^ I hear that. I think the mix is pretty simple... I have done it once... I just don't feel very confident in it. It's probably one of those things that is a easier than we make it out to be. Hope all is well Eric!

Yeah I figure I'm probably way more worried about it than I should be haha. Yep all is good. I have big plans when I get back to the US. I hope things are well with you too! Seems like the car is keeping you pretty happy lol.

^It sure is man! So you coming to Seven Stock this year? .....You've got to make one of them!! haha

Update: "Add 12 More Hours to the Job"


Again...there is no bragging here... I actually got a bit fed up and needed to take a break. Working with the Aluminum is what I'm familiar with...but Its also very tedious. I have to test fit the ducting every single time I pop a rivet on the sides because I can never get it to align EXACTLY on the measure. So with the tolerances being so tight... and the mounting being so snug.. it takes ...give or take a min to put the damn ducting on.. and then another 35 or so seconds to take the damn thing off. It's not just.. " hold it up.. Yeap looks good" And drill and pop a bunch of rivets. That wouldn't work at all. Anyways... I ended up muddeling the Lower Intercooler duct up... the bend is tricky... re-bent it 5 times...over the course of 3-4 hours and finally realized the piece was compromised haha. Got pissed... and had to go get more alum sheet. But The second try was on point. got the smooth bend into the sharp mounting lip Nice and even all the way across. Needed to measure it 1/4" off on each length because believe it or not..the IC placement is offset as well. But enough talk...more walk... and PICS!!! Here you go!

Here is the jacked intercooler lower I ended up trashing
Attachment 630263
Vs the new good bent one
Attachment 630264
After I got the lower section done on the Intercooler.... I kind of fell into the groove... Had the metal-core blasting in the garage and everything was flowing... Re-discovered "A life once Lost's - A Great Artist" album... Solid...All the way through. Listened to it over and over again throughout the day.
Anyways...I got the Upper cut, measured and mounted onto the IC.
Attachment 630265
Reinforced with the Aluminum window trimming.., this stuff is really cheap too! but they ran out of the 1/2" stuff.. So I had to use the 1"-1/2" stuff on the upper section of the IC. I actually like it a little better..but then smaller 1/2" cuts are better for tight spaces..such as the areas close to the Bash bar. Both are sturdy enough though.
Close up of the tolerance between heat exchanger and Duct mating surface
Attachment 630266
Then I got tired of looking at my hacked up Bash bar and wire wheeled all the old paint off. Hit it with some self etching primer..
Attachment 630267
Silver Metallic
Attachment 630268
and the gorgeous hot magenta....
Attachment 630269

So I have a small problem with the paint shop I've been going to. This one can of magenta, the one can of Self etching Primer, and the one can of Silver metallic cost me 97 BUCKS!!! I was like... What on earth... I was willing to pay around 45-50...but jesus Christ. First they said they could no longer get the paint, then they said they have plenty of the base that they used to come up with it... but because they charged me nearly 45 bucks for the magenta.. I only got one can. So I ran out of it towards the end... So I had to ghetto cover it in places that would show and leave the back side with one coat. Sucks...but no way I was going to waste another 45 bucks on one can of paint. For instance.. It cost me 250 to do the WHOLE engine bay. And that was with 5-6 cans of magenta.. and 3 of the silver base..AND that was with the purchase of self etching primer/acrylic clear. Price has literally tripled +. But it still looks much better than the chipped mess it was.
Finished for the most part!
Attachment 630270
backside view
Attachment 630271
Used the Metal exhaust tape to seal it further.. .. Keeping it real!
Attachment 630272
Finished
Attachment 630273

So there are a few things I need to tidy up. I need to add the safety wire mounts to the lower Rad lip & the upper rear most lip. This will keep the backside from blowing out like the previous ducting. It’s awesome how tight it fits though..It literally holds itself in place. Snaps in and takes some slight force to get right lined up. But I think it’ll pay off this summer. It’s already 80+ degrees out here in Ca. And I’m thinking I’ll go drive HTM again this weekend. Maybe just Balcony to get it dialed again…or maybe both sat and Sunday if I can get another set of tires haha.
Anyways, I need to cut out some small vents in the Upper IC duct for the Power steering cooler…although it doesn’t really need it.. I figured this would be a good time to get to that. And lastly.. I have leak somewhere in the power steering system…. Pretty sure its coming from somewhere around the top half of the Power steering resevoire. It’s really bothering me because P/S fluid is nasty… not that nasty…but it’s mucking up the drivers side of my engine bay and leaves a quarter sized puddle under the car. I hate leaks. I’m going to do an oil change…. Grab some tires and take the car out to see how she feels. It’s also about time to change the Trans fluid. I’m going to use Redline Shock proof gear oil this time around. See how it does in the heat. Anyways…. Stay tuned for some color… and some drifting shots this weekend!! The Fueled by AI system is on it’s way along with lines and fittings!!!! I’m pretty excited to get it all installed!. More updates soon!

