Yep.. i'm really slow with this stuff. I figure i'd post it recent instead of updating an old post. Since, most of you couldn't really care about the old posts. Anyways!!!
E-Board Championship 11-9-2008
Tart Championship 11-2-2008
not my fastest run on film, but the better looking line choice. I chose not to upload my fastest run because it displayed a really sloppy line going really fast. I figure a more controlled line would be valuable to my viewers. My fastest run (although dirty) was a 66.9
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
SCAT Championship 11-16-08
I told myself that i ought to post up my blogs right away instead of an event behind...
ANOTHER WIN IN STS!!! KEEP EM' COMING BABY!!!
7:00AM
*RiNg RiNg RinG!!!*
there goes the alarm clock. Signaling that its time to wake up and go to the races. I spent the night at Romel's place again in San Diego Prior to Race Day. This makes it easier for me to be fresh and ready to race rather than in a hurry. So we wake up and head on over to Qualcomm. Our run group is 2nd and we have to work 1st. Not too bad... it was okay cold outside and the surface temperature was beginning to increase. Didn't look like grip would be an issue today.
1st Run
61.0xx+1
Not too bad, pretty conservative first run but it ended up being good enough to claim 1st... but DOH! I coned... no bueno
2nd Run
60.616+1
WHOO HOOO now thats what im talking about! Time to go fast... but doh! another stupid cone. I wanted to keep the course as tight as possible and apparently i got a little greedy.
3rd Run
61.4xx
Finally a clean run but still not enough to claim 1st. I felt the car wasn't soft enough up front so i turned down the shock 1/8 turn.
4th Run
60.8xx
YES! put up an upset in STS!!! on my last run. I was the only car on course so everyone was paying attention to my run. Felt GREAT although not as fast as my Raw time, it was good enough and CLEAN to claim first. Not bad for an unprepared car against 2 nationally prepped STS civics.
ANOTHER WIN IN STS!!! KEEP EM' COMING BABY!!!
7:00AM
*RiNg RiNg RinG!!!*
there goes the alarm clock. Signaling that its time to wake up and go to the races. I spent the night at Romel's place again in San Diego Prior to Race Day. This makes it easier for me to be fresh and ready to race rather than in a hurry. So we wake up and head on over to Qualcomm. Our run group is 2nd and we have to work 1st. Not too bad... it was okay cold outside and the surface temperature was beginning to increase. Didn't look like grip would be an issue today.
1st Run
61.0xx+1
Not too bad, pretty conservative first run but it ended up being good enough to claim 1st... but DOH! I coned... no bueno
2nd Run
60.616+1
WHOO HOOO now thats what im talking about! Time to go fast... but doh! another stupid cone. I wanted to keep the course as tight as possible and apparently i got a little greedy.
3rd Run
61.4xx
Finally a clean run but still not enough to claim 1st. I felt the car wasn't soft enough up front so i turned down the shock 1/8 turn.
4th Run
60.8xx
YES! put up an upset in STS!!! on my last run. I was the only car on course so everyone was paying attention to my run. Felt GREAT although not as fast as my Raw time, it was good enough and CLEAN to claim first. Not bad for an unprepared car against 2 nationally prepped STS civics.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
TART Championship 11-2-2008
First Run Group... wonderful.
So i spent the night in SD at Romel's place so that i could help him early in the morning to setup the course. We showed up at 5:30am at the site and NO BODY was there. Damnit Romel, he "thought" everyone would be there by that time. 6:30am Came around and people started coming finally. I was able to walk the course 2 times which was good because there were 2 sections that were difficult to remember. Looking ahead would be key for this course.
Lately Jason Flores and myself have been trying to help tune out the suspension on the Rios family STS Civic. And in return, i got to compete in it for this event. The car is FANTASTIC! There used to be a wheelspin issue with this car, but we have slowly tuned it out. The car needs to be at a set ride height, and another corner balance should make the car fly.
Funny thing tho today... I drove the Rios Civic while my co-driver Romel used our red civic against me!!!... Not only that but the car ended up being 2 Driver!!! Marco Vasquez's Subaru was not working in time for this weekend's championship. So i was kind enough to lend him the car.
Cliff Notes: I drove against two fast STS drivers who were racing in my car!!!
I ended up taking 1st. YAY!!! another 1st to add on the list. Things are looking great. My fastest run for class was my second run. Although i went faster in my 3rd and 4th run... i got too greedy and ended up coning in stupid areas.
So i spent the night in SD at Romel's place so that i could help him early in the morning to setup the course. We showed up at 5:30am at the site and NO BODY was there. Damnit Romel, he "thought" everyone would be there by that time. 6:30am Came around and people started coming finally. I was able to walk the course 2 times which was good because there were 2 sections that were difficult to remember. Looking ahead would be key for this course.
Lately Jason Flores and myself have been trying to help tune out the suspension on the Rios family STS Civic. And in return, i got to compete in it for this event. The car is FANTASTIC! There used to be a wheelspin issue with this car, but we have slowly tuned it out. The car needs to be at a set ride height, and another corner balance should make the car fly.
Funny thing tho today... I drove the Rios Civic while my co-driver Romel used our red civic against me!!!... Not only that but the car ended up being 2 Driver!!! Marco Vasquez's Subaru was not working in time for this weekend's championship. So i was kind enough to lend him the car.
Cliff Notes: I drove against two fast STS drivers who were racing in my car!!!
