RE-Zelse

Introductions - Francesco and "Blueberry"

2012-01-16T00:41:00.000-05:00

Hello world! Francesco here with the Winning Blue RX-8 aka "The Blueberry".

You'll find the Blueberry darting through turns this season as the track build begins in the coming months. Here is a quick and dirty run down on the work at hand. All of this work will be documented here on RE-Zelse throughout the build process.

Blueberry's Track Build

Rebuild track motor (Originally Racing Beat street ported)
Port match existing street port
Replace RX-8 oil pressure regulator with the FD regulator (Increased oil pressure)
Replace existing 4.444 final drive with the series II 4.777 final drive
Utilize a long tube header
Utilize 3 inch exhaust flanges
Create a custom mid pipe and cat-back exhaust components
Alignment, corner balancing, and fresh track tires

And I'll leave with the teaser of the motor last year that will be rebuilt proper this time around.

Equipped in Picture: RB Street Ported 13B-MSP, BHR Ignition, Mazdaspeed Flywheel

2012 - The Year of Change

2012-01-03T10:27:00.000-05:00

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

Happy New Years everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying the new year so far, because I know I am! For starters, I wanted to apologize with the lack of content. Granted, it is the off-season, but that doesn't mean I should be leaving everyone hanging without content. I only have some minor updates, but I can promise you that they will be sure to excite you.

Japan

For those of you who are unaware, I was invited by my sponsor, Kaizen Tuning, to attend a trip to Japan. I will be leaving the 11th of January and returning the 20th. Be sure to check back after that time for some pictures of Tokyo Auto Salon, and anything else I happen to come across. It is a trip I have been waiting for since before I even began to like cars!

Blog Layout

I've still been working on this when I've had the time. A clean, functional, yet sexy layout is something that is not very easy to accomplish. This will include a change of the logo, color scheme, and more. However, this may also mean moving from Blogger over to Wordpress. I haven't fully decided yet, but I can assure you that finding my material will be just as easy as it always has been.

New Writers

Since I have not had time recently due to focusing on other racing opportunities, I have decided to broaden the blog a little bit. Please welcome Francesco and Andrey.

Francesco is a good friend of mine who races on road courses and is planning to get his license to do NASA time attacks with his RX-8. We decided it made sense to combine our blogs (his blog at the moment is called Franeke)so that viewers can have a central location for DIY's, videos, race coverage, and more. Our RX-8's are setup very similar, but with subtle differences due to the motorsports we compete in. I believe that those differences are an attractive topic to cover on the blog. Be sure to look in previous posts for some of his content to be merged in with my own in the near future.

Andrey is an up and coming racer who shows a lot of potential in various fields, especially tuning. He is putting together his own turbo build on his RX-8, and wanted to share his experiences with the viewers. I know there is the RX-8 forums for that type of information, but I feel that the gain to posting on this blog is that it is completely raw material. Andrey can post what he encounters during his build, things he had to consider, anything that may have come up while driving a turbo RX-8 for the first time, tuning changes he had to make to ensure both performance and reliability, other thoughts backed with raw data, and much more.

I am looking forward to working with both of them to provide everyone with more content that you all love to see. Until then, stay tuned.

SCCA Solo Update

2011-11-20T21:25:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is enjoying the off-season. It's certainly a nice change of pace for once, giving me time to relax and catch up on other things. In the meantime, check out some of the changes going forth for this upcoming season.

PAX/RTP Changes

http://home.comcast.net/~paxrtp/rtp2012.html

Looks like there have been some serious changes to PAX times for many classes. PAX is an index factor <1 that you multiply your time by to determine where you would place on "equal" footing against the other drivers. This is also known as RTP, which stands for "Racers Theoretical Performance". Looks like BSP is still the same as 2011 unfortunately, so no help for me there!

BSP Changes

http://www.scca.com/about/?cid=44415

It looks like the rule went through to create a new "Super Street Prepared" class and move most of the current A Street Prepared class into it, and then have the new ASP be a mix of the old ASP, as well as kick the Lancer Evolution and STI out of BSP and into ASP. It looks like BSP will be very interesting next year on a national level. Minor rule changes as well, but nothing that really benefits me other than the new allowance for a master brake cylinder brace, which my Mazdaspeed strutbar comes with. To stay up to date with other class changes, check out the most current FasTrack issue, link above.

2012 National Tour Schedule
http://www.scca.com/solo/news.cfm?cid=50886
The new schedule is up! Check out the events page to see the current list of dates for National Tours/Pro Solo events. I haven't decided yet which ones I will be attending, but you can bet I will be attending Nationals for sure next year. With the car going to be 100% complete, I'm ready to see what the car and I can really do together.

Good Videos

2011-10-28T23:29:00.000-04:00

I came across some really good videos recently that I thought I would share with everyone.

The first video is the new 2011 SCCA Solo Nationals music video by Speedway Motors. Every year they come out with a new music video with great footage of Solo Nationals. This year's was interesting, as it had some neat effects and two decent songs mashed together, but last year's video still sits on top in my mind. I definitely liked the buildup aspect of the music in the video though, as it sort of gave me the "fight for the title" feeling near the end. I also really liked how they included the announcer saying "Hold on to that top spot because it is easier to chase then it is to lead!"

The second video I have on tap is a video that REALLY spoke to me. It's brief documentary on the owner of RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF, Nakai-san. He is a Porsche tuner from Japan that is very well known for his beautiful and functional wide-body kits. SpeedHunters has done a great write-up about him and his shop. In the video, hearing Nakai-san talk about racing in "Idler's Game" reminded me of my own passion for racing, so I felt I could really relate to his words and feelings. It also inspired me to remind myself of my goal with all of this and to not give up. This is definitely an amazing video by Luke Huxham on Fatlace TV.

The last video I wanted to share was an old Best Motoring episode I came across. It was about the FD3S RX-7, and comparing the older FD to the newer FD model (America never saw the newer FD model sadly). They then compared the RX-7 to other similar sports cars on the track. It's interesting how the RX-7 was originally seen as the "underdog", just as the RX-8 is seen now. However, if built properly, it can be a monster and compete against the rest of the pack. I guess it simply reminds me of my own purpose with my build; to see how far this underdog can go!

