THE CAR SHOW HAS BEEN MOVED TO APRIL 21st. We are sorry for the delayed response. The officers agreed to make the switch and move the show because this weekend is not looking promising. We will keep everyone updated if anything else changes 

All details for the show remain the same, but the date is now April 21st, and we have approved this through JMU. We are sorry to inconvenience anyone, but we felt it was the best move for the club. 

We still hope some are able to make it!!

Well, it's 4:13 on a Tuesday afternoon and I'm waiting on Office to install on a few laptops - figured it was as good a time as any to start a build thread for the CBR.

So, on 12/31/2016 I traded my beloved (but entirely too expensive to upkeep) TT swapped 3000GT for an '05 CBR600RR, $2k, and a bunch of bike accessories/gear. It was a pretty good trade considering I would've had a hard time selling the car at all. Nobody seems to want those things for whatever reason 

The bike had 21k miles on it when I got it, as well as a Yoshimura slip-on exhaust, a Corbin seat, Zero Gravity windscreen, and a 520 chain conversion with -1/+2 sprockets (AKA it's torquey as f*ck)

The first picture of it (when the guy dropped it off at my friend's house in Culpeper). Gotta love those green tribals on top of grey tribals...



Tribals which were all soon removed, revealing a great-looking bike underneath. 



Considering it was my first bike, I've sadly put a scratch or two on it from dropping it in stupid places. Only one was moving though (and was at like 2mph). So it still looks pretty decent now.

I pretty much kept it as it was for a while till one of the parking lot drops cracked the windscreen. At that point I picked up a colorful windscreen and some orange wheel stripes.



That was pretty much the end of my first season of riding. This spring I've added a Puig farbon ciber rear fender and a Sebimoto carbon fiber front fender. 

 

I also removed the gross-looking eBay turn signals and replaced them with some smaller LED front/rear signals. As well as some amber LED blinker strips on my passenger pegs for more visibility. For more LED goodness I added some LED headlight bulbs I found on threretrofitsource. Shame on me for not retrofitting, but considering they're literally just for looks since I never use the bike at night.........oh well.



Future mods? Most likely new fairings (thinking white with gold accents or metallic grey with neon blue or orange accents) and maybe a power commander for a few more HP. Right now, though, it's a friggin blast just as it is.

What's up guys, it's finally set in stone. The after party has a location!!! It will be held at Andrew Lucy's house located at 1552 Devon Lane after the club dinner at O'Neil's which will happen after the cruise.  We are thinking that we will attempt to park in the Harrison IN A VISITOR SPOT and then walk over. I haven't heard any differently so I believe the pre game will be held there as well. 

As you know, it would not be an appropriate after party without study materials, so who wants to help us out??   It's going to be a good time, and I can't wait to see all the old men...I mean alumni there. I'm literally an old man so I can say that now too....

Be safe, and smart this weekend.

I finally found a replacement for my subaru after months of searching for a mk6 golf r then switching to looking for a mk7 gti once I drove one.  I was originally looking for a 2 door GTI SE with the performance pack, lighting pack, and only in carbon steel grey.  This proved to be difficult to find.  Performance pack was order only for 2015 and 2 doors was order only for 2016.  Eventually I did find a few exactly like what I was looking for, but the dealerships seemed to be asking way too much for them (think $22k-$24k).

So, onto the one I actually bought.  It's a 2015 GTI S with the performance package, DSG transmission, and 37k miles.  I got it in the 16k range which was at the bottom of end of private party value on KBB so I think I did fairly well.  Especially considering it has a few mods that I would have eventually wanted to do anyway.

As it sets now:

Remus catback exhaust w/ gloss black diffuser (~$1700)
Injen intake (~$250)
P3 multi-gauge, boost, afr, intake temp, 0-60 timer, etc ($390)
Tint all around (35% I think, we'll see if I get pulled over I guess)

So yeah, I've got few thousand worth of mods that I actually like thrown in for the already cheap price of the car.  The intake makes the turbo noises and CPV very noticeable and the exhaust is very mild cruising around town, but decently loud when you step down on the gas.  Surprisingly, it doesn't have a tune so I should still have a power train warranty until some time in 2020.

So far my plans for it are (in order of priority):

• Ed's replica headlights to replace my lame halogen lights.  These are surprisingly really nice and have a good projector set up so they won't blind everyone.  The LED pattern matches the golf R so you get two rows of LED lights per side instead of 1 like the lighting package GTI's.
  
• Some sort of tune, either a Cobb accessport from MAP (they include their better map for free) or a JB4 piggy back tune like I had on my 135i.
  
• VW drivers gear springs for a mild drop
  
• Some sort of wheels, the factory ones I have are pretty scuffed up from curb rash.  The previous owner apparently mentioned when  was trading it in that his girlfriend curbed it.
  
• Maybe a subwoofer to help the factory sound system.  It's otherwise pretty good even though it's the base model sound system.
  

