Dear Car,
I really miss you. I know I've done you wrong but I want you back. Please make these three months come faster. I need you.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
September 26, 2010
HOW TO BE ALONE by Tanya Davis
If you are at first lonely, be patient. If you've not been alone much, or if when you were, you weren't okay with it, then just wait. You'll find it's fine to be alone once you're embracing it.
We could start with the acceptable places, the bathroom, the coffee shop, the library. Where you can stall and read the paper, where you can get your caffeine fix and sit and stay there. Where you can browse the stacks and smell the books. You're not supposed to talk much anyway so it's safe there.
There's also the gym. If you're shy you could hang out with yourself in mirrors, you could put headphones in (guitar stroke).
And there's public transportation, because we all gotta go places.
And there's prayer and meditation. No one will think less if you're hanging with your breath seeking peace and salvation.
Start simple. Things you may have previously (electric guitar plucking) based on your avoid being alone principals.
The lunch counter. Where you will be surrounded by chow-downers. Employees who only have an hour and their spouses work across town and so they -- like you -- will be alone.
Resist the urge to hang out with your cell phone.
When you are comfortable with eat lunch and run, take yourself out for dinner. A restaurant with linen and silverware. You're no less intriguing a person when you're eating solo dessert to cleaning the whipped cream from the dish with your finger. In fact some people at full tables will wish they were where you were.
Go to the movies. Where it is dark and soothing. Alone in your seat amidst a fleeting community.And then, take yourself out dancing to a club where no one knows you. Stand on the outside of the floor till the lights convince you more and more and the music shows you. Dance like no one's watching...because, they're probably not. And, if they are, assume it is with best of human intentions. The way bodies move genuinely to beats is, after all, gorgeous and affecting. Dance until you're sweating, and beads of perspiration remind you of life's best things, down your back like a brook of blessings.Go to the woods alone, and the trees and squirrels will watch for you.Go to an unfamiliar city, roam the streets, there're always statues to talk to and benches made for sitting give strangers a shared existence if only for a minute and these moments can be so uplifting and the conversations you get in by sitting alone on benches might've never happened had you not been there by yourself
Society is afraid of alonedom, like lonely hearts are wasting away in basements, like people must have problems if, after a while, nobody is dating them. but lonely is a freedom that breaths easy and weightless and lonely is healing if you make it.
You could stand, swathed by groups and mobs or hold hands with your partner, look both further and farther for the endless quest for company. But no one's in your head and by the time you translate your thoughts, some essence of them may be lost or perhaps it is just kept.
Perhaps in the interest of loving oneself, perhaps all those sappy slogans from preschool over to high school's groaning were tokens for holding the lonely at bay. Cuz if you're happy in your head than solitude is blessed and alone is okay.
It's okay if no one believes like you. All experience is unique, no one has the same synapses, can't think like you, for this be releived, keeps things interesting lifes magic things in reach.
And it doesn't mean you're not connected, that communitie's not present, just take the perspective you get from being one person in one head and feel the effects of it. take silence and respect it. if you have an art that needs a practice, stop neglecting it. if your family doesn't get you, or religious sect is not meant for you, don't obsess about it.
you could be in an instant surrounded if you needed itIf your heart is bleeding make the best of it There is heat in freezing, be a testament.
If you are at first lonely, be patient. If you've not been alone much, or if when you were, you weren't okay with it, then just wait. You'll find it's fine to be alone once you're embracing it.
We could start with the acceptable places, the bathroom, the coffee shop, the library. Where you can stall and read the paper, where you can get your caffeine fix and sit and stay there. Where you can browse the stacks and smell the books. You're not supposed to talk much anyway so it's safe there.
There's also the gym. If you're shy you could hang out with yourself in mirrors, you could put headphones in (guitar stroke).
And there's public transportation, because we all gotta go places.
And there's prayer and meditation. No one will think less if you're hanging with your breath seeking peace and salvation.
Start simple. Things you may have previously (electric guitar plucking) based on your avoid being alone principals.
The lunch counter. Where you will be surrounded by chow-downers. Employees who only have an hour and their spouses work across town and so they -- like you -- will be alone.
Resist the urge to hang out with your cell phone.
When you are comfortable with eat lunch and run, take yourself out for dinner. A restaurant with linen and silverware. You're no less intriguing a person when you're eating solo dessert to cleaning the whipped cream from the dish with your finger. In fact some people at full tables will wish they were where you were.
