Perry Performance family day 2024

Last Saturday, Carl organized the Perry Performance family day at ICAR and I decided to head over with the boys. Last year, it was raining, a lot. This year, the weather was brilliant, which was a bit sad since I did not have my Civic! There was a nice variety of cars on hand, very similar to what you would see at any other track day in Quebec: Hondas, BMW's, Toyota GT86's and Porsches. 

Even though I didn't bring a dedicated track car this year, I was still able to drive on track, at lower speeds, in the Subaru. Once per hour, there was a slow session for people who wanted to drive on the track at reasonable speeds, with friends and family, and without helmets. The boys were interested, and we went out in every available session while we were there. I wasn't too worried about the tires on the STi, since I was using the summer tires that came with the wheels I bought recently. Even at these lower speeds, we had lots of fun. I didn't want to drive the car in the real high speed sessions, because I can't have this car break just before winter. At least if it breaks on the road, I can make a warranty claim. 

The STi on summer tires

I could also see that driving at full speed, the car would not be a great track car... it just does not turn in as sharply and enthusiastically as a BMW or a Civic. It is satisfying to accelerate out of corners and on straights with the turbo engine though... The STi engine is not always in its element in city driving, at low rpms, but at mid-high rpms, the engine is very willing. In fact, at one point, we were following my friend Vincent Benoit in his new M2, and when he floored it on the straight, he didn't even pull away from us. I guess with the small modifications that came on the car, we are making a few more than the stock 305 hp. I think that, like most cars (including my M3), the Subaru would need suspension, tires and a race seat to become a first-rate track car.

In a later session, I asked VinBen if I could borrow his M2 for a few laps and he accepted. He adjusted the settings to his recommendations and I headed out with the boys in the back seat. I've mentioned before that I don't love the looks of the new M2, but over all, it's a lovely car. The interior really feels premium. The turn-in is very sharp compared to my Subaru or M3, which is impressive for a bone-stock car. I honestly thought the acceleration would be more brutal, but it was merely "very quick". It was not scary like Mazen's chipped M3 CS. The car felt very much at home on the track. 

I also asked Rob to let me drive his E36 M3 in one of the fast sessions. We went out together, with helmets, and I was taking it easy at first. I had forgotten how sluggish the throttle response was compared to newer, drive-by-wire BMW's. When the power comes on, it's more than enough to make the M3 move quickly. I think I would have to adapt my style with a car like this and get on the gas super early coming out of corners. My best lap was in the 1:24's, so 10 seconds slower than my best Civic lap. Rob asked if I thought I could shave off 10 seconds, given time. I told him I could shave off 5, but surely not 10. Maybe a pro-level driver could run 1:14 with that car, but I don't think Rob or I ever will. Even though we were getting passed left and right, I had a great time driving at speed on track again. 

It was also a great day for the boys, mainly due to the Décarie Hot Dog lunch (courtesy of the food truck Carl had arranged). After a last session, we headed home at 3pm and we were all satisfied. The track season, which was very short for me, is now
officially over. I am more motivated than ever to make sure the Civic is ready before Spring. I want to thank VinBen and Rob for letting me drive their cars and Carl and Perry for inviting us to this great event.  

Carl and Perry's 996 GT3

Carl's M3

Rob's M3 and VinBen's M2

Different budget, both good track cars

Steph and Martin's Civic saw it's first laps since being built over the summer

The boys waiting for their hot dogs

A couple of Subarus

A lovely R32 Skyline, quicker than our Subaru in the corners

A pretty extreme FC RX7

Antoine replaced his rusty Integra with this very clean Civic... using the engine and interior of the ITR

