What are your plans for the winter?

[BobsAuto]

Well, decided to get you all talking once again. So, what do you all plan to do for winter projects, hobbies, etc?
My winter "chore" is plowing, but that's only if I can get a few volunteers to take a day and do an engine swap in my plow. Bob is too sick to do it, plus we pulled out of the garage we are renting due to the psycho explosions of our landlady there. (By psycho, I mean, we get blamed when her dishes aren't done in her house? She expects us to do repairs on her property for no compensation, and this woman actually hits herself when something breaks or her teenaged kids misbehave. She REALLY is psycho!!!! We don't need that.) Anyway, I hope to have a dozen or so driveways to plow to earn extra money. I LOVE doing it. It's really a blast, though I get mighty tired....it's a good tired. I crank on the tunes, bring the dog, drink lots of hot chocolate, and just plow ahead!!!!

I'm anxious to hear who gets to go skiing, what cars are being built, who hits the football games, etc. I also hope to get my personal website really cookin' and also get my personal computer online. (That's been a problem). I use my roommate's usually.

Well, hope to hear all the latest gossip from y'all soon.

[JimLill]

1) cleaning up the mess I made of the garage and basement during the 2006 efforts

2) building a spare engine and tranny for 2007

3) more of 1

I also moderate on www.swedespeed.com and hang around www.trackpedia.com, both which take some PC time up

[Greg Amy]

...what do you all plan to do for winter projects, hobbies, etc?[/b]

My winter hobby is paying off credit cards...

[Eric Parham]

If I can afford the warm socks, I like to race with AMEC (http://www.icerace.com). The warm socks cost almost as much as a day's entry fee (about $40). A tank of regular unleaded should also be included in the budget, because there's lots of track time (usually at least 1.5 hrs). The Menard studded tires can last virtually forever on a low-HP car, or the unstudded street-legal class is a blast too.

[biovic]

Just picked up my new car for ITA racing in 2007! :cavallo:
I know some of you know what I have in my garage now, but I feel like playing games and will only say it's from Japan, is silver and was a prior NER car. There are several things (aren't there always) to do to get it ready for me and the new rules (2007).
Victor G.
03 ITA

[Andy Bettencourt]

Just picked up my new car for ITA racing in 2007! :cavallo:
I know some of you know what I have in my garage now, but I feel like playing games and will only say it's from Japan, is silver and was a prior NER car. There are several things (aren't there always) to do to get it ready for me and the new rules (2007).
Victor G.
03 ITA
[/b]

RWD or FWD? I love games! My guess...curtousy of www.the16v.com (http://www.the16v.com)



http://www.the16v.com/SCCA/05/05nhis1/race/images/DSC_6573.jpg

[almracing]

This winter will include plenty of skiing here! We already had some snow, and hikers were already taking some turns at Wildcat. If anyone heads up to the Mt. Washington area for skiing, drop a note.

I'll also be fixing up the CRX and catch up with the things I planned to do before I had to put it back together. :( "There's always next season"

[16v]

I will be burning all my pics to DVD :015:

[tom_sprecher]

No snow activities down here so I guess I'll continue rebuilding my car. Luckily, I put in a nice gas heater in my garage last winter that takes the chill off in Jan & Feb since sometimes it gets into the 30's at night.

If I lived in south FL like my brother I could be painting my car as well. Maybe I need to move. Except the summers are brutal. He's either in the A/C or the pool and even that feels more like a bath the water's so warm.

I won't be able to paint until April :(

[Ed Funk]

We have to do the body on the civic, figure out the ?ignition? issue on the CRX. Add to the cage in the CRX, start the prep work on the body shell of the ita car, and do routine maintainance on the itc cars. Put a pellet stove in the garage yesterday, so with that and the lift this winter will be easier and warmer doing race car stuff. Have to call Tim Re: tech advice on Mitsubishi prep.

[BobsAuto]

Oh, I forgot, I will be taking care of my granddaughter for PAY while her mother, Raymond and Stephen's step-sister goes to school for her LNA. She graduates December 20th and with luck will be able to take her state board exam before the New Year and will be working full time after that and hopefully, the baby sitting job will continue. It is sure keeping me young!