Stay tuned!! And if you come out this weekend!! Say whats up! Just drift Sat/Sun Feb 21st & 22nd! WSIR Balcony and HTM

Good!

I'm gonna try, but I have a lot of things planned for this year...first of which getting the car back on the road lol. I do plan to make it to at least one though lol.

You know, it's gonna get really expensive if you keep repainting your bash bar every time it gets chipped LOL, especially at $97 haha.

Good work!

hahaha.. youre right. I'm not going to paint it again. Seven stock was pretty fun this last year. Hoping this year will be just as good!

Update: Just Drift Season Opener – “Rain or Shine” Part 1

This past weekend was the Just drift Season opener out here in Southern California put on by Charlie and the Just Drift staff. This would be the first outing for me this season and I was anxious to get out there. It was also the first time I’d be able to take my new trailer out! I had originally signed up for Sunday only, but a couple texts confirmed my buddies would be Going Saturday….and as usually…it’s best to partake in the first day because you never know who’ll be healthy for the second haha. But It was good to get out there. Shout out to Ryan Carrol for being one of my inspirations…this guy goes to as many events possible…and truly LOVES driving!
Anyways… Here are some quick pics!
Loading up The Wolf Saturday Morning
Attachment 629864
The Giant line at Willow to get in
Attachment 629865
Team IMR’s Mascot… “ILA” I want one so bad….
Attachment 629866
My Carnage after Saturday…thanks again to Team Alessio Hancock for swapping all of these for me!! And to Alex Heilbrunn for the steal deal on the tires he wasn’t using!
Attachment 629867
Sunday was pretty gnarly due to the rain and it was my first time out in these conditions. At first it was actually easier to link sections…but as the rain started and stopped.. the track started to get really inconsistent. There were Dry patches…and really slick sections… and honestly…I thought…THOUGHT I had it figured out until I messed up going up the backside of horse thief. Mid-top of 3rd going up the hill and really thought I could make it to the hair-pin at the top right by staging.. and all the sudden I gripped up. Before you knew it… I was headed off track at around 55-60.. Slid pretty damn far and ended up backwards on the mountain. Car started fine.. and maybe it was good it was raining? I dunno… it was a quick little wake up call though. I actually caught it on my Go Pro…so I’ll have to post it up for you guys. There was no damage other than a part of my side skirt ripping off. And shovel full of mud in my nice new Ducting…but no bends….no fouls…no harm… Just drift!!! Got back out there and Had fun. The car ran great the whole weekend and I couldn’t ask for a better tune. My main thing was Throttle control on Saturday…when it was dry. And It really helped when the rain laid down a nice slick layer over the track. It was a great experience.
Staged for the black and red
Attachment 629868
Drew, Caitlin, Ray, and some buddies all taking shelter in the best investment ever haha
Attachment 629869
Pit Wolf
Attachment 629870
Part deux on its way…. Stay tuned !!!!

More pics and Videos soon!!

Just drift Season Opener @ HTM Part Deux "rain or shine"


Sunday was getting off to a slower start. Mostly because I didn't have tires mounted..nor was I actually supposed to drive. I ended up paying for sunday On sunday morning at the drivers meeting. Luckily there was room! Either way.... the rain was an excellent way to really get in touch with the cars subtleties. Power was utterly useless....so everyone who was out on track really needed to drive to get link things up. I was talking to a couple buddies out there and some of them really had it down. I on the other hand was feeling a little uncomfortable out there. But later on in the day...after people started leaving.. I must've stayed out on track for some 25 laps. And it really really helped me figure things out. I was able to link the judged section what seemed like 5-6 laps without going off or dirt dropping and I noticed that my throttle modulation was much smoother. The last part of that session ended with a pro 2 driver following me into the judged section. Alex Hilbrunn was following me....and I thought to myself.. No biggie.. same as the previous 5 laps. ...Of course I carried a little too much speed coming down the hill and went off. That was kind of disappointing....but it was one out of so many others. But it also gave me some good feedback. I know the car is set up competitively. And I know it's as reliable as a rotary can be. But As a driver..I'm really just not sure I'm ready for Pro-AM. I'm going to compete...hopefully make Round one.. mostly for the experience and to see how it is out on track. But I think Limited will be a better choice for me. Just a thought.. crossed my mind...figured i'd share. I was also talking to some of my good buddies.... guys who've been doing this a while. And they're constantly giving me feedback and advice. Letting me know what i'm doing right.. and mostly what I need to improve. Which is something I definitely don't take for granted. THere's a big difference between stepping on the gas to power out of every bad driving situation... and actually drifting and carrying speed through ....into....and onto the next. I'm going to be working on being as smooth as possible. Driving on my low boost setting...which was what I used in the rain throughout the day. And Making sure that I keep following my buddies advice. After all they're just telling me their experience because they want me to get better as well. Anyways!! Onto the rest of sunday! and pics!
Attachment 629749
Alessio keeping the fc Fit for the track! It was cold out...and wet. and Miserable...but what a hell of a good time!
Attachment 629750
Not having windshield wipers sucked.... I didn't have a problem fogging up. But It was almost impossible to see at one point. I literally fallowed a giant dark gob into a slid. That gob was a car.. and the only way I could see it was through my side windows in drift. I had to pull out hah.
This stuff helps a ton!
Attachment 629751
I went off track 6-10 times... I don't know how many... Nothing crazy.. and the rain actually made it nice and smooth.
Attachment 629752
And then I got a litle too comfy on the back side of HTM and went off. Must've been doing 55-60ish thought I could hold it all the way up the hill so I went to transfer over and the rear end caught and sent me straight off. Into the dirt and luckily a spin and backwards into the mountain. Broke my skirt.. Hammered my front wheel. Bent both tie rods very slightly. And made me think twice about carrying so much speed with the track being so inconsistent (patches of dryer and slicker spots). I needed to be careful.
Attachment 629752
http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/y...pszgqidozu.jpg
But the day went well and I ended up going back out for another couple sessions. Tires lasted alllllllll day and I didn't have to change them once. IT was great.
Attachment 629754
Got the car home and realized just how dirty she was the next day after work.
FILTHY
Attachment 629755
Attachment 629756
Attachment 629757
Luckily...she cleans Up well!!!!
Attachment 629758
And Lastly.... You know how they say keep your hands inside? Well I had a passenger and he luckily kept his arms inside the window. This is Damage from a tire blow out at 40ish heading into the uphill on the backside of htm. That could've been bad had someones hand or arm been hanging out.
Poor car
Attachment 629759