Go to the movies. Where it is dark and soothing. Alone in your seat amidst a fleeting community.And then, take yourself out dancing to a club where no one knows you. Stand on the outside of the floor till the lights convince you more and more and the music shows you. Dance like no one's watching...because, they're probably not. And, if they are, assume it is with best of human intentions. The way bodies move genuinely to beats is, after all, gorgeous and affecting. Dance until you're sweating, and beads of perspiration remind you of life's best things, down your back like a brook of blessings.Go to the woods alone, and the trees and squirrels will watch for you.Go to an unfamiliar city, roam the streets, there're always statues to talk to and benches made for sitting give strangers a shared existence if only for a minute and these moments can be so uplifting and the conversations you get in by sitting alone on benches might've never happened had you not been there by yourself
Society is afraid of alonedom, like lonely hearts are wasting away in basements, like people must have problems if, after a while, nobody is dating them. but lonely is a freedom that breaths easy and weightless and lonely is healing if you make it.
You could stand, swathed by groups and mobs or hold hands with your partner, look both further and farther for the endless quest for company. But no one's in your head and by the time you translate your thoughts, some essence of them may be lost or perhaps it is just kept.
Perhaps in the interest of loving oneself, perhaps all those sappy slogans from preschool over to high school's groaning were tokens for holding the lonely at bay. Cuz if you're happy in your head than solitude is blessed and alone is okay.
It's okay if no one believes like you. All experience is unique, no one has the same synapses, can't think like you, for this be releived, keeps things interesting lifes magic things in reach.
And it doesn't mean you're not connected, that communitie's not present, just take the perspective you get from being one person in one head and feel the effects of it. take silence and respect it. if you have an art that needs a practice, stop neglecting it. if your family doesn't get you, or religious sect is not meant for you, don't obsess about it.
you could be in an instant surrounded if you needed itIf your heart is bleeding make the best of it There is heat in freezing, be a testament.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
June 26, 2010
Its been awhile. But this update is a long one so it'll make up for the lack of updates.
A lot of stuff been going on lately. Been hanging out with a 'newer' group of friends. It's nice to just hang out and be around people that you know won't judge you for who you are. Had a blast and celebrated a friend's birthday as well. Hope she enjoyed the plans we had for her.
Onto car stuff, I got my car prepped for trackday on the 28th. To be honest, it's been a long week because of the install of all the crap that's had to be done. A lot of running around to get parts/materials and in the end of each day it felt like I wasn't getting much done. I really pulled it off when I started pulling late-nighters.
List of stuff that's been installed so far:
- CSC Racing rollbar (Review here)
- Fidanza 1.6 flywheel
- OEM Mazda clutch and pressure plate
- OEM pilot and release bearings
- Low mileage 6 speed transmission
- 1.8 Differential
- Torsen T1 LSD
- Maxim Works header
- Test pipe
- Magnaflow exhaust
- 94-97 brake swap (XP10/8 combo)
I'll just post the pics and write a quick blurb beneath each one.
Brake swap was actually done quite awhile ago. I guess I just didnt have the chance to post it up due to laziness. Here you can see the dust shield for the rear. I bought an angle grinder just for this job. It worked out well. Thanks to Nic for doing the cuts for me. I trust him more with it than myself hahaha.
1.8 brakes really fill up the wheel hole a lot more. The brakes don't look so dinky anymore.
After reading up a lot on brake pads and bedding procedures, I was able to bed these Carbotechs in nicely. You can see the niiiice transfer layer I put on. It was also a sad day because I managed to suck in a bird in my radiator while doing the bedding procedure.
CSC rollbar. Had some issues with the finish and all (see the review link). Other than that it fit great. Big thanks to AJ for hooking me up with the VHT Paint. Boy that spray bomb was expensive. It definitely helps to remove the softtop when installing the bar.
Took the diff apart. I managed to have a nice piece of cardboard to lay everything out on. I made sure each side of the diff was layed out appropriately.
I got the backlash set by Ocean. Big thanks to him and his knowledge, I saved myself from a HUGE mistake I made.
I got Jay to press out the old bushings. FUCKING pain in the arse. Seriously these took some ingenuity to remove. I owe him a lunch still for the help.
Started on the removal of the drivetrain. Everything came out all at once as it was easier to do this way, but of course more downtime.
Here you can see the stock flywheel being locked in place by the tool I got Jay to make for me.
Here the new flywheel, clutch, PP and pilot bearing are installed. Same tool is used for torquing everything down without having the flywheel move on you. Awesome tool, I have more if anyone wants to buy one.