Doing lots of crafts and making unique gifts for the kids.

BTW, I do woodburning pics of cars with color, photographic lamp shades and other things I can't tell you about because then R & S would know what I'm making them for Christmas. If anyone wants to learn more about my racing crafts and perhaps get something special for that racer of yours, (or yourself) PM me.

Now that I've made my "plug" .......

Reading, lots of reading.....

[JamesB]

Save up for next years season. Build a fresh bottom end for 07 so I can rebuild the current one over the season. Come Feb the car will be home so I can replace the roll bar padding around the driver area and ensure im 07 legal.

[lateapex911]

I should learn Excel, so I can do a spreadsheet and figure out how much it's going to cost me to have a competitive rear wheel drive IT car for next season, LOL...

ITR 944s2?? ITR 911SC? ITR E36? ITR E46? ITA Miata 1.8? Lots of numbers to crunch...

[RSTPerformance]

, start the prep work on the body shell of the ita car, [/b]

??? Did I miss something???


For us hopefully we will get snow, and ice... Skiing all winter and we are working on an Ice Racing (autocross style, not wheel to whell) adventure with the BMW club in NH... Possability of IT type front wheel drive cars, studded tires on the front and anything but studs on the rear!!! Should be a challenge, and a great learning tool for fellow drivers :) Hoping that Jason Benagh, Dave Gran, Tim Mullen and others will join in :) When it gets closer to the season we will post some updates, as it wil be the dead of winter and everyone will be bored and in need of a driving refresher challenge!!!

Raymond

[StephF]

Let's just say you should sometimes keep your significant other away from ebay.....
<_<
this is going to be a looooonnnnnggggg winter.......

[benspeed]

I will be cooking up diabolical plans for an IT car of some kind. I&#39;m back to mid engine thoughts....

[dazzlesa]

does anybodt know of a good 1.8 miata to build for lrp?

[Ed Funk]

does anybodt know of a good 1.8 miata to build for lrp?
[/b]
Not any more!

[Andy Bettencourt]

does anybodt know of a good 1.8 miata to build for lrp? [/b]

You gonna have one car for every track? :D

Don&#39;t forget - the car you drive was the track record holder before my &#39;wind-aided&#39; 1:01.4 - that red missle has gone 1:01.6. Get up on that wheel!!!!!!!!!!

[Despr8dave]

ummm....err.....I have lived in Florida all my life....just what are you "plowing"?......we no longer have farms to plow in cental Fl........just plow a few tourist attractions and it would be nice again.

[JamesB]

True, but when you live in NH you have to expect to push some snow around. I dont have to deal with it that often in this area, though you would think a cat 5 huricane is comming to DC every time they announce snow and the locals buy about 6 weeks worth of bread, milk and TP.

[dazzlesa]

a better driver and 115lbs makes a big difference. i think i ran a 1:02.1 at the lrp pro race last year. so a off to find a miata. hey andy will you rent the miata for the arrc?

[ner88]

Well, I changed the oil in the Miata and put the tires away, it&#39;s ready for next season.
I think I&#39;ll build an ITC car! :dead_horse:
Jerry

[Andy Bettencourt]

a better driver and 115lbs makes a big difference. i think i ran a 1:02.1 at the lrp pro race last year. so a off to find a miata. hey andy will you rent the miata for the arrc? [/b]

You should sharpen up! Ruck set a track record this year...Hunter is under 2005 record pace at NHIS...you just weren&#39;t challenged in 05...then we passed you by when you were snoozing in that ITB car!!!

BRING ON THE FUNK!

[ulfelder]

After toying with the idea of running SM next year, I&#39;ve decided to stick with the green machine in ITS. After all the %$#! dough I poured into repairs this year, I may as well get a few races out of the beast.

Which reminds me, please ping me if you&#39;ve got an RX-7 diff for sale!

Steve U
05 ITS
Flatout Motorsports

[dazzlesa]

who wants to run a new class next year called ITAminus or ITA unlimited. for who ever got weight last year and wants to run with out that weight???????????? lets run as light as we can get them. i still think we could get good #s from the tegs, crx&#39;s and 240sx&#39;s. did i miss anybody?
i will have to get to the drug store and buy some no doze for next season

[Speed Raycer]

Well, hopefully this winter I can get enough projects in the door to be able to get my IT7 back up to snuff including a fresh motor. I zinged it a couple of years back at about the same time that life smacked me in the wallot a couple of times (2nd story addition and some hefty medical bills for the kid).

