82 replies to this topic

[flash]

very bummed about that - it's going to be a great event for sure

you will be missed

have a safe trip

[flash]

i've been scouring maps all evening - i think i found some pretty amazing roads up in the mountains - i'm going to go and check them out on saturday - if this works, it will completely eliminate the hot and boring roads

[flash]

wow - i can't believe this is only 1 week away now

looks like a pretty good turnout too - even the weather seems to be cooperating - forecast is down a couple of degrees

woohoo!

[flash]

nuts - no dice on the first 2 roads i tried - they disappeared into REALLY narrow private roads and fire trails - not too fun - i may not be able to do what i wanted to do in finding a different route - still working on it though

[Blau]

Good news, we pushed off our move to the Tuesday after next, so I'm in for the run. Unfortunately, my car got picked up today to be shipped back to Boston, so will be riding with Austin!

[flash]

lol - now we just have to make sure austin's car is up and running

[flash]

just 4 more days to go (today is over and i don't count event day)

not too late to get in on this - the drive is way too much fun - definitely what these cars were made for

[bombfactory]

Yep, car is currently operational - knock on wood!

I ended up NOT taking it up to Monterey last week as planned. I was loading it up at 5:AM and noticed the right front wheel had way too much neg camber - I had had an alignment a couple weeks prior, but hadn't driven the car much. So, not knowing if something was wrong and might possibly get worse, I took the M3 on the trip instead.

Brought the 968 back to the alignment shop yesterday and the guy said that's the way he set the car up, with more neg camber on the right front than on the left. Huh? His explanation: On a street car, you take more left hand turns at speed than right hand turns, so a little extra camber on the right front will help with that, along with countering for the usual tilt in the road.

I'm no alignment expert, but I had never heard of this, and to me it sounds rather counter-intuitive. Why would I want my car to handle differently left to right? I guess I would never have noticed had the camber difference not been so visually obvious.

Anyway, I had him even up the front cambers, and move the rear sway bar to the stiffer setting while the car was up on the rack. I still need to adjust the rear shocks softer (I couldn't get one of the mounting bolts off last time I was under the car) but it'll have to do for this Saturday!

[flash]

yeah - that's just not right for street, though i have done that for a couple of tracks

counteracting road crown is done with caster, not camber

what shop was this?

[bombfactory]

Shop is Dave's Frame and Alignment in Huntington Beach. They've been in business for at least 25 years and do all kinds of race cars, classics, hot rods, everything. They do all their work and measuring manually - no computer-aided equipment. They know their stuff.

The car tracks really straight now, though I have a slight pull under braking. After double-checking toe he said it's most likely the brakes, which is totally possible as I have not gone through them yet and have no idea how old everything is. Well past time for a fluid change (at least) I'm sure.

[flash]

well, my car is finally just about ready for this - a couple of things on the list, but i'm not sure i'll get to them or not - we'll see tomorrow

i'll likely be squeezing in a review run of the route between now and the run, though i've already checked most of it - not sure just when it would happen yet

a last reminder email went out today to those who previously said they were coming, and had not cancelled

i think we still have 9 cars so far (we lost 2)

it's not too late to get in, but i need a final head count by friday early morning so i can do the last shopping

[rxter]

9 cars will be a nice number for this.  I've been 4th or 5th in line and its hard to keep up with the blue beast is on it.  No stops at all?  I guess I'll need to bring a spare bottle for a mobile pit stop eh?  Or maybe double dose on the Flomax dose

[flash]

lol - no worries - i may take the pick up position - not sure yet

we are making the normal starbuck's stop

[Blau]

starbucks?  but these cars don't come with cupholders!

[968TDG]

Alright, I'm in, I'll try to get to Cars and Coffee by about 6:30, I'm just about to go outside and make sure the wheels are on tight!

Phil

[flash]

very cool!!!!

[Blau]

Fun run everyone.  Here's a link to the photos.
http://www.adamblaue.../web/968ortega/
Sorry I don't have time to go through and edit/filter them, packing up the computer tomorrow.  At least there's only 120 or so to go through haha.  Anyway, I can email high res to anyone in a few weeks when I get my computer set up again, or you can ask Phil (968TDD) to send them to you since he copied them to his HD.
A few of the best shots I think.  They look much better in high res:

[flash]

really amazing shots

thanks to everybody who made it to this. i had a great time seeing everybody. it was hotter than hell, and the traffic was heavier that i wanted , but still i had a great time.

i'll let everybody else tell the stories - i'm pooped

[wolfeman]

Wow! What an event! As the "new guy", let me just say this: bravo. A well-organized, well-attended, well-executed day by the one and only Flash. We started early at Cars and Coffee in Irvine, which is a pretty amazing car show in and of itself. We ended up having seven 968's (4 cabs and 3 coupes) and eight participants - the 8th man being our esteemed photographer and soon-to-be-east-coaster Blau. As you can see, he took lots of pics, and as the driver behind him on the way out and in front of him on the way back, I ended up with an extremely disproportionate amount of pics of my car, for which I'm both happy yet slightly embarrassed and apologetic to the rest of the guys. Not my fault!! But I will almost certainly end up using one of these as my "profile" pic... Anyhoo, we rolled out from Cars and Coffee and hit the twisties on the Ortega Freeway. Thank GOD I had a coupe with fully functioning A/C, as it rarely dipped below triple digits on this drive, and the cab guys, well, let's just say they were VERY committed to driving al fresco. I couldn't have handled it. Hats off to them, though. The scenery was spectacular, and the traffic did break up just enough times to allow us to unleash some ponies, which was really the point. A pit stop mid-way provided the necessary re-charging and facilities break for drivers and cars alike (what were those inlet temps, again, Brian?). After the return leg of the trip, we ended up back at Casa De Flash, where he and his lovely wife and pooch played host to some weary and thirsty drivers, and served up some frosty adult beverages and expertly grilled burgers. Lots of shop talk ensued, and I was given the low-down on why the firewall brace exists. If you are reading this and don't have the brace, do not delay and order and install it. It is positively frightening to see how much torque the clutch pedal puts on the firewall, and how over time it will most certainly fail as a result. An ounce of prevention... So all in all, a great day: no belt failures - no failures at all!! - no run-ins with the law, plenty of sun, a great hang at the end, and a mini-tech session to boot. Sign me up for next year...

Dennis

[rxter]

Another great event and some very nice machines. A couple of Avanetadors showed - what a great design that it.

Good to see everyone again and to meet Rap - a long flight for a quick drive.

To Dennis's point - "well, let's just say they were VERY committed to driving al fresco. I couldn't have handled it. Hats off to them, though."

Hats off was right. I never did put the hat on and I pretty much cooked the top of my head. Was really done with the sun by day's end. But the SO anniversary was on Sunday, so off we went back into the sun. I am glad to be inside for a few days.

Thanks again Bob for your and Anne's efforts to bring the group together.

Joe