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6 minute(s) of a 731 minute read
11-7-2019
After spending the morning getting lost in Stormaluski's S8 thread I got the itch to update mine.
Within a week of being back from the road trip I got the car in the air for an oil change, a general survey of things, and to replace the rubber coolant hose on the passenger side turbo. This hose was not nearly as brittle, likely because it was located outboard of the turbo where it didn't get nearly as hot.
Winter has come early in Wisconsin, much to my despair. The last cars and coffee of the year was poorly attended by my friends, but resulted in another surge of attendance at the event itself. I was eager to get the car out to
a) burn off the E85 remaining in my tank so I could store it with 93
b) push the car again after driving it somewhat gingerly home from Minnesota
c) just drive it. It's so enjoyable on a warm fall day
It was pretty much just three of us, which was disappointing for a warm day. We soaked up one of the only sunny and dry October days we had and took the backroads home. Given that it was the final meeting of the Boost Creeps (patent pending, copyright, all rights reserved), I elected to stop for a surprise group photo. Conveniently there's a Huey about a mile from my house.
A few weeks later I hopped on a surprising opportunity. Our 24 Hour of Lemons team did their first race without me since its inception (14 races ago, holy ****) earlier in September, and despite having some driver related issues that resulted in a non-victory the car was in top shape. We hadn't planned on doing the Michigan race, and I hadn't planned on doing any races at all; but my buddy scrounged some drivers together with the promise of a cheap race that required no prep work. Surprisingly my wife was on board and we signed up about an hour before the deadline.
We ran a near perfect Saturday and ended the day in 7th overall (we even held P1 for 30 minutes or so due to our stint length) which is a win, considering we are placed in A yet don't have the speed to keep up with V8 swapped E30s. Sunday we had a few more drivers issues which took us out of contention. We took 7th out of 96 cars which is by far our best overall finish; without any errors I think we were set up to be top 5 at least. Despite the cold, it was still a great weekend. I'm not sure how many more of these I'll get to drive in; it makes me a little sad this could be the last one. It's been a wild ride.
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The rest of the month has been nothing but house projects and buying cars we don't need. I picked up another V70, this one a 2006. My wife loves hers (black), and its a damn comfortable car that is somewhat enjoyable to drive. Since our winter beater is nearing 220k miles and we're going to need a little bit more space and safety; we've both been casually on the lookout for another Volvo. Found my kind of car, a "mechanics special" that will drive itself home. I brought it home for about a grand with new tires, and with about a grand in parts it will be sorted and roadworthy. The plan is to have it on the road early-mid December. The black one will be ferrying us 1200 miles to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. I'm still eternally saddened that I won't be able to take the mini. Given that this will be our only travel destination for the next few years, I'm tempted to ask the in-laws if I can keep it there. That's not TOO crazy...is it???
The Z got driven to work Tuesday of this week in 20F, as I still had a quarter tank of E85 and the forecast for the rest of the week was nothing but snow. I can't express how much fun this was to drive on the way in. Even at 17PSI it felt like a rocketship; I opened it up @ 23psi in 5th gear and chickened out after a second of getting on it. I know the road is cold, the tires are cold, and traction is at a minimum. It makes me confident that my current power levels are about all that is appropriate for street driving. Anything more and I wouldn't be able to goose it
without traction control.
I filled up with 93 on the way home....and my laptop died before I could upload the tune. Figures :-/ I babied it home without issue.
Last night I added some more concentrate to the radiator (a little more than I would have expected...mildly concerning) to ensure it would survive the cold nights in the winter, I moved it over to the corner of the garage, added some Stabil, and finally uploaded the 93oct tune. Sleep tight.
This winter's plan is pretty much only a timing belt. It's not due for one mileage-wise, but after seeing what heat and age did to rubber lines I installed at the same time, I don't want to chance a failure. Hopefully I can take care of this on a warm weekend in January or February so I don't have to worry about it once the baby is here. I've got enough practice where its really only a two hour job; but I'm sure even 15 minute breaks will be at a premium.