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The Red Clay Rally (RCR) 2018 – Coal Country Scramble

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June 16, 2018

The Red Clay Rally (RCR) 2018 – Coal Country Scramble

The Red Clay Rally (RCR) is *not* a race. It is an annual three-day timed event where the goal is to complete each stage as close to a predetermined GPS “track“ as possible. Competitors travel through a specified route and to observe the culture and meet the people of the region while traversing some of the toughest, challenging, unkempt roads in that area.

Requirements and Information for the Red Clay Rally

Requirements to participate in the rally are very specific, and the information provided ahead of time is very limited. Vehicles are required to be “dependable” and equipped with at least a 31” tire, a full sized spare, and extra fuel. The vehicle also has to be lifted and fitted with “true 4 wheel drive.” Note: In the previous year’s rally, AWD Subarus were allowed. However, due to problems with multiple Subaru teams blocking the trail …the 2018 rules were amended to not allow them to compete.

Very little location information is released to competitors prior to the start of the rally. Competitors do not have access to the complete mapped route, or final rules until 1 week before the start of the rally. This prohibits teams from running the route ahead of time. The only information provided is the starting and ending Locations for the RCR.

In addition to surviving the route, teams have to collect as few penalty points as possible, stay together as a team, and finish as a team. Believe it or not, there are a many ways to earn penalties, for example:

If a team hits their checkpoint too early, they are penalized 5 points for each minute they are early.
If a team checks in late, they are penalized 1 point for each minute they are late.
If any team blocks the trail for more than 15 consecutive minutes, they are disqualified.
If a team shows up to all checkpoints cumulatively 20 minutes early, the team is disqualified.

Moreover, Competitors are not to talk about Red Clay Rally… not to the locals, not to law enforcement, not to anyone in any area the rally travels through. Teams are not allowed to put any Rally identifying marks on their vehicles, nor team numbers. Teams were also made aware to not trust any other team because they might purposely be deceptive, give wrong information, or directions.

Competitors are provided the final GPS “track” a week before the start so they could download their maps. Each stage has an amount of time it should take for the track to be completed associated with it. We did not know the location of each checkpoint, so it was impossible to cut corners or skip any part of the GPS track. Additionally we did not know what the terrain would be like, so trying to speed up or slow down could hurt our team. There were several sections of trail that teams could get extra credit points to reduce their overall score, however it was risky because those sections would take more time and the condition of the extra credit trail was unknown. This could potentially result in recoveries that could take even more time and add points to the end score for the day.

Rally Preparations

Our two teams registered to run the rally in August of 2017, so we had 10 months to prepare. We had a total of five vehicles: Team 99 consisted of myself driving my 2013 Toyota 4Runner SR5, and my good friend Tom driving his 2016 Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition. Team 98 was made up of our friend Mark with his 2006 Toyota Tacoma (with 201k on the odometer!), Steve driving a 2015 Toyota Tacoma, and lastly Pete driving a 2016 Toyota 4Runner SR5.

Preparing for the rally was a daunting task because we did not know what types of terrain we would be getting into, nor the areas we would be driving. None of our vehicles were set up the same, but all had suspension lifts with at least a 33” tire. Most of us had been running our current suspension setup for a while and the thought was to get out, wheel the trucks in the preceding ten months’ time, gain more experience, and tighten up any loose ends. We all agreed making any large last minute changes could have an effect on how we were able to run the rally. The organizers had warned us that the biggest failure the year before had been brakes. We all made a point to change out our brake pads, as close as we could to the start of the rally.

Loving to tinker with our machines, a few of us did decide to add new solid plate steel bumpers on the front, rear, or both to increase our departure angles over obstacles and to give us better recovery points in the event that we got stuck and recovery was required. We reviewed safety procedures for winching to verify that we were well versed in proper winching. We put together a collection of tools, fluids, and spare parts that might fail, ensuring that if we did have a problem that we would be well prepared to fix them. After all, we still had to drive the trucks home after the rally was over.

Recovery gear was one of the most important items needed, and we compiled our own list of gear that we would have on board. Items such as: snatch straps, tree savers, soft shackles, kinetic ropes and snatch blocks. Three of the five trucks had an on board winch, and those owners were responsible for making sure the winch line was properly cleaned, tensioned, and the winch was in good working order.

Finally, we all made sure that we completed any maintenance items and went over our vehicles with a fine tooth comb. We changed fluids, checked wheel bearings, tie rods and lubricated suspension parts to make sure we would not have a catastrophic failure that would knock our team out of the finish.

The Big Moment: Running the Rally

All competitors were to arrive at Borla International in Johnson City, Tennessee by Friday morning at 6am. Our team opted to check in on Thursday night and get as much information as we could, instead of waiting until Friday morning. We met Thursday evening, checked in at Borla then headed out for a team dinner and drinks to build some comradery and discuss our vehicles and driving order/position.

On Friday morning we returned to Borla and the organizers took a roll call. A total of 52 teams consisting of 133 vehicles checked in to begin the Rally on day 1.

After some strategizing, we felt it was necessary to be one of the first to leave Borla to avoid getting caught in “Rally traffic” and potentially not be able to get fuel after 100+ trucks had fueled up in some of the smaller towns. Once roll call concluded we quietly positioned our vehicles near the starting point – effectively cutting off another team attempting to do the same thing.

Teams were released in two minute increments to allow for them to get down the road before encountering traffic. Releasing the teams would take the organizers the better part of two hours. We felt starting early and getting to camp early would benefit our team as we would be done for the day and have time to discuss tomorrows track. According to the GPS, we would spend roughly 7-8 hours in the trucks, with little time for breaks.

Our team set off just after 0700, and the majority of the day was a combination of freeway and skinny winding paved roads through small coal towns. We pushed the vehicles to their limits, trying to keep on route and on time. We missed several turns and had to turn around to get back on route. We quickly learned that having a dedicated navigator – in at least the lead truck – was absolutely necessary. Looking on the map it was impossible to tell which sections were paved and which were dirt. So we tried to keep as close to the GPS times as possible.

We rolled into camp in West Virginia at the end of the day, after completing an incredibly steep hill climb with very loose terrain.

That’s one helluva view. Member Doug T, standing next to his wife Corey’s 4runner.

On the top of the mountain was one of the best views we’d ever had camping. We had made it through day one, mostly unscathed. One driver on our team reported having some ABS activation issues, so he chose to go home and not continue to the end. Our team of five was knocked down to four. At the end of the day after everyone had checked in, we were pleased to find out that our two teams were in 12th place for the day. We had several late check-ins, so we were penalized for those. Our goal was to leave at the beginning of the pack, for day two.

Some confusion at the beginning of day two had all teams leaving “on their honor.” In retrospect this was a disaster, as we all tried to check in at the organizer’s camp site and were told to just leave at our specified time. We ended up leaving 10 minutes late, felt a bit slighted, and we would now need to make less stops. The team that left in front of us had a Jeep bringing up the rear with a clearly visible broken shock mount, that would slow us down. The day started with us driving through dirt packed mountain roads, and evolved into many different types of terrain including several miles next to railroad tracks.

Day 2 – brought us less pavement and extra credit challenges. We watched as a land cruiser attempted to drive up one of the extra credit sections. It was a longer steeper hill with loose terrain. The truck did not have enough power to make it to the top sliding back down the hill, nearly toppling over sideways. We wisely chose to skip that section and continue on. At the end of the day, we were one of the first teams to finish, and when we came upon the last checkpoint we were told that he (the checkpoint official) was in the wrong location due to a communication error. We were a bit annoyed that we (and about 30 other trucks) had to turn around. We chose to not camp with the big group and found a great secluded campsite in the Kentucky Mountains up on a ridge a couple miles from the rest of the competitors.

There were wild horses that wandered past our campsite and later in the evening a couple of old guys rolled up on their RZR to invite us back to their area for more exploring. We dragged a huge dead tree to our site and set up a large fire. After dark, some friends recognized our vehicles and rolled into our camp. They looked defeated and exhausted. They had suffered a vehicle failure due to an idler pulley seizing earlier in the day, resulting in a 45 minute drive out of their way to get the part at a Toyota dealer and then repair the truck. They continued on to the last checkpoint and were disqualified due to their late arrival time. Our team had finished day 2, in 11th place.

Much like the day before, Day 3 began with us not knowing what time we were to depart, so we made sure we were up early to pack up camp. We sent one teammate to the organizer to pick up our time sheet and identify our departure time. Due to several teams arriving late they had shifted departures to 0800 instead of 0700. This afforded us some extra time to take photos and discuss the route. Since we had a few early arrivals at checkpoints throughout day 2 (taking on additional penalties) we departed camp a few minutes later than our designated departure time at 0825.

Day three terrain started out on some of the tightest trails in terms of brash and trees. The constant scraping for the first mile or two unnerved some of our teammates.

As we continued, there was a lot of thick heavy mud and much of the route took us through heavily wooded areas. There was also more traffic on the trails as vehicles were getting stuck, breaking down, and not having the appropriate tools to get through the woods. We ended up with two trucks on our team that started to overheat due to the thick layer of mud that caked on the radiators. Fortunately we caught it early and we were able to use our pressurized water tank to rinse them off until we could find a car wash along our route. Two of us got stuck and required recovery. We were able to pull both vehicles individually in less than ten minutes each, so as not to be penalized or disqualified for blocking the trail. Later in the day, another team was limping along with a broken vehicle and were effectively blocking the route. Getting around them was a challenge but we eventually we forced our way around got past. The route eventually doubled back on itself, and we found ourselves held up for over an hour because an FJ Cruiser had overturned when the ABS locked up on a gravel curve and sent it into a ravine. Fortunately it had been stopped by a large tree, but the truck was more or less totaled. Eventually they were able to winch themselves out and the driver was unharmed. We saw several other vehicles with broken windows and heard of a few with snapped axles.

We made it to the last checkpoint on day 3 with what we felt was a good end time and all team members in fairly good shape. Continuing on some more fun and challenging trails before hitting the pavement to the finale at a brewery in Lexington to celebrate and find out our final score.

At the brewery we were finally able to relax and get some real food and much needed drinks. We waited patiently for the rest of the teams to show up so the officials could announce the winners. After traveling through 32 counties, 4 states, traversing over 500 miles, and putting our trucks through the stress of a fast paced three days, only 22 teams finished the Rally. Our two teams came in 7th place! We were incredibly proud of our finish and had a blast doing it. We look forward to running Red Clay Rally again next year and can’t wait to see what the organizers have in store for a new route.

If you’re interested in learning more about the RCR, or joining us next year, here are some useful links:

Whatever happened to automotive styling?

Matthew Y

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June 1, 2018

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Whatever happened to automotive styling?

Gone are the days of styling when the make and/or model of a car could be easily identified across a crowded parking lot. Take for instance, one of the most cherished designs in the heyday of automobiles, the 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air Convertible, aka “the ‘57 chevy.”