I ended up taking 1st. YAY!!! another 1st to add on the list. Things are looking great. My fastest run for class was my second run. Although i went faster in my 3rd and 4th run... i got too greedy and ended up coning in stupid areas.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
SDAD Championship 10-19-2008
MY FIRST LOCAL WIN!!!
...and would you look at that. My co-driver took 2nd place only 0.007 seconds away from me!!! Now thats racing hahaha. (he didnt drive the integra)
...and would you look at that. My co-driver took 2nd place only 0.007 seconds away from me!!! Now thats racing hahaha. (he didnt drive the integra)
Monday, October 13, 2008
GRA Championship 10-12-2008
Saturday 10-11-2008
so i spent the night at Jason Flores' place to get ready to setup my car as well as his car for Sunday's event. I had a lot of work to do on my own car for a change. I finally got my shocks back from Jeff Wong at ProPartsUSA/TRI-Point Engineering Thursday night. Boy was i excited to see these things. Now i can tune out the excessive body roll the car was having. So now onto the day...
First I had to remove the shocks that were on my car temporarily (jason's). After that was done i got to assembling my new shocks and new spring rates. I thought that I might have an issue with the 8" spring in the back, but it ended up being alright. After the rears were installed i had issues trying to set a base ride height. I guess i was just tired already because i couldn't think straight.
Now onto the rears... My old rear springs were now going up front and at this time i wanted to lower the front a little bit more. BLAH BLAH BLAH... the car was corner balanced and ready for the next day's event.
Later that afternoon Jason had a treat for both of us to be able to get into Formula Drift in Irwindale. We were given hardpasses to be able to hangout in the infield with all the famous drifters and marketing companies.
Sunday - Championship
1st Run group... the crappiest run group I hate to be in.
1) tires dont get hot enough
2) haven't worked course to get a better look at the course
1st run: total wash... i hit the first cone coming out of the start... lally gagged around course trying to find the grip limit. I had no issue with the rear end... I loved the way my new setup handles. I can now get closer and drive the course exactly how i wanted to.
57.xxx +2
2nd run: My shocks were 1 turn stiff and i still had issues with braking. I had a feeling that because my front shocks are still sports; that i maybe diving too much up front causing an increase in camber. Thus poor braking... So for my next run i decided to stiff the front 1 1/4 turn towards stiff.
61.xxx +1
3rd Run: It actually helped out a lot and i was able to put down a decent time. I took the course slightly more aggressive, but pretty much attacked it like i was driving San Diego.
53.1xx
X-Runs - Fun Runs
So... i later find out that after tuning the front shocks and backing off a bit. The reason behind me being 0.5-1.0 second slower than everyone else was that LA has more grip and I wasn't comfortable going that fast into corners. Thanks to Alex for showing me how he drives his Corolla; I was able to see how fast he was entering the corners and transferred that over to my car. After my day of figuring out things i was able to put down a clean 51.935 in the afternoon (warm). Now i just need to set myself up mentally and be able to put down my top times within class and right off the bat.
so i spent the night at Jason Flores' place to get ready to setup my car as well as his car for Sunday's event. I had a lot of work to do on my own car for a change. I finally got my shocks back from Jeff Wong at ProPartsUSA/TRI-Point Engineering Thursday night. Boy was i excited to see these things. Now i can tune out the excessive body roll the car was having. So now onto the day...
First I had to remove the shocks that were on my car temporarily (jason's). After that was done i got to assembling my new shocks and new spring rates. I thought that I might have an issue with the 8" spring in the back, but it ended up being alright. After the rears were installed i had issues trying to set a base ride height. I guess i was just tired already because i couldn't think straight.
Now onto the rears... My old rear springs were now going up front and at this time i wanted to lower the front a little bit more. BLAH BLAH BLAH... the car was corner balanced and ready for the next day's event.
Later that afternoon Jason had a treat for both of us to be able to get into Formula Drift in Irwindale. We were given hardpasses to be able to hangout in the infield with all the famous drifters and marketing companies.
Sunday - Championship
1st Run group... the crappiest run group I hate to be in.
1) tires dont get hot enough
2) haven't worked course to get a better look at the course
1st run: total wash... i hit the first cone coming out of the start... lally gagged around course trying to find the grip limit. I had no issue with the rear end... I loved the way my new setup handles. I can now get closer and drive the course exactly how i wanted to.
57.xxx +2
2nd run: My shocks were 1 turn stiff and i still had issues with braking. I had a feeling that because my front shocks are still sports; that i maybe diving too much up front causing an increase in camber. Thus poor braking... So for my next run i decided to stiff the front 1 1/4 turn towards stiff.
61.xxx +1
3rd Run: It actually helped out a lot and i was able to put down a decent time. I took the course slightly more aggressive, but pretty much attacked it like i was driving San Diego.
53.1xx
X-Runs - Fun Runs
So... i later find out that after tuning the front shocks and backing off a bit. The reason behind me being 0.5-1.0 second slower than everyone else was that LA has more grip and I wasn't comfortable going that fast into corners. Thanks to Alex for showing me how he drives his Corolla; I was able to see how fast he was entering the corners and transferred that over to my car. After my day of figuring out things i was able to put down a clean 51.935 in the afternoon (warm). Now i just need to set myself up mentally and be able to put down my top times within class and right off the bat.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Koni Rebuild = Downtime
So since my rear shocks were sent out to Tri-Point engineering for some minor tweaking. I spent the weekend with the International Allstars Team at Seven Stock 2008 in Irvine,CA.
