stripethree

I only managed 3rd in Street Tire this event, after coning away my first three competition runs. Disappointing. I also dipped down into the 52 second range in TOs (again, with a cone), once again leaving time to be had during the runs that counted.

Comps: 54.722 (+1), 53.587 (+1), 54.025 (+1), 54.120
Street Tire: 3rd of 11
Overall: 22nd of 47 fastest time, 23rd PAX time
TOs: 53.195, 53.236 (+1), 53.478 (+1), 52.674 (+1)

That leaves me 18 points out of 1st for the series but I’m also only up 7 points on 3rd. Looks like I have some work to do December 13…

It’s bolted in!

It’s a week late because I botched the install on the wastegate and ended up snapping a bolt off in the exhaust manifold last weekend, but none the less, it’s in.

Getting the engine into the car proved to be a piece of cake, especially with the hoist. It certainly didn’t hurt that it is the same block as the old lump, and thus, sits on the same mounts and in the same position. The transmission was reused, so the axles bolted right up, as they should. The down pipe sits perfectly; it clears the shift linkage and lines up to the cat, although it will have to be wrapped in order to stile heat transfer to the rubber bushings in and around the shift linkage. We did not even have to ‘modify’ the firewall with a sledgehammer as we thought we might in order for the turbo to clear.

A good portion of the wiring is done also, thanks to the knowledge of Jesse and John. There are a few things to figure out and a few things to splice in, but nothing too bad. I’ve been studying wiring diagrams today and I think at least some of the questions we came across have clear answers. I was so pumped to see the engine actually bolted into the car, it’s one big, big step closer to being roadworthy.

The third of four events in the Fall series. The course was short, and flew by even faster than the times would indicate. I coned away my best competition run, but still managed to hang on to the top spot in Street Tire 2.

Comps: 33.537, 33.509, 33.593 (+1), 33.172 (+3)
Street Tire 2: 1st of 12 by .511, 1000 points
Overall: 27th fastest time of 81, 30th PAX time
Time Only: 33.428, 33.001, 33.104, 33.155 (+2), 32.995

With the 1000 points in class, I have wrapped up the win in the series (2955 points total). The series is best three out of 4, but there’s no one in the category that can qualify (at least three events) and beat that total. That’s all well and good, but it’s sort of like being the big fish in a small pond; I’m still behind other drivers in my class by a good margin. I also recall getting whooped just last month by my own car with another driver so I will not be letting up for the December event, that’s for sure. I think I have started to figure more out about what is optimal for the car’s new setup. Playing with tire pressures – specifically, running a pretty big difference front to rear – finally got back some of the rotation I was looking for in the back end of the car. Now I just have to keep building on the relative success.

Some good progress was made on the GTI’s new engine this weekend, but it looks like that November will come with the car still sitting motionless. With help from Jeremy and John quite a few odds, ends, and some large steps were made on the engine. The front and rear crank oil and flange seals were replaced, the electrical harness was swapped, the injectors, fuel rail, and fuel pressure regulator were installed, the new pressure plate, clutch, and flywheel was installed, and the manifolds and turbo were all disassembled and everything tightened. The engine and distributor are also properly timed, and the transmission, with a new throwout bearing and cover, was bolted to the G60 motor.

We found a handful of things that weren’t so hot with the engine in the form of some missing bolts, some broken bolts, and some electrical items that were worn and not usable. Luckily, between the parts off the spare G60 engine, and parts off the 8v engine that came out of the GTI (which is similar to the engine going in, minus the turbo and some other big details) we were able to piece things together. I have a couple thing to get done this week before the motor – I need to obtain a better waste gate and get an oxygen sensor bung welded into the down pipe. Perhaps next weekend the engine will be ready to get bolted back into the GTI.

Autocross with the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) returned to Arizona last weekend and did so with a bang on the FIR East track. This was easily the fastest (in terms of top speed) autocross I have ever participated in, with multiple sections well, well into 3rd gear.

NASA-X classing is quite different than SCCA classing, working on a points system. Every 20 points you accumulate bumps you up a class. The R32 started in NXD and I counted up 19 points for modifications, so in NXD it stayed. The first four runs counted for competition and I ran 81.647 (+1), 77.021, 77.026, 76.684, and 76.040 DNF. First run I took really easy, last run I had a lapse in concentration and blew right by a gate. I had trouble nailing my shift points since it was also the most shifting I’ve ever had to do at an event. Third gear in three places, and three downshifts. Good times and good practice.