Renegade Miata - Ruby's Big Debut!

2011-10-23T11:15:00.000-04:00

Well, seeing as it was the last Renegade Miata event and I had taken first place for the year already via points, I wanted to focus on having fun this event. That being said, I decided to co-drive my STS Roadster (Ruby) with my girlfriend, Kristyn. I haven't had the chance to autocross the car yet, so what better opportunity to get a feel for how the setup is than this?

The course was one of Rob MacAlpine's courses and it was VERY well balanced. It had some very nicely done sweepers, matched with various types of slaloms. I feel his courses always have a particular rhythm and flow. Hopefully the rumor I heard is true about Rob doing a lot more SCCA NER courses next year!

As for the Miata... Ruby was absolutely a blast to drive! I wish I drove more of her sooner! I was able to get on the gas very early in numerous spots, confidently. If she began to over-steer or under-steer, I simply lift off the throttle then get back on it. She was very easy to control and to throw around on the course. I honestly did not expect my setup to be this neutral and predictable. Considering the setup I went with, I would say that I managed to setup something really good, a lot of fun, for REALLY cheap. Thanks to Flyin' Miata for those coilovers and front swaybar!

As for Kristyn, this was only her second autocross event but her first event in Ruby, and she did amazingly well! She got down to only 8 seconds behind my time. The instructors were very impressed that she was looking ahead at the course properly, getting very close to the cones, and finding a good line. All she needs to do now is apply the throttle more and she could be next year's STS trump card (or my BSP co-driver :) )!

Kristyn's fastest time was a 1'18.6 and I managed to get down to a 1'10.8. In fun runs I took out my RX-8 for a single run (switching between the two cars was definitely a weird feeling, especially in the steering) and managed a 1'06. Ben and Brian had also driven my RX-8 and managed to get down some insanely fast times of 1'03's and 1'04's! The rest of the results are located on Renegade Miata's website, here. Below are videos of my fastest run, followed by Kristyn's fastest run, with more videos located on my YouTube channel.

SCCA NER - Team Challenge

2011-10-22T10:29:00.000-04:00

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

The event everyone has been waiting for since the beginning of the year; SCCA NER's Team Challenge! A fun event in where you form a team and battle it out for the top. The rules are as follows:

Pick a team of 4
Choose a team name
Only 2 Moss Event competitors per team
The winning team from last year cannot form again
If there is not at least 3 cars per class, then your car gets bumped to the next class, just like at ProSolo events
Which ever team has the most points collectively, wins!

We had gone with a terrible joke team name of "Griefing Wankers" because we all signed up at the last minute and caused some teams to rethink their classes they were going to compete in. There were a couple of other interesting teams, like Mario Kart (where everyone dressed up as a character from the game).

It kind of stinks it was such a small, up-and-back course but we apparently did not have enough people to do a full course. It had a few elements I did not care for either, but I guess I was comparing it too much to the awesome course we had for the Moss event.

I did not even know what my fastest run time was until results were posted (which was a '44.4, plus 2 cones, '46.1 when I was trying to keep it clean), as my mind really was not on racing. I had 4 drivers co-driving my car in the morning and I was getting to be very nervous. I was worried about the engine as it was frequently being revved to 9.7 RPMs, destroying tons of cones, the oil level light frequently going on, etc. A little more hectic when you have that many drivers!

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

All in all, it was a fun last event with the NER family, and I'm looking forward to next season. Located here are the afternoon results for the day (course change in the afternoon, so morning runs didn't count). Videos below are of my fastest dirty run, Bob's fastest dirty run, and then PJ's and Dave's run in my car, followed by Matt driving my STS Roadster for the day.

Renegade Miata's 6th Points Event

2011-10-15T21:49:00.000-04:00

Renegade Miata Club's 6th points event was today. As usual, it featured a great technical course with a lot of good elements for practicing. Unfortunately, the weather was spotty, ruining the afternoon for the most part. I decided to skip my afternoon runs in favor of changing tires in the dry before the big storm came.

I had Brian Levesque co-drive with me for the day in hopes I could learn something. Based off the videos, he got on the gas earlier in some parts, but also had a bit of a cleaner line than me. Regardless, we both finished the day with 1'07's, and I'm happy with that considering I could never catch him before in my own car. Results are located here on their website.

I took some videos of Dave as well, as I wanted to see how his car handled with the rear swaybar removed. Based on his feedback, it seems to be something he should've done a long time ago! No pictures from the event sadly, but plenty of videos below and on my YouTube page

SCCA NER - Finale & Stirling Moss Runoff

2011-10-09T21:23:00.000-04:00

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

I won! I did it! I took 1st place for the year in B Street Prepared! Today was the season finale for SCCA NER, which is also the Stirling Moss Runoff. At the end of each year, each class winner battles it out for this special trophy.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

The way the Stirling Moss event works is like this:

The normal points event is over after the first 3 morning runs (meaning if you are tied for 1st place for the year, you have only the first 3 morning runs to win)
If you are a class winner or in the top 10 PAX points after those 3 runs, you are in the Moss. If you are not a class winner, you continue running your afternoon runs normally
The fastest of your 3 morning runs is your dial-in time
You now have to try to make your 3 afternoon runs as close to your dial-in time as possible

The winner is then decided at the end of the event by whoever accumulated the most points. Points are given as follows:

Half of your points come from your PAX (Leader's PAX time divided by your PAX time)
The other half of your points come from the standard deviation between your fastest morning run and afternoon runs 1, 2, and 3

Josh and I have been very close in points all year, and after losing 1st place last weekend, I was definitely nervous for this race. After walking the course however, I felt more confident. It was a great course with a lot of sweepers in the racing line, which made me feel good about being on the gas more while turning.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

I cleared my head and really focused on learning my line on the first run. I then reviewed my run video as much as possible, analyzing it and looking for flaws in my line. That is when I started seeing how I could make my arches smaller, allowing me to drive that much faster on the course. My only concern was the fast section in where I could use third gear (if I wasn't having transmission issues that is).