You can see the difference between the 6 speed and 5 speed transmission plates. The 6 speed is the one behind. The starter hole is actually a slot. Although its a slot, the NA starter only can use the top and bottom holes for mounting. It doesnt line up with the slot.
Old 5 speed and new-ish 6 speed. The 6 speed is actually a low mileage one Sanjay had laying around. Cleaned it up and heres the final look!
This is the 5 speed shifter turret. I took this picture so you can see the difference between the 6 speed and 5 speed shifters.
Here is the 6 speed one. Notice the bolt pattern is rotated 180 degrees. That means you can use the 5 speed shifter if you knock out one of the guide pins and reverse the shifter!
Cleaned up the PPF and the driveshaft as well. Everything may as well be clean before it all goes back in.
After a long hard week, I gave her a wash and called it quits. It's going to be awhile until I do something else with the car.
After the swap, the car feels like a toootally different beast. Its hard to believe its even the same car. Those that read my blog will just have to get a ride from me... from the people that have gotten a ride have given very positive feedback.
Back to life stuff,
I have some other priorities I want to take care of for the time being. One of them is getting back in shape. I want to get my stamina back and compete again.
I'm trying not to be so attached to this car, the reason being is if anything were to happen (knock on wood) I don't want life to plummet again. I've been through it and I don't want to go through it again. I'm trying to save my cash, it can be put towards better things than a vehicle. It's time to be smart about things, I'm growing up and my mind needs to grow proportionally to my age. I think its for the best. I made myself a promise not to spend anything on the car until next year.
Don't really know what I'm going to do for the rest of the summer. I'll just have to see where life takes me.
A lot of stuff been going on lately. Been hanging out with a 'newer' group of friends. It's nice to just hang out and be around people that you know won't judge you for who you are. Had a blast and celebrated a friend's birthday as well. Hope she enjoyed the plans we had for her.
Onto car stuff, I got my car prepped for trackday on the 28th. To be honest, it's been a long week because of the install of all the crap that's had to be done. A lot of running around to get parts/materials and in the end of each day it felt like I wasn't getting much done. I really pulled it off when I started pulling late-nighters.
List of stuff that's been installed so far:
- CSC Racing rollbar (Review here)
- Fidanza 1.6 flywheel
- OEM Mazda clutch and pressure plate
- OEM pilot and release bearings
- Low mileage 6 speed transmission
- 1.8 Differential
- Torsen T1 LSD
- Maxim Works header
- Test pipe
- Magnaflow exhaust
- 94-97 brake swap (XP10/8 combo)
I'll just post the pics and write a quick blurb beneath each one.
Brake swap was actually done quite awhile ago. I guess I just didnt have the chance to post it up due to laziness. Here you can see the dust shield for the rear. I bought an angle grinder just for this job. It worked out well. Thanks to Nic for doing the cuts for me. I trust him more with it than myself hahaha.
1.8 brakes really fill up the wheel hole a lot more. The brakes don't look so dinky anymore.
After reading up a lot on brake pads and bedding procedures, I was able to bed these Carbotechs in nicely. You can see the niiiice transfer layer I put on. It was also a sad day because I managed to suck in a bird in my radiator while doing the bedding procedure.
CSC rollbar. Had some issues with the finish and all (see the review link). Other than that it fit great. Big thanks to AJ for hooking me up with the VHT Paint. Boy that spray bomb was expensive. It definitely helps to remove the softtop when installing the bar.
Took the diff apart. I managed to have a nice piece of cardboard to lay everything out on. I made sure each side of the diff was layed out appropriately.
I got the backlash set by Ocean. Big thanks to him and his knowledge, I saved myself from a HUGE mistake I made.
I got Jay to press out the old bushings. FUCKING pain in the arse. Seriously these took some ingenuity to remove. I owe him a lunch still for the help.
Started on the removal of the drivetrain. Everything came out all at once as it was easier to do this way, but of course more downtime.
Here you can see the stock flywheel being locked in place by the tool I got Jay to make for me.
Here the new flywheel, clutch, PP and pilot bearing are installed. Same tool is used for torquing everything down without having the flywheel move on you. Awesome tool, I have more if anyone wants to buy one.
You can see the difference between the 6 speed and 5 speed transmission plates. The 6 speed is the one behind. The starter hole is actually a slot. Although its a slot, the NA starter only can use the top and bottom holes for mounting. It doesnt line up with the slot.
Old 5 speed and new-ish 6 speed. The 6 speed is actually a low mileage one Sanjay had laying around. Cleaned it up and heres the final look!
