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My POS phone saves the day!
posted on April 3rd, 2009 by Bobby in Tech
I get home from work today and my internet and cable was out. After 30 minutes past without service, I started thinking. I checked my records and realized I haven’t paid Comcast since late February. DOH! I either missed the paper bill or am on paperless billing, but ignored their email. I don’t know, but I was probably about 2 weeks late on payment.
I call them up, and sure enough, my service was disconnected. I paid the outstanding balance over the phone, hoping they could just flip a switch and the service would come back on. That’d make too much sense, though. Instead, Comcast has to send a technician out to reconnect me. I have to take a few hours off work next Wednesday, 5 days from now, so a technician can come out and direct me to a website to reactivate my modem. Fantastic.
Having no TV isn’t a big deal, but no internet? What the heck would I do for 5 days, read some books?
I have a Sprint Motorola Q that’s nearing the end of it’s contract. It’s a piece of crap with a data plan, but all I use it for is Google Maps nowadays. So, I’m tryin’ to navigate the web on Mobile IE looking for tethering options. I found an app called PDAnet. I can’t download exe’s to my phone, so I did have to go to someone’s house to borrow their internet to put it on a USB drive. I had planned on installing it on Windows 7 beta. I just started using Ubuntu as my day-to-day OS with Windows 7 running in VirtualBox, but I was unable to get VirtualBox to recognize my USB devices. But, I just loaded a clean copy of XP last night, so I was able to dual boot into XP to install PDAnet. Installation was simple and involved no setup. I had a wireless connection 30 seconds later. Painless.
The speed is okay. I downloaded Firefox (~8mb) in 2 or 3 minutes. It’s better than nothing. From what I’ve read, PDAnet will still use the same wireless data you’d be using from the phone without triggering Sprint to charge some stupid data tethering fees. Let’s hope so.
PDAnet. Awesome.
1
R-comp issues
posted on November 9th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
I went to TWS this weekend, for the first time in a few months. This was the first event since installing some camber kits. I originally set the front to about 2.8° and the rears around 1.6°.
Saturday
1st session. The car feels really unstable. I was getting a lot of nasty bump steer. The car just skipped around all down the straights. There were a couple times when I thought I could have been “that guy” who somehow managed to put a car into the wall on the front straight. Braking ability was also reduced, because of the camber.
The bump steer problem: I lowered the Ground Controls 2 spins when the camber kits went on, thinking I’d have some awesome handling car. I was wrong. This also explains the strange feeling I was getting when turning the car at slow speeds, like at full lock in parking lot speeds. As the wheel would approach full lock, it’s like the steering got lighter and wanted to go to full lock.
The solution: I raised the car up to where it was and the bump steer went back to normal, which it’s always been a little skippy on the straights. After that, the tie rods appeared to be just slightly at upwards angle to the steering rack. They were probably at a severe angle when the car was 2 spins lower.
2nd and 3rd session. The car felt okay, but I would soon run into problems. Because I raised the car up, some of the original 2.8° of front camber was taken out (I measured 2.8° after the car was wrongfully lowered 2 spins). By the 3rd session, I corded the outside edge of the RF tire, which is what I was trying to avoid when I bought the camber kits.
So now I need some tires. I bought a set of shaved RA-1s, with a session or so on ‘em, from a Spec Miata racer.
The R888 is replacing the RA-1 as the spec tire, so RA-1s are abundant and useless for the 2009 season. I missed my 4th session so I could run out and get them mounted so I wouldn’t miss any Sunday sessions. I left the car for the night.
NTB wouldn’t mount my RA-1s because they’re “bald” and their assholes. I explained that they’re shaved and that’s just how they look, but that wouldn’t do it. I went to Walmart, since it was already 6:30 PM and nothing else was open. They almost didn’t do it, but they were closing down and were cool and mounted them up for me.
Sunday
1st session. Before going out, I got these RA-1s on and added a little camber to the fronts and a tad more on the rear. It felt “okay,” but I couldn’t stop and went straight off the track at T13. Too much camber.
2nd session. I dialed the fronts down a tiny bit, hoping my braking would be better. Nope. I did same exact thing and went straight off in T13’s braking zone. I ended up with a decent flat spot on the inside of my RF RA-1, that had 2 sessions on it.
That ended my weekend. I only ran 5 of 8 sessions and none of them were really all that good.
Even though I was making note of everything I did on that setup log I made, I think I just made too many changes at once. Also, I wasn’t able to actually check the camber at the track. That camber gauge I made just wasn’t working because I didn’t have any good ground to level it on, so I was stuck eye ballin’ it and measuring and matching each side of the camber kits, hoping to just get them equal.
When I got home, and was able to accurately measure camber in my garage, I measured LF 3.2°, RF 3.2°, LR 2.4°, RR 2.6°. My measuring at the track appears to have kept the fronts and rears symmetrical, which is cool, but that’s a little more camber than I was looking for. I’ll probably end up bringing the fronts down to around 3.0°, or even less, and see how that goes.
I imagine that 3.2° of static camber, and relatively soft front springs (500 lb/in), probably means my camber when braking was pretty high. No wonder I can’t stop. Of course, if I dial out too much front camber, now I’m back to cording the outside edges of my front tires.
Basically, R-compounds have introduced a whole new set of problems and highlighted all the things that need to change in order to make them work properly and last. I put a couple of thousand track miles on those Azenis and never had any problems like this.
The Texas World Speedway concession stand has some good burgers, though. 
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Running - Week 10
posted on September 4th, 2008 by Bobby in General
10 weeks since I started running, I’m easily running 30 minutes straight.
The Podrunner Intervals series turned out to be a great podcast for running. My Zune, however, isn’t so great for running and had a couple of problems. It skipped a couple times and then one day, every single song was corrupted and I had to restore/resync all my stuff. My Kiwi friend, Andrea, gave me her second generation 8GB iPod Nano, which works great. I love it. It had just enough room to store my music and podcasts, leaving only 100 MB of space. The Zune just stays in the truck, now.
I should have kept better track of my weight throughout the weeks with a spreadsheet. My Week 1 post says I weighed 170 lbs. and I’m consistently weighing in at 163 lbs. first thing in the morning. 7 lbs. is nothing spectacular, but losing it was so easy and I’m pleased. I’d still like to lose another 10 or so lbs. That’ll probably take another few months, unless I really ramp up my workout and watch my diet.
I’m probably going to start alternating mornings of running and working out. I’m thinking I’ll sprint a mile and workout 3 days a week and maybe jog the other 2 days. I don’t know yet. I just want to maintain a level of cardio while starting to focus on building muscle.
As far as my diet, I just eat smaller portions and I take one of those Weight Watchers Smart Ones meals to work everyday. They’re normally 9-10 oz., which is perfect. I just stock up on ‘em when they’re under $2 a piece. They’re pretty cheap and most of them are tasty.
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Nurburgring Wars
posted on August 29th, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just last week in a country far, far away…
A 2009 Dodge Viper ACR (American Club Racer) went around the Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 22 seconds. That is 4 seconds faster than the Corvette ZR1 and 7 seconds faster than the Nissan GTR.
While skimming through the comments on that article, you’ll notice that the knowledge and experience of some of these people is limited to what they got while earning their Gran Turismo 4 Super License. There are a lot of fanboy’s slamming the Viper ACR because it’s a “track car,” while the GTR has a back seat (uselessly tiny, by the way) and the ZR1 would be a more comfortable daily ride. But, who cares, really? If you want a fast car with a backseat, get the GTR and if you want something faster that you can drive to work, get the ZR1. But, if you you want a street legal, production car for a more pure purpose, get the Viper ACR. They’re all similarly classed cars with their own characteristics, whether they’re advantages or disadvantages depends on the buyer.
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Dumb people drive Smart cars
posted on July 27th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I’ve seen about a dozen Smart cars around Houston lately and every time I ask myself, “why would anyone here have one?” I saw this fortwo coupe at the gas station today and thought it would make a funny picture.
Why do I think this is funny?
1) They don’t seem to appreciate the whole purpose of the car. The Smart is tiny because it’s made to park in tight areas. This makes good sense in Europe, and other densely populated parts, but in Texas, it’s not at all necessary. Parking the Smart in an 8′ wide spot was too challenging for those people. And screw the handicapped.
The only good place in Texas to have a Smart car is when you make a late-night run to Wal-Mart and the only parking spot available is actually inside the cart coral, because all of the carts are scattered throughout the parking lot, where Wal-Mart shoppers keep them.
2) The owner must really think he’s clever to have the “SIP GAS” license plate. But, do you consider the Smart car to be a gas sipper? I didn’t after the first time I looked at its specs. FuelEconomy.gov says a 2008 fortwo coupe gets 36 combined mpg (33/41). WOW, 36 combined! That’s unheard of! I looked up some cars from back in the day.Â
A 1995 Honda Civic VX (with shift indicator light) gets 43 combined (39/50) and has 92 hp, 21 more than the Smart. And, it can seat 4 people with room to haul some luggage in the hatch. I was thinking maybe the Smart is somehow heavier because it has that super rigid shell, power this/that and all the other gadgets and safety equipment that modern cars have. The Smart weighs 1,600 lbs. and the Civic VX weighs around 2,050 lbs. How is this thing not getting 50+ mpg?
Let’s compare it with some modern cars. A regular gasoline 2008 Civic DX is rated at 29 combined mpg (25/36). I think the 7 less combined mpg is worth the ability to carry double the people and double the cargo at quadruple the coolness. A 2008 Civic hybrid gets 42 combined, a 2008 Prius gets 46 combined. Of course, those cars are a little more expensive, but at least you’re not guaranteed to die when some massive Toyota Camry comes into your lane because your Smart was hiding behind its B-pllar.
I’ll bet they had two straws in a $3 bottle of Fiji in the Smart’s single cupholder.
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Running - Week 3
posted on July 14th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I skipped an easy walking day during Week 2, thinking I didn’t need it, and my thighs got a little sore after running 3 consecutive days. I skipped Saturday so I wouldn’t hurt anything.
