May 2000

As the Stomach Churns

May is the time of the year where we all realize how little time remains for the year; The clock is ticking, and we have to get so much done!!

I have tried to get more Electronics happening here, but it sure seems to be moving slowly. Funny how things always come up that require attention. There's more to life than maintaining a web page!

After a late-evening Vietnamese iced coffee, I recently finished the Understanding Schematic Symbols page as well as the Understanding Logic Gates page which you will find in the Electronics section. Also, every page will become new and improved with a hyperlink on the Main Menu heading on your left. This enables you to return to the section index instead of going back to the main page and finding your way back again.

I recently joined the Ford Pinto Web Ring. At first I thought it was really funny that so many people are interested in such a hideous car, but then I reminded myself that I've owned three, still want another, and have a huge page dedicated to them here already. I'm one to talk - I'm a Pinto addict! So, I signed up and am now part of the ring. Check it out yourself at my V8 Pinto Page.

During the month of April I took part in a driving school. It was put on by my racing club, and held at a parking lot on the Pacific National Exibition fairgrounds.

I learned a considerable amount on how to drive smooth, and enter a corner at high speed and maintain vehicle balance. I also learned how to find a "line" through a corner and to feel for maximum traction.

I also discovered three things about my Civic.

The suspension is too stiff for my inexperience to smoothly approach maximum traction. The margin of forgivibility is much narrower on this car than it used to be, and I'm having a hard time staying within that margin.
With the Lightspeed sway bar on the back, the second Civic bar on the front is too stiff, resulting in steady understeer that I can't "tune out" despite tuning the shocks and lowering the rear tire pressures. Funny how the bar setup I designed originally was much more nicely balanced.
Running in C/Super Stock is not advantageous to me. The Novice series uses a PAX (Performance Adjusted indeX, which basically means any car, regardless of tune or design, can compete against another and be scored on a level playing field using an "adjustment" to their track time. This means I would have to run 3.5 seconds faster in C/SS (on a 60 second run) to beat an identical (but untouched) Civic in H/Stock. The thing is, the car isn't 3.5 seconds faster.

So, until I learn how to drive better and faster, I've de-classed my car down to H/Stock, and guess what! It's actually easier and more enjoyable to drive! Funny that.

Once I finish the Novice series, I hope to buy some sticky "R" compound tires to run on stock sized rims (13x5), and replace just the rear Lightspeed bar. This should keep costs down as I further refine my driving skills. Eventually I hope to move back into C/SS, but only when I have the money (ah yes, the stuff dreams are made of) to maximize the allowable modifications.

Besides, it's embarassing to be beaten by Mr. McPhee's (Math dept.) 4-door Nissan Micra on Walmart Pizza-Cutter tires running 2 seconds slower in H/Stock (remember - I need to win by 3.5 seconds!).

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