The Ohio Random Thread... aka We Should Probably Be Working

question for more experienced peoples:

I have a 4 ton craftsman hydraulic jack, it's leaking bad... is it worth fixing or should I just get a new jack (smaller and cheaper)?
 
Do they sell a rebuild kit? If it's leaking, the only thing that'll fix it is new seals.
 
Do they sell a rebuild kit? If it's leaking, the only thing that'll fix it is new seals.

haven't found one, people say they have to take it apart and find generic seals at ACE or something but results are not consistent. Don't know if there are shops that provided this kind of service. A new jack would be like $60 bucks, so I'm not sure if it's worth it fixing a 4 ton jack for a miata
 
Does anyone know if Mazda FS cranks are capible of being turned down?
 
I'd suggest just using what you have until you have a few events under your belt... that way you're not dropping a metric s*** ton of money into something you'll do maybe twice a year.

I want a set so that I don't have to worry about wearing out the new set of $500 tires that I just bought. The winter set won't be used anymore so it will be an even trade. The wheels have already found a home and I'm sure that someone will want to pick up the set of Blizzaks. The tires I'm looking to purchase are used and will be used for learning how to drive. I'm not buying R-compounds because I want to learn the limits of the car on street tires first. Should be fun!
 
Haha I actually don't have a track setup right now. The wheels on Evans p5 were my track wheels. I only have my summer set and winter set. I'm getting rid of my winter set since I will be buying Evans stock winter set for the probe and wont need one for the speed. I did some searching online last night and I think I know what I'm going with. Still on the lookout for the exact tires I want though :). Going with 235/45-17

I have tires that will meet your requirements, I have TOYO 888's that are 235/40/17, I will send you pics of what I have. I would not recommend that you go to slicks right away, as they'll cover up mistakes...learn on street tires until you have reached their limitations before moving on.
 
I have TOYO 888's that are 235/40/17, I will send you pics of what I have. I would not recommend that you go to slicks right away, as they'll cover up mistakes...learn on street tires until you have reached their limitations before moving on.

Good advice, but the R888s aren't a slick, they're a DOT-R compound, and honestly one of the slowest examples (comparable probably most to an NT-01, even the RA1 is faster). Once you get some events under your belt, if you really must go to an R-comp, the R888's not a bad "transition" tire, as far as your options go; ie: you won't do something stupid and burn through a set of $1000+ Hoosier A6s in a handful of runs.
 
I have tires that will meet your requirements, I have TOYO 888's that are 235/40/17, I will send you pics of what I have. I would not recommend that you go to slicks right away, as they'll cover up mistakes...learn on street tires until you have reached their limitations before moving on.

Good advice, but the R888s aren't a slick, they're a DOT-R compound, and honestly one of the slowest examples (comparable probably most to an NT-01, even the RA1 is faster). Once you get some events under your belt, if you really must go to an R-comp, the R888's not a bad "transition" tire, as far as your options go; ie: you won't do something stupid and burn through a set of $1000+ Hoosier A6s in a handful of runs.

Thanks for the advice guys. I actually scavenged the internet all day today for a good set of tires and ended up with these:

2012-05-14225334.jpg


Continental ContisportContact 2 in 235/45-17. 1 generation old but it received great reviews and tested an overall 2nd out of 11 tires in tirerack's tests. It's a max performance summer tire very similar to the DW's I have on the summer wheels and I think they will be a perfect set to learn on. I was looking for a set of R888's or something along those lines but I believe these will be a great starting point.

The set has approximately 3,000 miles on them and were treated very well by the previous owner. Got the set for $300.


Marlon, next time I need tires, I will be giving you a call. For now, I believe I will be asking you to help me with my driving once everything is in place.

My next action items are the actual wheels, a helmet, and installing the SS lines and pads. I was dead set on getting the exact same wheels that I have now but the 17" comes only in 17x7.5. From what I've read the it is recommended to do between 8" and 9" wide for the best contact patch on a 235 series tire. When the 215/50-17 Blizzaks are taken off the winter wheels, they will be posted up for sale.
 
Soooo..........everyone's got their track game setup; track tires, stainless steel lines, race brake pads, DOT4 fluid, helmets, etc...

Minus the NASA event in which Evan#2 seemed to be the only person planning to hit that up, how come I haven't seen any plans being made for track days??? Are you guys just getting ready for spirited parade laps at Mid-O? Or did I just miss the track day threads in the Ohio section? (I don't frequent there often...lol)
 
Can't make plans for the track day until I have everything silly. No use in paying $300 for a hyperdrive when I don't have a helmet yet. Besides, I believe I'll start out doing a bit if Autocross first. It'll be cheaper and a great way to learn.
 
That's the dumbest thing ever...

You can absolutely make plans for a track day before having everything!!! Chances are, the event will be weeks out, leaving you plenty of time to get your stuff in order! I signed up for BeaveRun last Oct., then got some pads and had DaveB help me swap DOT4. :D
 
Meh, I'd rather not schedule something until I know I have everything ready. Just like I don't like to pay for things with credit unless I have money in my bank account to pay it right back.
 
I'm just trying to get my car daily driver ready. I think the timing might be off cause it wants to idle around 500 with spurts of jumping up to 2k and the occasional stall when at idle.
 
"Naa man, I can't hit up the autocross until I lower the car / install the turbo / get it tuned / install my head unit / install race seats / whatever totally unrelated." Just do the damn thing.
 
Good advice, but the R888s aren't a slick, they're a DOT-R compound, and honestly one of the slowest examples (comparable probably most to an NT-01, even the RA1 is faster). Once you get some events under your belt, if you really must go to an R-comp, the R888's not a bad "transition" tire, as far as your options go; ie: you won't do something stupid and burn through a set of $1000+ Hoosier A6s in a handful of runs.

I know the R-888's are not slicks, my thinking that he can use them to learn on as opposed to a UHP summer tire, as he will get a better response/feel if y ou will on track.
 
Here's the thing that drives me nuts. "I'm getting the car ready for the track." I've heard that line many times from different people over the last two years. Meanwhile, go to a NASA event, and you'll see a ******* stock Honda Fit on factory tires out there. Dude is getting the coveted seat time that everyone wants, but aren't doing anything about it. So, the way I've always seen it is that you can spend spend spend, build build build, and MAYBE go out on track. Or... just run what you have, as is, learn it, and then build upon that.

The track day check list for people like most of us who may have only a couple of events under our belt should be:

1) Is the car mechanically sound?
2) Do I have necessary safety gear (helmet / proper clothing)?
3) Can I afford to do this?
4) Where do I sign up?

Christ, until recently Tom was out there in a bone stock RX8.

But I know... none of this post means dick because I'm not out there putting my cars on track. But at the same time... I'm not saying that I'm building them for that purpose.
 
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