Another year, A Little Harder: 2012 Season Review Part I

The final four AutoX events have come and gone and the final results are clear:

I will not get that championship jacket yet again for a 3rd straight year unfortunately.

Finished 4th in class, total bummer.

Whereas I felt that I practically gave away the championship last year due to some really dumb, boneheaded quest to make my car faster (which was NOT necessary), this year I was basically outclassed and outgunned by some good drivers and one driver who should not have competed in my class at all (dishonorable hack). And to top it off: I didn't even win one single event at all this year...none, zip, zilch, nada.

The highest I finished in any event this year was 2nd with the worst being 8th.  Doesn't help you out if you can't win one event while your competition wins multiple times. Talk about really sucky, sucky year.

Yeah, I felt like this guy did for most of my 2012 racing season

The year started out good with a 2nd place finish but then quickly went south as the car swallowed some water during a rain practice event in March which in turn caused me to break the starter in a vain attempt to get the car fired up. And so, the car was towed back to shop where we did some emergency repairs and got it running it time for championship the following day. Finished a dismal 6th due to changing track conditions which saw some dry running for some and wet running for mostly others.

Lowlight of the year: Getting towed from an event due to blown engine

The lowest point of the season came in April during the Super Regional however.  Car was running good as I was sitting in 2nd place after the 1st day of the 2 day event.  Then a little birdy (who happened to be my autocross "sensei") whispered in my ear and said: "You look slow out there...turn up the boooost...."  And so like an idiot, I listened to him and did.  You can guess what happened next (see pic above). 2nd time the car got towed back to shop for the year and instead of throwing up my arms and giving up, I dug down deep and got determined to rebuild the engine to make it stronger and better so that it would not blow up again.

More on the engine rebuild and rebirth plus the rest of the season in Part 2 of the review...

And she was running sooo good too up until the point she blew...

COLAB Drift July 2012

Colab held yet another one of their great drift events this past July 28th...always fun and a blast to instruct and staff for them! LOTS of seat time as well too.

-  Almost FULL Lock...Car performed great! -

 

Video HERE:

 

The BitterSweet Years of 2003-2004: Euphoria of the car-fates

"Cruelty, thy name is woman..." 
- A Shakespeare quote modified by me


Back in 2003, it was my 3rd year in college and it was my first year of owning and driving a 240sx: A bone stock, "super-black" 1991 SE model coupe that was clean inside and out. Definite upgrade from my previous ride which was an old, faded silver 1985 200sx hatchback (still loved nonetheless since it was my first car). I was not actually racing at that point because I didn't really know there were driving events such as autocross or track days along with the new sport of drifting that was blowing up here in the U.S. at the time.

Things seemed like they were going in a good direction: College life, fun/debaucherous roommates and a new-used car that happened to be a 240sx. Only thing that was missing to complete the whole thing: The girl. 

- My first S13 back in 2003-

And that girl did come along in the spring of 03' and when she did, I thought things were actually going to be complete for once- Finally had a smart, beautiful girl riding shotgun with me in my car plus she liked it too.   But alas, it was not meant to be as she only came into my life for but a brief moment and then was gone. And I really, really liked this girl...I even uttered the 4-letter terrible, deathly, got-you-by-the-ballsack word to her too. Geez, did I ever fall on my sword for her...

So like any good romance novel that's remembered, there was no happy ending unfortunately: I ended up being the one with the broken heart and a 240sx to show for it. Victory? Actually not- later that December I ended up totaling that black 240sx SO, talk about insult to my already injured heart.. Scroll down below to see the aftermath (WARNING: may cause excessive cringing and twisting of the face)...

- Heartbreak.-

- Head-on collision with a Maxima...thank god we both survived -

Now I bet most guys have this same story of how they got into which hobby, occupation, whatevers but I think few would actually openly admit it, much less talk about it at length which I am doing right now.  

SO when I look back at the many years I've been grip racing and drifting, I sometimes wonder and think about how exactly I got into it....Was it because of some other friend who was doing it or a flyer I happened to see or online posting/announcement or peer induced ridicule?

It was none of those. When I think back, it was because of that certain girl AND it was not because of her but because of what she did:  She broke my heart for the very first time.

