31rx7

CORRECTION: As Sean noted below, this is a 2001, not a 2003 / 2004. But, they are pretty much all the same, and it's not like it will influence the value! (Now watch some Hyundai fanboi respond and tell me about the upgraded idler pulley and different glovebox latch on the later cars...) My sister and her husband are selling their 2003 (or it might be 2004) Hyundai Sonata. I believe it is the GLS trim, 2.7L V6. All service records. I know the car well as it was father in law's car - a true "Grandpa Car". Only 88,000 miles. Has received excellent maintenance for most of its life. I say "most of its life" as it was away at college at BGSU with my nephew for two years. During that time, it received a few dings and scratches, and the antenna broke. A few interior stains of unknown and perhaps unthinkable origin. Car has cloth interior, grey exterior, and the usual equipment. Runs and drives great. Tires at about 7/32" all around. Brakes at 50%. Car was just serviced at The Northend Wrench and issues are listed below. Looks good. Does not leak oil or anything. Timing belt was done at 50,000 miles. No CEL's. Issues I know about: 1) AC does not work. Might just need an evac / recharge, might need more. 2) Antenna as noted is broken. This was a power antenna and my brother in law snipped off the retractor so the whole unit needs replaced. Get a new manual antenna, or just use your phone and a bluetooth FM adapter. 3) Shocks are getting weak. Rockauto has them for around $25 to $40 each, or loaded struts for $52 - $90 a piece. 4) IIRC, CD player does not work. 5) Minor rust but not bad at all. Hardly noticeable. That's about it. It's a good driver that would make a solid work car for somebody, kid's car (because you know they will trash it), or serve you well as a winter hooptie while you keep your pimpy car in the garage. I believe he is asking $1,750 and assume he is flexible. I tried to talk my wife into getting it for when she stores her S2K this winter, but she gave me "the look".

Post race: Car did very well when the tires were under it. ^I ran a set of new, but 2.5 years old, Hoosier A7's. ^They were fine on Saturday for the 15 lap / 25 min race, but on Sunday, they got slippery for the 21 lap / 35 min race. ^As I mentioned above, my strategy was to gap Matt at the beginning, and then take care of the tires particularly in the carousel and keyhole so I had something at the end of the race. Sunday was about the same temp-wise but with no breeze, so I am guessing the track temp was hotter. ^Regardless, got to around lap 15, and they really started to go away. ^The last two laps it was all I could do to get around the keyhole and carousel, and have some exit speed. ^ Back at the paddock, the drivers side tires showed significant rollover and were starting to cord on the outside edge, both front and rear. ^This in only 45 laps or so. ^Rarely do I have Hoosiers cord, so it has to be due to the excessive rollover. ^The question then is why the rollover. ^I should have seen the rollover after Saturday's race but apparently I was asleep at the wheel when I inspected the tires post race Saturday. I was running my typical cold pressures, and the tires were not over pressure at the end of the race. ^The passenger side tires were fine in terms of wear and rollover. ^ Will have to experiment with cold pressures for the next race. ^ On a positive note, the brake pads showed less wear than ever. ^Typically, I go through a set of front pads a weekend, and these still look great. I think the difference is that this year we are running a larger rotor (same pads and calipers) so heat dissipation is better. Also car-wise, need to lose weight. ^I am about 45 lbs over. ^Losing 30 lbs would go a long way, but I am not sure where to lose it. ^A close read of the rulebook is in order. Driving-wise, I was...fair to OK. ^Really messed up when I was getting lapped by the faster T2 / T3 / STL cars. ^Watched my mirrors too much, slowing to give them room to pass, and in the process allowed Matt to close in. ^Lesson learned. ^Also, did not do Turn 1 correctly / consistently. ^I think I am turning in a little too early, and need to apex slightly later. ^Part of this is visual: The B-pillar and drivers side mirror together block the view on left turns, and it's compounded coming under the bridge. ^Need to get better there.

