excellent thread, I've enjoyed you chronicling this journey and nice job getting the car up and running on short notice for that Auto-X event.
what did your buddy think of the 8?
what's he usually run?

 

He definitely enjoyed it quite a bit. Definitely didn't see any lack of fun being had.

He does all sorts of everything. Rally X and stage rally with Rally America (Subaru stuff), track driving with Gridlife (before his 911 started to not work), and just general everything involving engines (and batteries these days).

 

Gotta say I love your thread. gives me some great reading while I’m stuck on the road working for the summer months.
Hopefully we will run into each other again this fall.

 

Great thread!
After attending DGRR this year (and getting a taste of the car's potential) I'm looking to build my R3 into a sorta jack of all trades. Auto X is obviously the most accessible avenue, your results definitely motivate me to get out there sooner rather than later. From what I can tell the difference between a locally competitive STX rx-8 and a DSP rx-8 is just wheels/ tires lol. The tail of the dragon killed my brakes and the rear suspension needs some attention, but after those upgrades I'll be looking forward to hitting the course.

 

Perfect! I think being able to read information is the best way to take it in, as far as technical things go. Definitely hard to come by in the day and age of youtube and instagram, hence why I write.

Definitely a competitive chassis for AutoX! My only unsolicited advice is to just go for the class that allows you to reach your goals the fastest. Do you want to be the fastest driver at AutoX? Maybe a DSP car is better suited for you. Do you want to improve driver skill to move on to something like circuit racing? Maybe don't go so hard and build an STX car so you can focus more on driving and less on building until it matters more.

That's my approach at least

 

I want to be the fastest driver in whatever venue I find myself, autox, DGRR, go karts, the grocery store parking lot.....But I see your point.
As the car sits it's STX legal (at least locally) But I have a BBK on the way and need a set of coilovers to replace the R3 Bilsteins which are on the way out. I know those are DSP legal, not sure about STX. Biggest thing keeping me out of DSP is wide sticky tires but I feel like the wiser course of action is to spend money on suspension first. I've never driven the car on track, but I have a feeling I will find that more enjoyable than autox once I get everything sorted. living vicariously through you until I do

 

Alumalite Front Splitter

Boy, I've been working on this for quite some time.. and the results really don't look like it hahaha... but I'll walk you through the process.

So Club TR Classing allows cars to use a splitter that is 3 inches out from the bumper, and doesn't go further rear of the car than the front hubs. Seems fair, and definitely seems like something I should have. I have messed around a bit with some chassis mounted stuff before, however never really had much success making something that was sturdy, but also easily removable. The factory undertray already did pretty decent, but minus some area in the front. So my goals for the splitter were for it to conform for the Club TR classing rules, and be easily removable with minimal tools just like the bumper for ease of accessibility.

I started to design something with some cardboard, like most people do, that mimicked the OEM unfertray attachment points. Pretty simple, remove OEM tray, trace it on to some cardboard, mark the upright holes, add 3 inches in front. bingo done.



The biggest issue I was going to have was making this easily removable. The uprights were sort of the issue, and weren't strong enough to support anything. So my plan to sort of "go around them" and worry about the attaching later. My idea was to use the undertray upright mounting bolts as pickup points to attach the splitter to. The idea was kind of simple and potentially not good enough, but using M10 threaded rods and some weld nut washer welded to the frame would do. I was going to make use of 4 of those Aeroquip roof pin quick releases, and have those sit flush on the bottom of the splitter, which I knew would be alumalite.

This design had quite a few issues. Latches were expensive, pickup points were a bit "dynamic" we will say. and I didn't really have enough room to mount the latches. I still decided to press forward with it because I didn't really see any other option that allowed me to have a robust easily removeable design.

I got my alumalite panel in a few weeks after ordering it. $200 delivered for a 4x8ft sheet seemed about okay.

Started to draw out my design (which I do have dimensioned by the way, will make some edits to attachment points and share!)



I knew my attachment points and bumper curve points were still a bit in the air, but the main dimensioned I measured out worked great. I did have to modify the rear points a bit more to not hit the radiator mounts, but not too shabby. I made my initial cut with some room to add/move and fitted it up. I used some zipties to land the holes for the outer most and center holes just to get it aligned.





