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Sorry, I misinterpreted what you said. It sounds like your Bilstein shocks were faulty and they were replaced under warranty ( which is a good thing). I used to autocross an '86 911 and had a shop weight balance the suspension ( torsion bars ). I enjoy reading your experimenting with your car.
Last edited by dpcompt; 02-19-2019 at 07:13 PM.
Reason: change
PS: I love the warning at the bottom of the alignment report.
Curious that the left rear camber is show in red as -2.2, which is reported as being out, but the specs are -2.2 to -1.3. It seems that they would report that as “in” when it is at the edge of being at the edge of the spec. Maybe it is a result of rounding from a number like -2.21
The Bilstein B8s are a very impressive shock. I was amazed when I replaced the MINI sports suspension shocks with them. The B8s have far better control and a better ride. There are a lot of Gen I and Gen II posts about how poor the MINI shocks are, which I discounted, as in - “How could MINI/BMW put that bad a shock into their cars? These can’t be that bad.. Well, I am a believer now and wish I would have put in the B8s the day I took the car home. Don’t know how good the MINI shocks are in the Gen III MINIs, but good to hear that the B8s continue to be a great option for improving the car.
No safe place to scuff them in of course, so the full effect on performance will await an autocross course.
However what I had not expected, or at least not in such dramatic fashion, is the change in the car when putting down Main Street in Gloucester, which at this time of year might well serve as a suspension test course due to the overlaying slabs, potholes, seams, and dips.
Gollum is suddenly lightfooted! Things that were a crunch are now a mere bump, and bumps are reduced to mere murmurs - the effect is magical!
Thus is unsprung weight transformed from nuisance to friend.
My 15” wheels are 10# each; 15# less than the stock 17” wheels. Yes, the changes in the car with less wheel/tire weight is amazing ... and they will be in the basement for another month at least...
My 15” wheels are 10# each; 15# less than the stock 17” wheels. Yes, the changes in the car with less wheel/tire weight is amazing ... and they will be in the basement for another month at least...
Enjoy!
Our NER Season starts April 13th with a Starting Line School, and the 1st Regional Points Event the following day.
April 13th is my birthday, and I do recall a foot of snow one year...
I may yet pay the penalties of the precipitous for my decision today.
At 4 am Saturday morning it's dark as heck and pretty cold.
Though it has been a relatively easy winter, the familiar corrosion of the spirit is well progressed and I haven't the patience required to remain hunkered down in Gloucester for another month.
"April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain..." -- T. S. Eliot
And so Gollum and I point south, and go in search of Spring, wherever it may be.
Even before sunrise we have slipped out of Massachusetts and are sliding down the terrible troika of traffic on Connecticut I-84 - Hartford, Waterbury, Danbury - on our way to the Pennsylvania border and the juncture of I-81.
Gollum hums along cheerfully at 3,100 rpm with the cruise control set at +9 from the posted limit, which is usually enough to avoid official attention.
By mid-day we've slithered far enough to see green grass and blossoms on the trees, and my heart is lifted by the departure from the grey tedium of Winter.
Connecticut gives way to New York, and then Pennsylvania.
We persist in our plunge towards the equator, and as the hours pass Pennsylvania gives way to Maryland, then Virginia, and West Virginia.
As the day wanes we bend south-east and find I-40 in Tennessee passing through Bristol on the way to Knoxville.
At long last, seventeen hours from our departure and over 1,200 miles traveled, we arrive at Dennis and Jane's Dragon Pitt Inn only to discover a merry band of revelers surrounding a big fire in the fire pit.
Gollum burned a bit more than four tanks of gas on this long opening day, and as the journey progressed his speed increased to a set 79 mph, air temperature rose to 63 degrees, and the front tires rose from a pressure of 31 psi at 32 idle to a full 37 psi.
The palm pyrometer reminded me that the fastest way to wear out a fresh set of Bridgestone RE-71s is to run long distances, hard and fast, on a warm day. That puts more heat in the tire than an autocross, and keeps it there...
I was warmly welcomed, and comfortably housed Saturday night, but sleep would not come. When I finally nodded off, despite the momentum of day, it was about 2:30 in the morning.
