All Blog Comments

xillentz - Guilty Conscience?

xillentz — Fri, 3 Jul 2009 18:49:35 +0000

my rss didnt update the new post mm.. but interesting. haha.

saru-kun - Honda\'s dream factory, HRC

saru-kun — Fri, 3 Jul 2009 02:24:37 +0000

Honda offers the Civic Type R in a One Make configuration. They probably don't sell it here since there's no series to race it in.

j0kk3rr - Honda\'s dream factory, HRC

j0kk3rr — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:40:31 +0000

unfortunately you don't see a lot of crossover of these ideas and concepts into the passenger car market as far as i know. You mentioned good examples, but the prevailing trend is that manufactures don't really support grassroots efforts (not talking about you Mazda) how much cheaper would amateur racing be if bodies in white were readily available. unfortunately i don't see this changing because we have allowed ourselves to legislate these things out of existence. Companies are most likely scared of what could happen, or maybe it just isn't profitable. Ah well. at least there are companies like crawford that bust their butts with sponsorships and demo cars to keep people racing. sorry for the rant.

KLBO - ASI F430 Project Update - ASI Exhaust

KLBO — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 19:45:28 +0000

That rear end looks amazing. Any sound clips of the exhaust?

Alex - ASI F430 Project Update - ASI Exhaust

Alex — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 07:02:52 +0000

Good stuff Ben. How about this? http://www.flickr.com/photos/20733247@N06/2313559... I think TiRacing should jump on and do something similar.

Section09 - ASI F430 Project Update - ASI Exhaust

Section09 — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 02:28:58 +0000

Wow, is ASI is really taking it there? Looks like they have other Ferrari taking a back seat ight about now. Beautiful stuff!

Jerry S. - The front wing - a timeline

Jerry S. — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 15:46:04 +0000

I think the one thing that riled up so many people about this tC was the fact that they went further out of the box than everyone was and probably still is willing to go (probably due to psychological aesthetic limitations...'even though racing should be all go, f*** show'), and ended up with a time attack force to be reckoned with. You try to put a large wing lower and in front of the vehicle, not only are you impeding much needed cooling of the engine/engine compartment, but you'd also be relying on much less dense air to provide downforce; air that close to the tarmac/low to the ground is significantly hotter than the air that's hitting the tC's front wing. Also have to remember remember, a Formula One chassis can better afford utilizing a low front wing than a time attack car due to the significantly lighter chassis (and thus superb acceleration which aids its thermal displacement), mid engine, and unimpeded cooling ducts for the radiators....to mention the overall limitations set by the rulemaking body for F1.

Jerry - The front wing - a timeline

Jerry — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 15:40:37 +0000

In response to the Ferrari 599XX, this method of using fans to produce immense vacuum under vehicles to improve stability and handling at higher G forces was introduced by formula one teams in the seventies and banned shortly after its introduction.

KLBO - Reader Participation - An Open Invite To Become A Blogger

KLBO — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 06:34:23 +0000

I love how open you are to giving so many people such amazing opportunities. Good luck with the contest, and I am sure you'll make one lucky individual feel very fortunate to work with you and your company.

Kevin - Reader Participation - An Open Invite To Become A Blogger

Kevin — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 02:46:56 +0000

sounds nice. looking forward to some fresh new content from different people! this is what separates The Real JDM from other blogs. keep it up, ben!

Alex - Reader Participation - An Open Invite To Become A Blogger

Alex — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 01:54:45 +0000

Thanks for the kind words Ben (and Section09)...but, don't give up on learning the language. I was 13 when I moved to Japan. I am 32 now, and still learn it....but it's fulfilling. I started learning Japanese FAR before I got into the JDM scene....after that, I truly respected the Japanese concepts and most important, attention to details they put into their work. That's what makes Japanese parts (for the most part) outstanding. Kanji does take practice....no other way around. Buy CD, listen to songs, try to follow the lyrics and slowly build up the basis (Option videos, BMI, Hot Version, Drift Tengoku and many other DVD help a ton too)...go to your local Kinokuniya and start to read as much as you can.....especially if you're trying to learn the technical words related to the automotive world....it really does take time. I have no other suggestion. Good luck.

Section09 - Reader Participation - An Open Invite To Become A Blogger

Section09 — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:23:00 +0000

Preach Alex! I'm also dead tired of the "Hey look at this cool car from Japan (insert curse word)" blogs. I agree with you on pretty much everything you just said! I'm still trying to learn the language but I'm getting there :) This open invite from Ben is very interesting! Good luck to all those who enter!

