Podium Finish (3rd in E1 Class), 9th Overall: NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill
Trackspec's Exige S240 Project: Part 6, Fuel and Oil Control
Fuel starvation is a well known problem with this platform. It’s mostly noticeable on long left hand corners because the fuel pick up is on the left side of the tank. It’s typically not an issue if I keep the fuel tank full, but every time our got down to about 70%, it would starve. This can cause a lean condition and be harmful to the engine, especially with forced induction.
Round 5 of the 2019 NASA Super Touring Championship
When 4 out of 5 cars from your team are damaged after a race weekend, you know that some stuff went down. We were really excited about this weekend at Thunderhill because the weather looked dry, albeit hot (105F), and we had just confirmed a week earlier while testing at Buttonwillow that any overheating issues had been resolved (we upgraded a lot of things after Round 4 at Sonoma in June). This would also be my first time driving the E36 at Thunderhill (since Graham had covered for me there during Round 2 in April while I was in Japan).
West Coast Lotus Meet x GGLC Thunderhill West
As a Lotus mechanic for the last 9 years and recently becoming a first-time owner, we were able to attend one of the days of the annual West Coast Lotus Meet this year! On Thursday, May 16, 2019, We participated in the trackday portion of the event, which was held at Thunderhill West, and hosted by Golden Gate Lotus Club.
NASA ST4 Round 2 at Thunderhill Raceway
“Heidi” left for Round 2 of NorCal Super Touring Championship a day earlier than usual because Tom was in Japan - which meant that Graham assumed driving duties for this particular race weekend. We were excited because Jon had rebuilt the engine with brand new rod bearings, a new oil pump, and added an accusump system to help mitigate the low oil pressure issues we ran into at Sonoma in March. Shout-out to Jim from MMI Vehicle Systems and West Coast Ravenol for the fresh parts and fluids! On Thursday evening, Liam and Graham stopped by the shop to pick up the car and then they were off to Thunderhill.
Trackspec's Exige S240 Project: Part 3, More Goodies
It’s no secret that Reverie makes high quality (wind tunnel tested) aero parts for the Eliges and I’ve always liked their front splitter design. Although Reverie’s mounting solution works great and is solid, I decided to attach the splitter directly to the chassis, and not to the front clam. My reason for this is so that I can easily remove the front clam without having to remove the splitter first. This did require cutting the front lower portion of it so that it could just rest on top of the splitter…
Irene Re-Refresh: Round Two
We left off in March after having just picked up our new (to us) J32A2 engine, and as promised we've been busy getting it ready for the demanding rigors of race conditions. We were thrilled to receive high-performance valves, springs, and retainers from my partners at Supertech Performance in order to do just that. These awesome parts allow us to rev the J32A2 engine well beyond it's OEM redline limitations, but safely.
2018 Irene Refresh: J-Swap
Round 5 of the 2017 NASA Super Touring Series
Former US Secretary of State and four star general Colin Powell once said, "there are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." We couldn't agree more. After a pretty good weekend (4th place both days) at Sonoma Raceway back in June, our team spent the entire month of July improving, learning, and preparing for Round 5 of the 2017 NASA Super Touring Series August 12th and 13th. The result? A great weekend at Thunderhill Raceway...
Thunderhill West w/OnGrid
This past Saturday, March 18, we went to OnGrid's Thunderhill West trackday. Despite fears of wet weather, it only rained a couple minutes in the morning. The sun actually came out towards the end of the day.
Thunderhill East with OnGrid
This past Saturday, February 4, we went to OnGrid's Season Opener event at Thunderhill Raceway. The week before is always hectic at the shop.