First-time heartbreak just plain SUCKS. This one for me was like I was "kicked-to-the-curb" and left for dead...didn't want to feel bad but couldn't help it. The scar she left cut deep- so deep that it will stay with me for the rest of my life.  I can always forgive her but I can never forget what she did.

Maybe if she didn't break my heart, I would have been with her and would have never gotten into racing cars, much less doing it with my 240sx. So those of you who do know me personally, you can thank her for helping me get into racing/drifting.

But enough of my philosophical and sappy love talk. As much as this is a blog about my activities racing cars and its relation to life, love is linked in with all of this. So instead of having the possible love of my life with a girl, I ended up having one love of my life with racing cars.  That other thing concerning a "special lady" still has yet to be fulfilled.

Hey guys and gals, it's all relative.

At least there was some redemption:

- 2004: My 2nd and current 240sx AND first year of autocross and racing -

This 240sx/S13 was the "Sweet" to the "Bitter" that happened in the years of 2003-2004.  

I will never forget it.

AutoX July 21-22nd Vid: All systems GO GO GO!!!

Latest vid of my car in the last autox practice: 

As you can see, she's running GREAT after the rebuild!

AutoX Super Regional June 2012: Blown.

I'll skip the first day and go to the 2nd day which was more interesting: 

The 2nd day started off good. got my course walk in, felt good that I could win the whole 2-day event after sitting in 2nd place after the 1st day. I had turned up the boost in my car by about 1-1.5psi (from a base of 6-7psi, so 8psi total after change) because it was suggested by my "AutoX Sensei" to do so.

As I strapped into my car, put my helmet on, and sat and waited for my turn to come up to the the line for my first run, my thought was: "I'm gonna blitz this course and run f*ckin' faster than anyone today..."

And then the first run came....car was flying through the corners...felt in good rhythm with the course and my car....and then the run was over.

And so was the engine.  

- Puff of oil smoke: Foreshadowing of destruction to come -

After I crossed the line and got my time slip, I started smelling oil and then came the billowing bluish-white smoke out of the back of my car.  It was at that point that in my mind I thought: "OH CRAP."  I drove back to my pit spot where I was greeted by a bunch of my fellow competitors asking: "What happened???" and "I saw the smoke, is your car OK?" 

The writing was on the wall at this point: My car's engine was done and I was basically done for that weekend.  My former co-driver had the big heart to let me drive his S2000 (thanks SO MUCH Mike!) for my last 2 runs but at that point, my mind was elsewhere and not thinking about racing at all.

Final result was 4th place, small consolation for my efforts that weekend but I'll take it. 

More stuff to follow...

- She'll be back...-

COLAB Drift Event @ HTM Vid Clip

Fave Drift S13 and Drifter, Enjoy.

What is Autocross? Watch the "Sea of Cones" below...

The RACECAR vs the GIRLFRIEND: Can the two Co-Exist?

The Girlfriend?

The Racecar OR...

This has probably played out for some of you guys out there:

Girl: "Why the heck do you race your car anyways?"
Guy: "............." *silence*

Girl: "You know what, I think it's just a total waste of time and money! It's stupid."
Guy: "Ummm well, I never criticized any of your hobbies you do or spend time on you know..."

Girl: "............................." *Utter Silence*
Guy: "And, I wouldn't knock on it unless you've tried it you know?"

Ah, what a downer.

In my years of racing, there is bound to be times when you're flying solo or you have a wing-lady/better-half/kill-joy with you at events...you get the idea if you've been there. 

WELL, this Racecar vs. Girlfriend subject has been brewing in the recesses of my brain for some time and now it's come to the surface. Throughout the years of doing motorsports events, I have either had a girlfriend or was in between girlfriends (mostly dating, no dice) and I can't count the number of times I've seen, witnessed, and have been the actual guy who ends up either dragging their girlfriend out to a driving event (with heels dug in my side) OR surprised the girl actually wanted to go and ended up liking it (which is very, and I mean VERY-UBER rare).

Racing your own car or having a girlfriend COSTS MONEY and if you have or "do" both (pun intended), then it unfortunately costs MORE MONEY which brings up the question: Can you just have only one OR both at the same time?  My answer to that is: Mostly NO but in some cases, YES.

