Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Thursday, January 08, 2015
Cantrell Motorsports Winter Track Tour to COTA
Cantrell Motorsports has put together a fantastic winter track day adventure and there is one more spot left.
This is kind of last minute and it isn't cheap but it is going to be an AMAZING trip!!!!!!!!
This is kind of last minute and it isn't cheap but it is going to be an AMAZING trip!!!!!!!!
- www.buttonwillowraceway.com - Jan 24-25th
- www.willowspringsraceway.com - Feb 7-8th
- www.thethermalclub.com - March 1-2nd
- www.goracecvr.com - March 28-29th (Chuckwalla)
- www.circuitoftheamericas.com - April 24-26th
The only required event is COTA. How often will you have the opportunity to drive an F1 track?
All the events (except Thermal Club) will be run by www.speedventures.com.
The Thermal Club is a private track and getting access to it is very rare.
Cantrell's truck it leaving around Jan 9-12th. So this means your car would be in So Cal/Texas until May.
If you have any interest give Colin a call at 425-746-8960
Cantrell's truck it leaving around Jan 9-12th. So this means your car would be in So Cal/Texas until May.
If you have any interest give Colin a call at 425-746-8960
Monday, September 06, 2010
Art of wallpaper removal
Rule #1: If you have to work hard to remove the paper, it has not soaked up enough water/remover mixture.
Supplies and Prep:
- WP Chomp Super Concentrate wallpaper removal solution. Buy one more bottle than you think you'll need; you'll need it!
- 3" flexible putty knife or a wallpaper scraper
- Wall paper perforation/piercing tool like the Zinsser® Paper Tiger Wallpaper Scoring Tool (2966)
- Trash container that is easy to move along with you as you remove the paper.
- Large sponge or an old hand towel
- Lots of water!
Rule #2: It's really messy. Cover the baseboards and floor.
Step 1 Prepare the wallpaper.
If you are lucky and the wallpaper can be peeled off the wall, then do that. If it does not peel off, get ready for a fine upper body workout and get that Paper Tiger out and score the wallpaper.
Rule #3: You cannot put too many scoring holes in the wallpaper. These holes are your BEST FRIEND. If you think you've scored enough, score some more.
Step 2 Apply the paper removal solution on the paper or whatever remains of it if you were able to peel it off the wall. Work on 3' x 3' sections at a time. You can work on two sections at a time; soaking one while removing and cleaning the other.
Rule #4: Work top to bottom. The solution will run down the wall so the paper below will absorb the runs.
Keep applying the solution until it has fully saturated the paper; it takes a lot more solution than you think. If the paper can absorb more, give it more.
Rule #5: Be patient and let water do all the work for you; see Rule #1!
Step 3 Remove the wallpaper. In general, it should just slide off the wall in large chunks. If it does not, apply more solution and wait.
After the paper comes off, the wall will be covered in wet glue.
Step 4 While the glue is still wet, apply more solution and use the sponge or hand towel to wipe it off. These should be wet but wrung out. You'll need to rinse and wring the sponge/towel very often.
Step 5 If you are going to paint the walls, let them dry, paint them with a primer that is compatible with your paint.
Supplies and Prep:
- WP Chomp Super Concentrate wallpaper removal solution. Buy one more bottle than you think you'll need; you'll need it!
- 3" flexible putty knife or a wallpaper scraper
- Wall paper perforation/piercing tool like the Zinsser® Paper Tiger Wallpaper Scoring Tool (2966)
- Trash container that is easy to move along with you as you remove the paper.
- Large sponge or an old hand towel
- Lots of water!
Rule #2: It's really messy. Cover the baseboards and floor.
Step 1 Prepare the wallpaper.
If you are lucky and the wallpaper can be peeled off the wall, then do that. If it does not peel off, get ready for a fine upper body workout and get that Paper Tiger out and score the wallpaper.
Rule #3: You cannot put too many scoring holes in the wallpaper. These holes are your BEST FRIEND. If you think you've scored enough, score some more.
Step 2 Apply the paper removal solution on the paper or whatever remains of it if you were able to peel it off the wall. Work on 3' x 3' sections at a time. You can work on two sections at a time; soaking one while removing and cleaning the other.
Rule #4: Work top to bottom. The solution will run down the wall so the paper below will absorb the runs.
Keep applying the solution until it has fully saturated the paper; it takes a lot more solution than you think. If the paper can absorb more, give it more.
Rule #5: Be patient and let water do all the work for you; see Rule #1!
Step 3 Remove the wallpaper. In general, it should just slide off the wall in large chunks. If it does not, apply more solution and wait.
After the paper comes off, the wall will be covered in wet glue.
Step 4 While the glue is still wet, apply more solution and use the sponge or hand towel to wipe it off. These should be wet but wrung out. You'll need to rinse and wring the sponge/towel very often.
Step 5 If you are going to paint the walls, let them dry, paint them with a primer that is compatible with your paint.
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Turbo is Back!
About a month ago we installed a 3.6L "built" motor in the Turbo and fired it up! Yeah! Finally!
This motor is actually a loaner from the engine builder because mine is not quite finished. This works for me, I'm just glad to be driving my favorite car again. We have my new turbos on the engine and a couple of different engine tuning programs; one makes around 550HP!
My dad and I made it to Thunderhill Raceway for some twin turbo fun! Here is the video:
And, a few photos:
This motor is actually a loaner from the engine builder because mine is not quite finished. This works for me, I'm just glad to be driving my favorite car again. We have my new turbos on the engine and a couple of different engine tuning programs; one makes around 550HP!
