Today I took some time to get acquainted with the lift services at the Shop Club Houston today to get the oil change service done on Kiryu. As a general rule, I usually change the oil in 1 year or 5,000 miles, whichever comes first. In this particular instance, we were well below on mileage but hitting that one year mark. What’s a little surprising is that the oil that came out was much, much, much darker than I remember it ever being on a 5K interval, so then I had to question myself on when I last actually changed it A quick look at my log book revealed I had changed it two years ago… Oops. 4 quarts of Mobil 1 5W30 Extended Performance oil and a new Mobile 1 oil filter and the old-girl was ready for the wash bay. I also took the time to clean the interior of the car, and I have to say, it looks pretty darn good for a 20-year-old car. The paint will need a good cleaning and polish sometime this year when it's time for a fresh coat of sealant, but the interior is still in great shape. I think I’ll be keeping this car for a long time to come.

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Kiryu has been enjoying the retirement from racing here lately. On my birthday in 2022 my wonderful girlfriend and I took a trip to the Texas Hill Country to run the Twisted Sisters. The infamous route of fm 337, 336, and 335. Strangely, this was Kiryu's second trip to the sisters, her first one being a month prior in October but was plagued with rain, so we didn't really get to run it properly. This time however, the sun was shining, the weather was cool, the turbo was singing, and the autocross focused 200 treadwear Falken Azenis 660s were grippy, so we had an absolute blast. I kept the Xidas at 5 clicks from full stiff on the front and 7 clicks from full stiff in the rear, and the chassis handled every single bump with grace and poise, while mainting it's track-focused handling on the snaking and winding route of the sisters. I've driven the sisters in a few different cars, but I have to say, Kiryu is by far the most fun car I've had on that route. The autocross build really makes it handle exceptionally on 337 in particular up on the mountain where the turns become 15 mph affairs and you are easily doing 35 to 45 mph through them. The turbochager making 10.5 pounds of boost also means you can keep it in 5th gear with the 5-speed transmission while cruising and have plenty of power on tap for handling steep grades and hills. With so much grip and power on tap, when compared to my 2023 all-stock ND Miata, Kiryu is actually the easier car to navigate the sisters in. We did a couple of runs over the course of two days while we were there. The car was flawless the entire time, and the weather was amazing. We also discovered a new Brew Pub called the Pint and Plow, that make an excellent seasonal Octoberfest beer. The rest of there offerings were also quite good, and the food was excellent.

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I finally had the engine refreshed by Clint at GHM to repair an over-heat condition at the autocross track back in February 2020. The engine was running around 140 psi on cylinder 4 and required a rebuild. I ended up doing a lot of traveling in August while the engine was being rebuilt and I didn’t have much of a chance to drive the car after it was fixed, but I’ve more than made up for it in September and October! It is awesome having the full power and responsiveness of an engine running at its normal compression levels. The car has been a joy to drive, and finally feels normal again.

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