Funny thing is that you use the car to attract the girl and basically shell out money to do just that BUT the  screwed-up part is that sometimes in the end, your hard-earned dough goes towards the girl. Some guys are ok with this because it means "mission accomplished" but for others, it means that the car goes by the wayside and is not a priority anymore.  Strange how things change like that...

And the even more sad part is that the media has sold us car guys on the idea that with a nice car, we will get this type of girl:

Yep, drive a nice car and you'll get her...IN YOUR WET DREAMS DUDE!

Sorry guys but most of you (notice I said "most" because I know some jackhole will think otherwise) won't be getting a girl like that model in the pic above UNLESS you're either filthy rich, overtly hung somehow (insert Tommy Lee joke here), or just a plain ol' douchebag.  But us car guys will keep on chasing this idea that the media has had us buy into and we'll happily spend dollars trying to accomplish it which makes the car manufacturers and the aftermarket parts guys even happier.  Some guys are lucky and accomplish the feat (hats off to them) while the rest of us just don't.

Anyways, most of the racers at events come "Han-Solo" alone while a very small portion actual have their girlfriend or wife with them.  And in some cases, the girl will race their own car (lucky bastards)!  How to accomplish that is somewhat beyond me because personally, I have never had a girlfriend who approved of and/or liked my racing hobby, not to mention one who encouraged it.

When I did have a girlfriend come with me, it seemed as if I couldn't enjoy my time out at the track like I normally do and instead, I could feel this sort of negative, unspoken "I don't want to be here..." vibe the whole time she was there.  Unfortunately to this day, I still have yet to have a positive experience with a girlfriend coming with me to the track.

Don't ya wish all girls love cars OR actually do car stuff?  Even drift???!

Anyways, here's a few equations I've come up with...maybe they'll help figure things out:

You + Your Car Racing hobby = No girlfriend UNLESS you're a lucky bastard.

You + Girlfriend who DOES NOT like cars and racing = No Racing or Race Car at all! =*(

You + Girlfriend who DOES like cars and racing = Race Car with benefits (RCB)!

You + Girlfriend who actually does track events and races = CAR-VANA, Heaven, priceless. CONGRATULATIONS you SPAZ, you have a chick that wants to drive! =D


SO, what's the point of having a girlfriend if she doesn't like your car, your racing hobby, or both?  They say love conquers all but when it comes to choosing between the love of a girlfriend and the love of racing cars, I think most guys would choose burning rubber racing the car instead of burning rubber with the girl.  But in some cases, I'm probably wrong.

Here's my advice if you want to keep doing the Race-Car thing: STAY SINGLE!

How to have both the Race Car and Girlfriend Co-Exist: 

Find yourself a lady who can relate to your racing hobby/love of cars- one who you're not afraid of sharing it with. 

I think that's what most of us car guys just really want anyway.

Good Hunting. 

Making the Tires HAPPY Part II

A tire's "contact patch" is defined as:
"The area of tire rubber that actually touches the road at any one time. Also called the tire footprint."

- Minty fresh RS3s ready for duty-

Tires in the area of suspension setup/tuning is universally acknowledged as VERY important in making a car handle well but it still surprises me how most drivers do not take it into account enough.  Brand and sizing are important to a degree but it's how you manipulate and use the tire's contact patch that makes the difference in either having a corner-carving monster or an ill-handling race car.

That being said, it has taken me all these years of track driving to mostly understand how to use the footprint of the tire to go faster and there is still much I have to learn.  So, here's what I'm using to manipulate and try to optimize my tire's contact patch (which are 255 wide size footprints):

>"DGR-S" Coilovers with Swift Springs

>Circuit Sports tie rod ends with Tein S14 inner tie rods

>Tein tension rods

>S14 Rear Subframe

>Megan RUCAs (rear-upper control arms)

>TC Sportline rear toe and traction rods

>Rear roll-center correctors


Now, I know the list above wouldn't impress any brand-name fanboys and some suspension-elitists out there BUT I think the whole is greater than the sum of the parts here-  I am about doing more with less because no amount of spending on pricey suspension parts substitutes for experience gained from adjusting and tuning the suspension along with the seat time spent behind the wheel testing it out. And believe me, I have spent a TON of time adjusting and tweaking the suspension (alignment, arm lengths, tire & wheel size etc) to finally say that I have it almost dialed-in.

