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It was fun day but.. the weather was so bad for heat 2 drivers, all pro and str's. My first 2 runs were wet, 3rd was half wet, and .. I finally got 2 dry runs at the end.. Didn't have time to push the car.. But hey I've got the videos here: After comparing my driving to Simmons driving the FRS.. I found out mostly it was because I didn't push it. See below: 1.5s - first section before left turn (1s at the exit of the slalom...) - floor it at the start + more speed at quick turns .5 s - middle before turning out - carry more speed .5 s - before right hand turn around - give it more gas and lift to rotate the car 1.0s - right hand turn and finish (.5 before the narrow wall/cone and .5 after that) - floor it + carry more speed So push the car! 7/23/17

Such a fun day. The things mentioned by my instructors were: 1) Look ahead 2) Drive to the limit (on the correct line) Also I need to focus on, early turn-in Here are the videos: Check out Bryan and Nate's videos for comparison. I need to push much harder..! No kidding.. 7/17/17

I didn't even reach my expectation for the day. First 3 runs were in wet condition, next 3 runs were on almost dry pavement. However, sarcastically my wet fastest was faster than my dry ones... (I messed up with shifting at the very end in the wet run, which cost me 2 secs... Got 77.9, I should have got 75.5~78 secs..) The main reason behind this is: - not enough gas - lift off - not enough corner entry speed (too conservative..) Let's check out the videos: Please refer to Adam's run for the FTD... I've got a comparison sheet anyway: SO I've got my list to practice and improve: 1. Look ahead (I seem to forget this for the last 2 events..) 2. Drive at the limit (more gas, floor it, try higher corner entry speed, less lift) 3. Early turn-in, position the car properly! 7/14/17

Got first place in STR and in Rookie. FTD! My runs: Places to improve: 1. More entry speed 2. No more unnecessary lifts..

I've done well at this event. My fastest clean run was claimed to be a DNF because I went off course after the finish line... Okay... Should've been 5th in RAW and 2nd in x2 (after Heidi)... I don't like the lot. It's bumpy, has lots of dips, I was scraping everywhere. Also the surface was covered with dirt and sand, bricks on tires.. So not enough grip at all. Here are my fastest two runs, run 4 is a clean fastest DNF while run 5 is a wild +5 cones run. run 5: run 4: I was much faster in the first half of the course in run 5. I gained time because: 1) I was not understeering in the first right hand turn. 2) I pushed it harder (in 1st gear..) But finally I got exactly the same time. If you check out this side-by-side: You will see that I was slowed down because of the right hand corner turn before the chicage box. Yes I was losing time because I was understeering too much (too fast and I still kept adding gas there you could hear it). I could not

In the PM session my runs were all slower than the AM ones.. In such a high-speed pocono track course I didn't feel precisely how much I pushed the car.. I felt like I was pushing harder but actually just not enough... Well here are the videos: Ed gave me an instructor run (run 4) that day. He did 54.5, I did 57.5. Check the last comparison video for details: - I was late at the launch (.3 sec probably) - In some sections I could have added more gas but I just ended up giving it half throttle (1.7 sec in total) - Slow in fast out (.5 sec) - I need to position the car correctly so that I can keep more throttle later (.5 sec) And here are the things for me to keep practicing on: 1. Look ahead (look into turns). 2. Push the car! More gas! 3. Turn-in early! 6/24/17

Did on Friday the NEPA SCCA Test and Tune at Pocono Raceway!! First time at Pocono! Super super fun course! Totally different! 20 bucks, 6 runs. Here is my fastest run of the day (run 6): And the comparison videos: Above are part i and part ii of how bad understeer could be. I've pushed the car to maybe 8/10th so the biggest difference, other than some more room acceleration everywhere, is understeer ! Understeer cost me 2 secs and 1 secs in two videos. I was doing better at the U-turns, therefore getting better times..... So the rule of thumb is: Drive at the limit and don't overdrive at the entry.. Overdrive after the apex! 6/18/17

We got 5 runs. I did like 65, 63, 62, 60, 59.7 for 5 runs. You could see still got plenty of room for improvement. The slaloms the biggest problem, still. Whether or not it was related to my shifting, I was too too late at the first slaloms.. That's also what Tony told me to work on. Slaloms. Other than that you will find I was not pushing the car hard enough. I did push a bit but not enough, and I should have braked late. I was experiencing any "late braking understeer" at all that day. There are the videos: - My fastest run 5, 59.7, into 1 min! I didn't control the car as well as run 4 to be honest, but I just pushed the car harder especially the middle gate section. Although I lost time at a lot of other places, I was still .3 second faster. PUSH IT. - My second fastest 60.0 run 4. Well I got a good rhythm but just need to give it gas more and sooner. GAS, GAS. Also the SLALOMS. - The comparison could show what I said above. And s