This is the 5 speed shifter turret. I took this picture so you can see the difference between the 6 speed and 5 speed shifters.
Here is the 6 speed one. Notice the bolt pattern is rotated 180 degrees. That means you can use the 5 speed shifter if you knock out one of the guide pins and reverse the shifter!
Cleaned up the PPF and the driveshaft as well. Everything may as well be clean before it all goes back in.
After a long hard week, I gave her a wash and called it quits. It's going to be awhile until I do something else with the car.
After the swap, the car feels like a toootally different beast. Its hard to believe its even the same car. Those that read my blog will just have to get a ride from me... from the people that have gotten a ride have given very positive feedback.
Back to life stuff,
I have some other priorities I want to take care of for the time being. One of them is getting back in shape. I want to get my stamina back and compete again.
I'm trying not to be so attached to this car, the reason being is if anything were to happen (knock on wood) I don't want life to plummet again. I've been through it and I don't want to go through it again. I'm trying to save my cash, it can be put towards better things than a vehicle. It's time to be smart about things, I'm growing up and my mind needs to grow proportionally to my age. I think its for the best. I made myself a promise not to spend anything on the car until next year.
Don't really know what I'm going to do for the rest of the summer. I'll just have to see where life takes me.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
May 11, 2010
Its been awhile since the last update. Been busy with school for the most part and things are about to come to a close for the school year.
I picked up some springs from Summit Racing. Couldn't complain for the price, and they fit the budget for suspension. I figure since the shocks are not worth much, I'll try my luck with the QA1 springs. More or less used as a test subject than actual racing component.
The QA1's come in silver. Which iornically matches the car.
Comparison between rear shocks. I'm actually going to be running my setup about a 1/4" higher than last year's setup. I'm trying to give the car slightly more travel. The upgraded spring rate should help the rear from bottoming out. The rear rate used to be 250lb/in, now it is 350lb/in. This increase in the spring constant should help quite a bit. The setup yielded about 4.5" measurement from the pinch weld to the ground. It also doesnt help that I ran out of perch on the front to run the front any lower.
Interesting thing I ran into while working on the car. The bolts are FUCKING CLEAN. I am so suprised, after 19 years of abuse, this car still has clean as hell bolts. Its a godsend compared to the old red car. (RIP Winnie). Also in the picture is the anti-seize I'm using for the suspension. I didn't feel I needed to whip out the Nickel based compound and I'm actually quite happy with the LubroMoly brand these days.
After the rear was all said and done. Pretty nice fitment without having to roll the fenders. The car does rub under hard corning though.. I'll have to sort it out when the time comes.
Post install notes: The upperball joint on the passenger side got stuck while trying to take the A-arm apart. I'll have to replace the boot as it ripped when trying to get the balljoint out. The thread pitch for the castle nut is a M12x1.25.
Got my order in from Mazdaspeed as well. It took awhile to get my account approved as I didn't provide sufficient documentation for them to approve my account. A couple of calls and a few days later all was good. I'm actually really glad that the Mazdaspeed department has some of the best customer service reps around. It was a pleasure dealing with them over the phone.
The shifter bushing order as kind of a fluke. I was expecting to recieve the regular plastic peice but instead I get this aluminum one. The finish is not so great but nothing a bit of sanding and polishing can't fix. For those that are wondering why I would even bother sanding such a small peice, I just want to reduce the stress concentrations from the un-champfered edges. It's pretty vital I have this bushing as well as I went to crazy last year and broke a plastic one. That left me stranded just 10minutes from my house and about $110 out of my pocket to pay for the tow.
Also ordered the Mazda Comp motor mounts. The amount of deflection that I found between the new and used motor mounts was fucking HUGE I felt. Its about 2-4mm (the second picture shows it a bit better). Then again what do you really expect, after 19 years these things are bound to wear.
The Mazdaspeed mounts are 75A durometer vs the 55A OEM durometer. This is a slight increase in the rubber hardness, which equates to the spring rate being slightly stiffer. It's definately not a lot but you feel a little more vibration from the engine transmitted to the cockpit. Its not a lot comapred to solid mounts, but definately noticeable. You might wonder why you would even want any vibration transfering through the chassis because if the natural frequency of the chassis meets with the first harmonic vibration, then resonance occurs. Well, to my judgement the only increase in the frequency equation is the spring constant or stiffness of the material. Everything theoretically remains the same (Material, mass, etc.) so there is not a significant movement through the RPM range to really cause a worry of having reasonance occur. I am not a vibration expert though, so I cannot confirm this.