I came in 4th out of 11 in NXD, less than a tenth out of 3rd but nearly 2.7 out of first. People that hate on Miata’s have never seen them at an autox or on the track, they’ll surprise you. They had the top two places in NXD despite having way less power than the cars that followed them. This event was a lot of fun and hopefully NASA will be running more events in the future.

NASA also had a set of scales out at the event, so I finally got to see how much the R32 actually weighs, and I was quite surprised.

Driver Front: 1025
Passenger Front: 992
Front Total: 2017
Driver Rear: 554
Passenger Rear: 613
Rear Total: 1167

Total: 3184 (63.3% / 37.7% split)

Even without me sitting in the driver’s seat, and carrying only about 3 gallons of gas, I was surprised at the number; I thought for sure it would be higher. The car is listed at 3409, and the two biggest cuts on that weight were the exhaust (57lbs down to 15) and the wheels (28lbs per corner to 18.5). Assuming the 3409 is with a full tank of gas, minus the weight loss from wheels and exhaust, then taking away weight for things like the spare tire tools and foam, floor mats, and other loose items… that still doesn’t get the car down to 3184. I’m going to try and find time to weigh everything else I’ve swapped and see how much other weight has been saved. Either way, my excuse of the car being an extremely fat pig seems to have been lost.

The name of the game was braking points. Brake late and your were toast. Come into corners hot on this course and you were done. The R was still pushing like a pig, but I threw it around well enough. I skipped Time Only runs to get back home and work on odds and ends for the GTI.

Comps: 62.507, 62.001, 61.705, 60.960, 62.243 (+1)

Run #4 was good for 10th best fast time and 10th best PAX time – both of out 34 entrants – and put me at the top of a field of seven in Street Tire by half a second with 937 points. I’m dueling it out with another board member driving an A Stock turbo Saturn Sky who is 3 points ahead of me halfway through the series. There’s also a C Stock Toyota MR2 who took the category last month lurking 16 points behind me.

I was actually a bit surprised at the results since I really wasn’t thrilled with what I was able to do with the car. The car was under steering a lot and even when the LSD was kicking power to the outside tire, I was still struggling for traction up front. There were a lot of tricky features on this course, some of which bit me.

This will be the last entry for Project Daily Driver GTI. It’s under the knife, and will hopefully emerge a mean green turbocharged machine. It took a while, but I had to figure out something new to call this project, and I think the name’s a good one. It fits my car habit in general, especially given what has progressed with this GTI. Hence forth, it will be known as Project Skewed Priorities.

Why? Well, among my car friends, what I’m doing isn’t all that insane. The folks helping me do this work have done many engine swaps in the past. Non-car friends and family however, wonder why I’d bother to tear apart an 18 year old car just to put an entirely different engine, equally old in the car. Especially when the current engine that is, I mean ‘was’, in it was working pretty well. They probably think I’ve lost my mind (newsflash: ah, it’s been MIA for a while) Madness? No, this, is Volkswagens. Why then, do you ask, did I decide to do this?

Let’s just say that speed was definitely a factor.

I bought this motor back in May, and it sat at my friend’s house while the R32 threw shitfits and prevented the transformation of my little green monster. Last night the engine was finally hoisted onto a truck and moved across town, where it now sits next to a strikingly similar motor that just yesterday was powering a 1991 GTI. As you may have guessed the engine in the GTI was pulled this evening and now sits, waiting to be picked apart and otherwise used for the few things bolted to it that are of real value. Pulling the motor was not as complicated as I would have thought, but, as is always the case, putting something back together always proves more challenging than tearing it down. It also, again, doesn’t hurt to have the help of experienced friends – with the knowledge of Hayes (who sold me the motor) and John, the motor was out in less than 3 hours. Without an engine swapping newbie (me) setting much of the pace and asking questions at every wrench turn, it probably could have been out in about 90 minutes. It is a little sad to see the car sit in the carport with it’s heart ripped out and sitting off to the side.

If it could only know that it’s new heart will be about twice a powerful..

I’m going to cut to the chase on this one, you’ll see why.

