Austin David

We're all doing a terrible job representing the southeast. The following is a proposal, all of these are editable -- click to sign in (free for life), make copies to change stuff. Overview: Blowing Rock -> Cherokee -> Asheville https://route7.austindavid.com/route/QlYEaMKAeTmv 1 day to gather, 2 days in the mountains, 1 day home. Day 1: go to Blowing Rock. Resorts are cheap during the week... or at least, they were in the "before times" when I used to travel a lot. Wilmington route for SENC: https://route7.austindavid.com/route/fro05kDTO8i6 Charleston route for me: https://route7.austindavid.com/route/DaxxB9cfN1zG Greenville route for uglyfast et al: https://route7.austindavid.com/route/DgsB6zLJjAh8 Day 2: ... is a lot of BRP still closed? https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm -- seems to be some significant closure between blowing rock -> asheville. Blowing Rock -> Cherokee: https://route7.austindavid.com/route/9vPhadSdsw_U Day 3: Cherokee -> Asheville: https://route7.austindavid.com/route/MmF50JNmMRLf There's room for Deal's Gap in here. I've never driven it, I hear mixed things. Day 4: Asheville -> home Wilmington for SENC: https://route7.austindavid.com/route/-O6uPcRau8GP Charleston for me: https://route7.austindavid.com/route/rJ-0jxW25_N0 Again, just a proposal. I'm tired of working and tired of looking at my garage.

Try just making a route with route7 and (I assume on your phone) click "Navigate full route". That sends the first 10 waypoints directly to Maps, just a big 10-point URL. Maps will automatically route turn-by-turn to the first waypoint, and when you get there it starts to the next. I did it yesterday with Android Auto, it was surprisingly easy. Exporting GPX & importing to Beeline is like 13 clicks total. Also very easy, but not quite as easy as the one-click Maps kickoff.

Can users see other people's public routes? Not implemented. I haven't spent much time on this feature, other than the distinction between "public" and "unlisted". Right now there's no exposure or search for the "public" ones. The primary use-case is "past a link in the forum", which works for both public and unlisted routes. How would you expect "discovery" to work? search, browse, pins-on-map ? (any of those should be ~easy) Can users import routes from other sources? Not yet... how would it work? GPX-style import should be super easy, at least for coarse GPX without a lot of waypoints. If you have an idea or application in mind, happy to discuss. re: vibecoded: it's currently private, I'm tryin to decide what to do about it. Are you thinking to make a Beeline-like WatchOS app with turn-by-turn? Gemini says: Because it's a Google platform, Google Maps is deeply integrated into Wear OS right out of the box and gives you full turn-by-turn navigation, including a live, interactive map view on your wrist, standard text directions, and haptic turn alerts. It also works fully standalone if you have a LTE/cellular model. I assume you want to simplify the experience somehow, with more like the Beeline arrow and a distance to next turn?

https://route7.austindavid.com/ is open and free to use. Cost-modeling says "always free" but usage will help tell if we approach any API usage above the free tier.

I was gonna ask about a "better" app for planning rides, but it got away from me and I just made something. Vibecoded, anyway. The app itself is just planning; actual turn-by-turn routing is Maps or Beeline (or anything that can use GPX export). Who wants to help me test and share feedback? The concept is a fairly straightforward maps (Google maps) experience to add a series of waypoints to build a long route. Once the route is set up, it can be shared, edited, or navigated. Smaller routes (<10 waypoints) can go straight into Google Maps. Each leg from here -> Waypoint can be navigated (click -> send to maps). The whole route can be exported, then imported into Beeline or anything that reads GPX. For Beeline it's a few clicks to create a new ride from the export. Mobile experience is the same, works surprisingly well on a handset. The sample route below should be viewable here: https://route7-prod.web.app/route/Bj6Gm4GZKw3U Message me a gmail address and I can whitelist for editing.

Observatory? The backside is great. Y'all have such great roads...

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking; I've got an NC getting suspension now, if I can confirm it's "about right" then it'll save me $150 and half a day. I was expecting my dedeon rear end to be pretty consistent. Maybe I should check my neighbor's live axle charger and see if it has any "toe".

Mine came in over the weekend. It's the "G2" which has some sort of internal hardware and runs an app on my phone. I've reached out for some support, hopefully will hear back during the week. I did a check of my wife's car, which has unknown alignment but I assume it's OK. The numbers weren't crazy, but I didn't save them. IIRC it was something like -0.25 toe front + rear, but very precise-looking values like -0.18* and -0.37* The app has a few modes including a 4-point and 6-point check, plus a thrust angle which uses a body reference. The body reference I chose was the sill where the scuttle hits the "door". I'll assume my car is still square, it's never touched anything. The rear is a dedeon with machined plates, so I further assume the toe is controlled very precisely, tho thrust angle could be off slightly. note that in the photos below the "+1.00*" is a configuration I added, it doesn't actually mean anything for the measurements. here's #1 and #2. The pictures look alarming but the actual values are small. Note that the car didn't move at all during these two measurements, I just repeated the same test twice. The procedure involves holding the phone+device flat (the diamond in the center is your level reference), then hold it against the reference point on the body or the wheel. One of those will blink saying which one it wants next, you align it then tap to confirm. It sends you back and forth a few times to get the measurements before showing the result. I do expect some toe in here, and I think it's underestimating twice. As this is a dedeon I don't feel like toe has much room to wear -- it's steel or aluminium all the way around. I also did the "6 point" check for toe front+back, twice: again, the car wasn't moved between tests. This time the rear toe is more consistent but the front varied a lot. I have not tried to independently measure in 15k miles but I expect the front to be toed in a little. I'd already reached out to the team to see if they could help with the square-check. I don't know if a good set of thrust values would really help here... maybe? My dedeon doesn't have any thrust angle adjustment, I think the two swingarms will constrain that angle. At best I could try and shim the assembly left or right but I don't think the gyraline (as currently provided) can account for that. And It was shimmed + measured when I built it... The above 6-point rear toe check is encouraging, but the fronts and the thrust angle seem ... variable. I'm not sure what the expected accuracy is. I assume something like 0.5 or 0.25 degrees, just based on the swing in the numbers below. But if that's the case I have a front that may or may not be neutral. Based on the very obvious inside wear on both tires after 17k miles I assume they're toed in just fine. I have not yet attempted camber measurement. Again with the dedeon I expect the rears to be very precisely constrained. The fronts were aligned when new and with no accidents and mostly grocery and road trips, I expect the fronts to be about -1.5*.

