[Toshi]

i'd assume there'd be some reinforcement involved in dropping the normally-2.5 liter flat 4 down to 2.0 liters as in the wrx. and the torque peak is 217 ft.-lbs. at 4000 rpm. i could live with that, with a stick shift of course.

i agree that auto wrxs feel a little slow on their feet -- my parents and i test drove such a model on a lark a year or two ago.

 

[Toshi]

In cool website related stuff, I don't know if you've seen this site or not:
Google maps pedometer

It lets you use Google's Map API to draw your own routes on a Google map. It then calculates the mileage, etc. Very useful for mapping bike routes.

good stuff: i'd bookmarked that page after seeing it on http://del.icio.us/popular a few days back but hadn't used it until just now:

my commute is almost exactly 4 miles long btw . which makes me feel less bad about doing it in 20-25 minutes door to door than if it were 3.

 

[Barbaton]

so toshi, I just sent you an IM with this text but you're away so i'll put it here too:

"so I just learned something that I did not
know. Apparently the Subaru sold the 2.5RS, the level just below the WRX to GM, who are selling it now as the Saab 9-2x. With the employee discount, you can get what is basically your subaru (- the supercharger) through Saab for about 16k..."

 

[Toshi]

and i just imed you back:

turbocharger, not super
and the 9-2X Aero is the turbo/wrx one
is going for 19-20k, too
but if i can pick up a used wrx for 12-13k it's a better deal

additional info:

https://www.gmfamilyfirst.com/pdf/Saab_Program_Pricing_2005.pdf

with sport and/or premium packages it's way out of my price range (+ tax etc.). thanks for the idea tho.

 

[zane]

Hey Toshi, it's cool to hear you're in the hunt for a new (faster) ride.

I've been doing research in subarus for a little while, and as stated before most WRX's have had the piss driven out of them. Especially if the driver is male and under 40 (75% of wrx owners....). I don't know how much work you feel like having done initially, but you could always find a nice, stock 2.5RS and slap a turbo on there. More HP than a wrx for the same amount of money..... and probably a better shape car to start with.

 

[Barbaton]

with the orgy of google mapping on RM the last couple days here's a fun things done with the Google Maps API blog.

In case y'all haven't seen it...

 

[Toshi]

yo thad, please expand on how you were able to get thule rack components on ebay for cheap

also, readers of this thread in general: please comment on my proposed text for the ebay motors ad for the pathfinder:

http://toshiclark.com/pathfinder/ad_text.html

 

[WTGPhoben]

yo thad, please expand on how you were able to get thule rack components on ebay for cheap

also, readers of this thread in general: please comment on my proposed text for the ebay motors ad for the pathfinder:

http://toshiclark.com/pathfinder/ad_text.html

You could make the car a lot more appealing if you replaced the windshield. most insurances have 0 deductible for winshield replacement, and most auto glass places drive right to your car and replace it in an hour. (I've had it done twice). Cracked windshields are a big turn-off.

 

[Barbaton]

yo thad, please expand on how you were able to get thule rack components on ebay for cheap

I just made a list of the components I was going to need on the thule configurator site, then just watched ebay and checked them off as I was able to find them:

new 400XT feet (w/locks) ret. 130 ebay 89
slightly used bars ret. 52 ebay 30
used 245 fit kit ret. 50 ebay 20
new 477 short roof adapter ret. 105 ebay 30
new 724 4pr ski carrier ret. 110 ebay 45

I did have to buy one set of lock cylinders (6, I think), which is good actually because that way the keys that hold the rack crap to the car are different from those that hold my crap to the rack. The only thing I couldn't find on ebay was the 598 Criterium bicycle carrier. One ebay store sells it for 109, but after shipping it comes pretty close to the retail $125. I ended up buying that and the locks in Belmont with my 10% discount.

The best deals as you can see were for parts specific to the car, when people got a new car and didn't need the part anymore, like the short roof adapter. Oh, the locks that came with the feet would have cost me another $40, so that increased the dealness of that one...

