Hello everyone! Zach, Tyler, and I have moved into a killer new place in Tyson's. The neighborhood is cool, landlord is chill, and we have abundant parking for all of our failed projects and rowdy friends.

To celebrate, we are having a cookout/day drink that may persist into the night. We hope to see a good crowd of Alumni there!

What: Cookout/Day Drink/Birthday party (Me)

When: September 15th any time after 12. Official start at 3pm

Where: The Motorhome - 8021 Kidwell Court, Vienne VA 22182

Parking: Anywhere on the left side of Kidwell drive, the spots marked guest, our driveway, or the left side of the cul de sac. I have attached a picture where the red lines are the free parking.

We'll provide some meats, but feel free to bring food or drink yourself. We'll have some music, pong, maybe throw some football or can jam or Cornhole.

If you're travelling from far away, we have lots of space to sleep, just let us know if you want to crash. We have 1.1 miles from both the Tyson's metro on silver and the Dunn loring stop on Orange.

See you there!

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As some of you may know from the group chat or facebook, I picked up a 2010 40th Anniversary 370z from Arlington on Friday.  There were only 1000 of these made so I was expecting to have to fly out somewhere to find a nice one.  Luckily a nice 1 owner car showed up at the Audi dealership in Arlington.

So anyway onto the details:

It's a 2010 40th Annivesary edition which includes:
Sport package (bigger wheels, bigger brakes, lsd, synchro rev match)
Touring package (leather interior, bose stereo, other interior upgrades)
Dark gray paint
Dark gray wheels
Red leather interior
Red brake calipers
Red interior stitching

65k miles
6 speed manual


Right now this thing is completely stock.  I was hoping to find one with a couple basic mods already done, but you can't be too picky when looking for an already rare car.  Overall, it's in really good shape.  There's a barely noticeable scuff on the rear passenger fender flare and a few paint chips on the front, but otherwise no dings or issues that I've noticed.

For the most part these are relatively solid cars.  The only big issue they have from the factory is that the clutch slave cylinder goes out.  This requires dropping the transmission to fix, but for a few hundred you can fix this permanently.  Other than that, you need an oil cooler for track use or it will go into limp mode fairly quickly.  I'm planning on doing that either way because again it's only a few hundred bucks and it helps on hot days even on the street apparently.

As far as fun mods go, I'm just planning on doing some basic stuff:
2015+ Nismo front bumper.  I'm not a fan of the factory front bumper but the 2015+ bumpers look great.  Luckily these are priced surprisingly cheaply, only $380 ish for the bumper itself.
Catback + high flow cats and these things sound great and dyno around 300 whp.  Unlike the S54, pretty much any set up sounds really good on these.  I'm just going to try to find something used.
Intakes + a tune will bump these up to around 320 whp.  We'll see if I feel like it's worth it after the exhaust.  Probably not.
For suspension I'm going to keep it simple. Koni yellows + a set of springs for a mild drop.
I like the factory 40th anniversary wheels and they're forged Rays so they're fairly light for a 19" wheel.  Probably no changes here.

Other than that, I don't plan to get too crazy with it.  I wanted a fairly simple car that I won't be afraid to drive and won't have to worry about doing a ton of maintenance on and hopefully this will be it.


I'm guessing some of you will be curious about how it drives vs the M3 so here are some initial impressions

Inputs are heavier all around, not necessarily good or bad, just different.
The interior is nicer all around.  Half of the dash is covered in leather.  The bose speakers are pretty good.  No rattles what so ever.  Overall a pleasant place to be.  
The transmission shifts way better. Night and day difference.
The E46 M3 felt a little more nimble and lighter ,even though it's heavier.  Granted I was on a fresh coilover setup vs the (probably original) stock setup on the Z.
The 370z feels like it has way more torque even though the numbers aren't much different.  It's far less of a chore to drive this around town with the added torque and better transmission.
On the other hand, the 370z isn't as rev happy and isn't as satisfying as the m3 is at full throttle above 6k.  I suspect a lighter flywheel would make a lot of difference, but I have no plans for that.
The blind spots really aren't bad.  Backing out of parking spots is really the only time it's that noticeable.
It's not quite as fast as my M3 was, but I also had headers and a tune on that.  370z's dyno very similar to the M3's stock and the same goes for basic mods like exhaust and a tune.
It gets way more attention than the M3 ever did.  Not in a ricers trying to race me way, but everyone asks about it.  It's not exactly a common car around here.

Overall, it's a much nicer cruiser with the downside of losing a tiny amount of outright performance, which is exactly what I was looking for.


Here are a couple pictures from last weekend.  As you can see from the front pictures, the headlights were a little yellow.  I've already cleaned them up a good bit with some plastic polish, but I'll probably sand them down and do it right before too long.  The direct front picture has one side cleared up and the other how it was when I got it.  All that white stuff around the headlight is plastic polish residue.  Overall, it's one of the cleaner cars I've had.

https://www.nasaproracing.com/events/2778

I would like to. Could be $62.50ea if we have 4, double that for two, I'm good with either.

