[ALEXIS_DH]

from a local guy who shoots autox events:

somebody buy that man some droop travel!

do all corrados do that????

i´ve seen a couple corrados a local auto-x´, and both of them do that almost all the time.
i thought it was the drivers.
they must really suck as people say.

 

[Toshi]

i think that particular corrado's problem was not nearly enough droop travel (cheap coilovers is my guess), along with super soft front spring rates and a wimpy swaybar. the droop travel is pretty much inexcusable.

 

[Westy]

As far as I know all VW's of that era did 3 wheel action, at least they did stock.

 

[Toshi]

got in a full weekend of autox out in pocatello, idaho. pocatello is an amazingly dry place, by the way, to the point that my not-so-fledgling-anymore goatee decided to spazz out a la john dorian's hair in "scrubs"...

anyway, the autox itself: $30 for two days, or 14 runs. i ran b stock, as there is no street tire class out away from civilization.

the front runner in the class was a 2007 rx-8 driven by brian coulson, who placed #24/36 in nationals in an nearly identical rx-8. he was on kumho v710s and handily beat me down. to his credit he is quite a driver, as i can attest after a ride, has a nicely set up car (see below), and has been autoxing for 8 years. we'll see how the pax results turn out but he'll be up there in the top 5 for sure with his times.

next up was a 2004 rx-8, about 2.7s back to the best of my knowledge with yours truly campaigning in his 3rd season behind the wheel.

to my credit, 2.7s is not half bad at all given street tires vs. 710s, stock swaybar and shocks vs. big bar + koni adjustables, and the less-tangible factors like full exhaust vs. catback turndown and touring model (my car: sunroof, HIDs, fog lamps) vs. base (~50 lb lighter).

i think i was the fastest car there on street tires... we'll see if the results prove me to be a liar. i was about 2.5s faster than the C6 vette next to me tooling around on ridiculous looking BFG G-force meats, but i don't know how the rest of the street tire field played out.

behind me on both days was a 1992 mr2 turbo, shod with Toyo RA-1s (a "hard" R-comp, halfway between my street tires and the 710s), and with a driver with 2 years experience. his car felt strong and grippy, but had poorly controlled body motions thanks to 15 year old shocks. for most of the weekend i was about 2.5s ahead of him, but he pulled to within 0.6s on the final run.

finally, on the first day we were joined by a novice driver on his first time out in a 2004 rx-8. he was frankly quite awful. kids, DON'T DRIVE WITH ONE HAND ON THE WHEEL AND THE OTHER ON THE SHIFTER. it makes you jerky, and jerkiness means either that you spin or that you're driving so far below the limit that it doesn't matter. he was about 6 seconds off my pace, and that's a fair comparison since our cars are set up identically (stock vs. stock, street tires, with his base model ~50 lbs lighter than mine to boot). however, i think he had fun, and i hope he joins the regular autoxing ranks, if only to provide cannon fodder for me when i run idaho events



other highlights of the weekend besides my street tire heroics include getting rides in brian's 710-clad rx-8, a 710-clad Evo IX that ended up winning A Stock, a 710-clad C6 corvette that was just behind the evo in AS, and in the MR2 and the novice's RX-8 mentioned above.

that's a lot of seat time for $30, not to mention the free instruction i got from brian and others...

 

[Toshi]

hike ("ride") pics from today: http://tinyurl.com/26nfjr

this was a ~2h hike starting right from my condo's doorstep (the trailhead isn't more than 1000 feet away). there were a ton of people on the main trail, and at least 4 others on the spur that climbed up to the butte. jackson rocks that way.

a sample or two:

 

[Toshi]

any comments on this plan? unfortunately both the start and end dates are constrained, and my travel companion hasn't seen yellowstone. i'll continue on the road, visiting parents/japanese relatives in oregon until july 6th or so. (so basically i'll be on the road constantly from june 15 [finishing this last rotation in jackson, wyoming, heading to see my sister get married, then launching on this second road trip] to july 6, yikes)

http://tjclark.ath.cx/images/miscellaneous/desktop pics and screenshots/latejuneroadtripnarrow.png

update: it's now extended another day, with the extra being alloted[sp?] to yellowstone

 

[Toshi]

on autox:

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets.html

really thought provoking link: those serious about the sport take it very seriously. it also provides more motive for me keeping my RX-8 stock, besides the fact that extra wheels/V710s are expensive and a pain to store and carry around, as changing things without the ability to quantify the effects of the change is a recipe for frustration if not disaster. such quantification would include dynoing shock absorbers and data acquisition at the minimum. for that matter, such data acquisition would be really beneficial in setting up dh bikes, given that it's such a black art as of yet even despite/due to dw's best efforts at both explaining and obfuscating in the interest of driving up sales...

basically i'll refine the driver until i can do things right, that is with analysis, and that point is far off in terms of time, motivation, and money. for now it's enough of a kick for me to beat up on slower drivers in my class who have superior equipment (tires), and to compete in street tire class and make a run for the money when possible (ie, around seattle).