Quite an interesting day... i have been very intrigued by RX7s and Rotary goodness for a while but have never been to an event that had so much of it. Its so rare to find these cars in mint condition let alone modified locally. So it was a treat i supposed to be able to come out here and have some fun. Plenty of girls, cars, rotarys, RC cars, girls, performmance parts, girls.... oh and did i mention girls?
I guess ill just leave these pictures here to tell the story.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
SCNAX Nationals Test & Tune
Run 1
Run 2
I had a long weekend... helping Romel move to Bakersfield =(...
so having a whole day dedicated to autocross made me very happy.
So after Registration i was placed in Yellow Work group and had to work first. I was a little stressed because that would mean i'd have to waste time putting on the race tires while everyone else started running. Prior to working I had walked the course 3 times and twice with the Allstar guys. But because of me having to mount tires without a jack, I had lost focus and forgot the elements of the course.
My first runs i knew i would get lost. The course was EXCELLENT, but i figured i should give some spectators rides for my first 2 runs. After I got that out of the way, it was time to set some good times and get some national drivers looking.
Overall, I felt like today was the best I have ever driven all year. Yeah there was a couple cones here and there but they were lazy cones.
Run 2
I had a long weekend... helping Romel move to Bakersfield =(...
so having a whole day dedicated to autocross made me very happy.
So after Registration i was placed in Yellow Work group and had to work first. I was a little stressed because that would mean i'd have to waste time putting on the race tires while everyone else started running. Prior to working I had walked the course 3 times and twice with the Allstar guys. But because of me having to mount tires without a jack, I had lost focus and forgot the elements of the course.
My first runs i knew i would get lost. The course was EXCELLENT, but i figured i should give some spectators rides for my first 2 runs. After I got that out of the way, it was time to set some good times and get some national drivers looking.
Overall, I felt like today was the best I have ever driven all year. Yeah there was a couple cones here and there but they were lazy cones.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Back Home in San Diego
Saturday, August 23
This weekends events were being held by my new club I joined, SCNAX. I guess it stands for Southern California National Autocross - club? oh well, all i know is now im collecting points each event now.
Practice - 7:30am
-Oh crap im late... Since i volunteered to help setup the event this weekend I was supposed to be at the site at 7:00am. Oh well, hahaha. Before i arrived i had to stop by my good buddy Romel De Castro's place to get the water sprayer. I think i may have left my own water sprayer back in Corona. Anyway, i knew that the practice was going to be hard on my new Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs. Plus i needed to find the right pressures to run in order to get that maximum grip. After I had left the house, it was onto the site. Once I got to the site I registered, teched, and helped out by chalking the course.
Run Group Blue
So im in the grid, pressures set, car's warmed up, shocks at full soft up front - full stiff in rear. All ready for todays practice and the championship the next day.
1st run out - 59.6xx
wow, i didnt think i would be able to break 60.xxx After that i got side tracked a bit and started giving people rides but it was okay because some were newbies and giving a little instruction is alright. I was churning out 60.3xx consistently.
7th run out - 59.2xx
Alright Im back into the 59 second range. Pressures seemed to like 42F 37R. Just like i figured it would be around. So I let the tires cool down a bit (they shot up to 160 at one point). These tires like to be in the 125-140 range. Now im being flagged to go.
8th run out - 58.560
OH SNAP! hahaha the only sts car to be under 60 seconds. Marco Vasquez had a hard time getting into the low 60s and couldn't believe the times i was putting down. I wish I could of gotten him to ride with me. Along with this time came with a lot of autox veterans wondering who i am. HA im still being noticed =). Some think im an autocrosser from another place. Little do they know that i STARTED in SD.
This weekends events were being held by my new club I joined, SCNAX. I guess it stands for Southern California National Autocross - club? oh well, all i know is now im collecting points each event now.
Practice - 7:30am
-Oh crap im late... Since i volunteered to help setup the event this weekend I was supposed to be at the site at 7:00am. Oh well, hahaha. Before i arrived i had to stop by my good buddy Romel De Castro's place to get the water sprayer. I think i may have left my own water sprayer back in Corona. Anyway, i knew that the practice was going to be hard on my new Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs. Plus i needed to find the right pressures to run in order to get that maximum grip. After I had left the house, it was onto the site. Once I got to the site I registered, teched, and helped out by chalking the course.
Run Group Blue
So im in the grid, pressures set, car's warmed up, shocks at full soft up front - full stiff in rear. All ready for todays practice and the championship the next day.
1st run out - 59.6xx
wow, i didnt think i would be able to break 60.xxx After that i got side tracked a bit and started giving people rides but it was okay because some were newbies and giving a little instruction is alright. I was churning out 60.3xx consistently.
7th run out - 59.2xx
Alright Im back into the 59 second range. Pressures seemed to like 42F 37R. Just like i figured it would be around. So I let the tires cool down a bit (they shot up to 160 at one point). These tires like to be in the 125-140 range. Now im being flagged to go.