I spent this past season working T&S and as webmaster for the St. Louis Region so that I could keep close to racing... but it&#39;s just way to hard to watch everyone out there on the track!

[lateapex911]

I spent this past season working T&S and as webmaster for the St. Louis Region so that I could keep close to racing... but it&#39;s just way to hard to watch everyone out there on the track!
[/b]


I hear you! Its really hard to be at the track if you don&#39;t know when you&#39;ll be back. If you do have plans, it&#39;s not so bad....but without plans, sometimes I&#39;d just rather not go, LOL.

[biovic]

RWD or FWD? I love games! My guess...curtousy of www.the16v.com (http://www.the16v.com)



http://www.the16v.com/SCCA/05/05nhis1/race/images/DSC_6573.jpg
[/b]

You&#39;re right Andy, that&#39;s my new baby! ;-)

Victor
03 again

[lateapex911]

Congrats Victor. I am thrilled to see you back in the game.

Not so thrilled about your choice of cars. ;)

PS, hopefully you didn&#39;t inherit that RF tire in the deal! BTW, have you ever been right behind that car in a race??? I&#39; have spent lots of laps behind it., and I know all sides...including the bottom, all too well!

(Sometimes I wondered if it wasn&#39;t Richie behind the wheels! ) ;)

kidding...kidding....

[Rabbit05]

Well this winter we are considering a bunch of options for a new car. So far I am not really interested in doing another ITC Rabbit. With all the reclassing of cars going on, soon the 1.6 liter car will be obsolete. If we do a Road Racing car, it&#39;ll be a German car again.....and I am thinking ITS... :cavallo:


Or we might just say " to hell with it ." and go play on the ovals and try to make a little money back on what we like to do.... :rolleyes: .....


John VanDenburgh

VanDenburgh Motorsports
"not really sure yet" #05

[Andy Bettencourt]

who wants to run a new class next year called ITAminus or ITA unlimited. for who ever got weight last year and wants to run with out that weight???????????? lets run as light as we can get them. i still think we could get good #s from the tegs, crx&#39;s and 240sx&#39;s. did i miss anybody?
i will have to get to the drug store and buy some no doze for next season [/b]

:huh:

So let me get this straight, you ran the Teg 4 times this year, won once and came in second 3 times. Plenty of people would like to have that sucess! :birra:

Focus on your A effort or your B effort and you will find what you lost.

My plans are to keep you behind me at LRP and figure out a way to stay in your draft at NHIS, Pocono, WGI or wherever else we actually have to slow down and then speed up!!! :)

[dazzlesa]

Andy the teg is an awesome car and it is successful.
I am very sore about the weight. I totally appreciate the efforts of those that are trying to improve the classes. i think in real world i am not sure that the results are what was intended. from my side of the fence the rules did not make any of the existing cars more competitive. 2 cars are brought into the class that are lighter than mine and faster in many respects. how did that help the cars that were existing to the class? i am not overly knowledgable of how the rules are created, but i am not sure how adding weight to the integras, crx&#39;s and 240 sx&#39;s while bringing S cars to this class is making the class better.
bringing these 2 cars is fine, i have nothing against the miata or nissan. but why add weight to existing cars? lets have a more fair fight. to me the more the better, but the weight thing does not make sense.
the miata is a 1.8 and the nissan is a 1.9 and they both weigh less?
andy your lrp time is faster than every S time by a second. traditonally there is an approx 1 second time difference between s,a and b times.
yes the teg can still break track records but one fast lap does not win races. the car falls off a ton with the weight.
that is why i propose a seperate class. weight costs money and i would rather run without it.
if the teg,miata,nissans,crxs and others move to a new class then it may make it better for the rest of the A cars. A class between A and S.
i think as it stands they created the biggest rules creep ever! lets build a miata to run up front?
i personally would not build a diiferent car. why should i? next year they will make a change and the 1.8 miata buyers will screwed.
i am open to opinions. did the weight changes help or hurt?
rick

[Andy Bettencourt]

This is a major thread hi-jack but:

You have to go back and look at history. The NX2000 and 1.8 Miata should have never been ITS cars. They were just corrected. The weight changes (90% DOWN, 10% up) were done, not to equalize cars based on on-track performance, but to start everyone from a common structure. Everything new coming into the class goes through a &#39;process&#39;. Your Teg went through last winter and that 2595 was spit out as the weight. As has been said, this ain&#39;t production...so year-to-year changes won&#39;t be made. Some cars will be better at some tracks than others.