My dad and I made it to Thunderhill Raceway for some twin turbo fun! Here is the video:
And, a few photos:
Monday, January 12, 2009
Update: Shelby GT
I continue to be pleasantly surprised by Ford Mustangs; first, the 2003 Cobra and now the 2008 Shelby GT. The quality, all around, of the new Mustangs is a huge improvement over the pre-2005 Mustangs, and it looks like the upcoming 2010 models will improve the interiors even more. You really get a very nice performance coupe for the money!
Of course, when a car enters my garage, regardless of how good it is from the factory, it always "needs" some further "improvements" from me :) The Shelby GT is no different, in spite of my usual "attempt" to keep it stock...
After a few track days, the Shelby received front camber adjustment to -2.5 degrees to save the front tires! I also had several bushings replaced with polyurethane versions. Other suspension upgrades include lower control arm relocation, both front and rear (the car comes lowered from Shelby so I wanted to reduce the dive, squat and lean), and an adjustable panhard bar :)
The Shelby comes with a Ford Performance Parts sport suspension which works fine, but was a bit too harsh both on and off the track; it felt way overdamped. So, the dampers have been replaced with some adjustable KONI's; which have improved the street ride considerably and I expect to test their track performance this Saturday, the first track day of the season!
Here is a photo of the Shelby at the track:
Of course, when a car enters my garage, regardless of how good it is from the factory, it always "needs" some further "improvements" from me :) The Shelby GT is no different, in spite of my usual "attempt" to keep it stock...
After a few track days, the Shelby received front camber adjustment to -2.5 degrees to save the front tires! I also had several bushings replaced with polyurethane versions. Other suspension upgrades include lower control arm relocation, both front and rear (the car comes lowered from Shelby so I wanted to reduce the dive, squat and lean), and an adjustable panhard bar :)
The Shelby comes with a Ford Performance Parts sport suspension which works fine, but was a bit too harsh both on and off the track; it felt way overdamped. So, the dampers have been replaced with some adjustable KONI's; which have improved the street ride considerably and I expect to test their track performance this Saturday, the first track day of the season!
Here is a photo of the Shelby at the track:
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Addition to the Stable: 2008 Shelby GT
When I was detailing my former 2003 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra, just days before it left the stable, I had a bit of seller's remorse; I really liked that car a lot!
Well, it didn't take long, about six months, before my desire for a rumbly V8 muscle car started to get to me :) Actually, it started with a desire for a rumbly V-Twin Harley Davidson V-Rod, but family and reason talked me out of it. I've always loved those bikes; they look great and have a modern, Porsche-designed, V-Twin! Here is a photos:
A muscle car is basically a 4 wheeled cousin to a Harley, so it wasn't long before I started thinking about getting a new Mustang (the only other Muscle car that vaguely interests me is the new Camaro, but they won't be out for a while and I need a fix, NOW! :) And, I like Mustangs better :) ).
The current replacement for my 2003 Cobra is the Shelby GT500 Mustang, which is actually the car I wanted when I bought the Cobra. At the time, the markup on the GT500 was well over $10,000 and the local dealers wanted $25,000 over MSRP! Rediculously crazy! I bought the Cobra for $28,000; a tick over the dealer markup for a GT500. Now, things have settled down and I was able to find two dealers that would take $1000 below MSRP; what a difference two years makes!
The other Mustang that interested me is the Shelby GT. Confused? Let me enlighten you, dear reader :)
The GT500 is essentially a modern version of the 2003/2004 SVT Cobra Mustang; the top of the line performance Mustang. It is supercharged to 500HP (the Cobra was 390HP), has a 6 speed transmission and several other performance upgrades compared to a standard Mustang. Ford made a marketing deal with Carroll Shelby to use his name on the car so instead of being called an SVT Cobra, it is called a Shelby GT500.
Shelby is famous for creating Shelby modified and branded cars like the Cobra, GT350 and GT500; all from the 1960's. When the latest generation of Mustangs arrived on the market in 2005, Shelby started to make Shelby Mustangs again. Such Mustangs are sent to Shelby Automobiles in Las Vegas, NV, to be modified and converted to Shelby Mustangs and then sold through Ford dealerships.
The first of these Shelby Mustangs was the Shelby GT-H, which was only available for rent at Hertz rental stores at major airports. Shelby and Hertz did a similar thing in the 1960s. The Shelby GT-H cars are now out of the rental service and Hertz is auctioning them off so they are now available for purchase.
Before the GT-H's were auctioned off, there was no way to buy a Shelby Mustang, except for the GT500, which many argue is purely a marketing deal and not a real Shelby. As you can imagine, this is a hot debate among Shelby fans... I tend to agree.
Eventually, in 2007, the Shelby GT was introduced; it is basically the same as the GT-H, but could be purchased at a Ford dealer. The main differences are that the GT-H was available only with an automatic transmission, in black with gold strips and a different hood while the GT was available in white or black with silver stripes and a five speed manual transmission.
In 2008 the color was changed to blue with silver stripes and a convertible version was introduced. And that is the end of the Shelby GT production.
I bought this 2008 Shelby GT 5 speed coupe for the stable.
First track day is the 16th :)
Well, it didn't take long, about six months, before my desire for a rumbly V8 muscle car started to get to me :) Actually, it started with a desire for a rumbly V-Twin Harley Davidson V-Rod, but family and reason talked me out of it. I've always loved those bikes; they look great and have a modern, Porsche-designed, V-Twin! Here is a photos:
A muscle car is basically a 4 wheeled cousin to a Harley, so it wasn't long before I started thinking about getting a new Mustang (the only other Muscle car that vaguely interests me is the new Camaro, but they won't be out for a while and I need a fix, NOW! :) And, I like Mustangs better :) ).
