Cars
When bad things happen to good cars
2010.06.06 11:23 PM
...or what happens when people think red lights are optional. 
Unfortunately, it looks like my budding autocross career will be temporarily put on hold. I was waiting to turn left at an intersection and was primed accordingly. When the light turned amber, traffic appeared to slow, then it went red and I proceeded. Somebody either thought he could make it through in time or didn't see his red light.
Most important is that everybody walked away from this. Though the parties were obviously shaken, we were calm and civil and there was no animosity. It's a shame we had to meet this way - him and his buddy seem like really nice guys. They were able to drive away (impact point middle of the front of the car), but my car was completely un-driveable (impact point front passenger corner). It was a challenge just to get her off the road onto the shoulder.
Two witnesses gave me their contact information confirming that they saw him run the red light, which is good for me and my record. Sadly, that doesn't help my baby any... I'm glad I got to take her out to autocross school and the Sunday event last month at least! Perhaps you folks will have a better idea, but this looks like an awful lot of damage on a car that's getting up there in years and down there in value. It is the sporty Sentra, but it's still a Sentra. I fear a write-off is in my future.
I hope Autopac can save my beloved Spec V. She brought me such joy every time I took her out for a spin. If not, well, I've got something else in mind...
Here are the after pics. The before pics are from the May event with me finishing in last place by time but with a first place grin on my face.
The Carnage
Unfortunately, it looks like my budding autocross career will be temporarily put on hold. I was waiting to turn left at an intersection and was primed accordingly. When the light turned amber, traffic appeared to slow, then it went red and I proceeded. Somebody either thought he could make it through in time or didn't see his red light.
Most important is that everybody walked away from this. Though the parties were obviously shaken, we were calm and civil and there was no animosity. It's a shame we had to meet this way - him and his buddy seem like really nice guys. They were able to drive away (impact point middle of the front of the car), but my car was completely un-driveable (impact point front passenger corner). It was a challenge just to get her off the road onto the shoulder.
Two witnesses gave me their contact information confirming that they saw him run the red light, which is good for me and my record. Sadly, that doesn't help my baby any... I'm glad I got to take her out to autocross school and the Sunday event last month at least! Perhaps you folks will have a better idea, but this looks like an awful lot of damage on a car that's getting up there in years and down there in value. It is the sporty Sentra, but it's still a Sentra. I fear a write-off is in my future.
I hope Autopac can save my beloved Spec V. She brought me such joy every time I took her out for a spin. If not, well, I've got something else in mind...
Here are the after pics. The before pics are from the May event with me finishing in last place by time but with a first place grin on my face.
The Carnage
A new high revving activity
2010.05.24 03:27 PM
This past week I finally took part in something I had been curious about for many years but never actually tried - autocross!
There was a Level 1 training session this past week consisting of a classroom session Wednesday and an in-car session Saturday. What a blast! I think everybody there had a great time. I must really thank Jann for telling me about the school session and asking me to go along with him. Autocross in Winnipeg is put on by the WSSC - Winnipeg Sports Car Club. Check out their website for more information.
The training session was very well run and I learned a great deal from it. My first run on the training course was 61.727 seconds, and my fastest lap was 49.125 seconds - over 12.5 seconds faster. What an amazing rush!
Here are some pictures that Jann took of me. Thanks again Jann!
In my next post, I’ll talk about my first race that was held on Sunday, the day after Level 1 school.
There was a Level 1 training session this past week consisting of a classroom session Wednesday and an in-car session Saturday. What a blast! I think everybody there had a great time. I must really thank Jann for telling me about the school session and asking me to go along with him. Autocross in Winnipeg is put on by the WSSC - Winnipeg Sports Car Club. Check out their website for more information.
The training session was very well run and I learned a great deal from it. My first run on the training course was 61.727 seconds, and my fastest lap was 49.125 seconds - over 12.5 seconds faster. What an amazing rush!
Here are some pictures that Jann took of me. Thanks again Jann!
In my next post, I’ll talk about my first race that was held on Sunday, the day after Level 1 school.
