DarkOnion's 1997 Impreza L
12-16-2009, 08:16 AM
#616
Chicks dig me. April Fool's!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Fremont, CA
Posts: 10,989
Car Info: 1997 Impreza, 2014 BRZ
Hi all. It has been awhile since I've last posted. Nothing new really. I attended the last auto-x of the season with a new toy. I got my hands on a Whiteline Rear Strut Tower Brace. Good stuff. I personally think it is a nice addition. The car is feeling a little loose in the rear now, but loose is good. Gonna give it some time so I can break it in. Six months from now, I'll probably say something like, "it isn't loose enough." Haha.
All and all, I am really happy with the car. Car handles great even though it doesn't make a lot of power. What I really need to do now is get a lot of seat time. Seat time is hard though, especially on such a limited budget. Money is hard to come by now. I really just need to prepare a lot earlier and plan ahead a lot further.
Speaking of which, I just saw the schedule for next year's season. Looks like there is going to be a lot of events. 16 or 17, I think. The bulk of them will be either at Oakland or Great America... Very, very tempting to go to. Haha. I guess we'll have to see.
As for future stuff to the car... Not much really. Just going to try to stay on top of maintenance and what not. Tires are expensive, ya know. I am going to consider reclassifying into the correct class. Stupid CF hood... Oh well... We'll see.
Gotta go. Later!
All and all, I am really happy with the car. Car handles great even though it doesn't make a lot of power. What I really need to do now is get a lot of seat time. Seat time is hard though, especially on such a limited budget. Money is hard to come by now. I really just need to prepare a lot earlier and plan ahead a lot further.
Speaking of which, I just saw the schedule for next year's season. Looks like there is going to be a lot of events. 16 or 17, I think. The bulk of them will be either at Oakland or Great America... Very, very tempting to go to. Haha. I guess we'll have to see.
As for future stuff to the car... Not much really. Just going to try to stay on top of maintenance and what not. Tires are expensive, ya know. I am going to consider reclassifying into the correct class. Stupid CF hood... Oh well... We'll see.
Gotta go. Later!
07-21-2010, 07:09 AM
#622
Chicks dig me. April Fool's!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Fremont, CA
Posts: 10,989
Car Info: 1997 Impreza, 2014 BRZ
AutoClubNation.com feature on the DarkOnion-mobile!!
http://autoclubnation.com/2010/07/21...ubaru-impreza/
http://autoclubnation.com/2010/07/21...ubaru-impreza/
08-15-2010, 07:11 PM
#624
Chicks dig me. April Fool's!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Fremont, CA
Posts: 10,989
Car Info: 1997 Impreza, 2014 BRZ
And I know. The shirt is ironic because the car does the total opposite. It attracts dudes!
06-15-2011, 02:07 AM
#625
Chicks dig me. April Fool's!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Fremont, CA
Posts: 10,989
Car Info: 1997 Impreza, 2014 BRZ
A Long Overdue Update:
Hi all. It's been awhile since I last posted. Not much has changed since my last post. Well, a few things have changed. My car and cars in general hasn't been as high on my priority list. That's mainly because of money.
Anyways... let's see...
Autocross has been on hold. Without a job, it's hard to fund it. I just can't keep forking over $35 for each event without any real income. On top of that, the cost of tires and other wear and tear items, let alone gas, just makes it that much harder. With that said though, I do miss it.
I have been fortunate enough to "chair" several events in the last year. I make the effort to chair at least one event every season. People who chair events get their runs free. It's a huge time commitment though, but recently, there have been a lot less volunteers stepping up and committing.
Back in January, I had to sell my Enkei RPF1's. I loved those wheels, but I had to pay rent, and that just kind of sucked. One day, I came out and saw my rear driver side tire looking a little droopy. I limped to the gas station to put some air in it. When I hit about 30 psi, I heard a hiss sound and located it in the sidewall. Game over...
I was lucky enough to pick up some stock WRX wheels. When I pulled my front driver side wheel, I found that there was some weird wear on it and the tire was corded. At that point, I just decided to sell my wheels and use it to help pay for rent. A real bummer.
