Draco-REX

Interesting.. But the need for the clutch to initiate the shift seems like it would be awkward to use. I think it would make it feel more like a slush box...

Welcome to "How things Are". Consider on top of that some may have school loans as well. This is why more and more young adults are staying home. The only other choice is to share a place with someone else and pray they will keep up with their half of the bills. That's a 40hr week. Noone gets a 40Hr week these days. 32-35hrs is full time now. THat's only $15K/yr. It's understandable why a lot of people are frustrated right now. But like many things, I don't think it is purely a political issue. Part of it is social. Kids are raised being told that they have to get a White Collar job and that Blue Collar jobs are for people who fail at life. If you're not in a cubicle, you're doing something wrong.... These kids rack up 6 digits of debt before they even hit the job market and then can't find a career. And now essential skills are being lost. Do you know how much a good marine welder makes? I wish my parents had let me go to a trade school when I was young.

I did not know that. That explains a lot. Still doesn't get me a driver.

Not all of the unemployed are on welfare. I'll bet that most aren't.

Speaking of presidents.... You know what? FUCK voting for the president. Let's just toss the whole thing out. It doesn't work, and it can't be fixed as it stands now. We aren't voting for the best guy for the job, we're voting for the guy who we hope won't fuck up as bad as the other one. Shit on the whole thing. Here's what we do: These days there are an unbelieveable number of metrics that can measure how a business is doing. There are even businesses based around monitoring and analyzing other businesses. Nearly everything can be quantified and compared. So the President ceases to be an elected position. Instead it becomes a position based on merit. Every 4th year, the 50 states are compared. Based on a host of different metrics, the governor of the state that has shown the biggest improvement over the past 4 years becomes the next president. There's no popularity contest. There're no dumptrucks of cash being wasted in trying to get us to choose one puppet over another. That's gone. There's no way to directly influence a presidential choice. Here's the beauty of all this: Because the presidency is based on how well someone improves the state they run, they have a solid incentive to make tangible improvements. This also goes for the big $$ political backers that want someone in office. Since there's no campaign (aside from the 50 governors who are only state-wide elections) they have to help their guy improve the metrics. So they have to pour money into improving the state which benefits all of us. Sure, they could choose an underperforming state, get their guy elected, then use the low baseline to make him look good. But the side effect is that an underperforming state just got a huge improvement. Win-win.

Unemployment will never hit zero and won't fall very low. It's not just about handouts. The fact is, a lot of these unemployed people just don't want to work. They'll bum room and board from friends and family, and find ways to live without holding a job. I don't know how many of you work in retail, but I have for a while and EVERY place I've worked has been hiring for one position or another. We have jobs we want to fill. But we can't. Maybe 1/4 of the applications are worth even calling in for an interview. The rest are unemployable due to ridiculous availability, idiotic wage expectation, convicted felons, and the inability to do simple things like spell. Then of that 25%, you'll get maybe 1 in 3 that will actually call back about the interview and set up a time. From that small pool, they'll either fail to show up for the interview, fail the interview by being a moron, or fail the drug test. And then even if you do find someone who makes it through all of this, half the time they quit after a couple weeks because they don't like the job. Right now, I need a driver. The job seems simple to me. I hand the driver a piece of paper, the driver picks the parts, hops in a car, drives the parts to the customer, hands the customer the parts, get a signature, and comes back for more. But apparently it's Fucking Rocket Science. I had someone apply for the job with a SUSPENDED LICENSE! Another guy couldn't handle the job and quit in the middle of a day: Him: "Uhh, do you have another driver?" Me: "Not really. Why? Do you have to go on break?" H:"No. I'm gonna quit." M:"What?" H:"Well, if you don't have someone, I could take the delivery." M:"Ah, no." It's the easiest job in the world. Hell, you get to spend time outside the store driving around tow with the windows down and listening to music. It's a fucking dream job if it paid more. But it's still a job. What I think a big problem is that people would rather have no job than a $9/hr retail job. They don't seem to get that if you show up, do this simple as fuck job, show you're capable and on-the-ball, that you can be someone dependable, you'll GET the big paying job. I started as a "lowly" driver three years ago and I've got my own commercial program in a new store, and my DL has spoken to me about managing a store or becoming a Commercial Accounts Manager for multiple stores. The unemployment % is a good portion of just laziness. No president can fix that.

Daaamn: http://www.racingjunk.com/NASA-Super-Unlimited/1998218/BMW-Custom-M3-Wide-Body-with-LS6-Motor.html

As above, I'm of two minds on the pre-built thing. I'm still in the ideas phase. This isn't something I'll be doing over the winter. Even if I go for the 818, I won't be able to start on it until sometime next year.

The worst part is that they'll probabaly sue and they'll probably win, which will reinforce their bad fucking driving behavior.

