Days 4-7 (Savannah, GA to home)

Se-R Convention

Roebling Road (Friday)

Usually there are one or two casualties at the convention track day.  Roebling Road was a slaughterhouse for SR20 engines.  The track wasn’t too technical a course- one long straight and no real chicanes made it a great course for beginners, but it still offered some challenges to more experienced racers with all the long sweepers.  Unfortunately, those sweepers can also lead to oil starvation as these engines may experience low oil pickup around the long curves. Baffle plates could combat this issue, but we joked that next year’s track event may include an oil inspection as part of the tech. Oil should be checked at the beginning and end of the track day and between every session. An oil pressure gauge would be especially helpful to make sure your engine is not running dry at any point on the track.

The first victim I heard was a blue turbo 200sx coming off the back sweeper into the front straight. That gut-wrenching, distinctive ting ting ting sound could feasibly be a rattling heat shield, but after it passed the second time David Evans and I exchanged that knowing glance of the beginnings of rod knock. Then they started dropping like flies- a black Classic, a white G20, another Classic- I stopped counting. I heard another two developed rod knock on their way home. And for those of you still not well versed in the sounds of rod knock, throw a few ball bearings into a tin can and shake. If your engine starts sounding like that, some heavy weight oil and easy driving may get you home before you unwittingly fabricate a set of rod paperweights. Rod knock gets progressively worse and louder with higher rpm. I predict a bullish SR20 engine market for the next month or two.

The other theme of the day seemed to be destroyed brake lines. Both Torry Skurski and Joe Schnitzius had to pay a visit to a hydraulic line fabrication shop during the day, missing out on valuable track time. Torry had brake problems at the Vegas convention as well but somehow convinced a dealership to repair them under warranty. The dealer has since blacklisted him from ever claiming a brake problem under warranty again. All engine/car problems aside, there was no mating between any cars on the track and not a single person exited the track without a wide grin on their face. It’s also fun to see the excitement of track “virgins” finally satiating their drives.

Touristy Savannah (Saturday)

I personally love having a free day at each convention.  Some people bitch about wasting a day doing nothing car related or they aren’t interested in the dyno or ¼ mile tracks that some people do attend, blah, blah, blah.  But most of the convention attendees I know (this was my 8^th) are good friends from all over the country and the free day gives us an opportunity to explore some part of the country we’ve never been to with people we may only see once a year.  I have many memories cruising Rodeo Drive and Malibu in search of real boobs at the 2005 convention in California, or taking pictures in front of the Millenium Bean and riding the ferris wheel in Chicago at the 2007 convention.  We have also wandered through Central Park, bar hopped in downtown Birmingham Alabama, “borrowed” the hotel van in Phoenix Arizona, discovered Austin Texas really is weird (anyone remember the bikini clad transvestite at the street corner?), and gambled in Vegas. 

This year there were quite a few less “lifers” but we did wander downtown Savannah in a double digit group, walking the cobblestone streets by the River, munching on homemade pralines and buying shotglasses. We had lunch at Moon River, the only brewpub in Savannah… slow service, nothing special about the beers or food but I can at least check this one off the list. We had just about finished walking the shops and watching freight liners transport huge cargo up the river when the skies darkened and an alarm sounded at about a million decibels, alerting us to an impending nuclear attack from the Cold War days. Well, not quite… just a lil’ tornado and heavy thunderstorm warning. We figured we’d call it a day and get back to the car before becoming unwilling participants in a wet t-shirt contest Kevin Hart would have undoubtedly won. Nissan guru Mike Kojima has a history with tornados and as he was not in attendance, we messaged him of our impending doom, to which he replied “Hide, but you’re probably safe if you’re nowhere near a trailer park.” A swirling vortex of wind, cows, and corrugated metal roofs never materialized but we did get hammered by some crazy thunder and lightning accompanied by a monsoon of rain. Luckily, we were already wetting our thirst by the hotel bar when that rolled in.

Picnic (Sunday)

The picnic got off to a slow start as people from the hotel slept their hangovers off while attendees of the picnic alone drove to Savannah that morning, but by the end of it, there were about 75 cars and twice that many people milling around. The weather was great, low 70s and sunny, with tall wispy trees preventing the breezes from whipping around too much. Unfortunately, that also meant hungry insects came out of winter hibernation and feasted on our group while gnats circled our faces and flew up our nostrils for a tour of our digestive systems. No matter, good times were had by all. The food was Southern grub- some peel and eat shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and veggies bake, cornbread, and pecan pie with sweet tea to wash it down. Prizes were awarded for “Best of…” and lots of lucky convention raffle ticket holders walked away with a prize.[shameless plug] If you didn’t get an opportunity to pick up my book, you can get yourself a copy here [/shameless plug]. Thanks to Joe and his family for making “Savannah 2008” happen! I can’t wait until next year- Wisconsin 2009 or Bust!

 The Long Way Home

Leaving after the picnic, it was a 4 ½ hour drive to Winston-Salem, NC for the night.Foothills Brewing was the perfect spot for a late night meal (Brewhouse Cuban) and beer sampler, which included Salem Gold, Pilot Mountain Ale, Torch Pilsner, Total Eclipse Stout, Hoppyum IPA, Rainbow Trout ESB, and the Foothills Red. I also ordered a Seeing Double IPA, a delicious citrus and bitter hopped brew. I didn’t notice this at other North Carolina brewpubs throughout the trip, but the tobacco producing state hasn’t yet banned smoking in restaurants. While the beers and food were good, they would have tasted better if a couple sitting nearby wasn’t sucking face with a pack of cancer sticks.

The 8 hour drive the rest of the way home the next day included one last stop at Cally’s (formerly Calhoun’s until an infringement lawsuit) Brewpub in Harrisonburg, Virginia. My expectations of the place rose when I realized this town is also home to James Madison University. Though underage students drown in hard liquor and PBR, grad students and faculty sometimes have pickier tastes about food and drink. Both the food (Hot Italian Panini) and beers were right on tap. Every single beer was true to style and taste, although the Irish Red was a little too much artificially red, but it didn’t affect the flavor. It’s not exactly close to much else for me but if you’re passing through, it’s worth the trip.