The ‘57 Chevy outside of being an icon, is one of those all-inclusive designs. From the appropriately placed chrome accents, swooping headlights, two-tone paint, and moderately sized rear fenders – this car had it all. Back then cars were distinctive inside as well as out.

It was attractive, plush, came in different variations, and it was highly sought after then (and still is today).

Even the Europeans – well, mostly the Italians – had a real flair for design, with some absolutely gorgeous cars.

Take for instance, one of the most beautiful works of art – at least in my opinion – to come out of Europe, the 1967 Lamborghini Miura. It’s one of those cars that doesn’t need to be explained, it has a universal gut reaction of “wow.”

The Germans were never known for being overly flamboyant

But some of their designs did set the bar in various design vertices. Outside of the constantly evolving 911, one such design: the Audi Quattro when it debuted at Geneva in 1980 changed the way we looked at complex mechanics in a small package. Not to mention, it started the whole boxy car + knife-edge flare craze that many manufacturers copied throughout the late ‘80s and ‘90s.

In Japan however, designers were never much for creating something new, but they were excellent at taking an existing design and improving on it.

Cars like the 1967 Toyota 2000 GT derived its inspiration from the Jaguar E-Type. The Datsun 510 and the original Nissan GT-R were loose copies of a FIAT. And one of my favorites, Mazda – who was taken to court by Porsche for too closely mimicking the design of the 944 turbo when the 2nd Generation RX-7 debuted. I digress, but I will give them credit – Japanese designers really loved those fender mounted side mirrors! Do a quick search on “iconic Japanese vehicles” and you’ll note many of them include this design feature. (Even if they are a carry over from british roadsters).

1967 Toyota 2000 GT – with fender mounted side mirrors!

But why can’t we have cars that “look” like the ‘57 Chevy, the Miura, and others from the past?

Why do they all have to look like mobius blobs of metal? By comparison, todays cars all look like something that would have only been imagined for Blade Runner or Total Recall but in a nutshell, automotive styling has been overshadowed by a need for fuel efficiency. Since only one shape cheats the wind, automotive style has started leaning towards “that shape” which can be easily described as teardrop or pill shaped. This doesn’t mean that styling is completely dead, just much more muted than before. But how did we get from the swooping fenders, poodle skirts and the “new for the 19xx model year” designs to today?

The ‘70s gas crisis changed everything

It was the first step in the wrong direction. Instead of lightening the vehicles and making the engines more efficient, engineers opted to scrap their Mustangs, Challengers and Firebirds for something smaller. For decades, the American Big-3 were notorious for “badge engineering” a concept that spanned from their sub-compacts all the way to their full-sized luxo-barges.

General Motors “Model J” line-up, from left-to-right: the Pontiac Sunbird, Chevrolet Cavalier, Buick Skyhawk, Oldsmobile Firenza and Cadillac Cimarron.

Perhaps the worst example of badge engineering comes from the General Motors “Model J” series (seen above) in 4-door sedan trim, these were all the EXACT SAME CAR with different branding bits. Because these were all based on the same chassis, the visible differences between the cars were minimal with only slight differences being such styling cues as front clip (headlamps, grille and bumper) and tail lamps. Despite these cars being total rubbish, there was something important going on, the idea of “Platform Sharing” had started to emerge, a concept that is being touted today as “new and innovative cost saving measures” on the part of automobile manufacturers.

As mentioned in a previous article, a lot of the cars from this period were heinous, terrible places to live. Not many people recount the glory days of driving around in their Skyhawk (despite the name sounding really cool). And as a note, compared to the rest, the Cimarron (being a Cadillac) wasn’t much of a step up, using low-grade leather to cover the seats at a time when only “luxury” cars had this offering. But more importantly, devolving from these trend setters came all the econo-boxes of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.

One of my favorite econo-boxes, the Geo Metro (aka: Suzuki Swift).

“Cab-forward” and how the ‘90s ruined cars forever.

Chrysler’s marketing department coined the term “cab-forward,” and it has been used by journalists to describe the styling of ‘90s-era cars ever since. The idea was to take the entire interior cabin of a vehicle and move it forward — extending the windshield over the front wheels. The result is an interior that can be “stretched” to provide more space. At the same time, the rear wheels move closer to the rear of the vehicle. This reduces body overhang and provides a longer wheelbase for better ride and handling, as well as a more stable vehicle platform, all within the same, or even shorter overall length. Do you remember the Pontiac ads from the ‘90s? Many ads read: “wider is better.”

1993 Chrysler/Dodge Intrepid, the first “cab-forward” design.

Once the design engineers had figured out how to make more “people space” in a modern vehicle the safety engineers got involved developing a new concept called “crumple zones” along with “airbags.” All of this new safety gear required space, space that a cab-forward design could now afford the engineers.

By now, we take for granted what airbags are and what they are for, but many might not know that crumple zones are areas of a vehicle that are designed to deform and crumple (crush) in a collision. These areas are engineered to absorb some of the energy of the impact, preventing it from being transmitted to the occupants. It all makes perfectly good sense: more people space = more people protection needed. With ‘90s prototypes completed, the Sales and Marketing teams got involved. These ideas of cab-forward and crumple zones now became key differentiators for this new era of car. “Safe” and “Space” were now buzzwords. First to market is always important. Ever wonder why so many people still categorize Volvo as “the safest car on the road”? — it’s because marketing did their job.

As a technical aside: Audi was one of the last European manufacturers to employ airbags in their cars, mainly due to the high reliability and cost-effectiveness of the technology they trademarked as “procon-ten”. The procon-ten system used thick winch-like cables linked to the rear of the engine, and in-turn connected to the steering column and seat-belt mounts. In the event of a frontal impact, the force and momentum would shift the engine rearwards, tensioning and therefore “pulling” the cables. When the cables were taught they would pull the steering wheel towards the front of the car, clear of the driver, and also remove any slack in the seat belts, holding the occupants more firmly in their seats until the accident had finished. Since no other manufacturer adopted Procon-ten it was eventually discontinued in the middle part of the ‘90s.

Meanwhile… as American consumers grew more sophisticated, their tastes became increasingly less enamored with badge engineering, which ultimately lead to the demise of Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Mercury, and Plymouth – to name a few. While this has created fewer offerings, this has also created some new and interesting partnerships between previously rival automakers. All the while, the continued need for greater fuel efficiency thanks to new government regulations loomed overhead.

The Japanese approached all of this quite differently, knowing that the American market wouldn’t support premium products from an established value line. (Two examples of such failures were the Subaru SVX and the Volkswagen Phaeton – both were premium models that were often double the cost of the cheapest models). Customers interested in premium cars simply didn’t visit those dealerships and customers who were interested in inexpensive cars weren’t willing to pay twice as much for a car that they weren’t interested in purchasing. And to the point, this is why Acura, Lexus and Infiniti exist.

But how did all of this affect today’s styling?

Quite significantly. Manufacturers scrambled to provide their customers with a premium look and feel all the while packaging the latest safety equipment and technology into their vehicles while focusing on creating a corporate appearance. This had happened in the past but with fewer models in their portfolios, the focus was more concentrated. This styling approach allows the compact model to look very similar to the mid or full-sized model (and often share parts, molds, etc) so that a buyer of the least expensive model wasn’t as easily identified. An obvious example is evident in the current Ford product line with the Fiesta and Focus being very similarly styled and while the Fiesta is smaller, it isn’t appreciably smaller, making it difficult to spot.

Example of “The Corporate Appearance” with the 2014 Ford lineup.

Throughout product lines, the distinction between Economy and Luxury has been blurred as well. Car models used to be a Base model and a Deluxe model but in the modern market, there may be 2 or 3 models (packages) in between. Look at the venerable Ford F-150 that offers the XL as a Base model and the Platinum as the Deluxe model. In the past, Ford offered a Base (no designation), an XL, an XLT and the Ranger. Granted, trucks are a bit different from automobiles but the Base was the contractor-grade with zero options, the XL and XLT had a few more creature comforts and the Ranger was equipped like a base automobile. In today’s market, the XL is fairly bare-bones with a washable interior while the Platinum rivals today’s luxury cars.

Another factor that has hurt automotive styling is the willingness of manufacturers to copy each other’s designs to capture sales. Two examples of this are the original Hyundai Azera and the Lexus LS. Both of these cars were directly aimed at the class-leader: the Honda Accord and the Mercedes E-Class, respectively. From a distance, the cars looked virtually identical from the body shape to the grill and light designs, down to the shape and placement of the various badges as well as being offered in nearly the same color schemes. This provided a tremendous value benefit to Hyundai and Lexus because their owners no longer were seen as driving a bargain replacement because the appearance was so similar that most motorists were unable to tell the difference.

Fortunately though, not every manufacturer has fallen into the generic automotive design trap. Fiat/Chrysler (FCA) has maintained some bit of individualism with it’s gigantic muscle cars and SUVs, Ford with their Performance Line (Mustang, GT and ST/RS) and Chevrolet with the Corvette and Camaro. Unfortunately, the European and Asian automakers are producing blobs that all look frighteningly similar.

1970 Dodge Challenger T/A (left) and 2017 Dodge Challenger T/A (right)

In the end, much of the “lack of design” in automobiles in today’s era is summarized by the need for better aerodynamics, safety and fuel efficiency. However there are also fewer unique cars on today’s roads due to the cost benefit of technology and platform sharing. But if we can learn anything from Chrysler – who as we’ve seen – has been on both sides of this design pendulum, maybe the engineers can find a way to bring back popular designs and update them to today’s standards. But for now, we’ll call it a study in aerodynamics… #whatsoldisnewagain.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

– Matthew –

I wanna go fast!

Brad N

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May 7, 2018

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Hello there fellow car enthusiast! I see you just bought your dream car and you are ready to live out your Cole Trickle fantasies on a real race track! Ready to put that Ricky Bobby motto to the test and “shake and bake” your way right into the winner’s circle! Good for you! Or maybe not, maybe you just want to become a better driver and and see what you are made of personally.

Whether you think you are ready to go out and win Daytona or you just want to run your fastest laps and beat your personal best, you have to actually drive on a race track first. That’s why I’m here… this article is going to highlight the things I wish I knew before going to my first track day/weekend.

What to do before the event

Registration – Before you can get out there and “let a rip, tater chip” you need to find an event that works for you and your schedule. The best resource for this is MotorSports Reg (MSR). Many (not all) of the clubs use this site to list their events throughout the year and most will let you register for the event right from the site.

Some clubs are a bit special in the registration department and require you to go to their individual site to register but their events are still listed on MSR. And then there are some very special snowflakes that don’t even list their events at all on MSR and rely solely on their own website for schedules and registration completely. My suggestion to you is to first pick a date, or a couple alternatives, for when you have time in your schedule to go, then pick a track you want to run (in this area the closest tracks are Dominion Raceway in VA and Summit Point Raceway in WV).

You can check the track’s website first and see if they are running events that day and which club is running it, OR you can go to MSR and find a club that is running on that track. For the special snowflakes, they are a bit harder to find. Thankfully you have me to point you in the right direction. Hooked On Driving and Chin Motorsports are two examples.

