Draco-REX

That's a great price.. Though be sure to add the price of a second sensor since it only comes with one. Though if you're really serious about logging and tuning, these guys should be on your short list: http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/ They make simple one-sensor systems that you use a separate logger with (laptop), up to standalone loggers that can log up to 32 channels, to professional tuning systems that can individually log AFRs from EACH cylinder (good for testing intake and fuel system designs.) Their standalone logging system is about twice the cost of the one you linked, but it'll do the same job, plus 30 other logging channels and dump it to an SD card you can pop out and put in your laptop for better analysis.

That's a scary amount of metal to throw down the 1/4 that fast.

Repost. 8 posts down. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63942

Tough.. but possible.

Is there a minimum hp for your dyno? I might want to try for Weakest Car.

I wasn't planning on seeing it, but if there will be a meet, I'll try and make it. Question is, which car should I bring?

Only job where regular failure is OK.

The only one you should consider is the single one. If you decide to wait for one of the others to finally end their relationship, you'll probably be waiting a long time with no pay off (or an angry husband to deal with.) Not worth the trouble.

Brawn are 1-2 on the grid, with Vettel in 3rd. McLaren didn't even make it to Q3, and Ferrari are 7th and 9th on the grid. Amazing. The starting grid almost looks like a reverse-start of the previous year's. Tomorrow's the race. As much of a benchmark Qualifying is, going wheel-to-wheel is something else entirely. This is going to be a very interesting race. We'll finally see if all of the changes meant to improve overtaking are going to work. I half want to stay up to see it, but I also want to watch with a clear head...

It's official. The team that was at the bottom of the barrel; that the manufacturer itself gave up on as hopeless; that people were saying "Good riddance" to whe nit looked like they were out of F1, are the fastest. Braun (used to be Honda) took 1 and 2 in Q2. For those who aren't familiar with F1 qualifying, there are three sessions. Starting with 20 cars, the 5 slowest are eliminated in Q1 to be 16-20 on the grid. Then in Q2, the slowest 5 are eliminated again for positions 11-15. Then in Q3, the final ten fight for pole. Whereas in Q1 and Q2 you can run whatever fuel load you want, in Q3 they have to run with their race-load of fuel. So Q2 tends to see the fastest times of the weekend. And in this fastest session of racing, the underdogs were the ONLY ones to go below 1:24. And without KERS! As for the rule changes? All of the changes meant to cut the downforce in half and slow the cars down have served to make them faster! Watching Q3 now.

I DVR'd Qualifying and I'm watching it now.. Just finished Q1. I bet Honda is regretting their decision to pull out of F1. Braun (used to be Honda) just made Ferrari and McLaren look like chumps. They placed 1 and 2 in Q1. They haven't made it out of Q1 in the last 12 races!! Next up for me is Q2 where the fastest times of the weekend are usually seen.

This will do absolutely nothing. Just because we're not using the power, it doesn't mean that the power plants stop generating it. They'll be burning coal/oil etc all the same. You can't shutdown and restart a power plant in anything less than a week I believe. So honestly, "Earth Hour" will be WASTING energy rather than saving it. It's just another hair-brained tree-hugger attempt at saving the planet that's only shows how ill-informed these people really are.

I'm really surprised the other homeowners haven't raised enough of a fuss to get High Speed. Nowadays, lack of High Speed availability will bring a home's value down. I know I wouldn't consider a house that can't get High Speed Internet. Maybe you can talk to the other homeowners near you and get a larger group to start raising a fuss.

Strange.. TWC is the cable provider where I am, and I get Road Runner though them.

I saw that episode... I was born in the wrong country to the wrong family.

None of my 4cyls, I can tell you that. I might actually own the SLOWEST 4cyl..

They had a race in Canada last year.. But not this year. I was all ready to take a trip up there.

E-mail this guy: http://store.lathewerks.com/ He made the knobs I use and can do custom knobs as well, including a shift pattern etched in the top if you want. Look through that website and you can see the different types of shift knobs he makes, they aren't just spheres, and they are VERY high quality.

