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.

Fuel Injectors

I heard from Marren on Monday. They tested my original fuel injectors, then cleaned and rebuilt them and tested them again.

After servicing, they strive for less then 2% deviation between richest and leanest. Bad news, my injectors deviation was just over 10% - skewing to the rich side. Which means that one of my 38 Lb/Hr injectors was flowing over 41 Lb/Hrs.

I also learned that my injectors are made by Lucas. As in "Prince of Darkness" Lucas.
Marren does not have good things to say about Lucas injectors in general, saying that they have a typical deviation of 5-8% even when new and my 10% is typical of older injectors. They strongly recommend replacing them with Bosch injectors, offering a "drop-in" replacement for my Lucas injectors. Bosch typically has a deviation of 2%. Sounds good.

The problem is that the custom ECU software in my car was developed for Lucas injectors. Not just any Lucas injectors, but my 8 Lucas injectors. Bosch are a different design and have a different opening and closing pattern, and a different spray pattern than Lucas injectors. In stock applications the difference may be minor, in a 10.8:1 CR, 6.6 PSI forced induction application the tolerances are a bit tighter and a small difference can cause total melt-down.

The fuel system in my car was originally designed by Dinan Engineering and includes a higher volume fuel pump, adjustable Fuel pressure regulator, lots of braided steel lines, and the injectors. I spoke with them at length about the differences between Lucas and Bosch in terms of static and dynamic flow characteristics, spray pattern, and interoperability. Dinan stands behind their choice of Lucas injectors, claiming the Lucas "Disk" design is technically superior to the Bosch "Pinltle" in terms of opening speed and spray pattern. That said, they felt the a 10% injector to injector deviation is a "bad thing" in a forced induction application.

In addition to Dinan, I also spoke with a number of professional BMW racers, Turner Motorsport, BimmerWorld, EvoSport, and every single one of them recommended Bosch, many stating they would never, ever use any Lucas part in any race car.

There is a lot of conflicting information about this topic, making the decision quite dificult. I finally decided to buy a set of 8 blueprinted and flow-matched Bosch injectors, and hang on to the old ones just in case.

I should have them in a couple of days and will let you know how they work.

Grand Turismo 4

The latest edition of the best PS2 driving simulator on the market, Grand Turismo 4, is almost here. Originally scheduled for US release December 14th, both Target and Toy's-R-Us now have March 15th as the new date. Damn, I hoped it would be here by X-Mas. Over three years in the making, the updated version will provide over 1000 cars and more tracks including a track in the Yosemite valley. For a cool preview of the new version check out Sony's site

To properly experince GT you will need the proper equipment. I use the Logitech "Driving Force" steering wheel/pedal combo. This was state of the art 3 years ago when I started playing GT3. However times change and Logitech has a new wheel just in time for GT4. The "Driving Force Pro" offers a realistic 900 degrees of rotation, just the a real car. Most wheels - including my current wheel only turn 200 degrees. See the wheel here

Just the thing for your X-Mas list.

More Car news

I received two new O2 sensors and a new fuel filter from BavAuto last week and installed them on Saturday. A brisk drive indicated that they didn't resolve the problem. However the work was worth it as I think I did discover the root cause.

When I removed the drivers side sensor it was wet with fuel. This was after sitting for a week. I now believe that the rich condition and the CEL at idle are caused by a leaking fuel injector.

Removing the injectors is a relativly simple job. . The manual recommends completely removing the fuel rail - I didn't remove it - instead leaving the fuel feed and return lines connected and just raising the rail enough to remove the injectors. I tried to depressureize the FI system by removing the fuel pupm fuse and running the car until is dies. Let me tell you that this does not in fact depressurize the system as proven by the gas shower I took removing that first injector.

I removed them and they looked pretty good but I'm going to send them in for rebuild anyway. I chose Marren www.injector.com and sent them out on Tuesday.

San Jose Grand Prix

So San Jose wants a Champ Car Race. As a long time San Jose resident and a current Denver resident – where we have had a champ car race for the last three years – I am afraid things in San Jose are setting up nicely for failure.

Barry Whit has an interesting article in the SJ Mercury news that describes the differences between San Jose’s deal and the deal Denver reached with promoters. While Denver spent zero tax payer dollars on the Denver Grand Prix, San Jose will be on the hook for at least $690k in 2005.