Track Insurance

So, you have found your track day and you are registered. Way to go! But the decisions are not done yet, now you need to decide on track insurance. Most, if not all, auto insurance companies DO NOT cover any types of claims as the result of you driving on a race track. They may have clauses in your existing policy that prohibit you from even driving on track. It is wise to check your policy documents very carefully to make sure you aren’t in breach. My car is not registered for the street so I do not have this problem, but you should be aware of the risks you could face.

Anyway, back to track insurance. Because your insurance company will most likely not cover you in the event of an incident, there are options out there for you to insure the car on track. We wrote an article not to long ago about one such company, Lockton Insurance. A few of our members use this company and have had great experiences. If insurance is something that would give you piece of mind while on track, then please look into getting a policy for the event.

Pre-Track Day Tech Inspection

Now that you have registered and decided whether or not you need track insurance, it’s time to focus on the car. Some (but not all) clubs require a tech inspection of your car with a form that needs to be completed by a licensed mechanic. Clubs that require this are Audi Club (ACNA), Porsche Club (PCA), and Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) as an example. Please note SCCA allows for a “self tech” option where you can sign off on the inspection for yourself.

The inspection goes over the basics of your car and just touches on whether the car is operating properly and is in good working order for a track day. Some of the things the mechanic will check: tires, brake pads and rotors, brake fluid, check for any leaks, proper safety gear (seat belts are operating properly), no play in the steering and suspension, brake lights and turn signals all work etc. Pro Tip: Whether the club requires an inspection or not, it is important to inspect your car before any type of performance driving whether it be a track day or autocross, whatever. This can save you a lot of headaches in the future if you can catch something wrong before getting to the track. Once your car has been given a clean bill of health, you are ready to go!

What To Bring With You

Well, not so fast. You are registered and your car is good to go, but now you need to prep. Below is a list of items that I feel are important to bring with you to any track day:

Proper clothing – jeans are great or any pants that are known for being less flammable than other materials. A long sleeve shirt is still required for some clubs. Socks and comfortable thin soled shoes are a must. (Adidas Sambas or Converse All-Stars are good cheap cheap alternatives to driving shoes). You want to be comfortable and you want to be able to drive the car without any issues. Also bring a jacket or sweatshirt for temperature changes or rain.
A Helmet – some clubs will provide a helmet to you for a small fee if you don’t have one. Also OG Racing in VA rents them out. A motorcycle helmet is not allowed.
Gloves – these aren’t required but they are useful since you will be sticking your hand/arm out the window for point bys. Something bright colored and easy to see are best.
Food and Drinks – water, sports drinks, anything to keep you hydrated. Driving a car is hard work and you will exert a lot of energy. It’s best to stay well hydrated and fed. Make sure you eat a good breakfast and bring food for lunch. Some tracks have food and some clubs even provide food for you for lunch and dinner (ie: Hooked on Driving).
Tools – You are going to want to bring some basic tools with you, jack, jack stands (2 should suffice), torque wrench, sockets and wrenches needed to change your wheels, tools needed to change your brake pads/rotors, tire gauge: these are the basics.
Extra Parts – extra brake pads, brake rotors, oil and engine coolant, etc. Might not be terribly necessary for your first time out but hey, track days are expensive and you don’t want to miss time because you ran out of brake pads.
Miscellaneous – bring blue painters tape in case you need to put numbers on your car. And bring a liquid paint pen, white shoe polish or chalk to mark your tires. Your instructor can explain why this is important. You don’t need to worry about fuel as most tracks have fuel tanks there (for example: Dominion has a gas station right across the street from the main entrance). However you might want to bring an air compressor in case you need to fill your tires. Not all tracks have air.
A Great Attitude – One thing you should leave at home is your ego. No one is Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton, especially at their first track day. Come happy and positive with a desire to learn and be taught, because you will learn something about yourself and about your car. DO NOT come with a bad attitude or a chip on your shoulder. “I know how to drive, because I play Forza” … A good instructor can sniff that out a mile away and you will be sent home, sometimes without a refund. If you are nervous or timid, that’s OK! It’s scary going to your first event, especially by yourself, but everyone there will be friendly and willing to help the new guy/gal. We want you to have a good time and we want you to want to come back!
Friends – Lastly, you don’t have to be alone, bring your friends, preferably to drive their own cars even (the more the merrier). Bring your families! Instructors can usually take people out for a few laps without totally disrupting their day and most clubs allow parade laps during lunch time (time on track without a helmet at safe slower speeds). Take advantage of this to get other people enthused about your hobby!

The Day Of The Event

Your schedule – It’s time, the day of the event is here. You got a good night’s rest and had a healthy and filling breakfast. You are ready to go! The first thing you will do is arrive at the track and complete the registration process. Just get in line, head up to the table and let them know you are there. They will give you numbers if your car doesn’t already have them (if not, use blue painters tape to make easy numbers that won’t damage your paint). They will also give you a schedule. This schedule is your bible for the day/weekend. Please be on time for everything, especially the driver’s meeting (usually starts at 8:00am) and your classroom sessions. If you are not on time, you are only hurting yourself. Now for some important things, your day will be broken into classroom sessions and on-track sessions.

Classroom – The classroom sessions are meant to teach you about the safety concerns of being on track as well as to teach you what each of the different flags mean and proper driver etiquette for point-bys and pitting. The classroom sessions are very important. DO NOT MISS THEM. After your classroom you will go out on track with your instructor. After your track sessions you will have more classroom sessions meant to teach you a little more and debrief about your experiences during your on-track session.

Instructors – Your instructor is the brave soul willing to get in the car with you, a complete stranger, in a high stress and dangerous situation and try to teach you while at the same time keeping you, and them, safe. Your instructor is a volunteer, they are not getting paid to be there (not monetarily anyway) and they are taking time out of their day to help you. Be nice to your instructor and listen to them. They have the experience that you lack at this point. Their goals are to make sure you are safe and to make sure you have fun and learn something. However, if you have an instructor that you don’t click with personality wise, don’t be afraid, kindly ask if you can have a different instructor. Not everyone will get along with each other, that’s human nature. But you don’t want to have a ruined weekend because you didn’t like your instructor and you felt stuck. Trust me, I made this mistake and almost gave up entirely.

On-Track Sessions

FINALLY! The fun part! You get to show off your Ricky Bobby skills and run circles around all the other noobs out there. Well, not so fast there Dale Jr. You gotta learn the basics. The on-track sessions are where you and your instructor will go over what you learned in the classroom and you will apply those skills and teachings in a real world environment.

Yes you can drive as fast as you can (safely!!! Do not over-drive the car and listen to your instructor!) but remember to apply what you learned in the classroom and be willing to learn the proper line, situational awareness, correct passing maneuvers, where the flag stations are, what the flags mean, proper braking techniques, proper throttle application, proper shifting, keep your head and eyes up, be courteous and PREDICTABLE to the other drivers on track, etc. Does that sound like a lot? That’s because it is a lot.

There is a lot going on when you are driving and you need to be mindful and aware of all of it. However, go at your own pace. You and the other novices are all out there to have fun. If you are super fast compared to your group, just be patient and pass where it’s designated and pull into the pits if necessary. If you are the slow one out there, THAT’S OK! Take your time and work on your line. If you have traffic behind you, acknowledge them and let them by when you can, if you are causing too much traffic, pull into the pits and let them go by. Your instructor will notice all of these things and have you act accordingly. Don’t worry, you will have fun and so will everyone else!

In-Between Sessions – There will still be some down time between your classroom sessions and on-track sessions. Take this time to rest, speak with your instructor, hang out, refuel your car and your body, and check over the car (tire pressures, treadwear, brake pad wear, oil and coolant levels, etc.).

So that’s it, those are my tips and a summary of how your first track day should go. Obviously, some things may be different depending on the club you run with and the track, but don’t fret, most clubs all operate about the same. The most important things to remember are to have fun and be safe. Be willing to make some new friends because you are going to gain a ton!

Happy Motoring and Never Stop Learning!

The battle against Brake Dust

Eric M

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April 20, 2018

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Laugh if you must, but last season I decided to purchase yet another set of Team Dynamics wheels, this time in Alpine White. In retrospect, this might not have been the *smartest* of decisions, but they do look “hellagood” on my vehicles.

Folks have been teasing me about the maintenance of these wheels – relentlessly – and normally my reaction (and i’ll bet that of others) to cleaning wheels, especially those on my track toy is…

But having white wheels has definitely changed my opinion about the appearance of my Track car. #becauseracecar #becauselazy

At the end of one 30 minute session, the wheels end up looking like this. We’ll call them “off-white”

But a larger, unnoticed problem with my wheels surfaced while I was prepping for the start of this season. After the long winter hibernation, I pulled out my other set of wheels, my black set of Team Dynamics… and they were showing signs of corrosion.

Corrosion? On a forged & coated wheel? What the heck is going on?

This perplexing discovery led me to send an email to our GTM sponsor at Radial Tire Co, who is a dealer for Team Dynamics Wheels (now owned by Forgeline). The friendly folks at Radial contacted their Forgeline representative to see if there was a defect with the coating on these wheels, as they too had never seen this type of issue before. #warrantyclaim

Forgeline responded with confidence that this was no defect, but the result of improper cleaning. Something they see often with track cars.

Thinking back over the later part of the season, I pled guilty to having had the car at a few events where it rained (Shenandoah, VIR … for those that remember); the thought never crossed my mind to tend to the wheels after those events. Higher end brake pads like Hawk DTC-60s and Porterfield R4s are amazing pads, but they don’t leave much in the way of “cleanliness” and the dust they give off is sticky, fine and rather costic – especially compared to Street Pads. It turns out my problem was “caked on brake-dust that was neglected” …. So, just add water, and watch it… RUST.

Now for the good news, this “rust” isn’t embedded or eating into the finish of the wheel, but rather “glued” there. Forgeline recommended a special cleaner/soap for their wheels (more on that later). After looking into the rather expensive product, it got me thinking: “is there a better or cheaper alternative to the cleaner that was suggested?” — And now for the bad news, it was time for some spring cleaning!

Time for a bake-off! After some careful research and late night shopping, I narrowed my contenders down to FOUR. The main criteria was that each product needed to be “safe” for painted, powder-coated or clear-coated wheels – and designed to “dissolve brake dust.”

From left-to-right our contenders: Car Guys Premium Wheel Cleaner, Armor-All Extreme Wheel & Tire Cleaner, Black Magic Intense Wheel Cleaner and Adams’s Polishers Wheel Cleaner.

To keep our science project fair, I took two wheels (one white & one black) to test each product, and also sampled one “clear coated” wheel per product from my Jeep.

Additionally, I followed the manufacturer directions for “best use.” Lastly, to make sure I removed the cleaning solution throughly from the wheels, I used a new tool that I acquired that makes wheel cleaning much easier: The Brush Hero, Professional Wheel Cleaner.