All the parts combined have helped me put the tires into their "happy" place but just throwing them onto the car won't make a bit of impact unless you know how to adjust and use the parts. And I have to give credit not only to my now enlightened self but to a lot of the stuff I have sifted through online, especially from the die-hards on the Nissanroadacing forums (www.nissanroadracing.com) and the drifters on Zilvia.  PLUS, the inspiration for my suspension setup has come from this car:

- The motivation & inspiration -

Okay, I know what you're thinking: Why follow a drift car for suspension setup if you're grip driving???
My answers: 1.) It's all relative and 2.) In order to drift well, you need to grip well.  Take a few moments to let that sink in.      

From reading up on and researching what they have done and are doing with Dai's Formula D S13 suspension setup, I can say that there are many hidden gems and diamonds in the rough to find if you read between the lines of what Mike Kojima says about the car and do a little bit of thinking about it.  He's not the chief-suspension guy for the car by mistake. Here's a snippet of what I'd suggest to adjust for (but will not give you exact specs because that's up to you and your driving preference) if you're driving a S13 or S14:

>Toe settings front and rear (this WILL greatly affect grip more than camber)

>Camber settings (to make good use of the tire's contact patch at the entry, middle, and exit of a corner)

>Ride Height (yes, this does make a difference because it DOES affect suspension geometry)

>Roll Center and Instant Center (this is affected by ride height AND in a nutshell without explaining much, these are REALLY important. Do some research and read up on it!)

>HOT Tire Pressures (these readings matter the most and can greatly affect the car's handling during practice and competition) 


Now if you're really uber-hardcore about suspension setup, you could alter pickup/attachment points, get the ultra snazzy roll-center corrected knuckles, and maybe even custom fabricate parts if you want. I could get more in-depth in this post which would arouse some but might bore others. BUT since I do not consider myself a "pro" and just an amateur grassroots driver, my intention here is to help the "little guy" who's a do-it-yourself type person that does not have access to a lift, fancy tools, press, and so on.   

SO getting back to my suspension components, I know there have been and will always be guys out there who will say stuff like: "Why didn't you just go with all the premium, pricey suspension parts from the start?" OR "Your setup is wrong. You should do this and this and that etc..."

To that I say: There's no wrong-way but many ways to skin a cat, hit the target, achieve the goal. It has and always will be a never-ending debate over the ways to approach suspension tuning and, you get what you pay for concerning parts which I do agree with.  What I wanted to do (and drivers can make time for this if they can get past looking stupid at times) was try different things because I felt that would teach me the most.  Sure there were failures and ridicule along the way but I always try to tell myself that it's all a learning process which would make me a better driver in the end.  Like one of my "tough-love" college professors once said: You learn more from losing than winning. My setup works for me but it might not work for the other guy.

- RPF1ssssss -

Remember kids: It's the journey that makes you; the hopefully positive end result is what makes it that much sweeter.             

My tires are happy, are YOURS?

Making the tires HAPPY! A Semi-Deconstructing of my suspension setup Part I

As I mentioned in the previous post, I will kinda-sorta-peel back the veil on what setup now runs on my S13.  Took a lot of blood, sweat, tears and many many red-eyed nights to figure it out but, I think it's pretty much almost there. First, let me take you back 3 years ago when my car was mostly a sorta "drift-fanboy" setup ALTHOUGH my car has not been super-duper slammed like most of them; I actually knew not to do that before all the magazines, publications, and online sooth-sayers deemed that it's a sin to do so. 

It was 2009 and I was still doing the regular once-a-month autocross practice events (with drift events thrown in-between) BUT no actual competition in the championships on Sundays. The suspension setup I was running was good for drift events but not good for going fast in the realm of objectiveness with the fastest time winning when you compete in autocross.  The setup was more of a I had to "drive around and compensate for it" case so, that in-turn discouraged me from trying to compete since I knew I wouldn't be fast enough to place in the top 3 each championship event and battle for the yearly points championship to get that coveted "Jacket" with your name on it.      

- Circa 2007 to 2009. Sportmax/XXR Wheels! -

What changed my mind or got the gears turning in my head was a conversation I had with a fellow autocrosser/close friend who asked me the basic question of: "Why don't you compete on Sundays???"  My answer was: "Uhhh, I just don't feel I'd be competitive or fast enough..." 