8th run out - 58.560
OH SNAP! hahaha the only sts car to be under 60 seconds. Marco Vasquez had a hard time getting into the low 60s and couldn't believe the times i was putting down. I wish I could of gotten him to ride with me. Along with this time came with a lot of autox veterans wondering who i am. HA im still being noticed =). Some think im an autocrosser from another place. Little do they know that i STARTED in SD.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
New Battery
In local news today... I bought a buddyclub race spec battery today from a good friend of mine. I'm sure you guys have seen his car in the recent super street magazine. Its a bright yellow wide body EP3 known as Bumble Bee... Anyways...got that for dirt cheap =P. Slowly getting the car prepared. I just got a set of 4 Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec 195/55R15. Some say the sidewall is too tall but we'll see. I think the rubber has potential. Next week i plan to purchase the Energy Suspension Bushings, but who know when i'll have time to install them =(. Maybe it might be time to hand the car over to my sponsors over at Hyper16valvE to get the work done. Who knows?!?!? Stay Tuned
Monday, July 14, 2008
SD Divisional Series - STS WIN!!!!
Whew... finally my first win. And to make it better, my first place win at a Divisional Series Championship!!!
I had a blast this weekend. Big thanks to good ole' Clay for allowing me to co-drive. This time we were prepared to make it up there and be heard.
Saturday, July 13 2008
Alright... the day started out pretty crappy. I made the mistake of going to a party the night before and ended up only getting 5 hours of sleep. NO BUENO. Walking the course was quite difficult for me that morning. I had walked it 3 times the day before, however my memory retention is pretty poor. After taking a closer look at the course, it became apparent that it would be a very GUTSY course. Meaning... all go, less brakes. Although the course was very spaced out, it still was a tight course and line choice would play a big part. I was very nervous coming into this event. Although it wasn't quite like the national tour. It felt just as big for me.
The car was well setup and prepared for this event other than the driver seat was still the stock couch. Everything from the HF front bar...to the es poly bushings was done in preparation for this race. I personally had no chance at contingency money since i did not attend the SF race. But to me, this was a chance for me to prove to everyone else that I am a contender in STS and that I wasnt just some punk kid with a civic.
First run out... 82.697+1
I had hit a cone on the second slalom before the backside turn around. This actually happened because I was still getting used to the steering response of the car... no problem
Second run out... 79.524
sweet... now im 3rd place and withing 0.5xx seconds from 1st. I still have a chance for tomorrow!!!
Third run was no bueno, i hadnt gone faster and not to mention coned the very last cone of the course...
Sunday, July 14 2008
This was the BIG one... with less than 0.5xx seconds between 1st and 3rd, it was still a toss up on who could win it all. Steve Ekstrand had been leading all weekend but there was still a lot of hope for myself and for Marcko Vasquez (sts 2.5rs)
With plenty of sleep, and a good understanding of the course. I can honestly say that i was prepared for today. Since our run group was last, i had plenty of time to myself to think over the course. At that time, i was also able to install my race bucket seat into the car. I have to say that this addition alone made understanding the car much easier. It then clicked to me like a big flashback that every aspect of this course, i have driven before exactly... with the exception of the increased speed. At that point, all i could think of was... "stay on the pedal, DON'T LIFT!!! IT WILL GRIP!!!"
Early that morning I received a text from good ol' buddy Jason Flores. I can't provide that information...BUT he kept on telling me to just go for it all on the first run... once that scare is out of the way, its all about managing it and harnessing the speed properly. NO PROBLEM
First run out... 77.987
Fastest time in STS based on first runs... everyone but Marcko had been in the 79.xxx second runs just like yesterday. Of course I was shocked to see that time, i thought i had coned somewhere. Right when i came back, I had Steve Ekstrand and Mark Duerst at my grid congratulating me for such a quick first time. It felt nice having a couple veterans of the sport coming over to talk to me. I felt noticed...LOL
Second run wasnt so hot... i was at a low 78.xxx but i knew it wouldnt be fast. You'll see in the video that my line choice was best overall. But that fact that i tried to give more steering input caused me to accel/understeer at some points.
Third run... 77.527
I HAD DONE IT!!! I had gained the overall lead in STS!!! But wait, Marcko was the last STS car to go and he was on my tail as well... turns out his run was a 77.661.
I had beat him by 0.049 seconds!!! Thats crazy talk!!! not to mention the leader of the whole weekend Steve Ekstrand was only 0.090 seconds away from 1st at the end of the day. Wow, what a weekend. SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!
It felt just like the national tour when Jason won. I won on my very last run... second to last person out as well.
I had a blast this weekend. Big thanks to good ole' Clay for allowing me to co-drive. This time we were prepared to make it up there and be heard.
Saturday, July 13 2008
Alright... the day started out pretty crappy. I made the mistake of going to a party the night before and ended up only getting 5 hours of sleep. NO BUENO. Walking the course was quite difficult for me that morning. I had walked it 3 times the day before, however my memory retention is pretty poor. After taking a closer look at the course, it became apparent that it would be a very GUTSY course. Meaning... all go, less brakes. Although the course was very spaced out, it still was a tight course and line choice would play a big part. I was very nervous coming into this event. Although it wasn't quite like the national tour. It felt just as big for me.
The car was well setup and prepared for this event other than the driver seat was still the stock couch. Everything from the HF front bar...to the es poly bushings was done in preparation for this race. I personally had no chance at contingency money since i did not attend the SF race. But to me, this was a chance for me to prove to everyone else that I am a contender in STS and that I wasnt just some punk kid with a civic.
First run out... 82.697+1
I had hit a cone on the second slalom before the backside turn around. This actually happened because I was still getting used to the steering response of the car... no problem
Second run out... 79.524
sweet... now im 3rd place and withing 0.5xx seconds from 1st. I still have a chance for tomorrow!!!
Third run was no bueno, i hadnt gone faster and not to mention coned the very last cone of the course...
