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I added a vacation day to the 4th of July weekend to complete a few large installs on my WRX. I’ve delayed upgrading my brakes (including brake lines) and installing a new uppipe and downpipe as long as I could, knowing it would take some serious install time. Nearly 40 hours later, the install is done, and well worth the effort. I’m still breaking in my brakes (no pun intended), but I can already tell that they clamp much better than before, with very little fade. The exhaust upgrades reduced turbo lag and allow much more linear acceleration with little additional noise… apart from a little more (welcome) turbo whistle. Gina was a big help when it came to pulling large sections of exhaust out, as well as installing the intercooler (p.i.t.a.), and bleeding the brakes.

I accumulated a few bruises and scratches, but nothing major. According to NASIOC I had a hard time with the easy stuff, and an easy time with the hard stuff. Go figure.

Here are a few things that I learned:

• Use line wrenches when working on brake lines. They strip easily.
• There is a very fine line between enough brake parts cleaner and way too much. Keep some rubberized underbody paint handy for those wheel wells.
• Brake component tolerances are hair-thin. Don’t paint any parts until the brake assembly is complete.
• Liquid wrench is your friend… just don’t inhale a lot of it.
• Wear a mask and goggles when you’re working under your car… no matter how uncomfortable. Do the same whenever you’re sanding, grinding, etc. Your lungs will thank you. Trust me…
• Have a few small containers handy before pulling things apart. Label them so you remember what bolts/nuts go in what parts. This saved a lot of time during re-assembly.
• Re-assemble exhaust parts with anti-seize and fresh nuts and bolts whenever possible.
• No matter how well you clean off the Liquid Wrench (or WD-40) residue, your car will still smoke and smell for a day-or-so.

I hope that helps somebody down the line. All-in-all I am very satisfied with the results.

Apart from car stuff, Gina and I had a chance to hang out with Glen on the 4th, check out some fireworks, and have a few “pops.” We also tried out a few new recipes, and watched some NetFlix goodness.

- Duane

I crewed for my father-in-law, Glenn, at Gingerman Raceway last weekend. Technically, the event was a regional driver’s school with a race on Sunday. Glenn decided to learn the track using the school… however, having 5 or 6 sessions on the track added up to a lot of running around for both driver and crew. The most interesting session included all of the following: tow truck on course, ambulance on course, black flags, and a pace car. I guess the instructors didn’t want their students to be surprised by anything… ever.

On Sunday, the schedule was a little different. There were only 3 groups: open wheel cars, smaller closed wheel, and big iron closed wheel. In addition to qualifying and race sessions, there was a practice. A little different, but apparently useful. After dodging some “aggressive” competition, Glenn finished in 1st place! There was some drama to sort out with some upset competition, but all-in-all it was a great weekend and a great regional event. I was a little too busy to get photos during the event, but some new timing equipment might free me up in the near future. I did get a few interesting photos on the road, including a SUV roll-over, widebody Mercedes and an early morning pic of the racecar. [Photos Here]

George shared a link to some Nokia 3650 goodness with me. Lots of useful goodies are to be had from there. There is one broken link that drives me mad. As a former Amiga-holic, I miss the complete waste-of-time demos (WOTD) that were found on every BBS around the world. There are some nice WOTDs on there, but one cannot be found… Zion. If anyone finds it, let me know.

I dug up my Gameboy recently. I guess I never had a chance to really use it before, but it’s rather convenient to flip open and play for a few minutes. Unlike many of the high-horsepower PC/Playstation2 games, there’s still a lot of interesting gameplay and unique premises. I guess I got a little tired of the average FPS and racing games… or more accurately, didn’t have the time to invest in them. Most Gameboy games can be played for 5 minutes, then put away. Pretty convenient.

- Duane

Last Sunday, Gina and I were washing Kacey after cutting the lawn. (Exciting, I know.) We heard a whinny… yes, a whinny, and checked out in front of the house. It appeared as though out neighbor was having horses delivered. This would not be an incredible surprise, as it is Redford, and our neighbor is known to have late campfire parties in her backyard. It turns out that her niece, who raises horses, was just stopping by for a visit. Kacey didn’t know what to make of the largest “dogs” she had ever seen. I thought it was hilarious and took these pictures.

As is the case every summer, Gina and I have packed our schedules full. In place of our regular race schedule at Waterford Hills, Glenn is racing all over the state, as well as a trip or 2 to Mid-Ohio. Before this year I had never been to any road courses, apart from Waterford. I look forward to the coursewalks, as well as the insight of the other drivers… either overheard or observed. “Touring” certainly mixes things up a bit and makes it all a little more interesting. This weekend Glenn will be racing at Gingerman Raceway. Gina will be staying behind to fulfill her grid official commitments at WHRRI.

In addition to racing, we’re scrambling to finish up some inexpensive home improvements in preparation for the sale of our home. We have six weddings planned for this year, with only 2 yet attended. The constant rain has done wonders for our lawn, but requires us to mow more often. That’s always fun… at least Gina helps now, so the total time investment, including edging, etc., is under 2 hours. Yessir… the action never stops. 😉

- Duane

Although this weekend is usually reserved for Indy 500 action, Gina and I camped out at Grattan Raceway and crewed for Glenn (my father-in-law). It was a successful as well as educational weekend. A few pictures are in this gallery. I’ve never visited another road course before. Grattan is larger than our home course and has a long (130 mph) front straight. In the second race of the weekend, Glenn finished 4th among a field of experienced drivers despite some of their best efforts to bounce him off the track. (Another driver rear-ended Glenn 3 times, eventually causing the tail-section of his car to fly off… and take the offending driver out of the race. Karma’s a bitch, but nobody was hurt.)

Monday I competed in an Autocross at the Silverdome. The course was laid out to resemble Indy… and was full of things to remember. So far, it was the longest solo course I’ve driven. The weather conditions varied wildly throughout the day. Driving in we had heavy rain, the coursewalk was overcast with light rain, the first heat was still very wet with puddles, but there was very little rain, the second heat was treated to a torrential downpour that ended halfway through the heat. The third heat had beautiful sunny skies and very dry pavement. [ Event Results ]

I was in the first heat. Not the best conditions, but with some tire pressure adjustment, I’ve been able to predictable rotate my car (nice oversteer). I finished in the top 10 (unofficially). I worked the 3rd heat. (race 1, work 1) Although our race heat only lasted about an hour and a half, our work heat was over 3 hours long. Sounds like somebody should work on their math skills.

Gina and I enjoy racing, but are looking forward to a break from cars… until I install by front brakes an uppipe. 😉

- Duane

Gina and I attended a VAST show in Flint last night. Aphasia and Die Symphony opened. Great performances by all, but my hearing has been noticeably affected. Ow. VAST is playing at the I-Rock on Saturday night. I can’t help but think that we could have opened for them if we had a drummer. Damn. Pictures here.

You may have noticed that the changelog is no longer a module on the right side of the site. I’ve replaced it with a marginally more interesting moblog module. The latest entry (often a photo) from my moblog will appear magically through the magic of airblogging.com.

- Duane