As for LRP - with all due respect to the ITS guys - that was a track record kinda day. They were almost 2 seconds off the ITS record. Why is that? Just one of many reasons you can&#39;t use an event to make snap decisions. The Miata IS a 1.8 but makes 128 stock hp. Your car has 12 more stock hp and an almost 15 ft/lbs advantage before IT prep. I will be happy to share my dyno sheets with you...you will be dissappointed. The Nissan is a 2.0L and has the same power as you but has a horrible MacPherson-based suspension under it. All of these things are considered when inputting into the process. It will never be exact - and the cream will rise to the top - and there will be cars that are better on certain tracks than others. We pick our own weapon. I chose a LRP-based car that gets it clock cleaned at WGI and Pocono and runs close-but-no-cigar at NHIS. You may have (along with the 240SX IMHO) the best car for ALL the tracks combined.

Richie ran a 1:02.2 (half second quicker than me) this summer...in the TEG...

This is a fair fight. Some cars lost their advantage and now have to start &#39;working&#39; again.

[lateapex911]

Rick, with all due respect, ITA is considered by nearly everyone in the country to be the poster child class for how the process works, and works well.

You can&#39;t base your opinion on things from one track, or one region. Some of the slower A cars got lightened as much as possible, but even still that&#39;s not enough...but physics is physics. Every car can&#39;t have a shot at a win at every track. Yours does. Read around the net and see what people are saying about what they&#39;d build if they could build any ITA car. The teg is montioned as much or more than any other car.

Also, when you compare engine sizes, you have to realize that there is a LOT more to power production in a stock based motor than size alone. You just can&#39;t point to a cars engine size, and then say it&#39;s not fair that it&#39;s bigger than yours and you weigh more. That&#39;s leaving out a TON of factors, and that just in the engine!

I am surprised to hear your complaints.

[dazzlesa]

yes i am over complaining and i should not. i had a car last year that behaved one way and behaves differently this year. i wish there was a different solution then weight.

[benspeed]

I just might show up at a few ITA races next year if I buy a nice little rocket that I drove yesterday. Gonna need some major help setting it up but - 6 cylinder power baby! Who can guess???

Weighs in at 2560 which might be a problem....don&#39;t know that I&#39;ve ever seen one here in the Northeast.

Andy - you don&#39;t get to guess since you have the inside line.

Who knows of a good cage builder in NJ?

I will alternate Pocono/Glen in the SPO car. NH and LRP in the ITA mobile - it will be a full blown build. :smilie_pokal:

[Greg Amy]

Rick, if you honestly believe the NX2000 has an unfair advantage, I would be more than happy to not sell my car and swap rides with you for &#39;07. This is a truly serious offer: let&#39;s swap cars and see how things come out. I&#39;ve been wanting to try out an Integra anyway, and this way we can "walk in each others shoes".

This is not spiteful, boasting, Rick, I&#39;d really like ot have access to your car for a few races...


Who can guess???[/b]

Easy. You mentioned mid-engine above (or another thread?) and now V-6. I&#39;m sure GM would be happy to see you out there in one of their "fiery" rollerskates.

Hey, maybe you&#39;ll buy one of the purple ones!!! (My sister liked those...) then we&#39;ll have TWO girlie cars in ITA!

:P

[lateapex911]

Yup, there are a few out there. I&#39;ve raced against a couple, but they&#39;re not too common. I always wondered what they could do. They SHOULD have some power, but it IS a GM car after all, LOL.

So, no ITR???

Plenty of excitement in ITA, and we all know that "Pontiac builds excitement!" ;)



yes i am over complaining and i should not. i had a car last year that behaved one way and behaves differently this year. i wish there was a different solution then weight.
[/b]

We could talk about a nice round SIR.... ;)

Must - not -go -there.