Sunday, July 14 2008
This was the BIG one... with less than 0.5xx seconds between 1st and 3rd, it was still a toss up on who could win it all. Steve Ekstrand had been leading all weekend but there was still a lot of hope for myself and for Marcko Vasquez (sts 2.5rs)
With plenty of sleep, and a good understanding of the course. I can honestly say that i was prepared for today. Since our run group was last, i had plenty of time to myself to think over the course. At that time, i was also able to install my race bucket seat into the car. I have to say that this addition alone made understanding the car much easier. It then clicked to me like a big flashback that every aspect of this course, i have driven before exactly... with the exception of the increased speed. At that point, all i could think of was... "stay on the pedal, DON'T LIFT!!! IT WILL GRIP!!!"
Early that morning I received a text from good ol' buddy Jason Flores. I can't provide that information...BUT he kept on telling me to just go for it all on the first run... once that scare is out of the way, its all about managing it and harnessing the speed properly. NO PROBLEM
First run out... 77.987
Fastest time in STS based on first runs... everyone but Marcko had been in the 79.xxx second runs just like yesterday. Of course I was shocked to see that time, i thought i had coned somewhere. Right when i came back, I had Steve Ekstrand and Mark Duerst at my grid congratulating me for such a quick first time. It felt nice having a couple veterans of the sport coming over to talk to me. I felt noticed...LOL
Second run wasnt so hot... i was at a low 78.xxx but i knew it wouldnt be fast. You'll see in the video that my line choice was best overall. But that fact that i tried to give more steering input caused me to accel/understeer at some points.
Third run... 77.527
I HAD DONE IT!!! I had gained the overall lead in STS!!! But wait, Marcko was the last STS car to go and he was on my tail as well... turns out his run was a 77.661.
I had beat him by 0.049 seconds!!! Thats crazy talk!!! not to mention the leader of the whole weekend Steve Ekstrand was only 0.090 seconds away from 1st at the end of the day. Wow, what a weekend. SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!
It felt just like the national tour when Jason won. I won on my very last run... second to last person out as well.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Dry Season
yep... just as its stated. LONG BREAK until the next event. And the next event is a Divisional Series Championship. YIKES... talk about training difficulty prior to the event. Anyways, i thought that i would give an update on MY actual STS car and its progress so far.
Good news: As a daily driver... THE GAS MILEAGE IS AWESOME. I think i got close to 370 miles on one tank. I'd say thats pretty damn awesome. The car handles great (GMR test) and i'm highly confident with my unprepared car going into competition.
Bad News: The clutch is slipping... yep, the oil leak coming from my rear main seal has slung onto the clutch disc and flywheel face. Also my trailing arm bushings still need to be replaced. My Brake Master Cylinder also may need to be replaced as sometimes the pedal will go to the floor at stop lights. I still need a new front crossmember and the Energy Suspension bushings. And then when all that is done, finally rims and tires.
Yep still need a lot of preparation to be done. I'm hoping i will be able to get everything by the end of the year. The road to Topeka for me will start 2009 season. Things are looking great so far. Majority of the car is done and soon it'll be ready for serious competition.
Good news: As a daily driver... THE GAS MILEAGE IS AWESOME. I think i got close to 370 miles on one tank. I'd say thats pretty damn awesome. The car handles great (GMR test) and i'm highly confident with my unprepared car going into competition.
Bad News: The clutch is slipping... yep, the oil leak coming from my rear main seal has slung onto the clutch disc and flywheel face. Also my trailing arm bushings still need to be replaced. My Brake Master Cylinder also may need to be replaced as sometimes the pedal will go to the floor at stop lights. I still need a new front crossmember and the Energy Suspension bushings. And then when all that is done, finally rims and tires.
Yep still need a lot of preparation to be done. I'm hoping i will be able to get everything by the end of the year. The road to Topeka for me will start 2009 season. Things are looking great so far. Majority of the car is done and soon it'll be ready for serious competition.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
June 14, 2008 - NO$ Practice Event
This had to have been the most productive practice i have ever attended. I would like to thank my friend Jason Flores and his Co-Driver Stephen Yeoh for allowing me to practice with their STS civic. It feels so much different from my civic and it has that race car feel that my car lacks (good and bad).
Anyways, Jason gave me plenty good pointers which i had already knew... only he confirmed them for me. EF civics love short lines-grip lines. I tried to slip the car every now and then throughout the day to get an idea if the car would like it or not. I personally believe an EF sts civic should be at that limit of corner entry grip and slip at the same time. Hard to conceive but by the looks of how Ken Montonishi's car is setup, and his driving skills.... that type of style is possible with the right driver.
Quote of the day goes to me though =).
"STS civic driven by Jon Lugod comes in with a 66.803"
"...who is that guy (towards Jason Flores)" - Ken Montonishi
HAHAHA!!! YAY at least im getting the attention from "near" perfect driver Ken Montonishi. By the end of the day i ended of the morning session both me and Jason were within .5xx seconds of Ken. This made our day, but then by the end of the event Ken beat me by 1 second and Jason by .6xx
Not too shabby, but puts us in our place as drivers. I know i still need a lot of experience and seat time to get faster. Thanks to this practice i will be going into the SD California Divisional with more confidence and technique. So thank you Jason.
