day road trip + track time, oil & traditions

[knightfan26917]

*

Yesterday, 05/02/2015, had awesome weather for a great road trip (northeastern IL to southwestern IL) with a cousin to visit Country Classic Cars & see some friends in different places on the way back.  I took a few pics, including at CCC (Staunton IL) & Cozy Dog (ate lunch there, Springfield IL, Route 66) … & have them cued to feature on my website in the coming weeks, including some this week for “Tuesday Trip” (7a US central).

 

Meantime … do you take your daily driver to the track?

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/05/01/friday-files-15/

 

& … what oil do you traditionally use?

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/05/02/automotive-daily-104/

 

Speaking of traditions….

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/05/03/daily-dose-savvy-sun-15/

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"Who do you think you're talkin' to?" __ Lee Roy Parnell __ 'What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am?'

[ccap41]

Nice to see people venturing to my part of the country! I'm in southern IL. I've been to Gateway Motorsports Park quite a bit. I was there before they closed it for a year and sold it(only a few years ago). But, yes I have only taken m daily to the track..as it was my only car at the time. First was a '04 Mustang GT and a few years later a '03 Mach 1. Did you go on a Test n' tune night or a Midnight Madness night?

 

As for oil... I'm currently running Pennzoil Ulltra Platinum with a Synthetic Purolator filter..

[knightfan26917]

Cool, ccap!  I'm not sure which night my friend went; tho, I believe he told me it was a test'n'tune.

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"I love to hear the steel belts hummin' on the asphalt" __ Steve Earle __ 'Guitar Town'

[SalesmanSean]

I would look a bit silly with my completely stock '09 Civic with the car seat in the back on the track.  It sounds like a lot of fun, but even if I decided to heck with the chuckles that would come, I just don't have the money to mess with that right now.  It takes all my willpower to not just drive as fast as I can most of the time, so I would love some time on a track eventually with some car.

[knightfan26917]

I don't know, Sean ... I've seen some "odd" cars at the track, from the pics friends post, anyway.....

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

 

"It's hard to slow this swinger down" __ Eric Heatherly __ 'Flowers On The Wall'

[ccap41]

Yeah I've seen about everything run at the track. Honestly, it is just a blast. There were much much slower cars run than your '09 Civic. If you like speed I would still suggest it. Plus while you're waiting you get to bs with other car guys around you.

[SalesmanSean]

I'll keep it in mind.  I don't know if there's anything close by other than just a dirt track or two.  I know where some drag strips are, but they're a bit of a drive.

[ccap41]

I've always wished there was a road course within a reasonable drive from where I'm at but all we have here is a bunch of dirt tracks and Gateway Motorsports Park(hey have a drag strip and an oval track the NASCAR truck series and Nationwide series run on. I wish the Cup series would come here.

[SalesmanSean]

I've always wished there was a road course within a reasonable drive from where I'm at but all we have here is a bunch of dirt tracks and Gateway Motorsports Park(hey have a drag strip and an oval track the NASCAR truck series and Nationwide series run on. I wish the Cup series would come here.

See, now, I love some drag racing, and road courses and all, but I just can't do watching ovals.  I've tried, but I cannot get into NASCAR, though when I've worked for companies that had cars I did at least watch a little.

[ccap41]

I can completely understand why people can't get into NASCAR..but I love it. It is the only form of racing(on TV) that they actually bump and make contact without an instant wreck. Okay, I guess motocross is in that group too.. But the competition in NASCAR as opposed to any other form of racing is by far and away the best. The cars aren't the fastest, most aero dynamic, lightest.. but they still rock big american V8s, they will bump into eachother, fights every once in awhile.. Most other forms of auto racing there isn't 1/3 of the field competing for a win each week. There are the occasinoal dominating wins but for the most part there is just great competition.

[cp-the-nerd]

I've taken my car to the track. Had to get a baseline and then check the progress of the tune I'm developing. Went from 14.7 @ 96 mph stock to a pretty respectable 14.36 @ 98. After a few more mods I'll take it back one last time and I'll be satisfied. I'd love to crack 100 mph.