I just began the 3rd week this morning. I’ve switched from using the Runner’s World intervals on my watch to just using the Podrunner Intervals podcast now. I like not having to mess with my watch and I think I like the Podrunner intervals better. I’m not a big fan of dancy, techno music, but it’s okay.
Today began 3 minutes of continuous running intervals. It seemed pretty easy. I’m not sure if my body is starting to get use to it or if my breathing has made a difference. I was talking to some people at work who run and they said a smooth, full breath, making sure to fully exhale, is key. I wasn’t doing that at all before and I think it’s really helped.
Tomorrow, I walk. I don’t like those days and I feel like I’m wasting time just walking, but I’ve learned they’re necessary.
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Running - Week 1
posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just recently, I decided start running every day to get in better shape. I never liked running because it just didn’t look fun. But, what’s strange it seems that overnight, I was suddenly obsessed with running. I currently weigh 170 lbs. and would like to be around 155 lbs., which is my “real” weight. I hope to be closer to my “real” weight in a couple of months
I needed some shoes, so I bought a pair of New Balance’s 805 in black and red. They’re interval trainers and should well suit my purpose. They’re cushioned, super lightweight, at only 10 ounces, and I hardly even notice they’re on my feet. Without spending $100, I like these a lot.
I also got a Nike Triax Speed 50 Super Watch, which has an angled display that’s big and easy to see when running. I was looking for a reasonably priced watch that had multiple intervals (FYI: an interval would be something like run for 10 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, repeat). Also, I wanted a stop watch for when I’m working corners at Texas World Speedway, just to see what kind of lap times some other people are running.
Now, I needed a plan. On Monday, June 30th, I started The Runner’s World 8-Week Beginning Runners Training Program. It’s goal is to get you running a continuous 30 minutes at the end of 8 weeks. I think 30 minutes of running is between 3 to 4 miles. Week 1 starts you off running for 1 minute and walking 2, repeated 10 times. Monday: I set the intervals in my watch and off I go. I didn’t think I’d be so tired at the end of 30 minutes! That’s a good start though, as my body isn’t used to daily running and I don’t want to hurt anything.
I already had the music player covered, although a 30GB Zune isn’t exactly lightweight. I need an iPod Nano (hint?). For some cool running mixes, check out DJ Steve Boyett’s Podrunner Intervals podcast. To indicate run/walk intervals, a chime plays and the tempo of the music changes. This could actually be a substitute for a running watch, as far as intervals go.
I guess we’ll see how this goes. Getting up at 5:00 AM is different. I’ll weigh in and check for progress later on.
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Slow down
posted on May 19th, 2008 by Bobby in General
My company has a weekly newsletter that normally contains a main page article, company anniversaries, company sports scores and junk for sale. This week’s article had tips on how to save money at the pump by getting fuel economy. It doesn’t mention the obvious factors that have a more direct influence on your fuel economy, speed and acceleration.
“Fill up in the morning because the gas is cooler and more dense.”
This is bogus. A few hours of sunlight will not change the temperature of 30,000 gallons of fuel in a subsurface tank. I found the summary of an article that says the average temperature of the ground, at 10 feet deep, in Houston is always around 75°, with less than 1° of variation between summer and winter.
Mentioned, however, are some good, common tips, like keeping your car in shape, your tires properly inflated and windows up at higher speeds. It also says to ride a vanpool, which I’ve been doing for over a year now.
What is not mentioned are, what I think, the most obvious things to do to improve fuel economy. Accelerate with a light foot, drive slower and use your cruise control! Simple. I went to a friend’s house last weekend and did a round trip of about 40 miles, 35 of which were highway miles. I got on I-45, set the cruise control for 60 mph (~1,600 RPM in 4th gear with a 3.42 read-end and 20″ wheels) and averaged 21.8 mpg. I’d say that’s pretty good for a big truck. At 75 mph, I’ll get around 17 mpg. At slower speeds, around 50 mph, I’ll even get as high as 26-28 mpg.
Yeah, I know, the truck driver is telling you how to save money at the pump. I’m not arguing for a Toyota Prius, because some people want more capability. I chose to buy a truck and was well aware that my fuel economy would be almost half that of the Civic I had. But, I use it and still don’t regret buying it, nor do I helplessly whine about gas prices. I’m riding a vanpool and driving slower while everyone else is blowing my doors off. If you want to drive something that gets low gas mileage, slow down. Teach yourself some patience. It’ll only take a couple of extra minutes to get where you’re going. That’s all.
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Cooler than popped collars
posted on April 30th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I know you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, but, I was hungry and went to the grocery store anyway.
When I got home an hour later, I realized that my collared shirt was on inside out. DOH!
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An eventful weekend at TWS
posted on April 29th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
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I get home from work today and my internet and cable was out. After 30 minutes past without service, I started thinking. I checked my records and realized I haven’t paid Comcast since late February. DOH! I either missed the paper bill or am on paperless billing, but ignored their email. I don’t know, but I was probably about 2 weeks late on payment.
I call them up, and sure enough, my service was disconnected. I paid the outstanding balance over the phone, hoping they could just flip a switch and the service would come back on. That’d make too much sense, though. Instead, Comcast has to send a technician out to reconnect me. I have to take a few hours off work next Wednesday, 5 days from now, so a technician can come out and direct me to a website to reactivate my modem. Fantastic.
Having no TV isn’t a big deal, but no internet? What the heck would I do for 5 days, read some books?
I have a Sprint Motorola Q that’s nearing the end of it’s contract. It’s a piece of crap with a data plan, but all I use it for is Google Maps nowadays. So, I’m tryin’ to navigate the web on Mobile IE looking for tethering options. I found an app called PDAnet. I can’t download exe’s to my phone, so I did have to go to someone’s house to borrow their internet to put it on a USB drive. I had planned on installing it on Windows 7 beta. I just started using Ubuntu as my day-to-day OS with Windows 7 running in VirtualBox, but I was unable to get VirtualBox to recognize my USB devices. But, I just loaded a clean copy of XP last night, so I was able to dual boot into XP to install PDAnet. Installation was simple and involved no setup. I had a wireless connection 30 seconds later. Painless.
The speed is okay. I downloaded Firefox (~8mb) in 2 or 3 minutes. It’s better than nothing. From what I’ve read, PDAnet will still use the same wireless data you’d be using from the phone without triggering Sprint to charge some stupid data tethering fees. Let’s hope so.
PDAnet. Awesome.
1
R-comp issues
posted on November 9th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
I went to TWS this weekend, for the first time in a few months. This was the first event since installing some camber kits. I originally set the front to about 2.8° and the rears around 1.6°.
Saturday
1st session. The car feels really unstable. I was getting a lot of nasty bump steer. The car just skipped around all down the straights. There were a couple times when I thought I could have been “that guy” who somehow managed to put a car into the wall on the front straight. Braking ability was also reduced, because of the camber.
The bump steer problem: I lowered the Ground Controls 2 spins when the camber kits went on, thinking I’d have some awesome handling car. I was wrong. This also explains the strange feeling I was getting when turning the car at slow speeds, like at full lock in parking lot speeds. As the wheel would approach full lock, it’s like the steering got lighter and wanted to go to full lock.
The solution: I raised the car up to where it was and the bump steer went back to normal, which it’s always been a little skippy on the straights. After that, the tie rods appeared to be just slightly at upwards angle to the steering rack. They were probably at a severe angle when the car was 2 spins lower.
2nd and 3rd session. The car felt okay, but I would soon run into problems. Because I raised the car up, some of the original 2.8° of front camber was taken out (I measured 2.8° after the car was wrongfully lowered 2 spins). By the 3rd session, I corded the outside edge of the RF tire, which is what I was trying to avoid when I bought the camber kits.
So now I need some tires. I bought a set of shaved RA-1s, with a session or so on ‘em, from a Spec Miata racer.
The R888 is replacing the RA-1 as the spec tire, so RA-1s are abundant and useless for the 2009 season. I missed my 4th session so I could run out and get them mounted so I wouldn’t miss any Sunday sessions. I left the car for the night.
NTB wouldn’t mount my RA-1s because they’re “bald” and their assholes. I explained that they’re shaved and that’s just how they look, but that wouldn’t do it. I went to Walmart, since it was already 6:30 PM and nothing else was open. They almost didn’t do it, but they were closing down and were cool and mounted them up for me.
Sunday
1st session. Before going out, I got these RA-1s on and added a little camber to the fronts and a tad more on the rear. It felt “okay,” but I couldn’t stop and went straight off the track at T13. Too much camber.
2nd session. I dialed the fronts down a tiny bit, hoping my braking would be better. Nope. I did same exact thing and went straight off in T13’s braking zone. I ended up with a decent flat spot on the inside of my RF RA-1, that had 2 sessions on it.
That ended my weekend. I only ran 5 of 8 sessions and none of them were really all that good.
Even though I was making note of everything I did on that setup log I made, I think I just made too many changes at once. Also, I wasn’t able to actually check the camber at the track. That camber gauge I made just wasn’t working because I didn’t have any good ground to level it on, so I was stuck eye ballin’ it and measuring and matching each side of the camber kits, hoping to just get them equal.
When I got home, and was able to accurately measure camber in my garage, I measured LF 3.2°, RF 3.2°, LR 2.4°, RR 2.6°. My measuring at the track appears to have kept the fronts and rears symmetrical, which is cool, but that’s a little more camber than I was looking for. I’ll probably end up bringing the fronts down to around 3.0°, or even less, and see how that goes.
I imagine that 3.2° of static camber, and relatively soft front springs (500 lb/in), probably means my camber when braking was pretty high. No wonder I can’t stop. Of course, if I dial out too much front camber, now I’m back to cording the outside edges of my front tires.
Basically, R-compounds have introduced a whole new set of problems and highlighted all the things that need to change in order to make them work properly and last. I put a couple of thousand track miles on those Azenis and never had any problems like this.
The Texas World Speedway concession stand has some good burgers, though.
0
Running - Week 10
posted on September 4th, 2008 by Bobby in General
10 weeks since I started running, I’m easily running 30 minutes straight.
