Mugen leather shift knob and Recaro belt guide

A few weeks ago I noticed King Motorsports listing up a new Mugen shift knob. They finally released a leather wrapped knob with red stitching which is exactly what I've been waiting for so I got on the order list and sure enough after making its trek across the ocean, it's finally here.

Mugen leather wrapped shift knob with red stitching - 4/29/2017

It's lighter than the metal 6-speed one I had before but it's still got a good weight. It's a bit bigger than the CR shift knob and has a great tactile feel (like you're holding a baseball but not that big). I really like it and after driving with it for a few hours today I'm definitely keeping this.

The other thing that's been annoying me lately is the fact that my seat belt keeps getting lost behind the seat because there's nothing to keep it where it's supposed to be. I found someone on S2ki selling some Recaro seats that had these Jade Recaro leather with red stitching seat belt guides and realized that Evasive Motorsports was selling them so I picked that up too. It's a small detail but makes quite a difference.

Jade Recaro leather with red stitching seat belt guide - 4/29/2017

Jade Recaro leather with red stitching seat belt guide - 4/29/2017

First event of 2017

After a fairly mild winter, we finally got to have our first autocross today. With the recent cold spell, I didn't really want to bring out Bumblestook so to get my feet wet for the 2017 season I decided to bring Lupa out instead and have Rad codrive with me since his car isn't ready yet.

NNJR SCCA Autocross - Metlife Stadium - 3/25/2017

I woke up extra early probably because I was excited and got to the site around sunrise. There was some forecasted rain later in the day and we all wanted to get our runs in before the skies opened up. It was the first time for me to run the Solostorm setup I picked up over the winter for datalogging. Hopefully it'll be useful to learn where I can improve this year. At the very least it adds some eye candy to the autocross videos.

NNJR SCCA- 3/25/2017

Overall I think we ran decent times but not fast enough. We were clearly rusty and it was tough getting used to street tires again. While there are certainly improvements that can be made to Lupa's setup, I think a lot of time was lost in our own mistakes. She's a great learning tool though and I'm hoping to do another event next week to see if I can learn some more.

End of Year Maintenance

Lupa did pretty well this year putting down some miles. Despite not really racing her past early this season, she did go to Lincoln and we drove up to Vermont and New Hampshire to catch some Fall foliage a few weeks ago.

Driving up Route-100 in Vermont - 10/2/2016

Before tucking her away for the end of the season I wanted to make sure she gets a good once over. I took her over to SJF Performance where we change the engine oil and diff fluid. Glad to report the diff fluid still shows up as nice and clean. I then got her aligned because I wasn't sure if the alignment shifted after competition miles on concrete.

Alignment - SJF Performance - 10/15/2016

The alignment slipped a little bit but overall still in good shape. The rear camber bolts were starting to get a bit hard to adjust so we replaced the rear driver side bolt, nut and washer and will do the same passenger side next time. I also somehow gained camber in the rear despite the ride height not changing. Not sure what's causing that other than me having fresh tires but we couldn't get it less than -2.3 so the final alignment settings were:

Front:
-3.3 camber
5.6 caster
0 toe

Rear:
-2.3 camber
0.06 per side toe in (1/8" total)

I also installed the Science of Speed hood dampers, new PIAA wiper blades (18" driver, 20" passenger) and removed the Valentine One radar detector wiring since frankly I never use it. I also replaced the USB cable going from the head unit to my phone with a flat one so I could route it better and replaced the phone holder with a RAM mount X-Grip version.

Science of Speed Hood Struts - 10/14/2016

Advans

Before we left for Nationals, the Hyperblack Advan RSII 17x9 +63 wheels I had ordered for Lupa finally arrived. Since Clyde would be making a long trip, I didn't put the wheels on until we got back. I ordered a fresh set of 255/40/17 Bridgestone RE-01Rs that I had SJF Performance mount on these wheels upon our arrival. I think it's really put the finishing touches on Lupa. I think Lupa can still look low key with these wheels on and with a weight of only 15.6lbs, they are also highly functional.

New Shoes - 9/18/2016

New Shoes - 9/18/2016

SCCA Solo Nationals 2016

Clyde drove Lupa to Lincoln from NJ and arrived on Labor Day. We had some Test and Tune time scheduled the following day and I also invited James to codrive with Clyde for Nationals. James would fly in with his dad on Tuesday. It was the first ever trip to Nationals for all three.