When I got it on the car I realized it was definitely lighter and less bulky than I first anticipated, so M10 and Aeroship stuff REALLY was overkill... so I guess if anyone wants some M10 weld nuts I made... holler...

I decided to just use the same M6 size the OEM upright use, and just do the same concept with those chincy quick connects you can get on Amazon (which are also M6). This part took a lot of taking it off an on again to land the holes properly and also making sure my alignment was proper. I do like that these quick connects allow for a bit of play in them just by the nature of terrible tolerances, as well as flex in the M6 bolt.. makes lining it up a breeze... but at the cost of stiffness.



With everything tightened up, it wasn't SUPER wobbly.. but I guess driving will tell. The quick connect works SUPER well. Better than I could have imagined, so we will see how they hold up. I may need some cross bracing on the mounts to stiffen it a bit.. but.. yeah.

With everything in place I marked the upright holes, and am just using the old Dzus (ish) quarter turn fasteners with the insert clips on the plastic upright holes. We will see how long they last. They definitely hold the uprights super were and it does help with the wobble, while also being easy to pull off.

I made use of the factory undertray mounting screws with some tad longer/wider stainless screws in place.. not too sure if this is the right way forward, but time will tell. Also, zipties never hurt anything in a pinch. I think I will end up drilling a lot more holes in the bumper and using some M6 fasteners with nuts to affix it all.





I then made my final cuts, and this how it ended up turning out.









A lot of this work was done over the course of like a month.. just one little step at a time... hopefully it works... and hopefully it's easily repeatable to make in case I need to.

Here are my basic dimensions before modifications added, or quick connect hole dimensions added. The 45cm, 18cm and 162cm measurements are dead on. I made modifications to the rest which I'll post when I clean the aluminum and carboard shavings off my body and clean up.

 

Basic Weight Reduction

Boy howdy, this stuff was easier in Gran Turismo 2, and also way more effective.

A while back (before Autoban) I actually removed the most of airbag system from the car. Curtains + passenger bags. Along with that I also removed some fluff trim and sound deadening. I haven't weight all this all out yet, but I'm sure someone can calculate it out and figure what was dropped... but the answer is "not too much, but it doesn't make sense to have".




I did keep the OEM steering wheel, and thus the passenger bag as well if I ever make it to dealership to get them "swapped out" for the non Claymore-esque style bags... just so they stop mailing me those damn letters.

This evening I also went ahead and removed all of the sound system stuff. I think I may have forgotten a filter or MOSFET or two.. but.. meh. This came out to about 15lbs. My bluetooth speaker actually seems to sound better than the factory unit -_-. I did leave the head unit just so I would retain the function of the MFD. Having HVAC (read: hot air blower) to blow air in my face when it's hot, and the OAT as a data point for track temp outweighed (no pun intended) the 5lbs or so the unit was. Also removed some sound deadening and the child seat anchor mounts while I was in there.

I'll get the car on the scales again I'm sure before Mid O and get a number. I keep forgetting to track how much fuel I have in the tank when I weigh the car though.. man.. I should do better..

 

there’s a sticky thread on S1 parts weight at the top of this forum, feel free to add your info or confirm what already exists there

For the HVAC, my simplified approach was posted below, but also now with the service manual info. The control signal pass through the head unit, so removing it disconnects them. With your background it shouldn’t be too difficult.

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-racing-...4/#post4894912




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my not-so-smart phone can’t handle editing a post with a bunch of pics attached, but it’s easy to see which mode is defaulted to in the B+ position of that information. A DPDT switch will just swap battery power to the other position for the basic approach. Or I’d imagine someone like yourself can also come up with a more modern tech approach to it.
.

 

the other possible option is to buy a Metra DIN Stereo conversion kit for the AXXESS device and harnesses, which will supposedly provide the HVAC pass-thru wiring signals. Apparently it’s not available separately.

 

Yeah, the effort to benefit ratio I think is what's holding me back from caring more.

...which I understand I say as a guy who spent time designing a slip ring for a horn button.. lol.

Life is odd.

 

again, all you have to do is swap two wires on the Air Mix device for it to stop blowing heated air or install a DPDT switch on the same two wires to be able to switch it back and forth between the two.

but went ahead and posted everything in entirety if you want the rest of it to be operable

regards
.