The Podrunner Intervals series turned out to be a great podcast for running. My Zune, however, isn’t so great for running and had a couple of problems. It skipped a couple times and then one day, every single song was corrupted and I had to restore/resync all my stuff. My Kiwi friend, Andrea, gave me her second generation 8GB iPod Nano, which works great. I love it. It had just enough room to store my music and podcasts, leaving only 100 MB of space. The Zune just stays in the truck, now.
I should have kept better track of my weight throughout the weeks with a spreadsheet. My Week 1 post says I weighed 170 lbs. and I’m consistently weighing in at 163 lbs. first thing in the morning. 7 lbs. is nothing spectacular, but losing it was so easy and I’m pleased. I’d still like to lose another 10 or so lbs. That’ll probably take another few months, unless I really ramp up my workout and watch my diet.
I’m probably going to start alternating mornings of running and working out. I’m thinking I’ll sprint a mile and workout 3 days a week and maybe jog the other 2 days. I don’t know yet. I just want to maintain a level of cardio while starting to focus on building muscle.
As far as my diet, I just eat smaller portions and I take one of those Weight Watchers Smart Ones meals to work everyday. They’re normally 9-10 oz., which is perfect. I just stock up on ‘em when they’re under $2 a piece. They’re pretty cheap and most of them are tasty.
0
Nurburgring Wars
posted on August 29th, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just last week in a country far, far away…
A 2009 Dodge Viper ACR (American Club Racer) went around the Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 22 seconds. That is 4 seconds faster than the Corvette ZR1 and 7 seconds faster than the Nissan GTR.
While skimming through the comments on that article, you’ll notice that the knowledge and experience of some of these people is limited to what they got while earning their Gran Turismo 4 Super License. There are a lot of fanboy’s slamming the Viper ACR because it’s a “track car,” while the GTR has a back seat (uselessly tiny, by the way) and the ZR1 would be a more comfortable daily ride. But, who cares, really? If you want a fast car with a backseat, get the GTR and if you want something faster that you can drive to work, get the ZR1. But, if you you want a street legal, production car for a more pure purpose, get the Viper ACR. They’re all similarly classed cars with their own characteristics, whether they’re advantages or disadvantages depends on the buyer.
0
Dumb people drive Smart cars
posted on July 27th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I’ve seen about a dozen Smart cars around Houston lately and every time I ask myself, “why would anyone here have one?” I saw this fortwo coupe at the gas station today and thought it would make a funny picture.
Why do I think this is funny?
1) They don’t seem to appreciate the whole purpose of the car. The Smart is tiny because it’s made to park in tight areas. This makes good sense in Europe, and other densely populated parts, but in Texas, it’s not at all necessary. Parking the Smart in an 8′ wide spot was too challenging for those people. And screw the handicapped.
The only good place in Texas to have a Smart car is when you make a late-night run to Wal-Mart and the only parking spot available is actually inside the cart coral, because all of the carts are scattered throughout the parking lot, where Wal-Mart shoppers keep them.
2) The owner must really think he’s clever to have the “SIP GAS” license plate. But, do you consider the Smart car to be a gas sipper? I didn’t after the first time I looked at its specs. FuelEconomy.gov says a 2008 fortwo coupe gets 36 combined mpg (33/41). WOW, 36 combined! That’s unheard of! I looked up some cars from back in the day.Â
A 1995 Honda Civic VX (with shift indicator light) gets 43 combined (39/50) and has 92 hp, 21 more than the Smart. And, it can seat 4 people with room to haul some luggage in the hatch. I was thinking maybe the Smart is somehow heavier because it has that super rigid shell, power this/that and all the other gadgets and safety equipment that modern cars have. The Smart weighs 1,600 lbs. and the Civic VX weighs around 2,050 lbs. How is this thing not getting 50+ mpg?
Let’s compare it with some modern cars. A regular gasoline 2008 Civic DX is rated at 29 combined mpg (25/36). I think the 7 less combined mpg is worth the ability to carry double the people and double the cargo at quadruple the coolness. A 2008 Civic hybrid gets 42 combined, a 2008 Prius gets 46 combined. Of course, those cars are a little more expensive, but at least you’re not guaranteed to die when some massive Toyota Camry comes into your lane because your Smart was hiding behind its B-pllar.
I’ll bet they had two straws in a $3 bottle of Fiji in the Smart’s single cupholder.
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Running - Week 3
posted on July 14th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I skipped an easy walking day during Week 2, thinking I didn’t need it, and my thighs got a little sore after running 3 consecutive days. I skipped Saturday so I wouldn’t hurt anything.
I just began the 3rd week this morning. I’ve switched from using the Runner’s World intervals on my watch to just using the Podrunner Intervals podcast now. I like not having to mess with my watch and I think I like the Podrunner intervals better. I’m not a big fan of dancy, techno music, but it’s okay.
Today began 3 minutes of continuous running intervals. It seemed pretty easy. I’m not sure if my body is starting to get use to it or if my breathing has made a difference. I was talking to some people at work who run and they said a smooth, full breath, making sure to fully exhale, is key. I wasn’t doing that at all before and I think it’s really helped.
Tomorrow, I walk. I don’t like those days and I feel like I’m wasting time just walking, but I’ve learned they’re necessary.
0
Running - Week 1
posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just recently, I decided start running every day to get in better shape. I never liked running because it just didn’t look fun. But, what’s strange it seems that overnight, I was suddenly obsessed with running. I currently weigh 170 lbs. and would like to be around 155 lbs., which is my “real” weight. I hope to be closer to my “real” weight in a couple of months
I needed some shoes, so I bought a pair of New Balance’s 805 in black and red. They’re interval trainers and should well suit my purpose. They’re cushioned, super lightweight, at only 10 ounces, and I hardly even notice they’re on my feet. Without spending $100, I like these a lot.
I also got a Nike Triax Speed 50 Super Watch, which has an angled display that’s big and easy to see when running. I was looking for a reasonably priced watch that had multiple intervals (FYI: an interval would be something like run for 10 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, repeat). Also, I wanted a stop watch for when I’m working corners at Texas World Speedway, just to see what kind of lap times some other people are running.
Now, I needed a plan. On Monday, June 30th, I started The Runner’s World 8-Week Beginning Runners Training Program. It’s goal is to get you running a continuous 30 minutes at the end of 8 weeks. I think 30 minutes of running is between 3 to 4 miles. Week 1 starts you off running for 1 minute and walking 2, repeated 10 times. Monday: I set the intervals in my watch and off I go. I didn’t think I’d be so tired at the end of 30 minutes! That’s a good start though, as my body isn’t used to daily running and I don’t want to hurt anything.
I already had the music player covered, although a 30GB Zune isn’t exactly lightweight. I need an iPod Nano (hint?). For some cool running mixes, check out DJ Steve Boyett’s Podrunner Intervals podcast. To indicate run/walk intervals, a chime plays and the tempo of the music changes. This could actually be a substitute for a running watch, as far as intervals go.
I guess we’ll see how this goes. Getting up at 5:00 AM is different. I’ll weigh in and check for progress later on.
0
Slow down
posted on May 19th, 2008 by Bobby in General
My company has a weekly newsletter that normally contains a main page article, company anniversaries, company sports scores and junk for sale. This week’s article had tips on how to save money at the pump by getting fuel economy. It doesn’t mention the obvious factors that have a more direct influence on your fuel economy, speed and acceleration.
“Fill up in the morning because the gas is cooler and more dense.”
This is bogus. A few hours of sunlight will not change the temperature of 30,000 gallons of fuel in a subsurface tank. I found the summary of an article that says the average temperature of the ground, at 10 feet deep, in Houston is always around 75°, with less than 1° of variation between summer and winter.
Mentioned, however, are some good, common tips, like keeping your car in shape, your tires properly inflated and windows up at higher speeds. It also says to ride a vanpool, which I’ve been doing for over a year now.
What is not mentioned are, what I think, the most obvious things to do to improve fuel economy. Accelerate with a light foot, drive slower and use your cruise control! Simple. I went to a friend’s house last weekend and did a round trip of about 40 miles, 35 of which were highway miles. I got on I-45, set the cruise control for 60 mph (~1,600 RPM in 4th gear with a 3.42 read-end and 20″ wheels) and averaged 21.8 mpg. I’d say that’s pretty good for a big truck. At 75 mph, I’ll get around 17 mpg. At slower speeds, around 50 mph, I’ll even get as high as 26-28 mpg.
Yeah, I know, the truck driver is telling you how to save money at the pump. I’m not arguing for a Toyota Prius, because some people want more capability. I chose to buy a truck and was well aware that my fuel economy would be almost half that of the Civic I had. But, I use it and still don’t regret buying it, nor do I helplessly whine about gas prices. I’m riding a vanpool and driving slower while everyone else is blowing my doors off. If you want to drive something that gets low gas mileage, slow down. Teach yourself some patience. It’ll only take a couple of extra minutes to get where you’re going. That’s all.
0
Cooler than popped collars
posted on April 30th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I know you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, but, I was hungry and went to the grocery store anyway.
When I got home an hour later, I realized that my collared shirt was on inside out. DOH!
0
An eventful weekend at TWS
posted on April 29th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
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I went to TWS this weekend, for the first time in a few months. This was the first event since installing some camber kits. I originally set the front to about 2.8° and the rears around 1.6°.
Saturday
1st session. The car feels really unstable. I was getting a lot of nasty bump steer. The car just skipped around all down the straights. There were a couple times when I thought I could have been “that guy” who somehow managed to put a car into the wall on the front straight. Braking ability was also reduced, because of the camber.
The bump steer problem: I lowered the Ground Controls 2 spins when the camber kits went on, thinking I’d have some awesome handling car. I was wrong. This also explains the strange feeling I was getting when turning the car at slow speeds, like at full lock in parking lot speeds. As the wheel would approach full lock, it’s like the steering got lighter and wanted to go to full lock.