Car has been kind of been the same since then, though the oil leak I've had from a while has gotten worse. The other thing was that my front driver side shock is now blown and the wheel bearing in the rear passenger corner was making a lot of noise. Talk about a ton of problems. I think there are a few things that are still wrong with it...
Ben, one of the Gellert guys, sold me the whole hub for that corner and we, more like him, was able to replace the hub. No more crazy noises or anything. We also installed rear trailing arms that were boxed and had upgrading bushings. Good stuff. The bad is that we discover a torn cv boot on my axle. Bleh... One thing is fixed... another is broken.
I do have some plans for the car. Most of it will be fixing some little things here and there, until it is at least in a safe. I think I am going to replace the shock next. I am even considering upgrading to Swift springs as well, though, that's a bit of money. Maybe I can pull in some side jobs and help pay for that.
This past Sunday, I chaired Round 8 at Oakland. When I arrived in the morning, I found out that the administration changed lots on us. The course that was designed by the course designer was for the lot on the other side of the premises.
All and all, the day went well. I wouldn't/couldn't drive my car. No way it'd pass tech. I wouldn't pass it. My friend Howard offered a co-drive in his FWD Mitsubishi 3000GT. Actually handled really well. Kind of wide though... and I hit fuel starve on a hard turn.... hahaha. But yeah... lots of fun! Hehe.
Anyways, I am out, but going to try keep updating in the future.
Hi all. It's been awhile since I last posted. Not much has changed since my last post. Well, a few things have changed. My car and cars in general hasn't been as high on my priority list. That's mainly because of money.
Anyways... let's see...
Autocross has been on hold. Without a job, it's hard to fund it. I just can't keep forking over $35 for each event without any real income. On top of that, the cost of tires and other wear and tear items, let alone gas, just makes it that much harder. With that said though, I do miss it.
I have been fortunate enough to "chair" several events in the last year. I make the effort to chair at least one event every season. People who chair events get their runs free. It's a huge time commitment though, but recently, there have been a lot less volunteers stepping up and committing.
Back in January, I had to sell my Enkei RPF1's. I loved those wheels, but I had to pay rent, and that just kind of sucked. One day, I came out and saw my rear driver side tire looking a little droopy. I limped to the gas station to put some air in it. When I hit about 30 psi, I heard a hiss sound and located it in the sidewall. Game over...
I was lucky enough to pick up some stock WRX wheels. When I pulled my front driver side wheel, I found that there was some weird wear on it and the tire was corded. At that point, I just decided to sell my wheels and use it to help pay for rent. A real bummer.
Car has been kind of been the same since then, though the oil leak I've had from a while has gotten worse. The other thing was that my front driver side shock is now blown and the wheel bearing in the rear passenger corner was making a lot of noise. Talk about a ton of problems. I think there are a few things that are still wrong with it...
Ben, one of the Gellert guys, sold me the whole hub for that corner and we, more like him, was able to replace the hub. No more crazy noises or anything. We also installed rear trailing arms that were boxed and had upgrading bushings. Good stuff. The bad is that we discover a torn cv boot on my axle. Bleh... One thing is fixed... another is broken.
I do have some plans for the car. Most of it will be fixing some little things here and there, until it is at least in a safe. I think I am going to replace the shock next. I am even considering upgrading to Swift springs as well, though, that's a bit of money. Maybe I can pull in some side jobs and help pay for that.
This past Sunday, I chaired Round 8 at Oakland. When I arrived in the morning, I found out that the administration changed lots on us. The course that was designed by the course designer was for the lot on the other side of the premises.
All and all, the day went well. I wouldn't/couldn't drive my car. No way it'd pass tech. I wouldn't pass it. My friend Howard offered a co-drive in his FWD Mitsubishi 3000GT. Actually handled really well. Kind of wide though... and I hit fuel starve on a hard turn.... hahaha. But yeah... lots of fun! Hehe.
Anyways, I am out, but going to try keep updating in the future.
06-22-2011, 02:19 PM
#628
Chicks dig me. April Fool's!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Fremont, CA
Posts: 10,989
Car Info: 1997 Impreza, 2014 BRZ
A little update during my lunch break.
