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Automotive Exceptionalism

MRC
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Vercingetorix Vercingetorix
I never understood where the urban myth of 50/50 weight distribution came from. It is like some computer nerds fantasy to make things look good on paper, or people who are afraid of a little oversteer.
My Lotus Dealer ex-principal has taken my own car around Snetterton a few times. It oversteers for him but understeers for me. It's front engine rear drive 50/50, what are we doing differently? When he's spun it a couple of times (Snett is very flat and the sound carries so I know when he's done it) and the radiator, notoriously weak, starts to leak afterwards I get a new one fitted gratis He can get my car around there a second quicker than his own MERD Esprit with the same engine. I've driven his personal Esprit on the road but not on the track. Oh, Excel 50/50 and 4 seats, Esprit ~41/59 and 2 seats????

And, confession time, he gets my own car around there a second quicker than I can 🙁
 
davy26
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Happily, GILFs are never out of work in the world of German porn:
valveandpiston_67600709_486805782143081_143631655794199856_n.jpg
 
dsio
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davy26 davy26
Happily, GILFs are never out of work in the world of German porn:
valveandpiston_67600709_486805782143081_143631655794199856_n.jpg
There’s a shop in Brisbane not far from me that specializes in 300SL restorations, I remember a few years ago someone bought a “barn find” car and had it shipped sight unseen in a container. They rolled it out and it was that exact color, but utterly rooted, the owner couldn’t help but hop in the driver’s seat and when he did the car broke in two. Turns out it was actually two 300SLs that had been butt-welded and bondo’ed over decades earlier. Though it was probably a lot more money than he had anticipated it ended up a perfect car in the end still.
 
abrod520
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MRC MRC
It oversteers for him but understeers for me. It's front engine rear drive 50/50, what are we doing differently?

Difference in trail braking methodology maybe?
 
MRC
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abrod520 abrod520
Difference in trail braking methodology maybe?
Yes, most likely to do with the turn-in.
 
dsio
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-24/double-fatality-in-targa-tasmania-tarmac-car-race/100092954

This is a rather sad thing to be posting but we just had a third death in the Targa Tasmania this year, and the names haven’t been announced yet of the two victims so quite a few people I know that have friends competing are madly checking to see if they’re safe.

While I have a great love for vintage cars and for road racing I think I would only drive the former at safe speeds on public roads and in anger on a track with a lot of runoff and forgiving barriers, and would only participate in a road rally in something really modern with a strong shell and best safety technology.
 
bdp
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Targa Tasmania is a great tarmac rally, my thoughts are with the families of the deceased and the automotive fraternity.
This brings the total deaths in this event to 5 over its long history. I agree with @dsio may it continue safely.
 
abrod520
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dsio dsio
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-24/double-fatality-in-targa-tasmania-tarmac-car-race/100092954

This is a rather sad thing to be posting but we just had a third death in the Targa Tasmania this year, and the names haven’t been announced yet of the two victims so quite a few people I know that have friends competing are madly checking to see if they’re safe.

While I have a great love for vintage cars and for road racing I think I would only drive the former at safe speeds on public roads and in anger on a track with a lot of runoff and forgiving barriers, and would only participate in a road rally in something really modern with a strong shell and best safety technology.

Does the race require cages, harnesses, fire extinguishers and such? From the photo looks like the Porsche just crumpled, I imagine it might not have been properly prepared
 
MRC
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abrod520 abrod520
Does the race require cages, harnesses, fire extinguishers and such? From the photo looks like the Porsche just crumpled, I imagine it might not have been properly prepared
It depends on the category the car is entered in, this car was in a "Full Competition" class and so should have had a full house of safety preparation.

https://targa.com.au/wp-content/upl...echnical-Regulations-2020-2023-Version-1A.pdf

https://targa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TT-21-Entry-List-for-website-as-at-17.04.21.pdf
 
MRC
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Auto Porn - The oily side

May I bring to your attention the oily side rather than the shiny one. Ivan Dutton is producing Youtube videos of some of his cars and the work he does on them. Brits may recognise Ivan as a vintage Bugatti specialist an one-time saloon car championship class winner. The cars generally need parts fabricating or found -- from searching in hundreds of boxes of stuff. Then he goes for a blast around the local countryside. All done in a very knowledgeable and amusing way.

Start here:

or a Youtube search: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ivan's shed


Enjoy!
 
FrenchBigCrown
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[ IMG_4670-Edit-1024x617.jpg
 
Amg786s
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popped out to do some shopping and stumbled across this beauty in a sea of modern cars.
F798CC77-BFBD-4408-9DA2-D00400328CA4.jpeg
 
Alpha
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Given time 😁

IMG_0310.jpeg


One of my daughters projects, no prizes but can anyone tell what it is ?
 
vbrad26
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Yes but only because I already knew lol. Not sure I could tell from that...
 
Vercingetorix
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Alpha Alpha
Given time 😁

IMG_0310.jpeg


One of my daughters projects, no prizes but can anyone tell what it is ?
Three wheel lugs means its a Renault LeCar with an inline six transplant.
 
Paedipod
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Pretty sure I know too…winch on the front helps.

The Lego Lambo/Bugatti/Porsche are all three lug wheels though so not sure that’s the “tell”
 
dsio
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abrod520 abrod520
Does the race require cages, harnesses, fire extinguishers and such? From the photo looks like the Porsche just crumpled, I imagine it might not have been properly prepared
It was a fully prepared car yea, but the physics involved in hitting two very old and deeply rooted gumtrees at well over 200kph in a rear engined car is just a bit too extreme for that to matter much, the combination of that speed plus a jump plus a pair of big trees just off the road was what made this so dangerous.
 
Alpha
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Hasn't been nailed yet 😀
 
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