I know any form of racing is tough on a vehicle, and there is always the chance of some damage... but there is just no way I could do something like that and see the car getting demolished every weekend. At the end of the day if youre out having fun I guess thats all that matters, but it would make me cry.

I guess I can get where you're coming from. But it's more than just the vehicle for me now. And it's not getting demolished every weekend. This event was an exception because the second day it rained. After Saturday....the car was literally cherry still. The rain was a huge learning experience that I wouldn't even trade the passenger side door dent for. I wish it wasn't there..but it tells a story. The car runs Very well and as long as the damage remains cosmetic.... I'm not worried. I have all new Aero ready to go and I can't wait to get it on and painted! Anyways... this is what I built the car for. And trust me... It hurts to see cosmetic damage....but on a deeper level.. it really is all worth it
Attachment 629737
Attachment 629738
Attachment 629739
Thanks so much to Dana Penington for the Awesome shots!! be on the look out for some exciting documentary of our southern california drift scene from him!:icon_tup:

Love the build and have been following it for ages, gave me some inspiration for my own RX that i use for drift.
I would agree that a few battle scares are a fair trade for experience.

would it be worth adapting the bash bar to give better flow to your IC duct?

Hey thanks! As it is I'm seeing pretty low AIT's....Even with the bar where it is. With the Bumper on..the opening is only around 2" exposed to incoming air...But I'm really not so worried about my AIT's as they really havn't ever been a problem :icon_tup:

Small Update:

A good buddy of mine and one of the first people I met here on Rx7club Benny Operator and Owner of "BubbleTech" a primarily Rotary based company...a company spurred from a pure rotary passion... Burnt 100% to the ground. In less words... Benny shared more passion for these cars than almost anyone I knew...even coming across the country over the years for Seven stock just to help support and promote our little niche Market. If you have the time and are able to spare anything from 1.00 dollar up to whatever you can.. please take a second to read the following post. As someone who's dumped my life into my car... I can't imagine all of it being 100% gone. ....Reading Benny's news.. and the updates on the fire..and knowing what was in his shop...his entire life...rare hard to come by parts...Friends cars, his own car, a life-times worth of man hours in product development for our cars..... honestly......well lets just say not many things move me.. but it was hard to keep my eyes from filling. Even now..typing this makes me feel a bit queezy. Please take a second to donate what you can. And if you can't.. no problem and no harm done. Here is the link, Thanks for reading guys!!

Phoenix Garage: Rebuilding Bubble Tech HQ From The Ashes ? Bubble Tech

I donated a few days ago. Makes me sick to think of losing so much. Phoenix Garage would be a great name for his shop if he rebuilds it and decides to change the name. That's about as literal as you can get.

^ no kidding huh. "Pheonix Garage" Literally inspired by passion. I was trying to think of what i'd do in the situation. Came to the conclusion.. i'd either pack up and leave the state and start new. Or go on hiatus.

I was thinking Phoenix Garage because if he rebuilt it, it would have risen from the ashes, literally.

^yea. There really couldn't be a better time for a change either. "Risen from the ashes." = Literally.

