Lets talk about cars/motorsports

@ Rosvo: How much money has he got? And since it's HK, I guess he'll only be using it at weekends?

edited 18th Aug '15 11:27:26 AM by Greenmantle

He's fairly wealthy but most of the money he has is from his expense account.

And he'll be using it pretty frequently.

Something like a Lexus GS, Rover 600, BMW 3/5-series or the Audi A4, perhaps, or perhaps something more sporty?

edited 18th Aug '15 1:05:02 PM by Greenmantle

Something similar to the HK taxis then, which are usually Toyotas.

so you probably heard about what happened to VW by now

http://jalopnik.com/understanding-the-test-mode-that-let-vw-trick-the-emiss-1732175835

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34325005

http://blog.caranddriver.com/how-volkswagen-got-busted-for-gaming-epa-diesel-emissions-standards/

man, talk about a slap in the face(both to VW and VW fans)

Indeed, the worst-case scenario is that VAG — the world's largest car manufacturer — goes out of business.

BBC: Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigns

A watchdog group says that other car companies are cheating on diesel emissions tests all the time as well. Not terribly surprising, since it's an open secret by now that turbos and hybrid systems in modern cars aim to achieve the same goals.

Auto Bild claims that the BMW X3 diesel emits more than eleven times more NOx gases than Euro 6 permits.

The Bild is claiming that Audi's chief of R&D and Porsche's head of engines will be forced to resign. It's the Bild, though, so take it with quite a bit of salt. Do we have a Useful Notes page for German newspapers like the American and British newspapers do?

I wonder whether the investigations will also look at commercial vehicle diesel engines, since they have to fit within the same standards — especially as VAG also owns manufacturers MAN and Scania?

edited 24th Sep '15 8:12:19 AM by Greenmantle

Marc VDS Racing has quit GT racing. Their farewell letter has to be read to be believed.

As a slightly-early birthday present, my older brother bought me a ride-along in a NASCAR stock car at actual racing speeds, at Charlotte Motor Speedway (the Richard Petty Driving Experience; bonus points: I got to ride in a Carl Edwards stock car, he's currently my favorite driver). Had to get up at 4:00 in the morning just to get to the speedway ahead of morning rush hour (living in a suburb of Raleigh, Charlotte is about 140 miles away), since he got me the first available slot (8:30, though it ended up being almost 10:00 AM before I got into the car since they were a bit slow to set the program up).

Holy SHIT, these cars are no joke. Went 177 MPH around the track, and the G-forces in the turns were intense enough to where I couldn't see straight. Hell of a fun time though!

9/10, would definitely do again (only wish is that we don't have to wake up balls-early to do it on time).

so i have just been to Oslo Motor Show:http://messe.no/no/Oslo-Motor-Show/

and WOW!!! it was awesome

among the cars there were...

Teng Tools stand which had a Porsche 918 Spyder(Weissach package), costing 8,5 million NOK and a Bugatti Veyron(only one in Norway), costing 10 million(before taxes)

Porsche Club Norway also had the new 991 Porsche 911 GT 3 present in their stand.

Norsk MX-5 Miata Club had the new ND Miata in their stand.

Autoxo had in it's stand(this is going to be long) a La Ferrari with a LAFIAT number plate(from Sweden), Koenigsegg CCXR, Lamborghini Huracan, Ferrari F430 Spider, two Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, Maserati MC 12 Corsa, Lexus LFA(one of two in Norway), Mc Laren MP 4-12C and a 991 Porsche 911 GT 3 RS.

Bilsport Magazine's stand had(among other cars) two Toyota Supra's, one with 947 hp and the other with 1047 hp.

an Aquila CR 1 sponsored by Eni

Amcar had an entire hall to themselves where they had the Ford Mustang from the movie Børning, Pontiac Firebird, Delorean DMC-12(kinda sad considering the future is now the past) and the new Corvette Stingray Z06(there was another one at the show, but that was privately owned)

there were several drag cars including two VW Beetle dragsters, several pro-stock dragsters, an old dragster where the rear diff is right between your legs(yes, inside the cockpit), some drag bikes from different eras and a Junior Dragster(which has only 70 hp, but weighs just 104 Kg)

a Lamborghini Gallardo Blancpain Supertrofeo(1 of 30)

one Lamborghini Diablo SE 30 Jota, which is the most expensive used car in Norway IIRC(costing 7 million NOK)

one street legal Dauer Porsche 962(worth around 25 million NOK)

a Formula Student car

now on to the modified car stands...

a stripped down VW Fridolin with a w12 in it's back

a stripped down BMW with a turbo Volvo engine

the Scania Red Pearl made by Svempa(basically turned a Scania truck into a roadster)

but the "best car in show" has to be the Scania Chimera also made by Svempa. a lowered, mid-engined truck. The engine is a 16,4 liter with 6(yes SIX) turbos making 1460 hp at 2500rpm and 4500 Nm at 1600rpm. Extensive use of carbon fiber and aluminum keeps the weight down to 4700Kg. That means this truck can go from 0-100kph in 4,6-5,0 seconds, and do the quarter mile in 12,0-12,5 seconds.