And sun, and keeps the heat in for the winter. Zip up and you get weather protection too

If you click around a lil you'll find some pics and writeups about the other setups -- @JohnCh and I have traded a few, for instance. Your setup is different than our Duratec-based systems. For the sake of future readers, could you post a couple more photos while you have it open, and of course share your experience when it's all sorted?

Any idea how fuel is getting from the filler all the way forward to your can? From the photo I assume the evap line is coming from the very tip top of your filler neck, then plumbed forward to the evap can. Then usually a purge valve between the evap can and your intake manifold. "fuel in the manifold" is clearly not ideal. In typical operation I understand that the purge valve would open to pull vapors out of the canister, which USUALLY is not a big deal. But if you're getting enough fuel in there to fill that canister and overflow into a catch can (then overflow THAT), something seems not right? The fuel tank needs to have some ventilation -- fuel expands and contracts, and as you empty the tank something needs to let some air back in. I'm pretty sure I have a vent in my filler neck up near the top, but I don't have a photo handy. Either way, I'd want to be sure I understood why fuel was coming out of the tank and down that line; if you block or otherwise vent the same tube that's delivering overflow to your evap can, it will just deliver overflow to your floor or something.

My 2021 doesn't have an evap system at all. Is there a local emissions requirement for it?

I didn't want them embedded - the editor asked me. WOT is hard to record on public roads, it's a very short lived event

Traffic was trafficky but I did get some representative noises for you. The first one is from a stop and less cluttered with wind noise. For all these my phone was in the cockpit and got decent audio without being overwhelmed with wind and LSD clunking. https://youtube.com/shorts/axEG7ke-TZw https://youtube.com/shorts/QmZrpB6WMS8 https://youtube.com/shorts/e78X_kXYZ2s WOT at 7k+ in 3rd is something to behold. I'm not sure I have equipment capable of capturing that experience. My intake is on the left about 4' from my face, I dunno how much difference that would make. When there's a jersey barrier on my side I can hear the valves, on the right I can hear the exhaust. In fairness to my LSD I only really notice in parking lots. Once there's any throttle or speed it falls below the noise. BUT! It carries perfectly through a GoPro mounted to the roll bar. All this is to say you should really be working on your CFO to plan this project. In order, I'd do aero screen, ITBs, 13" wheels, then the half hood. Also double check the 13 profile, I didn't think they were so much shorter. You get a lot more sidewall, which (I am told) makes for a smoother ride. If you need I could attempt to measure my clearance at the sump but it's probably under 4".

my understanding is the clunk tells you it's working! it's the "everything is OK" alarm. 17k miles, still as loud as ever

If you have clutches you'll know it on every turn, clunk clunk clunk

it just started raining but if your CFO is receptive to gentle nagging I highly recommend the ITB route. My official review is "I can't believe they sell a Caterham with a single TB". I'll try to grab some audio when I'm out next. Yes, I have the ME221 running well. It has a "spark scatter" which can drop idle a little, so cold starts are great and hot idle is great too. If you do go the "new ECU" route I can't stress enough the value of the CAN gauge. I can keep AFR, TPS, RPM, and trim all on the screen at once so I can watch the tune even if the laptop is not around. I have a wet sump. It has touched a few things but not super hard -- always speed bumps. Squirrels and stuff aren't a problem. I would prefer more clearance, but I also like not touching my brake for right turns so ...

put one wheel in sand and goose it. you'll know pretty quick. I got ITBs from AT power, they're fantastic. Double-check the "pull" direction for the throttle hookup! I had to put in a new ECU, which was a /project/ but the outcome is fantastic. If you're gettin 13" wheels, consider 13x8 in the back. They look better, and once you get those ITBs tuned it'll help.

NICE. Have you figured out if it's an LSD yet? ;-)

Nice! The design looks like you could scale it in x/y to accommodate a smaller or larger passthrough

y'alls BaT stories make me feel very naiive.

I just participated in my first BaT auction (did not win), so maybe I'm just figuring it out. Doesn't BaT pre-load the fee on your first bid? Is it possible to back that out with "some story?" I assume they'd also have to get a new account after some small number of mysterious wins + backing-out...

maybe the minivan has 800 HP? that would explain it. I agree, that 200hp does not seem at all like what I drive to the grocery store, where pinning even 3rd is an absurdly short exercise. It does sound good on the video, tho

Quick meetup with another owner in town, I don't think he's on this forum. The BRG with wings is so nice...

My alignment guy is 5 hours away and I have more than one car But it's 80% toy, like the rest of my garage