Who are you?
Hey everyone! I'm Stephen Nicholson otherwise known as the "Multilingual Eggplant Specialist" in the Alum GroupMe (Thank you, Taylor, for that name). I am currently a Sophmore Justice Studies and Arabic major along with a Pre-Law track. I've been doing 18-21 credit hour semesters since my first semester here at JMU while working for a flooring company based out of Richmond. I'm also the president of the Newly Initiated Brothers of the JMU chapter of Phi Alpha Delta (the Pre-Law fraternity). For the next four semesters, I will only be doing 12-14 credit hour semesters here at JMU and I will still be working with the flooring company. That being said I will I have much more free time over the next two years and I'd like to fill that time with MM related tasks and activities.
My Freshman year I had no idea that MM existed until I saw the car show. Since then I made it one my goals to find out more about the club and to eventually join. I started by searching through social media for MM related things and that made me want to join even more. Fast forward to MAAP's first institute where I had the opportunity to completely rebuild a Porsche 356 engine with none other than Jackson, Brandon, Joseph and Erik. During that time at the institute, I expressed my interest in MM to Jackson and Brandon and they explained to me what exactly MM was about from that moment on I was hooked. sidenote* I think it'd be really cool to be an officer with the three people that introduced me to the club

Do you even like cars? 
Yes, of course, I do! My relationship with cars started in the hood of Baltimore where I spent the first 8 years of my life. As an effort to get me out of that setting my cousins would take me to car shows outside of the city which sparked my interest in cars. My father has always had crazy lifted trucks and motorcycles and when we moved to a farm he had a legit monster truck! He would always let me help when something broke which I am very grateful for as a lot of people did not have the opportunity to do things like that when they were younger. Later on, when I started making some decent money I bought myself a 2009 Toyota Tacoma single cab (basically a work truck) that I would go on to bag and put some nice Enkei's on (miss that truck). During that time I was also gifted a 1992 Foxbody Mustang roller from my grandfather. This is one of my favorite cars as I got to put an engine, trans, etc in it with my father and his friends. Unfortunately, during a heavy downpour on my way back from school I rolled it over a large hill (basically a cliff) I was okay thanks to the cage and harness but the car was completely totaled (I cried for two days, man tears of course). After that I found a 1998 300zx twin turbo for an insane price that I couldn't pass up, I upgraded the turbos, lowered it and drove the piss out of that car. When I started to make some real money with the flooring company I decided to trade the 09' Tacoma in for a 2014 TRD Tacoma (my first new vehicle). After some time I got bored of the 300zx and sold it to my friend for one hell of a profit. Then one-day driving threw Newport News I stumbled upon a 2015 Saleen Mustang with about 10,000 miles on it that I fell in love with and the next day it was mine. At this time I had no intentions of going to college and I was very okay with that. After my parents talked to me about college and what it would mean for me to be the first in my family to attend and the example I would be setting for my younger family members I decided that going to college was the right thing to do even if my parents wouldn't help me out financially (they've grown a little more considerate over the last year w/ financial help). So I sold the Saleen and the Tacoma (I only lost 3k on both which is was spectacular IMO) and bought the EcoBoost which makes for plenty of fun, gas mileage, insurance cost, etc. 

Stephen, why do you want to be the Secretary of Madison Motorsports? 
Well, one of the reasons I would like to be the Secretary is to improve the quality of our social media and Alumni outreach. Looking through the current state of the MM Facebook and Instagram it's kind of disappointing to me. MM's social media might be the first thing that someone sees in relation to the club so there has to be some sort of quality control there. There's also the lack of a Youtube presence, which I would like to change by doing videos like "Member Spotlights".I'd also like to do social media collaborations with local businesses (this could eventually make the club some money) as I have made some friends in the local community that are small business owners. These would be videos that would basically be an interview with an individual member asking them why they joined MM, what drives their automotive passion, etc. I have a pretty good understanding of what MM is really about and I'd like to show the rest of the world what it means to be a member of Madison Motorsports. I'd also like to improve Alumni outreach by simply improving the quality of emails sent out to you all. From what I understood via the GroupMe, this was something you all expressed concern about. I send semi-professional and professional emails nearly every day and it's a skill that I take a lot of pride in having. 

What traits do you possess relative to the secretary position? 
For starters, I am EXTREMELY organized with note taking, calendars, etc. I am also a detail orientated person when it comes to event planning and emailing. I am also a very personable and open person, so if anybody were to have a concern with the club, other members, social media or anything else MM related I am confident that they would feel comfortable coming to me for advice or to address some of their concerns. I'm also open to suggestion on how to improve anything related to the club but I'm also not a pushover so I will gladly let someone know if they are overstepping their boundaries.

Info: http://www.nasaracing.net/april-21-22-20...mit-point/

Registration: https://nasaproracing.com/events/2770

I'll be there hopefully in DE1 and working Saturday - Sunday. Heading up Friday after work.

Who else is in?