Sunday, July 19, 2020 Early to bed Saturday night, and at the track by 7:15a Sunday to prepare for an 8:45a race start. ^The weather was hot and heavy, even early in the morning. ^ Kathy went around and did the checklist stuff - torque wheels, clean windshield, install camera and radio, etc - while I relaxed. ^Started getting suited up at about 8:15a and headed to grid at 7:30a or so, ready to go. Sitting in grid, helmet on, I was sweating profusely thinking "Damn! It's hot!" ^They sung the Star Spangled Banner, and we got the 5 to go. Kathy wished me good luck and a few minutes later, we headed out for the pace lap. ^This time, Matt ^(yellow Mustang) was just behind me on grid. ^Ralph (red Z4) was supposed to be gridded in front of Matt but apparently had broke bad on Saturday because he didn't come to grid. ^ ^Started on time and headed out for the pace lap. As I mentioned, really working on my starts, and had another good one. ^Got out ahead of Matt and a couple others and after the first lap, started to gap him a bit. ^First place in T4, Matt Boden (Miata), was 3+ seconds a lap quicker than us and checked out, so we were fighting for second. ^My strategy was to get a 2 - 3 second gap over Matt, then maintain it, preserving my tires for the end. ^ This worked out pretty well until the fast T2 cars started catching and lapping us. ^Somewhere around lap 13 or so, Matt was closing in and got behind me. ^We were being passed by faster cars, and he was able to use them to his advantage getting in front of me. ^I stayed hot on his tail, and was able to get a good run out of the keyhole on lap 15 and pass him under braking at the end of the straight. For the rest of the race, we hounded each other - he passed me again, and I passed him again. We both respected each other's space and gave the other room. ^We were very close numerous times, but neither of us did anything aggressive to unsettle the other. ^By the last lap, both of our cars were sliding all over - maybe R7's would have been better than A7's on such a hot day! ^ On the last lap, Matt was on me like a cheap suit, but I managed to stay ahead to take the 2nd over him by .3 seconds! Fist pumping and woo-hoo's from both of us proceeded on the cool down lap! Got to impound, and I was wiped. ^I don't remember ever being so exhausted getting out of a race car. The combination of heat, humidity, and competition drained me. Many thanks to Deb Hamilton, Susan Downs, and others who brought me water and cold wet towels! ^Talked to Matt and we both were exhausted yet happy - big, big fun and the way racing ought to be. ^ More podium and trophy photos, this time with bubbly from Mazza Vineyards! ^ Back at paddock, rested and recovered for an hour or so, and started packing up. ^Hung out for the Spec Miata race - a good one - and left around 1:45p. ^ Sunday race video at https://youtu.be/crZNXkh6Epw.

Saturday, July 18, 2020 - continued After the race back at the paddock, went over the car to prep for Sunday morning. New front pads and a quick nut and bolt on things I touched over the past few months, and we were ready to go. Probably should have looked closer at the tires, but more on that later. Watched the Group 5 Spec Miata as well as Group 6 AS, GT1, GT2, T1 both of which were good races. Got things wrapped up and headed back to the hotel around 6p. Stella was wiped out from the heat and welcomed getting back to the room where she promptly ate dinner and then napped. We went to Buck's which is tradition, but I got to say it was a major disappointment. Food was not very good and while they were managing social distancing and masks when we got there, by the time we got our food it was out of control. Got our check and left.