The solution: I raised the car up to where it was and the bump steer went back to normal, which it’s always been a little skippy on the straights. After that, the tie rods appeared to be just slightly at upwards angle to the steering rack. They were probably at a severe angle when the car was 2 spins lower.
2nd and 3rd session. The car felt okay, but I would soon run into problems. Because I raised the car up, some of the original 2.8° of front camber was taken out (I measured 2.8° after the car was wrongfully lowered 2 spins). By the 3rd session, I corded the outside edge of the RF tire, which is what I was trying to avoid when I bought the camber kits.
So now I need some tires. I bought a set of shaved RA-1s, with a session or so on ‘em, from a Spec Miata racer.
The R888 is replacing the RA-1 as the spec tire, so RA-1s are abundant and useless for the 2009 season. I missed my 4th session so I could run out and get them mounted so I wouldn’t miss any Sunday sessions. I left the car for the night.
NTB wouldn’t mount my RA-1s because they’re “bald” and their assholes. I explained that they’re shaved and that’s just how they look, but that wouldn’t do it. I went to Walmart, since it was already 6:30 PM and nothing else was open. They almost didn’t do it, but they were closing down and were cool and mounted them up for me.
Sunday
1st session. Before going out, I got these RA-1s on and added a little camber to the fronts and a tad more on the rear. It felt “okay,” but I couldn’t stop and went straight off the track at T13. Too much camber.
2nd session. I dialed the fronts down a tiny bit, hoping my braking would be better. Nope. I did same exact thing and went straight off in T13’s braking zone. I ended up with a decent flat spot on the inside of my RF RA-1, that had 2 sessions on it.
That ended my weekend. I only ran 5 of 8 sessions and none of them were really all that good.
Even though I was making note of everything I did on that setup log I made, I think I just made too many changes at once. Also, I wasn’t able to actually check the camber at the track. That camber gauge I made just wasn’t working because I didn’t have any good ground to level it on, so I was stuck eye ballin’ it and measuring and matching each side of the camber kits, hoping to just get them equal.
When I got home, and was able to accurately measure camber in my garage, I measured LF 3.2°, RF 3.2°, LR 2.4°, RR 2.6°. My measuring at the track appears to have kept the fronts and rears symmetrical, which is cool, but that’s a little more camber than I was looking for. I’ll probably end up bringing the fronts down to around 3.0°, or even less, and see how that goes.
I imagine that 3.2° of static camber, and relatively soft front springs (500 lb/in), probably means my camber when braking was pretty high. No wonder I can’t stop. Of course, if I dial out too much front camber, now I’m back to cording the outside edges of my front tires.
Basically, R-compounds have introduced a whole new set of problems and highlighted all the things that need to change in order to make them work properly and last. I put a couple of thousand track miles on those Azenis and never had any problems like this.
The Texas World Speedway concession stand has some good burgers, though.
0
Running - Week 10
posted on September 4th, 2008 by Bobby in General
10 weeks since I started running, I’m easily running 30 minutes straight.
The Podrunner Intervals series turned out to be a great podcast for running. My Zune, however, isn’t so great for running and had a couple of problems. It skipped a couple times and then one day, every single song was corrupted and I had to restore/resync all my stuff. My Kiwi friend, Andrea, gave me her second generation 8GB iPod Nano, which works great. I love it. It had just enough room to store my music and podcasts, leaving only 100 MB of space. The Zune just stays in the truck, now.
I should have kept better track of my weight throughout the weeks with a spreadsheet. My Week 1 post says I weighed 170 lbs. and I’m consistently weighing in at 163 lbs. first thing in the morning. 7 lbs. is nothing spectacular, but losing it was so easy and I’m pleased. I’d still like to lose another 10 or so lbs. That’ll probably take another few months, unless I really ramp up my workout and watch my diet.
I’m probably going to start alternating mornings of running and working out. I’m thinking I’ll sprint a mile and workout 3 days a week and maybe jog the other 2 days. I don’t know yet. I just want to maintain a level of cardio while starting to focus on building muscle.
As far as my diet, I just eat smaller portions and I take one of those Weight Watchers Smart Ones meals to work everyday. They’re normally 9-10 oz., which is perfect. I just stock up on ‘em when they’re under $2 a piece. They’re pretty cheap and most of them are tasty.
0
Nurburgring Wars
posted on August 29th, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just last week in a country far, far away…
A 2009 Dodge Viper ACR (American Club Racer) went around the Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 22 seconds. That is 4 seconds faster than the Corvette ZR1 and 7 seconds faster than the Nissan GTR.
While skimming through the comments on that article, you’ll notice that the knowledge and experience of some of these people is limited to what they got while earning their Gran Turismo 4 Super License. There are a lot of fanboy’s slamming the Viper ACR because it’s a “track car,” while the GTR has a back seat (uselessly tiny, by the way) and the ZR1 would be a more comfortable daily ride. But, who cares, really? If you want a fast car with a backseat, get the GTR and if you want something faster that you can drive to work, get the ZR1. But, if you you want a street legal, production car for a more pure purpose, get the Viper ACR. They’re all similarly classed cars with their own characteristics, whether they’re advantages or disadvantages depends on the buyer.
0
Dumb people drive Smart cars
posted on July 27th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I’ve seen about a dozen Smart cars around Houston lately and every time I ask myself, “why would anyone here have one?” I saw this fortwo coupe at the gas station today and thought it would make a funny picture.
Why do I think this is funny?
1) They don’t seem to appreciate the whole purpose of the car. The Smart is tiny because it’s made to park in tight areas. This makes good sense in Europe, and other densely populated parts, but in Texas, it’s not at all necessary. Parking the Smart in an 8′ wide spot was too challenging for those people. And screw the handicapped.
The only good place in Texas to have a Smart car is when you make a late-night run to Wal-Mart and the only parking spot available is actually inside the cart coral, because all of the carts are scattered throughout the parking lot, where Wal-Mart shoppers keep them.
2) The owner must really think he’s clever to have the “SIP GAS” license plate. But, do you consider the Smart car to be a gas sipper? I didn’t after the first time I looked at its specs. FuelEconomy.gov says a 2008 fortwo coupe gets 36 combined mpg (33/41). WOW, 36 combined! That’s unheard of! I looked up some cars from back in the day.Â
A 1995 Honda Civic VX (with shift indicator light) gets 43 combined (39/50) and has 92 hp, 21 more than the Smart. And, it can seat 4 people with room to haul some luggage in the hatch. I was thinking maybe the Smart is somehow heavier because it has that super rigid shell, power this/that and all the other gadgets and safety equipment that modern cars have. The Smart weighs 1,600 lbs. and the Civic VX weighs around 2,050 lbs. How is this thing not getting 50+ mpg?
Let’s compare it with some modern cars. A regular gasoline 2008 Civic DX is rated at 29 combined mpg (25/36). I think the 7 less combined mpg is worth the ability to carry double the people and double the cargo at quadruple the coolness. A 2008 Civic hybrid gets 42 combined, a 2008 Prius gets 46 combined. Of course, those cars are a little more expensive, but at least you’re not guaranteed to die when some massive Toyota Camry comes into your lane because your Smart was hiding behind its B-pllar.
I’ll bet they had two straws in a $3 bottle of Fiji in the Smart’s single cupholder.
0
Running - Week 3
posted on July 14th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I skipped an easy walking day during Week 2, thinking I didn’t need it, and my thighs got a little sore after running 3 consecutive days. I skipped Saturday so I wouldn’t hurt anything.
I just began the 3rd week this morning. I’ve switched from using the Runner’s World intervals on my watch to just using the Podrunner Intervals podcast now. I like not having to mess with my watch and I think I like the Podrunner intervals better. I’m not a big fan of dancy, techno music, but it’s okay.
Today began 3 minutes of continuous running intervals. It seemed pretty easy. I’m not sure if my body is starting to get use to it or if my breathing has made a difference. I was talking to some people at work who run and they said a smooth, full breath, making sure to fully exhale, is key. I wasn’t doing that at all before and I think it’s really helped.
Tomorrow, I walk. I don’t like those days and I feel like I’m wasting time just walking, but I’ve learned they’re necessary.
0
Running - Week 1
posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just recently, I decided start running every day to get in better shape. I never liked running because it just didn’t look fun. But, what’s strange it seems that overnight, I was suddenly obsessed with running. I currently weigh 170 lbs. and would like to be around 155 lbs., which is my “real” weight. I hope to be closer to my “real” weight in a couple of months
I needed some shoes, so I bought a pair of New Balance’s 805 in black and red. They’re interval trainers and should well suit my purpose. They’re cushioned, super lightweight, at only 10 ounces, and I hardly even notice they’re on my feet. Without spending $100, I like these a lot.
I also got a Nike Triax Speed 50 Super Watch, which has an angled display that’s big and easy to see when running. I was looking for a reasonably priced watch that had multiple intervals (FYI: an interval would be something like run for 10 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, repeat). Also, I wanted a stop watch for when I’m working corners at Texas World Speedway, just to see what kind of lap times some other people are running.
Now, I needed a plan. On Monday, June 30th, I started The Runner’s World 8-Week Beginning Runners Training Program. It’s goal is to get you running a continuous 30 minutes at the end of 8 weeks. I think 30 minutes of running is between 3 to 4 miles. Week 1 starts you off running for 1 minute and walking 2, repeated 10 times. Monday: I set the intervals in my watch and off I go. I didn’t think I’d be so tired at the end of 30 minutes! That’s a good start though, as my body isn’t used to daily running and I don’t want to hurt anything.
I already had the music player covered, although a 30GB Zune isn’t exactly lightweight. I need an iPod Nano (hint?). For some cool running mixes, check out DJ Steve Boyett’s Podrunner Intervals podcast. To indicate run/walk intervals, a chime plays and the tempo of the music changes. This could actually be a substitute for a running watch, as far as intervals go.
I guess we’ll see how this goes. Getting up at 5:00 AM is different. I’ll weigh in and check for progress later on.
0
Slow down
posted on May 19th, 2008 by Bobby in General
My company has a weekly newsletter that normally contains a main page article, company anniversaries, company sports scores and junk for sale. This week’s article had tips on how to save money at the pump by getting fuel economy. It doesn’t mention the obvious factors that have a more direct influence on your fuel economy, speed and acceleration.