Even in jest.

[nlevine]

Weighs in at 2560 which might be a problem..[/b]


Anybody with a car that weighs less than 2600 lbs has no right to complain :P

..and to un-hijack the thread, the BMW will be getting a new window-net mount to meet the &#39;07 rules, new data acquisition (so I can make some cooler in-car videos.. oh yeah, and help me become a better driver and help with car setup), and some general maintentance stuff..

-noam

[lateapex911]

What Data aq? The AIM system with the MXL dash and matching vid system looks pretty trick.

[Andy Bettencourt]

Noam,

If you haven&#39;t decided, grab the DL1. Greg and I have been sharing info and I hope to add Mr. Lawton and Mr. DiMinno as well. It is a really cool tool and would be that much better if you could understand where your competition was good/bad.

[Eric Parham]

I just might show up at a few ITA races next year if I buy a nice little rocket that I drove yesterday. Gonna need some major help setting it up but - 6 cylinder power baby! Who can guess???

Weighs in at 2560 which might be a problem....don&#39;t know that I&#39;ve ever seen one here in the Northeast.[/b]

It&#39;s really too bad that they separated the 85-87 from the 88, which actually handles. I always liked the 88 Formula model (not so much the heavier 88 GT). I have seen a few run over the years. Unfortunately, they don&#39;t hold up very well to bumps or to tirewall/guardrail encounters. There was a guy in the past two or three years that wrote one off at Lime Rock after what I considered a minor skirmish with a tire wall. Anyone remember who that was? Anyway, if you can keep it out of trouble long enough to develop it, the 85-87 might just bring home the goods at the faster tracks. Good luck B)

[benspeed]

I always liked the way these Fiero&#39;s look. The one I&#39;m buying is butt ugly and will need paint fast (or fast paint?). Looking at Ferrari yellow to contrast with Andy&#39;s bland and unnoticeable dark green? Good thing is the car was setup for EMRA autocrossing and seems to have all the suspension bits - just pushes like a pig and I need to find out how to adjust to correct that.

Who&#39;s got some used 15 in 5-100 wheels and tires for me? Before I pour any real $$ into this experiment I want to autocross this on some grippy (but used) rubber and see if it&#39;s really worth building out. I&#39;ll probably use a friends industrial parking lot for testing. I&#39;ll have coffee an doughnuts ready for local law enforcement who occasionally show up during our skid pad runs. They usually are cool unless it&#39;s a rookie who doesn&#39;t know us - we tell them to call home and then offer a run to &#39;em - even had an old fart in uniform take a run in my old RX7 - he looped it pronto and was totally embarassed. They wouldn&#39;t let us drive the cruiser.

I tell ya - ITA seems to be the IT class to race now. Tons of entries. What happened to ITS? Last year the class was full - 2006 was like 2/3s of what it used to be while ITA was like 4/3s.

PS - who knows a good cage builder close to Northern NJ?

Good thing about these Fieros is the nose is low enough to pick up the back of a Miata no problem :018:

[Andy Bettencourt]

Ya know Ben, this is exactly what I picture when I think of you in a yellow ITA Fiero... :D

http://www.sskinderworld.com/images/flyingfiero350.jpg

[JamesB]

Ouch, that doesnt look like it had a good outcome.

[benspeed]

:D Is that what happens when I throw down the Banzai! Where&#39;d you find that pic - my secretary just stuck her head in to find out why I&#39;m laughing so hard!

I think that car is for sale too! Think it rolled?

I need to talk smack at Greg but he&#39;s in the zone for the ARRC - make the North proud!

(New clutch for the SPO car next week. I smell the plastic burning in my wallet)

My biggest fear is Crazy Joe.....hope he takes a podium at the ARRC!

[RSTPerformance]

Ya know Ben, this is exactly what I picture when I think of you in a yellow ITA Fiero... :D

http://www.sskinderworld.com/images/flyingfiero350.jpg
[/b]


:023: While Stephens favorite cars were Jags, mine was always the Fiero GT in yellow w/ black tinted windows!!!