 

THanks for posting this. I have been meaning to look up the HVAC control so I can hard wire the HVAC into the defrost mode.

 

that would be swapping the two wires on the Airflow Mode controller

** or installing same switch to be able to control it

 

I'm finding this is easier said than done. The airflow control motor is way up high on the side of the HVAC unit and I can't get my fat fingers on the plug to unclip it. I was able to get the AC amplifier unscrewed and disconnected and I may be able to cut and splice the wires but it's going to be a circus act. I might just buy the Metra kit to save myself the hassle.

 

#GRIDLIFE Mid Summer Meet - Mid Ohio Sport Car Course - August 6-8 , 2021

Woo, going out racing once again and at the last new track for me of the season. Last time I had been to Mid Ohio, I think I was about 10-11 years old and we blasted down south in my dad's friend's new (at the time) E36 M3 to watch a Grand Am race... or maybe an IMSA race... or maybe it was still called Grand Am.. I don't know. The point is, the last time I was at Mid Ohio I was very young, and very much so not in the mindset of being the guy out on the racing surface, but this time was definitely different and it was going to be way more exciting.

The track was actually a bit closer time wise than it is to Gingerman out on the west side of the state, so my buddy and I took off around 6PM for the just under 3 hour drive there. I listened to my soundtrack of buzzing doritos, and slightly loud music from my bluetooth speaker in the cupholder. When we got off the highway and into the middle of nowhere Ohio, the landscape was pretty rad. Big hills, and huge elevation changes. Definitely not something I would have expected in the middle of nowhere Ohio. Arriving at the gate was fun, because the ambient soundtrack was very quiet, and my ears were buzzing from... racecar. Either way, got all checked in and met up with our friends who saved us a killer paddock spot with flat asphalt, and some hills we could slap out tents down at the top of.



Day one went pretty okay. Got acquainted with the track Friday morning. Definitely a track that pays you back with taking risks, but will bite back exactly as hard when you roll the dice incorrectly. Saw a lot of cars into tires on day one. The blind corners over hills weren't too intimidating to me, as it reminded me a lot of Grattan Raceway. What was different was the amount of speed that you'd need to hold in order to keep going fast in a car with low power.

Friday afternoon I started to have some weird power surging on the car as it heated up after about half a session. Definitely was foot to the floor in 4th gear going pretty much nowhere. I had popped a CEL (P0661) for an SSV solenoid. Pulled a few things apart and did some Googlin' on the valves. I knew SSVs were a thing, but never ran into issues so I never did much research. Checked the vacuum actuator, the switch and the actual valves and everything check out. The internet told me that the connectors were a bit suspect, so I reseated the connector in hopes that has the issue (it never is). I also knew that after I put stuff back together, I could swap connectors with the air pump solenoid and vacuum line if I needed to. Glad I got a bit lazy and never fully removed it.

Back out on track for the last Friday session and I appeared to have my SSVs back with just a connector wiggle, was able to put down a hotlap but then right in Thunder Alley on said hot lap I felt the solenoid get shitty again. Okay, definitely the solenoid. Pulled the car in real quick, swapped connectors and vacuum lines and then tried to get back out in the session only to meet a checkered flag. Bah. We will try again tomorrow.

Saturday was met with much more success with a properly working car, but then because everyone else already had put down some of their fastest times, I was stuck gridded behind slower cars. I had to battle my way through traffic most of the day. Another thing I learned, and I have no idea why I didn't learn this like.. 6 years ago... was the STRIKING difference tire pressures had with these RT660s. Friend of ours who was running his 350z out of Chicago with us had been playing with pressures and kept telling me to go lower and lower on the cold pressure. When I pulled the car in and saw like 45psi hot, I brought it down to about 35psi hot. HOLY HELL the grip level after that was strikingly better! I've never had such a stickiness difference in a tire by lowering the pressure like that. I really attribute that to me just being stupid. I was able to pull 2 seconds off my time just by having so much more rear grip.

