Project: The Sky's The Limit

[BFisch06]

When I started this thread I was all "Why can't the alumni keep their project threads updated?" and now I understand. Now that I should be Captain of said ship, here's what's happened in the last 6 months or so:

September 22, 2013: BRR Autocross at Roanoke Civic Center
I had trouble with this course, but I used it as a learning experience. Hadn't raced at this lot before either. Placed 2nd in class 1.298 behind an S2000. 38 / 90 PAX; 36 / 90 raw time

September 27, 2013: New Tires!


Michelin Pilot Super Sports in stock-size (245/45/R18)

September 29, 2013: NASA Autocross at VMP
First autocross on the new tires - what a difference. The factory-spec Eagle F1's were worn and would slide out easily. The MPSS simply keep sticking. :thumbup:
1st in class by 0.090; 16 out of 47 [Results]

October 19, 2013: VA/MD Solstice/Sky Club Cruise
Found this group on facebook and cruised with another dozen or so Kappa owners down Skyline Drive then had dinner in Waynesboro. I was easily the youngest owner, but still had a fun time. Couple owners had a lot of aftermarket parts (IC, charge pipes, tune, etc.) but I was the only manual/turbo optioned car, and the only green Sky. We spent the night in town since there was a BRR autocross the next day in Verona.





October 20, 2013: BRR "College Challenge" Autocross at Verona
2nd in class by 0.497 to a different S2000 driver. 13 / 77 PAX; 16 / 77 raw time.



Rachel getting some RWD seat time.

October 27, 2013: NASA Autocross at VMP
2nd in class by 0.295; 14 out of 54 [Results]
1st in class was the M3 I beat 9/29

November 5, 2013: BRR Mick Seal Memorial Charity Autocross at Roanoke Civic Center
1st in class by 0.743. 11 / 83 PAX; 13 / 83 raw time

I volunteered for Worker Stewart



December 2013: Coolant Issues
During the month of December (and maybe even late Thanksgiving) the DIC (Driver Information Center) reported "LOW COOLANT" with increasing frequency. I'd add a bit, then it would be back. The coolant pumps on the LNF are known to go early in the kappa platform (i.e. RWD applications) - around 60,000 miles. It's well documented on the forums and (IMO) the single biggest problem with the kappa. I started doing some more research and decided it was indeed pump failure. Some folks have done the swap themselves and documented the procedure well, but it took them 10-14 days. hock: The Sky is my daily driver, so I couldn't take that kind of time (plus I don't have a good place to do the work), so I decided to take it to the dealership. I described my problems and dropped it off one morning before work. They called me an hour later to say they couldn't find a leak at all - they had pressure tested it for 10 minutes without issue. I reiterated the symptoms and my observations and educated the service manager on LNF coolant pump failure history (since both LNF engines they've seen are in my two cars!). They pressure tested it for another 45 minutes and found nothing. I picked it up later that day.

Fast forward to Christmas day: I drove to my dad's house and parked in the driveway behind my sister. After opening gifts and sharing breakfast, she and her fiance needed to leave, so I went to move the Sky. As I backed out of the driveway, my coolant pump failure suspicions went from questionable to confirmed: a massive red puddle filled the driveway. I took the car home, grabbed the HHR, and continued about the day.

I planned to have a garage before the 2014-2015 winter, so the Sky was only going to spend one winter outside. My hope was that it would be mild. :lol: I didn't get a different set of wheels / tires and there were several days that it was *interesting* driving. hock: Between the ice and snow, I took the HHR some days (Rachel is a kindergarten teacher and didn't go out if schools were closed for snow), but still had to drive the Sky more often than I wanted to. We got a really bad storm around Valentine's Day - Roanoke ended up with 22 inches or more. Long story short I had the HHR at a customer site ~ 35 minutes out of town. Rachel took the Sky to school and I texted her to put it in my Mom's garage to sit out the storm. A church family invited us to get snowed in with them, so Rachel went home to pack first. By the time she got across town (to Salem) to put the car in my mom's garage it had been snowing for several hours. She turned right off a primary road onto a secondary that went up to my mom's neighborhood. She lost traction and slid sideways into someone else at the light. Minor damage to the door, the police were contacted, etc. Both cars were certainly drivable and all damage was cosmetic. Before the police officer could leave someone else copied Rachel, sliding into the passenger side of the Sky (which was still sitting in the intersection). Even less damage, but disappointing none-the-less. Rachel was extremely distraught and the church family picked her up after parking the Sky on the side of the road. I drove back from the customer site, which took over an hour, had some food and caught up on details of the accident. Given the forecast and the family father's offer, Rachel, and myself took off in their Volvo V70 AWD wagon to rescue the Sky and get it to my mom's. It was already dark when we arrived and 3+ hours later, we had traversed the 2.5 miles to my mom's house, shoveling a good 40% (or more) of the way there. It was near impossible to keep the car moving, but we made it without further incident. I picked the car up later that weekend and was able to survey the damage.




While driving it home, I realized there was suspension damage: the wheel was a good 20 degrees off center when driving straight. I had it aligned the next day.

>>>> I can't finish this post right now, but look for an edit/update soon!