Auto Technician Class: Final Semester!

First day of school photo. I forgot to smile, but check out the classroom!

Last week kicked off my final semester of Auto Technician classes at York Technical College here in Rock Hill SC. With only three classes to go in this semester, I'm looking forward to Steering Suspension and Alignment, Manual Transmissions, Electronic Fuel Systems, and learning a ton more with plenty of hands on experience.  For this semester I've also received some scholarships from South Carolina that covers almost all my fees. If you're interested in going to school, even as a retiree, I'll bet your state has various scholarships or free tuition for senior citizens too. 

The Hunter Hammerhead balancing machine. Makes a great Christmas present!

Funny sticker on a truck in the shop. 

During the first week we studied a chapter in our textbook on Wheels and Tires. Besides reading the chapter, and doing homework, quizzes and a test, we had time to get into the shop and work on real cars. We've already been removing tires, putting on new tires, balancing wheels, and checking all the air pressures too. In week two we'll move on to wheel alignment. 

Getting a wheel on the balancer.

Most of the students in this program range from 18-22 years old or so, with some being older and some still in high school. For a high school student to be dual enrolled in finishing high school and getting a head start on an Associates Degree with employable skills, this seems like a pretty good deal to me. Certainly I'll agree that every person in the world doesn't need to go get a 4 year degree, so the Tech schools play a valuable role in providing training. Not everyone wants to be an auto tech I guess, so our school has plenty of other programs available too. Coming up in January a new program to certify auto students on Electric vehicles will start too. 

Cutting some stick-on wheel weights. Other weights get hammered on to the rim. 
We've learned to operate the balancer, and to remove and attach wheel weights. 

One car we worked on was a Mercedes. Front wheels were making a noise, and I found a nail in one of them. 

We went over what all these numbers and letters mean. 
275 is tread width in millimeters.
55 is the aspect ration, basically a percentage of the width to tell you sidewall height.
R means radial tire.
20 is tire diameter in inches. 
117 is the load index, 2,833 pounds
V is a speed rating, in this case 149mph.

The format for my classes has been five days a week, three hours per day, with some reading and homework part of the time, with plenty of time in the shop. For Electrical class we used some cool training equipment, and got certified on the Snap-On Digital Multi-Meter. In Air Conditioning class we tested to earn another certification to be qualified in the use of AC machines and purchase refrigerant. One other bonus of this type of course work is that the 2 year program can count as 1 year of working in the industry, which is important to meet the requirements to start taking the ASE technician certifications. 

Dismounted and mounted all 4 tires on this truck, balanced the wheels, and put them all back on the truck. 

Wheels removed from a Mercury Mariner, with new tires stacked up to go on these wheels.
You can probably see the 2nd tire from the bottom is chalked RF for Right Front, and has bald tread. If you've never heard of a Mercury Mariner, think Ford Escape.

Four new tires coming up. 

Rock Hill Cars and Coffee

Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) right hand drive Toyota Supra turbo!

The August edition of Rock Hill SC Cars and Coffee had a fun mix of old and new cars, trucks, and several right hand drive Japanese imports. This event takes next to Knowledge Perk coffee, but I'll admit I brought my own coffee today! So much for the coffee, on to the cars!

SEND IT!

You can't beat a classic truck. 

with air conditioning!

An older Mercedes, maybe not my favorite color combo. 

A Mercury with a surprise!

A Police Interceptor Mercury!

Cool purple truck

A Corvette that reminds you how much horsepower it has!

Nice black Mustang, ready to drag race.

With some extra modifications!

That is a WIDE belt!

Some pretty serious hardware for adjusting the shocks!

A hot rod SHOULD have flames I say!

Hoods up!

Barracuda

Right hand drive Mitsubishi Pajero

Chevy BelAir...

with a huge turbo!

SPOILER ALERT!!!! Porsche 911 GTS 

The JDM Supra turbo, with "WRONG SIDE" license plate!

I had no idea what this thing was until I looked around it.

The Nissan Stagea station wagon was built from 1996 to 2007. 

Nissan Stagea, with the NEO 2.5 straight 6 turbo!

Hey, what's that emblem on this Volvo?

A Volvo moose "shield" to imitate the Ferrari prancing horse!

I bet you didn't think you'd see a Dodge Stealth today! Me neither!!

Return to the ROVAL!

Time for some ROVAL!!

For the second year in a row the NMS Cayman returned to a Track Night in America event driving on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. These events are sponsored by the Sports Car Club of America, and at tracks all across the country they let you get out on track for multiple 20 minute sessions on a weeknight. This way you get some high speed driving on a local track and don't have to commit to a full weekend at a higher cost. At last year's ROVAL TNiA I had just put on some new tires, and there was a lot less drama this year. 

Charlotte Motor Speedway. 
Located near Charlotte NC!
Weird!

Maybe I'll check the brake pads!

Over three driving sessions, I managed to drop my lap time, so that was fun. Along the way I also managed to miss two of the chicanes when my tires, brakes, and brain weren't warmed up enough, so I had to pull into the pits to have a discussion and explain what I had done wrong. It wasn't like going to the Superintendent's office, and it's a good safety precaution too. Then they let me get back out on track pretty quickly. 

Look at all those fans!

First session: Other than the mistake listed above, I enjoyed the change to the infield section, which made you really slow down just as you get back on the oval. NASCAR changed this part of the track about a year ago, so that was fun to experience. My best one lap in this session was a 1:53. Oh, Track Night events aren't competitive, but you just can't help wanting to go faster too!

Fastest lap info. top speed 115.7 mph, slowest 29.1 mph. 

Second session: This was even more fun, no missed chicanes, and I had multiple laps of 1:50. During every session you are sharing the track with other cars, and you have to let the faster drivers pass you in the designated passing zones. One of the safety rules is that for passing on the oval, you give the faster car the "point-by" signal and they can pass you on the uphill (right) side. Making this a standard procedure keeps everyone aware of what the other car is doing, and makes it safer for everyone. The only slight issue I experienced with this was that I was pointing by a few fast cars right at the start/finish line, and one of them kind of slowed down for the approach to the infield, and I had to really drop my speed to make sure they could pass me. Not a big deal, it just took them longer to pass me than I thought. 

Lotus in another group. 

Lamborghini in another group. 

Third session: For the final time on track for the day, the sun was setting, and after about one lap we saw black flags all over the course. The waving black flags at all stations tell all drivers to return to the pit. Maybe there was an issue on track, but since I didn't see anything, and we only sat in the pit lane for a very short time,  so I think it was a just a flag awareness drill to make sure all the drivers are paying attention. Anyway, we got back out very quickly, and I managed two runs just under 1:50, another right on 1:50.000, and one more at 1:50.137. I'm not winning any races, just trying to keep consistent, and improve if possible. My fastest lap of 1:49.52 included a lot of ABS braking at the final chicane, but I just managed to stay on the pavement and finish the lap. 

    FASTEST LAP ON YOUTUBE

Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. This guy was 10 seconds faster than me!
I saw one of his laps on YouTube. 

With the two chicanes on track, it was a heavy braking for both, and I had a "Brake Wear" warning on my dash. My rear brakes still have the brake pad sensors on them to tell you when it's time for some new pads, so I'll check those out at home. My front pads only had 2 track days on them, and for this event I'd measured them all at 10mm, so practically new. Anyway, the final chicane on my fastest lap was braking from 113 down to 33mph, so that's going to put some wear on those pads!

Another run group gets ready to go. 

If you're looking for a fun way to get your car on track, check out the Track Night in America website!     

    TRACK NIGHT IN AMERICA PAGE