Went shopping Saturday. Stocked up on supplies, snacks, drinks, and other stuff. Spent way too much money, but surely less than what it would cost to buy it all on the road. Plus, anything we don't have to stop for (or don't have to extend a gas stop for) along the way means more efficient use of time... and more time to sleep!
This is our first time doing the One-Lap, they call us "lap puppies", but we're smart dogs. One thing that EVERY experienced One-Lapper has told us is that sleep is the single most important factor to surviving the event. Maximizing sleep means minimizing transit time, so that's what we're trying to do.
You'll notice that I also bought some plastic bins for the back seat. This should make loading and unloading the car largely a matter of moving bins in and out. (and they'll make great garage storage after we're done!)
The countdown has begun, we're scheduled to hit the road Thursday morning, and we're READY!
better just do it yourself.
We installed the new rear springs on the car today. That took about half an hour and went without a hitch. I can't tell the difference, but Jeff says he can feel the slight increase in stiffness and it is good. All good there.
We decided to check the front alignment and look over things on the front of the car since the shop had it all apart last week. Definitely a good call. The alignment was about right, but we found a few other things wrong. Most notably, the rubber bushings that secure the bottom of the radiator are MISSING. And there's a ground wire dangling loose by the transmission that we aren't sure where it's supposed to go.
Minor stuff... but frustrating. At least we've got a week to get it all sorted out.
Like most projects, it's just never quite finished. Jeff sourced a variety of different spring rates from one of our sponsors, Dobinson's Springs. They arrived last week, and we've decided to put some slightly stiffer springs to the rear of the car. Hopefully, this will allow us to quit using excessive damping as a crutch to provide more rear stiffness. Of course, Jeff's going out of town this weekend, so we're going to have to get together some evening this week to swap out the rear springs.
In other news, the BMW Club's Car Control Clinic was a great success. We had a good time sharing some of our experience with the students (mostly teens), and they all had a good time learning... and hopefully learned some things that will help them in the future. We had the opportunity to drive the V on an autocross style course during lunch, and the new flywheel is AWESOME! The car has always pulled hard in 2nd gear, but it digs out of a slow 2nd gear turn like it's nothing now... even with two extra passengers in the back seat!
Picked the car up from the shop this morning. They installed the new Clutchmasters clutch and lightweight flywheel for us. (yeah, we could have done it... but it's just one of those things that's worth paying $240 to have done!) The clutch uses a Kevlar disk, which should last a long, long time. The flywheel is about 12 pounds lighter than stock, and makes a noticeable difference in acceleration, especially in 2nd gear (1st gear is gone so quick in this car that it's hard to tell much difference there).
Jeff HATES the new clutch, though! I have to agree that it does lack a lot in feel. Well, okay, it has NO feel whatsoever! Really. It's just a soft pedal that gives no feedback at all. The clutch itself actuates as it should and I adapted to the "no feel" pretty quickly. Hopefully, Jeff will adapt, too.
On the plus side, the clutch seems to hold well, and that will only get better as it breaks in. And the lightweight flywheel makes heel-toe downshifts MUCH smoother and easier.
Yeah, so we suck at this whole multimedia thing. Didn't take a single photo or video at the autocross Saturday, or while we were working on the car Sunday! (ah, but somebody bailed us out... I guess it's hard to go to an autocross these days and NOT have a photo taken of you) I promise we'll do better during the One-Lap!!!
Before we talk about the autocross, let's back up a little bit. Jeff has put the V on a diet! The trunk spoiler and side skirts have been removed, all of the trunk interior removed, about 50 pounds of sound deadening and carpet padding removed, and the rear seat has been modified for quick removal. All of this adds up to a "fighting weight" about 200 pounds less than it was!
So, we competed in the FAST autocross in St. Pete last Saturday. The car performed flawlessly. It did what it was supposed to do, and we both seem to have figured out how to drive it. It seems that Loren is better at adapting to the car and can drive it fast as long as it's "close" to the right setup. Jeff tends to drive it better when it's properly tweaked for the track. In this case, the tweak was a half-turn adjustment of the rear shocks. After going full-stiff with the rear shocks, Jeff was able to get within about 3/10's of Loren's time. Pretty darned close! And close enough to secure the 1-2 class finish for the team and fastest street tire time of the day.
Sunday, we did some Pre-One-Lap maintenance on the car. Oil change, brake fluid change, new rear brake pads, some welding on the exhaust, overall inspection and a few other odds and ends.
The car goes in for a new clutch this week. The stock clutch took a lot of abuse in it's 20k miles, and it's about done now. Definitely wouldn't survive the One-Lap. So, Jeff has an uprated clutch and a lightweight flywheel going in. The combination of the two should make the car significantly faster.
Next up: Team MissDirection helps out with a BMWCCA Teen Driver Clinic.
We've moved our web log to an online service that will allow us to easily post updates from the road, including photos and videos from my cell phone. How cool is that?
So, what's our status? The drivers are ready. The car is mostly ready. We need to do a final tweak on the alignment, new brake pads, some other maintenance. Oh, and a clutch. Who burns out a clutch in 20k miles?
