OT: For the Car Folk/Gear Heads...

[carpediemracing]

Driving skills. I'm a solid slightly-above-average driver. I've been heel-toeing since I was about 17, after watching one of my cycling teammates do some nutty stuff in his modified BMW 2002 (which I got to drive as well).

I did some Mazda-sponsored auto-x. I was okay, like 80th percentile, but the good drivers (national champions) absolutely blew me away. I can't remember the times but I think for me it was 38 seconds? For the pros it was like 33 seconds, just astonishingly quicker.

I went karting with a good friend Todd, who organized a karting outing. His buddies all race cars for real, auto-x at the least, track days for most, and one guy races rally, all at amateur levels. The rally driver, using the "basic" 6.5 hp karts, was going faster than the "pro" kart guys on 9.0 hp karts, and in fact got one of the top times for the month on any kart. On a course that took me 40.5 seconds minimum he was doing 37.x.

I like hitting certain low risk corners/curves aggressively. It's the "driving a slow car fast" thing. I even study my own lines by pulling dash-and-rear cam footage. I had a G-Tech RR (it's like a powermeter for a car, with the ability to record data so you can download/review later), so I could see how many Gs I pulled on various entrance/exit ramps going to/from work (90 minute drive, virtually all highway). Etc.

I watched the clip below and I realized just how little I know about driving. Heel-toe? He doesn't even bother. And he does it so casually, talking about how he's messing this corner up, or that one, or whatever. "I didn't have time to use the clutch", blah blah. I wish I had a beater car, dirt roads, and a lot of time.

O'Neil Rally School in NH.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgg5WWfMWzM

[Formulasaab]

Originally Posted by carpediemracing

What no one told them, and what they never realized, is that it's a 2 stroke engine, so you had to put oil in the gas.

SAAB's final iteration of the two-stroke, the 850cc with the 12-bolt head and head-mounted water pump, was oil-injected. It was introduced in certain models in 1963. While more complex, it was far less "thirsty" in how much oil it consumed and was more reliable to boot. It prevented accidents like your father's.

That is, so long as one remembered to check and maintain the oil level. Once empty, the effect was the same.

[carpediemracing]

Originally Posted by Formulasaab

SAAB's final iteration of the two-stroke, the 850cc with the 12-bolt head and head-mounted water pump, was oil-injected. It was introduced in certain models in 1963. While more complex, it was far less "thirsty" in how much oil it consumed and was more reliable to boot. It prevented accidents like your father's.

That is, so long as one remembered to check and maintain the oil level. Once empty, the effect was the same.

That sounds more like what my parents did. I can't imagine a car where you mix oil into every tank and no one saying anything, but I can imagine a car where there's an oil reserve and they didn't know to fill it whenever it was low.

[YesNdeed]

Not so much rally but, yea...
http://www.quattroworld.com/motorspo...ttro-trans-am/

[alessandro]

Originally Posted by christian

Ha - so funny you should say that. I happen to be wholly obsessed with the 1981 WRC Championship, where Ari Vatanen and David Richards (Ford Escort RS1800) just barely beat Guy Frequelin and Jean Todt (Sunbeam Lotus Talbot). I wanted to write a book about it, but never found much interest from publishers (understandably), but I did manage to turn a piece I wrote for the New York Times about the retirement of Jean Todt into entirely a reminiscence of the 1981 rally season. It's still linked here: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/todt-bucked/

That was, of course the last year before the Sport Quattro which won all but one event in 1982.

Now that was a snappy little piece. You should do more of that kind of thing.

[martl]

Originally Posted by Peter B

Check the footwork at about 3:15...

The Audi S1 had an additional clutch button on top of the stick, the pedal clutch was only used to start.

Walter Röhrl was probably one of the two or three human beings on the planet who controlled their Group B 100% of the time and not the other way around. (he also kicked some ass in track races, but has little respect for track drivers. "anyone can go to the limit if you know theres a safety zone and a fence behind every corner")

I know current Rallye cars are clocking times just as fast or even faster, but nothing will ever beat Group B for its sheer madness. Its like watching someone trying to tame a dragon.

A similarily mad era in motorsports were the GP cars of the thirties. Racing the "Ring" on 500 horsepower in 750kg, drum brakes, skinny tires and no safety gear whatsoever... >< They had the sound, too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x28DnXTvmv0

[William]

I guess if you want to stand out in upscale Malibu Hills.... though, I would take that thing for a spin just for the U-KNOW-WHAT of it!!

Zero ****'s Given RX7

Would you drive a car built by a teenager in his parents driveway with no safety features whatsoever? We did, and now we'll tell you why this ugly RX7 is so brilliant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcjpXbMiCtg







William

[William]

Sometimes it's not about speed, or how much you can get for it. Sometimes its just about the connection with the vehicle and the feelings and memories it evokes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlZJrBQbQ5o







William

[William]

Are Ram Hellcats on the way?

....Ram has forsaken conventional reason before, though: the 2005 Dodge Ram SRT-10 Quad Cab used the Dodge Viper's 8.3-liter V-10, which packed 500 hp and 525 lb-ft. And the Hellcat engine continues to defy all sorts of logic. The most powerful motor ever offered in a stock production vehicle was one of 2015’s big surprises, causing such a backlog of orders and so much ruckus at dealerships that Dodge canceled hundreds of orders so it could revamp its entire procuring and production system.

Trucks are huge business nowadays, with automakers seemingly unable to make them too outrageous or too expensive for the buying public to demur.....



http://www.thedrive.com/article/2572...he-ram-hellcat

William

[William]

Since Spring and warmer weather is on the way, it's a good time for preventative maintenance. Make sure all your fluids are topped off starting with your Blinker Fluid. Often over looked, it's a very important to make sure they stay filled, especially in BMW's. Service center's usually charge way too much for this simple service...do it yourself for pennies in comparison. Here is a good how to video that can help you through it if you haven't done it yourself...


How To Replace Blinker Fluid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6GsXhBb10k








William

[martl]

just found this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X53Yxp2QTU4

Walter Röhrl giving a "driving in wet conditions" demonstration in the Trans Am Audi 200 1988 at Sears Point

[fiataccompli]

maybe, maybe this goes here, but yesterday I just secured purchase of one of my own (albeit a bit weird) dream cars...





And the significance of this is that if you don't know, these things are basically stunt cars right out of the box...this one is kinda hot rodded in a small displacement Italian sort of way.

[bthornt]

If you can spend an hour, the documentary about group b rally racing entitled "Too Fast to Race" can be viewed on youtube. Here's the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imXk8u-reUQ

Apologies if this has already been posted.

[christian]

Three minutes of moments and highlights from Travis and I two weeks ago at Rally in the Hundred Acre Wood.

These cars are, gulp, way faster than a Group B car LOL.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gl8xb2FOM4

[William]

Originally Posted by christian

Three minutes of moments and highlights from Travis and I two weeks ago at Rally in the Hundred Acre Wood.

These cars are, gulp, way faster than a Group B car LOL.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gl8xb2FOM4

Awesome to watch Christian! Thank you for sharing. If you ever need some ballast in the back to ride along on one of your runs....just give me a call!







William