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

After feeling more confident with my game-plan, I drove as fast as possible the rest of the morning. I managed to pull my fastest time on my third run, getting down to a '65.9! My lead was almost two seconds after that run, putting me 1st in BSP for the year and entering me into the Moss challenge. I did not do so well for the Moss, but I was more focused on winning the class for the year over the Moss in the first place. Here are the results for the event on the SCCA NER website.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

I also wanted to say congratulations to Grant for winning the Moss! He definitely deserved that trophy, given how fast he has been all year. I also wanted to thank Bud for giving me his Hoosier take-offs from Nationals (285/30/18 Hoosier A6 tires), as they will help me out greatly next season.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

As for me, I'm very proud of myself. I worked really hard to win this year. Given the level of competition there was in my class and all the kinks/setup issues I had to sort out with the car for most of the year, it was not a simple walk in the park! I can't thank everyone enough for all the help this season, and I can't wait for next year already. For now, below is a video overview of the course on my 4th run, and then my fastest run that I put down in the morning.

Dyno at Kaizen

2011-10-05T22:04:00.000-04:00

I had decided last week that I'd like to finally get a dyno chart of what the heck my car is doing and outputting. I never got the chance to get my last RX-8 to the dyno, nor did I get a baseline of Serenity before I began to modify her. That being said, it also made sense to get a dyno chart of my car before I install my header over the winter so I can compare the two. That's when I had Jeff (MazdaManiac) give my current tune another look-over, and then gave Scott at Kaizen Tuning a ring to schedule a dyno appointment with their tuner, Rob Baker.

There are a few things you should know when taking your RX-8 to the dyno. For starters, there is an issue that many people have encountered in where the RX-8 gives off very low dyno numbers, and they always seem to be consistent between each RX-8 (between 160 HP and 170 HP). Unfortunately, it isn't very clear what everyone on the forums is doing for setups on their dyno machines. At Kaizen, we were a little unsure of what to do as well, so we had put into the DynoDynamics dyno computer that the RX-8 was a 6 cylinder (since they did not have rotary as an option).

After rereading Eric Meyer's post on RX-8 club about his experience on the dyno (thanks for the tips Eric, especially about having a warm differential!), Rob and I decided to have a couple of pulls in 4th gear and then in 5th gear. At first, with the dyno in "Regular" mode, it said the car had only 177.6 HP and 127 TQ. Clearly, that can't truly be the case. Rob then changed the settings of the dyno to go into "Shoot Out" mode, in where it simulates readings as if the dyno was a DynoJet dyno (DynoJet's apparently read higher than other dynos). The numbers were much higher and a lot closer to what I was originally expecting, coming in with a reading of 218.4 HP and 160 TQ in 4th gear, and then a reading of 221.2 HP and 160 TQ from a 5th gear pull.

I'm still not completely confident with the numbers. Given that so many people have had similar numbers to me in regular mode (again, regardless if it's a stock RX-8 or heavily modified), I can't help but feel like my numbers may have been misread by the dyno. Something to consider however is that Eric Meyer's dyno that he posted up was done on a dynojet, with readings of 223 HP and 150.3 TQ. If the DynoDynamics dyno at Kaizen is really true on the "Shoot Out" mode, then that means my car is right up there with Eric's old Koni Challenge RX-8 build… And I don't even have my header and final tune yet! I suppose for now, these numbers will have to do as a baseline until I can find someone who can explain what mode we should be dynoing the RX-8's in.

In the end, it was still a fun experience as I have never seen a car on the dyno before. Big thanks to Rob and Scott over at Kaizen for making this possible and showing me how the car is doing. Be sure to check out the videos below of a pull in 4th gear and then a pull in 5th gear. This Sunday is my last race for the season with SCCA...And it is a VERY close battle, so stay tuned.

Engine Issues Resolved

2011-10-01T23:37:00.000-04:00

I was chasing down a "gurgling/fluttering" noise at 8,000RPM for a little over a month recently. The noise was very noticeable and had gotten me very concerned, so I could simply not ignore it. After a lot of digging around and countless times of ripping things apart, I figured out what I was faced with. The interesting part of this however is that not only did I figure out the problem, I learned that I was chasing 3 separate problems. I thought I would share my findings with everyone, just incase someone should run into a similar issue.

Issue 1. – Secondary Shutter Valve (SSV) – The SSV works off of vacuum pressure and is a valve that opens at right about 5,000 RPM. When it is not opening properly, it’s like hitting a wall at 7,000RPM… literally (pretty scary might I add…). I am not 100% familiar with how it works, but from what I gathered, the SSV has a lot to do with how Renesis rotary engines utilize the 6 intake ports for maximum power output in higher RPMs.

Upon some research, I had discovered that others have experienced similar noises when they had turbulence in their intake. After dismantling a few things and taking a look into the lower intake manifold (LIM), I could see the SSV and noticed it was completely gummed up. With help from my RX-8 Club buddies Andre and Francesco, we followed the Mazda Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) on how to remove the SSV and clean it. Francesco brought his clean one so we could do a quick swap. Compare the two in the picture, talk about a huge difference! (Mine on left was actually half cleaned already too).

The TSB calls for a newer type of replacement gasket on the SSV, and a much longer bolt as well (which didn't fit for some reason..? At least for me it didn't). In total it was about $10 from the dealership, so be sure to pick that up first before doing this project. Something interesting that we had noticed is that the area where the SSV sits in was gunked up as well. This included the point in which the SSV rotates off of. We had made sure we cleaned it all up with carb cleaner, and then lubricated the rotating end of the SSV with white lithium grease to help ensure the SSV will not get stuck and continue to open smoothly.

After replacing the SSV, we had placed everything back and made sure things were nice and tidy. After a few test drives, the noise was gone and the car actually felt much better than before, making me wonder how long the oil was building up. This is definitely not a job I’d like to do ever again, so I added an oil catch can to catch oil from going into the intake manifold again.