Saturday, July 18, 2020 Today was a very good day. Got to the track at 7a for a 20 minute 8a qualifying session. After missing the Friday afternoon qualifying, I had to get a decent time in so I would at least be close to the folks in my class - Michael Boden (Miata), Ralph Porter (Z4), Matt Miller (yellow Mustang!). I figured Boden would go off and hide as he has a good car and he is quick, but was hoping to be in the mix with Matt and Ralph. Son Andrew arrived just before I took to the track on schedule and after a couple warm up laps, started putting in qualifying laps. Track was maybe a little slick but got down to a 1:46.8 which put me close enough. The car was good, I was so-so; inconsistent as I would get one or two turns right then be off on the next one. Plus, as the laps went on the car changed a bit, and frankly I did not adjust as quickly as I should. I gridded 23rd, Matt was 22nd, and Ralph was 20th. So, right in the thick of it. Back in the paddock, went over the car, checked things, etc. I was planning on changing to fresh pads as I started on front Carbotech pads that already had two sessions on them - trying to use up all my half used stuff - but when I looked at them, they were not even 1/3 worn! The Mustang got an allowance this year to run the larger rotors from the Mustang GT (same pads and calipers but bigger rotors), so the bigger surface area for heat dissipation must make a difference! Whatever, I was happy to be ready for the race. We were the first race after lunch break at 12:30p. My group was STL, STU, T2, T3, and T4 - total of 34 cars. There was one DNS, so really 33 cars. In was gridded 23rd overall, inside row 12, 4th in class, but 3rd (Matt Miller, Mustang) was right in front of me in 22nd OA and outside Row 11, and 2nd (Ralph Porter, T4) was in 20th OA directly in front of Matt outside Row 10. Mentally, I have been focused on my starts because, frankly, they have generally sucked the past few years. Went out on time for the pace lap, and coming out of the carousel anticipated the green flag drop. Got a great start but somebody in front of me didn't and almost ran into them! Got to the inside for a good run into 1, but messed up by shifting to 4th like an old man driving to Cracker Barrel and ended up behind Matt Miller coming out of the keyhole. Unbeknownst to me, Matt had a problem with his throttle sticking and tapped his brakes just about at the 3-4 upshift point going down the straight. Saw the brake lights come on and it scared the heck out of me - I thought all hell was breaking loose in front of him. Followed Matt around for a few laps and could see second place Ralph Porter in front of him. Felt I was faster than him but I was tentative in passing and just was being wimpy overall. Decided around lap 5 I needed to pick up the pace. We were both closing in on Ralph in P2, and I finally got by Matt going into 1 around lap 7. I could see Ralph ahead in P2 and was closing on him ever so slightly - was hoping to race him for position, but on lap 9 he pulled off track. Hey, I'll take P2 any way I can get it! From there it was just trying to be smooth, correct mistakes, and keep a good distance ahead of Matt. Oh, and stay out of the way of the fast T2 cars that were lapping me! Finished a solid 2nd and happy to have a clean race. Video: First time in the trophies at a Majors and had to go to impound for the usual stuff. Car is 50 lbs overweight (gotta work on that), got fuel tested for the first time ever, and went through the whole podium photo op thing. It was fun.

Friday, July 17, 2020 I have really been working on race prep, not so much the mechanical stuff, but the 30 minutes prior to going out on track. Torque the wheels, help the driver get settled in the car, make sure the camera is turned on, etc. Put together a checklist with responsibilities on who does what (admittedly, I am a bad delegator), and showed Kathy what to do - she is an ace at torquing the wheels now. Woke up to a beautiful, clear, mild morning and got to the track just before 7a, and started getting ready. We were ready to go around 7:30a for an 8a start, and I was at grid all ready by 7:45a. Sat there waiting and went out on track at 8a. Car was good, I was very tentative given all the work done on the car and the fact it's been 15 months since I've been at at speed. Lap 3 was 85% and so I was ready at lap 4. Got a good run out of the carousel and coming down the pit straight went to shift to 4th and....no clutch pedal. Clutch pedal was not doing anything, and I was in neutral. Couldn't get it into gear, and pulled off just off the right of the chicane, maybe 20 yards off track. Sitting there for about 30 seconds, I thought "Ya know, this is probably not the best spot for me to be...", so I wondered "Wonder if the starter would be enough to move me along in first gear?". Sure enough it was and the car fired up so I could get up by the worker station for the rest of the session. Got towed in and dropped off at our paddock, and started looking at the car to see what happened. Figured it was a failure of clutch hydraulics, and I was right. At first, I thought it was a failure of the slave cylinder (integral with the T/O bearing) which would mean pulling the transmission....which I was not about to do. Called master mechanic and good buddy Dave Wenger at The Northend Wrench, and he suggested to also check to make sure the hydraulic line didn't become disconnected where it goes into the transmission. It is a quick-connect type fitting, and they are known to fail. Good news is that in fact it the quick connect failed. Bad news is that you can't buy a replacement clip to put it back together. Loaded the car, took it down to The Northend Wrench, and located a complete line at Ricart. Ran down there to get it, came back, installed, bled the system, and got back to MidOhio around 4p. Unfortunately, I missed the afternoon qualifying session, so I have to get it done in the brief 20 minute qualifying session 8a Saturday. This will determine grid for the 12:30p race, so I need to make it count. More tomorrow.