The Brush Hero Pro-Wheel Cleaner in action, think… Water Powered Rotary Tool.You’ll never clean wheels by hand again.

Live Demonstration!

Round 1: Car Guys Premium Wheel Cleaner

Admittedly, I’ve been using Car Guys Premium Wheel Cleaner for some time, it’s great for my daily drivers, but I’ve never put it up against track wheels. Car Guys products are highly rated by detailers and waxers alike. Since I use it often, I happen to have the 1 gallon refill jug and my own sprayer (as pictured earlier). Car Guys Wheel Cleaner is a deep raspberry red color, and has a thickness similar to room temperature Maple Syrup.

Car Guys Wheel Cleaner with the right spray bottle foams up easily despite its viscosity and turns pink as it’s working.

The Car Guys Wheel Cleaner makes quick work of day-to-day road grime and brake dust. It was quite good at cutting “grease” left over from the lug holes and tire slag. Unfortunately, it wasn’t able to penetrate the track pad residue. FWIW, The Car Guys formula, was the best at cleaning the inside of the wheel, which looked awesome, but that’s the part we rarely look at.

Round 2: Adam’s Polishes Wheel Cleaner

Adam’s Polishes Wheel Cleaner was the product recommended by Forgeline for use with Team Dynamics wheels. For the same size bottle as Car Guys, it’s only a few cents cheaper. The cleaner itself is a teal color, and when applied to the wheels turns purple as it’s working. I was taken aback by the smell of the cleaner, which was oddly reminiscent of a freshly opened package of Haribo Gummy Bears. The Adam’s product seemed to really work well in the “tough to reach areas” making quick work of the “team dynamics motorsport” font on the outer lip of the wheels and other tight areas. I did note that in order to get a “proper foam” it took nearly half of the bottle for two wheels. Quick math brings us to an entire bottle for four wheels making it the most expensive option in the line up. Adam’s is strong soap, but it did leave behind some spots and gunk that should have easily come up. It took away about 25+% of the track residue which edged it above Car Guys in terms of cleaning power.

On the black wheel you really couldn’t tell what was happening, but the color change was very evident on the white wheel.

Round 3: Black Magic Intense Wheel Cleaner

Having used Black Magic products in the past it was a brand I was familiar with, and having seen how their other potions work, like “Back-to-Black,” they make some great products. Of the four products we tested, the Black Magic Intense Wheel Cleaner is by far the cheapest.

Black Magic Wheel Cleaner has a very thin consistency – watery – but foams up surprisingly thick, neon pink and quickly. It has has a distinct “snap-crackle-pop” of a heavy detergent. As Black Magic is working you’ll note a smell in the air like Strawberry Jam. I found the cleaning power of the Black Magic to be very close to that of the Car Guys product. It was great for lifting the normal dust, grime and gunk, but wasn’t able to really penetrate the track residue.

Round 4: Armor-All Extreme Wheel Cleaner

Armor-All is one of those brands we all know, right up there with Turtle-Wax, as having “been around forever.” During my research I noted that this was the only product that outright recommended you wear skin + eye protection during use… it had to be on the list! The Armor-All Extreme Wheel Cleaner solution has the same consistency as the Armor-All you would use on your interior, the spray bottle makes a light white foam that smells heavily of bleach.

The Armor-All Extreme Wheel Cleaner only needs about 30-seconds to start working versus its much slower competitors and was the only product where you could visibly see the grime melting off the wheels. This product comes in as the 3rd cheapest in our test, and by far the strongest. The packaging is littered with warnings and even boasts needing very little, if any scrubbing. The Armor-All Cleaner was able to penetrate and loosen the track residue, not 100%, but it did make it easy to scrape off even through the nitrile gloves I was wearing.

From a distance when you pile all the white wheels up together it’s hard to tell which wheel was cleaned by which product. That’s a good thing!

The black wheels on the other hand, were more obvious which product worked and which one didn’t, in the end, I can’t blame any of the products for not being able to fully penetrate the track residue that has accumulated on my wheels, but I think i have come up with a solution…

A soft plastic bristle brush attached to a Dremel Rotary should help break up the build up on these wheels without damaging the finish and then we can continue our final cleaning. #dremeltime

Quick Comparison

	Car Guys	Adams	Black Magic	Armor-All
Cleans Dirt, Dust, Grime	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cleans Track Residue	No	25%	No	100% with persuasion
Base Color	Deep Red	Teal	Red	Clear
Changes State	No	Purple	Neon Pink	White
Needs Scrubbing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Almost None
Scent	Soap	Candy	Strawberry	Bleach
Requires Gloves	No	No	No	Yes
Price	$16.97 / 18 oz	$16.99 / 16 oz	$6.79 / 23 oz	$7.99 / 32 oz
Availability	Online Only	Online Only	Amazon, Advanced Auto	Amazon, Advanced Auto, AutoZone, Walmart, etc.

Verdict?

My favorite “wheel cleaner” by far (above)… but in all seriousness, if we were talking about hyper-polished wheels on a daily driver, any of the four products we tested will work wonders. For the post track-day clean up, we think there is one cleaner (in this test) that stood out above the rest in terms of Price + raw Cleaning Power…

There are so many products available in stores today. We hope this narrowed the field a bit, but by all means, please don’t take this as a hard-and-fast recommendation. Find a product you like and works well for your application. But above all, please remember to take care of your track wheels before they are too far gone. Try and make a habit of cleaning them after an event, off the car, and once they have cooled.

Keep the shiny side up!

Coming to America

Tania M

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March 21, 2018

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Greetings from the Lone Star state! The weather is already warming up – wait… ::scratches head:: … did it ever actually cool off? – which means you gotta take advantage of the three beautiful spring days you get each season! And what better way to do that than getting a ride in an American muscle car. A 2014 Ford Shelby GT500 to be exact. “because, ‘Murica!”

> let’s circle back to the joy ride in a second <

So, the tale of the Mighty Mustang starts only a few months ago when said GT500 owner moved to the US from merry old England. Keeping the innocent, innocent, let’s call the owner Nigel, who moved to the US for a rotational work assignment. Amusingly, many Brits like to buy a Mustang while here in the States, so this car choice was not entirely shocking. So picture Nigel, Jason Statham-esque, but with a lighter accent. Car choice making sense? His description of the GT500: “This car is obscene. It’s also the worst car I’ve ever owned. But it IS fun.” To add some perspective, an AWD Porsche 911 sits back home waiting for his return. Not to mention various previously owned BMWs, as well as motorcycles. Did I mention he’s tracked motorcycles at Brands Hatch? It’s okay, that feeling is jealousy. It will pass.

“…picture Nigel, Jason Statham-esque but with a lighter accent.”

As we progress this tale, here’s some food for thought – how well do you ever really know the used car you just bought?

After arriving from the UK, he got the GT500 shipped to Texas from an independent dealer in North Carolina. In England, vehicle records are a super big deal. So before purchasing the car he looked into the Carfax report, which signaled “all clear,” and also asked the dealer what maintenance had been done – to which the reply was: “brake pads and an oil change.” The GT500 was listed as having ~11k miles.

Barely into his assignment in the States, Nigel was already contemplating bringing the car back to the UK after the completion of his work. Knowing that the Carfax report would be important for the UK version of the DOT, the day after purchasing the car he returned to Carfax to print the results. Logging back into the system, Nigel discovered that the Carfax had been updated.

Well that can’t be good…

The new log included information pertaining to “Engine Replacement.” Digging deeper, Nigel discovered that the previous owner had an aftermarket tune added to the car’s ECU, which for reasons unknown resulted in catastrophic engine failure. How catastrophic? Eh.. just ended up melting cylinders 7 & 8, minor stuff really, there’s 6 other cylinders right? The car was brought back to Ford, who basically said, “Yep.. that’s gonna be a new motor.” Presumably that was not a favorable outcome for the pocket book, so the previous owner opted to trade the car back into Ford for something else, and the car was subsequently flipped to an Auction House, where the Independent dealer in NC bought it.

So the clock reads 11k… but what is the true mileage and origin of the motor in Nigel’s GT500? Did it come from a wreck? A recall? Or is it just someone else’s abused and ragged out 5.8L V8 with swapped peripherals, and who knows how many miles?

Attempting due diligence, Nigel immediately contacted the NC dealer to file his various complaints. The most obvious question to ask: “when I asked you what was done to the car why didn’t you mention this?!?!” To which the answer was “you asked about maintenance, this was repair.” At this point in the recounting of these twisted events, I mentally slam my head into a wall.

At the end of the day, Nigel is stuck with the car. No refunds, no returns. All sales are final. #5mile5minuteWarranty. And speaking of warranties, the car was still under the factory 5 year warranty – but oh wait.. a motor replacement voids that… (sigh). A truly heart wrenching and stressful experience. So what is next for our motorsports enthusiast, Nigel? In a recent review of his situation he said to me, “I’ve been here only a few months, but I am already embracing American culture, I’m suing them.”

As if the cake needed any icing, upon delivery, a quick once-over of the car revealed the rear tires were worn. Innocent enough, and comes with the territory. Nigel diligently went online and ordered a new rear set of Goodyear F1s, which is what the car came with from the factory, and had them mounted/installed at a Goodyear Tire shop. Unfortunately, or fortunately, as the case may be, it was raining pretty much daily around the time the new tires were mounted. I remember Nigel telling me “the car is absolutely undriveable.” So undriveable, that at every turn and every on/off ramp the car was an absolute mess, fish-tailing constantly. Upon further inspection of the rear, he comes to realize that the directional tires that should be left and right, were both lefts! An easy thing to neglect to double check for after the “pros” have allegedly done their job. Needless to say, left + left does not equal right, especially when you add in high horsepower and precipitation.

Circling back to the food for thought… How well do you ever really know the used car you are buying? Carfax only gets you so far… as far as the someone who filed a report on an incident. If the car was wrapped around a tree and fixed outside of an insurance company and no police reports were filed, then did it really happen? The old.. “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it..” conundrum. When buying a used car, you check for the usuals… rust, dampness, soft suspension, squishy brakes… but no one can be ripping interiors out to see if there are signs of repaired body damage, or locating engine stamps and trying to find out if its the original motor or not. You just have to do the best due diligence you can, and hope for the best.

>> Now, back in the passenger seat!

My impression of the GT500 from the passenger seat – Despite the stunning appearance and its allure, it’s an absolute handful! Making a simple turn from a stop and adding the tiniest amount of throttle, puts the car completely sideways. One could argue that’s fun, until you see a curb coming at you and you remember you just put groceries in the trunk… The GT500 does seem “easy” to bring back into control. Granted, it’s one thing to correct oversteer at 20mph, completely different to control the inevitable powerslide out of a turn at 50mph, 60mph or beyond. Even in a straight line, it’s not necessary to stomp on the gas to start breaking the backend loose.