Small Update:

It's been a few since I've been able to get on here but I assure you.....that every day I am doing at least something to the wolf. It's hard to just step back and leave the car alone when you can truly see how the simple things...such as general up keep, maintenance and even cleaning can translate to a positive event experience. Although I am still learning..and I dont' think i'll ever stop both as a driver and self taught mechanic, I really do silently boast to myself about how well prepared I can be. Show up to the event..and have everything ready. Others are rushing around.. I'm sitting back in my chair.. resting and chatting with buddies before I go out again. Of course...that's not always the case. But there are countless things you can do before you hit the track....so that when you can get there.. all you need to worry about is driving. Pre-mixing all my fuel cans.... making sure I have enough fuel for a Saturday and sunday. Having tires, and making sure they're mounted (Dropped the ball on this this past event) .....(but then again I wasn't planning on driving sunday), Taking care of little alignment tweaks etc. I've been doing all of these little things. I sometimes ask myself why certain people even came to the event...because all they're doing is wrenching on the car to get it to make a lap. I don't mean to criticize or anything.. but I guess this is just that. But my very first event last year I watched a guy show up sunday morning.....and literally work on his car the entire day. Said he had driven hours to get there. I was thinking to myself... geese what a waste. pay for the event = $$$ pay to haul the car out to the event = $$$. Not a single lap. Or.... one lap....car breaks down...or only one half set of tires. That kind of seems like a waste to me.. Granted there are different situations that I may not understand..nor is it even my business. But blah blah I'm just ranting. Anyways... I've been doing a bunch of little things to get myself ready for Top Drift Round 1. Which I'm still not 100% Certain i'll be participating in. There are a few deciding factors that I'm waiting on but either way... the Wolf Is ready.

Spent a little time cleaning my engine bay..... Cleaned My 8+ year old HKS filter and inspected it for degradation...
embarrassing
Attachment 629166
Pulled both Rear over fenders off to clean all the muddy crud out and re fasten the overs so that they're not all flapping around and errrythang
Attachment 629167
And also did A few quick Renderings of my Race Suit
Option 1
Attachment 629168
Option 2
Attachment 629169
Doing a quick front toe alignment...which i'll have to re do because I'm going to increase Front end Caster juuuuust a tad
Attachment 629170
Sooooooo dirty
Attachment 629171
And got my Door Numbers from "Super Wow Factory" I'm hoping they'll let me use them.
Attachment 629172
and forgot to post these up... HTM
Attachment 629173
Attachment 629174


Anyways I'll keep you guys updated, but I'm still waiting for the rest of my Aero to get in.. No thanks to the port of Long beach workers.. Geeese... Let's go guys!!!!

and lastly..if anyone is interested. I'm selling my 13B-RE upper Intake manifold to help fund this first event. If anyone's interested....I'll give you a good deal on an un-ported, un-molested Cosmo Upper!!! Pm me if you'd like!!
http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/y...psbhgbcxhm.jpg

More Updates soon!!

Stay tuned!!

Update: "Little Bits Here and there"

As the title states...i've been doing quite a bit of work on the wolf. Doing my best to maintain the machine and make sure she's still singing her song. With that comes the financial burden and the a particularly dedicated schedule. When I first started this build.... my white board was used primarily as a purchase board haha. Parts I needed to purchase to get to the next step. Now the board has become a maintenance priority list as well as acting as an event check list - "things I need to have done or with me at the event." For instance... Looking at my board earlier this week I had things listed as such:
- Check Rear Toe - should be 1/4" toe in
- Zero out Rear Camber
- Re-align Front end Toe/???Front inner tie replace?

So I'd go through the list and check off as much as possible in my little late night sessions. The rear toe was dead on 1/4 Toe in. The camber was neg -2" and I'm afraid I won't totally be able to zero it out at my current ride height. I pushed it all the way in though as far as possible...which wasn't far off from where it was to begin with and my test drive seemed to drive straight after everything settled so I guess the easiest way to tell will be my tire wear after a few sessions come practice day. SO we'll see how that goes.
As I think I already mentioned....I had bent my passengers side inner tie rod at the last event... so I ordered a replacement from J-auto. ONly 47 bucks or so. After shipping...like 53ish or so. Not bad. But then I realized that a couple years ago I had purchased Powered by Max S14 Inner Tie Rods. A buddy of mine "Derek Bianski" had been using them with his set up and said that he loved them. So I purchased them. This was pretty bad ass because I had almost completely forgot I had them. So I pulled them out and quickly realized a few differences. Derek had said I would need to cut off some of the threads on the outer section of the tie rod in order to make them fit length wise and retain the ability to adjust em. So I simply lined up my OEM inner ties and the PBM ones right next to eachother, extended them all the way out... Taped them to measure, and cut them with my angle grinder. A few days before that, when I had originally found The PBM inner tie rods.. I ordered some Outer Tie Rod ends from Touge Factory. I Tried to get the Touge factory s-14 outers..but they were out, back ordered. So I ended up Ordering the Circuit Sports outers instead. When I got them.... They actually looked pretty solid. I will say that I was slightly dissappointed that while threading them onto the inner ties... the threading was off centered.. resulting in that Tiny wobble corked screwish deal. I usually use that as a reference as to when something is bent. So i don't know if I jut got a bad set or if the're all like that...but i was like "Gahhhdamnitt." I'm not the kind of person who likes to wait till the last second to get things done, so I just used them anyways. I need the car set and ready to go come Sunday as I may be going out to willow to test. Sending parts back and forth would be a waste of time and effor unless it was seamless.. and by seamless I mean no hic-ups, no wait time, no hassle. So I guess I'm thinking I'll give another brand another shot before I order the circuit sports outers again. The Powered By Max Inners are really nice though. Ok ok move on..
So Once I got the old ties off I just once overed my rack just to make sure it looked and felt solid still. Every thing looked good and felt solid...so I Simply cleaned the old grease of....applied nice grease off the geared and sliding sections and put the new inner ties on. Used my sweet pusher tool to get the old OEM outers off and put the circuit sports outers on. After everything was assembled and the rack boots were safety wired on I did an alignment. 1/4" toe out and secured everything nice and tight. Took the car out and was Immediately....even just backing the car out of the driveway I was very impressed with how much tighter and smooth the steering felt. The steering never really felt bad....but after installing this new set up... I had a pretty good smile on my face. I also increased Caster on the passenger side as i'm almost positive the crash had knocked it out of place. I'm now sitting at about 4.8 Degrees up front. But I'm thinking of just maxing it out up front to see how the car reacts. Everytime i've increased it in the past the car has felt better and better in transition.
While I was doing the install, I went ahead and cleaned up all the muddy build up on the coilovers/uca's/lca's and just the wheel well in general as well. Gotta keep things working good...that means keeping the dirt off and out as much as possible.