Posted on the OVR forum but since things are quiet here, thought I would also post here. If you want to skip all the drivel, in car video of the races: Saturday Race: Sunday Race: ^- We are back at it again with the Great Lakes Race of Champions Hoosier Super Tour at MidOhio, conducted by our very own Ohio Valley Region team! ^ I believe I have the car ready to go after last year's mayhem. ^Brian and Neva Hoover, and the team at Autobody Specialists did a great job repairing the major damage to the car, and I spent December through May doing lots of little things to make sure all the t's were crossed and i's were dotted. ^Ran a couple of solo's to get shake things out, and the car seems ready to go. ^ Hopefully the driver is! ^ Stay tuned for updates through the weekend.

SOLD Uniroyal Long Touring all season radial tire, size 205/55-16. About 2/3 - 3/4 tread. Depth measures 8/32 - 9/32.

SOLD These are from my wife's Y2K S2K which has seen its last winter. ^Wheels are OK - not pristine, not bad. ^Some minor corrosion. ^Front tires are around 7/32 to 8/32, rears are 5/32 to 6/32. These are Michelin X-ICE tires. Front wheels are 16x6.5, rears are 16x7.5. ^Bolt pattern is 5x114.3. Front tires are 205/55-16, rears are 225/50-16 I am asking $300, but really have no idea what is appropriate as the market of people that drive their S2000 in the winter is pretty small. Willing to separate wheels and tires.

SOLD. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Looking for a set of SN95 Mustang "Starfish" wheels. 17 x 8. Must be straight and not cracked. Cosmetics not too important - going on a road race car. Let me know if you have any.

These are from my wife's Y2K S2K which has seen its last winter. ^Wheels are good - not pristine, not bad. ^Some minor corrosion where the clear coat has flaked off. ^Tires are probably all around 5/32 to 6/32. IIRC, these are Michelin X-ICE tires. Front wheels are 16x6.5, rears are 16x7.5. ^Bolt pattern is 5x114.3. Front tires are 205/55-16, rears are 225/50-16 I have no idea what to ask as the market of people that drive their S2000 in the winter is pretty small. Willing to separate wheels and tires. Photos in the next day or so.

SOLD SOLD SOLD - BFG gForce TA KDW R compound rain tires. ^ 245/40-17. ^ 2012 date codes but were stored indoors or covered all the time. ^ These were mounted on rims, but have never been on the ground. Reason for selling: Got me some pimpy Hoosier H2O's. $200? ^Best offer? ^ Also trade for a set of "Starfish" wheels for a Mustang.

Thanks!

The boy replaced The Snaurus with a Yaris, and he is looking for some wheels as the OEM steelies are bent. These are for the street. Looking for something not bent and that will look OK - if we have to paint them, we are good with that. Specs are 15", stock width is 5.5", bolt circle is 4x100, offset is +45. Just something close on the width and offset. Thinking that something Honda / Miata / Toyota will work, but haven't dug into it yet. Let me know if you've got something sitting around. Cheap is good.

Have a few parts I need to rid myself of. It's best to reach me via email (rich.grunenwald@gmail.com) as I don't check this board all that often. 2011 - 2012 Grille with fog lights. Excellent condition. Does NOT include surround that mounts it to the bumper cover. $40 2005 - 2009 Drivers Door Parts. Came from a 2006 base model; I assume they fit all. Power window motor / regulator, window glass, speaker, wiring harness, window glass etc. $25 for all. I also have a ton of stock spares for my 2006 Mustang V6 5-speed base model. Some are used, some are new. Brake calipers, driveshaft, fuel pumps, shocks, exhaust, stuff in boxes I have never looked at. These are spares from my race car that I will likely never use. If you need something, let me know. Located in Hilliard, near I270 and Cemetery Rd. Thanks.