I also ended up patching up my front under tray on the car. I had to have the front pan off while doing the engine mounts so I figured I should patch it up somehow. I ended up stealing an idea off the drift crowd. I drilled some holes and ziptied the crack part together. Holds up nicely though there are some holes now. I may go back and JB weld or fill up the holes with some sort of plastic welding. Again though I'm not super concerned as most of the pressure has elsewear to move before hitting that area.
Spotted this fellow on the side of the road the other day. Seemed lost, poor chap.
I'll be packed with studying for these few upcoming weeks. I'm going to try my best to get into the SFU Mechatronics program so i will do my best to increase my average grade.
Til the next post,
- A
I picked up some springs from Summit Racing. Couldn't complain for the price, and they fit the budget for suspension. I figure since the shocks are not worth much, I'll try my luck with the QA1 springs. More or less used as a test subject than actual racing component.
The QA1's come in silver. Which iornically matches the car.
Comparison between rear shocks. I'm actually going to be running my setup about a 1/4" higher than last year's setup. I'm trying to give the car slightly more travel. The upgraded spring rate should help the rear from bottoming out. The rear rate used to be 250lb/in, now it is 350lb/in. This increase in the spring constant should help quite a bit. The setup yielded about 4.5" measurement from the pinch weld to the ground. It also doesnt help that I ran out of perch on the front to run the front any lower.
Interesting thing I ran into while working on the car. The bolts are FUCKING CLEAN. I am so suprised, after 19 years of abuse, this car still has clean as hell bolts. Its a godsend compared to the old red car. (RIP Winnie). Also in the picture is the anti-seize I'm using for the suspension. I didn't feel I needed to whip out the Nickel based compound and I'm actually quite happy with the LubroMoly brand these days.
After the rear was all said and done. Pretty nice fitment without having to roll the fenders. The car does rub under hard corning though.. I'll have to sort it out when the time comes.
Post install notes: The upperball joint on the passenger side got stuck while trying to take the A-arm apart. I'll have to replace the boot as it ripped when trying to get the balljoint out. The thread pitch for the castle nut is a M12x1.25.
Got my order in from Mazdaspeed as well. It took awhile to get my account approved as I didn't provide sufficient documentation for them to approve my account. A couple of calls and a few days later all was good. I'm actually really glad that the Mazdaspeed department has some of the best customer service reps around. It was a pleasure dealing with them over the phone.
The shifter bushing order as kind of a fluke. I was expecting to recieve the regular plastic peice but instead I get this aluminum one. The finish is not so great but nothing a bit of sanding and polishing can't fix. For those that are wondering why I would even bother sanding such a small peice, I just want to reduce the stress concentrations from the un-champfered edges. It's pretty vital I have this bushing as well as I went to crazy last year and broke a plastic one. That left me stranded just 10minutes from my house and about $110 out of my pocket to pay for the tow.
Also ordered the Mazda Comp motor mounts. The amount of deflection that I found between the new and used motor mounts was fucking HUGE I felt. Its about 2-4mm (the second picture shows it a bit better). Then again what do you really expect, after 19 years these things are bound to wear.
The Mazdaspeed mounts are 75A durometer vs the 55A OEM durometer. This is a slight increase in the rubber hardness, which equates to the spring rate being slightly stiffer. It's definately not a lot but you feel a little more vibration from the engine transmitted to the cockpit. Its not a lot comapred to solid mounts, but definately noticeable. You might wonder why you would even want any vibration transfering through the chassis because if the natural frequency of the chassis meets with the first harmonic vibration, then resonance occurs. Well, to my judgement the only increase in the frequency equation is the spring constant or stiffness of the material. Everything theoretically remains the same (Material, mass, etc.) so there is not a significant movement through the RPM range to really cause a worry of having reasonance occur. I am not a vibration expert though, so I cannot confirm this.
I also ended up patching up my front under tray on the car. I had to have the front pan off while doing the engine mounts so I figured I should patch it up somehow. I ended up stealing an idea off the drift crowd. I drilled some holes and ziptied the crack part together. Holds up nicely though there are some holes now. I may go back and JB weld or fill up the holes with some sort of plastic welding. Again though I'm not super concerned as most of the pressure has elsewear to move before hitting that area.
Spotted this fellow on the side of the road the other day. Seemed lost, poor chap.
I'll be packed with studying for these few upcoming weeks. I'm going to try my best to get into the SFU Mechatronics program so i will do my best to increase my average grade.