Front grip was great and the car definitely felt quite a bit more stable under braking from higher speeds than it has, and there was basically no front understeer. Not sure if this is a circumstance of the track having mostly on camber corners, or the splitter helping out, or the swaybar being a notch stiffer.. but the car felt pretty dang okay. We learned a lot on Saturday. Unfortunately I didn't run the last session since I was annoyed by not being able to make up a ton of time, and it decided to downpour just in time for my TA run heat. Any other time I would have taken Mid O on in the rain, but like I said I was mentally not in the game and quite upset at the time. Hindsight, should have run her... but that's always the hindsight. Racing can definitely be a mental game at times.

Sunday it was time to go faster, and that I did. The track conditions were a bit worse, but I finally dialed in how to drive the course a bit more, had a car that wasn't objectively slower, and learned a bit more about how a car needs to be setup. I still had some more time in me, but we didn't have sessions. Managed a 1:44.88, which put me ahead of some of the people I wanted to be ahead of in CTR, as well as past my personal goal of a 1:45 set after the first session of being on track. I think if I had trailered the car there as well, I would have been happy to take more risks. Like I said, mental game.

ClubTR results:



Fastest lap onboard:

Stroll through the Carousel:

Fun Moments:

Some Photos:







Other remarkable findings/learnings/events:

• Head wasn't in the game really hard one morning, forgot to fuel up the car before gridding. Car fuel cut hard after a 4th gear shift, and eventually stalled out. Was able to get it back around the track to bring it in.. but... don't start a session with under a quarter tank -_-
• More data is needed and soon to be able to find speed. Looking at other racer's videos, there's definitely some "don't a be bitch" time left in me as a whole driver. Such is life.
• Temps seemed to be a bit down with the splitter. Oil never was over 120*C even with track temps in the 90s. Could also just be the speed of the course too getting more air through.
• 4th gear is depressing to shift into. Really looking hard to find a 4.77 rear end for the car now. This was sort of known, but now it feels like it's holding me back. Baby steps.
• ASM had a badass pit party after the GLTC race on Saturday night, free pulled pork and beers. Major props to those guys for being stand up human beings
• 4 Rotor RX-7s are hawt (see below)
• If a friend's Tinder date shows up the race track for the first meetup, she's a keeper. Not sure how he pulled that one off, but it was hilarious, wholesome and grimy all at the same time. Perfect.

ASM Pit Party with new friends and old





Now I've got the car up on all 4s with knuckles off for the complete suspension overhaul before Midwest. Going back to Gingerman in September for fun racing and a crazy festival. Hoping to go faster than I ever before at a track I I've put more laps down at than any other. Also wouldn't mind squeezing out some more power from the 'ol Renesis... but I'm just concerned I'll be making more heat without going much faster. We will see.

Should probably also get another SSV solenoid too, eh?

Will report back more soon. My hands are already cut up, and arms perpetually greasy.

 

Nice job! I remember you were looking for a 4.77 diff, sharigan_19 here might be able to help with that

 

If adding power you could help control heat by blending e85 in some ration.
Nice thread over on the focus rs forums that has guys collecting heat and other type things while running e30 blend. I can tell you e30 doesn’t seem like much but in the winter months here in MIch my edge blended with e30 runs very low temps almost cool enough to not heat the car at all when it’s 10 degrees or cooler out. 93 not an issue toms of heat. I assume with more power comes tuning and with that maybe blending?
I’m gonna try straight e85 in my series 2 this fall if I ever get caught back up after a crazy year at work and new house.

 

I also learned the same lesson on the 660’s after that day I met you. I now start my pressure way down at like 24 with my low tire light on. A few laps in it goes off and I have amazing amounts of grip. Gonna busy out my nitrogen tanks and start playing with what is the most ideal temp for that tire on my car. Should help the massive psi change in the tire when warm

 

Rear Suspension Makeover + SuperNow Toe Arms + FUCA Superpro Offset Bushings + more

Yeeehaww... this took just about as much effort as I thought it would, and the timeline to do it in was tight as expected.

tl;dr replaced every single rear end arm with a new component, pressed in some bushings, messed up some bushings, all while using multiple sawzaw blades and angle grinder discs.

So yeah. The explanation.

About 8 hours after I returned back from Mid Ohio, I popped the car up on jackstands and started what I knew was going to be an whole process. It had been known for some time that all of the suspension components that had bolts going through bushings were completely seized, the ball joints leaking and rusty, and in desperate general need of refreshment. I had put this off from the get go, mostly because it was expensive and I didn't know how much I was going to like the car, or even if this rusty chassis was the right thing to sink money into. Why bother with a rusty car when you can reshell it with something from the desert??