 

[Toshi]

new pics from schwabacher road and blacktail butte in and around grand teton national park:

http://tinyurl.com/yvcue4

click here to open a quicktime vr in quicktime player -- set it to full screen and enjoy.

 

[Toshi]

new pics from jenny lake, hidden falls, and inspiration point in grand teton NP. no qtvr or panos today, just 10 miles on the trail with a ton of deadfall. i'm tired of climbing over spiky trees.

http://tinyurl.com/2p5zmk

my sensor's all dirty again...

 

[Toshi]

i just contemplated driving 5+ hours each way to get two days of autox in at miller motorsports park in slc... then i realized that that's a stupid idea. it might be worth it if they had an indexed street tire class, but they don't so it'd be a ton of driving for an off the pace finish. bah.

 

[Toshi]

any comments on this plan? unfortunately both the start and end dates are constrained, and my travel companion hasn't seen yellowstone. i'll continue on the road, visiting parents/japanese relatives in oregon until july 6th or so. (so basically i'll be on the road constantly from june 15 [finishing this last rotation in jackson, wyoming, heading to see my sister get married, then launching on this second road trip] to july 6, yikes)

http://tjclark.ath.cx/images/miscellaneous/desktop pics and screenshots/latejuneroadtripnarrow.png

update: it's now extended another day, with the extra being alloted[sp?] to yellowstone

a different look at the same itinerary. yikes.

http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/RoadtripMap.jpg

 

[Toshi]

have 20 minutes to spare along with an appreciation for group b rally cars and finely crafted bits of metal? this 311 (!) page photoset on a finnish restoration of a 1984 toyota celica group b rally car is amazing...

http://www.mat.fi/project1984toyotacelicaturbo.htm

it makes me want to build a kit car at some point in my life, to truly grasp the complexity of it all.

 

[Toshi]

this dude is my hero:

Picked up a new racecar this weekend
Ended up selling the WRX to justify it but I think it'll be a bit more fun in the long run.

 

[Toshi]

after being on for 9 straight days and working like a dog this weekend i took a much-needed day off.

phelps lake, grand teton NP

two more here: http://tinyurl.com/2q9juc

 

[Toshi]

played in a parade (on a trailer, not marching!) with the local community band today:

the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/29ebq4

 

[Toshi]

have you all seen this?

built by a RMer. insane.

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174083

 

[Toshi]

another day, another hike: taggart and bradley lakes

http://tinyurl.com/yrswtd

the cliché taggart lake shot:

bradley lake pano:

 

[Toshi]

very cool: tube frame, 3 rotor, mazda sanctioned and supported.

2-14 Mazda RX8 (Prep 2)
2-14.1 20B Cosmo three rotor (Mazda Spec parts). 2.0 liter, 9.7 compression ratio,
3-52mm throttle bodies, maximum of 6 injectors, maximum fuel pressure 4.2 bar,
intake manifold is free. Call Grand American for parts list 386 947 6681
2-14.2 Minimum weight 2200 lbs
2-14.3 Six-speed transmission.
2-14.4 Maximum body width is 73.5 inches.
2-14.5 Front tire 280 /640/18
2-14.6 Engine set-back 5.125 inches from spindle centerline to 1st spark plug.
2-14.7 Complete rear wing height w/ end plates cannot exceed roof height.
2-14.8 Fuel capacity 24 gallons May use oil in fuel
2-14.9 Allowed larger/higher exhaust position .
2-14.10 Tire sizes are 280/640R18 front and 295/660R18 rear

it's the 3rd car to go by in this clip, the high pitched one (other cars are the Daytona Prototypes, different class):

 

[Toshi]

i hiked from colter bay to hermitage point today. about 10 miles in total with the side trips i did, both planned and inadvertently. (let's just say that trail marking could be improved&#8230

http://tinyurl.com/2dxnxs

a few highlights:

mt moran:

colter bay:

 

[Barbaton]

Toshi. I have provided photographic evidence:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2558850#post2558850

 

[Toshi]

Toshi. I have provided photographic evidence:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2558850#post2558850

replied.

