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Monday, October 29, 2012

Hold on to your hats

Sometimes it's hard to keep track of our lives, and our accomplishments. Photos, trophies, and other keepsakes seem to be one of the ways we can remember great stories and experiences we have had in the past. For Machine Zealots, hats seemed to be one of the ways that we kept track of some past accomplishments.

The top two hats were earned back when Machine Zealots was working on Project Spades V6.

The three bottom hats were earned since Project Impulse started.

Stillen sent me their hat and t-shirt back when I helped them promote their new 2010 Camaro V6 polyurethane splitter. Hurst Shifters sent me their hat and t-shirt back when I helped install and review their paddle shifter kit. Rally Armor sent me their hat and t-shirt when I installed and reviewed the Rally Armor mudflaps on the STI. Tireland's hat was one of the prizes for getting first place at the Corvette autocross event.

So what about the hat in the middle?

MZ Hat: Front View.

MZ Hat: Back View.

The Machine Zealots hat was actually made by a fan of the show! He made this hat, contacted me, and gave it to me. It was a very kind gesture, and I was very happy to accept this. I'll be sure to wear it on the show or even when I go to certain events. Thanks a lot Jason!

Only time will tell what the future will bring, but I am very excited for it!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Winter is coming


This year has been the most productive Machine Zealots' year yet. We've attended many auto shows, and for the first time, took the STI out to autocross. I've personally learned a lot about the car, mostly driving techniques, but there is still so much more to learn. However, now that summer has come to a close, it's time to learn about the car in another set of shoes. Before swapping to the winter wheels though, I took the time to thoroughly wash and clean them.


Although the water was freezing cold, I felt that it was worth the extra effort to clean these wheels while they were off. These tires are so soft compared to the Bridgestone Potenza RE070s, everything feels less responsive. However, these soft tires make it a much easier daily driver. To be honest, I actually miss these silver BBS wheels!


There was barely any snow last year, but I hope this winter will be filled with snow everywhere. I really want to drive the STI in fresh snow. I also really want to find some snow filled mountain roads to drive and practice on, like those insane snow touge events they hold in Japan!