September 27, 2012

Sticky Stuff Underway!

his week BME was able to source a vinyl shop that will be helping us out with all of our promotional and track day vinyl needs! John at One Cut Decals & Signs has been kind enough to offer us some special sponsor arrangements for our promotional stickers and track vinyl. He will also be our #1 source for our custom design track vinyl that we will be offering in our product line!

Give him a shout if you're looking for anything from sponsor stickers to magnetic race numbers... Custom Vinyl Decals - Home

Here are some of the vinyl goodies that were delivered today! Matte white and matte black vinyl will be used for our promotional stickers. 6" BME font logo will be included with all BME product orders. Larger font stickers, monkey heads and team BME logos will be used for our race cars and BME sponsor vehicles.


Here are some test pressings of the sticker designs we're going to have. These are not the "final" final, but this is essentially what we're going to have with some minor tweaks.

  

September 24, 2012

CCSCC Autocross - 09/22-23

This past weekend I had a chance to take the WRX out to an autocross for the first time in a few months. With the recent move, it was difficult to set aside the time to go out for an event. Now that I'm pretty situated, I was able to look into upcoming events and link up in my old stomping grounds.

The event was hosting by the Champaign County Sports Car Club (CCSCC). The event was CARmageddon 2012, which was a two-day event consisting of some great competition. CCSCC has been around for more than 50 years, with some of the most dedicated members I've ever encountered. The club is having an amazing year, posting record numbers at just about every event this year.

The WRX engine and braking felt great both days of the event. Acceleration was exactly what I had hoped out of the mighty little 68HTA turbo, and the brake did a great job of slowing the car down when I mashed on them. The newest addition to the brakes setup is a TIC MBC Brace, which provided a day/night difference in pedal feel and brake response. No more "wet sponge" feel when hitting the brakes. One thing that still needs attention is the car's suspension. With the corner speed capabilities of the vehicle and RS3's, I really need a higher spring rate and better damping. The obvious choices for upgrade are AST and JRZ. Although, the premium cost of JRZ Suspension may be a little bit hard to justify for the AutoX WRX at this time. AST 4150's will probably be the weapon of choice for the 2013 season.

Another thing that hurt my performance at the event was the rear swaybar. When we replaced the old Perrin endlinks with Kartboy, I decided to put the rsb at the stiffest setting. This was my first event with it like this, and the car was far too tail happy. I believe I spun the car 6 times over the course of the weekend... Anyone who is an avid autocrosser knows that you just can't be competitive when you're flushing half of your runs for something like this.

Anyway, enough rambling and onto some pictures... Thanks to Kevin V. from the Illinois Auto Club for taking these.



September 19, 2012

BME Radio: 09/19/12

Song of the Day

Here's something a little more relaxed to listen to. It's mid-week, and only one more full work day until my day off on Friday and trip to Champaign, IL for an autocross weekend! Reviews on the event(s) will be posted sometime next week, and should include some videos and pictures.

In BME land, development on our new products is moving along, and we're VERY excited to have received the first prototype of our Race version catch can! We expect to roll out several group buys in the coming months, so keep an eye out for those! We have also been working hard to convert all of our logos into vector format, which will allow us to print vinyl in any size we need, quickly and easily!

"Missed the Boat" by Modest Mouse


September 18, 2012

BME Radio: 09/18/12

Song of the Day

I just spent the last few hours working on a vinyl design for a client, then converting our battle monkey head logo into vector format. I really enjoy doing this more than finance... Anyway, here is some music to jam to.

"The Impaler" by The Acacia Strain


September 17, 2012

BME Radio: 09/17/12

Song of the Day

After a long day of physical asset reconciliation, I want to break some physical assets. This song should help.

Enjoy!

"The Sound of Truth" by As I Lay Dying


September 13, 2012

BME Radio: 09/13/12

Song of the Day

I rocked out to the earlier today while at my desk...

"Grand Scene for a Color Film" by Norma Jean


September 11, 2012

BME Radio: 09/11/12

Song of the Day

In honor of 9/11 I am posting a song by Thrice that was written about the events of that day. In memory of all of those who lost their lives that day, and to all of the soldiers who fight for our freedom every day.