Tom Claridge, avid motorsports fan and owner of Mercedes and Porsche dealerships in Fremont says Champ Car "is as shaky as an Internet stock that never turned a profit,''

Nice.

90 Days (to the minute) to the Melbourne GP

VDO Guage Repair Project

I spent some time this afternoon looking for a little rattle behind the Dinan 3-Guage panel. I have VDO Cockpit series Oil Pressure, Boost, and Volt guages installed. There was a small but noticable rattle behind the Volt guage.

I removed the panel to discover that the case of the volt guage was cracked all the way around the case right behind the bezel. This is caused by the way these guages are mounted. They drop in from the front of the panel and are held in place by a U shaped bracket. This araingment puts a lot of strain on the bezel and the case right behind the bezel. After 9 years and 80k miles the plastic of the guage cast yeilded to the pressure.

I used super glue to repair the case. It worked well except the fumes from the glue created a bit of haze on the inside of the guage. I also noted that the boost guage is showing small cracks in the same area.

I always considered VDO a quality product but after looking at the design of these guages I'm not so sure. I'm looking at Autometer Ultra-lite or SPA Design for replacement should my super-glue solution not work.

Damn Cars

On Wednesday, I got my car back from my mechanic after 2+ weeks (and $2k+) in the shop. The damn thing repays me by refusing to start Friday night. Cars always seem to choose the worst time to do this and mine is no different. After a nice dinner at Maggiano's (a little over-rated but still good) it decided to be dificult.

This is the second time it has done this - the first time was last summer in Vail. It cranks a stumbles but won't quite catch and after a couple of tries it smells strongly of gas. Classic signs of an over rich condition. In Vail, after many tries (and weakening battery) and while awaiting rescue by the Triple A, it occured to me that I could lean it out by reducing fuel pressure - and that I could do that by simply removing the fuse for the fuel pump. I Poped out the fuse and it started right up and ran for 10 seconds until fuel pressure drops to zero. Reinstall the fuse, and it started right up and carried up home without further incident. Kinda McGuiver if I do say so.

This trick worked last night as well. I (apparently incorectly) attributed the Vail problem to alititude. I use fuel injectors that are much larger than stock and have the pulse width about as short as possible during start-up. I would not be suprising to have an overly rich condition at very high (9000 Ft.) altitude. After both incidents, the Check Engine Light illuminated requiring a reset after Vail - last night it went out by itself after a few minutes.

This condition could be caused by a number of things, bad O2 sensors, bad fuel pressure regulator, bad crank position sensor, or stuck fuel injector. Pulling the code indicates a O2 sensor problem. So I will replace the O2 sensors ($119 x2 @ Bavarian Autosport ) and see if things get better, if not I will add an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and underhood fuel pressure guage.

Race of Champions in HD

Earlier today I watched great live coverage of the Race of Champions from Paris on HDNet. Nice Job. Coverage was very good, lots of in car and behind the scenes footage.

The Race of Champions is really cool. It pits the worlds best drivers (F1, IRL, NASCAR, WRC, Etc.) against each other in identical cars on an identical track. Ferarri 360 Modena Challenge, Citroen XSARA and Peugeot 307 Rally cars, and some crazy single seater called a ROC car. These little buggies are powered by an 1100cc motorcycle engine (175HP) and weigh about 1000 lbs.

This year American drivers Jimmy Johnson and Casey Mears tried their hand. Mears fell to former F1 driver Jean Alesi and Johnson to World Rally driver Armin Schwarz - both in the first round.

Current F1 Champ Schumacher vs. Current WRC Champ Loeb in the buggies was excelent - Schumacher by a nose in three races.

The ultimate victor was young finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen who beat World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb twice in the best of three in the final. On his way to the final he also beat David Coultard and Michael Schumacher.

During the event a second contest was held - the Nations cup where drivers representing their home country compete in a best of three test. Johnson/Mears lost 2-1 to Coultard and Scottsman Colin McRae. Team France (Alesi/Loeb) took the Nations Cup crown defeting Team Finland in the final.

It was a very interesting event, made even better by the HD coverage.

Support Colorado's New Racetrack

As Denver area motorsports enthusiasts know we recently lost our local track - Second Creek Raceway. A number of local car clubs have banded together to raise money to buy land and build a replacement.

