BensonHsu.com

previously the sileightymania.com journal.

I went to a Speedtrial event last weekend… there was a car control group reserved for us “car controllers”. The day was amazing. I couldn’t believe how akward it was for me that day… even though I’ve been out on that track many times, this time it felt like new. I think it was due to all of the learning that I’ve gained since the last time I was there. It forced me to look at the track in a different way… more possibilities, new entry speeds, new drifting lines, new techniques.

It was so strange being so unfamiliar with such a familiar track. I had a horrible time finding the correct lines and braking points and entry speeds of each turn… I was inconsistent throughout the whole day. But I am happy because this was the first time in a while that I was doing things to really challenge myself. It’s almost like when I first started learning and I had the hardest time trying to reach for something that was only a little beyond my reach.

In the end, I did a whole lot of learning… I noticed a lot of new things. I did 3rd gear braking drift at the bowl (and now I am getting much more comfortable with braking drift), I realized the importance of a few hundred rpms while entering a drift, I successfully feinted the skidpad 5 times, almost topping out 2nd gear at entry of the feint. I also learned that no matter what I’m concentrating on, I have to keep an open mind, because there is sometimes something I don’t see. I learned that from watching Hiro. Some things I brushed up on were smooth drifting exits, more precise steering, smoother drifting angles, and braking in the middle of a drift to change angle and speed.

So when’s the next event? Drift Day 4 held by Club4AG! Go sign up, I’m sure there will be plenty of learning and sharpening of skills that day. See ya there!

Pre drift event: I had problems with Discount Tire Center in El Monte… long story short – they ripped the bead on my new Potenza S-03 and wouldn’t admit it. I almost damaged my wheels and had to go back a total of 4 times to get the whole matter resolved. Anyway, hopefully it will be resolved if he holds up his end of the deal. After all that I had to rewire my MAF… it was messing up my car big time… since then, my car is idling a little higher, and boost is a lot smoother… on top of that, I think my gas mileage is better!

Post drift event: The event was GREAT. Thanks again to Moto for putting together yet another great event. I’m glad to see that a lot of people are getting better. So… Saturday was Nadine’s first drift event! I was so excited to teach her. First we went onto the skidpad where we learned how to negotiate the weird airport tarmac (it was almost like driving in wet conditions except it was dry). Even though she won’t admit it, she learned a lot that day and I’m really proud of her. She learned how to induce oversteer (and understeer), weight transfer, countersteer, and entry speeds. Kyle, Marc, and Johnny also did a GREAT job that day… they always amaze me on how quickly they learn and how much potential they have. As for me, I learned how great my LSD is… my KAAZ diff compared to a vlsd is like comparing night to day… like a KA to an SR (times 10). Also, I learned to stop trying to be so fast… I need to learn to master the slow and technical before I can REALLY be good at the high speeds. This is the same lesson I taught myself at the skidpad at the Buttonwillow event with Hiroshi and Shinji. Anyway, everybody did a great deal of learning… good job you guys. See you at the next event!

Well… my new wheels FINALLY came in!! Remember, how I used to have all these wheels… I had a fetish. And then suddenly they all disappeared and it seemed as if my fetish was gone? Well… it’s not gone! I’ve got a WHOLE NEW kind of fetish now. And if you’re lucky enough, you might see my car with them on! Hahaha! Anyways, Dec. 9, there’s a drift group at Willow Springs… I’ll be sure to make it! Also, there’s a private event coming up, and Nadine is gonna be learning how to drift!! I can’t wait… Also, I cannot wait to get some engine mounts put in. Hahah. Damnit.

Break off

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Still waiting on those engine mounts… and in the meantime, I’ve realized that my engine is getting a little weak. I’m not sure what it is, so in the next few days, I’m going to go through everything… changing my spark plugs, cleaning my air cleaner, changing oil, do a compression test and leak-down test… is there a new engine in my near future? Maybe… or maybe I will just build this one… There’s going to be a private drift event that I want to make on Nov 16, and another SpeedTrial USA event in early December. I NEED to make these events… In other news, Nadine’s birthday is coming up!! We’ll be doing all kinds of fun stuff, so all this car junk is going to have to wait. Have you guys checked out the JIC website? JIC sucks!!!! BTW, in all my efforts to make a lip spoiler that stands up to the harshness of urban driving, it fell off yesterday. and i ran over it. But it’s still in one piece! Hahahah! Good job SileightyMania SPL.

No engine mounts

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No nismo engine mounts… wack! They are on backorder… everywhere. So I’m not sure what I’m gonna do now… I have to be very careful when I drive over bumps… on public streets and the race track. I’ve been thinking about drifting a lot recently… and I’ve been thinking that it’s kinda hard to get good when our drifting events are so scarce… and even when we do, we are limited to the things we can do. I really want to learn manji… and as with the way our events are organized right now it makes it really hard to learn – because they won’t let us try! I’m going to try to organize an event of my own soon… something for just my friends and I. I should be able to learn a lot of things that way I hope. Well, keep it off the streets guys! BTW, that reminds me… I really need to improve on the grip aspect of racing. I’ve really not practiced in a long time. Time to go to some auto-x and road racing events.

I was on my way to get a new cell phone… and then I heard this nasty metal grinding sound. My powersteering was gone. I brought my car to Cartune right after work so I could check it out and see where all my powersteering fluid went. There’s a hard line coming from the fluid return lines… for some reason it goes down from the reservoir to the front of the oil pan and continues to the passenger side of the car and just wraps back the other way to where it starts and turns towards the steering rack. Anyway, thats the line that busted open… right in front of my oil pan. So now that it’s fixed, I’ll take some Nismo engine mounts and transmission mount to go please… I can’t wait until the next track event… after watching that Hawaii drift video, I’ve realized that I want to practice a lot more… I’ve been slacking off!