Raymond

[BobsAuto]

Ok, Raymond, I&#39;ll have to talk turkey with the guy that lives across from the storage place I take care of. He&#39;s had a Fiero in his barn for 3 years. Wonder if I offer to move it out of there for nothing, if I can get it.... :rolleyes:


And we still have state yellow from Juli&#39;s truck....and the paint is CHEAP also.... :cavallo:

Oh, but Raymond&#39;s first word he EVER spoke was not Mom, DADA, .....it was Porsche. :D

[benspeed]

I think I have to paint it black - that pic was bad mojo. Plus I&#39;m sick of scrubbing tire marks off race cars. Black will be easier and dark green won&#39;t show up on it. :P

I pick up the experiment tomorrow and bring it to Maaco...then the flux capacitor installation....

[lateapex911]

Plus I&#39;m sick of scrubbing tire marks off race cars. Black will be easier and dark green won&#39;t show up on it. :P
..
[/b]

But flourescent orange will.....

;)

[Greg Amy]

Non-sequitor: Jake Gulick, your PMs are full and I don&#39;t have your email...call me on the cell... - GA

[lateapex911]

Done

[benspeed]

:eclipsee_steering:

But flourescent orange will.....

;)
[/b]


Would that be an Amy Orange? :blink:

[lateapex911]

Indeed it would. ;)

Listen, I know I said I&#39;d get you some pics and info oon the fiero from the ARRCs. Well, I suck, between my shop issues before leaving, and 4 just rebuilt wheels failing to hold air, I just didn&#39;t do much sightseeing. So no pics.

But, I did race against the thing. I liked it. Because it made me feel good when I went out on two two year old tires and two leaking tires, LOL. His best race lap was a 1:55.5. Greg Amy went a 1:43.9, and the fast lap was a .8. I was about 1:48.00, I think.

He did seem fast-ish on the straight, but the corners...uggg...the corners weren&#39;t pretty.

Of course, I don&#39;t know about the prep level.

[dazzlesa]

re the fiero
the one at atlanta out ran me down the straight on one lap, but he had nothing under braking. again i also have no idea about the prep level or driver.

[benspeed]

That&#39;s my fear - great power and piggish in the corners. But since my last update here&#39;s the Fiero build:

Koni Reds
Coil overs in rear installed - fronts look like control arms need fiddling to fit so not doing anything there for the moment
Springs selected and installed
All polyurethane bushings throughout-done
AFCO swaybars front and rear with spherical ends-done
Headers installed - need to sort out what&#39;s the best package after the headers
Chipped - ready for dyno tuning after exhaust done
New steering rack - done
Kevlar clutch - done
Shift light and A/F meter - done

Really - not trying to hard to go fast, just keeping a little busy..... :P

[benspeed]

OK - finally took a picture of this &#39;80&#39;s honey. I have learned of all the weaknesses of this car and I figure with only a couple of grand in I might as well keep going.

Can you say no adjustability for the front end - period?


Frig putting up a pic - I got no website to host pics.

Jake, I did talk to the guy who ran his Fiero at the ARRC - he was the most knowledgable to date and had some good setup notes but you really can&#39;t do much with these cars. It&#39;s all motor and hang on in the turns.

How can you post a pic?

[benspeed]

[attachmentid=683]AB has schooled the inexperienced on the photo posting - let&#39;s hope that doesn&#39;t happen on the track! (ohhh sh*t just opened myself up for a beating) :D

[dominojd]

PS - who knows a good cage builder close to Northern NJ?

[/b]

Ask Bobby if he&#39;ll do it.

[RSTPerformance]

[attachmentid=683]AB has schooled the inexperienced on the photo posting - let&#39;s hope that doesn&#39;t happen on the track! (ohhh sh*t just opened myself up for a beating) :D
[/b]

Nice lookin car :023: Looking forward to next season and seeing how much more exciting ITA could be!!!

:)

Raymond

[lateapex911]

Jake, I did talk to the guy who ran his Fiero at the ARRC - he was the most knowledgable to date and had some good setup notes but you really can&#39;t do much with these cars. It&#39;s all motor and hang on in the turns.


[/quote]

Hmmm...maybe I might just stick in ITA for one more year..this could be fun to watch!