The myth of the fastest SUV

As you might guess, I'm a bit of a car guy - not a closet car guy - but an out, loud, and proud car guy. People at works are aware of this (see my office and you would understand) and frequently seek advice about cars. Mostly it's harmless stuff - "Should I balance my tires every time I rotate them?" or "How can I make my Saab faster?".

Every once in a while I get a zinger that gets under my skin. I was at a housewarming party over the weekend, and got one. While chatting casually with the owner of a nicely modified Audi S4 about big turbos, chips, and Iconel downpipes, a twenty-something party-goer wanders up, listened just long enought to decern the topic is cars and spews forth: "Yah, I'm lookin for somthin new, probly an SUV, but, you know a FAST one... which one is the fastest?" The irony of this question haunts me still.

The fastest SUV.

Ever see the soccer playing elephants in Thiland? Think Polo but with a 4 foot ball. a bunch of crazy Thais riding them like horses, really big horses. This was the image that formed in my mind as i wondered about the fastest SUV. Then I remembered that Hans Stuck had set some record (absolute I belive) lapping the Nuerbergring in a BMW X5 with a 600+ HP V12 LeMans engine.

When I tuned back in to the conversation, he had begun quoting horsepower and 0-60 times. He seemed pretty set on the Cayenne Turbo - 400+ hp and '60 in less then five. My Audi buddy was trying to explain how 400hp and a high center of gravity might not produce the best vehicle dynamics (especially in the hands of a novice driver I thought silently) but our new friend would hear none of it. Convinced of his superior knowlege, he bid us adue, "Later dudes", and walked up the street to an ancient VW Jetta. An anemic burn-out and the boom of too-loud subwoofers announced his departure.

My Audi buddy turned to me and said, "You can teach a pig to sing but it wastes your time and annoys the pig". Yep, that pretty much covers the myth of the fastest SUV.

GT4 - Day 1

The waiting is over, GT4, the long awaited sequel to GT3, and easily the most realistic driving simulator on the market is now available. I got my copy, along with Logitec's Driving Force Pro 900 degree steering wheel, at BestBuy for $200 and got a $20 gift card for my trouble.

I noted improvments in many areas. More cars and tracks of course, but the vehicle dynamics are better as well. Carry too much speed into corners and your car will understeer predictably and the feedback throught the wheel captures the "softness" caused by understeer very well.

I started buy driving an E46 BMW M3 around Laguna Seca - something I have done for real many times. I was astounded by the improved force-feedback function. After getting into the wall in 6 and again exiting the corkscrew I finally got a solid lap - 1:42. Nice. Then I discovered that they added another of my favorite tracka - Sears Point (now called Infinion Raceway). I took the M3 there and found it very realistic compared to the real thing. Turn 10 - a 100+ MPH epic in real life, is much less scary in the game.

The Logitech Driving Force Pro steering wheel is a wonder. A bit smaller than the previous version, the whell is rubber covered and a pleasure to use. The new shifter has a positive clic with each shift, a significant improvment over the previous Driving Force wheel. I wish they has added the same click to the "Paddle Shifters" they provide little or no direct feedback.

The force feedback is much more sophisticated then GT3. It's less noticable, but always there. I quite like how the steering goes soft when the car begins to slide - just like the real thing. The feedback is nothing like the original force-feedback game, Pole-Position, where the wheel basicly shook violently when you left the racing surface. It is much more subtle now, it just pushes back against input nicely, shakes a bit over alligator teeth, and and feels as real as any simulator I have ever driven.

I raced in the Sunday Cup and the 4WD challenge Beginner racinf series and found the behavior of the other cars are completly different in GT4. They seem to have personalities, some will give you room at the apex, others wont. In the Sunday Cup a dark green Audi A6 could always be counted on to whack me at the worst possible time, but a white WRX would always leave a bit of room when necessary. Same in the 4WD cup - a black WRX whould hit every other car on the track to prevent them from passing. Sadly an all too common occurance in real racing too.

I four hours last night I completed the first licence test, and won both the Sunday Cup and 4wd Challenge racing series. A couple of quick car sales and I am back in my favorite car a Nissan Skyline R34. In addition to a number on new car options, GT4 now offer two different used car lots and inventory changes regularly so be sure to get there early....

If you want the best driving simulator you can find - look no further than GT4 and the Logitech Driving Force Pro steering wheel.

2005 F1 Rules

Qualifying

From the start of the 2005 season, the grid position of a driver will be based on the aggregate lap times set in the first and second qualifying sessions. In 2005, as in 2003 and 2004, qualifying will consist of two qualifying sessions. However, next year, both sessions will be crucial for the drivers’ grid position, with the first session taking place on Saturday from 14.00hrs local time and the second session on Sunday from 10.00hrs local time.

As in 2004, both sessions will be single lap qualifying sessions, however, in 2005 drivers will contest the Saturday session in the reverse order of their finishing positions in the previous race. The teams may decide the amount of fuel they use for this session.