Either way, racing makes you throw logic out the window in the pursuit of more speed so I decided to spend some cash bringing this pile of trash back up to minimum viable usable with some upgrades along the way.

When I replaced the passenger side from lower arm I learned exactly how bad not having coated bolts was going to be for every bushing in the vehicle, and that's why the car went up in the air ASAP after Mid Ohio. Currently it's a Sunday and I need to have the car loaded on the trailer Thursday morning, and I am just now finishing up this job. I have had all the parts to do this since just after Autobahn, so I was also pretty excited to knock this job out too.









With the up I began the process of tearing apart everything I needed to pull off to replace. front uppers came out no problem with the exception being the driver's side ball joint committing sepuku. No worries, let's get another arm on the way while I dig into the rear. While I was in the front end I also decided to swap out the other engine mount with the fresher one I still had from the set I bought like a year and a half ago. I believe this mount was actually from an auto car... so hopefully that's not a big deal.




The rear was of course where the bulk of the time was going to be spent. Luckily, more things came loose easily than I thought! I did however had completely seized camber/toe arms on the vehicle side, and the toe arm pinch bolts were completely stuck in the hubs. I used a combination of angle grinder and sawzaw to cut the fasteners on either side of the bushing, and if I couldn't get completely through the bolt I'd take an impact and just twist it off to break it. Worked decently well, but was definitely a lot of shouting and swearing. I was also able to extract the toe arm pinch bolt from one of the knuckles with some drilled and hammering, however the other side was a lost cause. Not moving even a bit, so I got another knuckle on the way from the good ol' ebay.



Fitting new parts up was simple, but I did have to wait a few days for my new bolts to get in from Mazda. I ended up having to place a few different orders for fasteners and nuts and other things I destroyed in the process.




While I waited for parts in the rear to arrive, I manged to get the front arms sorted. Burning the bushings out, taking a hack saw to the metal insert, and using some threaded rod to press the old stuff out. It was time consuming doing it without a proper press, but it all worked. To get the poly offset bushings in, I just used my vice.





(Don't worry I rotated the offset inserts to be correct )

Along with the poly bushings, I had some aluminum inserts and hiems to press in to the rear knuckles... this is where things start to go a bit sour. The one bushing pressed it no problem with the threaded rod method. The other... not to much. Got cockeyed and then it was toast.





I decided to take this bad one into work and try to get it on our press... however the knuckle without a jig is really hard to work with. I tried using some larger grade 9 threaded rod and nuts to try to push it out and try again... but I actually broke the M10 bolt in tension -______-

Basically, it was fucked.

So I got another knuckle on the way, and chalked up the fact only one side would be a hiem. I'd just use the OEM bushing on the other side.

Waiting a week...

The guy had sent me the wrong side knuckle. Fuuuu

Sent him a message and got the proper side on the way, though he told me it was missing one stud. No worries... sorta.



Got the knuckle fitted up, and then tried to pull a stud from one of my many spares. Turns out, it seems like this is a common heartache for RX-8 people as the rear studs don't have any clearance to come out. Way to go. I was going to take the hub back off and bring it into work to press the hub out, but was worried I was going to trash the bearing. Didn't really feel like dealing with this, and we are less than a week away from needing the car on the trailer at this point. I decided to take the method I had seen other people take on the forum and just notched the stud.




I guess we may find out what the safety factor on these studs are...

Either way, I am comfortable enough with just one stud being this way, and we could continue forward.

On this side of the car I also replaced the caliper as it also had the plague of a torn boot and leaking fluid. Probably happened at Mid O and I should maybe consider not buying Rock Auto calipers to avoid this issue in the future.. but.... they are cheap!

Got everything tightened up and back on the ground, and now it's just time for alignment.




Currently I have the rear camber maxed ~3 degrees. Fronts I was able to get the .5 degree more like the bushings said, so also around 3-3.3 degrees.

Front toe I set to 0, though I think I'll need to move everything over to the left as the wheel will not sit straight currently.

Rear toe... I need to setup some strings. Will work on that throughout the week before it goes into the trailer.