Left to right: PBM Inner tie rod, J-auto OEM replacement, (2) OEM inner ties...one of them is bent
Attachment 628425

that lyfe yo
Attachment 628426
measured taped and cut
Attachment 628427
comparison after cutting. I left some extra length just in case I needed it..(you can always cut more off) but putting back on....
Attachment 628428
installed
Attachment 628429
Pushed old outers off
Attachment 628430
Circuit sports outers installed and finished up the install
Attachment 628431

So i've got 6 tires on the way, My race suit wassssss on the way..and luckily I called this morning because the guy I talked to said an e-mail was sent telling me that the suit was back ordered. I hate when that happens. It's like...just call the person man. So I checked my e-mail... of course it went to the spam folder. So, I almost cancelled the order and was damn near it but I happened to take a look at their garage sale and they ended up having a pretty solid deal on one of last years FIA 2000 approved suits. It was on sale so against everything in my body.....I purchased it. But I figure the comfort level should be night and day. They also had it in my exact size and color preference, so I guess it was meant to be. He said it'll be shipped today. So lets hope he sticks to that.. actually i'm gonna give him a call right after this to confirm haha.
I also ordered some Redline Shock-proof heavy duty for my Transmission....It's about time I changed the fluid. It still feels great....but it's been roughly 2 years since i last changed it and thats just being negligent. "Take care of her and she'll take care of me." I've got new Spark plugs here, so those will be going in today or tomorrow and I'm thinking I should just go out on sunday and make sure everything is solid for Round 1. Socks, shoes, and gloves are on the way... the 20% Discount to Top drift competitors is Excellent from FRsport and it really did save me some funds! Stayed under my budget of 300 Bucks and I got 3 Qts of Redline Heavy duty SHockproof gear oil, Sparco gloves, (2) pairs of socks and Shoes shipped for 290. Thanks Adam K. for setting this up for everyone. I'm sure everyone appreciates it!

Anyways....I was thinking, I think it would be wise for me to switch to a 17x9.5" front wheel. More clearance, less weight, Lower ride height, Cheaper tires, Cheaper wheels, Easier to store.. eveything except that "Baller" factor, which I would def miss because we all like big and shiny...but I'm thinking of going all around 17's pretty soon here. I'm going to do the math and list all the pro's and cons out again and see where that ends me. But the car is ready for the event! Just double checking everything... and The Wolf is ready to go!!!

I'll update you guys again soon here....maybe sunday afternoon or so.

Stay Tuned!!


Updates soon!!

Update!! "Putting time in"


Whats up guys! So I've been really putting some time in.... not just in the wolf. But in all Aspects of my life. I recently quite my Job...giving up all the securities a full time salary job with benefits could offer. For a chance to live life the way I want to. Using my work ethic and motivation to start making a solid living. With that comes a bit of school/studies and a whole lot of focus if I want to continue doing what I'm doing. I'm very excited to be getting started and I'm happy to say that my gut knows i've made the correct choice! Now on to the Wolf and Just Drift Pro-Am!!