And from that response came my self-realization: "Heck, why don't I just become competitive and fast?" So after competing in every championship event for 3 years straight, I am now running as one of the top guys in the CST (California Street Tire) Class in my Southern Pacific region of SCCA's Solo2 Autocross.  Sometimes I ask myself: "How the heck did I get here?"

Seat time, seat time, seat time and a semi-pro suspension setup gleaned from an evolution of setup changes throughout the driving seasons helped too.  The main thing I learned was this: making the tires work correctly which in turn put them in their "happy place" was the biggest factor in going faster and being fast as well.

Besides, what else is linking and connecting your car to the pavement/road/asphalt?

Tires baby.....Tires.

- The result after 3 years of Trial and (T)error-

AutoX April 14th-15th Championship: The RETURN to HANDLING!

Been awhile since I've written about a past event and the results....so, here's I goes:

3RD Place! (out of like 21 entries....whew, number of runners in class keeps on increasing! First place was won by that immoral jackhole who doesn't belong in class but that's another story altogether.)

Besides that, I am happy to report the changes I have made to the rear suspension along with the alignment tweaks have helped to finally PUT the POWER DOWN coming out of corners which was one of the main problems of why it was hard to go faster.

NOW, her rear-end is tamed and she doesn't shake her booty all over the place like the macarena- she instead as Mystikal once said, shakes her ass but "watches herself."

- 2nd and 3rd Place Respectively-

f

I'll discuss more in another post of most of all of the changes I've done to the rear suspension (don't want to divulge all my secrets) but just know that the mods involved an S14 subframe and new rubbers *wink wink.*  

Results here: 

http://members.quixnet.net/free2000/cscc041512_fin.htm#CST

Semi-Dirtay Racing or "SDR" (Not San Diego)

Some wisecracker once told me (and I'm sure some of you have heard this):  
"If you ain't cheatin', you ain't trying. "

Cheating goes on in all forms of sport and specifically in motorsports, it can and does happen. It's just up to the rules-makers to catch and enforce the rules imposed. 

Which leads me to this argument:  I do not like it when a driver competes in a car other than his own in autocross. Why?

Well, what I am getting at is that there was a certain driver at the last event who competes in my class who has his own car (that he has been racing for the past couple of years) who did this such thing: On race day, he found another guy who drives the exact same car but the difference was it had practically NEW Star Spec tires.  So why the switch? 

Engine blew? Broken upper or lower A-Arm?  Nope and nope- he just wanted to try and win.

- Mr. Sheen's Winning?-

Now it's perfectly fine to want to win and what he did was totally within the rules and nothing is against it BUT to me, I feel it is dishonorable and a real sucky thing to do. Whatever happened to using your own car to win?   Before you start spouting fire at me, hear me out...

This guy's car had no "mechanical issues" i.e. engine failure or suspension failure AT ALL. In fact, his car was running perfectly fine at practice the previous day before Sunday's competition runs. 

Only thing was, he was spinning like a top run after run which would lead one to believe that either he's not such a good driver OR his tires weren't gripping well.

So why did he make the switch?  I can list many reasons: Insecurity, infidelity, inconfidence, dishonesty, dishonorable, etc etc etc.... he did in fact state that his Hankooks were "done."  SO, that basically gives all the reason in the world of why he did it.

Whatever the case, my belief is that at this amateur/grassroots level of motorsport you should compete in your own car, barring any mechanical issues.  If your engine blows up or something broke and you can't fix it in time before competition starts, then sorry but you're SOL.

This ain't Formula1 or ALMS where you have a backup car or your teammate's car to pilfer if you're the #1 driver. Heck, I could've done the same thing this guy did like "Uh, I'm not fast enough SO I'll just go grab my friend's Ferrari and lay the smack down...."

Nope, not me...not ever.  Long as my car can run fine, I'm driving it. 

And the Bottom line:

Don't BAIL on running your car UNLESS you REALLY have to. Having shitty, worn-out tires DOES NOT count because that's YOUR fault for not using new tires for competition.

So to that guy who used another car to compete with despite his own car being PERFECTLY fine:

DON'T BE A DICK: DRIVE AND COMPETE WITH YOUR OWN CAR.

Thank you, end of rant.