"Broken Lungs" by Thrice


September 7, 2012

BME Radio: 09/07/12

Song of the Day

I saw these guys live a year ago, very intense performers. Seeing them play is more about the experience than it is about them playing studio quality music. Definitely a lot of fun!

Have a good weekend everyone!

"The City" by The Chariot


September 6, 2012

BME Radio: 09/06/12

Song of the Day

Yesterday was crazy... Not much else to say about it. At least the week is almost over. Anyone have anything fun going on?

"Breaking My Own Heart" by Haste The Day


"Janet's Planet" by Haste The Day


September 4, 2012

BME Radio: 09/04/2012

Song of the Day

Even though yesterday was a holiday, I will post 2 songs today to make up for it. I hope everyone had a nice extended weekend!

"I'm the best at ruining my life" by From Autumn To Ashes


"Short stories with tragic endings" by From Autumn To Ashes


Not Much Stuff To Strut

DIY: Strut Replacement

Here is a walkthrough on how to swap out a single strut on a GD Impreza. If you're installing coilovers, this would be much quicker and easier to do. In the case at hand, the suspension that I wanted is backordered for another month or two and I need the car drivable for now. So, I replaced the bent strut with a boring OEM replacement, KYB Excel-G

What you need:

Impact wrench and sockets (or hand tools)
Jack and stands
Spring compressor (if needed, lowered springs will not need this)
New strut
Passthrough wrench set, or vice grips
Allen keys (I forget which size it was)

Here are some of the tools you're gonna need








With the car fully on the ground, loosen the top nut of the strut (BUT DO NOT REMOVE!!)


Jack up THE ENTIRE FRONT OF THE CAR. This is important so that you take the tension off of the front swaybar to give you room to work. Remove the wheel and expose the full suspension assembly. Unbolt the brake line and abs/wheel speed sensor line


Remove the bolts from the lower bracket and the hub






Remove the 3 small nuts from the top of the strut tower and slowly pull the full assembly out of the wheel well




If needed, compress the spring using the tool you rented from Autozone (or wherever)




Once the spring is compressed, fully remove the top hat and pull it off of the strut. If you don't have an impact gun to zip it off, you may need to use your passthrough wrench and an allen key


Bent strut housing compared to the new one... Chicago salt is nassssty!


Reassemble the new strut


Put everything back together, and do your best to get the alignment set up on the new corner. But unless you really know what you're doing with the alignment, you should still bring the car to a good alignment shop to avoid burning through your tires quickly.





Do Something "Diff"-erent

DIY: Rear Differential Fluid Flush and Change

Changing out the rear diff fluid can be a little bit intimidating if you've never done it before. The alignment of the holes make it impossible to pour the fluid into the differential if it is mounted onto the car.

What you need:
1 Quart Differential Fluid (We use 75w90 Amsoil Severe Gear in the WRX)
1/2" drive wrench
Vacuum Pump or Siphon Pump
Oil Pan
Paper Towels
Jack and Stands (depending on how low you are)
*I also had a 1/2 quart of leftover Severe Gear which I used to flush out any residual

Approximate time: 30 minutes

Jack up the car, and get everything prepared


Remove the lower drain plug and let the old fluid drain into the pan (or in this case, an old sand castle pail. Yes, moving does suck because you lose all of your stuff). Inspect the plug for any large metal shavings. It is magnetic, so any residue should be attached to it. Wipe it of clean, then set it aside for later.






Once the fluid is flowing slowly, screw the pump onto the quart of fluid (if you're going to flush out with an open bottle, put the pump on that guy first)


Pump a few ounces (of the old fluid) into the diff and let the fluid flow back out of the drain hole.





Once you are happy with amount of fluid you've drained from the diff, plug up the bottom and pump the fresh quart into the top hole.





Slowly fill the diff until fluid begins to drip out of the top fill hole. Then clean up any fluid that dripped onto the assembly and bolt her back up!