New ball joint

While inspecting the car during my last oil change I discovered my right front lower ball joint is loose.

This is something I'm not very surprised by as I replaced the left side 2 years ago, and the right one was still OE. I will do my best to pick a new one up today, that way I can install it tomorrow.

Preparing to play in the dirt.

I want to play in the dirt, RWD style. So Im going to take the car rally Xing.

There are some things I need to get fixed for the car to pass tech, here is a quick list.

Battery hold down, I have one, I just need to reinstall it.

Mud flaps, I dont think I need them to pass tech, but my paint wont like me if I dont get some.

Tires, I can run the snow tires if it comes down to it, but I will be keeping a lookout for some decent 15" all season tires to put on my other wheels.

Harness bar, I passed autocross tech with it once, but I dont want to push it, I need to find out the rules.

Boost, Ide like to turn it down, I spin the tires enough.

Ride height, I want to go as high as I can, if I cant get enough height out of the Megan's, I may make some spacers for the KYBs, and just run those.

Skit plate, my factory plastic splash shield is mostly gone anyway, so I need a metal one, Im not looking for anything that I can slide over boulders with, just something to keep gravel out of the engine bay. Anyone have any large road signs laying around?

I should also check the brakes, my front pads are about due, Id like to change them before they begin grinding. Id like to upgrade to Q45 brakes, but I cant afford it right now, so pad slap it is.

Id like to change my hood vent, I want to make it bigger. I would like to cut a hole about the size of a stock EVO vent, then Id like to build a box to act as a reverse scoop/rain guard.

Oil light scare.

Something very unnerving happened on my way home from work yesterday. As I was entering onto 169 I noticed one of my idiot lights flicker on for just a second, I just caught it out of the corner of my eye. A few seconds later it clicked back on. I don't know how many of you can understand the feeling, but having your oil light come on a 70 mph demands a quick reaction. Clutch in, key off, hazards on, both eyes on the oil pressure gauge, all in less than a second. As I coast up an exit my mind is racing, then it hits me. I don't have an oil pressure sensor, how can I have an oil light, the gauge was reading normal pressure, I wasn't having oil problems, I was having wiring problems.

Lets just say the ride home with the oil light flickering was a very uncomfortable trip. Once home it took me all of a minute to find the wire, and move it away from the frame rail.

Coilovers

I finally saved up the funds to replace the yucky suspension on the S14. I picked up a set of brand new Megan Racing street coilovers.

I installed them without a hitch.

I actually spent more time tweaking the ride height and alignment then I did installing.

I currently have the car pretty low, and I played around with the adjustable dampening a little.

On full stiff, I might as well not have suspension, its like riding on blocks of wood. On full soft its really nice, there is more noise over bumps than the previous setup, due to solid upper mounts, but the ride quality is greatly improved, it takes small and medium bumps in stride, and even moderate undulations dont upset the balance. I have yet to truely push it around corners, any time I turn in hard it rubs on the front splash guards. I did notice that bump steer is significantly worse with the car this low.