Big thanks to Andre and Francesco for all the help with getting this done. Be sure to check out Francesco's blog post about our work on the SSV.

2. Misfiring– Ignition Coils – Unfortunately, my BHR ignition coils were failing and had ruined my spark plugs very earlier than expected…. As in within 3,000 miles. If I had a timing light, I could have tested more accurately, but instead I swapped BHR coils with someone else and the misfiring had stopped. Thanks to Ray at Black Halo Racing for swapping out my bad kit as quickly as possible and getting me back on the road.

3. Running Rich and Misfiring - Intake Screens/Alignment – A simple fix that I cannot stress enough to anyone else… USE THE SCREENS THAT CAME WITH YOUR INTAKE AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE FLUSH/STRAIGHT. They are there for a reason. That reason is to smooth out the air flow over the Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor so that it accurately reads what is going with your air flow. My intake tube was not straight enough, and my screens had become dislodged when assembling the intake, causing the car to run terribly. After reassembling everything properly and cleaning the MAF just for kicks, the car was running strong again.

I hope this helps out anyone in terms of trying to diagnose misfires or odd sounds, as I really did not have much information to work off of other than my gut and some advice. Feel free to leave me messages with questions if you are running into your own problems as well!

SCCA NER - Attack of the Cones

2011-09-25T16:21:00.000-04:00

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

If I were to compare NER’s recent courses to this year’s previous courses, I would have to say they have become harder and harder (which makes me worried about the finale event coming up!). The sea of cones was intimidating to some of the novices that came out, but if you just focused on the cones that mattered most, you wouldn’t have a problem. Unfortunately, I focused too much on which cones mattered and not on my line, which was probably the intention behind the course design in the first place; misdirection.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

My two top times I had gotten was a ‘62.3 dirty and then a ‘62.5 clean. I was pleased with those times... until I had watched my videos more closely and had PJ explain to me where I was scrubbing off a lot of speed. I feel like even though I am learning other skills and techniques, old skills I used to excel at seem to be lacking. I don’t know if that just means I need more seat time, or need to focus more, but it is something I need to focus on next year for sure. I had secured 1st place in the afternoon until Josh had pulled down a fast time of ’61.9, knocking me down to 2nd place. The event results are here.

At the moment, there is only one more SCCA NER event left, and because of points, I have dropped down to 2nd place for the year. The year end results at the moment are located here. Because the last event is very different than a normal points event (due to it being the Sterling Moss Run-Offs), I have only my three runs in the morning to take 1st place back for the year. This will not be easy as everyone in BSP has grown tremendously throughout the year. I was in the lead before, and if I plan to take 1st place back, I need to get serious and stay focused; especially with only three chances at the title. Stay tuned.

SCCA NER - Dodging Orange DISASTER!

2011-09-18T22:00:00.000-04:00

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

SCCA NER's 7th points event was today and it was unfortunately a disaster. The course was amazing (big ups to PJ for the setup), with many elements that were featured at this year's Solo Nationals event. My disaster was not with the course however, but it was actually in my car's transmission. 2nd gear had been grinding occasionally, but it was not often enough to have me worried this late into the season.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

Since this course required 3rd, I was frequently met with problems every run. Grinding gears each run, as well as being locked out from shifting into 3rd really broke my groove. I lost my cool with the whole situation unfortunately and I know I did, which also did not help stay focused when out on the course. I mean, who wouldn't lose their temper after spending money to fix a few engine issues? Fixing issue after issue is how I feel this build has gone since day one. For now, I'm planning on flushing all the fluids and potentially trying out Redline Lightweight Shockproof to see if it helps.

I have my hopes up that she will last the next two NER events so I can at least finish the year in my car. As for the rest of the day, the results are posted on the NER website, here. My fastest run was a 50.1' but with a cone, and I didn't try shifting into 3rd. The videos below will show the whole course, and then my fastest raw time run. The points are getting very close and if I don't do so well next Sunday, I will lose my first place spot for the year. I need to stay focused, determined, and not let this slow me down.

In good news, my friend James had taken out my Miata and managed to take first in both Novice and STS open class on his first autocross in a very long time. Check out my YouTube Channel for some videos of me instructing James, as well as some of the other videos of the event. I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who offered to help me out and supported me during the event, and especially to my girlfriend for her loving support and for taking some amazing pictures during the event! Until next weekend, stay tuned with fingers crossed.

Renegade Miata 5th Points Event - Godzilla's Visit

2011-09-10T19:52:00.000-04:00

Today was the 5th points event for the Renegade Miata club, however, I did not bring home any points in the "Other Mazdas" class. Instead, I ran in the "Non Mazdas" class with Kaizen Tuning's Nissan Skyline GT-R 35! This track monster is specifically setup for Lime Rock Park and Watkins Glenn, sporting some 295/19 front and 315/19 rear Hoosier R6 tires, Cobb suspension, 600 all-wheel horse power, and a lot of other modifications. The full list of Scott's build can be seen here on his shop's website. This thing was an absolute blast and it surprised me in it's overall performance on the autocross course.

Today was more of an open course, working to my advantage by allowing me to use the power. I was surprised at how you could not feel the heavy weight (roughly 3,800lbs.) of the GT-R during transitions such as slaloms, and it really held it's grip well while being partly on-throttle during the few sweepers. The power was simply intoxicating as I wanted to stay on the throttle a lot more than I needed to, which took me awhile to dial back my inputs and react earlier (because the car was at the next element before I knew it!). I can see some of the compliants however about electronics taking over the car, as one thing I missed from my RX-8 and Miata was the response from the car when pressing the throttle.

Other electronic features were interesting however, such as how you could change the transmission, suspension, and traction control settings, all the gauges on the car display, and the infinite adjustment settings of the seat positions. In the end though, I did not mind the electronics as I felt it was as if having a translator between you and the car so that the car can truly act as an extension of your own body. I think the only complaint I have about the car is that my magnetic numbers did not stick to the doors because the doors are aluminum!