This post should've probably started a couple weeks ago when I started prepping for Round 1 of the Just Drift Pro Am series. I knew I wanted to do everything in my control to ensure that the wolf was 100% ready to rip, this way I could concentrate purely on driving. With this being my first Judged event....I knew I'd need all the preparation I could get. I started with the simple things...Oil Filter and oil change, double checking coolant, Fuel Filter clean, Power steering fluid check, and an inspection under the car. The transmission fluid change was a pain in the ass. My Harbor freight Transfer pump is on its last leg and it doesn't seal completely. So I had to clamp it all the way with one hand...pump with the other...all the while being on my back in a limited area under the car. Got it done in about 45 Min. Should've taken 15 haha.
This time around I used Redline Heavy Duty Shock-Proof Gear oil for the transmission. It has been recommended to me by a few different trusted people so I figured I'd give it a shot. Although... The Idemitsu I had in there has done a solid job for the past 3 years. I couldn't really tell much of a difference in trans feel immediately but I'll revisit that after the next long track day.
Once I was able to get under the car I took a few different sized wrenches and just started checking things. I found that both Turbosmart Gate clamps were loose...like embarrassingly loose.... and so were the clamps fastening my dump tubes. Tightened those up and decided to check the Manifold to engine bolts. Those were solid.. nice and tight. Turbo to manifold inconel hardware......Solid and secure. I'll have to keep an eye on the Turbosmart clamps. Luckily they seat in, otherwise who knows.
After that I decided to investigate a small oil leak i'd developed over the past 4 weeks or so. Never seemed to be more than a half dollar here and there. But I HATE leaks. I had also found a small penny sized puddle of what seemed like E85 towards the front of my drivers side strut tower. So I got under there and started cleaning up....and let me tell you. If there's one thing I realized.. its not to let these little leaks go without addressing them. What a mess. OIl and caked dirt/mud from the rainy day drift event..... Everywhere. I started Cleaning and finally got to where I could actually look for the leaks. I found where the Fuel (E85) was coming form. The drain spickette fitting on the bottom of my Oil catch can was a little loose. There was no Oil in the can...and I've virtually forgotten about emptying it because it never has much in it at all. It had a little Fuel in it when I pulled it off. So I cleaned the threads and the fitting real good with brake cleaner and re-installed it.. Good to go! Next up was finding the oil leak. At first I thought it might be my Power steering reservoir... because the top of the plastic usually has some residue on it after track time. But it wasn't P/S fluid. It was definitely oil. Looking around there All I could see was that it was either the oil pan.....but then it couldn't be because it looked like it was coming from above that a little.... The oil cooler line...maybe had somehow developed a tiny hole and was leaking from underneath the Fire sleeve.. or my OIl filler neck was leaking where it attaches to the middle iron... but that couldn't be because the area was clean and dry. I spent a good 30 min under the car looking but couldn't find anything worth checking. So I cleaned everything really good. And started the car. Let it idle for about 15 min and shut it down. Went and ate lunch and came back hoping I'd be able to see what was up. Got under there and saw that my front bearing Main feed Oil line had a nice little line of oil coming from the Front cover side. Immediately pulled it off and found this.
Remember my Rush for All Star Bash last year? Well that came back to bite me. This is what happens when you rush. This line was chewed and split...and I bet...was barely hanging on to the threads on the inside of the AN fitting.
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I cut off the damaged hose and re-made the line the way it should've been made originally. Installed it, started the car and kept my eye on it to watch for leaks. AFter about 20 min. No oil. Took it out and gave it a couple quick rips. Came back to the garage... Still solid. Job done well. I still check on these little things here and there just to make sure they're holding up though.
Next was checking my Charge pipes. Which was embarrassing as well. I don't know if they've worked themselves loose or what.. but most of my clamps aside from maybe 1 were pretty loose. This could be why the car felt like it was a bit slower. Boost leaks everywhere. Annoying. So I'll definitely be upgrading to some Vibrant clamps after driving season. Took the car out again and it felt faster... but still not where it was... So I let her idle and started slowly revving here and there and checking my Vac circuit. Found that the fitting I had replaced on my Brake booser had come loose.
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So I pulled off the silver heat barrier and cleaned the area really well. and used Super Copper in-between the Seat and the insert to seat the Rubber Grommet. Came back in an hour and inserted the metal AN fitting. Nice and Tight!!! Wayyyy better than I had originally had it. Didn't fully install it till the next morning after the Super Copper had cured.
I wanted to be ready for the track.. I wanted to get some practice... because I want to do well in Top drift. So on that morning... since I packed everything up, put the Wolf in the trailer and headed out to the track for some testing and practice.
It's always a good time on the way out there. I love it!!
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Since it was such short notice... I ended up just going by myself. Figured i'd take it easy and just make sure everything on the car felt good. Check my alignment and mess with suspension settings. But didn't want to get into it too much because I still needed to conserve tires.
I brought cones to set up some clipping points on Balcony but when I got to Willow.....Balcony was already booked. So I went to the dirt oval. Pulled up and Rob Parsons #Chairslayer and Will Roegge. They were shooting some stuff for Rob. Asked if I could share the track with them and they were all about it. Unloaded the car and Drew From OMG drift showed up. I was like "Dang, what a good day to come out." Drew was shooting a promo Vid for the Go Pro Furious 7 Contest Go Pro was putting on. He asked if he could mount his rig on the Wolf and of course I said yes.
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I also went over to the Walt James Oval....with the Wall. And ran into Adam Knapik. Shot the shit and snapped a couple pics. His new Wrap is sick.
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Went back out to the dirt oval and got some Laps in. The car felt pretty damn good. Didn't want to change much since I was liking how it was feeling. But figured I'd save the settings on the dampers, make some changes and go back if I didn't like it. Went 4 clicks harder in the rear and double checked my alignment before going back out again.
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The car felt different but still good. I didn't want to destroy all the life on my tires so I decided double check some suspension stuff in the rear. I brought 2 sets of tires I'd be able to go through. but my goal was to use one of them and put a couple laps on the other set. But I needed to have 10 tires for ROund 1. So after the first set was done...only like 4 Hot laps on this track.. I came in and swapped tires and checked suspension.
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See anything....?? I found that my Hydro E-brake Bracket was a bit loose on the Passenger side as well as one of the Pillow balls was done and messing up my passenger rear alignment. Uneven wear.
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Finished swapping tires and inspecting and went to check out Robs car. This thing is really nice. He built a hell of a car. Very Impressive. IF any of you guys havn't ever seen it in person and get the chance too... Make sure you take a few to check it out!! Hand Controls! Gas, foot Brake, Clutch,.... All hand controls because he cannot use his Legs due to paralysis from a dirt bike accident. The car is really cool. Rob is a huge inspiration not just because of his situation.... but because he brings the passion. ALLLL the Passion to do what he loves. And that means so much to me. Thats something you have to look up to.
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Supercharged LS making 600ish WHP Gnarly.
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Rob will be competing in Top drift this year as well!

