Bad day for pro driver
Thanks to DEu for providing this link.
Goes to show, even the pros are prone to making simple errors.
What makes this funny is that he ditched the car not just once, but twice.
FWD, no ABS and not having a hand near the parking brake. Surely he should've learned from his prior mistake?
Friday, June 30, 2006
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Super GT 06
Spent the weekend over at Sepang watching the Malaysian round of Super GT. Although the overall speeds were lower than previous years, there was still plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing, with cars making contact starting from the very first lap! The ARTA NSX was way ahead of the pack although the Motul Autech Z put in a very strong performance to close the gap towards the end of the race.
Photoset
Photoset
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Heat Wins
So the Miami Heat won 4 games in a row to beat the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals. I knew this team was good, but didn't realize just how good. They opened my eyes by handily beating the Detroit Pistons. Through it all, they never lost sight of their objective, despite being 2 down. Dwayne Wade won Finals MVP and deserved it. This young man is smart and a very good team player. At the individual skills level he is not as polished as Kobe but at least he understands the team concept. Assuming he is injury-free and Miami can find a good backup for Shaq, Miami will continue to be a strong contender in future playoffs. Also, I'm especially heartened that veterans like Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning (pictured here with former arch-nemesis Shaq, now his team mate), who, despite criticisms and health problems, finally can retire with the knowledge that they will be inducted in the Hall of Fame with a championship ring. It has been a long time coming fellas, but it's been worth it. Congrats!
Photo credit: Victor Baldizon, NBAE/Getty Images
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Sepang International Circuit
Here's the map from the Sepang website:
Its length is 5.542 km, spread over 15 turns.
The track is run only in clockwise configuration, except for drag races.
The longest straight is 927.543 meters and leads onto T1, a constant radius turn leading into T2, a tight kink. T3 is a sweeper into T4, a right-hander on an incline. This is where newbies on cold tires and an impatience to get on throttle are usually caught off-guard and run into the gravel.
T5 and T6 are the most dangerous parts of the circuit. It's a common mistake to unsettle the car's balance through improper brake or throttle application. Go into T5 too hot, and the car might oversteer. If you make it through but still carry too much speed, you'll have to take T6 while running wide, totally missing the apex. On the other hand, apexing too early on T6 will lead to understeer on corner exit, sometimes with disastrous results.
T7 and T8 are the bus stop corners. Proper threshold and trail braking allows the car to cruise through with the steering wheel fixed on an angle. Taken in 4th.
T9 is a sharp hairpin on a downslope so braking has to be hard and early. Normally taken in 3rd gear with a late turn-in. Corner exit is on an incline and here 4WD and RWD vehicles prove their worth. FWD vehicles may have torque steer, so if you're driving a FWD, roll on the throttle instead of mashing it.
T10... nothing fantastic, just take the classic racing line. T11 is another deceptive corner... turn in late to avoid surprises.
T12 is on a downslope. Again, braking balance is critical to avoid unsettling the car. If T12 was taken correctly, T13 can simply be tackled as a straight line. T14 is critical... blowing it means low corner exit speed onto the back straight. That would suck. T15... too many people think that corner entry speed is everything. Don't do it.
A back of the envelope guide to lap timings:
Transponded times:
Link to Sepang International Circuit website
Its length is 5.542 km, spread over 15 turns.
The track is run only in clockwise configuration, except for drag races.
The longest straight is 927.543 meters and leads onto T1, a constant radius turn leading into T2, a tight kink. T3 is a sweeper into T4, a right-hander on an incline. This is where newbies on cold tires and an impatience to get on throttle are usually caught off-guard and run into the gravel.
T5 and T6 are the most dangerous parts of the circuit. It's a common mistake to unsettle the car's balance through improper brake or throttle application. Go into T5 too hot, and the car might oversteer. If you make it through but still carry too much speed, you'll have to take T6 while running wide, totally missing the apex. On the other hand, apexing too early on T6 will lead to understeer on corner exit, sometimes with disastrous results.
T7 and T8 are the bus stop corners. Proper threshold and trail braking allows the car to cruise through with the steering wheel fixed on an angle. Taken in 4th.
T9 is a sharp hairpin on a downslope so braking has to be hard and early. Normally taken in 3rd gear with a late turn-in. Corner exit is on an incline and here 4WD and RWD vehicles prove their worth. FWD vehicles may have torque steer, so if you're driving a FWD, roll on the throttle instead of mashing it.
T10... nothing fantastic, just take the classic racing line. T11 is another deceptive corner... turn in late to avoid surprises.
T12 is on a downslope. Again, braking balance is critical to avoid unsettling the car. If T12 was taken correctly, T13 can simply be tackled as a straight line. T14 is critical... blowing it means low corner exit speed onto the back straight. That would suck. T15... too many people think that corner entry speed is everything. Don't do it.
A back of the envelope guide to lap timings:
| Vehicle | Lap time |
| 04 Formula 1 | 1'31" |
| JGTC GT500 | 1'52" |
| MotoGP | 2'01" |
| Porsche GT3 (pro driver) | 2'27" |
| Evo 8 (very heavy mods) | 2'28" |
| Merdeka Millenium Endurance 04 STi | 2'32" |
| Evo 7/8/MR1 | 2'3x" |
| Stock Evo 7 (pro driver) | 2'37" |
| Evo 9/9MR (basic mods)2 | 2'3x" |
| Evo 7/8/MR (basic mods)2 | 2'4x" |
| Me3 | 2'36"xxx |
| Me4 | 2'40" |
| Me5 | 2'41" |
| DEu6 | 2'46" |
| Evo 7/8/MR (track newbie) | 2'5x" |
1any multiple combination of upgraded ECU, coilovers, sway bars, tires, brakes, cams, turbo etc
AND lots of seat time.