 

[Toshi]

alexis, you should like this, a pro driver taking a 1967 Mclaren M6B Can-Am car around Infineon/Sears Point. 600 hp.

this first is a video from a camera mounted on the engine cover, with the last/fast lap starting at around 4:30. note the water pump looking thing in the center of the frame: that's the throttle linkage.
http://www.justracing.com/galleries/displayimage.php?pos=-4482

a few more views, in-car and facing the driver: http://www.justracing.com/galleries/displayimage.php?pos=-4481 . note the other, legit racecar just being left in the dust on the straights...

the driver's thoughts: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18253338&postcount=38

pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/garysheehan.com/1968McLarenM6B

 

[skatetokil]

ok, since this seems to be the place for fast cars, if you were going to pick up a fun vehicle for under 10 grand, what would you buy? I'd like something that can actually seat 4 even if its a 2 door. I'll take good handling and mileage over a huge engine.


I've been looking for a low mileage 95 Acura Legend GS (sports suspension, hot engine, 6 speed stick etc) or the Legend 2 door coupe from 93-95 but I haven't found the right one yet.

 

[Toshi]

ok, since this seems to be the place for fast cars, if you were going to pick up a fun vehicle for under 10 grand, what would you buy? I'd like something that can actually seat 4 even if its a 2 door. I'll take good handling and mileage over a huge engine.

I've been looking for a low mileage 95 Acura Legend GS (sports suspension, hot engine, 6 speed stick etc) or the Legend 2 door coupe from 93-95 but I haven't found the right one yet.

the legend would be fun, but it's fwd. from my car list that i used when picking out my ride (see http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/carlist1111.png and http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/carlist1112.png ):

1999 subaru 2.5RS
1999 toyota celica
2002 mazda protegé5, or a protegé sedan for that matter
1996 nissan 300zx 2+2
1990/oldschool VW GTI, not any of the later, bloated models tho
1989-1991 honda civic si -- double wishbones, right around ~2100 lbs, what's not to like?

 

[Toshi]

i got up at 3 AM to catch the sunrise at oxbow bend, made famous by ansel adams way back when.

http://tinyurl.com/22na6n

the first image at the link will open up quicktime player, with a time lapse movie of the sunrise.

 

[Toshi]

i hiked around at teton pass today.

http://tinyurl.com/yvw7l6

(this above shot sort of reminds me of this one from japan: http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/japan/all/Pages/0.html )

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

alexis, you should like this, a pro driver taking a 1967 Mclaren M6B Can-Am car around Infineon/Sears Point. 600 hp.

this first is a video from a camera mounted on the engine cover, with the last/fast lap starting at around 4:30. note the water pump looking thing in the center of the frame: that's the throttle linkage.
http://www.justracing.com/galleries/displayimage.php?pos=-4482

a few more views, in-car and facing the driver: http://www.justracing.com/galleries/displayimage.php?pos=-4481 . note the other, legit racecar just being left in the dust on the straights...

the driver's thoughts: http://www.justracing.com/galleries/displayimage.php?pos=-4481

pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/garysheehan.com/1968McLarenM6B

awesome video.

fun trivia. back in the good ol´days (mid 60s, just before the military regime), my grand-dad had a 2 friends who raced cars and had mclarens (ford powered. ex can-am maybe?) and another one who had a porsche 906. imagine having a car like that in your garage.
the fellas are in their 80s right now. the 906 was shipped to ecuador when the lefty military junta came to power. otherwise it would probably have stayed in his garage next to a shelby that survived the lefties.

 

[Toshi]

i've decided to go for a new look to my photos, which i'll try out on the big batch coming up from the roadtrip.

old look, which i would describe as:
a) having an intentionally limited range of luminance, albeit with many curve shifts in the midrange to make things look more dramatic
b) being deliberately supersaturated in certain colors, blue for skies certainly, reds, oranges, warm browns
c) the general impression is of color first, not line or contrast. this stems from my long-standing belief that, if possible, the scene should have detail in both highlights and shadows, and that limited dynamic range often is a cheap photoshop gimmick (taking the levels down to 220 for the white point, etc.)

example of the current look:

i came up with the idea for this new look while walking by some large-format b&w landscape work plastered on the hallways here in the hospital (at the foot of the tetons, so naturally of them).

the look is very different on those shots, color vs. no color notwithstanding, and leads me to question whether the human eye can see more local contrast and dynamic range when color is not the main element. (i could come up with a handwavy physiological rationale for this, given that rods are useful in much lower light than cones, but i think that rods are inactive at most reasonable light levels so it's probably untrue.)

nevertheless, the effect is real, and i see a new look that i want to shoot for on the road trip, one that will not depend on supersaturated skies for its visual "pop":
a) i'll optimize luminance first, and will sacrifice shadow detail if necessary in order to maintain a good mapping of the lighter shades (ie, will not map a large range onto a small domain)
b) color will not be added in as a gimmick (think the cheesy black and white grass with yellow flower type of shot)
c) instead i'll aim for a more watery, sub-realistic level of color, with tone tweaks. the wateriness will be to let the luminance detail be realized

this may all look worse on screen at small resolutions, but i have high hopes for larger shots and prints this way.