Comps: 41.734, 41.679, 41.260 (+1), 41.097
TOs: 40.981, 40.868, 40.854 (+1)
Street Tire 2: 2nd, 955
Overall: 38th fast time, 40th PAX time out of 105

So I finished second in Street Tire 2, which you would think I would be pretty happy about. I would, except that there are two important facts about that 2nd place that really frustrated me:
1. The gap between first and second was over 1.8 seconds
2. The first place car was the same car I was driving, my R32

Yup, beaten handily by my own car. I threw my keys to another driver – ok not just any other driver but the ‘08 DSP National Champion – after his BMW refused to start and stay running because of a bad battery. I was working out on course and could only watch as Doug kicked my ass with my own damn car running 39.822, 39.082, 39.507 (+1), and 39.236.

Ouch.

In some consolation, I did get some good feedback on the car and some adjustments to investigate in addition to fixing the loose nut behind the wheel. It really makes me think hard about doing Evolution School again, but I’m not sure that’s in the cards. I think part of my problem is that I am not pushing the car hard enough, and that I’m too worried about the next thing to break. Race drivers (and no, I’m not claiming to be one but you’ll get the point) are supposed to look ahead to the next corner, not dwell on the last one. I need a good dose of that, because I know I’ve slowed down, not just by Doug’s times, but by others drivers gaining ground on and/or catching me. I need to stop talking/writing/pondering these things and do something about them.

Photo courtesy of Rob Rockefeller

Almost forgot to post this since I had to run off to DC the day after for work.

The first event of the Fall series in Tucson where I am now competing in DSP, Street Tire. The event went well and I was especially busy: registration, safety steward, and driver. I wasn’t overly thrilled with my driving. Lots of cones and lots of time left out there during competition runs. Oh well. The car feels pretty good and (knock on wood) everything stayed together.

Comps: 51.734, 50.867 (+1), 50.781, 49.521 (+2)
TOs: 50.565 (+1), 49.665, 49.729 (+1), 49.351 (+1)

Third of 8 in Street Tire, 18th raw, 21st PAX, 902. My points and ranks will certainly take a hit being on street tires with a more difficult PAX, but I was only .5 behind the leader in the category. I need to make some adjustments to my driving and the car based on the updated setup. We’ll see how that goes…

It’s been a while since I’ve had a good new, or in this case new to me, tech toy to play with. I have been casually browsing and pondering some sort of computer purchase since my situation was gradually moving towards ‘dire’. The Cube is, and has been, dead. I tried a bunch of things to fix it and have resigned to the fact that it’s not coming back. I was given a friend’s 14″ iBook that died so I could pull the hard drive for her to get her data back and I haven’t been able to fix it yet. Everything about the problem says logic board, but I haven’t had any success with it yet.

Then my Powerbook starting acting up with symptoms of a bad reed switch or inverter cable. It will not sleep or wake properly sometimes, and more telling, it will randomly go dark regardless of power source, charge level, etc. It’s fixable, but, well, I’m not positive that’s the only problem and I wasn’t too keen on taking about my only working computer for a recon mission.

I found out Anand was selling his laptops to get a 13″ MacBook Pro, one of which was a Dell Vostro A90 with some nice extras. It was not much of decision since the price was right and I knew I could trust the condition it was in. This is the same friend I had Summer get her iBook from and it’s been running flawlessly. The Vostro arrived yesterday and it’s pretty kickass. It has two solid state drives, an 8GB running Mac OS 10.5.6 and a 16GB running Windows (you have to physically swap them but it takes all of 3 minutes), 2GB of RAM, 802.11g, Bluetooth, build in video camera, etc. etc.

While it does not have a lot of drive space, for what I plan to use this for it won’t need it. I’m going to take a whirl at fixing the Powerbook and hopefully that will work fine. I’m still looking for a second hand Mac Mini for a set top box, but people trying to sell them on Craigslist are asking out of this world prices. This machine will be great for travel – I plan on taking it with me week after next – and will also be great for some car related things (c’mon, you knew there had to be a car tie in somewhere). With the Windows drive, it will be perfect as a VAG-COM machine to scan and clear codes and, with the same cable, I can download a free program from GIAC and change engine maps with a few clicks. I see the addition of a 100 octane tune in the near future.

The biggest challenge will be adjusting to the keyboard. It’s about 90% of the size as a traditional laptop keyboard, has a few auxiliary keys shuffled around, and has different tactile feedback that what I’ve been using. I don’t see it as being that big a deal once I get used to it.