jimrankin

The new Mustangs (and Camaros) are so much better than the classics they are based on it's almost frightening. I'm really impressed by what a few tweaks can do for these cars on track, and I mean just a few. I was just at Infineon for a track day and while the new Camaros were not represented the Mustang crowd came in hoards and most were truly awsome. It's great to see that the American car makers, at least two of the big three anyway, are taking turning and stoping as seriously as just going fast in a straight line. Have fun with your new toy!!!!

A CEO who comes in and saves a company is certainly worth just about anything he is paid, but there is usually a catch to landing them. Just because someone was sucessful at discerning the problems at the company they saved does not mean that they are going to do the same for yours, and even the CEO's know this and that is why they demand either lucrative guaranteed contracts or Golden Parachutes. My brother in law is friends with a mega billionair who made his money buying underperforming companies who were mostly unprofitable due to overpaid, undertalented or family management. He says only Russia is worse at over layering and overpaying for no talent top management than the USA, and there it's a hangover from the political system and the Mobs having too much interest in private companies. He always seems to find plenty of cheaper more talanted top managers to replace what's there and ties what they are GOING to make with the results they provide. He does well, they do well. Not always the case with how most companies compensate. Seems like Apple has the better idea, keep the company healthy and your stocks will be your big pay.

It's not just us S2K drivers who are always looking for more power without going to a super or turbo charger. The Honda S2000 web pages are jammed with "how can I squeak a bit more power /torque out of it?" and pretty much that is what they seem to be able to manage, a "squeak" more and that's it. Hope your guy comes through Loren because it sure sounds good!

The pricing isn't all that bad considering what I have been looking at. Nice looking too, not that it maters for the track. I'd take scratched and primered if they were the right size. LOL.

I have about three sets of 4X100's for my MINI already of I'd take you up on it.

(1) I already have a set of 15" X 10" Diamond wheels and with a 5MM spacer they clear the calipers but only with a low offset as the depressed center of the wheel shell is much smaller so you can't get a deeper offset than I already have and it really puts the wheels WAY outside the car. Probably OK if you set the suspension up for the added offset but do both track and street so one of the two will suffer. (2) I already went through looking into changing to 5X114 a couple of years ago but not enough room on the hubs to re-drill at 114 and got told it was cheaper/easier to just upgrade the whole rear as parts are not always compatible because Subaru kept changing as the cars got more powerful and heavier so you need to know exactly what you have to start with and I don't, or change it all. (3) I have a really nice set of Team Dynamics 8" & 9" X 17" wheels so if I change to 114 now I will be out the use of them. (4) I probably have a weeks work into web searches of probably every wheel makers sites (God are there some Butt Ugly wheels out there) without finding 15" wheels that make the width/bolt pattern/offset. Rota 15" wheels are all narrow. They make them in the Philipines and getting them to make special bolt patterns or blanks isn't offered. (5) Since changing the pattern would cost as much as the diference between reasonable priced wheels and going to something more costly, and tossing my existing TD 17"'s, looks like it's going to be the "costly and fragile" wheels I was trying to avoid or another set of 17" TD's and some light low profile slicks for the track. One of the reasons for wanting 15" rims is that I have the car set "up" a bit to clear speed bumps and my "California driveway" rolled curbs so the car would get lower for track days when I put the 15"s on. (6) West Texas, just what in H--L does your guy do to get that kind of HP out of a N/A 2.2L Honda on pump gas??? Obviously a lot has to be in the engine management as well as mechanicals. Contract with the Devil? LOL. (7) Now open to advice about which 15" custom/multi piece/etc. wheels anyone has some experience with. Cheap b-----d that I am $700+ a wheel is out.

Just when S2K builders are geting woried about "no more S2000's" coming down the assembly line to end up geting bent around trees someone else wants to use them?