Interested in the Nag End speakers and stands. Can pick up at your convenience. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

This is sold. Lock'r up!

Epilogue I haven't watched the in car video yet, so there may be some discrepancies in the above account. But, it makes a decent story. Losing on Sunday the way I did sucks, and it's my own fault. Lots of things going through my mind: [li]Maybe tensioners are a maintenance item, and should be replaced annually.[/li] [li]Why didn't I follow the checklist?[/li] [li]Maybe I should not have been as defensive entering the keyhole, and therefore had gotten a better exit.[/li] [li]Perhaps I could have set up differently entering Thunder Valley, and gotten inside of him through the turn[/li] No matter. ^The weekend was loads of fun. OVR put on a great event as usual, and we had a bunch of fun with folks. ^ See you all next year!

RACE For the race, the sun came out and the temps came up. ^By 2p or so, it was about 57 degrees, 20 or so warmer than the morning session. ^Why is this important? ^ Well, we'll find out shortly! I was gridded in 38th, just in front of Steve Linn and Tom Lamb who had their qualifying ruined by my misfortune. ^I was in front of them by the luck of retiring about 100 yards beyond where they were beached! ^ As I gridded, I said to Steve, "It seems so unjust, doesn't it?" In front of us where a gaggle of ITC, ITB, and assorted others. ^OVR ITB Volvo driver Duane Ward gave me the tip that the field was notorious for not staying tight back in the pack, so assume green when you are exiting Thunder Valley. ^ Heading out on the pace lap, I realized we didn't reset the tire pressures. ^This meant that the A7's - sensitive to overheating to begin with - were likely starting the race at least 5 lbs higher than they should. ^It also meant they would start to fall off after 8 or 9 laps. ^Stupid me - in the hustle of fixing the cooling issue, I didn't follow my check list. This turned out to be great advice as I looked at the flag stand as soon as it became visible and saw the green come out. ^I got ^a good jump and pass four or five cars before the start, and another four or five going up to the keyhole. ^Steve followed me through the mayhem and by the end of Lap 1, I am pretty sure we both moved up at least 12 spots. ^From there, it was continuing to pick off cars. ^Great fun, and by Lap 4, I was P2 in T4. ^ I figured I wouldn't close on Matt Miller's Mustang in my class as I had qualified 9th, and was close to my times. ^But, I had him in my sights by lap 7, and figured something must have happened at the start. ^Well, apparently something did as Matt Downing's ^ITA Civic had a big chunk of plastic hanging off the back, dragging it down the track with him. Raced with Miller a lap ^or so, and got by him. Up to P1 in T4! ^Steve Linn followed me, and we were close to Downing. ^ http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2018%20Racing%20and%20Autocross/Mid%20Ohio%2010_14_2018%20OVR%20Autumn%20Classic%20Sunday%20Race%201_zpslw8mld4e.jpg Steve got by me later the lap in the above photo, and then passed Downing under braking into 7, only to spin off a the exit. ^Downing was ^a little faster than me at this point, and started to pull away. ^I could also feel the car sliding more, and was my tires started to feel slippery. The last three laps were tense. ^Lap 10, Matt Miller was clearly closing in on me, gaining as I exited the carousel. ^Lap 11 ^he closed the gap some more, and I was happy to see the white flag at the beginning of Lap 12. ^However, by now, he was only a few car lengths behind, and I knew would get me if I didn't protect. ^ We were running the Pro Course for this race, and I decided to take a defensive line into the keyhole to prevent Matt from getting under me while braking. ^This turned out to be the wrong move as I had no exit speed due to my tight line, and he was able to exit the keyhole virtually side by side to me. ^ We went down the straight together, through Madness and up to the entrance to Thunder Valley. ^At that point, he had maybe a half of fender on me, and was on the inside to enter Thunder Valley. ^He did a good job of blocking my entry to the turn, killing my speed, and pulled away, winning by a car length. Ouch. Nothing like losing on the last lap. ^ But congrats to Matt for smart driving.

