Draco-REX

It appears to do everything the cable one does. The benefit is that you can use any web enabled device. I used my tablet to code my car. The screens looked just like the regular version. There is even an "app" that makes finding it on your network easier. The down side is that you need to run it in infrastructure mode with internet access to do the coding functions, so a local wifi is needed. I haven't experimented with it much, but I think a phone hotspot could work. But if you want to scan for obd codes or get real time info, it can be done directly in access point mode. So with the 90 degree extension cable you can just leave it connected.

See, I feel the exact opposite. The beauty of a mountian bike is that it can go *anywhere*. An inexpensive mountian bike can work on the road or off it. I put hybrid tires on mine and with 40psi it rides great on the road and at lower pressure it's good for light trails. Plan to go serious trail riding? Air it down and lever on a set of off-road tires. But for the most part the hybrid tires stay on. And frankly, as a bigger guy, I prefer to have a sturdier bike under me. I would recommend getting a good mountian bike that's not too expensive and see where you you want to go. If you find trail riding is more your thing, upgrade to a nice mountain bike. If you find yourself riding just on the roads, go more towards a road bike. I used to ride trails a lot, but recently I've been doing mostly road riding. So if I upgrade, I'm going to shift closer to a road bike. The 'cross bikes look like they might better fit my kind of riding.

I've been thinking of upgrading to a lighter bike. I have a Specialized mountain bike. Hard tail, front shock, disk brakes, two sets of tires (hybrid and off-road).

Just finished watching the race. Spoilers below: Overall, not a bad race. If you look at position changes and retirements, it could be considered a good race. But I'm not as enthused by the reality of the new regs. I was all for them in theory, but in practice.. not so much. On the positive side, there seem to be more competitive teams. Mercedes is looking very good, Red Bull of course, and McLaren is finally looking better. But there's also Williams, and we can't forget Ferrari. So hopefully more teams will find their way onto the podium to keep things interesting. Being a fan of Vettel, I wish his race could have gone better. But Ricciardo did an amazing job, proving that when the RB10 works, it can be competitive. Unfortunately, I just found out that the RB10 was a bit too greedy and exceeded the max fuel flow rate at some point in the race and Ricciardo was DQ'd. Mercedes power plants are where people expected them to be, but a Renault up there is surprising. I think Renault needs to get their act together however, or they're going to see their customers start looking to Ferrari, Mercedes, and Honda for engines in 2015. I think a lot of teams are going to consider Honda. But early races aren't always indicative of how the season will end, so here's hoping things get better.

I will try to make this one. But it will depend on what condition the BRZ is in.

daaamn...

I was originally quoted $1068 shipped. With springs, spacers, and bolts (10 standard length, 10 extended) it came to a little over $1500 shipped. With tires it'll come to the same amount as just the Vossens. Gotta admit, I was not expecting to get away so cheaply outfitting the S5. So I just ordered a wireless VCDS and OBDLink MX. This summer is going to rock. (barring the BRZ exploding... knock on wood)

And yet, is it appropriate for a racing series this day and age to have no regard for efficiency? I think the FIA found themselves in a "Damned if you do..." conundrum. To us enthusiasts, the idea of conserving fuel in a race is silly. But the media and the bulk of the viewers is not made up of enthusiasts. So the question becomes, how relevant is F1? Better fuel efficiency and hybrid drivetrains are things the average person can relate to. They may have a hybrid in their garage, and everyone deals with fuel efficiency. Now in all reality, the amount of money being thrown around makes the fuel savings a moot point. But the average person doesn't think about that. However, they DO know about watching the gas gauge get closer and closer to E and trying to get to the gas station before that needle gets too low. That's where the FIA is trying to find their relevance. I'm not sure I can think of a way to satisfy both sides of the argument. You could split the race into speed and efficiency stints, but that would seem very gimmicky. Personally, I'd like to see F1 regulate the tires, overall dimensions, driver safety, and total budget (with an army of accountants) and then let the teams do whatever they want. But that will never fly in this day and age. lol, the guard was probably a fan of Alonso.

The V99s are ordered, along with a set of springs to drop the car 1" and spacers for the rear to fill out the fenders. I'm also hoping to land a RS5 grill too. If all goes well, it'll be ready before summer.

The GF and I will be there. So 2 more!