Torque specs S2000 AP1 Torque Specs for various bolts (in alpha order) These were all taken from a Shop Manual... they are all listed in lbf-ft and if says + xx* then tighten to the initial torque spec and tighten another xx degrees. Dont forget to tighten some bolts in an inside out pattern and multiple stages (such as head bolts, oil pan bolts, or lower block bolts just to name a few). This is not a complete list, but as much as I could handle. Alternator Power Nut - 9 Alternator Pulley Locknut - 81.7 Alternator Support - 33 Belt Tensioner - 16 (to block) Belt Tensioner Pulley - 31 Belt Tensioner Test - 19.3 Block Drain Bolt - 61 Brake Caliper Mounting Bolts - 79.6 Brake Hose/Line Fitting - 12 Cam Chain Auto Tensioner - 8.7 Cam Chain Sprocket Center Bolt - 36 Cam Chain Sprocket to Idler Bolts - 10 Cam Gear Nut - 86.8 Camshaft Holder Bolts - 16 Catalytic Converter Spring Bolts - 16 Clutch Bleeder Screw - 7.2 Clutch Line to Master - 11 Clutch Line to Slave - 22

This event was held at the South Lot, the bigger one. It was almost a rain event (but the first run for me...). So my first run was my fastest of the day.. Later I did almost get my fastest in my 8th run but hit a cone. These are the fun run photos! I did 8 runs + 3 fun runs. My fun runs were faster and faster (also credit to the drier surface..). Here are the videos: I don't have time to do detailed comparison videos but all of these could tell me these: 1. I was so bad at slaloms... Messed up every single time. 2. Rain and surface condition did reduced a lot of grip. 3. Not looking ahead enough. I was only looking at maybe one cone ahead at the sweepers that day. What I have to correct and work on: 1. Look ahead! 2. Drive at the limit! 3. Perfect slaloms. Don't enter too fast and don't too slow. Remember to nail the entry of the first cone with the pointer. Need to be early at turn in. I was always late every run

This is a special one: ProSolo! It's my first year autocross and my first year ProSolo! And ProSolo is totally different and hell a lot of fun!! Okay, let's stop this and come back to business.. The 2.5 day event was actually a mess to me. Day 0 Friday I did the Evo Hot Shot school, trying to learn what Prosolo was all about and the staging, launch rules. Well I did complete the mission of launching in neutral, which was not bad at all considering someone once did that in reverse lol! In addition to that, my RSG Gears lip fell off the bumper.. So I ended up putting it in the passenger seat and leaving it in the garage for the next two days. Day 1 Saturday everything seemed to work well but at the end of the day when everyone was wrapping things up heading home, my car threw a beautiful CEL. I used Tim's OBD2 scanner to check it. It was random misfire in one of the cylinder + cylinder 1 misfire. There could be tens of reasons be

The event was held at TD Bank Ballpark at Bridgewater. This was by far the smallest and narrowest parking lot. So of course we had overlapping just like the one in North FCSCC lot. But the cones were much closer to each other, which caused most of us hitting countless cones, especially me! (23 cones in 10 runs, my record!) Anyway, back to business. This event was the last one before ProSolo 2017. So I took it really serious and pushed the car hard. First let me do a video by video review. Here is my first run: 1) I messed up with the first section course. I was too late to avoid the cones before the sweeper. It was because, I didn't look ahead to see what was coming so when I saw them, I had no way to get rid of them... 2) I seemed to be fast in my first run, but, ... I didn't make corresponding swift steering input. It looks like I was hesitating, waiting for something and it really ruined this run. My fastest run 6: 1) The launch or the start was slow,

I thought we were gonna do at least 7~8 runs but the weather forecast forced them to shut it off half day time. So we ended up with 5 runs and called it a day. I did my first two runs really slow. For the 4th one I added more gas everywhere, and got almost 2 seconds faster than previous fastest. My 5th one was fairly good but I ruined it with almost missing one gate in the middle of the whole course. Videos: Mistakes that I made: 1. I've never indeed looked ahead over even 30% of the whole course time.. Look ahead could have helped me with speed decision and also more importantly the earliest time to back on throttle. 2. Slow in fast out. This is proven by the 3rd comparison, the first turn after the slaloms, in which my 4th run was too fast and could not turn properly while my 5th was perfect with speed (still need to gas it a bit sooner though). The difference was HUGE after that turn as you could see ! And these two are the main things I should be practicing fo

Last Sunday I did the second event of NNJR SCCA. The course was the longest one I've ever driven. Most people's fastest time were > 60s.. And there were several set of slaloms on the course. I ran with instructors Evan, Hez and Mark. Their advice could be summarized into below points: 1) Look ahead. Turn my head at sweepers! (Mark yelled at me every time he was with me..) 2) Carry speed and finish the corner. Do not brake too much and then turn. 3) Turning in earlier. So what I need to focus on practicing are still these things: 1) Look ahead, turn my head! 2) Drive at the limit (with the best line)! Don't understeer too much and gas gas gas sooner! 3) Quick hands with intuition and expectation in my mind. So now let's get to analyzing the videos. First, let's look at the comparison video: This one shows why I was faster with my last run (almost 1s faster before I went off): I was just driving faster at the entry of the first slaloms and the big