The current replacement for my 2003 Cobra is the Shelby GT500 Mustang, which is actually the car I wanted when I bought the Cobra. At the time, the markup on the GT500 was well over $10,000 and the local dealers wanted $25,000 over MSRP! Rediculously crazy! I bought the Cobra for $28,000; a tick over the dealer markup for a GT500. Now, things have settled down and I was able to find two dealers that would take $1000 below MSRP; what a difference two years makes!
The other Mustang that interested me is the Shelby GT. Confused? Let me enlighten you, dear reader :)
The GT500 is essentially a modern version of the 2003/2004 SVT Cobra Mustang; the top of the line performance Mustang. It is supercharged to 500HP (the Cobra was 390HP), has a 6 speed transmission and several other performance upgrades compared to a standard Mustang. Ford made a marketing deal with Carroll Shelby to use his name on the car so instead of being called an SVT Cobra, it is called a Shelby GT500.
Shelby is famous for creating Shelby modified and branded cars like the Cobra, GT350 and GT500; all from the 1960's. When the latest generation of Mustangs arrived on the market in 2005, Shelby started to make Shelby Mustangs again. Such Mustangs are sent to Shelby Automobiles in Las Vegas, NV, to be modified and converted to Shelby Mustangs and then sold through Ford dealerships.
The first of these Shelby Mustangs was the Shelby GT-H, which was only available for rent at Hertz rental stores at major airports. Shelby and Hertz did a similar thing in the 1960s. The Shelby GT-H cars are now out of the rental service and Hertz is auctioning them off so they are now available for purchase.
Before the GT-H's were auctioned off, there was no way to buy a Shelby Mustang, except for the GT500, which many argue is purely a marketing deal and not a real Shelby. As you can imagine, this is a hot debate among Shelby fans... I tend to agree.
Eventually, in 2007, the Shelby GT was introduced; it is basically the same as the GT-H, but could be purchased at a Ford dealer. The main differences are that the GT-H was available only with an automatic transmission, in black with gold strips and a different hood while the GT was available in white or black with silver stripes and a five speed manual transmission.
In 2008 the color was changed to blue with silver stripes and a convertible version was introduced. And that is the end of the Shelby GT production.
I bought this 2008 Shelby GT 5 speed coupe for the stable.
First track day is the 16th :)
Monday, September 01, 2008
Turbo Engine Update 2
Kevin, the engine builder, from Ultimate Motorwerks stopped by the house last week to show me some of the new engine's parts so I can photograph them before he puts the engine back together. Rather than repeating the photos and their descriptions, here is a link to a forum thread with the details.
If all goes well, the engine should be finished in a few weeks and hopefully back in the car by the end of September!! It's been a long 9 months without my favorite car...
If all goes well, the engine should be finished in a few weeks and hopefully back in the car by the end of September!! It's been a long 9 months without my favorite car...
Friday, May 09, 2008
Turbo Motor Update
At last, the major machining has been completed toward rebuilding the blown motor in Nirwana! Yeah!!
As always, when something breaks it is a great opportunity to upgrade :) In the case of Nirwana's motor, it is getting some fancy heads which are strengthened, ported, polished and with bigger valves, more agressive cams, and solid lifters (rather than stock hydraulic lifters).
The big upgrade is conversion from 3.6L to a Porsche Motorsports 3.8L capacity with all the Motorsports upgrades for better lubrication and strength.
On top of that, the turbos are upgraded with the latest Porsche GT2 compressor wheels!
I have no clue how much power this will make and what the drivability will be like, but is sure sounds promising.
The downside, other than cost, is that it won't be finished until August/September. This means the Boxster will have to handle track duties until than; the plan was originally to do track duty only thru June. More on that in another post.
Here is a picture of on of the six cylinder heads:
As always, when something breaks it is a great opportunity to upgrade :) In the case of Nirwana's motor, it is getting some fancy heads which are strengthened, ported, polished and with bigger valves, more agressive cams, and solid lifters (rather than stock hydraulic lifters).
The big upgrade is conversion from 3.6L to a Porsche Motorsports 3.8L capacity with all the Motorsports upgrades for better lubrication and strength.
On top of that, the turbos are upgraded with the latest Porsche GT2 compressor wheels!
I have no clue how much power this will make and what the drivability will be like, but is sure sounds promising.
The downside, other than cost, is that it won't be finished until August/September. This means the Boxster will have to handle track duties until than; the plan was originally to do track duty only thru June. More on that in another post.
Here is a picture of on of the six cylinder heads:
Saturday, April 26, 2008
About Convertibles
As BillW pointed out in a comment regarding my purchase of a Boxster S, I have not been into convertibles in the past. Given that I take most of my cars to the race track, convertibles are not a good choice for various reasons:
So, given the choice, for a track car, I'll take a coupe over a convertible.
On the street, my main issue with convertibles is the interior noise, mainly in heavy commuter traffic. This is with the top up; top down can be deafening.
Now that my "commute" is either a slow suburban drive to Cantrell Motorsports or a nice country drive to Pacific Raceways to do a photo shoot as Red Mist Photo, a convertible seemed like fun!
So, I've been shopping convertibles since last summer. Having owned several convertibles in the past (1969 Austin Healey Sprite in High School and College, 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder, 2000 Boxster S, 2003 Mercedes Benz SL500) I had lots of past experience to fall back on. Given that I didn't plan to track the car and that I wanted it to be quiet with the top up, I considered two cars initially: BMW 335i and Mazda MX-5. The advantage of the Bimmer is that I could haul the family in it. But, I also know from my M3 experience, that I seriously disliked not having rear doors for the kids. They both look a bit goofy with their tops up so I remained uncertain.