As the day progressed I noticed the car was understeering more and more with each run, which I later came to find out that the front driver-side tire had become corded in three spots (which started off almost bald compared to the others)! With never having driven a high horsepower car before, no experience with all-wheel-drive, and with a corded tire, I ran a 1'08.4 as my fastest time of the day. It makes me wonder what I could have gotten for a time with some fresh Hoosiers and having the car tuned for more low-end instead. Here on Renegade Miata's website are the results for the day.

I can't thank Scott enough for giving me such an opportunity in his car, I really do appreciate it. It was an honor to be driving the shop's campaign car and bringing it out there to display it's potential at autocross racing. Be sure to check out Kaizen Tuning as they really are a top-notch tuning shop with a lot of amazing talent that can help you with any project you have. Below are some videos I had taken during the day, with the rest on my YouTube channel. The first video is my first run with a nice overview of the course, then the second video is a nice inside view, while the third video is my fastest run of the day with my camera in the usual spot. Look forward to my next post as tonight I have two friends coming over tonight to help me finish fixing these engine problems once and for all. Until then, stay tuned.

Exhaust Install at Kaizen

2011-09-07T20:47:00.000-04:00

The long wait is finally over... For the most part at least. I finally was reunited with my exhaust system, except without the re-designed header. That won't be finalized until after the season is over unfortunately. In the meantime, I wanted to at least run the rest of the exhaust system. Looks like I'll have to pay a visit to my friends over at Kaizen Tuning.

Chris and John did some amazing handy work planning out and welding together an exhaust adapter so that I could mount this exhaust system to my stock header. It was nothing particularly special as it is only going to be used for the rest of the season. When it was completed, Chris and I took it out for a couple of quick spins. I definitely missed the sound of this system. It is very unique, as it has a nice, deep growl at low RPM, and then it really brings out the distinctive rotary sound in the higher RPMs.

I can't wait to take her out on her first event, but for now I have to finish solving my issues with the SSV...More to come on that shortly, so stay tuned.

Francesco's "Blueberry"

2011-09-06T17:16:00.002-04:00

Photo by Bazooka Photography

Francesco is a friend of mine who is currently building up his RX-8 for NASA Time Trial (National Auto Sport Association). He had sent me some of these great pictures of his RX-8 taken by Bazooka Photography. The picture above was featured on Enkei's Facebook page as an advertisement for the Enkei RPF-1 wheels. These pictures were just too good to not turn into desktop wallpapers!

I definitely enjoy the great angles and excellent backgrounds in the pictures, as it gives the pictures a Gran Turismo 5 "Picture Mode" feel to it. He is planning on having a bridge ported Renesis engine with some other great mods for next season, so keep an eye on his blog for more information on that. In the meantime, be sure to check out the desktops page for more desktop wallpapers of his car.

Whats New?

2011-08-28T01:46:00.007-04:00

A lot has been going on the past few weeks, so I'm glad I finally have some time to myself to kick back and relax. The main topics of whats new is in bold below. You will begin seeing more review posts, DIYs, and casual posts now that things are back under control.

Blog Updates

The blog has received many changes over the past few nights. Most of these updates I have been planning to implement for awhile. For starters, I decided to spruce up the fonts and colors used around the blog a little bit, while maintaining the same overall feel as before. Then, I cleaned up the side bar by getting rid of a few extra things and making everything easier to navigate. I also added some new pages to my blog that I think everyone will enjoy.

The first new page is the "Cars" page, replacing the two build pages I had and forming it into one, in which it will contain information of all my project car builds. I then had added a "Videos" page, in which it is actually a redirect straight to my YouTube page so you can begin watching videos almost immediately. As for the last new page, I added "Desktops" as a nice desktop wallpaper repository. What you'll find there are my favorite pictures of my car that have been cleaned up and resized so that they can be used as wallpapers. I also cleaned up and resized a few other pictures I have come across that I really enjoy. Going forth, expect to see quick blog posts about any desktop wallpapers I add to the gallery with a quick overview about it.

New Goodies

I decided to bite the bullet and purchase some new racing gloves. My current go-kart gloves were becoming very warn out and I really wanted to try something new anyways. PJ recommended these gloves to me as he has used them for awhile now, and I really do like G-Force's products, so I decided to give them a shot.

G-Force ProRS Reverse Seam Racing Gloves. The comfort was amazing compared to my go-kart gloves. They really gave me a much better feel and grip on the steering wheel overall, while constantly staying snug around my fingers. I got to break them in a little bit today, as I got to race some go-karts at F1 Boston. Even though the gloves are pricey compared to cheap go-kart gloves, they are worth every penny. I picked up my set of gloves where I always pick up my racing gear, SafeRacer.

Engine Problems

Ah, yes... The main reason why I have been very busy lately. What everyone probably has been waiting to read, right? Lately, I have been getting a sputtering sound at 7,000 RPM and higher, (under load only) and was unsure of what it was. Not long after, my car had began running terrible again like it did back at the New Jersey ProSolo (stumbling idle, engine struggling, running real rich for a moment and then suddenly running very lean, all at random). At first, I thought I was having some sort of electrical problem that was affecting my MAF sensor. I cleaned all of the grounds, replaced the ignition wires, cleaned the ecentric-shaft sensor, removed my grounding kit, and a few other maintenance fixes with still no luck.

In the end, I found out that the MAF sensor had gone bad, and that my ignition coils were prematurely failing. For now, I sent my ignition system to Ray at Black Halo Racing to have him confirm that the coils are failing and to send me a replacement kit as soon as he can. In the meantime, I've just been doing some engine bay cleaning, inspecting and cleaning electrical connectors, cleaned the throttle body and then did the throttle body bypass mod, and then tightened down anything that may have seemed loose. I'm thinking that I may as well take this time to install the oil catch can I have sitting here too. A big thanks to everyone that helped me diagnose the problems I was having, as I wouldn't have gotten too far without all of your help.

In the meantime, good luck to all of the NER members at Nationals this week (remember to listen live at SCCA live!). I wish I was there with you, but hopefully next year I will be joining you all and having a blast. Until then, stay tuned.

Renegade Miata Points Event 4 - Switch it up!

