Its been a while, and musings about being 'the great corruptor'

So I have been thinking lately about how I am the 'great corruptor' when it comes to converting my friends my mild car enthusiasts to full blown track junkies like myself.  I actually havent thought about how many people I have turned to the dark side (which maybe should be called the bright side, because its so damn awesome). 

So lately I've been going to the track pretty regularly with a group of guys that I somehow convinced to join me at the track a few years ago for my birthday, and now they are all buying full blown track/race cars, and are knee deep in the world, just like I have been for some time, Lets see, this is who I have converted;

-Perrie
-Andrew
-Chuck
-Arnold
-Alex
-Trip
-Tim (for a spell anyway)

I thought it was more than that, looks like I need to go out and do some more recruiting.  Anyway, I expect to start up my blogging again, and to put down in writing all the random track related thoughts that are banging around my head in the near future..  Come back soon, and look for some real content soon!

Just thinking about track days…

So I was looking around my mostly defunct blog, and realizing that I need to go to the track more often.

Also, thought I should update my list of cars I have driven on the track, so here goes;

• 1995 BMW M3 Coupe (mine)
  • The Purple one, fun track car, as good as the M Coupe.
• 1999 BMW M Coupe (mine)
  • The original corruptor.  This is the car that made me the trackwhore I am.
• 2002 BMW 330ci (mine)
  • I did a TON of track days in this thing, eventually taking (mostly) full advantage of what it had to offer, but it was sort of slow, and had this horrible drive by wire throttle, and about the only real high end mod I did to it was a badass set of front race pads, which made it the best stopping car I had ever driven, till I got the 95 M3.
• 1993 automatic 1.8liter 88HP Ford Escort OKGo LeMons racing machine. (mine)
  • I mean this little car has done 6 race days (8+ hours per day), and somehow magically wont die.
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 (Will's)
  • Fast, and driven rather cautiously given that it wasn’t mine.
• 2008 Mitubishi Lancer Evo X (P's)
  • Driven LESS cautiously, resulting in a spin, Perrie was not happy BTW.
• 2002 Subaru WRX (Andrews)
  • Great sounding boxer motor, remember thinking it needed like 100 more HP to really be badass!
• Gen 1 White Miata (Kevin's)
  • I broke this car too, well it must have been ready to go, but I believe I killed the diff, or maybe the tranny, it was a while ago.
• Gen 1 Brocolli and Licorice Miata (Andrews)
  • Andrew wouldn’t let me rev it above 5k rpm, so that means I basically creeped around the track, oh and he had some fairly mid range street tires on, so fast it wasn’t.
• White Monte Carlo (Mr. Hertz's)
  • The absolute worst car I have ever driven on the track, worse than my 1993 Ford Escort Automatic race car, yes that’s how bad it was.
• e90 BMW 328i (Mr. Hertz's)
  • Sort of boring to drive on the track, plenty of power, lame automatic, and M+S snow tires meant mediocre handling, with good straight line speed.  The brakes were good too, but really, I had more fun driving Bryan’s Scion XB in all its 100HP glory.
• 1987 Toyota Supra Turbo (Rave Boys)
  • I broke this car, well truth be told Tim told me “drive it”, so I took it out at about 8/10ths and overheated his brakes, and he had coming from his pads so I suggested we get the wheels off asap to see what was going on, and that was when one of his wheel bolts snapped.  Should have just driven it around at 25mph for a few minutes to let it cool first.
• 2003? Scion XB (Duffs)
  • Slow, but great handling, and actually a lot of fun.
• 2004 Honda S2000 (a students)
  • Awesome car, but driven at like 6/10ths since it wasn’t mine.
• 2002 Audi S4 (P’s)
• This was still when it was in Stage II guise, and I broke this car as well.  I wasn’t driving all that hard, and one of P’s knockoff Samco hoses decided to split down the center, and it being something related to a turbo the car basically wouldn’t run without it.  Suffice it to say, P was not pleased as I was being towed back into the pits.
• 2008 BMW M5 (Arnold’s)
• I babied this around the track, was impressed by its power, but felt like the car was way too big and had not nearly enough tire for so much get up and go.

Buttonwillow, a weekend of firsts!

 

• First time on track with the new e36 m3.
• First time driving Buttonwillow in 8 years.
• First time driving configuration 13CW (the NORMAL config).
• First time having a mechanical failure that could have ended up in a AAA tow all the way home.
• First time having something fly off the car whilst on track!

I also learned some interesting things this weekend;

• e36 M3 stock sized brakes, even with updated hi-performance ‘street’ pads, fresh new rotors, and racing brake fluid (Motul RBF600) can’t put up with my heavy braking.
• If your OIL PRESSURE light comes on, it can mean an oil pump is caput (BAD), or that the oil Pressure sending unit is caput (GOOD).
• The E36 M3 is a pretty decent car.
• Falken Azenis RT615 tires are ‘decent’, but only just so.
• Speedventures track days are populated with a majority of highly modified, highly track ready, r compound shod, and crazy fast cars.
• I almost actually LIKE Buttonwillow raceway.  I wouldn’t say I like it as much as Sears Point, Laguna Seca or Thunderhill.  but its MEASUREABLY better and more interesting than Willow Springs.