During the winter my right shoulder started to give a lot of pain, to the point that shifting gears hurt. It seemed time to get an automatic so the BMW was starting to look like a winner, but in the end, I just could not go for a two door family car. So, I traded my 330i 6 speed sedan on a 335i automatic sedan (fantastic car BTW!). The convertible was put on the backburner while I healed the shoulder.
The shoulder is now much, much better, the sun is starting to show its face more, and I'm shooting photos at the track more often. It's convertible time!
In order to get a new car, I'd have to sell something. Well, the only other running car that I had was the Cobra. But, it is my only track car right now! Well, I could take the 335i to the track, but really, what would be the point?!
So, now the convertible needed to be a decent track car until the Turbo or Lotus return, which is a few months away... What to do???
For me, the options were:
Yet again, the poor Miata was ruled out fairly quickly, simply due to its lack of power. The Bimmer is fast and cool, but a bit goofy looking and a bit overpriced in my opinion.
I found a really nice 2007 S2000 at Honda of Bellevue so I went to look at it. When I arrived, it had a "SOLD" sign on it. I thought to myself "this is a sign that I should get a Boxster", so off to the Porsche dealer I went. As I pulled in there was a really nice looking red (I love red!) Boxster S parked out front. I walked over to it and it was a pre-owned 2006 and was for sale... a couple of hours later, it was mine! It had only 1800 miles on it because the lady that bought it became pregnant with quadruplets soon after buying it. She now drives and Escalade, I hear. I found a new baby bottle under the passenger seat, which confirms the story :)
I took the Boxster to Portland International Raceway on Monday and we had a great time (despite spinning on the first corner... rather embarassing since it happened right in front of several of my track junkie buddies).
Here are some photos of our fun:
And, here is a little trip down memory lane; me and my 2000 Boxster S at Laguna Seca in late 2003:
The shot to the right is taken in the famous Cork Screw at Laguna.
Given the safety and rigidity issues, on that Boxster, I removed the convertible top and installed a custom rollbar and left the hardtop on permanently; I think I drove the car with the top off, about 6 times in the time I owned it. I really wanted a mid-engined coupe, but all reasonably priced mid-engined cars were either convertibles (MR2 and Boxster) or Targas (Acura NSX). Since then, Porsche came out with the Cayman, which is a coupe version of the Boxster.
- Safety - The general consensus is that open cars are less safe than enclosed cars in the event of a rollover. There are clubs that won't allow convertibles on the track at all.
- Chassis Rigidity - When you remove the top of a car you weaken the chassis which means it flexes more in corners and over bumps. This affects the car's handling on the race track because the suspension can never be precisely tuned; it needs a rigid chassis to function optimally. Most modern and high end convertibles are actually very stiff so this is not a huge issue. But still, a coupe will always be stiffer and thus handle a bit better at the limits than a convertible.
So, given the choice, for a track car, I'll take a coupe over a convertible.
On the street, my main issue with convertibles is the interior noise, mainly in heavy commuter traffic. This is with the top up; top down can be deafening.
Now that my "commute" is either a slow suburban drive to Cantrell Motorsports or a nice country drive to Pacific Raceways to do a photo shoot as Red Mist Photo, a convertible seemed like fun!
So, I've been shopping convertibles since last summer. Having owned several convertibles in the past (1969 Austin Healey Sprite in High School and College, 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder, 2000 Boxster S, 2003 Mercedes Benz SL500) I had lots of past experience to fall back on. Given that I didn't plan to track the car and that I wanted it to be quiet with the top up, I considered two cars initially: BMW 335i and Mazda MX-5. The advantage of the Bimmer is that I could haul the family in it. But, I also know from my M3 experience, that I seriously disliked not having rear doors for the kids. They both look a bit goofy with their tops up so I remained uncertain.
During the winter my right shoulder started to give a lot of pain, to the point that shifting gears hurt. It seemed time to get an automatic so the BMW was starting to look like a winner, but in the end, I just could not go for a two door family car. So, I traded my 330i 6 speed sedan on a 335i automatic sedan (fantastic car BTW!). The convertible was put on the backburner while I healed the shoulder.
The shoulder is now much, much better, the sun is starting to show its face more, and I'm shooting photos at the track more often. It's convertible time!
In order to get a new car, I'd have to sell something. Well, the only other running car that I had was the Cobra. But, it is my only track car right now! Well, I could take the 335i to the track, but really, what would be the point?!
So, now the convertible needed to be a decent track car until the Turbo or Lotus return, which is a few months away... What to do???
For me, the options were:
- Mazda Miata
- Honda S2000
- BMW Z4
- Porsche Boxster
Yet again, the poor Miata was ruled out fairly quickly, simply due to its lack of power. The Bimmer is fast and cool, but a bit goofy looking and a bit overpriced in my opinion.
I found a really nice 2007 S2000 at Honda of Bellevue so I went to look at it. When I arrived, it had a "SOLD" sign on it. I thought to myself "this is a sign that I should get a Boxster", so off to the Porsche dealer I went. As I pulled in there was a really nice looking red (I love red!) Boxster S parked out front. I walked over to it and it was a pre-owned 2006 and was for sale... a couple of hours later, it was mine! It had only 1800 miles on it because the lady that bought it became pregnant with quadruplets soon after buying it. She now drives and Escalade, I hear. I found a new baby bottle under the passenger seat, which confirms the story :)
I took the Boxster to Portland International Raceway on Monday and we had a great time (despite spinning on the first corner... rather embarassing since it happened right in front of several of my track junkie buddies).