2intake/exhaust, boost controller, stock turbo, fuel computer
3as 16 Jun 06, worn A048s. 2'37"xxx on 14 Oct 05, damp track.
4as of 29 Jul 05
5as of 1 Apr 05
6as of 10 Jun 05, with brake problems, cat, fuelling issues, AD07.
Transponded times:
| Date | Lap time | Event | Remarks |
| 16 Jun 06 | 2'36"xxx | Private track day | Worn A048. 1.1 bar boost, -3 deg spark advance |
| 2'41"xxx | DEu. Very early retirement :( | ||
| 10 Feb 06 | 2'37"174 | BMWSG | |
| 2'37"535 | |||
| 2'38"127 | |||
| 2'43"631 | DEu | ||
| 2'44"017 | DEu | ||
| 21 Jan 06 | 2'42"154 | Traction Circle Club | Worn RE070 |
| 2'43"449 |
Link to Sepang International Circuit website
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
東風破
The video response to 倒带.
Lyrics:
一盏离愁孤单伫立在窗口
我在门後假装你人还没走
旧地如重游月圆更寂寞
夜半清醒的烛火不忍苛责我
一壶漂泊浪迹天涯难入喉
你走之後酒暖回忆思念瘦
水向东流时间怎黱偷
花开就一次成熟我却错过
谁在用琵琶弹奏一曲东风破
岁月在墙上剥落看见小时候
犹记得那年我们都还很年幼
而如今琴声幽幽我的等候你没听过
谁再用琵琶弹奏一曲东风破
枫叶将故事染色结局我看透
篱笆外的古道我牵著你走过
荒烟漫草的年头就连分手都很沉默
倒帶
Lyrics:
我受夠了等待 你所謂的安排
說的未來到底多久才來
總是要來不及 才知道我可愛
我想依賴而你卻都不在
應該開心的地帶 你給的全是空白
一個人假日發呆 找不到人陪我看海
我在幸福的門外 卻一直都進不來
你累積給的傷害 我是真的很難釋懷
終於看開 愛回不來 而你總是太晚明白
最後才把話說開 哭著求我留下來
終於看開 愛回不來 我們面前太多阻礙
你的手卻放不開 寧願沒出息 求我別離開
你總是要我乖 慢慢計劃將來
我的眼淚卻一直掉下來
過去怎麼交代 你該給的信賴
被你親手緩緩推入懸崖
從我臉上的蒼白 看到記憶慢下來
過去甜蜜在倒帶 只是感覺已經不在
而我對你的期待 被你一次次摔壞
已經碎成太多塊 要怎麼拼湊跟重來
Isn't it ironic that it is Jay Chou who wrote the song? Sounds so much like my life. Jay's response video above... heh :)
Friday, June 09, 2006
F1 Carbon Fiber mousepad
Hand-made in England exclusively for Formula 1™ by specialist composite technicians who make Formula One monocoques, this carbon mouse mat was designed using state of the art automotive 3D modelling software.
Features include:
- Solid polished carbon fibre with inlaid leather mouse area
- Italian black suede backing
- Embossed in carbon with the F1 Formula 1 logo
- Carbon cured to 120º C at 100 psi
- Suitable for an optical or ball-operated mouse
Packaging:
Wrapped in F1™ tissue paper and presented in a luxury matt black box subtly highlighted with the F1 Formula 1 logo.
All yours for the sum of £260.
Link
Monday, June 05, 2006
Dark Phoenix
Torque band testing. Measurements taken when car is rolling to eliminate launching from the equation. Since these are speed-time graphs we are interested in the gradient of each line. Steeper slope = more power. As for the data we are interested in the passing speeds within each gea with no shifts in between.
First pic: black line is current setup, while red and green lines were recorded in Aug 05. All runs in 3rd gear. The drop off on the black line just shows that the car was decelerating after the run (i.e. hard braking).
Second pic: black line is current setup in 3rd gear, red line is previous setup in 2nd gear, green line is standard Evo 8 GSR with increased boost in 3rd gear.
Current setup is almost as fast 40-60 mph in 3rd gear as compared to the previous setup in 2nd. Despite getting on the throttle about 0.5 seconds later, the current setup (black line) is also about 1.5 seconds faster to 65 mph compared to the green line.
Preliminary data suggests that the airflow on current setup is choked though... is it time to move on from the stock turbo?
First pic: black line is current setup, while red and green lines were recorded in Aug 05. All runs in 3rd gear. The drop off on the black line just shows that the car was decelerating after the run (i.e. hard braking).
Second pic: black line is current setup in 3rd gear, red line is previous setup in 2nd gear, green line is standard Evo 8 GSR with increased boost in 3rd gear.Current setup is almost as fast 40-60 mph in 3rd gear as compared to the previous setup in 2nd. Despite getting on the throttle about 0.5 seconds later, the current setup (black line) is also about 1.5 seconds faster to 65 mph compared to the green line.
Preliminary data suggests that the airflow on current setup is choked though... is it time to move on from the stock turbo?
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