Please lend whatever resources you can to support them. Read more at www.camplaps.org

Red Bull Racing announce launch date

The Red Bull Racing Team announced today that the launch date of the teams 2005 car, the RB1, will be Monday 7th February 2005 in Jerez (Spain) at the Circuito de Jerez.

The RB1 will be the first car to race under the team’s new ownership by Red Bull, makers of the worlds No.1 energy drink, who bought the Jaguar Racing team in November 2004 from the Ford Motor Company.

Another New Clutch

After 22k miles my most recent experiment in "build a better clutch" failed. This was a Centerforce modified clutch disk used with a factory pressure plate. It was able to withastand the power (496 RW-HP @ 6500 RPM) but fell a little short in longevity - pretty much equaling the factory disk.

Luckily my new machanics at Bimmerhaus had a really interesting solution. They recommended a new Clutch Disk and Pressure Plate from SPEC. I went with their Stage III solution which is described as "the ultimate street/strip solution". It is a beautiful part - I went with the lightweight option where they drill-out the pressure plate. While it was out I added a UUC EVO-III short shifter and stiffer Transmission mounts.

I picked it up today - what a joy. The UUC shifter is fantastic. I had on in my E30 M3 race car and found it quite notchy. Not so with the 6-Speed 540. It is perfect. Short and sweet.

The clutch is still breaking in - it shudders significantly as it starts to engage. I have been assured that this will go away in 500 miles. This will be a LONG 500 miles.

Also - VAC Motorsports now makes underdrive pulleys for M-60 V8s.

I also replaced the "thrust bushings" a notorious weak spot on the E-34 chassis. I had been using the 750iL bushings, they lasted about 15k miles. I replaces them with 95 M5 bushings based on comments by members of the 540i Sport List . Time will tell on both changes.

2005 F1 Teams announced

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, today revealed the 'full' entry list for the 2005 F1 World Championship, seven places remain to be confirmed for next year - one at Williams F1, and both slots at Red Bull Racing, Jordan and Minardi.

At Williams, Antonio Pizzonia and Nick Heidfeld are the current candidates for the second seat, while at Red Bull Racing, Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi and David Coulthard are all said to be in consideration, along with Heidfeld, should he be rejected by Williams.

BAR third driver Anthony Davidson is also 'floating around' hoping to secure a drive, following his impressive performances this season during the Friday practice sessions.

Jordan meanwhile is testing Christjan Albers and Robert Doornbos this week at Jerez, and either could line-up at the Silverstone based squad in 2005, should they impress.

Minardi tested last week at Misano, running a number of rookies, who will be hoping they did enough to get a chance at F1 - namely Pastor Maldonado, Patrick Friesacher, Will Power, Will Davison and Albers.

2005 FIA Formula One World Championship entry list:

1. Michael Schumacher
Germany
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

2. Rubens Barrichello
Brazil
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

3. Jenson Button
Britain
Lucky Strike BAR Honda

4. Takuma Sato
Japan
Lucky Strike BAR Honda

5. Fernando Alonso
Spain
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

6. Giancarlo Fisichella
Italy
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

7. Mark Webber
Australia
BMW WilliamsF1

8. TBA
TBA
BMW WilliamsF1

9. Kimi Raikkonen
Finland
West McLaren-Mercedes

10. Juan Pablo Montoya
Colombia
West McLaren-Mercedes

11. Jacques Villeneuve
Canada
Sauber Petronas

12. Felipe Massa
Brazil
Sauber Petronas

14. TBA
TBA
Jaguar Racing* [Cosworth]

15. TBA
TBA
Jaguar Racing* [Cosworth]

16. Jarno Trulli
Italy
Panasonic Toyota Racing

17. Ralf Schumacher
Germany
Panasonic Toyota Racing

18. TBA
TBA
Jordan Grand Prix [Toyota]

19. TBA
TBA
Jordan Grand Prix [Toyota]

20. TBA
TBA
Minardi

21. TBA
TBA
Minardi

* Change of name applied for. Team will be known as Red Bull Racing in 2005.

Crank it up!

This is the innagural post to my Internal Combustion blog. This is a forum for discussion anything related to cars, bikes, racing, or anything else fast and dangerous.