Clyde and James at the Practice Course
Lincoln, NE - 9/6/2016

We went straight to work tweaking the car for concrete. From my experience doing the practice course and what I felt during the ProSolo, the car would have to be set up with some slight push in order to work effectively on the competition surface. They did 3 hours of testing on Tuesday and on Wednesday, it started off with quite a bit of rain that ended up in drying conditions so they were able to get a feel for the car in all conditions. They did 2 more hours on of practice on Wednesday for a total of 5 hours.

More practice - 9/7/2016

Next day was day 1 of competition. STR would be competing on the West course. James coned his first run but was subsequently able to find more time on his next two runs. Clyde coned his first run, set a time on his second but lost it on his 3rd run for a DNF.

SCCA Solo Nationals
Photo by: Perry Bennett

On day 2 they ran on the East course where James put out the same performance as the day before with a cone on his first run and finding more time with each subsequent run finishing up in mid-pack in the very large and competitive STR class. Clyde went for broke, spun his first run getting a DNF, coned twice on his second run and then finally setting a clean run on his last run. Luckily for STR, they all managed to get their runs in before the intense rain that would wreak all kinds of havoc with Nationals this year.

Overall, we really didn't have any expectations for Nats. Both Clyde and James were new to the car and she hadn't undergone nearly the same kind of development as the rest of STR. That being said, Lupa finishing mid-pack out of 64 drivers was beyond what I could've asked for. More importantly the guys had fun at their first nationals and I expect both will be back again next year.

More Seat Time with the NNJR PCA

For the first time, Bumblestook and Lupa were racing at the same event. Clyde's trying to get the rust off his driving as quickly as possible and today's course had a great balance of speed and technicality to help him further explore the limits of the car.

NNJR PCA - 8/21/2016

We got rained on quite a bit just before morning runs and Clyde was surprised at how well the Bridgestone RE71Rs respond even in very wet conditions. Thankfully though, the sun immediately came out and we only had to endure 2 runs in the wet before things dried up and he was able to get runs at full grip conditions again. Considering his reference for competition grade street tires is about 3 years old now, he's still trying to wrap his head around how effective the new generation tires are at maintaining grip. I think he's getting more confidence in the car and I'm glad the way I've set her up is meshing well with Clyde's driving style.

NNJR PCA - 8/21/2016

Clyde also did a pretty crazy thing and picked up a limited edition Evasive Motorsports spec Black/Red Recaro Pole Position driver seat that I had been eyeing for Lupa as a gift. It has a black velour headrest, black jersey sides, a red suede center and classic double red stitching I'll have to agree that this will definitely help make driving the car a lot easier and it looks absolutely badass. I dare say it's better than the Mugen S1R bucket seat.

Evasive Motorsports Spec
Black/Red Recaro Pole Position

MSNE Autocross 8-13-2016

Two weekends ago Clyde came out for his first autocross after 3 years. He sold both his S2000s back in 2013 and I only usually get to see him during winter karting events where he usually kills us in lap times. He took his STi to that event but I seized the opportunity to offer him Lupa to run at Nationals this year if he was willing to drive her all the way to Lincoln. I didn't think he'd go for it at first but a few days later he reached out to me and he was able to register for Nats just before the deadline. There's still some logistical issues that may prevent him from going but it would be awesome to see both Lupa and Bumblestook at Nats this year.

Lupa on loan to Clyde - 8/12/2016

I handed off the keys to Clyde last Friday so he could attend some events this past weekend. Unfortunately he probably picked the worst weekend to get back into it as soaring heat and intense humidity made driving difficult. He went to the MSNE Autocross on 8/13/2016 to get used to her and was able to keep finding time with every run despite overheating the tires (he forgot his tire sprayer).

MSNE Autocross 8-13-2016
Photo by: Vincent Valentine

He ended up mid-pack but I'm confident he can get up to speed within the next 2 events. Jumping feet first into one of the most hotly contested classes in Solo after 3 years of hiatus is no easy task. Still, it's good seeing him back out there in a S2000.

MSNE Autox - 8/13/2016