“Fill up in the morning because the gas is cooler and more dense.”
This is bogus. A few hours of sunlight will not change the temperature of 30,000 gallons of fuel in a subsurface tank. I found the summary of an article that says the average temperature of the ground, at 10 feet deep, in Houston is always around 75°, with less than 1° of variation between summer and winter.
Mentioned, however, are some good, common tips, like keeping your car in shape, your tires properly inflated and windows up at higher speeds. It also says to ride a vanpool, which I’ve been doing for over a year now.
What is not mentioned are, what I think, the most obvious things to do to improve fuel economy. Accelerate with a light foot, drive slower and use your cruise control! Simple. I went to a friend’s house last weekend and did a round trip of about 40 miles, 35 of which were highway miles. I got on I-45, set the cruise control for 60 mph (~1,600 RPM in 4th gear with a 3.42 read-end and 20″ wheels) and averaged 21.8 mpg. I’d say that’s pretty good for a big truck. At 75 mph, I’ll get around 17 mpg. At slower speeds, around 50 mph, I’ll even get as high as 26-28 mpg.
Yeah, I know, the truck driver is telling you how to save money at the pump. I’m not arguing for a Toyota Prius, because some people want more capability. I chose to buy a truck and was well aware that my fuel economy would be almost half that of the Civic I had. But, I use it and still don’t regret buying it, nor do I helplessly whine about gas prices. I’m riding a vanpool and driving slower while everyone else is blowing my doors off. If you want to drive something that gets low gas mileage, slow down. Teach yourself some patience. It’ll only take a couple of extra minutes to get where you’re going. That’s all.
0
Cooler than popped collars
posted on April 30th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I know you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, but, I was hungry and went to the grocery store anyway.
When I got home an hour later, I realized that my collared shirt was on inside out. DOH!
0
An eventful weekend at TWS
posted on April 29th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
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10 weeks since I started running, I’m easily running 30 minutes straight.
The Podrunner Intervals series turned out to be a great podcast for running. My Zune, however, isn’t so great for running and had a couple of problems. It skipped a couple times and then one day, every single song was corrupted and I had to restore/resync all my stuff. My Kiwi friend, Andrea, gave me her second generation 8GB iPod Nano, which works great. I love it. It had just enough room to store my music and podcasts, leaving only 100 MB of space. The Zune just stays in the truck, now.
I should have kept better track of my weight throughout the weeks with a spreadsheet. My Week 1 post says I weighed 170 lbs. and I’m consistently weighing in at 163 lbs. first thing in the morning. 7 lbs. is nothing spectacular, but losing it was so easy and I’m pleased. I’d still like to lose another 10 or so lbs. That’ll probably take another few months, unless I really ramp up my workout and watch my diet.
I’m probably going to start alternating mornings of running and working out. I’m thinking I’ll sprint a mile and workout 3 days a week and maybe jog the other 2 days. I don’t know yet. I just want to maintain a level of cardio while starting to focus on building muscle.
As far as my diet, I just eat smaller portions and I take one of those Weight Watchers Smart Ones meals to work everyday. They’re normally 9-10 oz., which is perfect. I just stock up on ‘em when they’re under $2 a piece. They’re pretty cheap and most of them are tasty.
0
Nurburgring Wars
posted on August 29th, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just last week in a country far, far away…
A 2009 Dodge Viper ACR (American Club Racer) went around the Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 22 seconds. That is 4 seconds faster than the Corvette ZR1 and 7 seconds faster than the Nissan GTR.
While skimming through the comments on that article, you’ll notice that the knowledge and experience of some of these people is limited to what they got while earning their Gran Turismo 4 Super License. There are a lot of fanboy’s slamming the Viper ACR because it’s a “track car,” while the GTR has a back seat (uselessly tiny, by the way) and the ZR1 would be a more comfortable daily ride. But, who cares, really? If you want a fast car with a backseat, get the GTR and if you want something faster that you can drive to work, get the ZR1. But, if you you want a street legal, production car for a more pure purpose, get the Viper ACR. They’re all similarly classed cars with their own characteristics, whether they’re advantages or disadvantages depends on the buyer.
0
Dumb people drive Smart cars
posted on July 27th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I’ve seen about a dozen Smart cars around Houston lately and every time I ask myself, “why would anyone here have one?” I saw this fortwo coupe at the gas station today and thought it would make a funny picture.
Why do I think this is funny?
1) They don’t seem to appreciate the whole purpose of the car. The Smart is tiny because it’s made to park in tight areas. This makes good sense in Europe, and other densely populated parts, but in Texas, it’s not at all necessary. Parking the Smart in an 8′ wide spot was too challenging for those people. And screw the handicapped.
The only good place in Texas to have a Smart car is when you make a late-night run to Wal-Mart and the only parking spot available is actually inside the cart coral, because all of the carts are scattered throughout the parking lot, where Wal-Mart shoppers keep them.
2) The owner must really think he’s clever to have the “SIP GAS” license plate. But, do you consider the Smart car to be a gas sipper? I didn’t after the first time I looked at its specs. FuelEconomy.gov says a 2008 fortwo coupe gets 36 combined mpg (33/41). WOW, 36 combined! That’s unheard of! I looked up some cars from back in the day.Â
A 1995 Honda Civic VX (with shift indicator light) gets 43 combined (39/50) and has 92 hp, 21 more than the Smart. And, it can seat 4 people with room to haul some luggage in the hatch. I was thinking maybe the Smart is somehow heavier because it has that super rigid shell, power this/that and all the other gadgets and safety equipment that modern cars have. The Smart weighs 1,600 lbs. and the Civic VX weighs around 2,050 lbs. How is this thing not getting 50+ mpg?
Let’s compare it with some modern cars. A regular gasoline 2008 Civic DX is rated at 29 combined mpg (25/36). I think the 7 less combined mpg is worth the ability to carry double the people and double the cargo at quadruple the coolness. A 2008 Civic hybrid gets 42 combined, a 2008 Prius gets 46 combined. Of course, those cars are a little more expensive, but at least you’re not guaranteed to die when some massive Toyota Camry comes into your lane because your Smart was hiding behind its B-pllar.
I’ll bet they had two straws in a $3 bottle of Fiji in the Smart’s single cupholder.
0
Running - Week 3
posted on July 14th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I skipped an easy walking day during Week 2, thinking I didn’t need it, and my thighs got a little sore after running 3 consecutive days. I skipped Saturday so I wouldn’t hurt anything.
I just began the 3rd week this morning. I’ve switched from using the Runner’s World intervals on my watch to just using the Podrunner Intervals podcast now. I like not having to mess with my watch and I think I like the Podrunner intervals better. I’m not a big fan of dancy, techno music, but it’s okay.
Today began 3 minutes of continuous running intervals. It seemed pretty easy. I’m not sure if my body is starting to get use to it or if my breathing has made a difference. I was talking to some people at work who run and they said a smooth, full breath, making sure to fully exhale, is key. I wasn’t doing that at all before and I think it’s really helped.
Tomorrow, I walk. I don’t like those days and I feel like I’m wasting time just walking, but I’ve learned they’re necessary.
0
Running - Week 1
posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just recently, I decided start running every day to get in better shape. I never liked running because it just didn’t look fun. But, what’s strange it seems that overnight, I was suddenly obsessed with running. I currently weigh 170 lbs. and would like to be around 155 lbs., which is my “real” weight. I hope to be closer to my “real” weight in a couple of months
I needed some shoes, so I bought a pair of New Balance’s 805 in black and red. They’re interval trainers and should well suit my purpose. They’re cushioned, super lightweight, at only 10 ounces, and I hardly even notice they’re on my feet. Without spending $100, I like these a lot.
I also got a Nike Triax Speed 50 Super Watch, which has an angled display that’s big and easy to see when running. I was looking for a reasonably priced watch that had multiple intervals (FYI: an interval would be something like run for 10 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, repeat). Also, I wanted a stop watch for when I’m working corners at Texas World Speedway, just to see what kind of lap times some other people are running.
Now, I needed a plan. On Monday, June 30th, I started The Runner’s World 8-Week Beginning Runners Training Program. It’s goal is to get you running a continuous 30 minutes at the end of 8 weeks. I think 30 minutes of running is between 3 to 4 miles. Week 1 starts you off running for 1 minute and walking 2, repeated 10 times. Monday: I set the intervals in my watch and off I go. I didn’t think I’d be so tired at the end of 30 minutes! That’s a good start though, as my body isn’t used to daily running and I don’t want to hurt anything.
I already had the music player covered, although a 30GB Zune isn’t exactly lightweight. I need an iPod Nano (hint?). For some cool running mixes, check out DJ Steve Boyett’s Podrunner Intervals podcast. To indicate run/walk intervals, a chime plays and the tempo of the music changes. This could actually be a substitute for a running watch, as far as intervals go.
I guess we’ll see how this goes. Getting up at 5:00 AM is different. I’ll weigh in and check for progress later on.
0
Slow down
posted on May 19th, 2008 by Bobby in General
My company has a weekly newsletter that normally contains a main page article, company anniversaries, company sports scores and junk for sale. This week’s article had tips on how to save money at the pump by getting fuel economy. It doesn’t mention the obvious factors that have a more direct influence on your fuel economy, speed and acceleration.
“Fill up in the morning because the gas is cooler and more dense.”
This is bogus. A few hours of sunlight will not change the temperature of 30,000 gallons of fuel in a subsurface tank. I found the summary of an article that says the average temperature of the ground, at 10 feet deep, in Houston is always around 75°, with less than 1° of variation between summer and winter.
Mentioned, however, are some good, common tips, like keeping your car in shape, your tires properly inflated and windows up at higher speeds. It also says to ride a vanpool, which I’ve been doing for over a year now.
