned I'd driven the Solstice and John asked me if I'd driven "his" MX-5 yet. I hadn't. So we went and found the card for it (it has a fancy card instead of a key. Whatever.) and I went out for a drive with Nugget. Now, this MX-5 isn't exactly stock. If I'm remembering correctly, it has aftermarket intake, exhaust, flywheel (saving 11 pounds), shocks, and springs. It's an absolute blast to drive. Great throttle response, hunches down around corners, growls when you step on the gas pedal... It's just great. And John wants to sell it. But, of course (my life couldn't ever be simple), there's a problem with that. Dan wants to drive the car this autocross season. So, John and Dan and I are talking about the various possibilities. We'll see... Maybe I'll get a Nordic Green MX-5 after all... Maybe it will have to be Stormy Blue Mica. After that wonderful drive, we returned home to get us back down to one car for the rest of the day. After my fun test driving prospective new cars, Nugget wanted his turn. So we headed down to the Porsche dealership. Nugget explained that he didn't know if he wanted the 911 or the Boxster, and so we test drove both. We started in a red 911 Carrera S Cabriolet with black interior. Both Nugget and I drove it around the Allendale neighborhood (pissing off a few residents in the process - oops). I found the 911 a blast to drive. I didn't really notice its weight (unlike in Nugget's ///M Roadster, where the weight makes cornering a lot less playful for me). The car has a lot to give in all areas and a lot to teach about driving well. Next came the Boxster S. Nugget said he felt like this car fit like a glove, while the 911 was something new and different. The Boxster did feel more familiar and I did feel more comfortable in it, but I didn't have nearly as much fun. If it were up to me, I'd want the 911. It was more fun to drive slow, more fun to drive fast, and will be a lot more interesting (entertaining? embarrassing?) to autocross. The day ended with an extended semi-family Christmas. This is the "semi-family" that is "the people I grew up with who aren't actually related to me." Yes, I know it's February, but we're all busy and some no longer live in Austin, so this was the earliest we could all get together at the same time. It was good to get to see everyone again. Tags: autocross, cars, miata
Current Mood: vroom
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For all those of you in the Austin area who may be interested in autocrossing, the Tech Day for Spokes is this Saturday. It's at John and Dan's shop, JC Automotive Specialists, and starts at 10:00 AM. It's a drop-in-drop-out kind of thing and I'm planning on getting there around 11:00AM. This is a great chance to get your car "tech'd" if you're thinking about doing any of the autocross runs with Spokes this year. This can save you some time at the first meet of the year. Also, if you're interested in becoming a member, this is a great time to do it. It's $40 for a single person membership, and $55 for a family. Members who register early for autocrosses get a $5 discount. Also, on Sunday, February 18th, the first Spokes autocross of the year will be held at Burger Center. See the Spokes website for more details about either event. A map of the shop is on MapQuest (on the north side of that street - I'm sure it will be identifiable by the mass of cars). Oddly enough, Google Maps doesn't seem to have the location. Tags: autocross, cars
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Spokes is hosting another event at San Antonio Raceway this coming Sunday. This event will be a bit different from the previous Spokes events. The organizers are calling it a "divisional in a day" format - two courses, at least three runs on each course. The cost, location, starting times, etc. will all be the same as with the one course days. Probably the biggest difference will be adjusting to the new course in the afternoon, rather than just getting more runs on the same course. Course maps for the two courses are public, and are here in powerpoint form, and hosted by ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) nugget here, in a 151KB PDF. Nugget and I are going, along with a friend of Nugget's from California. Tags: autocross, cars, miata
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I went by the shop yesterday and talked with Dan and John a bit more about the supercharger install. We also ordered a radiator and gauges. With the fans that will be ordered and that radiator, the engine should stay cool enough on my daily drive. If not, I can go to a cowl hood (rather than the heat extration) and will hopefully be able to keep a mostly-stock appearance, while keeping the engine at acceptable temperatures. Gauges that will be added include a boost gauge, coolant temperature gauge, and oil temperature gauge. As I talked with John and Dan, they discussed another gauge - I think "wideband"? - used to show if it's running lean or rich. They said this would be important for tuning, but wouldn't really be required for the long term. All of these gauges are white faced, to match the boost gauge that came with the supercharger. They'll be mounted either above or below the aftermarket radio I've purchased - the stock one doesn't leave enough room for the gauges. I'm still waiting for Dan's engine to be ready. The SCCA Solo II Divisionals are this weekend; the engine should be available soon after. The current plan goes as follows (AFAIK): The engines from each car will be pulled. My engine's head and Dan's entire engine will be sent to the machine shop. The machine shop will use his head as examples for the shims when fitting my head with mechanical lifters. Somewhere in that process, the head will get the camshafts and cutback valves, and they'll make sure it will fit well with the block from Dan's engine. The machined parts will be sent back to John and Dan. They'll reassemble the engine and bolt on the supercharger, and then tune. The machine shop will take at least four days, they'll need two to reassemble the engine and bolt on the supercharger, and then they'll need a few more days for