Finally, after 12 months of work, planning, one stormed out event and 2 cars..... ST Swift has made her debut. Nuts and bolts: Car placed 3rd out of 7 on a rain soaked day. We were within 2 seconds of a pair of NAtional prepped Civic Si's on our first outing. Both myself and my co-driver realized there is something there in this car.
Finer points, needs more negative camber upfront. Gotta keep the revs up on smaller/tighter courses and have to keep the momentum. THe 'stone RE-01R's are a fantastic tire, but at full tread they left a little to be desired and they did NOT want to stop in the rain! Gonna take some practice. I do knwo that I now LOVE slaloms and quick direction changes....both things I could not do in my previous car (2880lb Hyundai Elantra). Car was flat, handled well and ran fantastic... vids coming soon.
So right now, the Melbourne race is well under way on Speed. Who else is pumped for this? I know that the rules were completely rewritten for this season, adn that I'm sure will raise a lot of discussion. So I have to ask, what do the other F1 fans think of the aero regulations that they are imposing?
Personally, I think that it will provide for more of a challenging and exciting race to watch in the end, but will also have the same effects that happened to NASCAR when they redesigned the Sprint Series cars.
Another thing that I'm intrigued by is KERS system (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) which pretty much makes the car a hybrid with about 80 extra brake horsepower that lasts about 6.6 seconds that can be used once a lap (nontransferable to other laps). While the extra horses seems like a great idea, with another 40kilos added to the car for this system makes it seem like it is actually counter productive in the long run.
But enough of my banter, let the discussion begin.
Any one here like ice racing? I'm going to do this on the weekend with the local club(Fvscc).My frist time will be this weekend. Anybody got pics or vids from past events?Here is a vid from last year of the club.
I have been torn about and mostly against the bailout of Detroit and of the financial industry. I was reading an article on autoblog that asked the very question I asked in the poll. In my opinion NASCAR which is funded heavily by the US auto industry should not get any factory sponsorship or bailout related money that rests on the backs of the tax payer. Since it is not a developmental series and the cars unlike those in British touring car series for example are nothing at all like what you can drive on the road. If it was more like it used to be in it's beginnings where they actually raced cars built from production vehicles and the R&D from racing could factor back into the industry I could accept it more. But in it's current form with the car of tomorrow I feel it's money down the drain.
I don't know of any legal way to see coverage of the 2007 World Rally Championship in the US, especially since Speed Channel replaced their coverage with "Pinks," or left-turn racing or kids racing in go-karts or whatever BS they replaced it with. Anyway, I recently got word of these three sites which have the full rally coverage available for download. Note that's 1GB of video per rally, broken into 250MB files.... just something to do while you... sleep. Also, keep in mind running those websites takes quite a bit of storage and bandwidth if a lot of people start downloading.
Also, in other news, if you wanted to know how fast these rally cars could be if they weren't restricted... enter the Citroen C4 Rally Cross: 2.0L four-cylinder turbo: 518hp, 4WD, sequential gearbox... 0-60 in 2.39 seconds. The europeans have a very different definition of "rallycross," than Americans.
Every once in a while I'm reminded of why Rally racing is the absolute coolest motorsport in the world...
This guy was leading the race until his throttle cable snapped just a mile or two from the finish. Normal people would throw in the towel, say "shucks," or attempt some kind of time-consuming jerry-rigged repair, but no...oh no... he had no time for that this close to the finish! For him, Losing was not an option. Exhbiting the ulimate in determination, he stuffed himself under the hood of the car determined to open that Mother-F*ing throttle with his own fingers if he had to! He had his co-driver take over other functions (Steering, braking, clutch!) while he 'fingered' the throttle all the way to the finish! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!
This out-does Marcus Gronholm's third place finish after destroying his suspension, door, hood, windshield, steering and who knows what else, his arguing with the police about whether he's able (vs. allowed) to drive on public roads on only three remaining wheels ("You can't do that." "Yes I can." "No, you can't." "Well Ok, you say that I can't, but I'm saying I can.") Sebastien Loeb also arguing with the police in Mexico about his leaning most of the way out of the driver's window to balance his car on its three remaining wheels (and later driving into the service park incomprehensibly with two missing wheels), Peter Solberg's stopping at some guy's swimming pool to re-fill his leaking radiator, and possibly even Markko Martin finishing that one rally (Turkey?) with his hood open and slammed against the windshield leaving him mostly blind. Not to mention McRae's various partially destroyed cars.
i was talking to a buddy today and he said the way i have my 4 point harnesses installed was wrong and that if i would get into an accident ill get paralized. is this true? here is the setup:
Yesterday I had an autocross with the BMWCCA club at the Texas Motor Speedway bus lot. The surface out there is a sealed asphalt that's quite slick. It always takes some adjustment on my part when I go out there since it's so different from the other sites.
