Crossroads

Crashing my car has been a very unique experience. Although I walked away basically unscathed, it did give me a mental battering. It forced me to consider a number of things, one of which was whether motorsport was the right hobby for me. It's expensive, dangerous, and time consuming. The crash seemed like a crossroad - a chance to get out, leave it all behind and buy something sedate, or to press on and take some steps down the road to participating again.

If you've read my last post, you know my mind was made up before I really thought about it.

I did, however find that while at the "crossroads", I spent a bit of time reflecting on what I love about motorsport, and also what I love about the Silvia. It's no coincidence i'll soon have owned four of them consecutively.

Motorsport. I guess it's one of those things that you don't really get until you give it a crack yourself. It's a risky, almost illogical past time, and yet I spend hours reading, talking, researching, and spending on the hobby. My squash racket cost 150 bucks, and will probably last 3 or 4 years. Prepping the Silvia for an hour of track time? Hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Scary when you think about it.

So why do I do it? Becuase no other sport I've tried compares. Apart from the concentration and coordination required, the challenge of extracting every bit of potential from myself and the car is huge. It's one of those challenges that is ongoing too, because every time you achieve your goal, the bar moves higher - there is always something to improve. And whilst there's no question that the more money you have the faster you will go, you can still learn so much about driving in the most modest of cars.

The S13 Silvia is the definition of said modest car. It's a daggy looking thing with the classic late 80's box shape and a big long bonnet. From the factory, it's got average handling and average power. It screams "entry level" sports car, and yet, in the hands of a capable driver, it can be bloody fast.

Something about the Silvia has captured the imagination of the Japanese motoring world. It may be an ugly bit of kit, but people saw it's potential - it's light, it's rear wheel drive, and it's turbocharged. Today, it's got one of the largest aftermarket parts bases of any car on the planet. They may be a modest factory performer, but with parts from big brother Skyline and some aftermarket help, they transform into cut price tarmac weapons.



And that is why i'm now embarking on my fourth S13 build up. For a young guy on a budget, there's really nothing that compares. The only other car in the price range i'd seriously consider is an Mx-5, but for a guy who is 6'6" it's just not going to happen.

My philosophy will always be to not modify the car beyond my skill level. With Silvia Mk4, I am aiming to replicate Mk3 as best as I can, but up the safety level substantially.

A crash will change your priorities like that.

People have said that the S13 is becoming the Datsun 1600 of the 21st century, becuase there are a million of them around and they are the budget motorsport workhorse. I reckon that's a pretty good analogy, and I really couldn't ask for more from my weekend warrior.

Crash @ SSCC Supersprint: Eastern Creek, 18th April 2010

Well, Sunday was certainly a memorable one, but not for the right reasons. I had a mishap in the early afternoon and am now without a car.

Up until lunch time, things were going well. I was getting more comfortable with the layout, and enjoying the improved braking performance. I improved my pb by over a second down to a 1:56.9 but In the first session after lunch, the day got a lot worse.

Turn one is the fastest corner on the circuit, and also my favourite. If you get it right, it feels great and you can make up a good amount of time. If you get it wrong, the speeds are high so it can be unforgiving. The incident unfolded pretty quickly, but in short, I should have braked a little more after the straight and carried a little less speed into turn one. Becuase I was travelling too fast, I ran wide on the exit of turn one, which put my right rear wheel on the grass. This unsettled the car a lot, and I suddenly found myself spearing toward the inside of the track.

In an attempt to recover, I countersteered back toward the track but it was too late at the speed, and the rear end flicked around, and the car speared off the track backward. After that, it felt like forever before I hit the wall. I remember checking my left rear view mirror and seeing the wall approaching.

Then, finally, the hit. Rear left first, then front left. In an eerie twist, the old owner sent me a video - he had a similar mishap on the same corner. Up until the point he recovers, the incident is almost identical:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AapVJcxgS5k

As you could imagine, the car is worse for wear. I would love to get straight back "on the wagon" so to speak, but this is an expensive hobby and it might take a little longer than that. I've had amazing support from club members and mates, offering to help with repairs, so we shall see. Thank you again to all of you.

I've already considered a few options and the most likely is to transfer the undamaged parts to a new shell in an attempt to get something roadworthy in the shortest possible time. It will not be as pretty or as fast as Silvia Mk3, but if it keeps me out there, I will be absolutely chuffed. I'll be sure to write plenty about the build up process for Silvia Mk4 (or should I say, 3.5?), so stay tuned.