The Iggblog

Things that don’t suck:

– Black 1993 legacy turbo.
– Sunroof and cruise control. Missed haviong those in the TS.
– Cost of new car: $3000. Book value of new car: $5700
– 8.7 lbs of boost and no intercooler on a closed deck 2.2 . Imagine the tuning posibilities! I’ll get several horsies with just a saab 900 intercooler. I’m loosing horsies to heat above 6 lbs.
– Owning a car that only 600 were ever sold of.
– launching my autotranny at 3200 RPMs and not bogging afterwards. the TS could only go to 2500 on a good day and would bog horribly.
– the delightful WSHHHHHHHHHH sound I get above 2800 RPMs 😀 .
– 0-60 in about 7.5 seconds instead of 9 seconds in the TS.

Man, I love this car. I missed having a turbo since the days of my Saab. This thing rocks. When it first came out, they were comparing it to the M5 of the time.

Things that suck

– bending control arm in parking lot.

This wouldnt bother me if it happened while I was “playing.” but my engine and drivetrain were stone cold. I couldn’t have gotten power to the ground if I’d wanted to. I came around an island in teh parking lot a little too quick. I’ll admit it. AWD and super-snow tires tend to breed a little overconfidence. but I won’t say I was being careless. overconfidence is a much different thing than carelessness. So after I came around the island I just kept sliding in the same direction. tried brakes.. nuthn. Tried throttle.. nuthin, tranjny was cold and in the wrong gear. I just bogged. If I’d had it in first, I could have spun the wheels and gotten outa there. but instead I rammed a curb with the front right wheel and bent the control arm. so it’s 180 bucks, and it ruins my weekend. not to mention rashing the lip on my rim pretty bad.

– car getting towed.

It’s 6. I have a rental. AAA says it’ll be 4 hours. I decide to leave my car overnight. and it gets towed.

– rental car.

I can’t feel the road. the seats are like iron. the tires are like racing slicks in the snow. the front end plows if I so much as touch the brakes. yes I’m spoiled by my Impreza, but it still sucks.

-IggDawg

Most meaningful discussion ever. My post was first, and then a serveer time burp put the next person’s first. so… read the second post first 😀 .

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=284452

-IggDawg

Most unfortunate name ever. My God in heaven…

http://charlotte49ers.ocsn.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/mandic_ivana00.html?id=0

Credit to micah on NASIOC.

-IggDawg

I finally ran in an event. a bunch of the New England Impreza Club (NESIC) guys went up to Killington for the weekend. There was a TSD (time/speed/distance) rally on saturday and a rallycross on Sunday. Most everyone went to run in both events. I didn’t plan on doing either. I just wanted to generally get away with the GF and chill with the Impreza guys. This was the “covered bridge rally” event, and there’s one every year. Anyways, I got talked into doing the rallycross on Sunday. It didn’t take much convincing… I just needed to be nudged 😀 . It had recently, so the gravel lot we were going to rallycross on was covered in snow. That’s good. it was about 3-4 inches of snow on top of gravel. The front wheel stock, front wheel modified, and rear wheel guys went first. I was working the course when they ran, and thought to myself “OK… if I do better than the FWD guys I’ll be happy.” I guess a lot of people get “dead last but finished” their first time out on a rallycross. I was really happy with myself. I made 18 out of 25 during the morning. Not too shabby! I even beat a couple WRXs. I don’t know how I did in the afternoon, but I think I did at least as well as the morning.

Here’s a picture of a friend of mine on the course:

So yeah. Rallycross was fun.

Here’s some less impressive footage of me running: http://armitage.crinkle.net/~rogue/coveredbridge/iggdawg.mpg

The world kinda ended and fell off 30 feet right behind where the footage starts so I was taking it easy. the begninning of the course was a lot faster. you basically get to see me in a hairpin and then the finish 😀 . Still fun to watch.

-IggDawg

EDIT: added video link

IggDawg is cool. Even the hooter’s chicks know it. This is what happened when I went to meet some of my I-club buddys on Long Island last saturday night:

Its not the greatest picture, but whatever.

-IggDawg

Do I have a point? or am I just being a penis? I don’t think this guy has much. I bet he’s a hippy. I think this is what happens when you hand a small mind a quote with a big name, and let him embark on the process of free thought.

Him:

Albert Einstein once said:
“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would fully suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.”

Me:
Einstein said a bunch of stuff. so did I. Once I said “what’s happening to my left nut?” (credit to bri for the stolen funny) and someone laughed. it was pretty cool. Half his discoveries wouldn’t have come about if it hadn’t been for war and it’s resultant environment. defending your country is defending your way of life. It’s honorable. To think otherwise is short sighted.