Here are some photos of our fun:
And, here is a little trip down memory lane; me and my 2000 Boxster S at Laguna Seca in late 2003:
The shot to the right is taken in the famous Cork Screw at Laguna.
Given the safety and rigidity issues, on that Boxster, I removed the convertible top and installed a custom rollbar and left the hardtop on permanently; I think I drove the car with the top off, about 6 times in the time I owned it. I really wanted a mid-engined coupe, but all reasonably priced mid-engined cars were either convertibles (MR2 and Boxster) or Targas (Acura NSX). Since then, Porsche came out with the Cayman, which is a coupe version of the Boxster.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Goodbye Cobra
Well, it's been a year and 4 months of ownership, but it is time to say goodbye to the Cobra...
We had a 3-day track weekend at Thunderhill a few weeks ago and when I got home, I had convertible on my brain and bought a 2006 Porsche Boxster S! So, it was time to sell something to make room in the garage and the Cobra was the only choice given the Lotus Elise is still in Houston waiting for its new motor and the Porsche Turbo is also without a motor. Plus, I simply wouldn't sell either of them!
It took about a day to find a new owner! He is a big SVT Cobra enthusiast so the car is going to a very good home. His dad has a Cobra himself; how cool is that!
This Boxster S is my second; I had a 2000 Boxster S for almost 2 years from 2002 to late 2003 and loved that car. Apparently I liked it enough to want another :) It will be doing track duty until either the Turbo or Elise returns; I'm betting on the Turbo.
Here is a parting photo of the Cobra at the recent trip to Thunderhill:
We had a 3-day track weekend at Thunderhill a few weeks ago and when I got home, I had convertible on my brain and bought a 2006 Porsche Boxster S! So, it was time to sell something to make room in the garage and the Cobra was the only choice given the Lotus Elise is still in Houston waiting for its new motor and the Porsche Turbo is also without a motor. Plus, I simply wouldn't sell either of them!
It took about a day to find a new owner! He is a big SVT Cobra enthusiast so the car is going to a very good home. His dad has a Cobra himself; how cool is that!
This Boxster S is my second; I had a 2000 Boxster S for almost 2 years from 2002 to late 2003 and loved that car. Apparently I liked it enough to want another :) It will be doing track duty until either the Turbo or Elise returns; I'm betting on the Turbo.
Here is a parting photo of the Cobra at the recent trip to Thunderhill:
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
GruppeOrange Racing
Wow, is it the middle of March already!
I've been very busy with Red Mist Photo. I've done several more photo shoots at Pacific Raceways and I've also hooked up with GruppeOrange Racing; doing photography at race events and I also did their website.
Here is one of may favorite GruppeOrange photo from the Las Vegas Speedway event in February:
I've been very busy with Red Mist Photo. I've done several more photo shoots at Pacific Raceways and I've also hooked up with GruppeOrange Racing; doing photography at race events and I also did their website.
Here is one of may favorite GruppeOrange photo from the Las Vegas Speedway event in February:
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
First 2008 track day for Cobra and Red Mist Photo
Proformance Racing School held a sunny and safe lapping day at Pacific Raceways last Sunday. It was one of their Northwest winter "hey, it is going to be sunny on Sunday so lets drive!" last minute announcements, which we all got last Tuesday.
The Cobra wasn't exactly ready so with the help of Cantrell Motorsports and Carb Conn, they were able to get it ready for some fun. The Cobra needed an oil change and track brake pads and a new tune by Alex at Carb Conn. On Saturday at 1 PM the car was ready! Cutting it close but all turned out well.
I also wanted to get more practice at photographing cars on the track so I signed up for a half day of driving and shot pictures the rest of the day. Santa brought me a Canon 40D camera body and I bought a Canon 300mm F2.8 lens based on my finding that I couldn't get close enough to the cars with my 70-200 F2.8 lens. The 40D is fantastic; lots of great upgrade features from my 20D. The 300mm lens is a beast; I used it on a monopod, also brought by Santa, but it was quite a learning curve to use it effectively .
The pictures turned out nice but the cars were all filthy from the wet track in the morning so I really didn't expect to sell many pictures. To my surprise, I've already sold quite a few! Here is the gallery.
The Cobra performed admirably; especially the new 14" Brembos really stopped the beast with lots of braking power to spare.
The Cobra wasn't exactly ready so with the help of Cantrell Motorsports and Carb Conn, they were able to get it ready for some fun. The Cobra needed an oil change and track brake pads and a new tune by Alex at Carb Conn. On Saturday at 1 PM the car was ready! Cutting it close but all turned out well.
I also wanted to get more practice at photographing cars on the track so I signed up for a half day of driving and shot pictures the rest of the day. Santa brought me a Canon 40D camera body and I bought a Canon 300mm F2.8 lens based on my finding that I couldn't get close enough to the cars with my 70-200 F2.8 lens. The 40D is fantastic; lots of great upgrade features from my 20D. The 300mm lens is a beast; I used it on a monopod, also brought by Santa, but it was quite a learning curve to use it effectively .
The pictures turned out nice but the cars were all filthy from the wet track in the morning so I really didn't expect to sell many pictures. To my surprise, I've already sold quite a few! Here is the gallery.
The Cobra performed admirably; especially the new 14" Brembos really stopped the beast with lots of braking power to spare.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Red Mist Photo makes its first sale!
Proformance Racing School held a track day last Saturday so I got my first chance at taking some pictures of the driver's and their cars.
The lighting was terrible (very dark) but good enough to take some good pictures. Good enough to sell. The first photo sold is this one of a very cool Acura NSX (highly modified):
+small.jpg)
My photography website is http://redmistphoto.com.