 

[Toshi]

i hiked up paintbrush canyon today. while i was aiming for 12.8 miles with a goodly amount of vertical (2535 ft) i came up about a mile short as there was much snow on the trail at higher elevations.

http://tinyurl.com/3c4a6f

still in the "old style", paintbrush canyon:

a shot in the "new style":

 

[Westy]

i hiked up paintbrush canyon today. while i was aiming for 12.8 miles with a goodly amount of vertical (2535 ft) i came up about a mile short as there was much snow on the trail at higher elevations.

Awesome stuff, I am very jealous.

Last year I went through paintbrush on the end of a 6 day trip. I was happy to be going down it and not up. I was there in August and there was still a lot of snow and the scariest most unstable scree field I have ever been on. I don't know nothin bout no fancy photography but I wished I had a wider angle lense. I did spend an hour waiting for good lighting conditions on the last picture but it was one damn fine hour.

Here is some of what you missed from the top of paintbrush.

 

[Toshi]

great stuff, westy. did you ever post on RM about this trip? i would recommend a lounge photowhore thread if not

(you'll see one from me in the next few days for sure as i pick out my favorites from these 6 weeks in wyoming)

 

[Toshi]

this is cool:

http://www.headphone.com/technical/product-measurements/build-a-graph.php?graphID[0]=249&graphID[1]=303&graphID[2]=3&graphID[3]=255&graphType=0&buttonSelection=Compare+Headphones

 

[Toshi]

http://www.teamjamoto.com/dixeregionpage.htm#v8301600

oops (rx-7 loses not 1 wheel, but all 4 at an autox)

 

[Westy]

great stuff, westy. did you ever post on RM about this trip? i would recommend a lounge photowhore thread if not

(you'll see one from me in the next few days for sure as i pick out my favorites from these 6 weeks in wyoming)

I posted one at some point but can no longer find it, maybe it was just a GMT installment. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your shots.

 

[Toshi]

a photowhore thread was promised, and now delivered:

my life in Wyoming through photos

the only real content not found here and there in the last few pages of this thread is a link to positively huge versions of a few panoramas:

http://tinyurl.com/2mfuxd

 

[Barbaton]

Toshi, you'll appreciate this:

 

[Toshi]

Toshi, you'll appreciate this:

that's plain weird.

pics will come slowly, but here's the first batch. note the color/luminance tweaking in line with my manifesto above... yes, this is how zion looks DEsaturated.

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/road trip 2007/

 

[Toshi]

a few notes:

i have seen the jesusphone, and it rocks. as soon as i figure out how to reflash and debrain my 770 i'll be posting a number of things on eBay:

Nokia 770 internet tablet
iPod Video 30 GB
Motorola RAZR v3, locked to t-mobile

needless to say, the iPhone is a bunch smaller in my pocket than the above combination, and works way better, too. trying to use google maps was always an exercise in futility on the 770 even when wifi was available, yet it works beautifully on the iPhone.

ok, enough of that.

i also did my first track day/HPDE today (high performance driver education). it's a whole different experience from autocross, and a lot scarier: committing to turn in at 115 mph on a blind corner takes some guts, and backing out isn't an option since lifting the throttle mid turn is exactly what causes one to spin...

i think i'll be sticking mostly to autocross in the future. entry fees are much more affordable, and i find the challenge of the clock more satisfying than trying to perfect one's line with all manner of distractions (other cars of vastly different classes) out there. to illustrate the variety of cars on the track at once, we had a bone stock kia spectra as well as a SCCA T1-spec Viper with full cage, hoosiers, etc.

 

[Toshi]

i just finished posting the rest of the photos here:

http://tinyurl.com/22jsjk

i'll save the actual images + descriptions for the forthcoming lounge photowhore thread. here are two cool qtvrs tho, view them full screen in quicktime player for best effect:

http://tinyurl.com/3bpsnw
http://tinyurl.com/2jj9lk

note that the code that opens up the qtvrs in quicktime player does NOT work in safari 3 beta. works otherwise.

 

[Toshi]

the promised lounge thread on the road trip, comment there:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2599118