A helpful tip

I just got back from a late-night drive down my favorite road. It has many miles of tight twists and turns; it gives you and your car a workout.

As I was driving, I was reminded of one of the greatest pieces of driving advice I've ever received.

I was at a Mazda autocross event a few years back, waiting to take a Mazdaspeed6 through its paces when the track official shared this with us:

No matter how good your car is, or how good of a driver you are, remember that you are still bound by the laws of physics.

You have friction (traction). You need to balance out how you're using that friction.

The key to effective driving/autocrossing is always using 100% of the traction available at any time. It must be divided among accelerating, braking, and steering. You can't be using 90% on braking while attempting to steer with another 60%. It's not physically possible.

That piece of advice has since made me a much better (and smoother) driver. I respect the laws and limits of physics and have learned how to use them to my advantage.

Thought I'd share that piece of advice with anyone who still reads this blog.

PS. In case you were wondering, by applying that advice, I beat the target time in the Mazda (42.5 seconds) by .3 seconds - one of the few to do so on their first drive in the car.

What happened to the MR2?

Don't worry, it's still doing fine. This semester was a tough one, plus nobody felt like hiring me for part-time work. So cash was quite scarce, meaning that the MR2 didn't get the love it deserved.

However, while digging through the State Street Junkyard, I came across an MR2, heaped on top of a Celica GT-S (a wonderful car, by the way.) Somebody had already taken most of the good stuff, but I did find a few valuable parts.

1) A trunk helper spring, to keep my rear trunk from falling down when open
2) The hard-to-find C-pillar speaker covers!

MR2's were originally sold with only two speakers, located on the dashboard just beneath the windshield. In later years, they were offered with two additional speakers, located just behind your head on the C-pillars. I believe it was an extra-cost option.

It looked like someone else had tried to pry them off, but I succeeded. Since my stereo is already wired for rear speakers, I just need to buy some and install them in the fall.

Total cost at the junkyard: $10

Right now, the MR2 is in Utah, anxiously awaiting my return in a top-secret, high security bunker. I do miss it, but there are good things in store for me here in NH. Stay tuned for more details.

2010 Update

Being out of a job, there just isn't money to put towards my car right now. But for Christmas, my parents bought me two new rear tires. They're wonderful. I now have brand new rubber on all four corners, what a difference it makes! It's quieter, smoother, and handles great. Thanks, Mom & Dad!

Now, judging by the slowly decreasing fuel mileage here in Utah, methinks it is time for a major tune-up - the first I've done since buying the car. I'm sure that having the car stored for three years then driving cross-country for a week and a half didn't help much.

With the hope that I'll find a job soon, expect some details of a spring tune-up to appear on the blog. Items of business include the ignition system, valve clearance adjustment with a new valve cover gasket, air filter, transaxle fluid change, and a new throttle position sensor (as mine is dying), among other odds and ends.

Great news - the local car graveyard has an MR2 in a convenient location. Among other parts still on it, it has the C-pillar speakers available on post '87 MR2's. I'm more than a little excited to snag those before someone else does as my car is already wired for rear speakers.

That's the news. Until next time (when I have more $)!

Automobile update

There haven't been any updates lately because I haven't had the time nor the money to drive, nor do any repairs. However, I did purchase a new set of front tires - Sumitomo HTR200s. They're doing well - good grip!

I also took the time/money to get a full alignment, and I guess three years of NH roads really took a toll on my alignment. It was ridiculously out of whack and took a meaty $120 to get it straight again.

Of course, that drained my bank account. Sadly, the job market in the valley is inbelievable. 50,000 college students > job opportunities. So for now, the gas in my tank right now is the last until I get a job. So long "personal stress-relieving drives."

The rest of the road trip pics...

Are now uploaded. I haven't added captions so some might not make sense for the time being. But I'll get around to it. They're still cool to look at.

http://picasaweb.google.com/scgood7

Darn tariffs...

So starting this Friday, the US is going to impose stronger tariffs on the importation of Chinese car tires. That doesn't really bother me, as Chinese tires are usually of shoddy quality.

However, because of this I do expect the prices of all tires to increase.

It is looking like I'll go ahead and purchase a pair of tires (Sumitomos - from Japan) that I was holding out on before the week's end. I'd rather be safe than sorry, and I need them anyways.

Oh man...new tires. I love new tires. Add two new performance tires with a desperately needed alignment and my car's handling is going to show a noticeable improvement. I'll take pics of the old tires before they're scrapped to show what bad alignment can do to good tires. (Hint...it's not pretty).

Day three's adventures!

Because I'm such a nice guy, here are the pics from day three. With TWO videos!

This day was very much centered around LDS sites - hope you learn something interesting!

http://picasaweb.google.com/scgood7/Day3FayetteNYToKirtlandOH?feat=directlink