Til the next post,
- A
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
April 14, 2010
Ok where to begin,
Lots of random things happening here and there lately so some of these posts are not in order (cuz my memory is just that damn bad). So just sit back and enjoy the shitty pics.
First off, I got this awhile ago but I dont believe I made a post about it. Its a delrin knob that I bought. I gotta say, driving it both in the cold and in the warm, it feels great. In the cold, its not REALLY anti-cold resistant but meh, better than a freezing Razo knob or the OEM one.
So I had this weird short happening with my car shortly after I installed my s2000 starter button. Weird shit, but it turned out the brake light was shorting out with the DRL circuit. This meant that when I pushed on the brake pedal, my interior lights and DRLs would all come out. Pissed me off for the longest time. Shoutouts to Sanjay and Ocean as they were the ones who suggested to check in the most logical place, the bulbs themselves. DOH! (Note to self, be more receptive of suggestions from knowledgable people)
Went shooting awhile back with J.Ng. Super fun shit, this guy knows how to have fun ladies! Honestly I had a blast, and thanks for taking me man. My highlight of the day was when I got to shoot the shotty. Goddamn you just feel immortal after that.
I hit up the sandblasting place that I found last year with Ocean as well. He needed his differential sandblasted and cleaned so we went. I was sort of last minute on deciding what to sandblast so I chose the header. Some of you guys probably wont like the finish as its a sort of matte finish. But I think its fine. I'd rather have this than have a weirdly contaminated peice. I chose glass bead as my blasting media as its anti-corrosive. That means that the stainless steel should still retain its properties.
Ocean at the sandblasting place.
Maxim Works logo. Aka M-silent header.
This peice is JASMA approved.
The final finish. I gotta say, the customer service is just awesome at Langley U-Blast. I recommend going to them for any sandblasting needs. Jon is just a standup and awesome guy.
Put the summer wheels on. The 225/45/15 tires are a hell lot of difference compared to the 185/60/14 winters that were on for the longest time. I'm just not used to the huge difference in grip level.
At the autocross, I had a hard time rotating the car with throttle. In fact I think I was mostly WOT during the corners at the car wouldn't rotate. Then again bear in mind I'm a shitty driver. I use mods to cover up my lack of driving skill. Seriously I have a lot to learn.
J-fok stylin it up in the nice weather. Thanks for coming out man!
Picked up my Motul Gear 300 as well. Just getting stuff to prep the car for its next maintenance interval. I'm probably going to get the engine mounts as soon as Mazdaspeed approves my application to their parts program. I could really use the extra discount as my funds are really running low with having to pay with school and random costs.
Hate to end the post on a bad note, but I got rear ended on HWY1. Its complete BS, and I'm pretty much speechless for that matter. I'm just hoping that all goes smoothly with ICBC and that I have a speedy recovery.
Note the cracks in the paint. I really fucking hope nothing is worse underneath...
Lots of random things happening here and there lately so some of these posts are not in order (cuz my memory is just that damn bad). So just sit back and enjoy the shitty pics.
First off, I got this awhile ago but I dont believe I made a post about it. Its a delrin knob that I bought. I gotta say, driving it both in the cold and in the warm, it feels great. In the cold, its not REALLY anti-cold resistant but meh, better than a freezing Razo knob or the OEM one.
So I had this weird short happening with my car shortly after I installed my s2000 starter button. Weird shit, but it turned out the brake light was shorting out with the DRL circuit. This meant that when I pushed on the brake pedal, my interior lights and DRLs would all come out. Pissed me off for the longest time. Shoutouts to Sanjay and Ocean as they were the ones who suggested to check in the most logical place, the bulbs themselves. DOH! (Note to self, be more receptive of suggestions from knowledgable people)
Went shooting awhile back with J.Ng. Super fun shit, this guy knows how to have fun ladies! Honestly I had a blast, and thanks for taking me man. My highlight of the day was when I got to shoot the shotty. Goddamn you just feel immortal after that.
I hit up the sandblasting place that I found last year with Ocean as well. He needed his differential sandblasted and cleaned so we went. I was sort of last minute on deciding what to sandblast so I chose the header. Some of you guys probably wont like the finish as its a sort of matte finish. But I think its fine. I'd rather have this than have a weirdly contaminated peice. I chose glass bead as my blasting media as its anti-corrosive. That means that the stainless steel should still retain its properties.
Ocean at the sandblasting place.
Maxim Works logo. Aka M-silent header.
This peice is JASMA approved.
The final finish. I gotta say, the customer service is just awesome at Langley U-Blast. I recommend going to them for any sandblasting needs. Jon is just a standup and awesome guy.