Anyways, Jason gave me plenty good pointers which i had already knew... only he confirmed them for me. EF civics love short lines-grip lines. I tried to slip the car every now and then throughout the day to get an idea if the car would like it or not. I personally believe an EF sts civic should be at that limit of corner entry grip and slip at the same time. Hard to conceive but by the looks of how Ken Montonishi's car is setup, and his driving skills.... that type of style is possible with the right driver.
Quote of the day goes to me though =).
"STS civic driven by Jon Lugod comes in with a 66.803"
"...who is that guy (towards Jason Flores)" - Ken Montonishi
HAHAHA!!! YAY at least im getting the attention from "near" perfect driver Ken Montonishi. By the end of the day i ended of the morning session both me and Jason were within .5xx seconds of Ken. This made our day, but then by the end of the event Ken beat me by 1 second and Jason by .6xx
Not too shabby, but puts us in our place as drivers. I know i still need a lot of experience and seat time to get faster. Thanks to this practice i will be going into the SD California Divisional with more confidence and technique. So thank you Jason.
Monday, May 26, 2008
May 25, 2008 - SDAD Championship
Well, what a weekend it was. I haven't driven an autocross since the Porche event in Santa Barbra on April 20th. That was a learning experience, but was lazy again to update my blogger. I guess when i start winning i'll be updating more... haha
OT:
This weekend was full of activities for me to attend to. Friday come home...Saturday go to my brothers Graduation Pinning @ Cal State Long Beach... Sunday Grab a win in STS.
Progress: My car is a MESS!!! Friday night while coming home, as i passed Temecula i noticed my fromt right bearing was going out again. WELL little did i know, as i pulled into the mobile gas station the noise got WORSE. So when i pulled in, i jacked up the front end and what do i see.... MY WHEEL WAS ONLY HELD ON BY MY FRONT CALIPER!!!
My whole front end is messed up. I need new wheel hubs, axles, upper/lower ball joints, tie rod ends, front cross member, and wheel bearings.
Alright, now on to the event. Thanks to my good friend Clay Schoen I was able to Co-Drive his STS prepared car for this championship.
All those following my blogs, be aware of Clay... hes determined to get better and almost has the car complete to compete with the big boys. Some Instruction and seat time and he'll be up there in no time.
Anyways, STS ran in the 3rd run group and we worked 2nd. I opted to work at the Slolam since it had a 2 cone straight into a 45ยบ 3 cone slolam. It was something I hadn't ran on before so i wanted to check it out and see how much speed i can carry through there. Clay came along with me as well and listen to what i had to say about most of the course. After a reasonably short run group, we were next and i was itching to get out there.
I had conversations with Jason (international allstars) about this event and we were both excited to see how i would do in STS. Technically this was my first STS event running a semi prepped car.
So me and Clay were in grid getting the tires aired up properly, setting the shocks right, and placing our numbers. We decided that Clay would run his 4 runs and then I run mine after him... It didn't turn out this way at all...hahaha. Clay went out for his first run coming in the 64 second range. He said the car was very stable and that there was a slight understeer at the limit. I decided that i wanted to check out what he was talking about so i went out to see what could be done to change. The only thing i can tell was that the front tires were SPINNING mid throttle?!? Must be the corner weight problem (national tour we lowered the rear and upsetted the balance). OH WELL.... well as i came in, I ran a 61.4xx and what do I hear from the trailer?
"...and jonathan comes in with a 61.4xx.... thats good enough for 1st place in STS..."
WHOOOO HOOOO.... i know i was like the 5th car out in STS but i was stoked to just hear those words. Now i just need to maintain that stand. The car was feeling good, so Clay was kind enough to let me run 2 more runs. My second run I was able to improve my time to a 61.1xx and heard the trailer say that i was still in 1st. IM STOKED... but then again Marcko (sts 2.5 RS) hasn't gone out yet and his Co-Driver Bruce McArthur was coming close to my times.
Well he went out and on his 1st run already beat my time and got down to the 60 second range. I know that if i had waited for my runs about the same time Marcko started, i may have been in the 60s range as well. I like playing catch up =). My reign as 1st quickly went down to 2nd... then by the end of the day 3rd. Im still stoked on how i performed tho... there were sections i know i could of smoothened out and kept steady pace. The Course was FAST BTW.... 3rd gear in a STS EF civic??? CRAZY Stuff.
Yay i ended up PAXing in the Top 25/118. Not too shabby i guess...
STS was very competitive. Top 5 contenders were in the 60-61 sec range all within hundreds of a second. I had a blast and can't wait till Divisionals in July.
More info on that later...
OT:
This weekend was full of activities for me to attend to. Friday come home...Saturday go to my brothers Graduation Pinning @ Cal State Long Beach... Sunday Grab a win in STS.
Progress: My car is a MESS!!! Friday night while coming home, as i passed Temecula i noticed my fromt right bearing was going out again. WELL little did i know, as i pulled into the mobile gas station the noise got WORSE. So when i pulled in, i jacked up the front end and what do i see.... MY WHEEL WAS ONLY HELD ON BY MY FRONT CALIPER!!!
My whole front end is messed up. I need new wheel hubs, axles, upper/lower ball joints, tie rod ends, front cross member, and wheel bearings.
Alright, now on to the event. Thanks to my good friend Clay Schoen I was able to Co-Drive his STS prepared car for this championship.
All those following my blogs, be aware of Clay... hes determined to get better and almost has the car complete to compete with the big boys. Some Instruction and seat time and he'll be up there in no time.
