Ok, let's open the floodgates for 2011. Picked up a 330 ZHP late last fall. Rebuilt the VANOS,and the DISA. It gets new bushings this weekend. The new rims are in ( 18 lbs each ) and the tires arrive next week. Plenty of time to test and tune before OFest. Been running karts over the winter to keep the reflexes in tune. Scott, I'm gunning for ya!
Hey Mel, I have barely thought about cars since December.....yeah thats a lie! just got the BMW out of storage last weekend as the snow is now pretty much gone. I am putting new shocks on this weekend. I took them off and sent them in last fall as they had been rattling for a couple of years. There was not a single component that didn't need to be replaced or rebuilt, so new is what I have now. I guess 8 years and 100,000 miles will do that. I used to love karting over the winter, but they closed a few years ago and I pretty much need to dive 300+ miles to find another. I will try to do an autocross somewhere sometime this summer to practice. Bring it on!!
Looks like I started a tradition. You guys go have fun this year. Due to scheduling conflicts we will be a no-show unless something changes.
First autox with the 330i First weekend out, fresh tires on a fast course. Took a couple of runs to figure out which mode to set the electronic nannies and how to drive the beast. Liking the Hankook RS3 tires. As they scrub the grip gets better. Can't wait to see what they are like when hot. Yesterday was too cold get any temps, only saw a 1 degree rise after three runs. Finished up 1.6 secs out of the BMW FTD against well prepared M3's and purpose built cars on slicks. Not too bad for a four door sedan. Surprised at just how loose the rear end was on the car, spent a lot of time trying to get it back behind the front end and that cost me a few tenths for sure. Really needs to have the shocks replaced and a good alignment. Four weeks to get that done in and then test this again.
Oh, yeah: THAT girl. . . Of course, the woman in question regularly wins the M Stock class in San Diego with her 2010 M3, kicking quite a bit of masculine butt and leaving us whining in the smoke of her sticky Vetus gumballs. . .
Reminds me of an incident at an autocross many years back. Local new crew showed up and wanted to get some footage from the back seat. They decided they want to go with a certain woman as it would look good. besides, she could not possibly run her Trans-am that fast. None of us mentioned she was a four time SCCA champion in the Trans-am. Camera guy would not put on a seat belt, assured us he could brace himself and get the shot. Guess who disappeared on the second corner and was not seen until the run was over? The obvious bruise on the side of his head showed where the camera had connected just before he dropped from sight. Very little usable in car footage was obtained. My sides hurt later in the evening from us laughing at the look on his face when he got out.
Another test weekend with the 330i. Finally narrowing down the tires pressures on the RS3's. Seems they want 40 psi when hot to really bite. Loving the Hawk ceramic pads. They may not be a track pad but they seem to love the autocross. Found out you can't run the car with less than 1/4 tank of gas or it sucks air. That's hard on the elapsed time. Still waiting on the new shocks and a good alignment. Not sure what is after that. Going to see how much negative camber we can get in the front and check the rear. End results, six tenths out of FTD and fourth fastest. Would have been in third but the E92 M3 nipped me by a tenth late in the afternoon. Have to drive harder to overcome that 150 horse advantage he has.