So about those firsts.  This was track day #1 and #2 for the new s50b30usa powered e36 m3.  (yes, I am a bimmer geek, its NOT an s50b30, that’s the Euro spec motor that made 46 more HP)

In my notes for the day I wrote “Feels sort of gutless, brakes are spongy and fading, and RT615s feel like crap”.    I sort of did feel that way on day 1, but by the end of day 2 I actually like this car a lot.  I will be honest and say that the 15 year old suspension definitely could use some replacement.  Its not in bad shape perse, for the street it would be totally adequate.  But on the track the car leans, leans, and leans.  Quick left right transitions make the car sway back and forth in a fairly pronounced way.  All in all the car is decent.  It feels a lot like the 1999 M Coupe I used to have (this is essentially the same engine, and the exact same front suspension setup, same pedals, etc.) and the 330ci.  I guess all bimmers from that era sort of feel the same, which is good.  Its what I am used to and like.

First tank of gas guzzled on the S50 m3... 18.99mpg

So I got my first tank of gas all used up, and the car gets (so far) 18.99 miles per gallon.  Not bad considering how I have been driving.  I have a feeling I would see about 24 or so if driving 75mph non stop on a freeway.  I expect to see below 10 on the track!

Why the 1995 M3 is such a cool choice…

Now you might be wondering why I didnt’t buy another M Coupe.  Well, first off they are going for too much nowadays, they have established themselves as collector cars, and the prices are just going up and up, kind of like the e30 M3.  Really I should buy one now before they are totally unaffordable! 

The e36 M3 has some advantages as well, Its got 5 seats, a trunk, and pretty close to the same performance as the M coupe.  I specifically chose the 1995, because it has a slightly different motor than rest of the E36 M3’s from 96-99.  It has a 3.0 liter motor designated an ‘S50’, whereas the 96-99 has an ‘S52’.  Now in the world of automobiles more displacement is usually better, but in this case the 3.0 is a slightly more desirable motor, because it used OBD-1 instead of OBD-2, basically a more modern way to limit emissions, which cripples the owners ability to modify the car for more power.  Also note that the 95 3.0 and 96-99 3.2 make the same HP & Torque.

The 1995 motor with an addition of a Cold Air intake, new fuel injectors, a new MAF (Mass Airflow Sensor), and an ECU chip can make an additional 35 Horsepower, which is stunning for a BMW.  Add a free flow exhaust, underdrive pulleys, and headers and you are pushing a 50HP addition.  Replace your cats with Hi-Flow Catalytics, replace your tranny and diff fluid, switch to an electric fan, and you can make it all the way to +60 HP!  Granted that’s $1200 for a stageII kit, $700 for exhaust, $200 underdrive pulleys, $500 headers, $500 hi-flow cats, $150 tranny/diff fluid, and $200 for an electric fan, totaling about $3500.  But to make 60 reliable and safe horsepower in a Normally Aspirated BMW motor is almost unheard of for even twice this amount!

Out with the old, in with the older?!?

Yep, you guessed it, its that time again.  New car time!  Well in this case, old car - new to me time.

I decided to get back to my roots, and bought an E36 M3.  Let me explain;  My first REAL car, the one that got me hooked on cars, and more specifically driving on race tracks was a 1999 BMW M Coupe.  Now this might LOOK like a Z3 hatchback, but the majority of the running gear is identical to the same year M3 (engine, transmission, differentials, suspension, etc.). 

There is something special (to me) about these specific cars.  They have a unique feel to me, the throttle response, placement of the pedals, gearshift, how the motor revs, everything just feels great to me.  So I decided to buy a 1995 M3.  I would have loved to have gotten another M Coupe, but I already owned one, and as weird as it sounds they are commanding a mint right now.  The car I sold in 2005 for $22,500 would probably still be $20k today with the same mileage!

So here is a pic of the car!

Yep, its a 1995, built in 5/1994 (thats 15 years old kids) with only 54,000 miles on it!

[More to come, about the money spent on upgrades, tires, impressions, etc.!]

Free oil change from Audi, and they FINALLY fixed my headlights!

I finally got a good service rep at Audi, and the dude did some smart swapping of bulbs/ballasts and figured out what was wrong and fixed my headlight. FINALLY. I have been dealing with a flickering right front light for months now, and this bulb/ballast combo runs about $700 I imagine, so getting it fixed under warranty = primo coolio.

As it turns out my upper control arms were shot as well in front, so those were replaced under warranty too, total bonus.