The car sounds nice, but was surprisingly subdued and muted. I would have expected a lot more howl, as the hounds were released from their fiery depths. Also, as is the case with most modern cars… it barely feels like it’s moving even when it is. Modern cars are just so smooth, there is a disconnect from feeling truly engaged with the car. Not to mention, with the number of ponies under the hood, I was disappointed to not feel like I was really getting to know the beautiful Recaro seats under acceleration.

Like Nigel said, it’s not a bad car, but it’s not great either. I can only assume that the lower models like the GT350, 5.0 GT or the Eco-Boost are more composed and controlled, making them much more pleasurable to drive. I would still be curious to see how it handles with slicks, on a racetrack. Is the mustang tamed or is it still a wiId bronco?

In summary – ‘Murica. I wouldn’t want to drive it in the rain. ‘Murica. Not a grocery getter. ‘Murica. Maybe the GT500 has 660-too-many horsepowers for everyday use.

The Demise of the BMW ///M Badge

Matthew Y

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March 1, 2018

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The X3 is about as far away from the concept behind the ///M badge as possible, becoming nothing more than a marketing gimmick that appeals to the car buyer who wants to look sporty but has no clue about performance.

The BMW ///M badge was originally the moniker for BMW’s skunkworks, a group of rouge engineers whose focus was on racing and development. Their crowning jewel from the late ‘70s was the ///M1, a supercar in the early days of supercars when the only other players were Italians who produced beautiful and woefully unreliable cars that were incredibly impractical but sleek and sexy. Ironically, the M1, unlike the other supercars, was normally aspirated and only powered by 6 cylinders instead of the accepted 8 or 12 cylinders of the Italians – yes, Lotus offered a 4-cylinder turbo in the Esprit but that was so unreliable that it even made a Lamborghini look like an endurance champion.

1978-1981 BMW M1 Procar (left) & Homologation Street Edition (right)

///M was also associated with the E28-based ///M535 and E24-based ///M635 – European variants of the 5-series sedan and 6-series coupe for America. These used the M1 engine albeit with a more common and tame fuel injection system (Bosch Motronic) which was significantly less troublesome than the Weber-Marelli system on the M1. Aside from the drivetrain, these Euro-only cars were the epitome of sleepers – slightly larger wheels and black-out chrome, and dual tipped exhaust were the only external cues aside from a small badge on the boot. Inside, the leather trim was upgraded but it wasn’t visually much different from the base models.

The E30-based ///M3 was a completely different story. Unlike the M535 and M635, the M3 was created to compete in the DTM (German Touring Car series). To meet the homologation requirements, BMW was required to offer these cars to the general public, in limited quantities. The motor was a 2.3 litre 4-cylinder, effectively the S38 (M1 motor) with 2 fewer cylinders. Fender flares were added as was a taller rear deck lid to improve aerodynamics. Unlike the bigger cars, the M3 was noticeably different from it’s more mundane cousins.

By the mid-’80s, BMW’s sales were starting to sag as their product line aged. Corporate marketing decided to throw their American fanatics a bone – offering an Americanized version of both the M535 and M635 as the ///M5 and ///M6 stateside. The promise was that the M5 in particular would be a limited edition with no more than 1200 examples produced. Like the European versions, these cars were the art of subtlety, looking virtually identical to the “base” model. For the US market, the M6 was available with more color options than the M5. And as a nod to enthusiasts, both cars were only available in a manual transmission. In the US, the M5 was only available in black with a tan interior – the Canadians received black cars but with black interiors.

Performance of the American M5 and M6 didn’t disappoint – granted the cars lost 30hp in the Federalization process (256 hp) but compared to the 171hp of the base 3.5 litre, the ///M cars were relative rockets. Add to that “gigantic brakes” that hauled the M5 down to zero ALMOST as fast as a VW Beetle, err 911 – the M5 had the distinction of being the 2nd fastest stopping car in America for 1988! Not bad for a 3500# barge with self-leveling rear suspension and seating for you and 4 of your closest friends.

Sadly, BMW’s focus changed in the early ‘90s. The E34-based ///M5 was still quite understated although it used wheels that were visually quite different from the pedestrian version, which made the car much more recognizable. Unfortunately, the ///M3 started transitioning away from a Skunkworks car and into a styling and marketing exercise in the E36. Compared to the base model, the E36-based ///M3 was certainly a step forward but now it used special ///M colors and ///M specific wing, ///M specific bumper covers and an ///M specific interior that was more than just nicer leather. While performance was better the the basic E36, the M3 started using more mainstream parts including a change to a single throttle body instead of individuals that were used on the E28 and E24 variants. The running joke at the time that upset many M3 owners was that “real” ///M cars had individual throttle bodies.

As the M3 aged, BMW further diluted it’s motorsports ties by adding slush-o-matic transmissions, 4-doors or a cabriolet option to the M3 – a car that had been conceived as a coupe. This certainly increased the car’s appeal as it now made the car available to families who needed a sedan AND so-called performance drivers who were unable to master the art of 3-pedals and only 2 feet. Performance was still better than the base models but the exclusivity of ///M cars was on the decline – appealing to the badge lovers rather than performance enthusiasts.

As the ///M brand has aged, BMW has put quite a bit of effort into producing performance cars that set the ///M cars well above the base models. However, they’ve lost the art of subtlety – newer ///M cars have super-aggressive and flashy bumper covers, chrome exhaust tips and sadly, ///M badged engine plastics that do nothing for performance BUT give young boys a certain tightness in their Underoos. It’s not that the new ///M cars are slugs, just that they’re now tools for tools – a precious few owners understand or are able to understand and use their ///M cars to their limits.

Back to this morning – the ///M badge, like the Audi R-Line or the Mercedes-Benz AMG badges are now more of a styling exercise. Even General Motors recognized this when they created an “SS” model of every vehicle in their line-up including the valued and performance oriented Malibu Maxx SS (look it up – fugly is a kind description). Granted the ///M badge has been available on the open market and applied to every car on the planet – perhaps my favorite being the uber-rare: 1988 BMW E30 ///M325es – a badge engineered car created by a poor teenager who couldn’t afford the M3 so he stole an ///M badge instead.

What makes the X3 ///M40i so special? A “huge” 4.0l V8**, big tyres, big brakes, an ///M bumper cover and the obligatory quad-tip chrome exhaust. Most likely it has ///M badges on the seats as well as the steering wheel to remind the owner why they paid a gigantic premium for “nothing special.” All that is well and good though because it allows BMW to sell more cars to suckers, er, well-heeled “prestige” customers. It’s just too bad that BMW’s ///M division sold out to the badge engineering crowd – I miss my days of driving a sleeper and being nothing more than an aged Asian man driving an equally aged black BMW sedan…

** [ Editors Note: after some fact checking, the M40i has a 3.0L turbo 6; and probably more M badges than horsepower 😉 ]

The Neverending ‘80s, Part 2: Judgement Day

Matthew Y

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March 1, 2018

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The Neverending ‘80s, Part 2: Judgement Day

Matt Y: Picking up where last weeks ‘80s retrospective article left off … while it’s a great look back at the ‘80s cars, I don’t think we gave the American’s their fair share. I’m not nearly as well versed on the Italian cars as some – I know the German junk and some of the Japanese stuff because that was what I grew up driving / racing against, and I happened to own one of those german-built Ford Capris (‘76 Capri II Ghia with the 2.8 V6).

By current standards, cars of the ‘80s are terrible BUT compared to their predecessors, these cars were a tremendous step forward. The oil crisis of the mid-’70s started a significant change in focus for auto manufacturers, even the American “Big Three” (GM, Ford and Chrysler). Gone was the continual development of 1950s technology – body-on-frame, RWD, gigantic but gutless V8s, replaced by lighter unibody vehicles with FWD and smaller but more powerful V6 and 4-cylinders engines.

1985 Chevy Celebrity (left) and Citation (right)

From General Motors, the lovely A-Body (Celebrity, Century, Cutlass, 6000) and the X-platform (Citation, Skylark, Omega, Phoenix) started to eclipse venerable “full sized” models. As mundane as it may be, Ford introduced the all-new Taurus, a FWD sedan that ultimately replaced the entire full and mid-sized Ford product line. Not to be out done (and to save themselves from bankruptcy), Chrysler introduced the K-Car and it’s variants that ran from basic (Reliant to LeBaron to minivan).

Even the imported cars were improved from the ‘70s. Volkswagen started the trend of bringing virtually the same vehicle as sold in Europe to the American shores – previously and throughout the ‘80s, many of the “imports” were American-market only for fear that Americans wouldn’t purchase small cars with tiny 4-cylinder engines. In other cases, the cars were branded under American nameplates again to reduce the “import factor.” Notable are cars like the Chrysler Conquest T—S—I aka the Mitsubishi Starion or anything called a Geo *cough* Suzuki.

As an aside, I was actually looking for cars when the Toyota AE86 was still available in RWD – I can’t remember if I drove one or not. This was during the time of the “Additional Dealer Markup” and Toyota dealers couldn’t be bothered by some 20-year old kid whose parents were buying him a car. I had also attempted to drive the brand-new Acura Integra but was told to bring my parents – funny, my parents didn’t care what I bought so long as it was in a dollar range AND I liked it. My quest included the Mustang GT because I was in school in North Carolina where the Pony Car was king – that and my friend’s GF had a new GT but in an auto-tragic. And, I rather liked the LOOK of the Fiat 131 – my friend’s parents had a sedan and I remember it being a nice looking car but I don’t ever remember riding in it. His parents’ other car was a full-sized Buick station wagon though.

The big eye opener for the American market was first that these imports were TINY – the Plymouth Champ is smaller than the current MINI (aka “the Maxi” in some circles). With the available turbo, the Champ/Colt was surprisingly quick and nimble compared to anything “built in America.” I vividly remember driving a ‘74 Grand Am with a fire-breathing 400CID and getting absolutely waxed by a Colt Turbo from a red light – the Grand Am’s owner was devastated by the loss which was perhaps one of the best examples of America’s finest being a bit tarnished.

Even the best of the ‘80s are quite crude compared to even today’s cheapest economy cars. However the cars were light and overboosted, power assists hadn’t been introduced – that would have to wait until the mid-’90s. Unlike today’s cars, the ‘80s cars took to modifications with great aplomb, mainly because in stock trim, the ‘80s cars were soft and floppy.

For anyone considering an ‘80s car as a toy – first remember the the old adage of “Don’t Drive Your Heros” which pertains rather vividly to these cars. That said, many of the cars from the ‘80s are “worn” rather than “driven”. Case in point would be the ‘79 VW Scirocco that was so tiny that I had to practice erotic contortionism to enter/exit the car BUT when driving it, the car felt like an extension of my body. Compared to the gigantic, heavy modern cars, these cars of the ‘80s were infinitely tossable and fun combined with simple engine management systems. The downside to the simple engine management was and is that they’re not nearly as tuneable as modern systems.

I ultimately ended up with an GTI because the dealer treated me like an adult. I liked the German styling and the features that the Japanese cars didn’t offer. Add to that it was one of the first cars with aerodynamic headlights and that became the big winner.