2011-08-20T22:32:00.009-04:00

With Serenity currently having some serious issues with the MAF sensor and ignition coils, I was almost unsure if I would be able to race today. Thanks to my friend Jordan, he offered me to co-drive with him for this event. In my pursuit of learning to become a faster driver, (both skill set and mindset), I graciously took his offer to co-drive his RX-8 today. I really do believe you can learn something new when you switch cars from time to time, so this was a great opportunity for me. Jordan's RX-8 is a black 2004 sport model that is mildly setup somewhere in-between STX and BSP, sporting these major modifications:

CorkSport Resonated Midpipe
Modified Mazdaspeed Intake
BHR Ignition Coils
Tein S-Tech Springs
Mazdaspeed Front Bumper
18x9 +40 Enkei RP03 with 265/35 Toyo R1R Tires (We used my street wheels for the event)

This was Jordan's and his girlfriend Domenique's first ever autocross. Domenique was going to have some fun driving her tastefully done Mazda 2. Be sure to check out Domenique's own blog, with plenty of great pictures. The course was done by Brian Levesque this time around, and was great with an interesting rhythm to it. The course definitely helped me focus on improving my lines (especially on where I should be aiming my car) and working on carrying more speed into some of the elements I have been trying to get better at. Even though I was not used to the car's body roll and handling characteristics, I managed to adapt quickly and learned to turn earlier than I normally would for turns.I managed to get down to a 1'15.1, but that was with 4 cones. After cleaning it up a little, I ended up with a 1'17.1. Jordan and Domenique did amazing for their first autocross, as Jordan finished with a 1'23.4 for the day, and Domenique took home a 1'31.8! The results are posted on the Renegade Miata website, along with the current year standings. Hopefully we will be seeing more of Jordan and Domenique at the local autocross events.

At the moment, I have 4 weeks to figure out the issues with my car before the next race. Hopefully it is nothing too serious, but we will have to wait and see. In the meantime, below are videos of my fastest dirty run, my fastest clean run, Jordan's fastest run and then Domenique's fastest run. Thanks again for the co-drive Jordan! I enjoyed helping you two out, driving the car was great practice for me, and it was a blast to drive! Until the next update, stay tuned.

SCCA NER Points Event 6 - Scorched Orange

2011-08-14T23:05:00.006-04:00

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

BSP is becoming very interesting, but more so, what I'm learning and re-learning as a driver. This weekend was a great event, with a solid course that had elements I needed to work on and become faster at. Big Thanks to Hank for coming out with me on one of my runs and giving me some advice on the parts I was struggling with.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

For starters, I need to make my lines with more of an arch to them when approaching offsets (or clam shells). I'm doing too much of a" point and shoot" approach surprisingly. I also need to keep focusing on getting on the gas earlier, and staying on the gas through a turn, trusting the grip. Another issue is that I need to learn my braking zones a bit more and remind myself to stop over-braking (I've gotten a lot better, but still need work!). Lastly, I need to focus on learning the high speed sections of any course and figuring out the fastest way to take them, since those are sections I can easily lose to faster cars on.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

Those are all things I have to work on, but it only motivates me to work harder. My raw time could have been good enough for first place, but unfortunately I will have to settle for 3rd today. My fastest dirty run was a '58.3 and my fastest clean was a '59.9. The results are located here, and I have videos below of my fastest dirty run and then fastest clean run. The rest of my videos are located on my YouTube page, which I've redone a bit and have started organizing the videos in playlists.

I wonder how many of these road blocks I'll be able to break and refine upon this year. Until then, stay tuned.

SCCA NER Jeff Gordon Challenge & Race Against Leukemia

2011-08-07T22:30:00.000-04:00

Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was the Jeff Gordon Challenge and our fundraiser pledge runs. I would like to thank everyone who donated to my fundraiser for the Race Against Leukemia. Thanks to the help from you all, I was able to raise up to $350. With that, I was able to take 35 fun runs out on the course.

In the afternoon, I participated in the Jeff Gordon Challenge. The Jeff Gordon Challenge is a race in where you have 3 qualifying runs, and if you are in the top ten PAX times, you move on to the next round. From there, you go head on in an bracket elimination match, getting only one run to progress to the next round. I would have made qualifying but unfortunately all of my runs were coned, so I didn't get far. Needless to say, it was still fun and the seat time is still worth it.

Sunday was the 5th points event and with a very different course this time around for NHMS. I managed to take first place in BSP, as it was a close match between everyone. I got to co-drive with PJ (which come to think of it, is ironic because he co-drove with me last year at the same event at NHMS). My fastest time was a '27.0 flat, and PJ's fastest time was a '26.2, showing me that the car could do more. Thanks for showing me that and all the tips PJ, and as always, you are welcome to co-drive with me anyday! The results for Sunday are posted here.

I'd also like to give a big thanks to Ben for the hard work he put into my car with the new and amazing alignment. The car with r-compounds is VERY balanced and rotates the perfect amount. This allows me to simply focus on shock dampening and tire pressures for once! Thanks again Ben, everything is going great in that department.

Below are two videos of my fastest runs from both days, followed by PJ's fastest run in the afternoon in my car. Stay tuned for next week, as it's already the 6th points event.

Renegade Miata Points Event 3

2011-07-30T22:50:00.005-04:00

It's so good to be back home with my "home club" (since Renegade Miata Club was my first ever autocross club). Today's course was great practice for me as it contained some elements I am currently struggling with. Over-braking and determining late/early apexes are my two biggest downfalls at the moment. Thanks to Bob and Bill for helping point out areas I could work on while I was out on the course.
The car felt balanced on course due to the height adjustments I made to make the car more level, however, I could tell my alignment was off (and being on street tires doesn't help either). My turn in was not as quick as before, and I could feel it not be as settled in the corners. My fastest clean run was a 1'15. I had a faster dirty time of 1'14., and a clean fun run time of 1'13.7 however, and I know there was a lot more time to be had out there. The results of the day are located on the Renegade Miata website, here.
Below is a video of my fastest dirty run and then my fastest clean run. I did not take any videos during fun runs so I could mostly just focus on practicing. I'm looking forward to next weekend at NHMS, I think it'll be a fun little get away. Until then, stay tuned.

