stripethree

The off-season is over. It didn’t feel short, it was short. No rest for the weary (or the wallet, for that matter).

Luck of the draw had be in the 6th heat, which is when it decided to rain. As far as me vs. my class, it didn’t matter since we were all in the same heat. As far as me vs. the course, it presented a challenge.

Competition runs: 45.817, 44.604, 44.518, 43.493
Time only runs: 44.072, 44.057, 43.383, 43.342
45th out of 127 in fast times, 32nd in PAX times.

The kicker being that I let another driver take the R for a spin in his time only runs and he threw down a mid-42 second run on his last shot. So again, I’m not pushing the car hard enough. I did get some good advice during my TO runs, with the current DSP national champ riding shotgun (and frequently speaking up to the tune of ‘more throttle!’).

As for the ‘no rest for the wallet’, well, January is turning out somewhat costly on the car front. The R32 got 4 new tires on the regular wheels and will need 2 sticky tires on the autox rims after next weekend. Then there’s the GTI and the handful of things it will be getting fixed…

Note that I’m not complaining, just making an observation. Such is life: I picked this hobby and occasionally it takes my bank account in the yard and smacks it around. Whoops.

I very much enjoy having the carport at my disposal. It’s fantastic. Oil change, Haldex oil change (which I’d forgotten how much of a bitch it was to do), and swapped wheels for autox tomorrow without worrying about scowling apartment cohabitants or landlords. Fantastic. It’s also amazing what level ground and not having to worry about smacking someone else’s car door will do for you as well. Love it.

Being the awesome boyfriend that I am, I went out Sunday afternoon to take care of the 5k service on Kharissa’s car so she didn’t have to worry about it when she gets back. Oil change and tire rotation, simple enough.

Hahahaha, wait, we’re working on a Volkswagen right? Murphy’s Law bitch!

Needless to say, I’d heard stories of over-torqued 1.8T oil filters from the factory, especially on the first change where the original filter is torqued by fucking Mothra at the assembly plant. I can now say I’ve experience this phenomenon to its fullest effect. Removing it by hand, ha, I wish. Even had Ted ‘you’ll be a better man that I if you can get this off’ curse and throw muscle at it, no go. Got Advance Auto parts in on the show, but the best tool they had started to shred the filter before it would move it. Since we were at ‘no turning back’ defcon 3 phase now that the filter was leaking, it was time for the tried and true method of driving a screw driver into the damn thing with a hammer. The oil filter laughed at me, and owned my screw driver.

Put in a call to the Uber Matt. He brings, and I quote, ‘tools of destruction’, and we eventually get the fucker undone. It ends up mangled.

Moral of the story?

That is all.