Where did the name Red Mist Photo come from you ask!? "Red Mist" is a condition where any competitor is so hell bent on catching the next car ahead of them that they loose composure and concentration. Naturally, it usually results in a driver error.
The lighting was terrible (very dark) but good enough to take some good pictures. Good enough to sell. The first photo sold is this one of a very cool Acura NSX (highly modified):
+small.jpg)
My photography website is http://redmistphoto.com.
Where did the name Red Mist Photo come from you ask!? "Red Mist" is a condition where any competitor is so hell bent on catching the next car ahead of them that they loose composure and concentration. Naturally, it usually results in a driver error.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Thunderhill Raceway and Cobra Brakes Reprise
Thunderhill was fantastic as usual; I simply love that track. It is very fast, some nice elevation changes, blind corners, off camber corners, fun corners, fun track!
Some photos (taken by "Head-on Photos"):
Brakes
However, the high speed between the many corners and braking into the corners really showed how even the upgraded 13" front brakes are not powerful enough to repeatedly slow down a 3800lbs car. In the first day I went through a new set of brake pads! Pads that normally last 4 to 6 track days!! Went through another set of pads on the second day! Lots of brake fade and boiled brake fluid...
After returning from Thunderhill I installed new Brembo brakes on the Cobra. This time 14" diameter rotors which are also 4mm wider; this makes them much more efficient heat sinks. These are paired with Brembo 6 piston calipers. This should do the trick!
Some photos (taken by "Head-on Photos"):
Brakes
However, the high speed between the many corners and braking into the corners really showed how even the upgraded 13" front brakes are not powerful enough to repeatedly slow down a 3800lbs car. In the first day I went through a new set of brake pads! Pads that normally last 4 to 6 track days!! Went through another set of pads on the second day! Lots of brake fade and boiled brake fluid...
After returning from Thunderhill I installed new Brembo brakes on the Cobra. This time 14" diameter rotors which are also 4mm wider; this makes them much more efficient heat sinks. These are paired with Brembo 6 piston calipers. This should do the trick!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
And now, something different...
I've decided to retire from general software development and from working for a company! I'm in the process of leaving my current employer, UIEvolution and have begun some new activities, all of them oriented toward high performance cars and driving them on race tracks! Go figure...
I'm currently redoing the Cantrell Motorsports website; check it out.
I'm also planning to get back into photography. First, I'm taking quite a few pictures of the cars and activities at Cantrell Motorsports. I also plan to do some track side photography at Pacific Raceways and hopefully sell pictures of people's cars to them as part of their day at the track.
Driving on the right side for the brain these days :)
Lastly, I'm leaving tomorrow for Thunderhill Raceway with the Cobra. Several friends from Seattle and Portland are also going, so it will be a lot of fun! I'll be taking the Cobra in my new enclosed Interstate Cargo trailer (pics to come later).
Here is the map of the 700 mile journey ahead:
View Larger Map
And a map of the track:
View Larger Map
I'm currently redoing the Cantrell Motorsports website; check it out.
I'm also planning to get back into photography. First, I'm taking quite a few pictures of the cars and activities at Cantrell Motorsports. I also plan to do some track side photography at Pacific Raceways and hopefully sell pictures of people's cars to them as part of their day at the track.
Driving on the right side for the brain these days :)
Lastly, I'm leaving tomorrow for Thunderhill Raceway with the Cobra. Several friends from Seattle and Portland are also going, so it will be a lot of fun! I'll be taking the Cobra in my new enclosed Interstate Cargo trailer (pics to come later).
Here is the map of the 700 mile journey ahead:
View Larger Map
And a map of the track:
View Larger Map
Sunday, October 14, 2007
NIRWANA Engine Blows!
After many thousands of track driving miles, I finally performed a "money shift"; in the Porsche Turbo no less!
I tried to shift from 3rd to 4th but accidentally got 2nd. The problem with that is if you shift at red line from 3rd, which is about 7000RPM, and you shift into 2nd and let the clutch out, the tires force the engine to spin at about 9500RPM!!!
Bad things happen when an engine is over-revved in such a way. The most common thing is that the valve springs don't exert enough force to close the valves fast enough so a piston or two end up colliding with the partially open valve which typically breaks the valve.
Cantrell Motorsports dropped the motor out of the car last week and performed a leakdown test which shows that 2 cylinders have likely been damaged. So, on we go with tearing down the engine to fix broken bits; and take the opportunity to upgrade a few :)
As you can imagine, this is all going to cost a wee bit of money; hence the term "money shift"... ugh.
Here is the sad photo of the motor below its proper home (the under-exposure is intentional to convey to mood):
I tried to shift from 3rd to 4th but accidentally got 2nd. The problem with that is if you shift at red line from 3rd, which is about 7000RPM, and you shift into 2nd and let the clutch out, the tires force the engine to spin at about 9500RPM!!!
Bad things happen when an engine is over-revved in such a way. The most common thing is that the valve springs don't exert enough force to close the valves fast enough so a piston or two end up colliding with the partially open valve which typically breaks the valve.
Cantrell Motorsports dropped the motor out of the car last week and performed a leakdown test which shows that 2 cylinders have likely been damaged. So, on we go with tearing down the engine to fix broken bits; and take the opportunity to upgrade a few :)
As you can imagine, this is all going to cost a wee bit of money; hence the term "money shift"... ugh.
Here is the sad photo of the motor below its proper home (the under-exposure is intentional to convey to mood):
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The Cobra does Infineon Raceway
The 16 hour trip to Infineon was very much worth it!