Ben Schaffer - Reader Participation - An Open Invite To Become A Blogger

Ben Schaffer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:10:14 +0000

Thanks Alex. I'd love to see your work and perhaps work with you if you're interested. It sounds like you have something good to contribute to the world so I'd suggest you try blogging whether it is here or on your own. I think as far as learning Japanese goes, the Kanji is the killer. Hiragana and Katakana is relatively easy to learn but Kanji drove me crazy and led me to quit my pursuit to become fluent in Japanese.

Alex - The front wing - a timeline

Alex — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:09:44 +0000

Anyone noticed how open the area underneath the trunk is? I'm talking about right under the car where the rear swaybar is, in front of the rear bumper. It should be closed up. If the car was given more time and more R&D.....I'm sure someone would have come up with a nice flat pan (diffuser) that flatten that area and makes it smooth for the air to evacuate. Much like MANY true race cars..... That open space creates a lot of turbolence and doesn't allow the air to escape efficently out of the car....in terms, it slows down the car, and creates drag.

Alex - Reader Participation - An Open Invite To Become A Blogger

Alex — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:01:57 +0000

I would also add: It ticks me off that many people are so hell bent about the JDM culture, yet don't speak a word of Japanese (konnichiwa doesn't count). In my eyes it's fundamental to speak the language in order to understand the way the Japanese do things. Why they (Japanese) approach a certain idea in a certain way and not any other ways. I've lived in Japan for over 5 years, I attended high school there....after that when I came here in the US I still visited Japan over 20 times. I still don't consider myself fuent (far from it), but when I read magazines like RevSpeed/ News Mook/ Carboy and the like....I understand the content for the most part, and ponder upon, whereas many of those JDM-fanboy just look at the picture clueless and post it up on their site. How educative is that? Anyway, good luck with your project.

Alex - Reader Participation - An Open Invite To Become A Blogger

Alex — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:58:07 +0000

Wow....I'm excited for you Ben. Lately I've been tossing around the idea to start my own blog. There are several reasons why I've been thinking to give it a shot.....but I've also refrained to do so because this scene is saturated with mediocre (at best) blogs that feature (for the most part) copy/ paste pics about Yahoo-Japanese-auction....and I just don't want to be another JDM blog (I guess I'm a very shy-introverted person). Another reason why I thought I would start a blog is because the massive amount of misleading content/ information I see in those mediocre-sites (mainly do to the fact that most of those people don't speak a word of Japanese).

dan - The front wing - a timeline

dan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:45:50 +0000

You guys gotta realize that rado's car does look rediculous, but he did obliterate the fastest FWD record for that track. As dumb as it looks, i expect to see it done by more tuners now that he broke some records using it

Section09 - The front wing - a timeline

Section09 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:15:02 +0000

Wow that car looks like a toy! haha. I like their front wing integration a lot better than the Scion. The scion looks like it was just slapped together while the Suzuki seems to have been thought out a bit more to flow with the lines of the car. Weird wings non the less :)

Alex - The front wing - a timeline

Alex — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:25:06 +0000

Since the Pikes Peak was brought up: last year Nobuhiro "Moster" Tajima took 1st place with the Suzuki XL-7. The car runs a massive front splitter and large side canards, with a built C32 (NSX engine) and a turbo, pushing close to 1000 hp....that's it. http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2007-suzuki-sport-...

Alex - The front wing - a timeline

Alex — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:23:31 +0000

I heard that that wing was engineered and studied by one of the aerodynamic folks that contributed to develop the Audi R8. They did a really good job by eliminating some 160 lbs from the roof (originally glass) and convereted with dry carbon = excellent. Before going on and adding a wing that big up front I would have replaced the side mirrors with smaller carbon units (craft square?).....cheap and proven. Heck I would even remove the mirrors altogether since the Unlimited class doesn't require side mirrors. They also cut the A-Pillar and rewelded them forward to have a more slanted windshield, decreasing drag = more efficent at high speed. All the front steel bars bolted up front on the bumper and hood add so much drag it's not even funny. There are MANY other methods to reduce drag. Look into the new Ferrari 599XX which has fans that suck up the air underneath the car and eject it out from two big pipes. http://www.flickr.com/photos/20733247@N06/3587701... http://www.flickr.com/photos/20733247@N06/3587461... http://www.flickr.com/photos/20733247@N06/page6/