Much less stress to be had with the car on the ground, and I can start tuning it a bit while on the street this week. Glad this is finally over with, I have adjustability back, and way less jank in general.

Now to see if I can get that new rear end into the car before Thursday...

 

Got her back on the ground and aligned up today. 0 toe F/R

Front camber: ~3.3-3.5 degrees
Rear camber: 3.3 degrees maxed out (wish I could get more!)

We will see how the car feels and dial it up/down from there!

 

Looks like you might be able to lower some more from pictures.
Will get you more camber and in the rear especially will help with inside rear lift / diff unlocking
Just an idea

 

Ya know, had the same thought while I was just looking at the car in the garage. I may just do that.

 

#GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival - Gingerman Raceway - September 9-12, 2021


Coming home to Gringerman for a festival to end the season is something I had been looking forward to for the entire year. The festival at Gingerman is always something special, and having it been canceled in it's full form last year really made me excited for this event this year. I had the car at the peak of it's performance so far, and really did spend some time dialing it in.

I had a friend who was offering to tow the car in return for some hotlaps, which seemed like a square deal. Same friend who dual drove with me at the AutoX earlier in the summer. I couldn't even make an attempt to say no.

The fun started Wednesday evening when we needed to load the car up in the trailer. Easy process, except we had to unload the rally car project Bugeye Impreza (story for another time) that had been sitting in there for some time. It didn't have a steering rack.. or strut bolts. In case you were curious, screwdrivers make great Subaru lower strut bolts. We winched it off, threw it in the middle bay of my garage, and cleaned the trailer of the dust, gravel and other rally related loose surface materials. Popped the bumper off, tossed the car in, and started to load everything else up we needed for the long weekend (sans beer).



We were set to leave my place at 8:30 AM with an attempt to have a spot at the event secured by 1. It was about a 3 hour haul carrying the car, but we needed to stop for lunch and groceries.. plus getting there as soon as the gates opened as imperative as drivers would flock the paddock and then it would be impossible to get a trailer in or out. We also had 6 people to try to save some spots for at this event. If you've never been to a Midwest festival before... trying to save spots for 6 people is probably more complicated than wheeling your car around the track in the first place. Luckily we had some friends get there about 20 minutes before we did and secured the perimeter. Us blocking in the other spots was the perfect move. We had a nice uphill (very important for rain... which ALWAYS happens when you're a mile from the west side of Lake Michigan) spot right near the timing tower. Easy to work on your car, easy to get to grid, easy access for all your friends not in the paddock stealing your camping chair under the easy up throughout the course of the weekend. Perfection.

Unloaded the car, and made sure it was all full of oil, wheels were torqued, driver's brain was torqued to spec, and everything was ready to rock. First session out after the drivers meeting was only an hour or so away. No time to even setup tents.

First session out on Thursday and I could already feel the staggering amount of grip a proper alignment, ACTUALLY no ESC intervention, and learned tire pressures from Mid O gave the car. The cool air coming off the lake also gave the engine a bit more gettup. Right off the hop I ran a 1:45.9, fastest time in the car by about a second and a half and was holding constant 1:46.xs, which was also about a second faster. The car had SO much grip! Until I spun it off at T6 giving it a bit too much salsa mid corner. Not a hard off, but a 4 off nonetheless.

Next session out a few hours later and I ran a 1:45.6. Inching some time down as I became more accompanied to the new levels of grip in the car. This ended up being the fastest time of the weekend.. but more on that coming up.

Last session of the quick paced day was a twilight/night session. I knew I wasn't going to be faster here, but these sessions where I've got my headlights on are always just so fun. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL evening in South Haven. A nice cotton candy sunset had been given to us, and we were battling the light for our sessions. They called "any car that wants to go out right now" to grid, so I jumped in and sped off to get in the line.

I gridded up behind some DSG/sequential S2000 that loved to pop a huge flame out the back every time it shifted. It wasn't before long that it was miles ahead of me. The track was in absolute perfect form to run an amazing lap, but I kept getting distracted by faster run group traffic. I let two FC RX-7s fly by me who were having a close battle of their own. I kept with them both for a bit until we hit the straights and all I saw was backfire from one, backfire from the other, and as I am sure popped a photoperfect flame from my exhaust they were off into the literal sunset. I found my groove and tried to add some speed in. Going into 10b down the hill you had Jupiter and Saturn out, and right as you came over the crest of the turn exit a pink backlight crescent moon with the bright dot of Venus close to it came down from the Gridlife window banner into sight. Never before had I seen such absolutely SCENERY at a race track while on track. The rainbows at Midwest last year were pretty good... but the night sky is something else. One day when I am less lazy, I will upload the session video. As I am sure you can understand, low light GoPro footage has nothing on the real deal. Go race at night. It's a beautiful thing.