SCCA NER Points Event 4 - Cone-A-Thon

2011-07-17T21:41:00.004-04:00

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

This weekend was a back-to-back autocross weekend with SCCA NER. Saturday was a Novice/Intermediate school that Jenna had put together (Massive respect out to her for an amazing job!). I wanted to help out at the school this year and see how many novices had decided to try out the sport. The school featured elements from the years prior, which were:

Offsets (Clamshells)
Slaloms (with a increasing/decreasing radius slalom as well, depending on which side you start with)
Kidney Bean
Half course at the end of the day, that featured all of the elements learned at the school

It was definitely a great turn-out and a lot of people really enjoyed the event. It's events like these that I think really help promote both the club and the motorsport, so great job Jenna!

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

As for Sunday, it was a normal points event. The course was setup by the chair of Renegade Miata, Rob MacAlpine, as well as the ST Civic boy-wonder, Roger Whipple. It featured a lot of slaloms, a tricky chicago box at the turn onto the taxi-way, and a few other interesting elements; an awesome course that I would have expected to see at Renegade Miata, not at NER.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

I had planned to use this event to test out my car with no rear swaybar to see how it would feel, as I kept getting recommendations from Ben to "GET THAT THING OUTTA' THERE!". With the rear swaybar out, I could go full throttle just as I'm ready to exit a corner without sliding, not something my driving style is accustomed to just yet (which may have cost me some time out there). I'll have to play more with the settings, but I have a feeling I may be sticking to no rear swaybar for the rest of the season.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

There were a lot more surprises than just the course however, as Hank Wallace returned to NER to crash the BSP party in his E36 M3. My fastest runs were a 60.2 and a 60.4, but both were dirty. My clean runs were unfortunately not fast enough to take over the lead from Hank, as he finished with a clean 60.3. Good to see him return and bring on a great race. The challenge he brought with him got me nervous to say the least, but that only motivates me to be faster for next time.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

In other highlights for the day, G-Fab gave Panda a nice paint job (be sure to check out their blog!), adding some flare to the SM monster while it reigns terror in the Pro class. Ben unfortunately had some problems with his STS Miata later in the afternoon, so I offered him to take his last runs in my car so that he could try and take the lead in Pro (and I could maybe learn something!). Down below you'll see some great footage of Ben attacking the course, beating my fastest raw time by almost 2 seconds! I did learn a lot from having him drive however, so thanks for that Ben.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

The results are posted here at the SCCA NER website. Overall, it looks like I'm currently 11th place in PAX for the year, and 1st place in BSP with 24 points, with Josh Noble right on my tail with 18. I am very surprised at my performance this year. Even though Serenity is an RX-8, she is completely different than my last one in every way. I'd like to keep working at it and score the jacket at the end of the year, but there are five more events left that could turn the tide. Until then, some minor work at Kaizen Tuning, as well as some aesthetic goodies, so stay tuned.

August 6th - Race Against Leukemia Fundraiser

2011-07-09T12:55:00.004-04:00

Coming up in August is SCCA NER's "Race Against Leukemia" fundraising event, and this year I will be participating! It is a two day event in where the three divisions of NER get together (road race, rally cross, solo) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for a great cause and have some fun. On the first day, for every $10 someone raises, they get to have a run out on the autocross course. Then the rest of the day is various activities with everyone at NER.

The next day is then a normal points event, and should be a great course! Please be sure to check out my fundraising page. Any donations are greatly appreciated, and I am looking forward to a great event. Stay tuned.

DIY - Engine Mounts Filled With Polyurethane

2011-06-26T23:15:00.007-04:00

Not many solutions seem to be out there for the RX-8 in terms of alternative engine mounts. The original 2004 to 2005 version was flawed in design as they didn't last long, forcing owners to replace them somewhere between every 30,000 to 50,000 miles. In 2006, the engine mounts were revised to be much more efficient and longer lasting.
This DIY goes over how to take your engine mounts and turn them into some very nice and stiff engine mounts that you won't have to ever replace. We used Dave's engine mounts on his RX-8, which is the 2004 version, not the upgraded version. Be sure to check out this thread on RX-8 club with a nice writeup from Team RX8.

Tools & Materials

Wooden Ruler
Paint Thinner
Drill and a 1/4" - 3/8" diameter drill bit
Sharp Knife (that you don't care about getting fluid on)
Oil Catcher
Clothing to wear that you don't care about staining permanently
Blow Dryer
Canned Air
Polyurethane base and activator (I purchased mine from McMaster-Carr and it's item #8644k11)

Process

A couple of quick notes. This write-up assumes you already have the engine mounts removed from the car. Be sure to double check them for any cracks or leaks, because doing this to a damaged mount is not advisable. Also, the polyurethane takes 48 hours to cure, so be sure to do this when you won't need to use your car for a few days.