But that was not the last challenge of that short night.
I had, of course, intended to sleep in, but such was not the case.
At 4:30 am Sunday morning, almost three hours before sunrise, I was summoned to consciousness by a pack of dogs.
Three voices, all loud, all excited, with occasional yelps and variations of source and volume.
But incessant, and no stack of pillows or acts of will would allow me to regain slumber.
I went out, and in the darkness and sporadic pools of light from the Inn and the street I observed them - domestic animals, by the collars they wore, but acting as wild as even the sweetest house pets can be under the right circumstances.
They had more important business than heeding the plaintive admonitions of a Yankee at that hour, and so slightly grumpily my day began there.
As I had no intentions of driving the Dragon before light, I went north to the local variety store which serves a very nice breakfast, and listened to the old men who arrive there at 6 out of life-long habit, even though they've no pressing affairs.
Which, on reflection, describes me!
As the day truly began, and the sun lit the eastern side of the ridges and peaks, Gollum and I started our first trip down the Dragon southwards towards Deal Gap.
I always approach the Dragon with respect, and we went gently about scrubbing off the rust since our last trip last year, and re-acquainting ourselves with the condition of the road surface, temperature, moisture, and the resulting traction.
I had a few goals for the next few days, related to the driver training program I completed over the winter. Thanks to Vivek Goel for making that content available.
After a long Winter in New England, driving on 7" rims and Blizzaks, Gollum and I had lost our intimacy with high performance motoring, and so job one was to gradually regain that.
Job two was to change my braking habits - which entailed deliberate effort and practice. I needed to form the habit of braking hard on initial application, and then trailing off on entry all the way to the apex - the Euler Spiral approach.
Job three was to apply the same refinement to my use of throttle, again as explained and directed by the physics of traction.
And finally, I needed to once again learn to trust Gollum at a pace which although well short of competition, is nonetheless outside the realm of ordinary street driving.
So off we went, making several round trips from Overlook to Deal's Gap as the day warmed and brightened.
Sunday morning
There was little traffic, so it was possible to get a clear run more often than not - a rare gift on a weekend.
I met a man named Joey from Atlanta that afternoon, with a lovely Porsche 911, and so I bent my own rule about driving alone and invited him to follow me from Overlook to the Gap, which he agreed to.
I lied of course, and said I would be gentlemanly in my approach, and he smiled as he heard me fib.
Then he kept up without difficulty that I could see, which impressed me - the car is of course brilliant, but not all owners can really drive them. Joey could, and did, and we had fun.
Making it look easy...
By late in the day the tires were nearing optimal temperature, which would not happen again due to weather, and so I put the Schroth belts on and had a fairly quick run to see how my reformed habits were progressing.
Gettiing warm and sticky...
Not too bad - I had to push back from unconscious competence to teach my feet to behave properly, but the results were a steady improvement in smoothness and accuracy.
There is LOTS of practice available when one remembers that on the Dragon there is a corner on average every 181 feet for 11 miles.
By 5 pm I was happy and tired, and repaired back north to Maryville to see if I could finally get a good night's sleep after a bit of socializing.
Tuesday at 7 am I emerged from my room at the Inn a new man - having slept a full nine hours with one wake-up.
The morning light on the Redbud tree outside my door greeted me cheerfully, but the temperature was at that moment only 30 degrees, so I resolved to patience that the day might warm.
Cercis canadensis
In due course, Gollum and I went back to work on our driving, and reveling in the Appalachian Spring as the sun rose high.
Late apex
It turns out that there is a price to be paid for too much enthusiasm with the throttle, even given that I run the road in third gear with only two exceptions.
The e-Diff is unobtrusive, so it's sometimes difficult to judge, but it can be called to action - braking one front wheel or the other on corner exit - so frequently that the brakes never have a chance to cool.
And thus, for the first time ever, even after three prior Dragon trips, Gollum blued his brakes!
Getting hot!
Taking a break at the Dip, I noted that even the forest floor was welcoming the changing season, and releasing dormant flowers to the new year.
Ladyslipper I think...
As is always the case, Gollum and I saw many unusual vehicles in our travels, ranging from this impressive home-built car...