What is not mentioned are, what I think, the most obvious things to do to improve fuel economy. Accelerate with a light foot, drive slower and use your cruise control! Simple. I went to a friend’s house last weekend and did a round trip of about 40 miles, 35 of which were highway miles. I got on I-45, set the cruise control for 60 mph (~1,600 RPM in 4th gear with a 3.42 read-end and 20″ wheels) and averaged 21.8 mpg. I’d say that’s pretty good for a big truck. At 75 mph, I’ll get around 17 mpg. At slower speeds, around 50 mph, I’ll even get as high as 26-28 mpg.
Yeah, I know, the truck driver is telling you how to save money at the pump. I’m not arguing for a Toyota Prius, because some people want more capability. I chose to buy a truck and was well aware that my fuel economy would be almost half that of the Civic I had. But, I use it and still don’t regret buying it, nor do I helplessly whine about gas prices. I’m riding a vanpool and driving slower while everyone else is blowing my doors off. If you want to drive something that gets low gas mileage, slow down. Teach yourself some patience. It’ll only take a couple of extra minutes to get where you’re going. That’s all.
0
Cooler than popped collars
posted on April 30th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I know you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, but, I was hungry and went to the grocery store anyway.
When I got home an hour later, I realized that my collared shirt was on inside out. DOH!
0
An eventful weekend at TWS
posted on April 29th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
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Just last week in a country far, far away…
A 2009 Dodge Viper ACR (American Club Racer) went around the Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 22 seconds. That is 4 seconds faster than the Corvette ZR1 and 7 seconds faster than the Nissan GTR.
While skimming through the comments on that article, you’ll notice that the knowledge and experience of some of these people is limited to what they got while earning their Gran Turismo 4 Super License. There are a lot of fanboy’s slamming the Viper ACR because it’s a “track car,” while the GTR has a back seat (uselessly tiny, by the way) and the ZR1 would be a more comfortable daily ride. But, who cares, really? If you want a fast car with a backseat, get the GTR and if you want something faster that you can drive to work, get the ZR1. But, if you you want a street legal, production car for a more pure purpose, get the Viper ACR. They’re all similarly classed cars with their own characteristics, whether they’re advantages or disadvantages depends on the buyer.
0
Dumb people drive Smart cars
posted on July 27th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I’ve seen about a dozen Smart cars around Houston lately and every time I ask myself, “why would anyone here have one?” I saw this fortwo coupe at the gas station today and thought it would make a funny picture.
Why do I think this is funny?
1) They don’t seem to appreciate the whole purpose of the car. The Smart is tiny because it’s made to park in tight areas. This makes good sense in Europe, and other densely populated parts, but in Texas, it’s not at all necessary. Parking the Smart in an 8′ wide spot was too challenging for those people. And screw the handicapped.
The only good place in Texas to have a Smart car is when you make a late-night run to Wal-Mart and the only parking spot available is actually inside the cart coral, because all of the carts are scattered throughout the parking lot, where Wal-Mart shoppers keep them.
2) The owner must really think he’s clever to have the “SIP GAS” license plate. But, do you consider the Smart car to be a gas sipper? I didn’t after the first time I looked at its specs. FuelEconomy.gov says a 2008 fortwo coupe gets 36 combined mpg (33/41). WOW, 36 combined! That’s unheard of! I looked up some cars from back in the day.Â
A 1995 Honda Civic VX (with shift indicator light) gets 43 combined (39/50) and has 92 hp, 21 more than the Smart. And, it can seat 4 people with room to haul some luggage in the hatch. I was thinking maybe the Smart is somehow heavier because it has that super rigid shell, power this/that and all the other gadgets and safety equipment that modern cars have. The Smart weighs 1,600 lbs. and the Civic VX weighs around 2,050 lbs. How is this thing not getting 50+ mpg?
Let’s compare it with some modern cars. A regular gasoline 2008 Civic DX is rated at 29 combined mpg (25/36). I think the 7 less combined mpg is worth the ability to carry double the people and double the cargo at quadruple the coolness. A 2008 Civic hybrid gets 42 combined, a 2008 Prius gets 46 combined. Of course, those cars are a little more expensive, but at least you’re not guaranteed to die when some massive Toyota Camry comes into your lane because your Smart was hiding behind its B-pllar.
I’ll bet they had two straws in a $3 bottle of Fiji in the Smart’s single cupholder.
0
Running - Week 3
posted on July 14th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I skipped an easy walking day during Week 2, thinking I didn’t need it, and my thighs got a little sore after running 3 consecutive days. I skipped Saturday so I wouldn’t hurt anything.
I just began the 3rd week this morning. I’ve switched from using the Runner’s World intervals on my watch to just using the Podrunner Intervals podcast now. I like not having to mess with my watch and I think I like the Podrunner intervals better. I’m not a big fan of dancy, techno music, but it’s okay.
Today began 3 minutes of continuous running intervals. It seemed pretty easy. I’m not sure if my body is starting to get use to it or if my breathing has made a difference. I was talking to some people at work who run and they said a smooth, full breath, making sure to fully exhale, is key. I wasn’t doing that at all before and I think it’s really helped.
Tomorrow, I walk. I don’t like those days and I feel like I’m wasting time just walking, but I’ve learned they’re necessary.
0
Running - Week 1
posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just recently, I decided start running every day to get in better shape. I never liked running because it just didn’t look fun. But, what’s strange it seems that overnight, I was suddenly obsessed with running. I currently weigh 170 lbs. and would like to be around 155 lbs., which is my “real” weight. I hope to be closer to my “real” weight in a couple of months
I needed some shoes, so I bought a pair of New Balance’s 805 in black and red. They’re interval trainers and should well suit my purpose. They’re cushioned, super lightweight, at only 10 ounces, and I hardly even notice they’re on my feet. Without spending $100, I like these a lot.
I also got a Nike Triax Speed 50 Super Watch, which has an angled display that’s big and easy to see when running. I was looking for a reasonably priced watch that had multiple intervals (FYI: an interval would be something like run for 10 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, repeat). Also, I wanted a stop watch for when I’m working corners at Texas World Speedway, just to see what kind of lap times some other people are running.
Now, I needed a plan. On Monday, June 30th, I started The Runner’s World 8-Week Beginning Runners Training Program. It’s goal is to get you running a continuous 30 minutes at the end of 8 weeks. I think 30 minutes of running is between 3 to 4 miles. Week 1 starts you off running for 1 minute and walking 2, repeated 10 times. Monday: I set the intervals in my watch and off I go. I didn’t think I’d be so tired at the end of 30 minutes! That’s a good start though, as my body isn’t used to daily running and I don’t want to hurt anything.
I already had the music player covered, although a 30GB Zune isn’t exactly lightweight. I need an iPod Nano (hint?). For some cool running mixes, check out DJ Steve Boyett’s Podrunner Intervals podcast. To indicate run/walk intervals, a chime plays and the tempo of the music changes. This could actually be a substitute for a running watch, as far as intervals go.
I guess we’ll see how this goes. Getting up at 5:00 AM is different. I’ll weigh in and check for progress later on.
0
Slow down
posted on May 19th, 2008 by Bobby in General
My company has a weekly newsletter that normally contains a main page article, company anniversaries, company sports scores and junk for sale. This week’s article had tips on how to save money at the pump by getting fuel economy. It doesn’t mention the obvious factors that have a more direct influence on your fuel economy, speed and acceleration.
“Fill up in the morning because the gas is cooler and more dense.”
This is bogus. A few hours of sunlight will not change the temperature of 30,000 gallons of fuel in a subsurface tank. I found the summary of an article that says the average temperature of the ground, at 10 feet deep, in Houston is always around 75°, with less than 1° of variation between summer and winter.
Mentioned, however, are some good, common tips, like keeping your car in shape, your tires properly inflated and windows up at higher speeds. It also says to ride a vanpool, which I’ve been doing for over a year now.
What is not mentioned are, what I think, the most obvious things to do to improve fuel economy. Accelerate with a light foot, drive slower and use your cruise control! Simple. I went to a friend’s house last weekend and did a round trip of about 40 miles, 35 of which were highway miles. I got on I-45, set the cruise control for 60 mph (~1,600 RPM in 4th gear with a 3.42 read-end and 20″ wheels) and averaged 21.8 mpg. I’d say that’s pretty good for a big truck. At 75 mph, I’ll get around 17 mpg. At slower speeds, around 50 mph, I’ll even get as high as 26-28 mpg.
Yeah, I know, the truck driver is telling you how to save money at the pump. I’m not arguing for a Toyota Prius, because some people want more capability. I chose to buy a truck and was well aware that my fuel economy would be almost half that of the Civic I had. But, I use it and still don’t regret buying it, nor do I helplessly whine about gas prices. I’m riding a vanpool and driving slower while everyone else is blowing my doors off. If you want to drive something that gets low gas mileage, slow down. Teach yourself some patience. It’ll only take a couple of extra minutes to get where you’re going. That’s all.
0
Cooler than popped collars
posted on April 30th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I know you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, but, I was hungry and went to the grocery store anyway.
When I got home an hour later, I realized that my collared shirt was on inside out. DOH!
0
An eventful weekend at TWS
posted on April 29th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
Feed
Comments
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WordPress 2.5.1
I’ve seen about a dozen Smart cars around Houston lately and every time I ask myself, “why would anyone here have one?” I saw this fortwo coupe at the gas station today and thought it would make a funny picture.
Why do I think this is funny?
1) They don’t seem to appreciate the whole purpose of the car. The Smart is tiny because it’s made to park in tight areas. This makes good sense in Europe, and other densely populated parts, but in Texas, it’s not at all necessary. Parking the Smart in an 8′ wide spot was too challenging for those people. And screw the handicapped.
The only good place in Texas to have a Smart car is when you make a late-night run to Wal-Mart and the only parking spot available is actually inside the cart coral, because all of the carts are scattered throughout the parking lot, where Wal-Mart shoppers keep them.