Came off track with a huge smile on my face, slow times, and requiring a beer. The drink of choice for the night was Bell's Oktoberfest. 10/10 would recommend to a friend, or even an enemy. If you find yourself without a bottle opener, a wing endplate and a good whack will do ya.



Went to bed early enough, and woke up ready for the madness that was GA people to begin.

Friday during the day is all a blur. Combinations of lots of session, hotter weather, people REALLY trying to catch a splitter from a hot car off track on grid leave the mind spinning. Some sessions got essentially scrubbed because of cars getting all blowy uppy, and the track surface became a whole new beast with the combination of drift cars and some added dust/wind. The most notable thing on Friday was getting awesome de-lamination of a tire. Outside front, so on a clockwise track... it got hot. I checked the car over and noticed a swaybar endlink had some loose. Looks like a nut didn't get tightened and worked it's way off (DERP). Explained some unexpected understeer in T2 and T3 all of sudden after a large oversteer moment. Tire was trashed, driver error most likley.. I needed to get a new one.






I ran over to the big Falken tent they had setup. Falken was a huge sponsor of the series, and we were required to run Falken tires for our Time Attack class. I figured they would be the people to help me out. Behind the counter I saw a set stacked up of exactly what I needed, so I ran up to the counter and asked one of the (probably nice) people what it would take for me to buy a pair or set of tires. The only response I got was, the corporate way of saying "**** off, we don't sell them". I was pretty damn miffed.

You're a sponsor of the series.

We have to run your shitty chunked up tires.

There was no availability at the start of the season.

There was availability in the middle of the season.

There was a program at the start of the season for Falken to "sponsor" all Club TR racers, Gold Pass holders especially (I was one), and then radio silence after I filled out the application.

Radio silence mid season when others also asked what was going on.

And you can't sell me tires at the event.

Like damn, I get I'm not the front runner or anything.. but I'd have paid a damn good penny to get my hands on some tires at this point. I'd love to make a point right now about how disappointing the experience was.

Luckily, the racers of Gridlife are absolute champions, and 2 minutes after I had them announce that I was looking for a tire on the PA system, I had multiple people come to the rescue. The guy who made it work was a GLTC racer named Dustin (BIG OLD SHOUT OUT) who literally just came by, dropped off a wheel and tire and said "have at it". The Falken guys at least mounted it up on my wheel. I went to go bring back the fellow racers wheel and ask if he wanted money or anything for saving my skin. Funny enough, there was a bit of confusion around the event. I saw the guy's car, but not the guy, so I asked someone else where Dustin was at. They said "oh he went off looking for his wheel". Well hey! Great news! I've got it right here for them. A couple of back and fourths of confusion later, and it turns out Dustin had lost a wheel. During the GLTC race that had just happened. On the race track. Along with the bearing.

Whoops.

He had some bigger things to worry about. I left the wheel at his camp site and told his friends where I'd be if they needed literally anything, and if their buddy needed some cash to feel free to swing by.

Car was back on the ground with the wheel all torqued up by my friends while I sorted that all out. So many thanks for the help, everyone. Seriously. It takes so much out of me to try to ask for help, and to have it without asking very hard is REALLY, REALLY appreciated. What I lack in racing skill, I also lack in conveying empathy.. so yeah. Seriously thanks.

Back on track for another twilight session. That damn moon.... I didn't go faster.

Drink of Friday night was a liquor called Malört. A friend we had made at Autobahn was able to squeeze out a ticket for Midwest and made sure to bring us some of Chicago's past times to experience. I had never had it before. Taste's awful at first, but rest assured that it also tastes awful well after that too. Get a bunch of races together drinking it though, and phrases like " put too much sauce on that sandwich into T1, and ended up loopin' 'er sidewards up and around" will make complete sense on a technical level, and even allow you to learn a few things. Damn shame the lessons are gone by morning.