Removing the door panel on a 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V
2010.01.06 08:33 PM
Good evening,
I’ve got a problem with my car. When it gets cold out, my driver’s side door decides that it doesn’t want to close anymore. I’ve discovered the temporary resolution so that I can get home is to power lock the doors. Then when the door closes, the latch will catch, and I can safely get home. Then I’m stuck inside. From that point onward, that door will not unlock and I have to crawl over the manual shift stick, e-brake, and centre console to get out the passenger side door. The power lock won’t open it, neither will the latch inside, nor the key outside. Until it thaws out, that lock isn’t going anywhere. In the garage, I’ll aim a small electric space heater at the door lock area, and in a few hours I’ll be able to get back in again as if nothing was ever wrong. It’s not like I can prevent it either - the first time it happened to me this year, it had been almost three weeks since I had previously washed the car! Of course washing it doesn’t help any, but not washing it doesn’t help either.
When this first started happening to me last year, I took it into the dealer (this was before I started seeing a far superior and honest independent mechanic - Vtech Auto) and it had thawed in the meantime, so they couldn’t reproduce the problem. At the time, I hadn’t figured out that thawing solved the problem, so to me it just went away. They lubed up the latch and sent me on my way with no charge, which was very decent of them.
Spring came, and I forgot about it until it happened again several times during this last cold snap. I found some instructions online on how to remove the inside door panel for a 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V and went at it. The Flickr link below has the pictures I took of the process.
Unfortunately, I reached a point where I couldn’t easily go any further and still hadn’t reached the locking mechanism. The plastic panel came off and revealed a great deal, but my target area was still covered up by another steel panel that doesn’t look like it comes off. This will take more research on how to further take apart the door, and it also looks more involved than I should attempt on a work night. Definitely a weekend task! If I wanted to get to the in-door speaker, though, this is far enough. In fact, the passenger door speaker vibrates and rattles some, so now I know how to gain access to it.
Putting the door back together again was a simple process of reversing the steps.
Flickr Page - Door Panel Removal
This weekend, I’ve got a date with my door panel. I’m going to see if I can find more instructions on how to get deeper into the door. Wish me luck!
I’ve got a problem with my car. When it gets cold out, my driver’s side door decides that it doesn’t want to close anymore. I’ve discovered the temporary resolution so that I can get home is to power lock the doors. Then when the door closes, the latch will catch, and I can safely get home. Then I’m stuck inside.
From that point onward, that door will not unlock and I have to crawl over the manual shift stick, e-brake, and centre console to get out the passenger side door. The power lock won’t open it, neither will the latch inside, nor the key outside. Until it thaws out, that lock isn’t going anywhere. In the garage, I’ll aim a small electric space heater at the door lock area, and in a few hours I’ll be able to get back in again as if nothing was ever wrong. It’s not like I can prevent it either - the first time it happened to me this year, it had been almost three weeks since I had previously washed the car! Of course washing it doesn’t help any, but not washing it doesn’t help either.When this first started happening to me last year, I took it into the dealer (this was before I started seeing a far superior and honest independent mechanic - Vtech Auto) and it had thawed in the meantime, so they couldn’t reproduce the problem. At the time, I hadn’t figured out that thawing solved the problem, so to me it just went away. They lubed up the latch and sent me on my way with no charge, which was very decent of them.
Spring came, and I forgot about it until it happened again several times during this last cold snap. I found some instructions online on how to remove the inside door panel for a 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V and went at it. The Flickr link below has the pictures I took of the process.
Unfortunately, I reached a point where I couldn’t easily go any further and still hadn’t reached the locking mechanism. The plastic panel came off and revealed a great deal, but my target area was still covered up by another steel panel that doesn’t look like it comes off. This will take more research on how to further take apart the door, and it also looks more involved than I should attempt on a work night. Definitely a weekend task!
If I wanted to get to the in-door speaker, though, this is far enough. In fact, the passenger door speaker vibrates and rattles some, so now I know how to gain access to it.Putting the door back together again was a simple process of reversing the steps.
Flickr Page - Door Panel Removal
This weekend, I’ve got a date with my door panel. I’m going to see if I can find more instructions on how to get deeper into the door. Wish me luck!
Bring on the snow!
2008.11.03 10:48 PM
It's sad to say it, but summer in Winnipeg is over. Although today was a very nice day and tomorrow should be too, there's snow in the forecast. That means that it's time to change the summer tires over to the winter tires. Shannon and I both have the same type of tire - Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi. They are excellent winter tires and served us extremely well last winter. In fact, this year my brother picked up a set of the new-and-improved Nokian Hakkapeliitta R tires this year due at least in part (I like to think) to our recommendation. Read More...
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