I’m with you. Looks like a 650S with eyeliner. Not that this is a bad thing mind you, but it is a bit difficult to tell them all apart.

We have a ton of touring car racing in the US. It just never makes it on TV because we have to make way for a ton of NASCAR coverage every week.

It depends on where that extra money is going. If we raise the price of gas through the gas tax, that keeps the money in the States, where we can use it to pay for oil subsidies repair our aging infrastructure. If the price is raised externally, then yes, it would line Russian pockets. Though the way this…

When I did Formula SAE “I’m going to take a weight savings” was code for “I’m going to take a massive dump.” Every ounce counts!

They are counter weighted for primary, but not secondary. You need balance shafts to cancel out second level harmonics.

I’d like to chime in for a second here. I’m 28 and just bought my first new car (a shiny new Tacoma TRD-Off Road so I can tow my not-so-shiny 240SX around). I researched all of the mid size trucks out there, comparing prices, options, capacities, etc, etc etc. Then I figured out what sort of loan I could expect to…

The VR6 is damn good, but for me the Fulvia has that wonderful carbuereted sound. And a great exhaust note. The Italians know their shit when it comes to engine noise.

The same sort of philosophy. One head, narrow angle, and cant the engine to clear the hood. The Lancia’s Vee was a bit wider than the VR6 though. Also sounded way better.

Vibration. Inline 4s are already inherently unbalanced. V4s are even worse. Couple that with the extra cost and associated packaging complications (they work well longitudinally mounted, but not so well in a transverse package like you’d see on a FWD car), and there just isn’t a lot of incentive to do a V4. Now…

Yup! I met the owner, he’s been trying to bring them back. We brainstormed a few ideas for modernizing the suspension and drivetrain, but I had to move for work.

No, the front suspension is C4. Looking back at a few other pics I took, the rear suspension is not from a Tornado, but the engine and transmission were. Not sure where the rear suspension came from, it might also be Corvette.

This. It’s a Fortvac Bernardi. It’s a kit car with a C4 Corvette front end, and the rear suspension (and driveline) are from an Oldsmobile Tornonado, which makes it mid engined. According to the owner, it is as wicked handling as it sounds.

In my 1990 240SX, the left turn signal would occasionally stick on when you hit the brakes. So you hit the press the brake pedal and the flasher would stay on solidly. Let off the brakes and it would flash normally. This is why I am replacing the entire wiring harness in that car.

Let’s not forget that the entire allure of the Daytona 500 is the “We ran for 500 miles as hard as we could and survived.” By breaking it up like this, it’s not really a 500 mile race anymore is it? Sure there will always be cautions, but they aren’t (usually) pre-planned. Theoretically, you could run a Daytona 500…

Mechanical stress is a funny thing: you’re arguing that repeated high-RPM cycling is worse on an engine than high cylinder pressures. At the level F1 is at, I don’t think this is necessarily the case. Peak cylinder pressures in a turbo engine are much higher than an NA engine, putting more load on rods, pistons,…

To an extent, yes. If they opened up the fuel regs, then I’m sure the teams would find a way for the cars to handle an extra few kilos of fuel for that sweet, sweet 100+ HP bump.

They actually do have a maximum rev limit (confirmed that it is 15,000), but as we have both said, the engine builders don’t hit it because of the fuel restrictions.

Can we please make a clarification to the whole F1/noise complaint? It’s not the volume people miss: it’s the pitch. Those 20,000+ RPM V10s absolutely pierce your soul with their high pitched wail. Yes, they are louder (turbo engines in general are quieter than naturally aspirated engines), but that high pitch is…

Mazdaspeed3. Only sold in the States, perfectly sized for UK roads, practical, frugal, and fun. A nice 1st gen can be had for around $8000, and a good 2nd gen for $12K. That extra budget can go towards the inevitable repairs it will need.

My ex had a friend who never wore her seatbelt. This was after she was in accident where she was thrown through the windshield of a car and trapped because her scalp was stuck in the broken glass. She had to stay in the hospital for a week. And when I told her she would have probably been fine if she had been…