I have waited for a whole winter to do this rear diff fluid change. What was blocking me was the 23mm fill plug on the diff. I used every tool I could find and all my strength. It just didn't come off. I tried once in November last year and once last month. With the craftsman 3/8 inch drive ratchet I just cannot do this.. Then I used a 3/8 inch drive breaker bar along with my 23mm socket to try again. Normally the socket won't fit into the narrow gap there on the side of the diff but the one I bought on Amazon fit quite well inside. Finally on Sat I managed to loosen the fill plug. I felt a sudden movement. It was luckily not breaking the thread. It came off!! The next steps were naive. The 24mm plug on the car was really loose when I got it off. I really ran a change of spilling rear diff fluid everywhere before that! And it was quite dirty.. (not that bad in fact...). I used AMSOIL 75w-110 Severe Gear.  By the pump with hose I pumped 0.7~0.8 quar

Last thursday Otto and I started working on the installation of this aftermarket exhaust (catback). Okay it was basically him.. I bought this used exhaust from girls2k. Also I bought a gasket from AutoZone and a brand new lower tie bar from Honda OEM parts. We had the parts and tools, but the installation was not easy! First of all taking off the old rear lower tie bar was not that simple. Bolts and nuts were rusted and it was bent. Secondly the pipe was stuck at the cat end.. Moreover the gasket I bought didn't fit on both sides (the pipe and the cat). So... we went to local AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts for another gasket which might be a fit. Well not a single one turned out to be a good one.. What we did was discovering the inventory of gaskets at Advance Auto Parts. We ended up with a most possible one and Otto did the customization based on it. Used drilling tool to add a new hole and in addition to that he cut more around the other two holes to make i

This was my 6th event so far and it was still in April.. Anyway, I registered for novice class. 23 people competing in novice. Finally I got 2nd place, I was quite happy but could have been faster. My fastest time was 41.5, but if I did correct my mistakes in my last run, I could do at least 40.5 I think. Here are the videos, my 3rd, 4th (fastest) run and instructor run (Jon): Jon did 39.0 in my car, which was 2.5 seconds faster. There's still much room for progress. I did better in small corrections but still need to practice this more. One thing is that I need to react more quickly (quick hands). The main focus is still these below points: 1) Heads up and look ahead. Mike told me I was not turning my head enough. 2) Keep driving at the limit. Get back on gas sooner. 3) Countersteering faster The main reason why I was 2,5 seconds slower than Jon was that I was still not on top speed on the course everywhere. Just push it harder a bit more

I attended BMW UDE Autocross event on Sun morning 9 o'clock. I have to admit, bmw is so different from my s2000. I was driving a latest 540i model. The traction control was on so I felt like weird behaviors all over the run. Also the turbo lag was quite obvious, and I was annoyed by that lol. In addition, the pedal feel was huge difference too. I really need to press hard on the gas pedal (compared to my s2000 driving style) to give it gas after apex.. And no need to modulate too much at all! That being said, I liked the handling and steering on this heavy 3800 pound 5 series car. It was quite nimble for such a heavy car! Here is the clip: I was 3rd in 13 people I think. Almost missed the podium. We were given only one run and I did it pretty conservatively because I didn't want some 2-second penalty. Well it turned out that I was not pushing the car hard enough to make the 1st place. In fact I checked out above video, my fastest run in practice and my time att

First time with FCSCC. We ran in the north lot. The lot was small so the course was composed of two overlapping ones.. which was confusing! But... the main reason that I went off course for my 1st and 2nd run was that I was not looking ahead and running at random speed that I was comfortable with.. Here are the videos: The 2nd run, still off course. 3rd run (38.6xx), much faster simply because I stayed close to the cones and didn't go off course. 7th run, last run also the fastest one. And the comparison (I was saving time by turning early with a better line and getting back on gas sooner.) Note that I was running all-season tires today. The event location is bit far from home, 1-hour drive.. In summary, there are really these things below to focus on first: 1. Look ahead. As always. Only in this way could I know how fast should I do throughout the course. 2. Drive at the limit.  This is also the topic mentioned in one of the Race

I did my first Test and Tune event last weekend. I picked it over Evo school, MSNE and PCA because of the price and the seat time. I did 17 runs in total. I didn't look ahead for my first 3 runs. For the rest runs I tried to be faster. I've unlinked the rear sway bar today. I still spun out once at the exit. I lifted off cuz I felt like I was running into the green cones! Things I've learned are: 1. Look ahead! Not only because you want to stay on course and pick the best line, but also you need to look ahead to know how fast (how much gas or brake) you should do everywhere. 2. Stay close to the cones and turn in early! Check out Hez's turn in at this last turn vs mine: https://youtu.be/JgZpsZENEe8?t=43s vs https://youtu.be/OcIU5o0RF_I?t=1m But more importantly and the main reason I was so slow, was that: I was turning too late at this cone so I ended up accelerating from 25mph through the turn. Hez was already at 35mph at turn in an