As usual, Nor-Cal Shelby Club put together a nice event. This was their annual Mini-National Convention which includes a car show on Friday, several dinner events with guest speakers, and of course, my favorite activity, driving around a fine race track for two days :)
Each year they have a theme for the Mini-Nats, as they call the event. This year the theme was "40 Years of the GT500". 40 years ago Ford sold a limited number of GT500 Shelby Mustangs; which are of course now collector's items. And, last year Ford once again began offering a Shelby GT500 Mustang. So, the theme was a no-brainer for the club.
This guy owns both a '67 and an '07 GT500 (original owner of the '67):
The '67 has this license plate frame, and the '07 has the opposite frame:
More pictures from the car show are on Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/nirwana42/sets/72157602016042329/
Saturday was spent getting used to the track, which is a bit intimidating due the close proximity of concrete walls all over the place!
Sunday, we started to play a bit more but I never really felt comfortable pushing the car much due to those walls!
Sure enough on Sunday a car at the front of the pack clipped the inside of T12 and bounced to the other side and hit that wall too. I was about the 6th car when we came up to T12 and all I saw was lots of bright red brake lights; which is totally unexpected since this is a major passing zone. So, we all went from full throttle to full brakes very quickly; I almost rear ended the white car in front of us and I just waited to get hit from behind. I heard some tire squealing and just waited for the hit... I heard the car hit something; fortunately it wasn't my car! Two cars toasted by the walls... I caught this all on video, it is the second crash in the movie below; if you turn up the volume you will hear the tire squeal and the hit! Then, on the right you see the original victim, a red Mustang, smoking!
I had a great time, but I still like Thunderhill in Willows, CA the best. The Cobra and I will be there Oct 27/28... Can't hardly wait.
Here is a shot of the me and the Cobra in T2:
The Cobra ran great; suspension felt nice and no cooling issues.
Here is the in-car video. First of my fastest lap, then some fun with some classic 60's Mustangs, then some fun with a stock car racer and finally some of the mishaps. Enjoy!
As usual, Nor-Cal Shelby Club put together a nice event. This was their annual Mini-National Convention which includes a car show on Friday, several dinner events with guest speakers, and of course, my favorite activity, driving around a fine race track for two days :)
Each year they have a theme for the Mini-Nats, as they call the event. This year the theme was "40 Years of the GT500". 40 years ago Ford sold a limited number of GT500 Shelby Mustangs; which are of course now collector's items. And, last year Ford once again began offering a Shelby GT500 Mustang. So, the theme was a no-brainer for the club.
This guy owns both a '67 and an '07 GT500 (original owner of the '67):
The '67 has this license plate frame, and the '07 has the opposite frame:
More pictures from the car show are on Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/nirwana42/sets/72157602016042329/
Saturday was spent getting used to the track, which is a bit intimidating due the close proximity of concrete walls all over the place!
Sunday, we started to play a bit more but I never really felt comfortable pushing the car much due to those walls!
Sure enough on Sunday a car at the front of the pack clipped the inside of T12 and bounced to the other side and hit that wall too. I was about the 6th car when we came up to T12 and all I saw was lots of bright red brake lights; which is totally unexpected since this is a major passing zone. So, we all went from full throttle to full brakes very quickly; I almost rear ended the white car in front of us and I just waited to get hit from behind. I heard some tire squealing and just waited for the hit... I heard the car hit something; fortunately it wasn't my car! Two cars toasted by the walls... I caught this all on video, it is the second crash in the movie below; if you turn up the volume you will hear the tire squeal and the hit! Then, on the right you see the original victim, a red Mustang, smoking!
I had a great time, but I still like Thunderhill in Willows, CA the best. The Cobra and I will be there Oct 27/28... Can't hardly wait.
Here is a shot of the me and the Cobra in T2:
The Cobra ran great; suspension felt nice and no cooling issues.
Here is the in-car video. First of my fastest lap, then some fun with some classic 60's Mustangs, then some fun with a stock car racer and finally some of the mishaps. Enjoy!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Cobra Suspension Test
The suspension upgrades from Maximum Motorsports got a nice workout on Aug 20th at Pacific Raceways. The forecast called for rain so I didn't expect to excercise the suspension much, but it turned out to be a mostly dry day.
I'm very happy with the results; there is much less body motion and the -3.6 degrees of camber in the front really helps with the understeer and tire wear is much more even (instead of wearing out the outside edges).
Here is a 10 minute video from that day; I had a little fun by adding some of the common thoughts that go through my mind as I'm driving.
Next week I'm taking the Cobra to Sears Point (Infineon) Raceway. I'm very excited because I've never driven at this track! It's about a 1000 mile drive from Seattle; I'll be towing it on my trailer.
Here is the track:
View Larger Map
Here is my travel route from Seattle to Sonoma:
View Larger Map
I'm very happy with the results; there is much less body motion and the -3.6 degrees of camber in the front really helps with the understeer and tire wear is much more even (instead of wearing out the outside edges).
Here is a 10 minute video from that day; I had a little fun by adding some of the common thoughts that go through my mind as I'm driving.
Next week I'm taking the Cobra to Sears Point (Infineon) Raceway. I'm very excited because I've never driven at this track! It's about a 1000 mile drive from Seattle; I'll be towing it on my trailer.