Sunday, October 14 Slept well Saturday night, and got to the track a little before 8a. ^Again, cold at 38 degrees, overcast, and windy. ^However, it was NOT damp like it was on Saturday, so much better conditions. ^Suited up, and headed to grid for the qualifying race. Qualifying Qualifying for the afternoon race was a 10 lap qualifying race, gridded according to where you finished Saturday's race. ^So, we were again gridded outside Row 2, with ITA Civics of Greg Vandersluis and Jeff Mabrey on the front row, with the pink Miata of Charles Boehly to my left. ^I can't remember who was behind me, and don't have the grid sheet handy! Out for the pace lap, we could all tell the conditions were good, and we could push our cars. ^ I got a great start and had the right line into the keyhole, moving up to 2nd headed down the back straight. ^ http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2018%20Racing%20and%20Autocross/Mid%20Ohio%2010_14_2018%20OVR%20Autumn%20Classic%20Qual%20Race_zpsntd2ame5.jpg Greg had the best start of all and pulled out on the back straight. I was hoping Charles in the Miata would keep Jeff Mabrey occupied for a few laps so I could gap him adequately. ^Managed to pull out a three or four second lead over Jeff, but he broke free of the Miata and started to track me down. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2018%20Racing%20and%20Autocross/Mid%20Ohio%2010_14_2018%20OVR%20Autumn%20Classic%20Qual%20Race%203_zpsdprq1nkk.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2018%20Racing%20and%20Autocross/Mid%20Ohio%2010_14_2018%20OVR%20Autumn%20Classic%20Qual%20Race%201_zpsw4twh7ey.jpg Mid way through lap 5, Jeff caught me and passed going into Madness. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2018%20Racing%20and%20Autocross/Mid%20Ohio%2010_14_2018%20OVR%20Autumn%20Classic%20Qual%20Race%205_zpssqxo1r10.jpg He was clearly faster and so it didn't make much sense to race him harder. ^I planned on settling in and working to finish in 3rd which I would have been delighted with. ^ However, it was not to be. On lap 6, turning into 7 at the end of the straight, the rear stepped out, like the car was on ice. ^A second later, I saw smoke coming from under the hood, indicating something was very wrong. ^Pulled off the track to the left, and rode the top of the hill through 8, and pulled in to park it. ^Jumped out to open the hood and coolant was all over - fortunately just coolant. In the meantime, all hell broke loose behind me. Charles in the Miata and Matt Downing in his ITA Civic were racing each other, and hit my spillage, both spinning and narrowly missing each other. ^Not sure who else might have spun but Steve Linn (red Sentra) and Tom Lamb (ITA CRX) both hit it, and went off into China Beach. ^Tom went of sideways, and was lucky he didn't roll it. ^ I feel terrible, being "that guy" and messing up the race for several of my pals. ^Fortunately for everyone, nobody hit each other or anything, and nobody was hurt. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2018%20Racing%20and%20Autocross/Mid%20Ohio%2010_14_2018%20OVR%20Autumn%20Classic%20Qual%20Race%201_zpsw4twh7ey.jpg Got a rope tow back to the paddock (thanks workers!), and started assessing things. ^It was clearly coolant, and the dipstick didn't indicate any change in oil level (or color). ^So, obviously coolant came out. ^But ^from where? ^Jacked up the car, started looking at things. ^Cody Wollenslagel stopped by - I didn't recognize him as I hadn't seen him in maybe 10 years or so - and started looking at it with me. ^Noticed the serpentine belt was loose, and ultimately we found the tensioner was bad. ^Kathy found an Autozone with the part, and off to Mansfield we went! | Got back to the paddock and installed the new tensioner, filled it with coolant, and brought it to temp. Everything looked good. ^Revved it for 5 minutes or so, with no bad symptoms, so was optimistic we'd be good for the race. ^OVR member Gordon Kinney stopped by, and we got caught up - it was good to see him. ^We should expect to see him autocrossing a crazy 2006 Mustang next year in CAM - 600+ hp! Relaxed for a little and got ready for the race.

