Winding Road #17
Copyright | Cela Libeskind | Used with permission.
How To Take Apart Your Beetle in 20 Seconds
Next time you’re at the traffic lights with 20 seconds to spare and really want to impress the passengers of the car next to you… well, you can try this I suppose.
Car Porn | Enkei RPF1 Black
The Enkei RPF1. Forged by the sweat of virgins, it is simply the only wheel that is worth the RRP. It’s light weight and strong with a minimalist style that makes all girls go wild.
From the Enkei site:
MAT PROCESS: Shaping by the MAT process reduces wheel weight by 10%-15%. Every pound of unsprung weight savings has the effect of reducing overall vehicle weight by 20lbs.
F1 REPLICA: Enkei is an official supplier of the McLaren Mercedes Formula One Team. The RPF1 was developed using the same technology as the Formula One race wheel.
TWIN SPOKES: Enkei’s dual open stance spoke design is used on the McLaren Mercedes Formula One race wheel. The twin spokes achieve better stress dispersion on curves, hard braking, and extreme race driving.
CENTER DESIGN: Enkei’s pocket design around the bolt circles increases rigidity and keeps the wheel cooler during aggressive race driving.
• Sizes 15, 16, 17, 18 & 19 Inch
• Available F1 Silver, Gold, Black, SBC (special order)
• Spec-E Inspected
• MAT Technology (guess what this stands for? Most Advanced Technology Technology ke ke)
Car Battle #4
At Donington in 1993, Ayrton Senna shows us why he was the master by cutting through a field of legendary F1 drivers to lead the race from 5th place in just one lap.
Winding Road #16
Copyright | Tim Schmidt | Used with permission.
Winding Road #15
Copyright | Tim Schmidt | Used with permission.
We Four
I sped past the Camry to catch up to the S15 only to have an SS draft me and sling past all of us with a deep roar none of us could match. I couldn’t shake the Camry. One corner, two, and then three. The S15 clamped his brakes early and we passed him in a rush. I was briefly distracted and the Camry took advantage taking me on the left. He sped off after the SS. In my rear view mirror the S15 got bigger and bigger and then disappeared only to appear in my right side mirror. Now in my peripheral vision. Now past me and pulling away. Up ahead a sharp right slowed them down enough for me to catch up. The light MX5 carried me further into the corner before I had to slow down. I accelerated past the S15 and was side by side with the Camry when all of a sudden we had to stop. Damn red lights.
Not a scene out of any fast or furious movie. Not a track day, nor an exhibition race. Just some random drivers playing off each other on public roads. It takes one driver to speed up a bit. Another plays off him and follows. Next thing you know a third has latched on with a fourth not far behind and they become a subconsciously driven mob. They overtake each other without need and speed past other cars. Swerving in and out of lanes pushing each other. Fanning out to take all 3 lanes at a set of lights. Vying for the best lane and always looking for the faster flowing lane.
There’s a certain peer pressure that takes over in these situations and all drivers are lulled into a false sense of safety. They each know they’re breaking the law even if the speeds aren’t high. If a police officer sees them there’s a 3 in 4 chance they won’t be the one caught. Pretty good odds for a few minutes of play. One peels off to visit his grandma for dinner. Another soon pulls over to return his DVD’s and the last two lose each other in the traffic. It’s all over. Back to 60.
Phat Sliggity Zipties
Yesterday I spent the day at a friends’ place who was holding a ‘dodgy day’. It’s basically an excuse for friends to get together and help each other with dodgy backyard repairs over some drinks and a bbq. We even threw in a top down cruise in the evening through some back roads and let me tell you it was damn cold!
One of the last repairs was a Garage Vary lip that had seen better days. It was passed down from one friend to another who attempted to repair it with zip ties and some glue for good measure. There we were, half a dozen man-children supervising the one guy working. He was proud of his accomplishment. The lip actually looked good and would hang proudly from the front of his car. Sadly, someone suggested we ought to paint it and in the true tradition of backyard repairs we went to work without much thought or planning.
A spray on clear coat was applied with little fuss. Waiting for paint to dry is for wimps so the first coat of red paint went on a minute later. Well, I’m not sure you would call it paint. It was line marker used on roads by your local council. The can was old and dripped on the paint more than it sprayed it on. Another colour, yellow, was applied for extra dodgy effect. The pièce de résistance was black wrinkle paint, again only a minute later. The end result was the epitome of dodgy repairs and looked like leprosy had taken to the lip.
All the zip tie repairs reminded me of a Youtube video I saw a while ago. There is no line marker paint here and nothing really dodgy, just a cool video of some zip tie repairs so enjoy.
Winding Road #14
Copyright | Tim Schmidt | Used with permission.
Winter Moss
It’s not enough to have to deal with the mostly damp b roads in winter, you also need to look out for moss! Sneaky little slimy slippery moss.
There are around 12,000 species of moss and they typically grow in damp and shady locations. During winter, b roads covered by a dense canopy are an ideal location and moss grows within the cracks of bitumen. As they grow and fill the cracks they spill on to the road and come in contact with your tyres.