Put the summer wheels on. The 225/45/15 tires are a hell lot of difference compared to the 185/60/14 winters that were on for the longest time. I'm just not used to the huge difference in grip level.
At the autocross, I had a hard time rotating the car with throttle. In fact I think I was mostly WOT during the corners at the car wouldn't rotate. Then again bear in mind I'm a shitty driver. I use mods to cover up my lack of driving skill. Seriously I have a lot to learn.
J-fok stylin it up in the nice weather. Thanks for coming out man!
Picked up my Motul Gear 300 as well. Just getting stuff to prep the car for its next maintenance interval. I'm probably going to get the engine mounts as soon as Mazdaspeed approves my application to their parts program. I could really use the extra discount as my funds are really running low with having to pay with school and random costs.
Hate to end the post on a bad note, but I got rear ended on HWY1. Its complete BS, and I'm pretty much speechless for that matter. I'm just hoping that all goes smoothly with ICBC and that I have a speedy recovery.
Note the cracks in the paint. I really fucking hope nothing is worse underneath...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
March 25, 2010
Well, I've been having this consistent problem of water leakage in the trunk. Its been bothering me for awhile, and what I had to do in the past month or so is just open up the trunk after a rainy night in the garage so that the Dri-Z-Air I bought to dehumidify the garage would help take some of the moisture out.
Now some of you may not have this problem, I certainly didnt have it in my old car. But things age, the foam deteriorates. How did I know which seals to replace? (Afterall.. we wouldnt want to spend money in areas where we didnt or shouldnt need to) I ended up monitoring the trunk for awhile, seeing where the water source is coming from. It seemed to be almost up against the rear finish panel backside... so it must've been one of the tail lamps I thought. I ended up replacing both.
Onto the pics:
Factory goodness... but farking expensive for a few peices of foam.
Started from the passenger side... this side actually looks fine.
Driver side on the other hand.....
Yeah like I expected, its got all this dirt/grime mush shit (wet)
So whats the result? After cleaning up the area with brakeclean before putting on the new seals, it rained the following day. No leakage reported! Yay
Another project I wanted to do actually happend awhile ago so I'm sort of catching up with updates here. I got a bracket for free (shout out to D-Chua! Thanks dude!) that was a flate plate designed to mount my bucket seat to the floor.
[Actually before I get into more detail, I should say I have a couple of reasons to change out the factory seat. The OEM one actually hurts my back on long trips... I think its the design itself, its not really made for a small guy like me, in my case at least. Not to mention I really ought to use the things I buy....]
Another reason is that I love having that more solid connection to the car chassis. The driver feedback advantage is huge, one of my personal emphasis is on modications tailored to driver personality and comfort. So having a properly positioned seat, and steering wheel can go a long ways in terms of your lap time!
The problem with the bracket I got was that I didnt have any L-brackets I could openly adapt to the car. So, I called up Jay and asked if it was possible. We met up for a day, discussed the details and he got to work.
I was expected about a 2 week response time for a finished product, but sure enough he calls me 3 days later. WOW, talk about fast.
Onto the product photos:
The Wedge Engineering bracket I got from D-Chua. I plastidipped it actually to have a better finish.
How it looks inside the car. You're going to have to bear with the lighting as I was too lazy to get a spot lamp.
Jay's fabricated bracket. It's made of steel, probably mild 1080 or something.
Bottom view, its slotted to adjust to my preference. Its sort of an in-between of a slider and a fixed bracket.
Did I mention this thing gets you LOW?
Yes... super low
Ok so what do I think about it?
Well previous I had a Bride slider one that I got off Winky. The thing was way too high, Sanjay and I cut it down and he helped me re-weld it for lowness. Well the slider itself probably offsets the driver by about 1.20"... which is no good. Not to mention we had to hammer out the tranny tunnel in the old car for it to fit (Which I'd like to avoid if possible)
The new bracket Jay made is awesome, gets you much lower than the slider ever could. It could go even lower but that should be for another day when I have the time to measure some angles and stuff.... and it would have to be a fixed bracket for sure, no slider slots. I dont think I'll ever get to that point because I'm pretty happy with this one.
Fit: Awesome, except that the bracket closest to the tranny tunnel rubs a little hump. Not a big deal, it just means that you need to take a little more time fitting it in the car.
Finish: I'm actually happy with the colour choice, its a metallic grey and offsets the black and silver going all over the car. Love it!