2) The owner must really think he’s clever to have the “SIP GAS” license plate. But, do you consider the Smart car to be a gas sipper? I didn’t after the first time I looked at its specs. FuelEconomy.gov says a 2008 fortwo coupe gets 36 combined mpg (33/41). WOW, 36 combined! That’s unheard of! I looked up some cars from back in the day.Â
A 1995 Honda Civic VX (with shift indicator light) gets 43 combined (39/50) and has 92 hp, 21 more than the Smart. And, it can seat 4 people with room to haul some luggage in the hatch. I was thinking maybe the Smart is somehow heavier because it has that super rigid shell, power this/that and all the other gadgets and safety equipment that modern cars have. The Smart weighs 1,600 lbs. and the Civic VX weighs around 2,050 lbs. How is this thing not getting 50+ mpg?
Let’s compare it with some modern cars. A regular gasoline 2008 Civic DX is rated at 29 combined mpg (25/36). I think the 7 less combined mpg is worth the ability to carry double the people and double the cargo at quadruple the coolness. A 2008 Civic hybrid gets 42 combined, a 2008 Prius gets 46 combined. Of course, those cars are a little more expensive, but at least you’re not guaranteed to die when some massive Toyota Camry comes into your lane because your Smart was hiding behind its B-pllar.
I’ll bet they had two straws in a $3 bottle of Fiji in the Smart’s single cupholder.
0
Running - Week 3
posted on July 14th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I skipped an easy walking day during Week 2, thinking I didn’t need it, and my thighs got a little sore after running 3 consecutive days. I skipped Saturday so I wouldn’t hurt anything.
I just began the 3rd week this morning. I’ve switched from using the Runner’s World intervals on my watch to just using the Podrunner Intervals podcast now. I like not having to mess with my watch and I think I like the Podrunner intervals better. I’m not a big fan of dancy, techno music, but it’s okay.
Today began 3 minutes of continuous running intervals. It seemed pretty easy. I’m not sure if my body is starting to get use to it or if my breathing has made a difference. I was talking to some people at work who run and they said a smooth, full breath, making sure to fully exhale, is key. I wasn’t doing that at all before and I think it’s really helped.
Tomorrow, I walk. I don’t like those days and I feel like I’m wasting time just walking, but I’ve learned they’re necessary.
0
Running - Week 1
posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just recently, I decided start running every day to get in better shape. I never liked running because it just didn’t look fun. But, what’s strange it seems that overnight, I was suddenly obsessed with running. I currently weigh 170 lbs. and would like to be around 155 lbs., which is my “real” weight. I hope to be closer to my “real” weight in a couple of months
I needed some shoes, so I bought a pair of New Balance’s 805 in black and red. They’re interval trainers and should well suit my purpose. They’re cushioned, super lightweight, at only 10 ounces, and I hardly even notice they’re on my feet. Without spending $100, I like these a lot.
I also got a Nike Triax Speed 50 Super Watch, which has an angled display that’s big and easy to see when running. I was looking for a reasonably priced watch that had multiple intervals (FYI: an interval would be something like run for 10 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, repeat). Also, I wanted a stop watch for when I’m working corners at Texas World Speedway, just to see what kind of lap times some other people are running.
Now, I needed a plan. On Monday, June 30th, I started The Runner’s World 8-Week Beginning Runners Training Program. It’s goal is to get you running a continuous 30 minutes at the end of 8 weeks. I think 30 minutes of running is between 3 to 4 miles. Week 1 starts you off running for 1 minute and walking 2, repeated 10 times. Monday: I set the intervals in my watch and off I go. I didn’t think I’d be so tired at the end of 30 minutes! That’s a good start though, as my body isn’t used to daily running and I don’t want to hurt anything.
I already had the music player covered, although a 30GB Zune isn’t exactly lightweight. I need an iPod Nano (hint?). For some cool running mixes, check out DJ Steve Boyett’s Podrunner Intervals podcast. To indicate run/walk intervals, a chime plays and the tempo of the music changes. This could actually be a substitute for a running watch, as far as intervals go.
I guess we’ll see how this goes. Getting up at 5:00 AM is different. I’ll weigh in and check for progress later on.
0
Slow down
posted on May 19th, 2008 by Bobby in General
My company has a weekly newsletter that normally contains a main page article, company anniversaries, company sports scores and junk for sale. This week’s article had tips on how to save money at the pump by getting fuel economy. It doesn’t mention the obvious factors that have a more direct influence on your fuel economy, speed and acceleration.
“Fill up in the morning because the gas is cooler and more dense.”
This is bogus. A few hours of sunlight will not change the temperature of 30,000 gallons of fuel in a subsurface tank. I found the summary of an article that says the average temperature of the ground, at 10 feet deep, in Houston is always around 75°, with less than 1° of variation between summer and winter.
Mentioned, however, are some good, common tips, like keeping your car in shape, your tires properly inflated and windows up at higher speeds. It also says to ride a vanpool, which I’ve been doing for over a year now.
What is not mentioned are, what I think, the most obvious things to do to improve fuel economy. Accelerate with a light foot, drive slower and use your cruise control! Simple. I went to a friend’s house last weekend and did a round trip of about 40 miles, 35 of which were highway miles. I got on I-45, set the cruise control for 60 mph (~1,600 RPM in 4th gear with a 3.42 read-end and 20″ wheels) and averaged 21.8 mpg. I’d say that’s pretty good for a big truck. At 75 mph, I’ll get around 17 mpg. At slower speeds, around 50 mph, I’ll even get as high as 26-28 mpg.
Yeah, I know, the truck driver is telling you how to save money at the pump. I’m not arguing for a Toyota Prius, because some people want more capability. I chose to buy a truck and was well aware that my fuel economy would be almost half that of the Civic I had. But, I use it and still don’t regret buying it, nor do I helplessly whine about gas prices. I’m riding a vanpool and driving slower while everyone else is blowing my doors off. If you want to drive something that gets low gas mileage, slow down. Teach yourself some patience. It’ll only take a couple of extra minutes to get where you’re going. That’s all.
0
Cooler than popped collars
posted on April 30th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I know you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, but, I was hungry and went to the grocery store anyway.
When I got home an hour later, I realized that my collared shirt was on inside out. DOH!
0
An eventful weekend at TWS
posted on April 29th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
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I skipped an easy walking day during Week 2, thinking I didn’t need it, and my thighs got a little sore after running 3 consecutive days. I skipped Saturday so I wouldn’t hurt anything.
I just began the 3rd week this morning. I’ve switched from using the Runner’s World intervals on my watch to just using the Podrunner Intervals podcast now. I like not having to mess with my watch and I think I like the Podrunner intervals better. I’m not a big fan of dancy, techno music, but it’s okay.
Today began 3 minutes of continuous running intervals. It seemed pretty easy. I’m not sure if my body is starting to get use to it or if my breathing has made a difference. I was talking to some people at work who run and they said a smooth, full breath, making sure to fully exhale, is key. I wasn’t doing that at all before and I think it’s really helped.
Tomorrow, I walk. I don’t like those days and I feel like I’m wasting time just walking, but I’ve learned they’re necessary.
0
Running - Week 1
posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Bobby in General
Just recently, I decided start running every day to get in better shape. I never liked running because it just didn’t look fun. But, what’s strange it seems that overnight, I was suddenly obsessed with running. I currently weigh 170 lbs. and would like to be around 155 lbs., which is my “real” weight. I hope to be closer to my “real” weight in a couple of months
I needed some shoes, so I bought a pair of New Balance’s 805 in black and red. They’re interval trainers and should well suit my purpose. They’re cushioned, super lightweight, at only 10 ounces, and I hardly even notice they’re on my feet. Without spending $100, I like these a lot.
I also got a Nike Triax Speed 50 Super Watch, which has an angled display that’s big and easy to see when running. I was looking for a reasonably priced watch that had multiple intervals (FYI: an interval would be something like run for 10 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, repeat). Also, I wanted a stop watch for when I’m working corners at Texas World Speedway, just to see what kind of lap times some other people are running.
Now, I needed a plan. On Monday, June 30th, I started The Runner’s World 8-Week Beginning Runners Training Program. It’s goal is to get you running a continuous 30 minutes at the end of 8 weeks. I think 30 minutes of running is between 3 to 4 miles. Week 1 starts you off running for 1 minute and walking 2, repeated 10 times. Monday: I set the intervals in my watch and off I go. I didn’t think I’d be so tired at the end of 30 minutes! That’s a good start though, as my body isn’t used to daily running and I don’t want to hurt anything.
I already had the music player covered, although a 30GB Zune isn’t exactly lightweight. I need an iPod Nano (hint?). For some cool running mixes, check out DJ Steve Boyett’s Podrunner Intervals podcast. To indicate run/walk intervals, a chime plays and the tempo of the music changes. This could actually be a substitute for a running watch, as far as intervals go.
I guess we’ll see how this goes. Getting up at 5:00 AM is different. I’ll weigh in and check for progress later on.
0
Slow down
posted on May 19th, 2008 by Bobby in General
My company has a weekly newsletter that normally contains a main page article, company anniversaries, company sports scores and junk for sale. This week’s article had tips on how to save money at the pump by getting fuel economy. It doesn’t mention the obvious factors that have a more direct influence on your fuel economy, speed and acceleration.
“Fill up in the morning because the gas is cooler and more dense.”
This is bogus. A few hours of sunlight will not change the temperature of 30,000 gallons of fuel in a subsurface tank. I found the summary of an article that says the average temperature of the ground, at 10 feet deep, in Houston is always around 75°, with less than 1° of variation between summer and winter.
Mentioned, however, are some good, common tips, like keeping your car in shape, your tires properly inflated and windows up at higher speeds. It also says to ride a vanpool, which I’ve been doing for over a year now.
What is not mentioned are, what I think, the most obvious things to do to improve fuel economy. Accelerate with a light foot, drive slower and use your cruise control! Simple. I went to a friend’s house last weekend and did a round trip of about 40 miles, 35 of which were highway miles. I got on I-45, set the cruise control for 60 mph (~1,600 RPM in 4th gear with a 3.42 read-end and 20″ wheels) and averaged 21.8 mpg. I’d say that’s pretty good for a big truck. At 75 mph, I’ll get around 17 mpg. At slower speeds, around 50 mph, I’ll even get as high as 26-28 mpg.
