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A week before the first snowfall I managed to get my WRX set up for winter: Kumho all-season tires, less aggressive brake pads (Axxis Metal Master) from StopTech, and STi Springs in all 4 corners. Gina and I drove out to Grand Rapids, enduring conditions from almost dry to near white-out. Let me tell ya… there’s no better test of your driveway mechanic skills than a 300-mile round trip immediately after pulling your car apart and putting it back together. I guess I passed.

- Duane

30 facts about Chuck Norris

1. If you ask Chuck Norris what time it is, he always says, “Two seconds till.” After you ask, “Two seconds to what?” he roundhouse kicks you in the face.
2. Macgyver can build an airplane out of gum and paper clips, but Chuck Norris can kill him and take it.
3. Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light, went back in time, and killed Amelia Earhart while she was flying over the Pacific Ocean.
4. Chuck Norris doesn’t read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
5. Filming on location for Walker: Texas Ranger, Chuck Norris brought a stillborn baby lamb back to life by giving it a prolonged beard rub. Shortly after the farm animal sprang back to life and a crowd had gathered, Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked the animal, breaking its neck, to remind the crew once more that the good Chuck giveth, and the good Chuck, he taketh away.
6. Chuck Norris lost his virginity before his dad did.
7. There are no disabled people in the world. Only those people who have felt the wrath of Chuck Norris.
8. Since 1940, the year Chuck Norris was born, roundhouse kick related deaths have increased 13,000 percent.
9. Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
10. Chuck Norris does not have AIDS but he gives it to people anyway.
11. Chuck Norris has recently changed his middle name to “f***ing.”
12. When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes ever.
13. There is no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard. There is only another fist.
14. There are two kinds of people in this world: people who suck, and Chuck Norris.
15. In the movie “Back to the Future” they used Chuck Norris’ Delorean to go back into time and into the future. When they gave it back to him with a scratch on it he was angry and roundhouse kicked Michael J. Fox, which years later was the cause of his Parkinson’s disease.
16. Chuck Norris spends his Saturdays climbing mountains and meditating in peaceful solitude. Sundays are for oral sex, KFC and Tequila.
17. Chuck Norris always has sex on the first date. Always. The only time he didn’t was in 1941, otherwise known as the beginning of the Holocaust.
18. Chuck Norris can enter up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Select, Start using only his erection.
19. Crop circles are Chuck Norris’s way of telling the world that sometimes corn needs to lie the f*** down.
20. There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live.
21. When Chuck Norris goes to donate blood, he declines the syringe, and instead requests a hand gun and a bucket.
22. Chuck Norris once walked down the street with a massive erection. There were no survivors.
23. In an average living room there are 1,242 objects Chuck Norris could use to kill you, including the room itself.
24. Chuck Norris has two speeds: walk and kill.
25. Chuck Norris is the only man to ever defeat a brick wall in a game of tennis.
26. When Chuck Norris was born, the nurse said, “Holy crap! That’s Chuck Norris!” Then she had had sex with him. At that point, she was the third girl he had slept with.
27. Chuck Norris can set ants on fire with a magnifying glass. At night.
28. It takes Chuck Norris 20 minutes to watch 60 Minutes.
29. Chuck Norris is not lactose intolerant, he just refuses to put up with lactose’s s***.
30. Chuck Norris can divide by zero.

- Duane

Do you spend so much time working on your street machine or race car that you’re loosing track of your progress? Have a ton of parts to buy, but you’re budgeting yourself: spreading the cost over a few months? Have a deadline (new race season or car show) to meet? Get organized! Check out MyGasPedal.com. It’s a site that lets you store a to-do list, keep track of parts you need or recently bought, keep notes, store car-related bookmarks and eventually share your project with others.

Right now, it’s limited to 1 car per account… so those with more cars than common sense will have to create an account per car. The site is easy to use and very responsive. Via AutoBlog

- Duane

Since the “real” racing season is done for the year… at least in Michigan… I’ve been playing a fair amount of racing video games. Gran Turismo 4, Need For Speed Underground 2, Burnout: Take Down, and so on… During those games, installing a part is a simple button click and viola: 3 seconds later and your suspension is upgraded. Today I got a good dose of reality. I replaced the springs in all 4 corners of my WRX with STi parts as well as switched to my winter tires and installed less aggressive brake pads. I’m sure that plenty of folks could have done it in less than the 6 hours it took me. However, working in my 12 foot long driveway in 40 degree weather was a factor.

One thing I discovered about my suspension is that the upper bolt that secures the front strut to the hub is what’s known as a “crash bolt.” I’ve not aware of many factory suspension configurations that make use of crash bolts, as they are likely to be misused by the local mechanic or alignment shop. I must have loosened the left side crash bolt at some point, changing the camber. After discovering these bolts, I made some adjustments and it shows.

Above and beyond the improved stiffness and suspension response, fixing the camber issue has made a huge difference in the stability and drivability of the car. The ride is neither too stiff nor too low. First impressions seem positive, but the approaching winter will be the real test.

- Duane