I was able to score a brand new chain + F/R sprocket for the SV off craigslist for stupid cheap money a few weeks ago. I've been hesitant to install it as I don't have a chain break/rivet tool yet, however the chain came with a brand new master clip link. I've seen things go back and forth about the strength (rivet has hardly ever broke), but was curious what the experience here is for the link solution?

Note: It's a very high quality D.I.D chain and sprocket set.

Coming up on the one year anniversary of my 'Ring trip, and I'm kinda thinking about whether I could swing a motorsport trip of some sort next year.  I'd love to do Nurburgring again, but I was thinking there are a couple of other trips that could be fun if I could get a few other people interested.  So here are some of my ideas:


Las Vegas
Vegas actually has a lot of available motorsport activities.  I drove a couple of supercars a few years back with Dream Racing but there are 3 or 4 companies that offer that kind of experience there, with everything from Aventadors to Corvettes and Mustangs.

There's also companies that do trophy truck rentals, karting, supercar/motorcycle street rentals, atv/dirt bike tours, etc.

I'm always down for Vegas and it has a good range of things to do for different budgets.  Also requires a bit less logistical planning than an international trip.

Baja
We could go down to Mexico and blast around on Baja 1000 trails in a purpose built Baja buggy.  Could also chill at the beach or a resort before or after.  Airfare is not too expensive and like Vegas you don't have to really worry about getting rained out.  Maybe rained on by bullets but that's mostly border towns.

https://www.wideopenbaja.com/

Nurburgring
Now that I've done one trip there, I know a good bit more about how to do this trip and what to expect.  I opted for the full-on track day experience but if that's too big of a cash outlay people can purchase individual laps for Touristenfahrten or they can just do a smaller number of laps during a track day.

There's also the various ring taxi deals and some of the german auto factories and museums we could hit up.  

Any interest in any of these?

Yakima Rocketbox 11
11 cu ft
$225

Measurements: 89L x 22W x 14H

Older generation that only opens on one side. Will need to be offset on the roof closest to passenger side.

Attaches to most factory bars, modified to attach to the wife's CX9. Will definitely fit moveable cross bar systems. Fit the Prius and now the Wagon with no big issue.

This has done well for all of our travels up and down the east coast.

I have the option to order one now but really have no use for it, someone want my spot in line?

So I've been drinking fewer beers and more cocktails lately. For me, there's some joy in the ritual of making a cocktail, knowing how to use the tools, what things should taste like, etc. I've also been exploring various Scotches and Bourbons (Graduation presents from beloved friends and family) and I think the art of Good Spirits is kind of lost in the haze of "cocktails aren't manly" and "check out this Sour Quadruple Hopped EIEIOPA from this craft brewery that totally isn't my cousin's college roommate's basement."

So this is your thread for cocktails, whisk(e)y, and related conversation.



It's also national tequila day soooooooo....

(07-24-2018, 08:41 AM)Jake Wrote: "Gimme one San Jose Plumber" sounds like something I could say at a bar or a swinger's party and be met with equal parts confusion and enthusiasm. For what, I do not know.

What we have here is a 1998 Yamaha RT180. Basically, your most run of the mill trail bike. 180cc, 2stroke, oil injection. A long time friend of mine and his brother bought this WAAYY back in high school to ride around the power lines and what-not when we were "kids". Flash forward to today and it was ridden for a while at their river house and then it sat for the last year in the garage. I've always wanted a little trail bike to throw on a hitch carrier on the 4Runner to haul out to the woods when we're camping. The stars aligned and it worked out that I scooped this up for free with the goal being I restore it and bring it to his bachelor party in the woods in October (DEAL).

Initial assessment is what I would expect for an old motorcycle. Strip it down, clean the carb, clean the tank, replace filters/spark plug, check if the tires hold air, and then go ride the snot out of it. The gas tank at first glance was rusty, but when I was able to pull it and take a look on the workbench it surprised me to see that just the "ridge" where it rests on the frame was rusty and that the rest of the tank was pretty much spotless. This could be a good sign that the tank will require a little less work that I was imagining. Any tips on cleaning old tanks would be appreciated! I'll keep a tally of costs here at the top.

Bike cost: Free

• New fuel line, NGK Spark plug 2x, Fuel filter ($13.89)
  
• 2x OEM Yamaha air filter ($21.85)
  
• CLR & 2x Carb cleaner ($19.20)
  
• Apple Cider Vinegar ($26.51)
  
• Starter fluid and 2stroke oil ($13.99)
  
• Carb rebuild kit ($21.88)
  
• Por-15 Tank sealer ($19.30)
  
• Oil Seal & OEM Rear Fender ($58.39)
  
• "New Used" OEM ignition coil ($19.99)
  
• Sealed gas tank ($120)
  

So go check out my build thread for more info on the bike, but most of it is laid out in the craigslist ad below. Looking to get a supersport so I'm open to trades.

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/...97598.html