Yeah, I know, the truck driver is telling you how to save money at the pump. I’m not arguing for a Toyota Prius, because some people want more capability. I chose to buy a truck and was well aware that my fuel economy would be almost half that of the Civic I had. But, I use it and still don’t regret buying it, nor do I helplessly whine about gas prices. I’m riding a vanpool and driving slower while everyone else is blowing my doors off. If you want to drive something that gets low gas mileage, slow down. Teach yourself some patience. It’ll only take a couple of extra minutes to get where you’re going. That’s all.
0
Cooler than popped collars
posted on April 30th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I know you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, but, I was hungry and went to the grocery store anyway.
When I got home an hour later, I realized that my collared shirt was on inside out. DOH!
0
An eventful weekend at TWS
posted on April 29th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
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Just recently, I decided start running every day to get in better shape. I never liked running because it just didn’t look fun. But, what’s strange it seems that overnight, I was suddenly obsessed with running. I currently weigh 170 lbs. and would like to be around 155 lbs., which is my “real” weight. I hope to be closer to my “real” weight in a couple of months
I needed some shoes, so I bought a pair of New Balance’s 805 in black and red. They’re interval trainers and should well suit my purpose. They’re cushioned, super lightweight, at only 10 ounces, and I hardly even notice they’re on my feet. Without spending $100, I like these a lot.
I also got a Nike Triax Speed 50 Super Watch, which has an angled display that’s big and easy to see when running. I was looking for a reasonably priced watch that had multiple intervals (FYI: an interval would be something like run for 10 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, repeat). Also, I wanted a stop watch for when I’m working corners at Texas World Speedway, just to see what kind of lap times some other people are running.
Now, I needed a plan. On Monday, June 30th, I started The Runner’s World 8-Week Beginning Runners Training Program. It’s goal is to get you running a continuous 30 minutes at the end of 8 weeks. I think 30 minutes of running is between 3 to 4 miles. Week 1 starts you off running for 1 minute and walking 2, repeated 10 times. Monday: I set the intervals in my watch and off I go. I didn’t think I’d be so tired at the end of 30 minutes! That’s a good start though, as my body isn’t used to daily running and I don’t want to hurt anything.
I already had the music player covered, although a 30GB Zune isn’t exactly lightweight. I need an iPod Nano (hint?). For some cool running mixes, check out DJ Steve Boyett’s Podrunner Intervals podcast. To indicate run/walk intervals, a chime plays and the tempo of the music changes. This could actually be a substitute for a running watch, as far as intervals go.
I guess we’ll see how this goes. Getting up at 5:00 AM is different. I’ll weigh in and check for progress later on.
0
Slow down
posted on May 19th, 2008 by Bobby in General
My company has a weekly newsletter that normally contains a main page article, company anniversaries, company sports scores and junk for sale. This week’s article had tips on how to save money at the pump by getting fuel economy. It doesn’t mention the obvious factors that have a more direct influence on your fuel economy, speed and acceleration.
“Fill up in the morning because the gas is cooler and more dense.”
This is bogus. A few hours of sunlight will not change the temperature of 30,000 gallons of fuel in a subsurface tank. I found the summary of an article that says the average temperature of the ground, at 10 feet deep, in Houston is always around 75°, with less than 1° of variation between summer and winter.
Mentioned, however, are some good, common tips, like keeping your car in shape, your tires properly inflated and windows up at higher speeds. It also says to ride a vanpool, which I’ve been doing for over a year now.
What is not mentioned are, what I think, the most obvious things to do to improve fuel economy. Accelerate with a light foot, drive slower and use your cruise control! Simple. I went to a friend’s house last weekend and did a round trip of about 40 miles, 35 of which were highway miles. I got on I-45, set the cruise control for 60 mph (~1,600 RPM in 4th gear with a 3.42 read-end and 20″ wheels) and averaged 21.8 mpg. I’d say that’s pretty good for a big truck. At 75 mph, I’ll get around 17 mpg. At slower speeds, around 50 mph, I’ll even get as high as 26-28 mpg.
Yeah, I know, the truck driver is telling you how to save money at the pump. I’m not arguing for a Toyota Prius, because some people want more capability. I chose to buy a truck and was well aware that my fuel economy would be almost half that of the Civic I had. But, I use it and still don’t regret buying it, nor do I helplessly whine about gas prices. I’m riding a vanpool and driving slower while everyone else is blowing my doors off. If you want to drive something that gets low gas mileage, slow down. Teach yourself some patience. It’ll only take a couple of extra minutes to get where you’re going. That’s all.
0
Cooler than popped collars
posted on April 30th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I know you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, but, I was hungry and went to the grocery store anyway.
When I got home an hour later, I realized that my collared shirt was on inside out. DOH!
0
An eventful weekend at TWS
posted on April 29th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
My company has a weekly newsletter that normally contains a main page article, company anniversaries, company sports scores and junk for sale. This week’s article had tips on how to save money at the pump by getting fuel economy. It doesn’t mention the obvious factors that have a more direct influence on your fuel economy, speed and acceleration.
“Fill up in the morning because the gas is cooler and more dense.”
This is bogus. A few hours of sunlight will not change the temperature of 30,000 gallons of fuel in a subsurface tank. I found the summary of an article that says the average temperature of the ground, at 10 feet deep, in Houston is always around 75°, with less than 1° of variation between summer and winter.
Mentioned, however, are some good, common tips, like keeping your car in shape, your tires properly inflated and windows up at higher speeds. It also says to ride a vanpool, which I’ve been doing for over a year now.
What is not mentioned are, what I think, the most obvious things to do to improve fuel economy. Accelerate with a light foot, drive slower and use your cruise control! Simple. I went to a friend’s house last weekend and did a round trip of about 40 miles, 35 of which were highway miles. I got on I-45, set the cruise control for 60 mph (~1,600 RPM in 4th gear with a 3.42 read-end and 20″ wheels) and averaged 21.8 mpg. I’d say that’s pretty good for a big truck. At 75 mph, I’ll get around 17 mpg. At slower speeds, around 50 mph, I’ll even get as high as 26-28 mpg.
Yeah, I know, the truck driver is telling you how to save money at the pump. I’m not arguing for a Toyota Prius, because some people want more capability. I chose to buy a truck and was well aware that my fuel economy would be almost half that of the Civic I had. But, I use it and still don’t regret buying it, nor do I helplessly whine about gas prices. I’m riding a vanpool and driving slower while everyone else is blowing my doors off. If you want to drive something that gets low gas mileage, slow down. Teach yourself some patience. It’ll only take a couple of extra minutes to get where you’re going. That’s all.
0
Cooler than popped collars
posted on April 30th, 2008 by Bobby in General
I know you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, but, I was hungry and went to the grocery store anyway.
When I got home an hour later, I realized that my collared shirt was on inside out. DOH!
0
An eventful weekend at TWS
posted on April 29th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
I know you’re not supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, but, I was hungry and went to the grocery store anyway.
When I got home an hour later, I realized that my collared shirt was on inside out. DOH!
0
An eventful weekend at TWS
posted on April 29th, 2008 by Bobby in Motorsports
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
The Motorsports Club event, at Texas World Speedway, this weekend was fun. Ryan took the Prelude out there for the first time, I added speed on some new tires and there were three red flags on Sunday.
A Ford Probe popped its motor through Turn 4, sending oil through a hot exhaust that lit up at the rear of the car in a massive fireball. Luckily, Turn 4 had a fire extinguisher and ran over there to quickly put it out. I didn’t see any major damage in the paddock, later in the afternoon. It’s a good thing it didn’t catch fire on Turn 3, where I was working, because I had no extinguisher.
An E36 M3 hit the oval wall hard while going through Turn 14, somehow. I didn’t see it, but the M3 hit the wall in a strange place. A car would more likely hit the wall on the exit of Turn 15, just before you make your way up the oval, onto the front straight, but the M3 hit the wall way before that. The right front corner had a lot of damage. It was a black M3 with red numbers, “666″, and the guy was driving pretty hard all day. I wasn’t too surprised to hear of him having some kind of dramatic off-course excursion.
Also, a Sentra, that was in Green group, flipped over through Turn 6. I know the guy’s instructor, and he said it was apparent when they were about go off, and he got out a couple words, “go off straight.” He went off a little sideways and was unlucky enough to have a passenger side tire go flat, allowing the wheel to grab the dirt and send the car over. The passenger side did not even touch the ground, as it was flung into the air. The car, apparently, did a half revolution, hit the driver’s side rear roof, before rolling over the driver side and back onto the wheels. There were no injuries, although, I’m sure they’re both sore now. It was an ‘03 Sentra and the car was paid off. The instructor said he was doing a good job, especially for his first event. I wonder if he’ll ever go to the track again.
Vansprinkle took his Prelude out for his first track experience. Having only a few miles on the car, I don’t think anyone really had any idea of how it’d drive or if there would be any problems. It was previously having ECU problems, check engine lights and little issues. It came together in the last hour, with a different ECU and some decent shocks/springs, and drove just fine with no major problems. I noticed that Ryan had added a lot of speed by the end of the day. The Prelude looks nice going around the track. That body style really makes the car look low and long. I’m glad to see it out there.
I drove on Saturday and managed to keep the Civic’s wheels on the pavement. This was the first drive on the Nitto NT-01s. Of course, the NT-01s stuck a lot better than the Azenis and the Gs through some turns were really fun. Along with the tires, I think I improved my driving a lot over the last time. I was normally somewhat of a wimp going into Turn 1. I would reach the top of 4th gear and coast down the oval, onto the transition before doing my braking into 1. I don’t know if it was the tires or not, but I had a lot more confidence and was hitting 5th gear and powering all the way down the transition into the braking zone for Turn 1. That was fun. I had a good time “battling” with a supercharged Miata and a second generation Eclipse. The cars were similar in power and we all seemed to be driving pretty hard. Sooner or later, I’ll start keeping track of lap times, although, I’m not too concerned with that right now.
Fire, walls and flips. Good times.Â
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