Billy’s Blog

March 15-16, Rob, Jon, Chris and I headed to San Diego for the SCCA National Tour. It was Rob, Jon and Chris’ first tour event and we needed to attend 1 in order to get into the National Championship for a cheaper price (it really is not cheaper considering fuel and hotel bills, but it gave us a chance to see how we compared to other National level drivers). San Diego is always a fun event as the parking lot is sloped and really tests your skills on off-camber and on-camber turns. There were quite a few spots where we were hitting the top of second gear. Here is a picture of the weapons:

I ended up driving Chris’ 4-door M3, while Rob and Jon drove Rob’s silver M3. Both cars were run in STU. It was my first time in Chris’ car and my second in a M3. I can tell you that I definitely need more time in a RWD vehicle.

All in all the weekend was successfully out of a field of 18, Chris finished 7th, I was 8th, Rob was 14th, and Jon finished 15th. Not bad for their first showing at a National event. Thanks again to Chris Mayfield for letting me use his M3 for this event.

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Since we are trying to create an AccessPORT for the R35 GTR, we needed to get as many examples of the GTR ECU files as possible. Daryl from JSpec Connect, was nice enough to let me read the information off his R35 GTR ECU (he had the other 2 JDM R35s in the country at the time). Thanks again Daryl.

It was a quick trip to Orange County. I had to be back the next day to head out to Buttonwillow for the Redline Time Attack.

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It has been a long time since I last posted, so let me begin in March. March 8-9th, I went down to Arizona for the Club Racing Arizona / NASA event at PIR. I showed up late on Saturday, but was able to run on Sunday in the Small Bore race in my friend’s (Jason Boles) H2 Honda Civic.

Jason Boles is the club and event director for CRA/NASA and has put on many successful/sold out events. If you are in the area during one of the events, I would highly recommend checking them out.

This weekend just so happened to host the BMWCCA as well. There are so many beautiful race prepped E30, E36, and E46 3-series out on track. Some of the guys are definitely not hurting in Arizona after seeing their cars.

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Here are a few more pictures of the parts that I have been working on with 3dyn, LLC. These are the side pods before final sanding.

Here are a few carbon tubes that Justin at 3dyn made up for me. I am going to use them to prototype an Evo X front strut tower bar.

Thanks again to everyone at 3dyn, LLC for the help this past week and a half. Tomorrow I start heading back to Utah and the cold weather. Yeah for cold weather!

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Sunday I went up to Long Beach and Anaheim to try to find the GTR and to see my cousins. I did not find the container with the GTR, but I figured that much. While I was in the area, I went to Super Autobacs. It was nice to see, but just as I expected, it was an overpriced Pep Boys with more Japanese parts available. They did have a few nice cars outside.

Next, I headed to Anaheim to visit my cousins and their new adventure. They are in the process of opening up a brewery called The Bruery.

I tried one of their beers and it was very good. As soon as they get a batch made up, I will have to bring it into COBB for the guys to give their stamp of approval.

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This last weekend I decided I would check out a little more of the city. I made my way down to Fashion Island, the harbor and Balboa Park. Fashion Island is one of San Diego’s many malls, but this one is where their high class stores are located. Not like I would buy anything there, but they have Saks Five Avenue, Bloomingdales, Tiffany’s, Neiman Marcus and a few others. They even had a Cheesecake Factory, which seems to be popular wherever they are located.

Down at the harbor, I went to the USS Midway.

It is a decommissioned aircraft carrier that was used from 1945-1992. My grandfather was one of the first crew members on border this ship, so I was there for the decommissioning. I figured I would see if they had anything new to see since then. They have opened up most of the boat to the public. You can walk through the living quarters, chow line, galley, mess deck, laundry, sick bay, and bomb elevators. On the flight deck, they have added an air museum with many of the planes/helicopters that the Midway had on board. From the flight deck you can also see this statue at the park next door.

Finally I went to Balboa Park to check out a few museums, but got there at about 4 pm and found out all the museums close at 5 pm. With very little time, I chose the Natural History museum. They just opened up a new exhibit the day before on Pompeii. It was very interesting for the little time I got to see it.

Here is a nice sunset view from in front of the Natural History museum.

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So, as you have seen from my previous post, I am in San Diego. While I am here, I decided to check out a new part of the town everyday. Yesterday, I checked out Clairemont since it is by the hotel, not the greatest decision, but it was okay. Tonight, I went to La Jolla. Jackpot! This part of town seems to be where the more afluent people live. The reason I say Jackpot is because of the dealership I found, Symbolic Motors. This is an example of what is in their showrooms.

Spyker C8, 2 Bugatti Veyrons, Porsche Carrera GT, and Ferrari Enzo.

Numerous Bentleys, Rolls Royce, Lamoborghinis, Masertis, competition cars and others.

While you are in La Jolla, I would recommend going to Wahoo’s Fish Tacos. They have superb fish tacos, especially the blackened fish tacos with cajun spices. I like cajun spices, however they do not feel the same way about me. Do not let this stop you though, it is a nice place to check out.

Let us see what I can find next. I am thinking of checking out Balboa Park and the automotive museum. I hear they have a future car exhibit.

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I am down in San Diego for the next few days learning the black art of composites. The guys at 3dyn, LLC were nice enough to take the time to show me the ropes. They decided it would be a good idea to show me how to make a few parts for a soon to be raced car in a certain series with the goal of taking over the world. Hint, hint. I am sure you can guess what these will be going on.

So far, I have helped make a hood, trunk, end tanks (from our SEMA carbon intercooler), and canards. The hood and trunk were done using a wet layup, while the end tanks and canards were made with prepreg. There are quite a few items still to be made, so I will do my best to keep you updated.

The ultimate goal of this journey is to prepare COBB for composite part offerings to it’s customers. Carbon strut tower bars, composite airboxes, and carbon intercoolers are just a few things that may eventually be offered. Thanks again to Mark, Nick and Justin for helping me out for the next few days. With a lot of practice, I may soon be a Jedi composite master as well.

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So, I was able to get a prototype bracket made sooner than I thought.  Everything fit great, so an order has been placed. Expect a production intake in 3-4 weeks.  This is what the final piece will look like.

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So with the success of our Mazdaspeed 3 intake, we decided to test out the intake on the Mazdaspeed 6. With the same engine, but slightly different tuning, we were very pleased to find out that the intake works just as well on the Mazdaspeed 6, as on the Mazdaspeed 3. Last week we were very fortunate to have a customer lend us his MS6 for the day to make up a bracket for the intake. Using our rapid prototype machine, I was able to draw up a quick bracket to test fit. Mind you, this is not what the final bracket will look like.

I will be finishing up the design this coming week and send it off to be prototyped out of steel. The only difference between the MS6 and MS3 intakes will be a larger filter for the MS6 and a different mounting bracket. Do not worry MS6 owners, we have not forgotten you!

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