318 Hemi stroker motor - yipes!
... to the lovely BMW that Blount County now uses for Dragon patrols!
By the gloaming of the day my shoulders and arms were starting to stiffen, and the number of runs since our arrival was approaching twenty, and the Dragon is no place to be greedy.
So we repaired to the Inn for a pleasant evening, and another good sleep.
So, after two days on the Dragon, and 15-20 round trips, Gollum and I have certainly come to terms.
As I prefer, and has been the case for more than a decade, the blade that Gollum represents is finer than the hand that wields it.
Gollum's manners have been immaculate, neutral at the apex, always willing to give me more while abiding with whatever I have asked.
The car is flat, turns in beautifully, hugs the apex, and rockets out of the exit from any RPM in 3rrd the corner may have imposed. The Torque is endless, and the brakes are the best I have ever driven.
Even with the Bridgestones colder than they would prefer, the weak link is always the driver.
And having made this progress, and reached these conclusions, on Day 3 Gollum and I broke our pattern and zigged.
Heading south on 129 from Maryville, pointing at the Overlook, and just after the Chilhowee Dam, we turned left.
The Parkway winds south-east, following a long ridge that affords numerous and jaw-dropping views of the valleys to both sides, and ultimately dumps to Rt. 74, which then climbs up to some of the highest roads in the Southern Appalachians.
Gollum and I encountered traffic, which did not matter much as the temperature dropped steadily, and on this little twisting route the forest became adorned with a light frosting of snow.
Finally, after progressing at what seemed a snails pace, the traffic dropped away into a large parking lot at the top of the pass, and we continued back down to warmer climes and progressed west towards Cherokee.
Cherokee, despite it's proud name, was a bit daunting, Tawdry and commercial in the breathtaking landscape, I hope that it brings revenue for the tribe - though after the Trail of Tears I do believe Oklahoma may be part of the estate also.
What drew me on this quest was Maggie Valley, which ultimately I found. The reason is simply the museum Wheels Through Time, operated by Dale and Chris Walksler.
So ultimately I wound up standing outside the impressive gate on the 2nd of April, reading the sign that announced their opening on the 4th. Oops.
But the drive back put me on 28, which is a fast sweeping hoot of a road, following a river (reservoir?) for many miles.
Note that this return route brought be down to the Fontana dam from the upstream side, which I had never before done...
And I just could not drive the Dragon any more, which informed my decision to return home the next day.
Which I did, after the second night undisturbed by canine frenzies.
Charming adventure!
It sounds like the cold Gloucester ice that had started to settle into your spirit has thawed and, like the plants on the woodland floor, you have come back refreshed.
Here, snow is falling. My brand new RE71Rs have just been delivered to my shop and wait to replace my current worn and aged set. Your departure timing seems to have been perfect for missing the downswings of Mother Nature’s moods.
Tales from the Dragon 2019 - Wednesday - The Return
I left about 5 am, and was clear of Knoxville before anyone knew what was happening.
Regrettably I got a lesson in Cruise Control and the Virginia State Patrol policies, before the sun was high. I was running up 81 at 80 in a 70 mph zone, and surely drew the attention of a VSP Trooper.
He was polite, professional, and had a check box for 10-14 over, which he checked. I notice that there is no check box for 1-9 over, so there was my mistake.
$126, unless Massachusetts gets word of it. Don't tell please.
In Pennsylvania, and still in fair weather, I fired up the sound system for the first time in this odyssey.
I opened with The Band - Last Waltz. I rolled through the Buena Vista Social Club, and entering New York I had progressed to Vivaldi - the Four Seasons.
It seemed apropos.
By the time I hit Massachusetts, I had thrown caution to the wind and embarked on the Allman Brothers - Live at the Fillmore.
Since the quick fit are made for specific models, and they only list Gen1 and 2 which are smaller then the 3rds; is there enough slack for the additional length of an f55 in the quick fit?
Since the quick fit are made for specific models, and they only list Gen1 and 2 which are smaller then the 3rds; is there enough slack for the additional length of an f55 in the quick fit?
I dunno, as I run a F56 - with some Dremel work on the OEM seats.
02-19-2019, 07:08 PM
