Things Going On 3

The holidays have come and past… and while things have been near silent here and on Kyusha Shoes… much is happening.

Stacks of wheels and boxes line the wall of [qr]GaraGe… I am indeed making great plans for the SCCA’s new Spec Solo Coupe class. There is excitement… and the potential of putting an honest professional wheel to wheel guy in the co-drivers position lends me even more energy.

Pro Mazda driver Parker Thompson, whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with on multiple fronts, has agreed to join me for at least a few SASC Solo events in 2018.  Parker has never done Solo before, but I’m sure it will only take a few runs before he puts the humble on me. He and I had the chance this fall to get on a kart track together… I was unable to put up any fight at all.

If my knees are not at my ears… hopefully I’ll at least be able to imagine that there is meaningful competition.

When Parker is off racing real cars with two wings and no doors… I’m hopeful that Andrew will take the co-drivers spot. If not… I expect to be looking hard for another co-driver. I am eager to build the new SSC class, and expect that my confidence may need a rebuild as well after running with PT.

With new SSC regulations, my car finally feels poised to be a real slut.  8J wheels. More than 3 degrees camber. Oil cooler. I am damned excited… even if the recently announced spec tire is the worst tire I’ve ever raced on. The Falken RT-615K has been mandated for SSC class…

I’m going to have to go back to scouring YAJ for old wheels again. The Super Advan’s circa 1998 that I picked up, are going to seem new and modern versus the ancient RT-615 design.  Last month, if you had asked me if Falken tire still existed, I might have told you that the brand died alongside drifting in 2007.

… that’s about the last time either of those things were on my mind.

The RT615 is at least, quite affordable… although you’d expect as much for anything that had been collecting dust in a warehouse for the past decade and a half.

But SSC, and my upcoming year of solo will not suffer because of it.  If I had my way, we’d all auto-x on skinny Michelin Primacy HP’s. Driving is way more fun when tires suck and you have to work to keep the car in line, rather than work to find the edge.

So in the next month or two, my “To Do” list, actually has some items on it.

1. install SSC parts
2. adjust kick ass alignment with real camber
3. ballast my too light for class titanium exhaust
4. order tires
5. cut vinyl