Anyways, STS ran in the 3rd run group and we worked 2nd. I opted to work at the Slolam since it had a 2 cone straight into a 45ยบ 3 cone slolam. It was something I hadn't ran on before so i wanted to check it out and see how much speed i can carry through there. Clay came along with me as well and listen to what i had to say about most of the course. After a reasonably short run group, we were next and i was itching to get out there.
I had conversations with Jason (international allstars) about this event and we were both excited to see how i would do in STS. Technically this was my first STS event running a semi prepped car.
So me and Clay were in grid getting the tires aired up properly, setting the shocks right, and placing our numbers. We decided that Clay would run his 4 runs and then I run mine after him... It didn't turn out this way at all...hahaha. Clay went out for his first run coming in the 64 second range. He said the car was very stable and that there was a slight understeer at the limit. I decided that i wanted to check out what he was talking about so i went out to see what could be done to change. The only thing i can tell was that the front tires were SPINNING mid throttle?!? Must be the corner weight problem (national tour we lowered the rear and upsetted the balance). OH WELL.... well as i came in, I ran a 61.4xx and what do I hear from the trailer?
"...and jonathan comes in with a 61.4xx.... thats good enough for 1st place in STS..."
WHOOOO HOOOO.... i know i was like the 5th car out in STS but i was stoked to just hear those words. Now i just need to maintain that stand. The car was feeling good, so Clay was kind enough to let me run 2 more runs. My second run I was able to improve my time to a 61.1xx and heard the trailer say that i was still in 1st. IM STOKED... but then again Marcko (sts 2.5 RS) hasn't gone out yet and his Co-Driver Bruce McArthur was coming close to my times.
| 'Street Touring S' - Total Entries: 8 Trophies: 2 | Club | Times | Total T. | Diff. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1T | STS | 822 | Bruce M | 01 Subaru 2.5 RS | DCCSD | 62.131 | 60.576 | 61.102 | 61.031 | 60.576 | - |
| 2T | STS | 522 | Marco V | 01 Subaru Impreza RS | SCNAX | 64.058+1 | 60.902 | 61.443 | 60.935 | 60.902 | 0.326 |
| 3 | STS | 382 | Jonathan L | 91 Honda Civic Si | 61.512 | 61.101 | 61.159 | 63.025+1 | 61.101 | 0.199 | |
| 4 | STS | 73 | Mark D | 89 Honda Civic Si | DCCSD | 66.064 | 63.539 | 62.565 | 61.884 | 61.884 | 0.783 |
| 5 | STS | 888 | Romel D | 96 Acura Integra | TART | 62.607 | 71.224+1 | 61.886 | 62.426 | 61.886 | 0.002 |
| 6 | STS | 451 | David B | 94 Honda Prelude | 68.520+2 | 63.768 | 64.047 | 63.714 | 63.714 | 1.828 | |
| 7 | STS | 245 | Clay S | 91 Honda Civic | SCNAX | 64.962 | 64.254 | 64.152 | 87.544+1 | 64.152 | 0.438 |
| 8 | STS | 752 | Rod S | 06 Acura RSX-S | 66.655 | 66.422 | 65.435 | 65.108 | 65.108 | 0.956 | |
Well he went out and on his 1st run already beat my time and got down to the 60 second range. I know that if i had waited for my runs about the same time Marcko started, i may have been in the 60s range as well. I like playing catch up =). My reign as 1st quickly went down to 2nd... then by the end of the day 3rd. Im still stoked on how i performed tho... there were sections i know i could of smoothened out and kept steady pace. The Course was FAST BTW.... 3rd gear in a STS EF civic??? CRAZY Stuff.
| Pos. | Class | # | Driver | Car Model | Club | Total T. | Factor | Pax Time | Diff. | From 1st |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PAXSS | 17 | Gary T | 04 Porsche GT3 | DCCSD | 54.467 | *0.852000 | 46.405 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 2 | ESP | 82 | Henry B | 02 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 | DCCSD | 55.399 | *0.841 | 46.590 | 0.185 | 0.185 |
| 3 | PAXEM | 143 | Jeff K | 58 Austin Healey Sprite | SCNAX | 53.226 | *0.887000 | 47.211 | 0.621 | 0.806 |
| 4 | PAXSS | 37 | Leslie C | 03 Chevrolet Corvette | DCCSD | 55.666 | *0.852000 | 47.427 | 0.216 | 1.022 |
| 5 | IS2 | 200 | Brian G | 07 Mazda Miata | SCNAX | 56.572 | *0.844 | 47.746 | 0.319 | 1.341 |
| 6 | PAXF125 | 76 | Michael C | 04 Arrow AX8 | SCNAX | 50.603 | *0.948000 | 47.971 | 0.225 | 1.566 |
| 7 | BS | 841 | Jason I | 05 Mazda RX-8 | 57.697 | *0.832 | 48.003 | 0.032 | 1.598 | |
| 8 | BM | 29 | Larry D | 74 Aardvark DB | SDAD | 52.018 | *0.937 | 48.740 | 0.737 | 2.335 |
| 9 | SK2HS | 156 | James W | 98 Subaru Impreza L | SCNAX | 62.959 | *0.776160 | 48.866 | 0.126 | 2.461 |
| 10 | SS | 142 | Tom K | 94 Mazda Rx7 | DCCSD | 57.439 | *0.852 | 48.938 | 0.072 | 2.533 |
| 11 | STS2 | 435 | Michael H | 95 Mazda Miata | SCNAX | 60.055 | *0.818 | 49.125 | 0.187 | 2.720 |
| 12 | PAXSTX | 293 | Derek P | 97 BMW 328 | DCCSD | 59.932 | *0.820000 | 49.144 | 0.019 | 2.739 |