Here is the track:
View Larger Map
Here is my travel route from Seattle to Sonoma:
View Larger Map
Friday, August 10, 2007
Cobra Cooling and a Track Day at PIR
Happily, the cooling modifications have been mostly successful. After testing at Seattle's Pacific Raceways showed consistent mid 230F water temperatures, I pushed the car a bit by moving from the 3.1" supercharger pulley to a 2.94" pulley (gaing over 30HP) and took the car to Portland International Raceway where it was around 90F. And, the Cobra didn't like it so much! Water temperature easily rose to above 240F which is dangerously close to the 245F "limp mode" cutoff which really is a big damper on fun! Fortunately, by driving with the heat on full blast, the water temps dropped below 240F. It was a fun and HOT day! Below is some in car footage from the event. I'm chasing an Ultima supercar; which is always very satisfying to hang with such cars in a lowly Mustang :)
We've since then dropped back to the 3.1" pulley and added some heat shroudinng around the radiator to help air move more efficiently through it.
Now that the heat issues are resolved we are also replacing the stock shocks, Steeda street/sport springs and Steeda camber plates with a Maximum Motorsports coilover suspension.
On Aug 20th I'll have a chance to try out the new suspension at Pacific Raceways and shake out the car before our early September trip to Sears Point in Sonoma (my first time there!).
We've since then dropped back to the 3.1" pulley and added some heat shroudinng around the radiator to help air move more efficiently through it.
Now that the heat issues are resolved we are also replacing the stock shocks, Steeda street/sport springs and Steeda camber plates with a Maximum Motorsports coilover suspension.
On Aug 20th I'll have a chance to try out the new suspension at Pacific Raceways and shake out the car before our early September trip to Sears Point in Sonoma (my first time there!).
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Cooling the Cobra
When I first purchased the Cobra I researched as much as I could about it's strengths and weaknesses when run hard at the race track; most of my information came from the forums at SVTPerformance.com.
As is common among relatively inexpensive high horsepower cars, the Cobra runs very hot at the race track. In fact, after hard lapping for about 15 minutes it starts to overheat and when it reaches 245F (coolant temperature), its engine management computer puts the car into "limp mode" which effectively cuts back maximum power; thus reducing the heat generated by the engine. In anything above 70F ambient temperatures, my Cobra, as predicted, overheated in this manner.
The culprit is a wholy inadequate cooling system from the Ford factory. I read about the ultimate solution, called the Evans Cooling System, early on, but it costs serveral thousand dollars (including installation), so I've been playing with less costly changes. None of which helped, so, in the end, I recently had Cantrell Motorsports install the Evans Cooling System.
The two main things the Evans Cooling System addresses are the thermostat and oil cooling.
In the stock system, the thermostat is flawed in a way that allows too much coolant to go through the bypass rather than through the radiator. The kit relocates the thermostat and the bypass routing. Here is a picture of the new thermostat location, the black round thingy in the center.
The stock system utilizes a water-to-oil heat exchanger to cool the oil. The problem with this setup is that it effectively uses the radiator to cool the oil. Add this to the flawed thermostat design, the coolant simply can't be cooled enough.
To address the oil cooling, the Evans system does away with the water-to-oil heat exchanger that is an integral part of the oil filter housing. The oil filter is relocated under the bumper and Cantrell added a Mocal oil cooler just ahead of the left front tire.
This picture shows the relocated oil filter and the new oil cooler (note, this is someone else's car, but my setup is basically the same).
This picture is of my oil cooler.
And here is Brandon at Cantrell Motorsports, doing his usual magic on my car :)
The first test of the new system came last Wednesday (July 4th). Ambient temperatures were in the 70's and low 80's and the Cobra was able to run at full blast for 30 minutes with no overheating!! Yeah!!
Coolant temps hit a high 236F, but stayed there. Post-intercooler intake air temp (IAT2) was in the 160's F. Both temperatures are still too high; coolant should be closer to 220F and IAT2 should be closer to 130F, especially to maintain full power.
Stay tuned for updates on future Cobra cooling...
As is common among relatively inexpensive high horsepower cars, the Cobra runs very hot at the race track. In fact, after hard lapping for about 15 minutes it starts to overheat and when it reaches 245F (coolant temperature), its engine management computer puts the car into "limp mode" which effectively cuts back maximum power; thus reducing the heat generated by the engine. In anything above 70F ambient temperatures, my Cobra, as predicted, overheated in this manner.
The culprit is a wholy inadequate cooling system from the Ford factory. I read about the ultimate solution, called the Evans Cooling System, early on, but it costs serveral thousand dollars (including installation), so I've been playing with less costly changes. None of which helped, so, in the end, I recently had Cantrell Motorsports install the Evans Cooling System.
The two main things the Evans Cooling System addresses are the thermostat and oil cooling.
In the stock system, the thermostat is flawed in a way that allows too much coolant to go through the bypass rather than through the radiator. The kit relocates the thermostat and the bypass routing. Here is a picture of the new thermostat location, the black round thingy in the center.
The stock system utilizes a water-to-oil heat exchanger to cool the oil. The problem with this setup is that it effectively uses the radiator to cool the oil. Add this to the flawed thermostat design, the coolant simply can't be cooled enough.
To address the oil cooling, the Evans system does away with the water-to-oil heat exchanger that is an integral part of the oil filter housing. The oil filter is relocated under the bumper and Cantrell added a Mocal oil cooler just ahead of the left front tire.
This picture shows the relocated oil filter and the new oil cooler (note, this is someone else's car, but my setup is basically the same).
This picture is of my oil cooler.
And here is Brandon at Cantrell Motorsports, doing his usual magic on my car :)
The first test of the new system came last Wednesday (July 4th). Ambient temperatures were in the 70's and low 80's and the Cobra was able to run at full blast for 30 minutes with no overheating!! Yeah!!
Coolant temps hit a high 236F, but stayed there. Post-intercooler intake air temp (IAT2) was in the 160's F. Both temperatures are still too high; coolant should be closer to 220F and IAT2 should be closer to 130F, especially to maintain full power.
Stay tuned for updates on future Cobra cooling...
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