Functionality: It fits awesome, sits lower than stock. I have to play with the cushioning a bit more (probably some memory foam like Darryl) to get my perfect fit. Its just that the cushioning itself actually sets me pretty high up. Taking the foam out, its like I'm on the flooooor.
Areas that need work: Like I mentioned in the fit section, that little hump could maybe be avoided in version 2.0. Also the bracket itself is too long and it means that if I want to remove the seatbelt bolt, I have to remove the entire seat.. just makes it kind of annoying. Actually VERY annoying if I want to loop my belts and stuff through the seat.
Would I recommend it? Yes! In fact I did to Jordan, hope you like it man!
Today's blog is a shout out to Joe once again, I read his post earlier and I thought I'd get off my ass and update.
Now some of you may not have this problem, I certainly didnt have it in my old car. But things age, the foam deteriorates. How did I know which seals to replace? (Afterall.. we wouldnt want to spend money in areas where we didnt or shouldnt need to) I ended up monitoring the trunk for awhile, seeing where the water source is coming from. It seemed to be almost up against the rear finish panel backside... so it must've been one of the tail lamps I thought. I ended up replacing both.
Onto the pics:
Factory goodness... but farking expensive for a few peices of foam.
Started from the passenger side... this side actually looks fine.
Driver side on the other hand.....
Yeah like I expected, its got all this dirt/grime mush shit (wet)
So whats the result? After cleaning up the area with brakeclean before putting on the new seals, it rained the following day. No leakage reported! Yay
Another project I wanted to do actually happend awhile ago so I'm sort of catching up with updates here. I got a bracket for free (shout out to D-Chua! Thanks dude!) that was a flate plate designed to mount my bucket seat to the floor.
[Actually before I get into more detail, I should say I have a couple of reasons to change out the factory seat. The OEM one actually hurts my back on long trips... I think its the design itself, its not really made for a small guy like me, in my case at least. Not to mention I really ought to use the things I buy....]
Another reason is that I love having that more solid connection to the car chassis. The driver feedback advantage is huge, one of my personal emphasis is on modications tailored to driver personality and comfort. So having a properly positioned seat, and steering wheel can go a long ways in terms of your lap time!
The problem with the bracket I got was that I didnt have any L-brackets I could openly adapt to the car. So, I called up Jay and asked if it was possible. We met up for a day, discussed the details and he got to work.
I was expected about a 2 week response time for a finished product, but sure enough he calls me 3 days later. WOW, talk about fast.
Onto the product photos:
The Wedge Engineering bracket I got from D-Chua. I plastidipped it actually to have a better finish.
How it looks inside the car. You're going to have to bear with the lighting as I was too lazy to get a spot lamp.
Jay's fabricated bracket. It's made of steel, probably mild 1080 or something.
Bottom view, its slotted to adjust to my preference. Its sort of an in-between of a slider and a fixed bracket.
Did I mention this thing gets you LOW?
Yes... super low
Ok so what do I think about it?
Well previous I had a Bride slider one that I got off Winky. The thing was way too high, Sanjay and I cut it down and he helped me re-weld it for lowness. Well the slider itself probably offsets the driver by about 1.20"... which is no good. Not to mention we had to hammer out the tranny tunnel in the old car for it to fit (Which I'd like to avoid if possible)
The new bracket Jay made is awesome, gets you much lower than the slider ever could. It could go even lower but that should be for another day when I have the time to measure some angles and stuff.... and it would have to be a fixed bracket for sure, no slider slots. I dont think I'll ever get to that point because I'm pretty happy with this one.
Fit: Awesome, except that the bracket closest to the tranny tunnel rubs a little hump. Not a big deal, it just means that you need to take a little more time fitting it in the car.
Finish: I'm actually happy with the colour choice, its a metallic grey and offsets the black and silver going all over the car. Love it!
Functionality: It fits awesome, sits lower than stock. I have to play with the cushioning a bit more (probably some memory foam like Darryl) to get my perfect fit. Its just that the cushioning itself actually sets me pretty high up. Taking the foam out, its like I'm on the flooooor.
Areas that need work: Like I mentioned in the fit section, that little hump could maybe be avoided in version 2.0. Also the bracket itself is too long and it means that if I want to remove the seatbelt bolt, I have to remove the entire seat.. just makes it kind of annoying. Actually VERY annoying if I want to loop my belts and stuff through the seat.
Would I recommend it? Yes! In fact I did to Jordan, hope you like it man!
Today's blog is a shout out to Joe once again, I read his post earlier and I thought I'd get off my ass and update.
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