Godzilla's Return

Looks like I get to race a little treat this event at Renegade Miata… Kaizen Tuning's GT-R 35! If you remember from my post a year ago, I got to race this monster for the first time on some dead R6 Hoosiers that corded by the end of the event. With some more experience and confidence under my belt, and some fresh 295 sized A6 Hoosiers this time, I was ready to see how well I could try and tame this beast again… and have a hell of a time!

SCCA Solo Northeast National Tour

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

I wish I had more time and resources to do more National Tours... Nothing is quite like that full weekend experience. The people, the energy, the flow, the pressure… It's very different than any local autocross race. This weekend was the SCCA Solo Northeast National Tour at my home course, Moore Airfield in Ayer, MA. With over 200 people signed up, and 8 competitors in BSP, I was ready to rock!

Getting Ready For War

Time to wear the war paint again! En garde!

It has started, and there's no turning back at this point. The war paint- I mean... The vinyls are on for the National Tour, and for Nationals in September. This allows me to be eligible for contingency prizes and to show respect (will be getting more vinyls for Nationals as well). All that is left is my Tire Rack windshield banner and a few small SCCA vinyls I receive at the event.

Testing At Renegade Miata's Second Event

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

Ever had a really bad day? I mean in where it rained, then poured, and then the sun came out for a moment... only to show you the tsunami heading your way? What am I saying… There WAS a few positive points to today, it just took me a bit to see them I suppose. The car was left with some alignment issues on Friday in that the steering wheel and toe was off on the car. Then, as I was leaving my house to go to the event, my battery was dead. I then later found out when I made it to the event that the battery was completely cooked, as the sides had expanded outward a fair amount. Lastly, after getting the battery problem situated, John and I received more bad news. Our set of R comps would probably last only until the National Tour next weekend, but after that would be pushing it.

Bad Camber Bolts?

On the alignment rack

Since the previous few posts, I've been trying to sort out a lot of kinks in the suspension to get everything nice and balanced, especially for the upcoming SCCA National Tour. After coming up with a game plan, I decided to mess with the alignment a little. That's when I ran into a minor problem while trying to get realigned. The passenger side could easily gain a lot of camber, while the driver side was maxing out only at -2.1 degrees. Clearly, something was not right here.

Blueberry's Blues

On her way to see Doctor Wankel!

Clearances. Exact and precise internal clearances are essential for any rotary engine to operate smoothly and properly. So what gives? Where have I been? Wankel Works and I have been trying to troubleshoot a few issues after the engine build. Clearances, just so happened to be one of them.

Stuck Swaybars?

Dry bushings can't be very helpful I bet

While I was changing the front swaybar from the full-stiff setting to medium-stiffness, I came across something really interesting. After I disconnected my endlinks, I had tried to move my front swaybar up and down to see how well the grease I applied at the beginning of April was holding up. With one hand, the bar didn't budge. With two hands, the bar didn't budge. With two hands pushing pretty hard, still no movement. Taking a rubber mallet to the bar, not an inch. I loosened the bushings on both sides, and STILL no movement with the rubber mallet! After removing the bushings, I noticed that the bushings and bar was completely bone dry. Within a little under two months, the grease had apparently dried out.