It's probably because I have the 5 X 100 bolt pattern that no one but a couple of Subaru owners seem to share but man, what a limited supply of 8" & 9" X 15" wheels out there for an S2K. Off sets of about 35 front and 48 rear really takes it down to about "nothing" unless you want to spend crazy money. I have managed to pretty much keep it on the pavement in the past but know that if I spend big bucks on some really light weight wheels (meaning fragile also) I'm afraid that long lucky streak might end. I can duplicate the 17" Team Dynamics street wheels I use on track now but really want to get down to 15" and dedicated track tires. Diamond says they can't make them because their wheel rims have too much depressed center (13.3" on 15" wheels) to fit over the Wilwood 12" brakes. Guess it's chuck up the big bucks for some aluminum foil wheels and hold my breath on the corners unless someone has a source I have not found. Thanks for any suggestions or links.

IMHO the Vtec comes in too high "stock" for track use. Since you can control the Vtec to a point with your right foot it's actually better to have it roll in early, not having to stay so reved it leaves you short shifting on complex corner combinations or having to lift to stay out of the not so gentle rev limiter. For straight line use it's OK as the trans is close ratio enough that once your in Vtec in the lower gears you just stay in it between up shifts. Honda has always vied for top honors on milage and emissions so the motor is really great at both (read as it's a bit wimpy) till the Vtec kicks in and you get to party.

I just love the custom divot in the bed for the front tire of the Taurus. I wonder if the cable through the windows and across the dash did some of its own custom work on the ford. LOL. When I visit Mexico I expect to see things like this only no straps, just a few friends holding it in for you and the cop just stopped you for a quick "bite" and you move on.

Seems like a good idea to have the first time drivers, especially the ones with brand new mega HP cars go out with some supervision. I'm only a mid-hack level driver but years ago when I was taking a friends wife for a ride in my MINI at a Thunder Hill track day I had a Big Porsche holding us back. I pointed out the flag man showing him the faster car behind you flag and told her he would let us by. He didn't and pulled way ahead at the next straight. After about three laps of me polishing his rear bumper through the turns and him ignoring the flags one of the corner workers (turn 11) actually came down next to the track and smacked his fender with the flag. He must have done the same thing to someone else as he wasn't in the paddock when we got off track and someone else told me he was flagged off track, picked up his stuff and left. This was in the advanced group. I won't say who was running the track day but I was told that they rely on the applicants being honest about their ability when they allow them to pick the group they want to run. Got a feeling that the P driver had his cars potential in mind when he signed up, not his.I'm sure I could have made mince meat out of my MINI with his car. LOL

I'm running the same tires as RNR and can second his rating. Great predictability and for what is a fairly soft grippy tire it seems to wear forever. RNR is a bit more aggressive than I am and his are still just about where mine are, down almost to the wear bars and not showing much in the way of heat cycling out. If anything they seem to be wearing slower as they get to the wear bars. I just did two seperate Laguna Seca track days with 30Min. on 30Min. off track for the whole of both days and don't think they even came close to losing 1/32" tread depth. You won't be outcornering someone on slicks but then you also won't have to up your credit card limit or change tires to drive home.

I don't quite understand having to stay behind the "instructors car"for the whole session. I could see for maybe 1-2 laps to get up to temp and see what the track was like. Is he just staying on track to show what line to use or is he instructing a student driver? Either way, seems like you would be pulling your hair out following him around, especially when they put the Porsche ahead of you. Did the other Porsche drivers pull him out of the car and beat him with their expensive designer logo covered driving suits for being such a klutz?

Saw the post on monday, too late to catch it on velocity. Anyone sees it coming up again on Directv please send up a flare. Thanks.

I hear all these people complaining that if cell phones in cars are banned that they "can't do their job and that nothing will get done". What I'm really hearing is the core truth that they don't plan ahead and rely way too much on "instant" communications. Yes, the cell phone is really handy and invaluable in making last minute changes, calling in emergencies etc. but mostly I see it being used as a crutch. If the call is so important you "have to take it" then it must be important enough to pull off the highway and direct your full attention to it. I'm just about retired and after 40+, years of working in a business know for constant flux, 30+ of that running my own business I don't see much more in actual productivity for all the cell phone use. Oh, I'll take that back, big productivity gain in "home, wife and child drama". Guess I'll never figure out how I and the rest of the world managed to run businesses, raise productive intelligent children, keep our wives happy and get a world of other shit done without them. Hey, we even managed to build most of silicon valley without them. LOL.

