well that should change for you now that the PM motoring season just started up. Then you can come out and ralley more!!

 

i havn't seen anything that exciting going on recently or in the near future

 

TSW springs are in and she's driving like a dream compared w/ the bone jarring sport suspension i probably, in hindsight, shouldn't have ordered. I drove over some really bad roads that I tend to have to cross and they feel great, I haven't done any spirited driving because im coming down w/ something and a little dizzy. But I can tell from the lane changes on the highway that she'll really be responsive now.

best part... no scraping when i go up/down the home driveway

 

gonna post some photos?

 

Ok, this is going to sound really really stupid (almost enough to make me not post it at all) and as if I am mocking you, but I assure you, I'm quite serious when I ask:

Really? If I swap out my suspension I can get a softer ride over bumpy and pothole filled roads? That never really occurred to me. Really it didn't. It makes sense...but I always knew the Sport Suspension offered better turning and twisty performance. As such I thought that the point of replacing my springs was to give even better performance for the trade off of an even stiffer suspension. I can get both!?

 

She's filthy and it'll take me at least two hours to clean the rims alone. I've got the flu, so it'll have to wait. Honestly, you can't really tell it's been lowered. I think if i were to park next to a stock height, then maybe. But yeah, ill post something later on.


Hmm... i get what you're saying and coming from an Integra w/ -2 race springs, I agree with your ending statement, and I dont think you're anywhere near mocking.

As I understand it, the spring rate is different and the ride height isn't as extreme as the other ones. Some of the reasons I chose the TSWs are because of the of the more, comfortable, spring rate and just enough lowering to make her more responsive. Again, i haven't tested it, but the additional camber adjustments Danny did should make my next canyon run much more enjoyable.

Back to what you wanted to know. The spring rate is different enough that when on the sport springs (are they diff, i forget...) when you hit a pothole, it was pretty jarring. It's not more comfortable to the point of an S-class MBZ, but it's just less jarring. That's the best I can describe it. The tradeoff, and there is, is that she rides like a lowered car. You should be able to tell immediately from dips and changes in the road surface. It's definitely not as bad as some other springs i've used on the integra.

So from what i've read, the other springs, HR, Eibach are what you are describing w/ the stiff suspension trade off. I think the TSW gives up a little of the performance for some streetabilty. It's a pretty good balance and I tend to agree w/ the limited driving I did, w/ the reviews in the TSW thread over in the suspension section.

I think that if you can find someone near you w/ the springs, and take a ride in it, you'll understand what I mean.

I hope some of that makes sense, i've got a 100F fever and i'm a little dizzy.

 

Had a great day out with the Miniacs last Saturday!









All in all I drove just under 400 miles. About 120 of that was in the really twisty stuff and took a bit over three hours total. Plus there were some nice roads going up there.

I hit 10k the next day.

 

sweet! i love mini rallys..



no cold start noise this morning either... tomorrow morning will be the true test as we should be getting into the 30's and raining tonight.

 

dropped off the MINI this morn to get my grocery list of things fixed.

sunroof rattle
sticking sunroof when hot
cold start chatter
window dipper problem
ambient light issue.


was a bit of a snafu on getting a loaner. but after 20 min they gave me a brand new 535i as a loaner.

wish me luck that they actually fix all this stuff.

 

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

 

^^^^ What a Drive! (read Jealous)

 

I have my grocery list waiting also, just no time to get up there, or to the bank for that matter. I only go if they can garantee me a MINI loaner, Ottos service was brought down a lot the first time I went for service (they gave me a crappy focus with stickers all over it, no gas.... etc.) Wonder if I can score a BMW M roadster as a loaner haha

 

*sigh*

cold start noise came back this morning.

it isn't as bad as before. it doesn't make the noise at idle, but i still get a rattling sound once I get above 1.5k rpms; goes away in about a mile of driving.

 

hey proximal, was that the run up north to sequoia np?

 

No, it was Tehachapi to Kernville to Bakersfield.

 

Unless they do another one, that's what i really meant yeah, that's it.. yeah

Kernville's just below the Sequoia national forest.

I really wanted to go, but I just couldn't, april got busy and I forgot all about it. I'll have to do a solo run when i head up there for camping in july. There's quite a few great roads up there. Even taking my unbalanced acura thru the kern river canyon was a blast, i can't wait to do it in Yuko.

hmm.. maybe i should just take a solo run... esp now since the springs are on

 

I have a burning desire to spend money on my car haha. I'm supposed to be buying a friends Alta Cat Back, but he hasn't set anything up with me yet. I want to get rims and tires, and brakes, and sway bars, and a down pipe and the list goes on and on.....

I need to win the lottery

Do any of you have many mods done yet?

 

I hate it when friends don't share! Let me know if I can help! Chat soon!

 

I have the same urges, though probably in a lesser sense. I really want to get some new custom viper stripes. Unfortunately, a great job opportunity may cause me to get rid of my MINI entirely since I won't need to have a car for my commute anymore. We'll see how it plays out in a few weeks, but if I keep the MINI, I'm getting new stripes! Wahoo!

 

I've got new rims/tires, and a track day scheduled in mid-May.

Coming early may will be nm engineering springs, a 19mm alta rear sway, and maybe some alta rear lower control arms.

I think after that, I'm goign to get some more gauges, or at least a scangauge so I can monitor my car while I'm on the track.

I may look into a big brake kit, depending on how they feel on the track.

later in the summer i'm looking at intake, boost tubes, catback, intercooler, etc. pending how bad my track addiction has gotten.

i have some non-performance mods that i've done, wrapped all of my trim in black vinyl, switched out for the "just-a-cooper" side marker lenses, JCW shift ****, de-badged....

 

I'm holding off on any more major mods til I have a clear idea of which direction I want to head in.

I'm debating just getting the Stage 1 and leaving the ECU alone after that. I think it would sufficient for most of what I want to do, including some HPDE. Maybe get a larger RSB and definitely new pads. But I want to remain as stealth as possible.

Otherwise, I wanna see what RMW (since i'm fairly local) can do w/ the tune and what's going to go well with it then pick my parts there. But I fear that it'll end up like my Integra, pretty beat up, creaking and squeaking everywhere... extra parts everywhere, selling at a loss. I really don't want to do that again. Ppl pulling at stop lights and rev'n, pulling alongside the highway w/ hazards on.. bleh, i'm too old and responsible for that and it's annoying after a while.

I do think i'll be getting some new stripes though, i've got some nasty stains on the front and I can't seem to get off. Looks like rust or blood...? It's not readily noticeable, but I know they are there and it'll bother me.

 

^well, at least you've moved on from the honda scene, you're going to catch more attention from a different crowd now; a crowd that doesn't try to go 90 mph down a residential street. I haven't had anyone do anything remotely close to trying to race, just a few civic's eying up my wheels...

stage one +ecu is about what i'm looking for too... number wise, i want to see something around 230whp, and I'll be fully satisfied.

 

Ah, have you encountered the ultimate test of "old fart-dom"?

When the young pup pulls up beside you with the tunes cranked and enough bass that you can feel it in your car with the windows up - and your first thought isn't great stereo, but turn it down buddy.

 

Haha, I'm 24 and I love my music, but I enjoy hearing it without disturbing the peace. The last time a "young pup" pulled up along side me with bass vibrating my car, I put on some Opera and blared it, pretended to direct of, sang along..... The look on the kids face was priceless.

 

On another note, just checked in Al for a service. I gave them my laundry list, windows, sunroof, cold start, clutch pedal squeeks, oil change, rattling dash board.