The following is from my feeble memory. ^I don't have the grid / results sheets handy, and haven't looked at video yet. ^Apologies for potential factual errors and omissions! Saturday, October 13 The temps took a turn into the high 30's, and combined with rain overnight and wind, it was C-O-L-D (37 degrees) and damp when we got to the track at 7:30a. ^We were in Group 3, scheduled to go out around 8:50 or so. Group 3 had about 41 entries, with The Northend Wrench Mustang in T4 with three other cars, along with ITA, ITB, ITC, IT7, B-Spec, and T3. ITA had a big field with 20 cars, including my old autocross nemesis Jeff Mabrey, and the former owner of my Mustang Greg Vandersluis, both in EF Civics. ^Finally, all of us racing together! ^I just wanted to stay close to them! Qualifying Got everything ready with the car, and got down to grid early, about third or fourth to go out. ^This turned out to be a strategic move as there were ITC cars in front of me, and it enabled me to get out by myself and have clear track. ^Though the track looked mostly dry, in fact it was slippery like I had never experienced when not raining. ^The racing line was almost treacherous; the line for most turns was somewhere between the normal dry line and full rain line. ^Most turns seemed to be good about 4 feet off the apex. ^ The session went well for me, and I was surprised to see my car number at the top of the scoring pylon during the first half of the session. ^However, by the end of the session, I had dropped to 4th overall, behind ITA Neon of John Rogers, and the ITA Civics of Greg and Jeff. OVR racer Matt Downing was just behind me. ^ Matt and I had similar times, and the others in front of me were about .5 to 2 seconds ahead. ^ The car was actually really good during the session. Though the track was slippery, the A7's were the perfect tire for the condition, and the slides were predictable and controllable, along with brake modulation. ^I was really happy to qualify where I did, and was looking forward for better conditions for the race. Race By race time rolled around about 2:00p, the skies were sunny and temps improved to around 48, so it was MUCH nicer! ^Lined up ^4th, outside row 2, with Greg in front of me, and Jeff to my left, with Matt behind me to the left. ^It's nice gridding up front as it is a heck of a lot easier to see the flag! ^Got a reasonable start but trapped behind Greg. ^Followed into 1 where Greg and Jeff started to get away, and I believe Matt got by me by the carousel. I passed him back going down the back straight, and we all started to settle into a race pace. Matt continued to dog me the next lap or so, while polesetter John Rogers, and Greg and Jeff pulled away a bit. ^The Neon of John Rogers spun in the chicane entering the key hole, and then Greg and Jeff settled into their own race. Matt continued to dog me - typical IT vs. Touring scenario where the IT car is faster from 7 to Thunder Valley, and the Touring car can pull away on the straights. ^Not sure what exactly happened, but Matt started to drop back and mid race the pink Miata of Charles Boehly started to get closer in my mirrors. ^For the last 5 laps of the race, Charles and I diced with each other. ^He would get close in the twisties and I would pull him in Thunder Valley, from the Carousel to the Keyhole, and then again down the back straight. ^ Charles pulled a couple of aggressive braking moves into 7 to close in, and on the last lap, got beside me entering 7. ^We were side by side up to the turn into Thunder Valley, where he had the edge and I relinquished the corner. Good clean racing; we talked after and relived those laps. Finished 4th overall, and 1st in T4 - pretty happy with that. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2018%20Racing%20and%20Autocross/Mid%20Ohio%2010_13_2018_zpsiougpzrw.jpg Got the car prepped for the Sunday morning qualifying race, and hung out with the OVR faithful at the party, swapping stories and sharing some beers. ^ All in all, a good day!