 

I've also road tripped 500 miles away to Myrtle Beach where it cracked 30 mpg both ways on flat highway averaging 70 mph, an all-time high the car. I typically get 27-29 in less ideal conditions and/or average speeds up to 75.

 

I use Mobil 1 5W-30 and shoot for 5000-6000 mile changes. Mobil 1 is what GM used from factory before their "Dexos" blend and when the 3.6L VVT was a Cadillac exclusive. Conventional gets consumed faster and degrades quicker, which exacerbates the weak points of the engine design, like the timing chain tensioners.

[SalesmanSean]

I've taken my car to the track. Had to get a baseline and then check the progress of the tune I'm developing. Went from 14.7 @ 96 mph stock to a pretty respectable 14.36 @ 98. After a few more mods I'll take it back one last time and I'll be satisfied. I'd love to crack 100 mph.

 

I've also road tripped 500 miles away to Myrtle Beach where it cracked 30 mpg both ways on flat highway averaging 70 mph, an all-time high the car. I typically get 27-29 in less ideal conditions and/or average speeds up to 75.

 

I use Mobil 1 5W-30 and shoot for 5000-6000 mile changes. Mobil 1 is what GM used from factory before their "Dexos" blend and when the 3.6L VVT was a Cadillac exclusive. Conventional gets consumed faster and degrades quicker, which exacerbates the weak points of the engine design, like the timing chain tensioners.

Off topic, sorry, but I always really liked Myrtle Beach.  When I was in the Army at Ft. Bragg we went down there quite a bit for concerts at the House of Blues.  That place gets especially packed during their bike weeks.  It's a bit weird ordering drinks at a restaurant down there, though, because they can't keep the big bottles and just pour like you would expect from the bar, they have to bring the little airline sized bottles to your table and make it all (or at least they did).

 

Back on topic:  Sounds like your car is improving well, and wasn't too shabby to begin with.  Good luck hitting that 100, it sounds like it should definitely be doable.

[cp-the-nerd]

 

I've taken my car to the track. Had to get a baseline and then check the progress of the tune I'm developing. Went from 14.7 @ 96 mph stock to a pretty respectable 14.36 @ 98. After a few more mods I'll take it back one last time and I'll be satisfied. I'd love to crack 100 mph.

 

I've also road tripped 500 miles away to Myrtle Beach where it cracked 30 mpg both ways on flat highway averaging 70 mph, an all-time high the car. I typically get 27-29 in less ideal conditions and/or average speeds up to 75.

 

I use Mobil 1 5W-30 and shoot for 5000-6000 mile changes. Mobil 1 is what GM used from factory before their "Dexos" blend and when the 3.6L VVT was a Cadillac exclusive. Conventional gets consumed faster and degrades quicker, which exacerbates the weak points of the engine design, like the timing chain tensioners.

Off topic, sorry, but I always really liked Myrtle Beach.  When I was in the Army at Ft. Bragg we went down there quite a bit for concerts at the House of Blues.  That place gets especially packed during their bike weeks.  It's a bit weird ordering drinks at a restaurant down there, though, because they can't keep the big bottles and just pour like you would expect from the bar, they have to bring the little airline sized bottles to your table and make it all (or at least they did).

 

Back on topic:  Sounds like your car is improving well, and wasn't too shabby to begin with.  Good luck hitting that 100, it sounds like it should definitely be doable.

 

 

My parents own two weeks in the early Fall at an ocean front Marriott resort, last year was my first time joining them in Myrtle. My girlfriend and I really liked it. Tons of things to do and places to go, lots of secret places to get great food, and the resort itself blew us away: multiple pools and outdoor bars, everything is classy, the people are nice.

 

As far as my car goes, it does what I need it to. There's a magnaflow catback exhaust I want, and a pair of mods on the intake side, combined I should hit the 100 mph mark without sacrificing the car's good qualities or hurting fuel economy. Not looking to rice this thing out at all. The stock exhaust is too silent and very restrictive, the aftermarket catback SHOULD be a tasteful improvement. I haven't heard the Malibu specifically, but I like magnaflow's products for the 3.6L Camaro and 3.0L Equinox/Terrain.