Draco-REX

Read by Christopher Walken.

How does flashing headlights make someone brake-check another person?

I almost want this...

I'll be there in the BRZ. Finally after 7 months I'll get to AutoX this suspension. Let's hope it's warm enough to get some heat in the tires.

First Sat in months that I have to work, go fig. The 30th is the first AutoX of the season too, so I'll be missing then too. Maybe the 6th.

Not a lot of airflow around the back of it. http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p16/fullblown2k/difmounted3_zps3959a1f1.jpg Maybe a cooler hooked into the fill/drain holes for those who need it?

So much evidence supporting a need for the Google car...

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p16/fullblown2k/frsdif2_zps596c6633.jpg http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p16/fullblown2k/frs_dif_zps47e8c700.jpg That's a Ford 8.8" for a BRZ/FR-S. :fuckyeah: Someone's apparently serious about single digits with this car.

Cookies and cream TO THE FACE!

It would be interesting if GM can pull off a success like the LS engine with a small TTV6.

Cool. I liked this more than the robotics guy.

Great race. (spoilers below) The world feed needs to slap their sound guy around though. NBC Sports did a good job, and I love the "Formula 1 Non-Stop" commercial breaks. So much better than the usual breaks. I didn't even fast forward through them. Good idea. Spoilers: Great race. I was sure Vettel would take it, but I think the sudden degradation of the Super Softs and some not-quite-perfect timing of his stops are what tripped him up. Sutil, a great run for him, kinda screwed with the front-runners. Not sure how I feel about that. I would have thought that RB would spend some time in the off season helping Webber with his starts. Guess not. Awesome to see Kimi and Lotus at the top of the podium. They could be a real spoiler for this year. Ferrari looked great. They look like the powerhouse they used to be. McLaren are stumbling like I thought thy would. Again with stupid tire decisions in Quali. Mercedes is looking good. McLaren should be afraid. All that said, the season is just starting; anything can happen this year.

Ferrari is looking good in practice. Vettel laid down some fast runs though, so did Webber. But I never put too much weight on practice times. Too much testing goes on to really get a true feel of how everyone stacks up. Very often someone will dominate testing then get crushed in Q3. Can't wait for tomorrow!

It's amazing how much better those "vanity panels" make the cars look.

A post I made on another forum: This year should be good. It's Red Bull's championship to lose this year. The last year before the major technical shakeup, this is the time to do it. Next year, everyone will be struggling with reliability. Vettel's the man. I like him as a driver and as a person, and I think he has a solid chance to go 4 in a row and grab the 3rd position of greatest driver from Prost. Hammy's going to be too busy getting the Arrows up and running at the front again to challenge Vettel. So I'm not worried about him. It'll be good to see what he can do with that team. Alonso is the man to take the title away from Vettel again this year. Ferrari seems like they've got a handle on what they've been doing wrong. If they can take that knowledge and turn it into doing things right, Alonso could be a dominant force this year. We'll see. It will take a lot to topple the smooth running machine that's RB, but Alonso and Ferrari could do it this year. McLaren is too shaken with the loss of Hamilton and the upcoming loss of one of their top engineers. This year will be a battle with low morale for them. They need to buckle down, and work on getting their team running like a complete team, not a team with a spare tire. I think they should concentrate on that while perfecting their Power Unit for next year. They're going to have enough development pains with all the new regs to also deal with getting a team working again. Further down the grid there's other opportunities. With McLaren shaken and Mercedes possibly trying to overreach their grasp, Lotus has a solid chance to get more podiums. With the win last year, I think they could get a good morale boost and possible get Kimi on the steps quickly in the season. The tough part will be RoGro. If he continues to be the bull in a china shop, he's going to spoil what could be a fantastic year for Lotus. Lower teams have some daylight above them too. It will be interesting to see how things shake out now that the top teams are showing some cracks. Good stuff is coming. This year could be one of the best of the V8 era. Here's hoping!

In the days of old, some warriors would rush into battle with no armor and only a single-minded determination of killing their enemy. The complete disregard these warriors had for their own lives would have a psychological effect on their enemies, which increased the battle effectiveness of these units. Short wheelbase cars are the drag racing equivalent.

Build a car under it so you can drive your shiny turbo around. http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/03/coupe-de-thrill-a-turbo-with-a-honda-fitted-to-it/

lol. Hey, you buy that, I'll build an 818R and we'll race at Mid Ohio.

Tonight at midnight the lights go green for P1 of race 1 of the 2013 Formula 1 Championship. Fox/Speed didn't renew their contract (typical) with the FIA so Formula 1 is now on NBS Sports (220 for DirecTV users). It looks like they're going to do it right as they are sticking to Speed's P1, Q1, Race schedule and even keeping most of the presenters. So hopefully we'll see US coverage of F1 continue with no interruption. So P1 tonight at Midnight, Q1 tomorrow (Sat morning) 1:30a, and the race coverage starts at 2:00a Sat night (Sun Morning). This is the last year of V8s, and the last year of normal aspiration in F1. Can't wait!

http://www.f1technical.net/news/18215?sid=660761e1e7ebd3417e2813744edbf338 Historic F1 cars on historic tracks with FIA sanctioning. So cool.

The WRX is out for a couple reasons. First, it's a beater. Granted, that's not a fatal condition for a car. But I think the money that would be spent bringing it back to a great condition could be better spent converting a better car, or building the 818. Second, I love RallyX and playing in the dirt. Using the WRX for this would mean I'd have no car for doing something I enjoy and quitting altogether, which is not something I want to do. This year I'll probably put the WRX back on the road since my tow vehicle is junk, unless I can find a reliable one for cheap. I need to learn from Clay...

I didn't address the racing side of the plan because I was focusing more on the car for this thread. I do have a plan for the racing side of the equation. This year was about getting to HPDEs and similar events while focusing more on AutoX than RallyX. Next year I would start looking into TT and "hillclimb" events in surrounding areas and anything else of that style (tarmac rallies would work too), along with continuing track days here in OH. Third year would see my first application to PPIHC (not expecting to be accepted, but worth a try) with more focus on being competitive at various events. With Option 1 I'd be using the BRZ for this, and spreading out the costs of the build over the course of three years. Option 2 would have seen me in the BRZ at first, and the money from selling the STI funding the 818 build to coincide with the third year.

RallyX is my meat and potatoes. But it's all paved now; 2011 was the last year with dirt.

I enjoy the BRZ too much.