10/10 would do again

Have any of you guys heard of 24 hours of Le Mons before?

And no, not Le Mans, Le Mons. It's a racing series for $500 cars and looks absolutely amazing.

Link

Probably gonna run it with my brother next year, if we can scratch a vehicle together.

24 hour endurance race with a $500 car?

Now that sounds fun. My car is probably worth about that much now.

Any guesses as to whether the safety features needed (roll cages, fire extinguishers et al.) will push the value over that?

Brakes, tires, roll cages, extinguishers, and a couple other things don't count towards the 500(if youre Clever, that means find a car without brakes and tires for cheap and you've got extra money for other parts). And their roll cage rules are pretty strict, so it can be costly.

I'm probably doing the Connecticut one next August, gonna put a car together with my brother and a couple friends. His old auto shop teacher has a couple Chevy 350s that he'll sell us for a song so we're probably going to look for a roller to throw one in

edited 30th Oct '15 7:09:29 AM by Joesolo

I read an article in Car & Driver about that. The prize money is a bag of nickels.

And while there's a "People's Choice" award, there's also a "People's Curse" award for the most disliked car/team, for whatever reason. The "winning" vehicle of this dubious honor gets demolished by eager volunteers armed with sledgehammers.

By the way, it's not a continuous 24-hour race. The racing takes place over two days, but the actual time spent on-track is significantly less than 24 hours.

edited 30th Oct '15 3:32:39 PM by pwiegle

The people's curse was ended a few years back,(and sometimes involved construction vehicles instead of sledge hammers :P) and the bag of Nickles has 4, 5, or 6 hundred dollars worth of nickels, for classes C, B and A respectively. And it's about 14-15 hours proper racing, plus a few hours of qualifying.

When it comes down to it, it's not Nascar or ant thing serious. I mean really, the main punishment for bad driving is getting tied to the roof of you car and driven around the parking lot while apologizing.

Chump car is a similar race, also for 500 dollar cars, but more srs bizness. Fewer costumes, or Cessna mounted to old vans. Dunno if the prize money's any better though.

edited 30th Oct '15 9:34:49 PM by Joesolo

You Tube Video - Engineering Explained 2016 MX-5 Miata Review

I like how he points out that the new Miata is essentially a driver's car - an enthusiast's car. It only has 155 HP, but like any other compact roadster, you're going to feel that 155 HP, especially in the turns.

These cars have always been solidly engineered, and watching this video makes me miss my Toyota MR-2. My RX-8 still has a beefy, athletic feeling to it in turns, but I always remember the MR-2 having much more engaged and tight handling behavior. What's also nice is that they don't cost an arm and a leg for what they're designed to do.

edited 31st Oct '15 3:06:49 PM by Aprilla

Miata

Is

Always

The

Answer

edited 31st Oct '15 3:24:18 PM by MABfan11

I've always wanted to drive a Miata. Never had the chance.

Got to drive an RX-7 though. Almost bought one.

Now that was fun.

MX-5 and RX-8 are still probably my dream cars.

Get one, spray it pink, job done.

Or is that trying too hard?

edited 31st Oct '15 3:35:11 PM by Deadbeatloser22

I personally love my RX-8, finicky issues and all. One thing that really sucks about it is that I get the gas mileage of a pickup truck, but I don't drive as often as the average American, so it's not catastrophic.

What's cool about the Miata is that you can find a decent one on Craigslist that won't destroy your bank account. They're crazy-easy to work on and parts aren't too hard to find, so you can set up a budget build that won't demand a difficulty along the lines of an ASE certification.

I guess you can jump on the 240SX bandwagon if you want something with more community support and parts availability, but people keep breaking those cars and selling for WAY more than they're actually worth because of their following.

edited 31st Oct '15 3:54:48 PM by Aprilla

But yeah, they don't sell RX-8s any more.

Pink MX-5 it is.

My sister really wants a Miata. And I'd be lying if I hadn't been thinking about a 240 for my next car.

Or a Golf. God I love Golfs.