Stl Solo 2 – 04172016

Mini: 2nd Event in the books. Cutting right to the chase, I lost to the Civic Si by 0.516s. I was chasing him most of the event, and at one point he figured something out and dropped ~0.7s and from there on out it was game over. I pushed as hard as I could, tried…

Mitsubishi Evo – DURO3741K

Got some new bushings installed by Solo Performance Specialties! These are the SuperPro DURO3741K bushings that go in the front control arm. These bushings are offset in order to allow for a caster increase. I got about 0.2-0.3 degrees of added caster with these bushings, but more importantly, they moved the wheel forward again. The caster…

StlSolo 1 – 04032016

After missing the first two events (3/19 Rantoul, 3/20 GAX) due to disappointing weather, I was able to get out on Sunday to the first StlSolo event for the first event of 2016! The two main goals of this event were to (1) try out the RE71Rs and (2) shake off the rust. While I got a…

No Rinse Car Wash

Gave the Evo a long overdue wash this weekend – this time using a new product: Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine. Genuinely impressed by this stuff, and really worked wonders on the Evo. What usually was a process of: Rinse, wash w/ soap, rinse, detail fluid + claybar, wax; is now wash, dry &…

2011 Toyota Rav4 Cabin Air Filter

How-to: Replace Toyota Rav4 Cabin Air Filter: Requires: New filter No tools required, but pliers may help Step 1: Open the glove box & and empty Step 2: Push the sides in to get the hinges down, remove the damper. Here’s where pliers may come in handy – push the knobs together to get it…

Sponsorship Announcement – Red Line Oil

Happy to announce my newest sponsor, Red Line Oil! I chose to reach out to Red Line Oil due to their outstanding reputation in making extremely high quality, ester based oils. This came out of a search for an oil that was of even higher quality than Amsoil, while perhaps being more suited for racing.…

2016 Season Prep

A relatively busy off-season for the Evo – following the issues I had with the balance of the car last year, I had a few changes I wanted to make before going with more mods. Also had a number of maintenance to do with the car: Reversed the rake of the car (higher in front, lower…

2011 Rav4 V6 AWD – Engine Oil Change

How-To for an engine oil change for the 2011 Rav4 V6. Do all work at your own risk. Tools needed: Stands or ramps 14mm wrench Oil filter removal tool Toyota oil filter Roughly 6 quarts of engine oil (Amsoil SSO 0w30) Drain pan Drive the car up on ramps or up on stands. I did…