Him:
I don’t think murder is honorable. by your logic (iggdawg) Iraq should defend themslves from us because we are about to attack them. It is a cycle of violence that would never end. Ghandi said “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” What needs to be examined is the reasons for fighting with other nations. A few countries in the middle east hold over half of the worlds total amount of oil. Automobiles are the most profitable industry in the world and oil is their life blood. We are not considering bombing iraq just because they have weapos of mass destruction. Hell, we will be bombong them WITH weapons of mass destruction. The only solution I can think of is to annihilate the reasons for fighting. Why is that so many other countries never bother us?

Me:

quote:
——————————————————————————–
Originally posted by firebirdheadface
I don’t think murder is honorable. by your logic (iggdawg) Iraq should defend themslves from us because we are about to attack them.
——————————————————————————–

Your definition of murder is skewed. you can’t go around defining terms on a whim. so lets stick with “defense of one’s country” instead of “murder” to avoid a naming conflict. so it follows:

quote:
——————————————————————————–
Originally posted by firebirdheadface
I don’t think defense of one’s country is honorable. by your logic (iggdawg) Iraq should defend themslves from us because we are about to attack them.
——————————————————————————–

Yes. any country that is under attack should defend themselves. That’s just the way it is. if they do something to provoke us, they must believe whatever that action is was right. or they wouldn’t do it. much less stand by it. so they believe they are acting out of right for one motivational reason or another. it doesn’t matter. they think they are right. so when we retaliate, they should defend themselves. I don’t see anything wrong with that. Personally, viewing them as I do from my perspective, I wish they wouldn’t. I’d love to just overrun them. but that won’t happen. I’m not surprised or disgusted when they defend themselves. you could hardly expect any other reaction.

quote:
——————————————————————————–
Originally posted by firebirdheadface
The only solution I can think of is to annihilate the reasons for fighting.
——————————————————————————–

I’ll cry with delight when that day comes. but it won’t. Ever. Human nature drives us to up our positions in pecking order. it’s written into our genes and can’t be out-learned or out-evolved. teh reasons for fighting aren’t natural resources or money. those things are only tools of our desire to be on top. its that desire that drives us to war.

When someone invades my country I want our army to drive them off. why should we roll over and let them invade us? if someone comes into your house to take everything you own and kill your family what will you do? will you shoot the man or will you let him steal your things and slaughter your family? let him kill everyone. At least you’ll have your sense of moral satisfaction. even if all countries lay down arms, what would stop another faction from coming along and taking over everyone else? Lets all be complacent and pretend if we all hold hands and sing happy tunes that nothing will ever come along again and stir things up.

Work towards a utopia, but never shed an ounce of hope that it’ll ever come. and keep a gun under your pillow.

PS – I have a BS in physics, so I know a little bit about Einstein. he was a great scientist, but I’ll never quote the man on anything that’s not an equation.

So that’s what I had to say about that. sure it could have used a little refinement butI think I got my point across. He sounds so much like a hippy. I hate hippies… go back to your dorm and smoke a little pot. Listen to some G. Love while you tell your friends your half-assed philosophies on life. One time one of them was telling me how atoms are really planets and, like, it just keeps going on down like that. Niels Bohr is turning in his grave.

I hate hippies.

-IggDawg

So I got a job.

In the beginning I was unemployed. and it was good.

Then I took a trip to New Jersey. And I got into a 4-car pileup. This was not good.

Then I spent the next few months bumming around the apartment with nothing to do but job hunt, no AC, and no way to get anywhere.

Then I got a temp job. I was helping a biochem lab set up in a town a little ways away from me. heavy traffic, but it was better than being unemployed. I worked for htem for about 2 weeks.

In the mean time I’d found another prospective permanent job. This one was just one town away. I interviewed and they liked me. The mailed me an offer letter for 30K, 2 weeks vacation, and standard sick/ personal time. This job was close to my field, and the company was just starting to expand. So I was psyched.

The day after I get the letter the president of the company I temp for came to me and asked me if I’d like to stay on full time. I tell him I found a job more in my field but I’d consider it. He comes at me with an offer of 37K plus 5 weeks vacation. Is that nuts or what?! I guess I really impressed him. I’m doing lab tech and IT work and doing both well (I gather).

So I had a lot to consider. one was several weeks vacation and nutty pay, and the other is close to home by a lot, and free time is worth everything. So I came back at my current boss with a let down. I’d decided to take the other job despite the higher pay here. He said he was sorry to see me go, but that he was happy for me. I signed off the offer letter and thought that would be the end of it.

