With my first TT event for 2010 coming up next weekend, I decided it was time to swap out all of the fluids in the car. That means engine, transmission, transfer case, rear differential, and coolant. Amsoil has been receiving much praise amongst the Evo community in the the recent past, and with many big runners using it I decided to give it a try.

For the engine I had always stuck with Mobil1 synthetic; 10W30 during normal events, and 10W40 during extremely hot events where the oil seems temps in the 100C range. This year I decided to give Amsoil 10W30 a try. Although we probably wont see such high temps in the spring to see if Amsoil will make a difference, it’s probably best to give it a try at an event where temps won’t be too extreme.

For the transmission I had previously stuck with Mitsubishi’s Diaqueen 75W85, and Diaqueen LSD Gear Oil for the Transfer Case and rear differential. As I’m not producing much more than stock power levels, I didn’t have much concern about extreme stress on the drivetrain, but rather was more concerned about the longevity. The shift from 4th to 5th gear had also started to develop a hesitation, what some would describe as a “grind”. I contacted Andy (aka apagan01 on EvolutionM) who is an Amsoil dealer with my concerns and he recommended that we try Amsoil MTG GL4 75W90 Heavy Gear Lube for the transmission, and Amsoil 75W90 Severe Gear Oil for the transfer case and rear differential.

Evo on jack stands

Once the car was reasonably levelled on jack stands, draining the fluid was pretty simple. The engine oil had been changed rather recently, and with the limited miles seen over the cold days I was glad to find that the color was still a nice brown. The transmission and transfer case however had not been changed since last spring. A considerable amount of metal shavings attached to the drain plugs confirmed that an annual fluid change should be done on a track car.

Next the car was placed in the safe hands of Champion Auto in Long Island City, NY for a front swaybar swap. Two years ago I upgraded my front swaybar to a Whiteline 26mm bar in an attempt to make the car more competitive in SCCA AS for Solo II. However although the bar seemed to help keep the car flatter on some sweeping corners and fast transitions on the road course, it does make rotating the car a little harder. As I will be competing in the NASA Time Trial series for 2010, in order to remain legal for TTB classification I’m required to revert to my stock front swaybar. Hopefully this will also help rotate the car better on the track. I’ll be looking forward to the outcome this weekend.

I used to think that I was a smooth driver; smooth with my inputs, smooth with the throttle, and smooth with the brakes. Then last Sunday, a brutally cold Sunday, I co-drove Dan’s Holunfie Honda S2000 at the NNJR SCCA season opening autox. Boy was I in for a handful of opposite lock! Turns out being smooth in an Evo is like the 300lb gorilla saying he can eat a lot of bananas.

My first run was not only an introduction to the S2000, but also a re-introduction to autox. I did three events last year, two in early spring, and one in the fall. I knew what I was supposed to do, but my muscle memory was a little lacking to say the least. I was a mess – and Dan didn’t spare any creative comments to make sure I knew that. “YOU FUCKING SUCK! YOU’RE NOT LOOKING AHEAD! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO AUTOCROSS?!?!” Thanks Dan. For those who don’t know, co-driving with Dan is like having that annoying voice inside your head, just that it’s now sitting next to you and constantly shouting at you, at the starter, at timing & scoring, at Perry, at the cone that just fell, and at anyone else who’s around. It only gets worse when he’s driving. There’s no surprise that the only noises you hear from the sealed microphone of the GoPro camera is Dan.

Anyway, back to the S2000 which I had never driven before until I lined up at the start:

• Power – the Evo is a torque monster compared to it, and I found myself naturally shifting up at 6500rpm instead of using the extra 2500rpm. Let the v-tech sing baby!
• Steering – yes the Evo had a quick rack, but this is crazy fast!
• Turn-in – because of the fatter swaybar I added for AStock the Evo needed a lifting of the gas or a tap of brake to induce turn-in. No effort needed in the Honda for turn-in. In fact, the AP1 was thought to be too tail happy, so Dan has added one of those nearly extinct Gendron front swaybars.
• Grip – this is where the S2000 was lacking. Shot Bridgestone RE-01Rs in the front, and shot Kumho ASXs in the rear. Fred Flintstone probably had better grip than we had in the rear.
• Brakes – to compensate for the lack of ABS in the Evo, Mitsubishi gave it a firm but communicative brake pedal. The S2000 on the other hand had a relatively squishy brake pedal and a trigger-happy ABS. In conjunction with the shitty tires, this led to a few moments where the ABS hit ice mode

Needless to say my first run was a throwaway. Dan jumps in and shows me how it’s done – or should I say how it’s spun! “THERE’S NO GRIP!” My 2nd run I start getting a feel for the car, or so I thought. I hit ice-mode on one of the braking zones and fly past an offset cone. Then after the turnaround I pin the gas and throw it into 2nd gear just as the tach sails past 8500rpm. I was expecting the tires to chirp and launch me into a surge of acceleration. Instead I found myself clouded in tire smoke and pointing the wrong direction. “YOU IDIOT THIS ISN’T ALL WHEEL DRIVE!”

On his 3rd run Dan puts it all together: sick launch, slick shifts, smooth on the gas, and snakes it through the slaloms for a blistering run of 75seconds. Just about 25seconds slower than his previous best. Thanks timing & scoring – there goes the money run!

After a few spins and much shouting from Dan I was getting the hang of the car and learning to push it. But my times weren’t improving. It seemed that every time I thought I had reigned it in the Joker would pull out another trick from up his sleeve. Dan was sitting on a clean 51.031 run, and I was constantly pulling 53s. But miraculously I managed to put it together on the last run of the day and pulled off a 52.497. 1.5seconds is a lifetime on an autox course, but for me that’s just 1.5 seconds away from figuring out how to drive a well balanced FR car. Win!

Yep. So here it begins; random posts about track days, autox events, time trials, modifications, maintenance, and of course break-fix. I’ll document all of the significant events in my racing career that will lead to the development of myself as a better driver, and the development of my car as a time trial machine.