Watching the practices I recorded now. So much different. Not only are the engines completely different, but the aero is changed, and all of the tires are different. Even how the on-screen info and drivers are presented to the audience is different. The new engine note is both disappointing and very cool. I miss the high screaming noise the older engines had. To me, a F1 car should sound like an angel... plummeting to earth at Mach 3. The new low pitch almost sounds like a motorcycle. But on the cool side of things, the turbos sound fantastic. The exhaust pipe is a big bore and very short, so you can hear the turbo clearly. Overall, while the cars don't sound like what I'd expect a F1 car to sound like, it is an unmistakable noise and very futuristic; almost like something you'd hear in a sci-fi movie. No team has really pushed the tires yet, so no idea how those will shake out. Hopefully they won't be yet another issue to llump on top of everything else. The new noses.. yeah, there's already been a thread on them. Don't like them, hope they'll go away soon. The media had jumped right on to the dedicated numbers thing. Driver pictures are presented with the number in the background in a style unique to the team, much like NASCAR. Good thing? I think so, but we'll see. Also on the standings list that displays on the left of the screen, the primary color of the car is presented next to the driver's name to improve recognition. Not sure how effective it will be, but I have trouble identifying small swaths of color so it might be more effective than I think. Best P1 time was 5 seconds off last year's, but top speed is higher. So all the lost time is in the corners. The commenters are put it mostly on exit, but the lack of downforce and heavier weight are where I think the bigger issues lay. I'm not sure how all this will translate on Sunday, but we'll see. Must as I thought the new rules would make for more interesting racing, I'm worried now it will have the opposite effect. I hope to be wrong and we'll see great racing, but I'm not banking on it. If anything, I think the year will be heavy on technical drama. Qualifying tomorrow, 2am. Race Sunday 1:30am.

Thanks. I hope to get it done by Summer.

If it's back on the road in time for this, 185 for the BRZ. I'm very sure I won't have the blower on by then.

Don't like chrome, and painted lips are few and far between. And most of those are big money.

Tom has the hookup for the best price. I'm going to be getting them through a vendor on Audizine because he's working a deal on some other parts with them. Audi tires. The original 255/35-19 Dunlop Sport Maxx tires. Only about 600 miles on them. The wheel/tire set I'm selling is the TC105n/AD08 set from the BRZ.

I should show up with the BRZ and try for "Biggest Meh..." lol

pm sent

The V99s would likely be 20x10.5+30

I was just quoted a VERY attractive price on the V99s...

I plan to drop it about 1". I need to keep as much of the stock ride quality as I can, so I'm looking at the H&R OE Sport springs. The Forgestars aren't exactly forged, believe it or not. It's only the outer barrel that's forged. So they're probably on par with the others in weight. I can see greater strength due to the better spread of spokes however.

This reminds me, I have some wheels and tires to sell too...

CR Collective: Oh god, not another wheel thread from Draco... C'mon, these threads are always entertaining. Time to fit the S5 with new shoes. All options will be in a matte graphite/gunmetal and 20". Vossen CV3, 20" http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/Gstno1/PA050642.jpg http://blog.wheelspecialists.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image21.jpg Pros: Clean design Light look for a heavy car 20" available A nod towards the stock "rotor" look Cons: Upper end of my budget. Forgestar F14 Super Deep Concave http://www.forgestar.com/blog/pics/e90superdeep2.jpg http://www.modbargains.com/zoom_img/forgestar-f14-textured-black-audi-in-stock-dj4_1361453113.JPG Pros: Concave, concave, concave! A more classic spoked look Priced well within the budget Cons: Was only 19" until recently, 20" availability may suck Heavy look. Verde Axis V99 http://www.need4speedmotors.com/forum/mbworld/verde/axis/verde-axis-v99-matte-graphite-concave-mercedes-benz-sl550-r231-wheels-01.jpg http://www.need4speedmotors.com/forum/mbworld/verde/axis/verde-axis-v99-matte-graphite-concave-mercedes-benz-sl550-r231-wheels-03.jpg Pros: Lowest cost. New split spoke design I like Cleaner look than the F14 Cons: Low cost may = cheap It's a close knock-off of a HRE design There are a couple others I like, but these are the top 3.

Oops. Missed it.

And now a C3 vette. C'mon out guys!

Well.. I'm here... There's an empty coxster here. And that's about it.