> turntable screech <

Brad N: Hold up!, so far my co-author Matt Y paints a grim picture of ‘80s in America – the citation? the chevette? the aires? the champ? UGH! YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME. Are you going to sit there and tell me that there aren’t ANY good “square body” cars from the US in the 80s?

Um… I think the Camaro IROC-Z, Firebird Trans-Am, Monte Carlo, Grand National, GNX, and Ford Thunderbird (because NASCAR BRAH!) would like to have a word with you.

> with roberts rules of order, in play <

Matt Y: Those American cars specifically noted were certainly a step above the mundane but even compared to European offerings, these cars were horrible.

Camaro IROC-Z (or Z28) and Firebird Trans Am – The cheap plastic dash on these cars screams “budget” – the earliest 82 Camaros had a strange 2-arrow speedometer that showed MPH on one arrow and KPH on the other. This was on-par with the ’83 Porsche 944 that had the “backwards” tachometer. Back to the Camaro/Firebird – the interior as a whole was cheap – like as in: Chevy Vega cheap – the plastics were on the verge of falling apart even when the cars were new. The passenger seat was HOT and offered no leg room – why? Because the catalytic converter needed a home … therfore, directly under the passenger’s legs was the “perfect” solution. Add to that a pair of leaky t-tops and virtually NO STORAGE SPACE (especially with the t-tops stored in their slots at the rear of the car). Power came from a very anemic 5.0 (302) or 5.7 (350) V8. The 5.0 produced approximately 150hp! FWIW, my anemic, uber-slow 4.0L Land Rover with it’s Buick-based drivetrain produces 150hp!

The Monte Carlo SS was perhaps one of the BEST marketed cars on the planet along with the Ford Thunderbird. Both cars were “racing” in NASCAR but the NASCAR versions were nothing like the production models. The V8 that was available in the Monte Carlo SS was the same anemic 5.0 as the Camaro BUT in a heavier, softer chassis with brakes that could stop the Queen Mary (in a few miles). Otherwise, the Monte Carlo was a very nice, large “personal coupe” that looked sporty – while the “Aero Coupe” version was a bit more special because of the rear window which increased aerodynamics and turned the cavernous trunk opening into a postal slot!

The Thunderbird (sometimes jokingly referred to as “the Thunderchicken”) had the performance oriented Turbo Coupe which was certainly a lot more amusing. Unlike the Monte Carlo, the interior was aimed towards performance and even included a *gasp* manual transmission and fancy, multi-adjustable seats that were stolen from the Mustang GT. The downside to the T-Bird was that it was a heavy car and given the engine management of that time period, unless the engine was on full boil, driving a Turbo Coupe was more like driving a 4-cylinder Ford Ranger – the vehicle that donated it’s 2.3L for the base of the turbo motor (and in later years the EcoBoost Mustangs and Focus RS).

Lastly are the Grand National and GNX – the Grand National, unlike the Monte Carlo, offered a drivetrain that was anything but mundane. Even the interior was more fanciful than the basic Regal which was the Country Club variant of the Monte Carlo. The suspension was tweaked a bit on the Grand National to make it less boat-like but the car is still a unibody luxo-cruiser. The GNX is the same thing but with more power and more suspension tweaks which made it actually drive reasonably well for the time period. Don’t confuse the Grand National and the GNX though – they look similar and have the same parentage but the Grand National is the car you could take home to Mother while the GNX was the dirty little secret you enjoyed around the corner.

> and now, back to you in the studio, Brad <

Brad N: Okay guys, I see your points, but I still think you are generalizing all US made cars into one totally shitty bucket compared to the rest. Even though the 5.0L and 5.7L engines of those eras were anemic in stock trim, you can’t argue with their tunability and reputation at the dragstrip. There is a reason that people are still swapping Ford 5.0L and Chevy 5.7L motors into everything, from luxury Jaguars and Land Rovers to your beloved german sports cars like Porsches and BMWs. Matt Y himself had a “Jag that runs” with a swapped 5.7L. #lsswapallthethings.

As referenced above, there was an oil crisis in the ‘70’s that essentially drove the American automakers to make drastic changes to their cars. If the U.S. government would have allowed them to make 500HP fire-breathing V8s that went 0-100mph in 5 seconds and got 5 mpg, they certainly would have. But instead, they neutered their offerings but allowed for a substantial aftermarket industry to essentially make up the difference and give the cars “muscle” again. And regarding the Grand National and GNX, with a turbo 3.8L V6, it may have only produced 200-245 HP (depending on year), that was just a knob turn away from doubling that output (albeit, probably not reliably).

As was stated earlier, by today’s standards, cars of the ‘80’s are terrible… All of them, zero exceptions, they are horrible examples compared to any of today’s offerings.

However, nostalgia is very real in car culture and we love these “pieces of crap” unconditionally. I would love to have an old square body Silverado and box Chevy Caprice Classic sitting in my driveway for no other reason than the fact that my family had them when I was growing up. I spent my childhood riding in the back seat (without a seat belt or car seat) jumping around wrestling with my brother on the way to the beach… 🙂 #goodtimes.

We can only hope that the next generation will look back on the cars of this era with the same affection. #reflections.

“Square Bodies” – An ‘80s Retrospective

Eric M

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February 27, 2018

1

Many will agree that there was a heyday of bespoke design in the automotive world which encompassed the 1950s and ‘60s; the ‘70s gave way to a new “space race” of brute force, power and muscle. But the ‘80s, oh the ‘80s. Aquanet, Jordache Jeans, and Duran Duran… setting the stage for prominent cost-cutting innovations like: high-revving high-compression 4-cylinder hatchbacks, front-wheel-drive, and mechanical fuel injection systems with James Bond-esque names like: Jet-tronic and C.I.S. Overnight, everything became “digital.” (seen above: the dashboard from a 1980 Lancia Orca) #121jigawatts.

The ‘80s saw a radical shift in automotive design, from flowing artistic expressions of character, beauty and physique to mimeographed copies of the same basic “square body” template. And yet, these homely and understated vehicles are some of the most nostalgia-inspiring vehicles for the “50 and under crowd” today – why is that, you might ask?

I feel, in part, that some of the fondness comes paired with a recollection of the awe-inspiring racing history woven throughout various disciplines of the time: Formula-1, IMSA, Grouppe-B Rally and DTM. If you look back over their sagas at a high level, the drivers, the tracks, the records that were set stretching from 1980 into the early 90s, it’s arguably some of the best racing of all time. But what makes it all *special* … what makes the ‘80s a decade for automobile enthusiasts like no other?

The answer is: Homologation, a set of rules that forced manufacturers to make “watered down” versions of their race cars available to the masses in limited quantities. These vehicles were “the same” cars that our superhero racing idols were going to battle with weekend after grueling weekend. Therefore, in an attempt to rekindle some of those “feels” as they say, and in no particular order, here’s an overview of some of the most memorable “square bodies” of the ‘80s.

The Italians, Romeo and Giulia

1986 Alfa Romeo GTV-6 (left), 1985-1992 Alfa Romeo 75 (right)

The Alfa GTV was in essence a carry over from the ‘70s, designed to compete with – and look like – the german-built Ford Capri, but the GTV didn’t really tease its hair until the mid-80s when Alfa decided to shoehorn a 2.5 litre V6 into the existing GTV shell.

Removing the disco-fever, when the GTV-6 was introduced Alfa was already sunsetting the model line and simultaneously beginning to close it’s dealerships in the US. Alfa decided to refocus their attention on the up-and-coming DTM series, bringing to bear the Alfa 75 to compete against the E30 M3 and the Mercedes 190-E. The Alfa 75 would morph to become the basis for the infamous Alfa 155 DTM. The Alfa 75 was brought to the US in a last ditch sales effort as the “Milano” before officially closing the US market in 1992.

This rag-tag Fiat Brava-based family sedan turned Grouppe-4 champion rally car was a head-turner with it’s raspy twin-cam 2.0 litre and was piloted to over 20 wins by greats like: Markku Alen, Walter Rorhl and Michele Mouton. Unlike its street version cousins, the 131 Abarth was Rear-Wheel-Drive.

The Lancia Delta, also known as “The Tipo 831” was penned by the famed italian car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro as a competitor to one of his other designs: the Volkswagen Golf. The Delta was originally commissioned in the late ‘70s and after three generations the most notable Deltas would go on to topple the rally charts after the disbanding of Grouppe-B in 1987. Manufacturers like Audi, Peugeot and others removed their entries from Rally citing safety concerns with the sport.

Despite being an early “hot hatch,” one of the Delta’s most notable technological contributions to the era was the use of a complicated “twin-charging” system where for the first time in a compact car a supercharger and turbocharger were paired together to create over 300 bhp from a 2.0 litre 16-valve 4-cylinder.

The French Connection… and a car developed in a Shed.

1985 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 (left), 1985 Renault R5 Turbo (right)

Archrivals, no doubt… but Peugeot and Renault decided “alors, oui, we can make them: smaller and faster,” they undoubtedly said over a morning croissant … “but, convoluted, they must be!”

Both the road going versions of the Peugeot 205 and the Renault R5 (sold as “Le Car” in the US, and later renamed the “Clio” in Europe) were your run of the mill front-wheel-drive people movers. Quirky and very French. Checking all the boxes, both vehicles had space for your grocery run, kids, poodle pup and came with roll up windows and a radio. About as basic as a vanilla crepe gets.

How these two manufacturers bent the rules is still up for debate, but they transformed these unsalted baguettes into fire breathing, mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive missiles. Homologation be damned, these guys were onto something!

And then we have a car that was developed in a shed, somewhere in the midlands… MG, famous or maybe infamous for it’s “roadsters” like the MG-A and MG-B of the ‘50s through ’70s, decided in a “me too” moment to take their copy-cat people mover and also create a mid-engined monstrosity. MG wasn’t about to let the French have the last word.

From the land of the Rising Sun…

1986 Toyota Corolla AE86 (left), 1985 Toyota Starlet FX-16 GTS (right)

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the Japanese were perfecting the art of driving sideways very quickly and precisely. They too, decided to try their hand at producing “square bodies.” Often, the most recognized Japanese car from this era was the Toyota Corolla “AE86” (and it’s sister “The Levin”), it came with a Cosworth inspired indestructible twin-cam 4-cylinder strapped to what looked like a failed Volkswagen Scirocco design. Upon debut, with its history still unwritten, what would happen next for the plucky AE86 was anyone’s guess. “…the lightness, the balance, the strength of the engine, what seemed like an unending amount of RPMs, the razor sharp steering…” years later Initial D would help to romanticize the AE86, but their proven records on the Formula D / Drift scene really set it apart. #driftking

And for what it’s worth, I rode in my cousins brand-new AE86 in Montreal – back in the day – but I also drove my grandfather’s Notchback SR-5 version here in the US, which for some reason always smelled like a KFC. I digress, the interior in the AE86s were nothing to write home about, it really wasn’t a great place to live, terrible actually, but all that changed once you were in motion. You knew you were driving something special. Something meant to do more.