As far as I'm concerned any boost is good boost but both sides, actually three sides, have valid points. No boost: (+) light, no heat, simple. (-) to get a lot of power from a small CC motor you need to spend a lot of money and then it's mostly delivered at high RPM only. Supecharger: (+) no exhaust work and less heat issues, power comes on from idle up and is very linear. (-) added weight, drive belts, robs some power to make power, needs room. Turbocharger: (+) most ultimate high RPM power because less power to run it. more available and can be done for less if you fab your own system and use available "donor" parts. (-) exhaust work, heat issues, room. Power is getting more linear as turbo technology gets better but still has a lack of off idle power and can be lag/peaky even with latest tuning. So, do what you really deep down want because everyone has their own favorite and it might not turn out to be yours. I've has a couple of supercharged cars and love the smooth predictable power, never get a surprise. On the other hand I've driven some turbo cars that will rip the tires off the rims when the turbo spins up to waste gate pressures and if that doesn't make you smile, well, you better check because your probably dead.

The VHT said it was "silver" but came out kind of more of a flat light grey.

I used the VHT 1200 exhaust paint, folowing the directions, clean etc but it won't handle a track day. Looked good after street drives but the first track day it got little heat bubbles and a few flakes at the hottest spots. Before I had to weld up cracking around the muffler it was jet coated and it looked and stayed looking very good, even with a lot of track time. When I finally decide just what I want for my "final" exhaust system I'll probably have it Jet Coated again.

Women don't have "types" of carts, they just take the "most expensive" one in the settlement....LOL

I knew the day you stepped out of mine with the wild and hungry look in your eyes that you would have a 7 before spring. LOL. Great luck on Loren having the nice black S2K available and priced right. RNR and I will be looking forward to seeing you and the S2K at Laguna in a couple of weeks.

Mondo, Don't forget to leave enough room for the stack of servers your going to need to program that stack of supercharger, turbocharger, NO2 and probably some flight controls for when it leaves the ground. LOL.

Every time I see an X Bow all I can think is "Oh, must be a new Transformers movie coming out"! I'm sure that the prople that own them love them like we do our 7's but your right, just not the same as a 7.

Some of my friends still don't understand why I like my 7, think it's kind of a joke as far as being a "car" goes and they are probably right. Even after I take them for a ride in it and do things that they did not think were posible the "real car" part still doesn't compute. Lack of a heater, stereo or even a proper windshield just doesn't get trumped for them by the pure joy of the car itself. You have to look at the 3 wheeled Morgan in kind of the same light. It has all of the drawbacks of a 7, along with not being anywhere near the road or track car, but it does stir up some real feelings of what motoring once was all about and the joy of driving something where it's "all on you". Plus the added bonus of the ability to not just know how it works, but being able to fix it without having a laptop and six million dollars in special tools. Don't get me wrong, fuel injection and electronic engine management are great and I love them in my daily drivers and boats. If you want it to start, always run great and make lots of power without a fuss it's the only way to go, and my Honda powered 7 is all of that. It does though take away some of the experience of "the old days" (my young days)when jetting, distributor advance curves and timing were all kind of hit and miss and "lets try this" till you gained some real world experience. The first time you blew off a 390 Ford with your really well tuned 283 kept you smiling for a week. LOL.

The only point of view on a seven that doesn't look "special" is from the back. Nothing like a "boat tail" rear to really grab some looks. But having said that, the big V twin sitting out front for everyone to look at pretty much comes in as a tie with the back. Go Morgan!

I think it was pointed out by someone on this blog before that the "Morgan" is a replica made somewhere like Oregon and uses an S&S or other aftermarket supplied "Harley" type big V twin. It doesn't really matter because the simple fact it was even close to competative with those skinny front tires and the single rear wheel was eye opening.