Hello, my name is Joseph Plauger and I am running for Treasurer (just in case the title didn't give that away). I will be a Junior this upcoming year and I will also be switching majors... I was a CS major, but through certain circumstances and many learning experiences, I am not going to make it into the major. I will most likely be venturing into CIS next year, depending on a few things, but that is my plan as of now. If ya'll have any advice, hit me up, please.

Alright, enough about my personal life. Madison Motorsports is the greatest club ever, we all know that... but how can we make it better? As Treasurer, I am not going to be leading the club. My job will contain all the typical Treasurer duties, which I feel confident that I can do. I finally have a car, so I am able to run around and deliver $$$ to whoever would need it or wherever it would need to go. I have taken a business class before and, since I don't have much money to call my own, I have quite a lot of experience with knowing how to spend it wisely and think before throwing money at something that just wouldn't be smart for the club. 

I would love to be able to help raise money for the club through fundraisers and potential other ideas. I have also been looking around at other past applications for Treasurer to see what other people's ideas were. I came to the conclusion throughout my searching that I would just ask all of you wise, old, experienced alumni what worked, what didn't work, and for some ideas that maybe you wanted to work but didn't get the chance to do. 

This year, Madison Automotive Apprentice Program (MAAP) has been huge for MM, providing us with a great place to work on our rides for a couple hours during the day, get some of the best coffee in Harrisonburg, and just hang out. I spend about 10+ hours there every week, usually doing homework in the back room, but sometimes helping Cole or Michael with a 356 Speedster, VW Beetle, or whatever other project cars they have in there at the time. MAAP is just such an amazing opportunity for MM and I would hate to see nothing much come of this. Since I spend many hours a day there, I would be able to help tie the two organizations even closer together, which I would absolutely love to see. 

Switching gears a little bit, I wanted to address something that I feel like has kind of gone out the window with this club a bit this year... the excessive breaking of laws and overaggressive driving on the streets. I haven't personally witnessed much of it, but I have heard many stories and I am very against it. It's good to have fun and enjoy your cars, but breaking the law is something that we just don't tolerate. It can get us in a heap of trouble and it's just wrong. There are places and times to go 100+ mph and race side-by-side with your friends and/or enemies... drag strips, tracks, autocross events, etc.. I just want this club to be a place where we have lots of fun and enjoy many things, but also a club that is respected within the community of Harrisonburg and JMU, especially with the police officers of the area.

Building on that, I just had a thought. Maybe we can do an event (maybe fundraiser) with the police force either at JMU or Harrisonburg where we organize some sort of car meet or autocross, something that gets the officers involved with us so that they can see personally that we are all great guys (and gals) who just love cars and hanging out. I don't see anything bad about building a relationship with the police force around here and the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. What do you all think?

Please, by all means, ask away. I'll be happy to answer any questions and concerns you might have.

Thanks!
Joseph Plauger

Gone are the days of we-todd-did and photobucket, and I see folks using imgur but it seems like any decent free service's days are numbered. Is there some way we could post images directly to this forum to make it easier for all and more familiar to the current generation of students? If so what is it? What would it cost? And does it involve clouds?

Madison Automotive Apprentices has given us a challenge-- diagnose a 1987 Quadrifoglio Spider's hard starting issue!

A $300 prize will be awarded for the best solution

Find out more here!

Hey all. Just looking for a hand searching for a car. I know the criteria I want, so this isn't a "What should I buy" thread as much as it is a "Please keep an eye out of for these cars" thread. The GTI is awesome and is an absolute riot on the track, so I'm okay with doing DE1 in it for now, however I want to do the real deal and work my way up through the DEs. "Don't track a car you're not willing to write off" is the usual phrase uttered by alumni well after we encourage kids to come out, and I'm not willing to ball up a car I owe tens of thousands of dollars on. I don't need to be in a hurry here, so I'm trying to hold out for a good example at a good price, but it'll be a battle for me to stay patient and not jump on the first pile I see with a roundel. 

Basic criteria: 

Under $5000 is preferred now, but as time goes on the budget may go up and my search may become more serious. For now, I'm really only going to jump if I find a killer deal that I shouldn't wait on. 

RWD.
Common Platform.
Reliable enough to drive to the track and back for a season or two (Within reason)
Partially prepped (Previous maintenance, seats, rollbar/harness bar preferred)
Street legal
(Other things I'll think to add to this list later)

Right now the list is


NA8-NB2 Miata: (Probably the cheapest and most reliable, but not excited about driving that 4 hours to VIR and trying to jam tools/wheels/luggage in it, but if the price is right....)

E30: Terrible idea, right? Find me one that's well sorted and convince me on it. Seems too old and finnicky to rely on getting me to the track and back. 

E36 325i/is 93-95: I think this is what i'm shooting for. Spec 3 is cheap compared to other leagues. NASA MA has some cool dudes running it. The cars are easy to find, simple, and reliable as far as BMWs go.

Something else that y'all suggest? E36 M3 seems attractive but that's too rich for my blood and I don't have a fiery burning passion to spend the extra money on it. 

I typed this quickly at work while I'm coming down from my track high, so take it easy on me, please.