Continued....

Here is a little Test Day Vid I made. In cabin rocking out to Poison the well..




After the test I took the car home and found that I might've had yet ANOTHER boost leak.

one of my couplers had a small gash in it Looks like the hood was hitting it. So I trimmed the area down where it was hitting and made sure that it wasnt going to touch it again.
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Luckily I had some more Vibrant Hose to make another coupler :icon_tup:

I double checked some small things like coolant level etc again and decided to go through my check list I had written on my white board in the garage.
I was still waiting for my new plugs to come in but remembered that my knee was a little sore from constantly banging up against my E-brake bracket. So I pulled out some of my SFI Roll Bar Padding. And Rigged up a nice little damper on it. Works great!
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Installed:icon_tup:
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Now I'm gonna be working in comfort :lol: But it really does work well haha.

Anyways.... I also forgot about my front bumper. Since I won't be using my New kit until I can afford paint etc... I pulled my Old Burnout bumper out of retirement and fitted it to the Wolf's new Front ducting. You need a front bumper to compete. Doesn't fit the way I'd like it to but at least it mounts up and stays securely in place.
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Relaxing the night before the Event with Mia
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With all the real maint done I was able to sit down and actually clean up the little things you sometimes forgot about. Wipe off and make sure the Bubble-tech Carbon Door Panes were nice and tight...and Clean! Also showing some love for Super Wow Factory. Solid company off to a excellent start! Stickers are rad!
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Turbosource and Super Wow! If any of you guys havent checked out These two companies... You should. :icon_tup::nod:
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Even when you Plan ahead... sometimes you forget Really Important things. Such as Rotating your front tires for longer life. This was the day I got back from Testing... Messed up big time. I really Really like the 245/35/18 Federal RSR's up front. Blew it on that one though :icon_tdow:blush:
So I had to go out and source something I could:
1) Afford
and
2) Hold up to a much More Aggressive driving style than I'm used to.

Since I'm not working right now. I have a fixed Budget that I can't go over. All I could Afford were Federal 595's 225/35/18. I was pretty worried about this because Last thing I want is to keep pushing the front end around. Figured as long as I Huck the shit out of the car into my first initiation and keep it smooth in the slower speed stuff.. I should be just fine.
Ruined RSR's
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Been Jammmmmming out to Odesza Lately... Solid album!
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Continued:

Went and picked up my Tire order from Andy's Tires
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The more and More I use them...Although I have limited experience with many of the higher end tires.. The more I come to love the Federal SS595's out back. Really Consistent Grip and Decently long life. Good Price too! Size's 245/40/18.
My Race suit came in. Soooo stoked on it. It's an older model: Sparco M3. But its SA2000. I Don't think I can thank my Sponsor enough for this. Julian from Aftermarket Industries And Elliot from Turblown really came through with this thing. Going with a slightly older suit allowed me to get a higher end one, which was the best move ever, because some of the cheaper suits are really un-comfortable and un-bearingly thick/Hot. This suit will be Embroidered with the "AI" logo on the front of the suit as well as the "Turbo Source" logo. I'm amped!
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On Thursday afternoon I went and picked up my trailer, cleaned it out and started packing up everthing I'd need for the event. This was a good time for me to focus on what I would need to do to Qualify on Sunday's comp runs. I also cleaned out the Garage....because theres nothing better than coming back to a nice clean garage.
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No clue where the hell this picture went on Photobucket but I can say that they've been dropping the ball organization wise lately. Get it together!!!!!
"insert pic of sick clean ass garage picture with American flag"

Anyways.......I got a call early Wed Saying that my Overfenders have finally made it in off the docs. They've been on the boat for 3 Months due to the dock workers ordeal. So I rushed down there and had to Nab them.
geeeese these are nice.... So amped on them...
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I now have practically my complete kit. But I messed up and sold my voltex diffusor. I should've kept it. It looked really good on there. But i'm not going to put any of the new Aero on until I have time and money for paint. Can't wait to put it all on.
Anyways Everything was set. Have my Suit, shoes, gloves, and socks. Trailer was packed, and all was ready for the event.