Work has been a little hectic the last week. Just a lot of things here and there to do. Finally got some time to sit down and really write down my plans and thoughts with the car.
I always write down what I want to do with the car and then list the amount of money I need to start putting aside in order to make it happen. As I was doing that last night, I realized that there are things I WANT to do, and things I NEED to do. That kind of sucks...
I have two axles with torn/ripped CV's, and a shock that needs to be replaced, the motor probably needs to be replace dor rebuilt, among other things. I think it is time to change out my brake pads as well... There's just a lot of things that need to be done. At the end of it all... the only thing I really see is a bunch of dollar signs... $$$.
I do have a job, but it isn't like I am making exorbitant amounts of money or anything. I am barely making it by every month, though, the outlook is good, and there is a lot of potential for growth.
It's a balancing act between what I want and what I need. Money is tight... I need to fix my car, yet, with such a tight budget, I can only do so much. Doesn't mean it can't be done, though.
I wonder how tough the job market really is out there. It must be really tough. I always post on my FB that I am looking for a side jobs. Hey... racing is expensive. I have to pay for itself somehow. Tires are not cheap. Replacements parts aren't cheap. The act of racing isn't cheap either.
I wonder why people always seem to give me negative feedback for when I ask about a side-job on facebook. I always get responses like... sit on a corner and panhandle, or sell your body, or... (insert something here). Is it so wrong to post on your FB asking for some help looking for a side-job just so you can make a few extra dollars? Got to work a little harder sometimes to make some extra money to do the things you want.
But yeah... the cost to fix the little things on my car is a quite a sum of money. I'll probably try to reach out to family and friends over the next few months and see if they can pay me to do little things here and there. I feel that being proactive will help me get to where I need to be. A few dollars here and there will eventually add up in the long run and I'll be one step closer to getting the car back to racing!
Work has been a little hectic the last week. Just a lot of things here and there to do. Finally got some time to sit down and really write down my plans and thoughts with the car.
I always write down what I want to do with the car and then list the amount of money I need to start putting aside in order to make it happen. As I was doing that last night, I realized that there are things I WANT to do, and things I NEED to do. That kind of sucks...
I have two axles with torn/ripped CV's, and a shock that needs to be replaced, the motor probably needs to be replace dor rebuilt, among other things. I think it is time to change out my brake pads as well... There's just a lot of things that need to be done. At the end of it all... the only thing I really see is a bunch of dollar signs... $$$.
I do have a job, but it isn't like I am making exorbitant amounts of money or anything. I am barely making it by every month, though, the outlook is good, and there is a lot of potential for growth.
It's a balancing act between what I want and what I need. Money is tight... I need to fix my car, yet, with such a tight budget, I can only do so much. Doesn't mean it can't be done, though.
I wonder how tough the job market really is out there. It must be really tough. I always post on my FB that I am looking for a side jobs. Hey... racing is expensive. I have to pay for itself somehow. Tires are not cheap. Replacements parts aren't cheap. The act of racing isn't cheap either.
I wonder why people always seem to give me negative feedback for when I ask about a side-job on facebook. I always get responses like... sit on a corner and panhandle, or sell your body, or... (insert something here). Is it so wrong to post on your FB asking for some help looking for a side-job just so you can make a few extra dollars? Got to work a little harder sometimes to make some extra money to do the things you want.
But yeah... the cost to fix the little things on my car is a quite a sum of money. I'll probably try to reach out to family and friends over the next few months and see if they can pay me to do little things here and there. I feel that being proactive will help me get to where I need to be. A few dollars here and there will eventually add up in the long run and I'll be one step closer to getting the car back to racing!
12-08-2011, 12:20 PM
#629
Chicks dig me. April Fool's!
Thread Starter
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Fremont, CA
Posts: 10,989
Car Info: 1997 Impreza, 2014 BRZ
More pictures!!
Pics of my car recently detailed:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...12594115_n.jpg
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...90847854_n.jpg
Pics of my car recently detailed:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...12594115_n.jpg
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...90847854_n.jpg
Last edited by darkonion; 12-08-2011 at 12:24 PM.