My main rival this year has a Toyota MR2 with a Toyota Solara V6 motor swapped in. And so far he's beaten me every time I've raced him. That is, until yesterday. Although his car is substantially lighter and has the same tires as mine, I think my car should have the advantage on paper with a 120 hp advantage and AWD. But he's been racing for longer than I have and he's definitely a better driver than me. So as it turns out our times are always very close to eachother. I enjoy the rivalry though as we definitely push eachother to the limits, and we've always congratulated one another on a hard fought victory.
Anyway, in typical fashion the first 4 morning runs of mine were not so good. I was getting 62, 63, and 64 second runs. Whereas Nathan (the MR2 driver) put down a 60.7 second run. But the beauty of the BMWCCA races is that we get 8, count them... 8 runs. And during the lunch break I reviewed the video of my morning runs to try and figure out what I was doing wrong and where I could make up time. This "break" has always been a huge benefit for me in the past, and it certainly helped again today.
When I went back out there I felt much more confident that I really knew the course. My 5th run was kinda crappy with another 63 second run. I guess I was taking it too easy. Then there was my 6th run where I put down a 61 second time. I thought... OK, just a little bit more. Then came my 7th run which was fast, smooth, tight, clean, and even better than I expected. I did it in 59.9 seconds, clinching first place (my first of the year).
This time trial wasn't on a road course. Rather it was at the same location many autocross events are held in Mineral Wells. It's popular because there's a ton of space out there and it's a cheap site to rent.
The basic idea is this: - Limit registration to just 15 people. - Set up cones for a temporary medium/high speed course with some sweepers and S-turns. - Allow just 1 driver on the course at a time. - Allow the driver to make 3 consecutive laps. - The fastest time counts.
That's how the organizer of the event had set it up and thus a new club was born: Texas Time Trials.
By the end of the day I had run 9 laps total and held 2nd place in my class. I was really close to getting first place though, just a hundredth of a second away. Yep, 0.01 seconds. And then my brother got the fastest time of the day in his Z06 on R-compounds. The top times went something like this:
350 hp+ class 57.63 - My brother in his Z06
250-350 hp class 58.01 - Another STI owner 58.02 - Me in my STI
It was an exciting day though. The surface was in horrible condition with gravel everywhere so it felt almost like a rallycross event. My car was sliding and oversteering like crazy so I had to learn where to be aggressive and where to let up. I had many moments where I almost spun, but managed to keep it together -- all of that Richard Burns Rally-ing is paying off I guess.
I think I have some good video from the event that I'll try to upload tonight. And I may be able to get my hands on some pictures too.
The local paper had the results of the pro rally event held about an hour from my parent's house, and a turbocharged 2007 Tiburon from Canada was the winner of the event. Antoine L'Estange credits his team with providing the win over a very competitive field filled with Subarus and Mitsubishis. Mr. L'Estange will compete in the X-Games rally race in Los Angeles this August, amongst other races on the circuit.
Hey, what has about the same horsepower (138), weight (2800lbs) and price as an Elantra, shares the same chasis platform as the '09 Elantra Touring, is a practical 3-door hatchback and is racing as we speak in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring endurance race on street tires that cost $184 each on Tire Rack?
.
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Click for monstruously large photo A Kia Pro-Cee'd! A diesel Kia Pro-Cee'd, to be exact. #174's plan is to use street tires that last longer than racing tires and thus avoid pit stops and weather-related tire changes... I guess we'll see how that works out for them.
In the meantime there's also #95 - Hyundai Tiburon V6 whose plan is actually to go fast and not crash
This sounds like a cool race which will never be shown on US television. 220 road cars, some amateur drivers, one of the longest most challenging and famous racetracks in the world... Plus it's becoming a PR proving ground for even non-German car makes, like Nissan. This year VW is bringing a new Sirocco, and Lexus will show what the LF-A concept can do. Now we need a GT-R, a ZR-1, the usual bunch of M3's and 911's and Vipers... and there's that Hyundai Tiburon that's finished in the top-20 two years in a row! Sounds like a blast... which of course, we won't see here.
2001: Hyundai Tiburon came in #144 of 210 finishers. 2002: Hyundai Tiburon came in #29 of 142 finishers. 2003: Hyundai Tiburon came in #59 of 156 finishers. 2004: Hyundai Tiburon came in #125 of 160 finishers. 2005: Hyundai Tiburon came in #123 of 133 finishers. 2006: Hyundai Tibruon came in #18 of 141 finishers. 2007: Hyundai Tiburon came in #13 of 157 finishers.
Who's gonna represent the Elantra? Scott, Bob, Toecutter? Mitch, if we lose the arcade, could we sponsor a team? Pretty please?
FYI, the entry fees are about $5,000, and then there's fuel, which is expensive in Germany I guess... and tires. How many Lifetime VIP memberships is that? We could get a sponsorship from Falken or Kumho or something? Oh yeah, and the taking the car to Germany within one month part.... sigh.
Well, it is getting close to that time of year were Winged Warrior opens the registration for an racing event for an excellent cause. Bob and I were selected for the event last year and if I get selected again, this would be my third one of the four.
Here is some information posted on the forums there; but it gives you an introduction of what to expect. "Here is some of the "EVENT INFORMATION".