The next morning my boss comes at me saying “Its realy too bad you can’t stay. We really liked you here. David (the new scientist) said he really thought you were a good worker. ‘offer him 40! just get him to stay!’ he tells me.” My ears perk up. I asked him if he’d really pay me that much. He said he would. I think to myself, ‘I’m 23, and I can be making 40K, and get 5 weeks vacation?’ the decision was obvious. “Throw in a signing bonus for a new set of wheels and tires, and its a deal.” 😀 That seemed the only reasonable solution :D.

So thus ends my enemployment.

So I have another car now. Prity gave me her Impreza. She just kinda offered for me to take it, and she’d find a cheaper car. Its a 1997 2.2 liter impreza L. 2700 pounds, 140 hp. That’s damn cool of her. she says she knows I’ll be hapier in it since I can bomb around in it all I want and not worry about bearings or transmission issues. She’s right too. I love that car. ITs much lighter than the TS and it shows. the power/weight is pretty close. the L feels much lighter around turns. Once I get the 17mm WRX wagon swaybar in it, it’ll be tons o fun.

Even better, modifying a GC8 (that’s the old bodystyle, for those who don’t speak Subaru) is much cheaper. I can get a real respectable set of struts (KYB AGX) for around 400, and stock RS springs will do just fine on those. I can get RS springs for the cost of shipping. A trip to the pick-apart yard will get me a set of legay rear disk brakes that I can swap out for my drums. I’ve heard those are really nice. Ventilated rear disks are hard to come by. I guess its a task tho. You have to swap out the whole hub. Not just the disk. the e-brake is a little drum inside the disk, so its tough to do it without swapping the whole unit at once. And there’s no way I’ll go through winter without my e-brake (muahahahaha).

Speaking of the pick-apart yard, score one for good ol American elbow grease. For those who don’t know, the pick-apart yard is like a candy store for grown-ups. Its 2 bucks to get in, and you bring your own tools. Its up to $40 for anything you can carry out on your back. more if it has to be dragged. You get in tehre, and its a sea of dead cars as far as the eye can see. some have engine damage and good bodies, and some have collision damage and perfect engines. Every now and then you hear an engine start, and someone cheer in puerto-rican. I digress. I went in to find a turbo. A Garret T3 is exactly what I need to turbocharge my car. That can be found on:

Mercury Cougar XR7
Ford T-bird turbo coupe
Saab 900 turbo
Merkur X4Ti

among others. all of which are early 90s-ish cars. exactly the vintage that shows up in the PA yard. So I head in there. I figure if I don’t find a turbo, I can at least get those rear breaks I mentioned. if nothing else, I can snag some parts that might fetch a price on teh aftermarket. and boy did I. I found a dead t-bird in Americaland. it looked well kept up, and pretty fresh. I figured it was a new resident. I pop the hood to see if it has a turbo. what did I see staring back at me? the letters “3.8” staring back from the noble outlet of the supercharger. This was a Thunderbird SC. They have supercharged V8s. so I go to town. an hour later, I’m carying out a perfectly functional blower. I knew it wouldn’t go well on my car (sad), but I decided to check ebay. the prices on this thing (Eaton M90 supercharger) range from 300-600. I paid 30 bucks. score one for all-you-can-carry. I set the auction at 200, and the reserve at 350. yee haw.

That’s all I got for now. waiting for my car to get out of the shop. I hope someone wants to buy it soon. anyone out there want a like-new 2002 Subaru Impreza TS? asking $15,000. No? I figured as much.

-Igg

So I’m in the market for an SVX again. Since Prity and I are getting a house, I’ll need to cut down a little on the car payments and insurance. I’m looking to spend between 4 and 5 grand on a Subaru SVX. And that’ll leave me another grand to blow on mods, and the rest will be saved into a cushion account.

Brian, you and I talked about me selling the car before and I was a little more… resistant. However, I think getting a house is a worthwhile thing. We’ll be getting my grandparents’ place next to my place in Sterling. 258,000. It would normally sell for around 300,000. We’re getting a great deal.

But I think I can see myself with one of those SVXs. I looked over the stats again. I’m looking at the ones from ’92. the LS-L model. Thankfully it’s the most abundant too 😀 . 0-60 of around 6.9, almost in the 14’s for the 1/4 mile, and top speed of 155 mph. not bad for 5 grand. I just have to toss on a tranny cooler and be careful of the rear bearings.

-Igg