I won't be there, but god does that track look like fun. The map doesn't show the elevation changes either. Turn 1 is going to be awesome. I expect to see a few cars going straight off it during P1. The crest of the hill is a little before the turn, so the car is unweighted during some of its braking. But the track is also REALLY wide in the hairpins. So hopefully there will be plenty of late-braking passes. Turns 3-8 look like so much fun. A little reminicent of Suzuka. And the 15-19 sequence has shades of Spa's 4-apex turn as well. I have really high hopes. I hope there are 2 DRS zones as well. I think COTA has the potential to be one of the top 5 favorite tracks of the drivers.

That's impressive.

DSRs are cool looking, but impossible to make street legal. It's one thing to take a car that's titled, since street legality is assumed. But to take a racer that was never meant to be titled for street use and make it pass inspection is nigh impossible. For one, the headlights would never meet minimum height requirements. But yeah, a DSR would be a cool ride. I'd just have to worry about SUV drivers using me for a speed bump.

They certainly don't do pickup trucks like we do. Nor do they tend to apply HillBilly knowhow as readily to stuff like that. :lolguy: Good thing he backed that up. I want that on a T-shirt now.

Why no reverse? Because racecar. (someone had to do it)

One side of me wants to do this. Another side wants to build something.

Must not be in America. I don't see that holding up to a pickup truck going 50mph.

I do too. The Lotus 7 clones have always interested me. They aren't the most attractive things, but they are crazy light. Wonder how much a turbo 'busa engine can be built for...

Completely understood. But door-to-door racing isn't my goal. Events like Pike's, the Targa, and TT like you mentioned are a lot more forgiving of mixed-purpose cars. I know my car won't be a winning car, I don't have the skill to be at the top of the podium anyway. My goal is to have a car that I can take to big events like the ones I mentioned, pass inspection, and be, if not competitive for the podium, at least competant. (After quite a few HPDEs of course, I'll need my license.) I'm more interested in events against the clock, not door-to-door racing. Club racing just doesn't really do it for me. Running against the clock lets me focus on the track without having to worry about other cars around me, and I find that a lot more enjoyable. Lots of people enjoy the personal competition of door-ro-door racing, but I'm not one of them. As for the budget, I'm trying to keep it low so I have more for the contingencies you mention. If I wanted to blow the budget on the car, I'd be looking at twice that.. The 818 R is what got me thinking along these lines. The basic build is about $15K - $20K and it includes almost everything needed to pass inspection for the events I mentioned. "Street Legal" is a vague term, especially in OH. Let's say it has lights.

Too bad it won't look quite as good. If I'm building a kit, it might as well be the 818. It's lighter by about 400lbs, and I'm more familar with the drivetrain.

Some good ideas, some way off base. LS-swapped RX7s are kind common. I mean, if you see one and it doesn't sound like a dorito, the first question is, "Is that a LS1?" But it is a thought. I ahve been told that I may not fit in a FD however... I figured the examples of Pike's Peak and Targa Newfoundland were pretty good indicators of the types of racing I plan to do with it. Not to mention the FIA cage. It's in the list of conditions..... It is, but then I'd be looking at getting a new DD as well. The 240s are an interesting idea.. Maybe an old 280... Though to be honest, if I'm going to be rebuilding an old car, it might be smarter of me to just do an 818 since it would be closer to my skill-set. hmm..

Ok, so I'm pondering my direction in the next few years. One thing I'm looking at is selling the STI and building a track car that is also street legal. I thought I'd give CR a chance to spend $20K of my imaginary money to build a track car. But there are conditions. 1. Must be unique/out of the ordinary. No corvettes, f-bodies, mustangs, M3s, etc unless there's a stong case for it to be something special. Some ideas I've considered: 818-R, '70s import (510, celica, etc) 2. Price must include everything mechanical/physicial, from the car itself, to the safetey equipment (enough to do Pike's Peak/Targa Newfoundland so FIA cage etc) 3. Finishing touches (i.e. paint) and stuff that can be done at a later date can be over the budget. 4. Must be RWD 5. 3000lbs max (less my fat ass) 6. I'd like a faily good power/weight ratio. 7. And I don't want something that's already built. So have at it. What can you cook up?

Just saw this on another forum. If you're driving a car that has had its air bag replaced, make sure it's not a cheap Chinese copy.

LS0.75? There's only 3 cyl. so I assume it's for a V6. But I'm going to be silly and say it's for a Hemi Smart. :lolguy:

Or a lot less.. Some people are thinking it won't make much at all. So I must not be reading the stats correctly.

Nice find. Looks like it's capable of around 20psi. Considering the losses and it's low-to-mid range, I'm thinking it'll probably make 350-400 at the wheels on an E85 tune, maybe 300+ on 93. But the area under the torque curve will be much better than the turbos. But having all that torque so low in the power band will put more strain on the transmission. Still.. pretty badass.