tuning. All in all, the car will probably be down for a solid two weeks. I'll be driving one of those old Camrys in the mean time. While at the shop, I spotted a beautiful classic Mini Cooper in their storage area. Apparently, the car is getting a little work done to get it in nearly perfect shape, and the owner is planning on selling it. nugget needs a Mini, you know, and it will fit in the garage with the other two cars... *sigh* My birthday is in two days, and my mother wants advice on what to give me. Nugget suggested I ask for autocross numbers, which is a great idea. When I talked to Dan last night, he said they know a person who can make them for me. All I have to do is pick a font and colors. Oh. Great. I have to actually try to be creative? I suck at this! So, if someone has suggestions for autocross numbers and letters that would look good on a Montego Blue Miata, I'd love to hear them. Currently, I'm number 98, and I'll need SM2, X, L, and maybe a few other things. Tags: autocross, cars, miata
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I feel like my brain is mush, for some reason. Oh well. Autocross last weekend. See nugget's post for a video. I absolutely sucked. I don't know what it was, but I had terrible problems sticking to the course. I kept going on the wrong side of cones. I was doing better handling the car. I didn't spin this time, though I came close. The car felt very slippery to me. I blame the tires. They probably could have used a bit more air and a bit more tread. Heh. Or maybe I just need to spend an obscene amount of money setting myself up with different rims/tires for autocross days. Hey, I'm spending an even more obscene amount of money on the engine/supercharger, right? On the supercharger subject: Due to the fact that I'm taking Dan's engine, and Dan is a regular, competitive autocrosser, the installation of the supercharger needs to be delayed about a month. In a way, pout, but in a way, this gives me more time to prepare. I need to make sure we get the right radiator and setup for the gauges BEFORE I take the car in, not after. I do not want to risk blowing up my car because I procrastinated. The machine work on the head will probably take 4 days. Dan says he can do the block swap + supercharger in two, and is willing to do it over a weekend so I can watch (Yay!!!), and then will come tuning. Due to the headwork, the tuning will be more of a challenge. John says he's up to it, but wants to take a couple of days to be sure he does it right. So I'll probably be in The Boat (blue Camry) for about a week and a half. Slushbox, slush-suspension, real roof. Pout. At least it has new struts, a new rear swaybar, and a newly fixed transmission. John was telling me it's now a great car! Now for some computer geekery. The fan on my Radeon 9800 was making a bit of a squealing noise at times, and if I powered off the machine, it would make a grinding noise for a few minutes when it was powered back on. This inspired me to search for a new fan for the graphics card. I found a Zalman heatsink and fan that looked like it would work well and be quieter. The set arrived today and Nugget and I began the complex installation. The original heatsink did not want to come off and did not want to be unplugged. Once that was done, screws and braces had to be put in the correct location and the heatsink carefully tightened to the board. However, now my video RAM and chipset all have heatsinks, with a larger, more efficient fan/heatsink on the chip. Hopefully this will allow for hours playing WoW with minimal noise levels. Tags: autocross, geek, miata, wow
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I learned today, a little after noon, that the first autocross meet of the year is this Sunday. THIS Sunday?!?!?! That's less than a week away and my trunk is FULL! My car is dirty, my passenger seat is full of stuff, my engine bay is dirty, my tires are a little worn, I don't know how to even launch properly for an autocross run... I am woefully unprepared. And nugget's mom, dmasy, is visiting. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to have her here. It's just that, between preparing for the autocross, going to John's open house at the shop, and autocross on Sunday, I'm not going to have much time to spend with her. She'll just have to come back again soon. So much to do. I've never been to an autocross meet before, and am feeling somewhat confused and unsure. Dan, one of the mechanics and an experienced crosser, will be there to help me all the way, but I'm still having a brief period of "OMGWTFBBQ" while everything sinks in. One of the things on my mind is my tires. They're far from new... Toyo Proxes T1-S, and they were put on in spring, and are getting somewhat worn. I thought the back tires were worn noticeably more than the front, and I mentioned it to Dan in passing. He said that it wasn't a problem. I could stop by on lunch one day and he could rotate them for me. Well, I checked, and the difference in treadwear is minute - a few millimeters at most (I tried using a penny and a nickel to measure. Not the most precise tools, but they can still give me an idea). That makes me think it's not really worth the effort to rotate the tires. But, an autocross meet could take a good deal more tread off of those tires, especially the back ones, since I'm likely to slip when I start each run. So, with the soft compound on the tires and the apparent ease of rotating them, does it become worth it again? I'm sure Dan can tell me. :) And I get to act as translator for my mother when one of her cars goes into the shop... She won't take the cars in, so Dad does, but Dad gives only a very brief description of the problem, and it can be really helpful to have a more thorough description, so I end up giving it. Then, Dad picks up the car and gives Mom an abbreviated version of what was wrong, so I get to give her the extended story. In case you're wondering, a car went in last night, and came home tonight. So much to do, so much to worry about. Good thing most of it is fun stuff. :) Tags: autocross, cars
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