 

[Toshi]

You could make the car a lot more appealing if you replaced the windshield. most insurances have 0 deductible for winshield replacement, and most auto glass places drive right to your car and replace it in an hour. (I've had it done twice). Cracked windshields are a big turn-off.

ah, only massachussetts has that communist $0 glass deductible rule. (which i wish washington had.) but you're right -- i'm going to get that fixed, as well as dissolving the yellow scrape on the mirror with some kind of cleaning solution.

 

[Toshi]

i also just bought a 3rd, used, bob ratchet rack mount.

the above was on june 13, and it came less than a week later, yet it took until tonight for me to mount it up. it looks very nice now -- i actually busted out the measuring tape and centered the bars such that the two lateral bob ratchets fit outboard of the rack feet with about a cm to spare, and the middle mount is dead center.

the 3rd mount will come in handy this saturday, as i'm headed up to whistler with Phat_Boi, his cousin, and a non-biking classmate of mine. 3 bikes, 4 people, 450 miles of driving, should be fun

 

[Barbaton]

Toshi, I have found you your new car.

 

[Toshi]

Toshi, I have found you your new car.

ahha, awesome. it's sort of an unwitting homage to the chaparral 2j:

http://www.mulsannescorner.com/chaparral2j.html

 

[Toshi]

10 points to whoever can guess what this is, and no, "Figure 4" isn't a valid answer :

 

[WTGPhoben]

10 points to whoever can guess what this is, and no, "Figure 4" isn't a valid answer :

You gave this one away a couple weeks ago. It's a 3D rendering of a chamber of the heart (I'd guess ventricle. I don't remember which is right and left)

 

[Toshi]

ah, so you do remember. 10 points to you. green is LV. it's a different heart... all can be seen in draft 2 of my paper (see the Figures files):

http://students.washington.edu/tjclark/msrtpdraft.zip

here's a harder one, also from the figures:

when i was building up the canfield just now in preparation for whistler tomorrow (and all next weekend) i managed to put the michy 2.8 on the back and the maxxis 2.5 on the front. that would have been an interesting setup. (for the non-dh-literate, the michelin 2.8 is HUGE, nearly 3.0 size, while maxxis runs small, so the size difference is quite significant.)

 

[WTGPhoben]

ah, so you do remember. 10 points to you. green is LV. it's a different heart... all can be seen in draft 2 of my paper (see the Figures files):

http://students.washington.edu/tjclark/msrtpdraft.zip

here's a harder one, also from the figures:

This is a pretty uncreative guess, but I'm guessing that's the beginnings of an atrial map. Looks like there are two aperatures, and the shape is definitely not ventricular

 

[WTGPhoben]

New (official) fells MTB Loop time to beat: 43min. I really thought I could get under 40 pretty easily, but I did lift weights pretty hard this morning and have eaten basically nothing all day except for a bowl of cereal and a piece of chicken.

you taking pics in newburyport thad?

 

[Toshi]

This is a pretty uncreative guess, but I'm guessing that's the beginnings of an atrial map. Looks like there are two aperatures, and the shape is definitely not ventricular

ah, but it is a ventricle. just funny scaling/perspective. you are correct in that there are two apertures. but does the axis and the lines suggest anything? (hint: read www.xanga.com/toshiclark for the answer)

 

[Toshi]

New (official) fells MTB Loop time to beat: 43min. I really thought I could get under 40 pretty easily, but I did lift weights pretty hard this morning and have eaten basically nothing all day except for a bowl of cereal and a piece of chicken.

anorexia = not good. congrats on the new time. i don't think i could beat 1:15 myself

whistler was good today, btw. good riding, good company. i tweaked my right shoulder in a crash, however, and now the left hurts in sympathy. go figure.

 

[Toshi]

read, and be in awe:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1662220

the pic will make you double take.

 

[WTGPhoben]

anorexia = not good. congrats on the new time. i don't think i could beat 1:15 myself

except that 1:15 is the time for you bunnyhopping the loop.

Don't worry, thad had my back last night with a pile of chinese food. While we were eating I decided on an official goal time of 35min. (which is ~10mph average). Now I just have to go about getting faster.

 

[Toshi]

no riding pics, sorry. pic was by the non-riding 4th road tripper from saturday.