(Sigh) … then there was the Starlet, maybe the name was supposed to poke fun at the hollywood Starlets of the time, but this Corolla definitely suffers from an identity crisis. It was one of those cars that really didn’t know what it wanted to be, and looking back, Toyota might not have known what they wanted it to be. It came with a long list of engine combinations and drivetrain packages – globally, you could choose front or rear wheel drive. Even though it was modeled after the Ford Fiesta of the late ‘70s, it truly shined – in the same way as its inspiration – on the AutoCross scene. Light, short wheel base, high-revving and nimble. Those were the keys to success.

Oddly enough, both the AE86 and the Starlet were clearly entirely different vehicles, but they both donned the badge “COROLLA.” #OGK.

The CR-X… what is there to say? A pocket-sized car, sold as a 2+2: Was it a coupe? Was it a wedge? Was it a hatchback? It really had it all, it was the micro-machine you could own. Thankfully it didn’t have pop-up headlights or it would have been hallmarked as a true car of the ‘80s.

Instead, the CR-X was one of those cars that entered like a lamb and exited a lion. It was one of the few cars – of foreign descent – born in the mid-eighties that still had side-draft carburetors. Honda soon remediated that “feature” of the CR-X. Feisty and light, the CR-X gave birth to a entire generation of proud Honda owners. The CR-X is definitely missed, and we still await its true successor.

Flight of the Valkyrie: German might and magic…

BMW has always had this passion for creating understated but bat-shit-crazy vehicles. It’s no wonder the second car to wear the ///M badge was the E30-based original “M3.” Powered by a 2.3 litre four-cylinder, the M3 was used everywhere BMW could find a driver and a registration packet for it. It goes without saying that we should also tip our flat brimmed trucker caps to the E28-based M5 in the category of “flying bricks.” From Rally to DTM, BMW motorsport made its marque on the 80s.

In 1987, I’ll bet you could have overheard the engineers at Mercedes, after a pint of lager or seven, say “hell, if BMW can do it, so can we.” The “Type W201” aka the 190-E was Mercedes’ answer to the smaller, ankle-biting M3. Before AMG existed, this factory prepped 2.3 litre, stripped down luxury saloon turned racer, went toe-to-toe with BMW and Alfa Romeo in DTM. As a note, Mercedes also attempted to use the 190-E in Rally as well.

The GTI returns! The Mk1 Golf was sold in europe from 1975 until 1984, but the GTI didn’t make it to US soil until 1983. By late ‘84, Volkswagen was already working on the next generation Golf dubbed “the Golf Mk2,” which would debut in 1985 worldwide. The base Mk2 came with the standard 100 bhp 8-valve engine. But the GTI was fitted with a 16-valve, 1.8 litre engine, bilstein suspension, larger brakes and an aesthetics package setting it apart from the mundane Golf.

What the GTI lacked in sheer technical prowise when stacked against its competitors, it made up for in lightness and agility. VAG cars were rated as some of the “best handling” vehicles on the road at that time, without mods. The Mk2 GTI came in many variants not available in the US including the G60 Supercharged and Rallye AWD versions. The Mk2 GTIs are still some of most sought after VAG cars, and have been used for all sorts of Motorsport. #FAHRVERGNUGEN.

The Ur-Quattro… Godfather of ‘80s European “square bodies.” A car that turned the racing world on it’s nose, introducing military inspired AWD into a production vehicle, and then into racing. Audi (who officially merged with VW in 1985 to become VAG) had it’s growing pains during the early days of Grouppe-B. But the 20-valve 2.1 and 2.3 litre 5-cylinders would prove a best of both worlds engine able to “accelerate like a four and provide the torque of a six,” partnered with an airplane-sized Triple-K turbo, the racing 5-cylinders produced anywhere from 500-750 bhp depending on the application.

The Ur-Quattro and it’s variants: The Sport Quattro (Shorty), The S1 (Pikes Peak), and later the 5000 Trans-AM and IMSA-90-GTU are still held in high regard today. Audi toppled the rally dynasties of Lancia and others with innovative ideas and those sexy knife-edge flares. The technological advancements aside, a turbo 5-cylinder at wide-open-throttle still has one of the most notable engine sounds to date, best described as sounding like “a dragon emerging from the depths to unleash fury upon the land.” #ICH<3MIENAUDI

The Americans…

We would be remiss if we didn’t include an honorable mention for the Americans in our top square bodies review. Sadly though, there wasn’t much to highlight except for:

1982 Chevy C10 / GMC K1200 (“Fall Guy Edition”)

But all kidding aside, Dodge was bringing vehicles like the Omni-Shelby Turbo to the frey.

>you can stop laughing now<

Granted, the base Omni was a copy-cat of the Mk1 Volkswagen Golf – it even shared the same 8-valve 4-cylinder power plant and drivetrain – but this version was anointed by the man himself, Carroll Shelby, and fitted with a Turbo and a punched out block. The new 2.2-litre made a staggering 175 front-wheel-drive horsepower. You’re looking at: “the muscle car of hot hatches.”

Looking back with fondness…

There were plenty of other “cool” things going on during the ‘80s from movies, to music, technology, etc. It was truly the renaissance of the modern era. But as some will look back and delight in memories of Back to the Future (1981 Delorean DMC-12), Knight Rider (1982 Pontiac Firebird) and Magnum PI (1980 Ferrari 308), we hope that the vehicles here invoked that same reaction. Do you have a favorite car from the ‘80s? or special memory of driving an ‘80s classic? #cultclassics. We’d love to hear your feedback, so feel free to post your comments below.

#merrymotoring #neverstoplearning

Test Drive: Nissan Titan & Kia Stinger

Matthew Y

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February 26, 2018

0

I spent this Saturday at the SCCA Advanced Race Operations seminar which I’ll cover separately. On the way home, having some “spare” time for once in my life, I decided to look at vehicles – not that I can afford to buy anything but I’m easily amused and haven’t looked at what’s on the market in quite a while.

2018 Nissan Titan

My first stop was at the Nissan dealer to look at trucks. Granted, the Crutchfields recently purchased a Titan but their truck is a 4-door with the diesel – quite impressive to say the least. I was pleased to discover the Titan is available as an “extra cab” or as Datsun calls it, the King Cab and with the gasoline power plant. The biggest advantage of the King Cab is that the bed is a tiny bit longer than on the Crew Cab – 6′ 6″ vs 5′ 6″. Unfortunately, the only way to get an 8′ bed is to order the Single Cab version. The Titan nameplate is a bit confusing – there is the Titan, effectively a 1/2 ton and the Titan XD, their heavy-duty version, both is available in 3 trim levels – S – Base, SV – Mid-Level and Platinum – Luxury. I drove a Titan XD King Cab with the 5.6 gasoline engine.

2018 Nissan Titan XD, courtesy of www.nissanusa.com

First impressions were that aside from the miserable Contractor White color, the Titan isn’t bad looking – I could do without the fake side fender grills and whomever thought tan was a good color for a truck interior should be forced to clean that tan interior after a weekend at the races. I must admit that I’m still amused by touch screens that are making their way into all vehicles no matter how utilitarian. The Titan is available with WiFi which comes with apps – again, something I find new and amusing since my newest car EVER was produced in 2005.

The Overall Fit & Finish is quite good – very car-like with a myriad of nice touches such as power ports, usb jacks, and a very slick car control system including user-defined gauges, colors and convenience options. The seats are comfortable albeit in the nonsensical tan color. The rear seat folds for additional storage and from the appearance, the rear seat, like that in virtually ALL extra-cab vehicles, is more for occasional use than for long-distance touring. That’s fine since that’s why all the manufacturers are producing crew cabs these days – to fit 4 full-figured bodies in relative comfort.

From a driving perspective, the new Titan drives very car-like – quiet and smooth with quick response to the steering. Throttle response is decent but this is still a full-sized truck – it’s no sports car but if anyone is expecting that, they’ll be sorely disappointed. The venerable 5.6L V8 is coupled to a 7-speed transmission that is seamless. The road manners were surprisingly good – it tracks straight without the vagueness and wandering of older trucks. Even compared to the previous Titan, the new Titan is a big step forward. The old Titan was a carbon copy of an F150 – the new Titan has stepped out on it’s own.

The price tag on this mid-line truck with relatively undesirable options (King Cab and gasoline powertrain) was a touch over $42K – not bad considering F150s are in the high 40s to low 50s!! The trim level, SV, offers enough creature comforts to make the Titan very comfortable without the drawbacks of leather or the financial penalty of the diesel powertrain. For anyone who needs a truck only to tow, this isn’t a bad option – easily $15K less than a Ford Superduty or $8K less than a diesel version of the Titan, that’s a lot of fuel savings that needs to be made up to justify the cost differential.

2018 Kia Stinger

2018 Kia Stinger, courtesy of kia.com

My second stop was at the Kia dealership – admittedly, a friend had been car shopping and looked at the Stinger. I hadn’t even heard of the model until then – now, of course, I’ve seen the ads on TV but probably only because I know about the Stinger. Unlike the rest of the Kia line which is a bit stodgy, the Stinger is quite the styling exercise. Like the Audi A7, the Stinger is a 4-door hatchback that looks more like a 4-door sedan. The exterior styling is more Germanic than Korean with bold lighting and more than a few well placed air ducts.

The interior is surprising in that the rear seat has tremendous legroom – Brad would likely fit in the back seat BUT head room, while above my head, likely wouldn’t work well for anyone much over 6 feet tall. The seats are of a patterned leather that reminds me of the seats in a ’66 Mustang albeit in leather vs Naugahyde. The only big drawback to the seats is that they’re low to the floor with no real means to raise the seat – yes, they’re power but by design, the GT seating style puts the occupants “on the floor”. The trim is quite attractive with the obligatory power ports and USB points. Once nice touch were the rear seat vents – something I hadn’t expected to see on what i perceived to be a small car and especially from Korea.

I drove the GT version with the twin-turbo V6 – yes, TWIN-TURBO, V6! Opening the hood, the 4-cylinder offers ACRES of room to work on the front of the motor and even the V6 had room that didn’t require removing the front of the car to change a drive belt. The GT was equipped with the Technology pack (no THANKS!!) as well as an HUD unit (very cool). While I didn’t test the radar cruise control, the lane keeper technology is quite interesting and the HUD is a neat feature. Being a bit of a gadget freak, I did find myself purposely edging towards line markers just to make the car’s electronics work it’s magic. I could see this growing old quickly though – I’d rather run off the road unannounced.

The most impressive feature of the Stinger is its acceleration. Tooling around, it’s mundane, soft and demure. Bury your right foot and the Stinger absolutely screams. Kia’s claimed 0-60 is 4.7 seconds with a 167 mph top speed – given what i saw, I believe it. Coupled with a 5-position active handling system, this Kia is certainly knocking on the doors of Audi and BMW.