Adam's first gen RX7 looked really cool and was not slow on track

944 Turbo and a stripped-out non turbo version

There were a few rarer Mustangs on hand, like this Saleen and this Bullitt

Rob, Steph and I all met working at a Rona warehouse store in 1994

The boys and the M2

BMW into the barn, STi out

Time to swap cars

Last weekend, I swapped the BMW for the Subaru. The BMW performed flawlessly this year, after I changed all the coil packs at once. I sent in some used oil for analysis and I will have to have the rod bearings replaced sooner than later (the car has 278 000 km, so I'm not complaining). I pulled the Subaru out of the barn and all seems fine. As I drove it for the first time in months, I was reminded how much more noise-vibration-and-harshness it has compared to the M3. Also, like the M3, even with the driver's seat at its lowest setting, I feel like I'm sitting too high up. I'd also forgotten about the annoying stumble at part throttle just under 3000 rpm. Other than that, the car is great. It has lots of mid-range torque, and when you punch it above 3500 rpm, it goes. Around town at lower speeds, and in traffic, it's less pleasant than the M3... I sat in a 45 minute traffic jam on the way home from Deschaillons so there was lots of stopping and starting. It helps to select the "Intelligent" (econo) drive mode, which dulls throttle response and makes the stop-and-go part less jerky.

BMW back into the barn

I finally found some inexpensive used wheels to use as "summer" wheels. They are the optional Sport Tech wheels from a 2016 WRX. I don't love the way they look, but I don't dislike them either. They are the exact same width and offset as the STi wheels I have. I will take the car out for a couple of laps at ICAR tomorrow at Perry Performance's friends and family day. It should be fun, and I won't be destroying my winter tires in the process. Hopefully somebody will lend me a track car for a few laps... I miss driving on track, even though I'm less fond of ICAR than I was before.

A dirty STi on its summer wheels

Alpina B8 from NJ

Serious-looking supercharged Camara ZL1 from Florida

One of the cleanest first-generation Honda Fits I have seen in recent years

Ready for ski season

Amazing E28 M5 on AC Schnitzer wheels

Very cool look for this S8

Fall colours and the M5

Still moving forward on the black Civic

I managed to work a bit more on the black Civic, focusing now on the interior. There will be a ton of work for Choo (complete engine/tranny installation, wiring, complete suspension swap) but I'm trying to do what I can to make his job easier. I have written a list of jobs to be completed, and even the job of making the list, which is surely incomplete, is a big job. So far, I painted the floor (there are a couple or rusty spots Choo will have to repair), then I mounted the driver's seat (I had to clean the threads of all foor bolt holes). The most satisfying job was cutting out the incomplete roll bar with a reciprocating saw (bought on sale at Canadian Tire). It took 6 blades to do it, but it was nice to get that thing out of the car. I changed the instrument cluster, removed the passenger airbag (it wasn't even plugged in) and changed the steering wheel. The interior is starting to look pretty decent and it was nice to sit behind the wheel of this car for the first time... I can imagine what it will be like to drive it, and basically I'm hoping it's just like the red car.

Before and after painting the floor

Regular car-spotting:

I like this fat-tired version of the Bronco

Cool colour for this Golf

Looks like a real license plate from Burundi

Nice Shelby

Lowered E91 on aftermarket wheels

Ineos Grenadier

The boys and their crazy ice creams from Iconoglace

Nice Euro-market Alfa Spider V6

Rare colour NB Miata

Jules noticed my red Civic was on Google street view of our street

I still want one of these!

Nice spec M4

New WRX TR with lots of options... looks pretty cool

A slightly rusty pair of 90's Range Rovers

Yas Marina Blue M3

Neat paint and wheels on this RS6

A rare V12 SL

Defender 90

Civic like mine, in orange

Celica with optional body kit, still cool

Terrible condition but a really cool car...

... JDM Celica GT-Four

Lovely E34 530i, manual

Nice spec STi

Also, in my searches to see what Porsche's were available on Facebook Marketplace, I came across these two really neat Porsche 924's modified in a "Dakar" style. The green one is 24 800 $ and the black one is 9 000 $. This seems like a pretty fun car for the money... not fast, but fun.