| 13 | STS2 | 35 | Steve C | 90 Mazda Miata | SCNAX | 60.153 | *0.818 | 49.205 | 0.061 | 2.800 |
| 14 | SK1AS | 6 | Jeff C | 04 Honda S2000 | DCCSD | 59.686 | *0.825160 | 49.250 | 0.045 | 2.845 |
| 15 | DS | 572 | Carl M | 98 Acura Integra Type R | SCNAX | 60.657 | *0.812 | 49.253 | 0.003 | 2.848 |
| 16 | M1EM | 66 | Mark K | 58 Austin Healey Sprite | SCNAX | 55.692 | *0.887000 | 49.398 | 0.145 | 2.993 |
| 17 | STS | 822 | Bruce M | 01 Subaru 2.5 RS | DCCSD | 60.576 | *0.816 | 49.430 | 0.032 | 3.025 |
| 18 | STU | 126 | Larry C | 97 BMW M3 | DCCSD | 59.633 | *0.830 | 49.495 | 0.065 | 3.090 |
| 19 | STU | 101 | Thomas S | 04 Subaru WRX STi | SDAD | 59.745 | *0.830 | 49.588 | 0.093 | 3.183 |
| 20 | M1CM | 58 | Terry L | 70 Titan Formula Ford | TART | 54.911 | *0.904000 | 49.639 | 0.051 | 3.234 |
| 21 | STS | 522 | Marco V | 01 Subaru Impreza RS | SCNAX | 60.902 | *0.816 | 49.696 | 0.057 | 3.291 |
| 22 | SK1BS | 370 | Kenneth B | 06 Mazda RX-8 | DCSSD | 60.975 | *0.815360 | 49.716 | 0.020 | 3.311 |
| 23 | SM2 | 540 | Paul R | 92 Mazda Miata | 57.381 | *0.867 | 49.749 | 0.033 | 3.344 | |
| 24 | SK2HS | 148 | Tyson N | 07 Mazda 3 | SCAT | 64.165 | *0.776160 | 49.802 | 0.053 | 3.397 |
| 25 | STS | 382 | Jonathan L | 91 Honda Civic Si | 61.101 | *0.816 | 49.858 | 0.056 | 3.453 |
Yay i ended up PAXing in the Top 25/118. Not too shabby i guess...
STS was very competitive. Top 5 contenders were in the 60-61 sec range all within hundreds of a second. I had a blast and can't wait till Divisionals in July.
More info on that later...
Friday, April 4, 2008
...bored and stuck
well, worked 8-2pm today. Accomplished a whole lot of nothing at work... maybe like 2 flat repairs? oh well, its paying the sts fund so whatever. I am absolutely broke... i spent 1 dollar today on a spicy chicken sandwich at Carls JR today. Ive been eating a lot of fast food lately only because its cheap. I would LOVE to make myself a sandwhich for lunch everyday but it would cost me more =/.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
STS Civic Si - Fresh Start
By many demands from my good friend Jason Flores. I've decided to start a build blog like his.
alright guys, this is whats up. Ive been developing this civic since October 2007, and ever since then it has been a living nightmare. How? Mainly because im a full time student at the University Technical Institute, INC. in Rancho Cucamonga. And because i am full time (12pm-7PM) i have had a HARD time looking for a decent job... until recent.
RE-cap
-October 2007
At this time, i had decided to focus on building a somewhat street/autox car and so i had decided to sell my 1972 Datsun 240z. It was heavily modified but not by any autox measures. I was able to let it go for $4200. At the same time, my parents allowed me to take my brother's car; 1999 Honda Civic Ex.
After a lot of research and autoxing the car, i felt that it had little to no potential as i had hoped for. So with that in mind i headed towards craigslist for some answers.
After searching around, i finally found a seller who was willing to trade cars + cash on top for my civic. And thats where it all started. Immediately i took the extra cash and put it towards a koni/GC setup. Koni yellows w/ 400f/450r ground control coilover sleeves.
-November 2007
Now that i had my suspension coming in, i thought that id try out the car bone stock at the local autox. SCNAX was holding an event and had openings for its practice. I paid up the 40 bucks and took the car as it was bone stock. The car was a blast and i havent even started tickering with the car yet!
Well about a week after that day the motor started making some unusual noises... i thought it was valve train noise so it hadnt really crossed my mind as being something major. Well 2 days later on my way up to Irvine for a Lupe Fiasco concert, it was apparent what had happened. I spun a rod bearing...=(
-December 2007
I had just installed the coilover setup and things went downhill from there. After struggling to find another SOHC motor, a friend of mine from school had a b16a motor from his crx that he was trying to sell. Unfortunately for me, the civic was my daily driver and this was the only motor available to me at the time. So sadly, i had to take up the offer and bought the motor and sent myself straight to Street Modified. =(.
-TODAY - April 3, 2008
I spun a rod bearing at the CSCC autox up here in LA. My first LA autox and i messed up the motor. Just my luck AGAIN! Well good news is Moe (hyper16valve) is helping me rebuild this motor to STS status from the help of Jason Flores and his team. The money is coming up short and the work hours getting longer, but soon enough I will be back.
PS. im tired typing but i will writeup the whole SD National Tour experience later. Moe's keyboard is hard to type with...stiff keys.
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