Copied over from the OVR forum. Thought you all might be interested since this section of the CR forum is pretty silent! Since we've not done a lot of racing this year, and plan on hitting the Runoffs at VIR in 2019, we were thinking about running the North Carolina "Goblins GO!" event at VIR. ^ When NCR member Steve Strickland organized a T4 invitational as part of the event, and attracted 12 entrants, we said "Hell yes!" With that in mind, we decided to make the fall trip to Virginia International Raceway, about 20 minutes from Danville VA. ^I was thinking about running the test day on Friday, but given it's the end of the year and this was going to be essentially a practice event, I figured saving the $350 test fee plus another $300 or so of expendables was probably a wise move. ^I did spend a lot of time watching video and reading to get somewhat of an imprint of the track in my head. ^ We decided to try out the Hoosier A7's this weekend vs. the R7's we've been running. Folks in lighter cars (ie, pretty much the rest of T4) run them with good results. ^Discussion with a few folks that have tried them on heavy cars like mine reflect good results, so I figured what the heck. ^ Thursday, October 11 Loaded up and got out of the 614 around 3p on Thursday, with plans of staying overnight somewhere and getting to the track around noon or so. ^Smooth and easy travels through southeast Ohio into Kentucky and West Virginia. ^We were made aware of a significant accident and road closure on I-77 south of Beckley WV but figured it would be cleared once we got that far. ^ However, it was MAJOR accident and 9 hours after it occurred the freeway was still closed, routing traffic on to two lane roads, indicating a delay of an hour to an hour and a half. ^Rather than suffer a delay, we decided to stop and stay in Beckley with plans to get up early and make the rest of the trip. Friday, October 12 Had a nice overnight stay, and got up early Friday around 7a. ^Checked online and info from VIR indicated the event might be cancelled. ^The area had been soaked by a hurricane a few weeks ago (Emily?) and was again impacted by the recent Hurricane Michael. ^The ground was already saturated and the waters just continued to rise. ^At about 9:15a, they decided to cancel the event. ^ Photos show the Dan River encroaching sections of the track, and Steve Strickland told me turns 1, 2, and 17 were under water. ^ So, what do we do? ^Send a note to Race Registrar Peggy Dietz, and head north to MidOhio! We drove straight through from Beckley, about 4.5 hours, and got to MidOhio around 3p. ^Got paddocked in our usual spot in the middle paddock, and got things set up. Went to Tech and got another logbook (original was ^filled up!) and went up to registration which was a breeze. ^Had a couple beers, and headed to Buck's for dinner before turning in for the night. Kathy managed to get a room at the Travelodge near I-71, which was cheap and clean.

Edit: Car is actually a 2006. My mistake. It seems the kids are upping their automotive game, so this means BASIC TRANSPORTATION for everyone! Son Andrew just purchased a very nice Focus ST, so his current ride is up for sale! Like the Civic recently sold, starting out at a what we believe is a low price before we do any prep for selling. Here's the basics: 2007 Mazda 3S, 5 door hatch 134,000 or so miles EVERYTHING WORKS as far as I know. AC, PW, PDL, Sunroof, factory stereo, etc. Pretty well loaded. 2.3L engine, 5 speed manual. Grey Metallic exterior. *Some dings and such. Some rust as most of these have, but not terrible. Dark grey interior. No bad smells. Drives great. No fluid leaks, no noises while driving. Brakes and battery good. Will probably change the oil and filter. Front tires definitely need replaced. Close to the tread bars and noisy. Rear tires are about 5/32". Tires are Conti Extreme Contact DWS. Known issues / near term maintenance: Uses oil between changes. Not unusual for these from what we know. Also, cooling system probably should be flushed just because it hasn't been and Amanda's Mazda6 was a mess! Prices on these are all over the board. On CL, the ones under $3000 seem to have significant rust and / or issues. The nice ones tend to go for $4000 on up. This one is somewhere in-between, so we're pricing it as it sits, before cleanup or anything, at $3000. Plans are to clean it up this Saturday, and go over it. Once we do, we'll up the price accordingly (my per hour labor rate is high, and I work slow, but I expect to be compensated) and release it to the CL and FB crazies. A few unflattering photos follow. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2007%20Mazda%203S%205%20Door/20181015_150322_zpsvwlirtgn.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2007%20Mazda%203S%205%20Door/20181015_125725_zpsmpshusqo.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2007%20Mazda%203S%205%20Door/20181015_125710_zpskzcpirze.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2007%20Mazda%203S%205%20Door/20181015_125700_zpsklzoh4ae.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r228/31rx7/2007%20Mazda%203S%205%20Door/20181015_125718_zps1km36nr0.jpg

Aaaannnddd....these are SOLD!