As some may know, and for those who don't, this event is for the kids at Riley Hospital for Children-Here in Indianapolis. For whatever reason, those kids were dealt a bad blow early on in their lives, and because of that, we are coming together, as an automobile community, to roll up our sleeves, tighten the chin-strap on our helmets, and go out there and RIP IT UP on the track, and raise a lot of money for those kids!!
Here is how we are going to spend the day:
It is an Import vs Domestic Shootout/Speed Challenge, to see "Who has what", in terms of strait-line acceleration, braking, cornering, and overall handling the event tasks given them. This year we are changing the events a bit, to keep it EXCITING to both Participate in, and to WATCH!! The pace and events will be fast, and will be the most fun you can have, and you should go home at the end of the day, with a warm heart, and a grin that won't wipe off!!
Number of cars: The field will be the BIGGEST YET! Registration will be open for a couple months, to get everyone who wants to compete, a change to enter the "pool" of participants. Teams will be selected at that time, to be evenly matched, in their classes.
Racing Events:
1. Auto-x. 2. Drag race 3. Slalom 4. Car show for Racers: Your car will be parked and judged and scored. This is your "break time" to go look around/eat/take in the cars in the GENERAL car show, etc...
This is a "TEAM" effort, whereas cars compete for points for their respective "teams".(Team USA and Team IMPORT).
There will also be individual battles. Your Team USA class, will be pitted against the same class on the Team IMPORT side! We will award trophies to each class 1st/2nd/3rd.
GENERAL CAR SHOW!!! The Car/Motorcycle/race car/exotic/truck show will be going on the grounds at the same time, and there will be LOTS of trophies/Prizes there as well, plenty of Vendors, food drink and more fun on that side as well. If you are considering Vending/Sponsoring, let us know as the spaces are filling up.
This is just an update on how we are running things for this event, and how things are going to work out for this year.
The FRIDAY preceding the drop of the green flag on race day, we will be having our TECH inspection at O'Reilly Raceway Park for the cars selected to compete in the WWIV. We will also be allowing some Test and Tune on the DRAGS that evening as well. Track will be open till Midnight, the day before our event."
I will have this posted on all the Hyundai forums I usually post. If you feel to post it on others, please fill free to. Last year we raised over 15k if I remember correctly, Bob might remember the exact total.
But all in all, it is a BLAST. I stayed at Bob's house for the night before, we had a bon fire and drank some BEERS. Bob, how about we do that again???
Chat it up guys! Hope we get a big amount of Hyundai Representing what we all work so hard on!!! Last year it was just Bob and myself doing our best
ps: mods, I could not find a general place for this thread so everyone would know about it. Can you help me out with that, or is this a good spot.
Ok all I have seen this a lot and it happened to me the other day, but not sure what it means. When you are racing someone and they finally end up in front of you and they put their flashers on what does that mean?
I'll start with mine and I'll update this throughout the year...
Car: 2006 Subaru WRX STI Class: STU Club: SCCA Texas Region
Event #1: 5th out of 7 drivers Overall PAX -- 44th out of 132 drivers Notes: I felt like I improved through the slalom which is something I wanted to work on. The biggest thing I felt like I could've done better is to look even further ahead. I felt like I could've pushed the car a little harder through some of the high speed sweepers if only I had been looking ahead for my entry and exit points and the key cones along the way. I'm also braking a little too late coming off the fast straights and up to a slow corner. So I'll work on that for next time. I'll also be changing my car setup so it will be more softly sprung but with better damping and stiffer sway bars for next time.
All indy/midwest area people, our furst Auto-x is this sunday, 4-6-08. Location is the old Busch Stadium parking lot, reg and tech open 8-9:30, first car off the line at 10.
I just learned yesterday that yet another road course has opened up nearby called Eagles Canyon Raceway. With both Motorsport Ranch and this new track being within 70 miles of me, the temptation to go to more track days is greater than ever. And I'm definitely going to go to more with the STI, but I'm not sure how long. I've often comtemplated the cost of track days at tracks like these and how much money goes into brakes, tires, and not to mention the entry fees.
But if I get a lightweight dedicated race car I could save a lot on the tires and brakes. And I could drive something a little more comfortable for my daily driver like a Legacy GT. So idea #17 is to buy an RX-8 and start pulling stuff off of it. I think a realistic goal would be to get it down to 2,500 pounds. Then I'd stiffen up the suspension, upgrade the brakes, install wide wheels with R-compound tires, install a big front air splitter and an adjustable rear wing. At that point I think the car should do 0-60 mph in about 5 seconds flat, stop very well, and be very quick in the corners.
Yup, that's rally driver Sebastian Loeb getting a speeding ticket in his Citroen C4 WRC rally car during the Rally of Sweden... As an explanation for non-WRC fans, the various stages (closed roads) of a WRC rally are not adjacent, so the cars must be driven from one stage to the next on open public roads with normal traffic and are subject to all traffic laws. In fact a traffic violation in between the race stages disqualifies the driver from the rally, as in this case. (Not like those sissy motorsports where cars have to be trucked around)
Jun 4 2017, 04:36 PM
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