Pansies. STI + WRX now: http://www.turninconcepts.com/images/cop_sti_sphere_1_big.jpg WRX (once the 6-speed goes in): http://www.turninconcepts.com/images/cop_groove_sti_a_big.jpg

Remember, this was just a practice. Granted, it's far fetched to say they were holding back, but not unheard of. A couple teams were slamming the brakes on in the last corner so they wouldn't show a good time. So, though the big boys should have been faster, I don't think we've seen the real shakedown yet. On the plus side, Hamilton was on pace to do a 1:26.3XX, but he nearly spun it at about the 3/4 mark. So McLaren CAN turn the times, but the lack of rear grip is going to mean the drivers will have to be on their toes. Remember, they still don't have traction control. They aren't too goofy.. The HUGE front wing and narrow rear are kind of odd, but I think we'll get used to it. It's also kinda weird seeing slicks again. A couple times the front tires looked a little out of shape, but that's probably just a trick of the lighting (they're racing in the afternoon there) because the driver didn't seem to notice. A really interesting thing is that Bridgestone is widening the gap between the two compounds this year. So, for instance, rather than having Soft and Super Soft for this track, they're going to offer Medium and Super Soft. This should make tire choice more important as the difference in performance will be more significant. I hope so too. He's a driver to watch. He came in first, in the rain, in a Torro Rosso car. For those not familiar with the teams, Torro Rosso is the development team for Red Bull. So essentially, he won with a project car. Did you notice that the win was a huge confidence booster for him and the team? He started placing really high after that win. Red Bull transferred him up to the main team and I think, with this shake-up, he's going to be a force to be reckoned with. Definately keep your eyes on him. I hope he doesn't disappoint, or the car doesn't let him down like last year. Awesome video. It doesn't cover the diffuser issues, but it does hit on a lot of the bigger changes. Bottom line: the drivers are earning their money this year, as these cars are unlike any previous F1 season and are very different to drive. I'm looking forward to this season. Now if only we can get Speed to show WRC or RallyAmerica.

Fastest driver in Friday Practice @ 1:26.053? Nico Rosberg in a Williams Toyota. Massa was 10th, Raikonnen 11th. Kovalainen was 17th with Hamilton at 18th. Granted, practice times aren't a true measure of the teams, but you can get a good idea. Usually Ferrari and McLaren end up towards the top. The big issue seems to be the rear diffuser. Williams is one of the teams running the questionable diffuser whereas Ferrari and McLaren are running diffusers that follow the letter of the regulations more closely. It's being speculated that because Ferrari and McLaren were so focused on the 2008 championship, they are behind on developing their 2009 car. We'll see how they shake out tomorrow and Sunday though. Can't Wait

I doubt it. More overtaking is good. Also a couple interesting points so far in practice: The brand new 2009 cars, in practice, are 0.5 sec faster around Melbourne than the heavily developed 2008 cars. The new regulations were expected to reduce downforce by nearly half, however one team has said that the engineers got that back and then some and are actually 17% UP on the 2008 car. So far it's looking good. But the real test will be Qualifying. Keep your eyes on the BMWs; one has KERS, the other doesn't. That should be a good look at how much the KERS helps.

The season has started. Practice was this morning. Tomorrow at 2am on Speed will be Qualifying, and Sunday 1am will be a 2009 Season Preview and the race starts at 1:30am. Set your DVRs! There are a LOT of technical changes this year. A lot of the changes were introduced specifically to introduce overtaking. The cars look very little like last year's cars, and there's already some questionable "interpretations" to the rules. I'm watching the practice now and drivers are going off the track all the time as they try to get used to the new setups. This season looks very interesting, as back-marker teams are turning some really competitive times so far.

One is the size of a donut, the other a bagel. Yeah, I fail.

Hmm.. I doubt a modern directional will come apart on the highway. However, it will effectively pump water UNDER the tire and make hydroplaning a near certainty in even moderate rain. Good to see he enjoys going backwards into jersey barriers. How can someone into cars do that? Seems like he probably just paid to have the car built and likely has no clue.