and its time for an update no one will care about
this is how the car stood at the end of last season...
well leading up to RTA this year, for the first east coast event, the decision was made that just driving the sht out of the car n/a wasnt gonna cut it. so all my boost parts were dug out of the basement and slapped on... and while we were at it, y not throw in some new custom suspension and let the old superstiff tanabes rest for a bit.
i loaded everything up in the car
and then unloaded it at art's place (justin aproves)
doing inventory
and some of the new suspension
then things started coming together beautifully
then this happened on the drive home a week before RTA at NJMP (somebody... didnt leave enough space for a BMC shield)
it was also hitting 25-30psi spikes... somehow the car didnt blow up but it spooled so hard and so fast that it basically riped the clutch loose and would free rev in 5th gear. i later found out that the vacuum line to the wastegate had come loose and it wasnt opening. 24psi on this car, this motor with this turbo is close to 500hp... way over what the stock block is supposed to hold and way more than my injectors, clutch and anything else are meant to be able to support.
countdown at 2 days before RTA and the issue was resolved w/ a BMC from (i think) a pathfinder (it places the lines on the opposite side of the BMC,) and $100 of heat shielding materials. u could also use a jdm rhd bmc lmnop. my fire extinguisher ( needed one as per redline time attack streetclass rules) arrived the day after the fire.
well... when all was said and done the car was ready to go. i got the car to the track for saturday practice, we slapped a new tune on it and went to tech. the car passed safety tech and failed class tech. RTA required a 3.5 inch ground clearance for streetclass... my car in 4x4 status was still 1/8th of an inch from clearing... being that it was practice we said fk it and got the car out on the track. we'd figure the clearance issue later, since the coilovers were already at max height.
i took the car out and did a warm up lap... i cam flying down the straight into the first turn way to hot and braking way too late, the rear broke loose and started sliding... i was able to hold it but went two wheels into the dirt. i finished the lap and came into the pits... the rideheight was killing the drivability, the alignment was off and the bodyroll was disgusting. i felt like i was driving an suv. Duck and Art are an awesome pitcrew, they dove under the car and started sorting out the alignment while i ran to the classroom for the driver instruction session. first time that i was able to say in all seriousness "I NEED MORE CAMBERSSSS!!!" art would later tell me "man, i saw u flying down the straight and go into that turn way too fast, then the car disappeared and all i heard was tires screeching and saw a big cloud of dust, i thought u were toast."
then came time for the next session. i lined up and we got out on the track, the car felt better and was doing pretty good in the warm up lap. i was keeping up w/ traffic and the body roll had dramatically decreased. i hung back for a while and kept it steady through the turns, not my usual brake late gas early kamikaze driving. even w/ my smoother driving i was catching up with traffic. coming off the first lap on the straight im behind an evo w/ close to 500hp, she floors it for the straight and see the puff of smoke come from her exhaust. i realize that i can play that game now too. so i floor it and stay close... she slows down for the first turn and i brake a little later and get in tight to her bumper. im staying very tight to her, coming within 2feet from her bumper at times through the turns. we get to a straight and she points me by... i stomp the loud pedal and pass her, hoping to create some distance i dive through the next left hand turn and the car just takes it. WOT leading up to the bowl on lightning, a wide banking right hander leading into the straight. i stay high and start coming down low and getting on the gas ready for the straight and i hear banging sounds... ... ...
kinda like knocking on a metal door but very very hard. i take her off the track and do the drive of shame to the paddock. diagnosis... a spun bearing. my good ol ka finally gave up after all the abuse... marking the end of the weekend for us.
one thing i gotta say about that ka though... its a beast. being that AAA doesnt pick ur car up from the track and we had no other way of getting home. well, duck drove the car off the track and into town where we waited for the tow truck... and the fker made it lol knocking all the way there. i love this car.