The full-boat Stinger is $52K – not bad when compared to Audi or BMW. The only challenge is convincing yourself and your Euro-trash friends that a Kia can do everything their German luxo-sedan can do for at least $10K less money.

Enjoy!!

GTM goes to Formula-1

Brad N

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October 24, 2017

1

Getting to Texas

The heat, the politics, the guns, the “Everything’s Bigger and Better” mentality, all of these are punchlines for some of us “Yankees”. But alas, they weren’t enough to keep a few members of GTM away from attending this year’s USGP race at Circuit of the Americas (a very Texas name for a race track, by the way). That’s right, GTM went to F1!

Oh yes, the best way to get to Texas from the northeast is to fly, unless you want to drive 24 hours, but really, who has that kind of time? So on Thursday before the race weekend Eric M. and Brad N. left BWI airport in the A.M. for their long flight to Houston (by way of Atlanta).

Thankfully the boys were able to travel in style as they used a combination of Eric’s companion points and cold hard cash to upgrade to First Class. That’s right, we were sippin’ champagne and looking down on lesser folks as they boarded — just as every First Class passenger had done to me previously 😉 Oh the sweet satisfaction of being better than everyone else, if only for a few hours. Other than pretending to be important, the only other notable tidbit about the flight was the multiplayer Mario Kart tournament we had in silence. I am sure the other passengers wondered what was wrong with these two grown-ass men playing with kid’s electronics and giggling like school children. For the record, I lost, badly.

Arriving in Houston we picked up our sweet-sweet rental car, a newish Nissan Murano Platinum Midnight Edition. Of course, the original plan was for a Tahoe or some other full size SUV but Enterprise didn’t seem to have any left. After deliberating over whether to take the Murano or the Dodge Grand Caravan, we opted for the Murano. In retrospect, this was a mistake.

Food

Rudy’s BBQ, located off Exit 70-A on I-45 North, Spring TX

Once out of the airport – stylin’ and profilin’ in our awesome rental car – we needed food. If you travel anywhere with Eric M. you will learn one thing, it all revolves around food. He has a particular restaurant you must visit whenever you visit XYZ city. In Houston, it was obvious we needed barbeque, and there was a charming little place Eric knew called Rudy’s. This place can be described in one word… DELICIOUS! If you ever find yourself in Houston I highly suggest visiting this place. Get the (moist) Brisket and the jalapeno sausage.

Torchy’s Taco’s — OMG, Yum!

Later that evening, after we arrived at Tania M.’s house, by which time our BBQ lunch had finished digesting, it was time for dinner. I was in the mood for burritos so we headed out to Torchy’s Tacos. This place… omg, yum. You walk up to the counter and order whatever tacos you want, ranging from $3.50 – $6.50 per taco, and then you sit down with your sweet tea and wait for your food. I wanted a burrito, they were out of burritos, so I opted for 3 tacos; a fish taco, a breaded chicken taco, and a jerk chicken taco. All were tasty but the star of the show was the breaded chicken taco, playfully named the “Trailer Park” taco, we opted to make them “Trashy.” The jerk chicken taco however, was hot… like the fire of a thousand suns all burning through my tongue and throat …hot. It was good, but if you don’t have a fire hydrant near by then I wouldn’t recommend this taco for any amateur. Breakfast, we ate breakfast. We stopped and had these little Polish pastries called kolaches (“Coh-lah-chee”). They were amazing. Little balls of dough filled with whatever the hell you want. I had 4, pizza (with pepperoni and cheese), cheesesteak (with philly steak and cheese), rancheros (with eggs and peppers), and chicken enchalada (with chicken and what can only be described as love in a bun). As soon as I got home I started looking up recipes for these things. Even now I am thinking about them and my mouth is watering… Must. Have. More!

Kimi Raikkonen #7 @ Whataburger

We did eat at a few other places on this trip as well but they weren’t really as memorable, except for Whataburger. I heard stories, tales and fables of Whataburger but I had never had a chance to experience it, until this weekend. Despite all the rave reviews, the myths and legends, Whataburger was just good, not great, not amazing, just good. Granted it was much better than any McDonald’s I’ve ever been to, but Wendy’s and Burger King have stepped their game up to the point where the quality gap has shrunk in recent years.

And on the way home, during a longer than anticipated layover in Atlanta for a delayed flight, we made our way to arguably the best tasting and least greasy Popeye’s Chicken in all the land. While we stood in line a gentleman asked if we were dining in (note that all the tables were occupied) and took our drink orders. We chuckled and joked about how he couldn’t possibly find us a table by the time we ordered… but sure enough as we grabbed our food a table was free and we sat down. THAT’s customer service! The chicken itself was excellent for fast food chicken. It was crispy and not greasy at all (as Eric pointed out, it doesn’t get a chance to sit around long enough). Airport Popeye’s is best Popeye’s.

The F1 Experience

Oh yeah, the actual reason we went to Texas. Friday morning we woke up early and hit the road from Houston to Austin, home of the USGP. when we arrived, we parked and made our way to the track entrance. Circuit of the Americas, or “COTA” (“Koh-tah”) for short, is a huge facility. You can see the tower from miles away and the parking lots around the facility added many thousands of steps to our daily step counters. Once inside, the facility is clean and well groomed. They have a soccer field and amphitheater as well as a separate main stage for larger shows that the amphitheater cannot accommodate (like Justin Timberlake & Stevie Wonder).

We had General admission tickets which meant we were able to go where we wanted and had many different views of the track. We spent a good portion of the weekend just walking around and checking out the different turns and sections as the machines practiced and took their qualifying laps. I say machines and not cars because these things are closer to aircrafts and spaceships than they are modern automobiles.

Sadly, our general admission passes did not grant us access to the race paddock so we could not get a closer look at the cars themselves, nor the drivers or the race crews. For that set-up you needed to drop a few thousand dollars for special passes.

And let’s talk about that for a minute. The tickets we purchased were about $160.00 per person (not including service charges imposed by ticketmaster). Plus we bought 3 parking passes at roughly $42.00 each. This was not a very cheap event to get into. Once inside the costs just went up from there. Remember Torchy’s Tacos, the wonderful place I mentioned earlier that sold tacos individually for a few bucks… they had a taco truck at the event… $8.00 per taco. I know it was because COTA was charging them a healthy sum to be there but we could not in good conscience spend that much for a taco that we paid half that price for the night before. Food costs and admission costs aside, everything at this event was expensive! They were charging $70 for a baseball cap, $100+ for a team jersey, and so on. I bought a t-shirt, it was for RedBull Racing and it was last year’s shirt — I paid $20.00. That’s how much that shirt actually should have cost for this year’s event. So long story short, the event was expensive and I didn’t get access to all of the things I would have liked to have seen.

As far as the total F1 experience itself. It was a little disappointing. The track was cold for longer periods of time than it was hot. Other than a go-kart track and racing simulator there really wasn’t much to see or do other than sit around and wait for cars to be on track again. Out of the entire time we were there we were fully engaged in what was happening for about 4 hours, of which 2 hours was the actual race itself on Sunday.

Max Verstappen #33 – Red Bull F1 Team

A few ways the event could improve moving forward, invite other series there to share the track that weekend. Have more things going on during the day. Also make the paddocks available to the fans. Let us walk around and see the cars up close and personal, let us talk to the engineers that designed and created those machines. And of course, make things cheaper and more accessible to people. There is no reason why a hat should cost $70.00 (when it’s $40.00 on the website) and a taco should not cost $8.00 for one.

In The Rearview

Since the F1 activities weren’t that enticing to see on Saturday, we took a side trip to Austin and walked down South Congress Street and even took in a famed city-wide garbage sale (correction: garage sale) at the local expo center. Austin was pretty neat, for those that haven’t been there before think San Diego meets Colorado. We also visited a few comic book stores and a really cool toy store called Terra Toys.

During the race, we made our way in front of the stands at turn 10-11 and ended up in a giant mud pit, created from the Sunday morning rains, that seemingly ate my shoes. I had to throw them out (I was going to anyway).

Buc-Ees… heard of it? Let me describe it. Think Wawa + Cracker Barrel + Wal-Mart + Target + Bass Pro Shops + Home Depot = Buc-Ees. This place was one of the more interesting things we saw on our journey. Tania randomly mentioned it during our commute from Houston to Austin and just as she was finished explaining it we saw one and had to stop. I really can’t say anything more about it except you have to visit one if you get the chance. Also, the bathrooms were super clean. Like, award winning clean. Mr. Clean would be impressed!

I would like to thank Mike & Mona Arrigo from HookedonDriving Northeast for their hospitality. They drove their motor home all the way down from PA (apparently they are the only people who DO have the time to drive 24 hours to Texas) and fed us and allowed us to use their motor home as our base of operations during the day. I would also like to thank Tania M. for putting us up for a few days at her house and taking me for a ride in her sweet vintage Audi.

(More pictures from this event and others are available at our Shutterfly Share Site).

<img class="tdb-logo-img" src="https://www.gtmotorsports.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CROPPED-1.png" alt="Logo" title="" width="2597" height="573" data-eio="l" />GTMSpreading Motorsports Enthusiasm - since 2014

<img class="tdb-logo-img" src="https://www.gtmotorsports.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CROPPED-1.png" alt="Logo" title="" width="2597" height="573" data-eio="l" />GTMSpreading Motorsports Enthusiasm - since 2014

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Requirements and Information for the Red Clay Rally

Rally Preparations

The Big Moment: Running the Rally

Even the Europeans – well, mostly the Italians – had a real flair for design, with some absolutely gorgeous cars.

The Germans were never known for being overly flamboyant

In Japan however, designers were never much for creating something new, but they were excellent at taking an existing design and improving on it.

But why can’t we have cars that “look” like the ‘57 Chevy, the Miura, and others from the past?

The ‘70s gas crisis changed everything

“Cab-forward” and how the ‘90s ruined cars forever.

But how did all of this affect today’s styling?

What to do before the event

Track Insurance

Pre-Track Day Tech Inspection

What To Bring With You

The Day Of The Event

On-Track Sessions

Live Demonstration!

Round 1: Car Guys Premium Wheel Cleaner

Round 2: Adam’s Polishes Wheel Cleaner

Round 3: Black Magic Intense Wheel Cleaner

Round 4: Armor-All Extreme Wheel Cleaner

Quick Comparison

Verdict?

> let’s circle back to the joy ride in a second <

Well that can’t be good…

>> Now, back in the passenger seat!

The Italians, Romeo and Giulia

The French Connection… and a car developed in a Shed.

From the land of the Rising Sun…

Flight of the Valkyrie: German might and magic…

The Americans…

Looking back with fondness…

Getting to Texas

Food

The F1 Experience

In The Rearview

Onwards and Upwards for GTM, next stop: The Rolex-24hrs at DAYTONA!

GTMSpreading Motorsports Enthusiasm - since 2014

GTMSpreading Motorsports Enthusiasm - since 2014

GTMSpreading Motorsports Enthusiasm - since 2014