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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Nothing would ever get done if not for the last minute.With the first track day of the season a mere 10 days away, it's getting into crunch time. I need to, at a minimum,
re-seal/boot one brake caliper piston, finish bleeding the coolant system and give the NSX a little bit of a shakedown before
calling it good to go for now. I somehow doubt I will have time to rebuild the axles before the event, but since the
parts are on the way, this can wait. If the brakes or cooling system fail to pass muster, the backup plan will be to
take the MR2 down. I need to address a couple of simple issues with it, like an exhaust leak, and then just bleed the
brakes and it should be set to go in a pinch. That would also be a useful test, so I will not be too torn up if the
other car doesn't make it in time.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The Game is Afoot!With the first track day of 2011 scheduled for 3/5 @ Little Talladega preparations have begun in earnest. Right now,
both front suspension corners (yes, the entire assemblies) are off of the NSX pending new bushings. Prior to that, I
had replaced a split coolant pipe that may have been the source of last seasons consternation in that department. I
am also replacing the tie rods, and tie rod ends. Between those and the new bushings, the car should actually be align-able
now. The MR2 hasn't been totally neglected. It received new front strut mounts today, and I have a little
exhaust trickery in store as well after a chat with the nice folks at Knoxville Performance. It will also need new shoes before the first autocross. I'm hoping to avoid any more DFL in Pro class this
season by actually taking it slightly seriously. Anyhow, just wanted to pop on here with an update that the winter
event-draught is nearly at an end.
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Nashville Super Speedway: End of an Era....for now.
I've only driven NSS
on one other occasion....one other not-very-successful occasion. So I feel
it's only fitting that the track that highlighted the extent of the problems with one of my cars also serve, in possibly
one of it's last-hosted events to fully vet the renewed fitness of my other car. 4 full sessions and a bit for fun,
nearly 70 laps, and a 300mile round trip to and from....with no issues what-so-ever (knock on wood out of habit).
Friday Nights in the Old City: The Knoxville "UTDM" meet.
You
may recall my last article describing the great atmosphere, massive turn-outs, and unfortunate dispersal of this meet in it's original manifestation
and wonder why it's cropped back up as a headline on the site. Well, it seems reports of the event's demise
may have been somewhat premature. A few enterprising folks took the initiative, moved the location to a public parking
area under a bridge, next to some railroad tracks, in the old city....and even went so far as calling ahead to KPD.
As a result, UTDM rides again! In honor of this momentous occasion (and as an excuse to play with my video editor, and
take more pictures of the NSX) I've compiled the requisite cheesy video:
Pocono 2011. Setting a new record for late updates on 3-Zero.net: So, amidst my own vehicular trial
& error, we arrive at the time for our annual pilgrimage up north. My plan was laudable: Take my lap-top,
run the usual mini-blog on Sports Car Frenzy and TennSpeed, then dutifully update this site shortly after returning. Well, 2/3 isn't bad I suppose. Much to the chagrin
of my hypothetical/imaginary readers here, I became thoroughly distracted with shaking-down my recently resurrected NSX and
consequently failed brutally at web-mastering. Ok. Enough with The excuses. The forum links above will take you to a general account of the proceedings,
and the pretty pictures below link to many more, nearly-equally-pretty pictures.
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Driving an irregular oval - Nashville Superspeedway: My inability, thus far, to crack
the mystery surrounding the MR2's cooling system has festered into a point of acute personal shame. History provides
a veritable cornucopia of solutions for such indignity: wearing a scarlet letter, becoming a hermit, Seppuku, etc...
However, since I'm really not handy with a sewing kit, the housing market is crap, and I really can't be bothered
to die right now, I figured I might have better luck just fixing the problem. However, I first must find that which
requires fixing, and the only way to find said "that" involves looking for the problem in the only environment where
it occurs: the racetrack. Enter a conveniently timed event at Nashville Superspeedway, hosted by the Music City Mustang Club. The 1.8
mile "road course" configuration provided a test bed for the cooling system. I trailered the MR2 to the event,
splashed for a garage bay, and brought the proverbial bag of tricks with me. After 3.1 sessions of driving, and several
hours roasting myself over the hot engine bay, the problems persist, but I eliminated numerous variables. Naturally,
it's nothing simple or easy. With that said, I did manage a little fun on the track, some of which I have shared
below:
Video:
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