Me and Brandon Took my truck and trailer out to willow on Friday afternoon to score a good spot for the event. We scored a sick spot right across the way from the parking lot vendor section.

Dropped the trailer off and went home to get a good nights sleep. Brandon was picking me up at 5:15 AM and we were going to head out and start setting up.

Woke up and ate breakfast. Brandon was already on the way and I couldn't wait to get out to the track.

Early mornings at the track are great. Beautiful morning for some solid practice!!!
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Continued Update.....

Thanks again!!!!^^^^!!!!!

So we got set up Saturday and had our drivers meeting. Practice was pretty relaxed...but I couldn't shake my Nerves and wasn't really comfortable out there until my last session of the day. I got a total of 8 Laps all through Saturday....which is pretty normal for the competition set up. But I could've used some extra Runs for sure.

Putting on the Super Wow Factory Door Numbers
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One of my best friends, Erik Flores Came out from Ventura to help out and watch. Meant a ton!!
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I was in B group so figured I check out some of the other drivers in A before heading out on track for the first run
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on the grid... Gawd awefully hot out there
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Darin, Dan, and Allessio hangin at lunch.....anyone remember.. "Remembering Never." Hah! ...but seriously...?
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Practice got progressively better But I was still really nervous. After a while... I just kept telling myself I needed to chill the hell out and just drive. By my last runs I was feeling much better. Threw down a few runs without giant corrections and no spins. Just needed to work on my line coming into the first outside clipping zone and an early set up for the green water building.
Thanks to Import addicts for the sweet pic!
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The car ran great all Day Saturday...didn't get hot at all. In fact... I didn't see anything over 92C out there after my back to back hot laps and coming to a dead stop after waiting on the grid.:hsdance:

Plan was to go home get a good night sleep wake up and try to throw down some solid consistent practice before qualifying started.

Here were a couple of my runs during practice on Saturday.

Continued...


So Sundays practice didn't quite go as planned. I spun a couple times in dummmmmb spots and noticed that i was really starting to Crack under the pressure. I got 5 laps during practice. Spun on 2 of them and linked the other 3. 2 of them would definitely have counted to be scored as qualifiers. I was just so damn nervous that it was hard to focus on where I needed to improve while I was out there. I knew what I needed to do, it was just lack of experience and nerves that got to me this First round. I know the car is completely capable... it's just going to come down to how well I can drive.
Anyways, Qualifying came up and Spun on my most confident section of the track... Initiation. I was pissed at myself because I was feeling the most comfortable during initiation past the first clipping point. Went back in line and sat and waited. Tried to focus...talked to my pops a little bit and asked him to sit next to me on this next run and just told myself to try and forget about the pressure and just drive!! My turn was up.. Last Qualifying run of the event and zero points on the board. Decided to initiate a little late and play it conservative to make sure I didn't spin and was able to carry enough speed into the first outside clip. It put me in a larger predicament than I thought and I had to transition pretty aggressively which slowed me up some...(along with not keeping my revs up) and that cut me pretty shallow on the first outside clipping zone.. was coming up and around the green building and I was going to hit it... so I floored it, corrected "mini manji'd" quickly and set myself up for a solid wall run. ... and then I slowly...lost it and spun. Exited the track pretty bummed. got back to the pits... my Gf, Buddies and fam members were all there to tell me I did great. But I knew I could've done so much better. Over-all I learned so much out there this past weekend....it's hard to say that I didn't take anything away from it. I know where I stand now. I know that the Wolf is competitive...and that everything is going to fall on me now. I need to really work on staying one step ahead of my revs... to keep them up. And to relax out there. If I can solidify those two aspects. I know I can qualify at Rnd 2. Going to do a couple practice days.....or at least one more before Limited Rnd 1 which I'll be driving as well. Other than my performance.. I had so much fun out there. It was a hell of a weekend and I was in love with it the entire time. Met some new people, got to hang out with old buddies and family. It was excellent. For anyone who hasn't been to one of these events... you should definitely check one out if you get the chance. Tons of fun, good people, excellent atmosphere.... Great organization and Awesome cars. I'll Keep you guys updated as I prep for the Just Drift Limited Round 1 on the weekend of the 25th. Thanks for reading!!!
Here's another screen shot from the comp off IG. Thanks to Curtesy_S13 for the photo steal.
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and lastly... My surge Tank came in from Australia. Holding it here in my hands.... wow... I'm really impressed.. more info and pics to come!
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Aftermarkt Industries SP800
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