New wheels, finally! RPF1s.

[Philipio]

Alignment specs are stock because I have a lifetime at Firestone. The one last thing I'm going to do with suspension is get adjustable sways instead of the eBay special the previous owner put on. Once that's done I'll have a real alignment done since I'll have my ideal setup.

[240lookis]

looks real good. super clean.now not to sound like a dumbass, but...

lower.

[Clawhammer]

Looks great! Good choice with the powder coating.

Did you buy the wheels new?

[simmode1]

Yes I'll be at MSR tomorrow.

I am so jealous!

But then again... There's really no reason I can't take my s13 out there. It's got a pretty decent entry level setup for the time being.

Well... maybe for the short course...

The long course would probably cook my car in no time...

Have fun, homie! Get video or pics if you can!

[JustDriftMore]

nasty...always been a fan of rpf1s
Modified by JustDriftMore at 10:03 PM 1/15/2010

[Philipio]

Did you buy the wheels new?

Yes I did. Got a hookup. Enkei is based here in DFW.

I am so jealous!

I think we're only doing the 1.3 tomorrow, don't know for certain. I'm sure you'd be fine. Debating on even taking a camera tomorrow with all the tools and parts I'll already have to deal with, haha. That and it's going to be raining, kind of don't want to risk it with the camera.

[Dazzla]

More pics of the car man, interior, engine, that thing looks lovely! lol

[Philipio]

More pics of the car man, interior, engine, that thing looks lovely! lol

I'll snap some more soon. I really want to get my lip fixed and take a ton of pictures since I know some willing photographers.

Interior looks great but the engine is nothing special, sadly. KA with bolt ons. All my money has gone to building suspension/brakes/drivetrain really. I pretty much need to finish my Z32 brake conversion, get some Whiteline sways, and I'll be "done." Then money can go toward making some power.

[simmode1]

Yes I did. Got a hookup. Enkei is based here in DFW.

Wait... Send me an email about this hook up plz!

I think we're only doing the 1.3 tomorrow, don't know for certain. I'm sure you'd be fine.

The first and last time I went to MSR, there were so many Porsches, Lotus' and STI's, I told my self I would come back until I had around 300hp. But I guess I'm putting the cart before the horse with that one. I desparately need some track time. Maybe I'll start hitting up that Auto-x cross in Bedford this spring, too...

[Lev_96_240sx]

are you guys SCCA licensed as well? I know for mid ohio they make you pay like 6 grand to get licensed before they let you out on the track on your own.

Edit: That long course looks like dirty sexy fun.

[simmode1]

Well, it's been a few years, but as I remember it... there are two options available:-The Membership package with a one time initiation fee of $3700 and $90 per month dues. If you opt for this, its only $20 to run for thirty minutes on the track whenever track time is available. Plus you become eligible to rent your own pit garaga.

-There was also a Visitor package, but I can't remember the details and their website doesn't have that info up. But I think it was something like $130-$160 per run and you needed some kind a certification and (of course) pass tech inspecation.

A looked into them about 3 years ago or so... at the time, I don't think they were SCCA or HPDE accredited. But they do have a racing school on site. You just can't take your racing license from them and except to be able to hit track around the country, like graduatues from Skip Barber or Bob Bondurant's racing schools.

[Philipio]

Just got home from a very long day. I'll start off by saying WOW that was fun. The 1.3 is extremely technical compared to the 1.7. The fastest I hit was probably 70MPH in the longest straight. It's not meant for pure speed, and I was able to drive the entire track without shifting from 3rd. A lot of the experienced guys that hadn't been on it said it felt very similar to autocrossing and the 1.7 was nothing like it.

We had two lead follow sessions and two open track sessions (technically four but there were two groups), which lasted from 20 to 30 minutes. I can't even describe how fun that was. My car feels incredible the way it's setup. I never once felt like my rear end was going to slide out. It definitely would have the way I was driving if I had my stock wheels on there.

Now for the fun part. I was taking the very last turn before the cool down lap, before we were completely done for the day. I went through the turn, hit the straight, floored it, nothing happened. I thought I was in 5th by mistake for some reason, shifted to 2nd, floored it, nothing happened. I look at my cluster, and all the lights are on. I immediately fixated on the oil light, turned off my car, and rolled into the pit. Some of the guys ran out to help and pushed my car into the skid pad.

My first thought was that I killed my engine since I had no power. I quickly realized all the lights were on because the car had died. The Pro Tuning Performance guys were there and thank god for them, they helped me a ton. I don't know a whole lot about troubleshooting cars. Compression test was good, getting spark, plugs looked like they had some fuel starvation. The engine would start but chug really hard and die after a couple seconds, regardless of pumping the gas. We soon realized the fuel pump wasn't priming, and the fuse was good. We all went out to eat, had it towed, went back to their shop, hung out for a while, I got a ride home. I then got a call telling me it was definitely my fuel pump.

I'm very glad it seems to be just the pump. I have a Walbro pump, probably 3 or 4 years old depending on how long the previous owner had it. I can't wait to get that fixed seeing as it's my only car. So I killed my car on the first day out but I'm not going to hold me back. I had way too much fun, and picked up really well on the course. I followed the proper line and was able to drive it pretty aggressively.

I'm not a member of the track or of SCCA by the way. Today it was $95 and the event lasted from about 1 to 5ish.

edit: Oh yeah, forgot to mention. You do NOT need a lot of horsepower to go out there. I was so content with my car's power today, and I never say that.

Also, SCREW SUNROOFS. I'm 6'3" or 6'4" and I've never had a problem before today, since I had to wear a helmet. That sucked hardcore. I had to lean back and scrunch my neck down to "fit." My head was bouncing on and off the roof constantly. It definitely sucked. Today really, really made me want bucket seats with super low rails. Not only did I have to work really hard to keep myself in place, but I sit way too high.
Modified by Philipio at 10:52 PM 1/16/2010

[simmode1]

Wow... I need to do this soon...

[Lev_96_240sx]

Add this to my list of reasons to move to Texas

[simmode1]

Add this to my list of reasons to move to Texas

Yeah, that and the temperature is gonna be in the 60's and low 70's all week.

[QTip]

You happen to work at a Best Buy in Mansfield?

and today is going to be niiice. A frigid 61. A perfect day to work on the RB.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Sweet dude. Sounded like an exciting day. It's always cool when people you don't really know give you a helping hand.

[Philipio]

Haha I've been there so much I'm totally comfortable with those guys now. But you're right. It was really awesome of them to help. My car is running again luckily, going to pick it up tomorrow. It was just the fuel pump. The previous owner did a lot of things wrong. It was a Walbro that was installed without any kind of filter, so it got clogged and died. A new, properly installed one is in its place.

[ss82480]

Not a huge fan of the black wheels, but it looks real clean. Good to see local people holding it down, I love the stance. And yeah PTP do great work for rolling fenders etc.

[JDMZ32]

Also, before it's mentioned, I'm not going lower. I see no point in making my car handle bad. It's low enough right now, it's corner balanced, and function > form.

WIN!

The car looks great, by the way.