For the Sunday qualifying session, the cars may be refuelled, but the amount of fuel used for this session may not be changed for the race, and the same regulation is applied for the set-up. The aggregate of the lap times set in the Saturday and Sunday sessions will then decide the grid positions.

“For the first time TV will be able to show all the cars doing a flat-out lap that counts for the grid with minimum fuel,” said FIA President Max Mosley, “And then that will be combined with the other one on the following morning, so the complaint that we never see the cars with minimum fuel going flat-out is answered.”

Engines

Engines must now last for two races rather than just one, with any unscheduled change resulting in a 10-place penalty on the grid. That will put a premium on reliability.

Aerodynamics

Front wings have been lifted by 50mm to reduce downforce and those at the rear have been brought forward 150mm relative to the centre line between the rear wheels. The diffuser at the rear becomes shallower, at around 40 percent the height of 2004 levels. The changes, intended to cut downforce by about 25 percent to slow cars on safety grounds, should make cars 'twitchier' toand more spectacular to watch with their reduced grip

Tyres must last for qualifying and the race. "The focus in the factory has been to recover that downforce and obviously it won't be until the early races of the season that we'll see how well each team has done," said Williams' co-owner Patrick Head. Testing has seen teams experiment with innovative aerodynamic parts, notably McLaren with a horn-like wing on the engine cover.

Tires

Tires must last for qualifying and the race. The reason being that harder, and therefore more durable, tires will reduce cornering speeds. This means pit stops will look very different, with fewer mechanics involved as cars take on fuel without tire changes, and will be less frequent. Tires can be replaced in the event of a puncture or damage caused by debris but not during a re-fuel. Drivers would previously have changed tires two or three times during a race, after 70 to 100km, in carefully orchestrated pit stops. They must now last around 350km. All drivers will be allowed three sets of the same specification tyres for Saturday and Sunday. One will be used for Saturday practice, another for qualifying and the race while the third set is held back in case of a puncture.

GT4 Update

It look slike GT4 will be here on Thursday. Here in Denver Best Buy is offering GT4 and the Logitech 900 degree wheel for $200 and you get a $20 gift card.

The Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC)

Never heard of it? If you are an F1 fan you certainly will. In 2008 it is possible that a second single-seat series will be started to compete with Formula 1.

Founded by in 2001 by BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat (Ferrari), Ford, and Renault in order to create, own, and operate the Grand Prix World Championship as a new series to compete with the existing Formula One Championship.

Money and control are the central issues to this conflict. The current Formula 1 structure is defined by a secret agreement called the Concorde agreement which expire in 2007. It gives Bernie Ecclstone, President of Formula One Management, managerial control over all money generated and provides the 23% be shared with the teams.

GPWC was formed to alter these economics and restore more control to the teams themselves. Based on information made public this weekend, GPWC is talking about providing up to 80% to the teams.

The tactic was working until Ferrari’s decision 2 weeks ago to abandon GPWC and sign an extension of the current Concord Agreement. As the premier brand in F1, they have demanded the lion’s share of the revenue. It looks like Bernie has done just that.

The camps have formed – Bernie and Ferrari in one and everyone else (save Jordan and Red Bull who sit on the fence) in the other. Only time will tell.

Daytona 24

Thanks to a well times business trip I was able to attend the Daytona 24 Hour sports car race a couple of weeks ago. What an event. The Daytona track is spectacular - no wonder NASCAR types flock to the place.

I arrived on Friday to watch the GrandAm race. The M3s did well against a gaggle of new Mustangs in GT and the Turner Motorsport boys finished a strong third in ST. The ST win went to TC Klien in a Z4.

I bought a scanner from Racing Radios saturday morning and got a list of frequencies to listen to the chatter between race control, cars, spotters, and crews. It is the only way to go for endurance races. I should have bought one sooner.

The 24 started a few minutes late and the first hours saw the demise of a number of competitors. Sadly both PTG BMWs were out by 9pm. I stayed until about midnight and returned at 9am to watch the finish.

I have driven in a couple of 6 hour endurance races and can't say enough about competitors in the 24. While the drives suffer mightily, it's the mechanics who really bear the load. To watch machanics laying a steaming pools of antifreeze at midnight is truely a sight to behold. Their dedication is endless.

I scored some cool race schwag at the event, including a genuine race used rear wing end-plate from Jacques Villeneuve's 1997 World Championship winning Williams FW19 Formula One race car. It has some crash damage so I believe it is from the Canadian GP where he crashed into the wall hard on lap 3. The only other crash that year was in Monaco. Pictures show that only the front of the car was damaged in that crash.

Catching up

So two months later - the new injectors did not directly fix the problem, but they definately improved things. The actual fix was to install another coolant temp. sensor. The sensor i got from BMW a few months ago was DOA.

It's still not perfect, it can be slow to start at times but I don't have to resort the pulling the fuse anymore.