2012 Wheel n' Tire Setups

For the 2012 season, decided to FINALLY go 5 lug because WHY THE HECK NOT???!  Plus my 240sx has been 4-lug for like FOREVER. 

And because there's just SOOO many more nice wheel choices when you go 5 lug, I got some new shoes for my gal to strut her stuff in:

AutoX/Grip- 

Enkei RPF1s 

17x9 +22 offset 

Shod with 255/40/17 Hankook RS3s 

- Mmm mmm Sexy-

- Sexymoarback -

AND...

Daily/DRIFT:

MB Battles

17x9.5 +15 offset

Shod with 235/40/17 Nitto NT05s

- Concavityness -

- MOAR Concavityness Goodness -

The Reason and the Rhyme: 2011 Season Review Part II

August was the beginning of the demise, start of the end, "insert dramaticky, epicky, words here."  I finished a hard-earned 3rd after driving the pants OFF the car and for the rest of the season, I did not post any wins AT ALL.

Talk about SLUMP.

In a manic-panic I started reading some more, digging some more online...I kinda went mad trying to find the answers.  I talked with fellow autocrossers trying to find a magic handling-unicorn where there was none. Because of all this stuff, I did these changes to the car:

> S14 Subframe (a supposed improvement over the S13 subframe)

> A LESS-TIGHT locking Cusco LSD (80% out of 100%)

> SBC Manual Boost Controller (which didn't work out that good so I sold it)

> Increased boost pressure via HKS adjustable wastegate (BIG MISTAKE).

That last item was the KILLER because it was what lead to this:

-GRENADED! Yep, this is kinda similar to what happened to my car...-

OK, the picture is a little bit over-dramatic BUT it's a good representation of what happened to the car when I OVERBOOSTED (yes, overboosted).  Yours truly got a little bit greedy and was desperate for a little bit more power so, being a dumbf*ck, he adjusted the length of the actuator rod a wee bit too short and result was lots and lots of smoke like in the pic above.  Probably killed a lot of mosquitoes too. 

Luckily, I had a spare KA engine block complete with pistons SO I did a rebuild (and added some good parts too) in less than 2 weeks to get the car ready for November's Autocross event.  But even that wasn't enough to make a comeback and so after November's event, I was surely going to finish 2nd for the season.

I'd like to thank my sponsors FRSport.com, Nismoshop.com, and Crown Auto Repair (C.A.R.) for supporting me with all the parts and accessories I've really really needed AND most importantly, I would like to express my gratitude to all my friends, family and supporters who have been there behind me this past year.  Without you guys, none of this would be possible.

Here's to a WAY more successful 2012 season!

- In the immortal yet misunderstood words of Awhnald Schwarznegger: I'LL BE BACK. -

The Rhyme and the Reason: 2011 Season Review Part I

RETROSPECT is a b*tch.  That being said, my 2011 Autocross season started out great but then ended not as how I intended.

And most of the blame has to be put on ME unfortunately.

The first half of the season was going good: I had posted 6 wins from January to July and the car was running good, setup was there. But then things started going south in August.  

I had started thinking sometime in June-July that maybe I should make a change to my car that would make it more faster than it was already because I was only winning by a few tenths to a near second over my nearest competitors.

Figured that if I do that, I would be able to separate myself from the rest of the pack and gain a bigger lead in the points standings.  BUT that didn't work out as I had planned...  The thing I wanted to change on my car was: Alignment.

Alignment can either help or hinder a car and in my case, it was helping me from January to July.  But before August, I read a few articles, threads, etc online SO an idea was planted in my head to try something different with the settings and see if that would make the car faster.

All I can say is: DAMN YOU INCEPTION!  Wonder if they could have done a mind-dive to take out that idea that had taken root in my head...

-

-Damn Inception: WHY MUST YOU ANTI-G FIGHT ME!!! Fight was pretty cool though...-

PART 2 of the season review to follow shortly...

Like the prodigal son, I have RETURNED!

SO...

Where have I been? Under a rock, in a hole, behind a tree???

There's both the long and short explanation but basically, I lost the motivation to write. Why?

To put it simply and bluntly: I did not win the championship in CST class, did not get the jacket...I came up woefully short and barely held on to 2nd place in the year-end standings.

And where am I now?  Somewhere between lost and found.

Here's to the first post of 2012.

Finally.

- 2012 AutoX Spec-