Saturday arrives with a nice kick in the pants, and GA was in full swing. Not expecting to go faster due to the hotter weather and track conditions, I did find myself some time in T1 and T10. Wasn't ever able to link them all together to get a faster time though. Saturday was a bit of a special day because my dad and his girlfriend were coming to the track to experience a Midwest Festival. There were also what were being called "taxi sessions" which were essentially hot laps where drift, GLTC and TA cars were allowed to take people out with them, do a hot lap, and come in. Non timed of course. My dad's girlfriend had never been on a racetrack, so I tossed her in the passenger seat and out we went. I gridded up behind a drift car, and I will say... definitely showed you how SLOW they go. But I will say, acting as a drift car chase car with a passenger who had never been on a track before driving at 6/10th was still pretty fun. I think I messed up the flow of the ear fluid that gives you balance for her though, she was at a loss for words in a positive way all day after!

I then got to take my dad out for a spin. My father used to do track days when I was younger (before kid number 3) in his FB RX-7 GSL-SE. I grew up with him doing that, and this would be the first time he'd be able to hop in the car for a hotlap at speed. He knew what to do, hopped in, and we didn't get gridded behind a drift car this time around. Definitely gave it a more 8/10 driving experience. He was astounded by the brakes, the grip, and me as a driver. It was a really special moment that I really hope we get to do again for a bit more time. RX-8 brakes never cease to give anyone not accustomed a bit of a scare though!

Once the word got out that I could take people for a spin, two girls we had met the night before came running. Was able to squeeze one in for her first ride on track before the sessions were over. Always good to have friends in low places, no?

Back to racing, I had one more session for the day, and now I had spectators. Decided to really try to push the edge of grip, but unfortunately the track wasn't having it. Couldn't run any faster. I did have what I think was the biggest off I've ever had though. Gave it gas a bit too soon into T1, and left the racing surface at 70mph. Not too big of a deal, but a 360 at speed is always spectacular. I think I scared my dad's girlfriend who was watching within an inch of her life though... ah normies :D. Car definitely picked up some grass, so I brought it in to make sure I wasn't on fire. I did smell some burning after I got back on track. but I was able to keep speed up before getting to the hot pits to clear out the wheel well.

Yee. Haw.




Damn shame I couldn't go faster, and competition was over. I ended up 13/19 cars. Not last, and going faster than I ever have before is something I am extremely happy about. I am .3 seconds off my fastest time (set in my 300+ hp Impreza) at Gingerman, and hit my goal of the weekend of doing a 1:45.xx. Perfect way to end the competition season. Plus a learned a TON about how to properly drive this car. I'm really, really enjoying it. There is one more event at Road America (I will not be attending), and we will see where I end up for season points. Definitely towards the back, definitely not last.




Saturday nights drink of choice was whatever we could get our hands on. We tried the concert thing (it was trash), went for a scooter ride around the track (it was the opposite of trash), sang some karaoke in paddock, and also celebrated our friend's upset of a Street class win (**** OUT FOR JOE, EVERYONE!). I think at some point there was a man with a full bar on the back of a some Kei truck handing us some drinks. It was a good ride. I don't think any good lessons about racing were learned this evening, but sometimes I think that's okay.

Sunday morning I ran the earliest session, but was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too foggy to make any lap times happen, and could feel it. Handed over the keys for a session, had our fun, packed the trailer up and off we were back into the confines of reality. The racing hangover was real. Perhaps that was also just the actual one too. I wanted nothing more than to dig in and prep for the next event, but that's all I had planned. My shower was equal parts brake dust and tire rubber, and I went to bed with another Midwest Festival in the books, wondering what it was going to be like on Monday having to explain to coworkers and customers what 4 days of racing is like, while actually getting the point across properly in 2 minutes of small talk instead of just getting the typical "oh yeah for sure, sounds fun!". I'm sure I did a trash job at that. I think whoever is reading this gets it though, so I think that's what matters.

As usual, fastest lap time video with (minimal) data:


And some photos:







I don't think I am done with the season for track days, but that's a wrap on my first ever Time Attack season. Holy hell did I learn a lot. A second and a half encompasses so much more than it seems.