 

[Barbaton]

heh

 

[Barbaton]

except that 1:15 is the time for you bunnyhopping the loop.

Don't worry, thad had my back last night with a pile of chinese food. While we were eating I decided on an official goal time of 35min. (which is ~10mph average). Now I just have to go about getting faster.

so today i hit it in 55 mins, which is still about where I was at the end of last season. 1st half in 20 and the second half in 35. Them big hills still get me after the heat gets into me. First half was supa quick cuz i caught a group of mud-hunnies for a while (Keith knows the thad peer pressure factor). They were slow though so I ended up passing them. Maybe I'll have more endurance after my 600mile excursion next week.

 

[Toshi]

Them big hills still get me after the heat gets into me.

big hills? in the fells?

 

[Barbaton]

big hills? in the fells?

well, relative to the little hills. keith knows of which I speak. and anyway, we don't exactly see you climbing up Whistler now, do we. :eviltongu

 

[Toshi]

ya, but i do climb on xc rides out here.

 

[narlus]

west vs east...west wins this battle every time.

 

[WTGPhoben]

ya, but i do climb on xc rides out here.

I bet you spend more time on the toilet than you spend on your XC bike.

 

[Toshi]

that's probably true, but i think that's more a function of your loose colon than anything... ink:

oh, editing it are we hehe

 

[WTGPhoben]

oh, editing it are we hehe

yes, but I was too slow. Fortunately, you know how that feels

 

[Toshi]

yes, but I was too slow. Fortunately, you know how that feels

only going up...

 

[zane]

Toshi- have you found a car yet?

 

[Toshi]

Toshi- have you found a car yet?

haven't been looking -- i'm selling the pathfinder first.

 

[zane]

Ok, I still think my 2.5 RS idea would work pretty well for you.

I'm looking at a 91 Passat right now, it's a possibility...

 

[Barbaton]

so today i hit it in 55 mins, which is still about where I was at the end of last season. 1st half in 20 and the second half in 35. Them big hills still get me after the heat gets into me. First half was supa quick cuz i caught a group of mud-hunnies for a while (Keith knows the thad peer pressure factor). They were slow though so I ended up passing them. Maybe I'll have more endurance after my 600mile excursion next week.

oh, I forgot to mention that when I came out, there was a dude by his truck looking over his bike. I asked if he was ok, and he said he'd "lost" his rear derailleur on the ride. Apparently he had to rig it as a SS to get out...

how do you lose a derailleur? 2nd time in 2 rides we've come across someone with a major problem with a Rocky Mountain (also broken frame last week; in the words of keith over his shoulder as he rode on after asking if things were ok "you need that."

 

[Toshi]

Ok, I still think my 2.5 RS idea would work pretty well for you.

I'm looking at a 91 Passat right now, it's a possibility...

if i get a WRX with low miles i'd get the remainder of the 5/50k powertrain warranty. that's worth a lot of money and piece of mind compared to some home (or tuner) brewed turbo kit on a 2.5 RS. plus i plan to leave it stock since WRXs drive well enough as they are by all accounts.

that car looks pretty nice. nice wheels at least. you should have resisted the urge to buy that new wheelset and the 66 fork, then you could have gotten something cooler :nuts: hehe

 

[Toshi]

i gave a written statement this morning about the stolen-trumpet saga to the seattle police. this was necessary because the guy was arrested yesterday and confessed to breaking into my pathfinder and stealing my trumpet and stereo. "the guy": 33 year old heroin addict, 6 felony convictions including trafficking of stolen property, breaking and entering, and malicious mischief, and 18 misdemeanors/gross misdemeanors. he's going to get 30 months in jail for stealing my stuff.

 

[Barbaton]

i gave a written statement this morning about the stolen-trumpet saga to the seattle police. this was necessary because the guy was arrested yesterday and confessed to breaking into my pathfinder and stealing my trumpet and stereo. "the guy": 33 year old heroin addict, 6 felony convictions including trafficking of stolen property, breaking and entering, and malicious mischief, and 18 misdemeanors/gross misdemeanors. he's going to get 30 months in jail for stealing my stuff.

wow. maybe WA needs a 3-strikes law...