Then I get my last free oil change from Audi service, and they use Castrol 5W40, which I happen to have about 5 quarts of (from the Lotus), so 3rd bonus score there. (eg. you need lots of extra oil with an Audi because it burns about 8 gallons every 2.5 miles or so)

Here is a little (boring) chart to keep track of this oil change and see how much it burns.

Mileage	Date	Level	Conditions
47283	11/16/09	oil change with Castrol 5w40 (Audi)	NA
47700	11/29/09	5/8 up the metal section.	Cold in Morning

S4 burning oil

Well, as it turns out it seems to be a fairly common occurrence with B6 and B7 S4’s.  I haven’t  yet discovered (or even searched for that matter) if other Audi’s using the same 4.2 liter V8 have the same issues, but it seems as if some people theorize that its the small engine bay of the S4 that might be contributing to higher heat levels and thus greater oil consumption.

Either way i had to put in 4 quarts of oil since the last oil change, which admittedly was 7771 miles ago.  So that’s 1 quart of oil gobbled up per 1942.75 miles.  Which isn’t exactly awesome, but not as bad as some people are reporting with 1 quart per 1000 miles!

I went and had the oil changed at a Jiffy Lube, which I am usually against, but these guys totally rocked it.  I watched them for the entire 1.25 hours and had them do the oil change in exactly the manner I wanted.  They drained the oil and let it drip for 5 minutes, then they ran a whole quart of penzoil 5w40 full synthetic through the engine, let that drain for 5 minutes.  Then they swapped out the filter with a cleaning of the filter housing to get all the old oil out, replaced the crush washer on the oil drain plug and filled it up with 9 quarts of Amsoil European formula (specifically formulated or so it says on the bottles for Audi’s and VW’s) 5w40 full synthetic oil.  They also filled up 2 Blackstone labs bottles for me so I can send this in to get analyzed.  I took some pictures of the plastic (fiberglass?) undertray to see what kind of oil residue is on it, to my eyes it looks like some of the oil is leaking and not necessarily all being burnt up.

So I am going to start a diary, (well a spreadsheet anyway) here in my Blog (which you will never want to look at, because lets face it, this is some boring stuff right here) to keep track of my exact oil level over the next 5000 miles.

Mileage	Date	Level	Conditions
42771	?	exact center of hashes	ice cold prior to start in morning
43530	?	Covers the first plastic tab	ice cold prior to start in morning
44634	?	In the center of the first plastic tab	cold, 5:30pm.  Hot day, but parked at 9am
44751	9/20/09	completely dry, added 1.6 quarts.  now 1/4 way into metal center section.	?
46440	10/28/2009	Added 1.45 quarts. Now 40% up the first plastic tab	?
46770	11/7/2009	7/8 up the first orange tab	sitting for a bit, engine warm, not hot

I got a new garage (and house as well)!

I know this is only cursorily related to cars, but a new house, means a new garage, means a shop to work on my cars, FINALLY!!!

After not having a real garage since October of 2005 I will finally be back in a house, that I own, with a big old garageskie that will allow me to have all night mechanic sessions without a care in the world, yes!

Here are some videos and pictures of it, pre-me-taking-ownership;

Garage Video

Video of the House

Picture Album of the House

Helmet beautification & the best rental car I have ever had!

So I decided to spiffy up my helmet a little.  Not like it matters right now as I keep missing great track days because my car is still out of commission!  (that story to come later, I just don’t have it in me to write it all down right now)

Now on to the best rental car I have ever had.  I can’t believe I am about to say this, to admit that I actually like this car, but……  I do, I have to say, its sorted, the gearbox is pretty good (for an auto), the feel of the steering is great, the brakes are very communicative, and the chassis itself feels good.  The seats really grip you, and the inside feels like a cockpit, nice low seat, high dash, thick steering wheel, and its pretty easy to light up the tires and do a little sideways slidey slide even with a measly 215HP….  and this…. is the car;

I really can’t believe I like this car so much, I have even been thinking “So, could I own one of these, or would I just be too embaressed?”.  Its a rental, and it has Sirius satellite radio, Microsoft Synch which hooked up via bluetooth to my iphone in about 2 minutes, and the ONLY 3 things I have to say as negatives are; 

• There is this pervasive blue LED lighting everywhere in the interior that is a bit annoying, it comes from the cup holders, so i always think I just got a text message if my phone happens to be sitting there. 
• Secondly, it really could use a manual gearbox, then this car would be incredible fun! 
• Lastly the tires are woefully woeful.  They are these little bicycle tire 215’s in the front and 235’s in the rear that are too tall and too much designed for all year driving whilst mounted to a wood paneled station wagon.  That’s 8.46” wide compared to 10” wide on the REAL Mustang (GT500).
• Oh yeah, one last thing, the entire tach flashes red when you hit the redline, kind of cool actually.

Here are some more pics your viewing pleasure.