Start by turning the mount upside down and removing the top rubber cover of the mount with the knife
After you have removed the cover, be sure to empty out as much of the fluid as possible. The fluid smells and will stain your clothes pretty good, so be careful!
At the center hole, you will notice a rubbery layer. Carefully cut that out with the knife, trying not to puncture all the way down and through the entire mount
Skip this step if you have 2004-2005 engine mounts - The upgraded engine mounts have no circular opening, so you will need to drill in the center carefully and make your own circular opening in the center
Once you have cut out and removed the rubber layer, you should see a honeycomb-like design inside the mount. Those pouches are what will be filled with polyurethane
Now drill 6-8 holes around the middle hole in the engine mount with your drill. You will feel as you are drilling down, the drill going through 3 layers. The moment you feel the 3rd layer, pull back so you do not accidentally drill through the mount.
Once you have made your holes, check them to be sure you drilled all the way through the hard brown layers and down to the black rubber surface. Use the canned air to clean out any excess shavings left by the drill
Now fill the mount with your paint thinner and clean it out as much as possible. You can use water as a first pass, or go straight to the paint thinner, whatever you feel comfortable with
Once it looks like all of the fluid has been cleaned out, use your blow dryer, on high setting, to dry out the inside of the mount. I held my mount upside down for about 5 minutes with the blow dryer pressed against it
Once the mount is completely dry inside, prop both mounts on a flat surface, with support to ensure they don't accidentally get tipped over. Remember, these mounts will be sitting wherever you place them, for 48 hours
Take your polyurethane base can and mix in ALL of the activator for 5 minutes. BE SURE TO DO THIS OUTSIDE as the warning says. I also thought their wooden stick was too small to stir, so I liked using a long wooden ruler instead
Once you have mixed everything, begin by very slowly pouring it into the center of the engine mount. Pace the pouring slowly so that everything can settle nicely and the air can escape. Switch from mount to mount if need be as well
After some time, you'll start to notice the polyurethane rise up from the center and the side holes. Keep filling slowly until you have a nice, flat, even surface at the top of the mount
Once you're done pouring, you can take the ruler and run it slowly across the top of the mount so that you can ensure it's flat. Be sure to clean up any mess around the mount because it is bound to happen!
After clean up, let it sit for 48 hours before placing back into your car!

Outcome

I noticed a huge difference right away when I drove my car, but then again, my passenger engine mount was collapsed previously. The throttle response was greatly increased to the point that it feels like the car is drive-by-cable. Less slop in the shifter as well I noticed, but definitely an interesting feeling being able to feel the power go to the rear tires more. Overall, it feels as though I had gotten a brand new engine put into my car, so I'm overly pleased with the results. I highly recommend this to everyone. It's very very affordable, a fun project, and easy to do with some patience! With the end result being that you will then have engine mounts that will never collapse, how could you say no? Happy Motoring!

STX VS. BSP & RMC 2nd Points Event

2011-06-19T22:47:00.011-04:00

Today was the 2nd points event for Renegade Miata! Dave is looking to get that 1st place jacket at the end of the year from SCCA just as bad as I am, so he decided to come out for some extra seat time. We decided to switch it up a little bit this event however. Thanks to Rob (chairman of the Renegade Miata Club), he allowed Dave and I to do a test in the morning. We were going to switch cars and compare the differences in our two cars with their current build, and how well we could adapt to them. This would be a great opportunity to focus on being smooth on the course while being in another RX-8 that is setup differently. In the afternoon, we then would switch back to our own cars and see if we could beat our times in the morning! This would really allow us to critique our own cars, as well as each others and consider making changes if need be. This is the first, in hopefully many more to come, "BSP VS. STX Battle"!

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

I decided that I will be running the rest of Renegade Miata on street tires so that my Hoosiers can stay as top notch as possible, (and to be fair for this test/battle). There are not too many differences between Dave's RX-8 and my own RX-8. The biggest differences would have to be that I have the BHR midpipe, flywheel, 4.777 rear end, very different spring rates (730 lb. and 450 lb. versus 503 lb. and 337 lb.), and 255/35 Dunlop Star Specs as opposed to 265/35 Yokohama Advan AD-08. The course was very tricky and had a very interesting rhythm to it, emphasizing heavily on being consistently smooth.

Photo by Ed Savage - NoWin Photography

The battle in the morning was interesting to say the least, where as I was enjoying Dave's car and putting down quick times, making only minor adjustments, and Dave was fighting with my car to keep it stable and put the power down when exiting the turns. I helped Dave by adjusting the shocks and playing with tire pressures, getting it down to full soft in the rear, 12 clicks from stiff in the front, and 29 PSI in the front with 30 PSI in the rear. A very different setup compared to when I run R compounds. Next event I think I may actually benefit with the rear swaybar removed, so I will try that out and see how it goes.

My fastest run in the morning was a 1'21 clean, with Dave getting a 1'19 very dirty, and then a 1'22 as his fastest. In the afternoon when we switched back, I was much more at home, and so was Dave. I was able to get down to a 1'20 clean, but with a fastest of 1'19 dirty. Dave was right behind me with a 1'20. I think we both could've gone faster if we had more practice in our own cars in the morning, but I was happy with the overall test and am looking forward to the next SCCA NER race. As always, results for Renegade Miata are located here. Thanks Dave for the test, I had a lot of fun and am looking forward to our next swap or comparison battle. Below are our fastest runs in the morning and afternoon. Until then, I will be filling my motor mounts with polyurethane because it felt AMAZING in Dave's RX-8, so stay tuned!

SCCA NER Points Event 3 - Springtime Coneage

2011-06-12T22:51:00.007-04:00

NER's third points event today and what a blast it was (isn't racing always a blast?)! With my refreshed alignment (thanks to Kaizen Tuning), and flipped Hoosiers, I was ready to see what I could do. We even had a surprise visit from Alex of DSG! He came out to play today and test out his new launch control and make sure the car is running properly.
The course seemed to be relatively simple, with a tricky turn-around at the beginning. If you over-cooked that turn, you would lose a lot of time trying to recover from it. Sometimes a simple course can be refreshing, and I'm sure it was laid out in such a fashion in case it would start raining again. B Street Prepared is becoming very interesting, and each race has truly been a battle for the first place. I took first with a 48.3' clean as my fastest run, and a 48.2' was my fastest dirty run. There was definitely more time out there, but I didn't want to get greedy, so I focused on being smooth and consistent instead. The results of the event are located here.
As for the results of my alignment from Kaizen Tuning (which I can't thank enough again for fitting me into their schedule!), it was very solid and felt great. Getting more negative camber in the rear is going to be key I think however, so we're aiming to move the rear to -2.0 camber, with 0 toe, and then move the camber up in the front to possibly -2.7. In order to do all of this however, I needed to order brand new adjuster bolts, as after only 40 miles and one run on the autocross course, the adjuster bolt began to spin. Flipping the Hoosier's and bringing up the tire pressures felt great, so at least there is good news there. Hopefully my alignment won't be too far off from where I need it for next Sunday, but until then, stay tuned. Below are two videos of my fastest runs for the day.