Cars, Man

[Chauncey Gardener]

 

[TPA]

Naples, Florida swamp buggy races! I've been to them a few times. I've always thought it was totally out of character for Naples, FL, but it's quite popular.

 

[Monocrom]

There's a bit of Red Neck in everyone.

 

[Chauncey Gardener]

There's a bit of Red Neck in everyone.

"I'M NOT A RED NECK, I'M A HILLBILLY!"

- Yelled every Hillbilly.

 

[AZPops]

There's a bit of Red Neck in everyone.

 

[TPA]

Two more redneck covers:

 

[Chauncey Gardener]

 

[Monocrom]

Too bad you can't get it as a gasoline-powered vehicle at all.

 

[orbital]

Too bad you can't get it as a gasoline-powered vehicle at all.

+

there's no transmission in it

 

[Monocrom]

+

there's no transmission in it

Another excellent reason not to buy.

 

[dc38]

+

there's no transmission in it

you could always do what that crazy tesla modder did and put a traditional engine in it lol

 

[orbital]

+

2020 Acura RDX A-Spec can be found for around $25k (reasonable miles) leather interior
272 hp / 280 torque 10-speed (paddle shift) or normal mode

 

[TPA]

So. I had to exercise the cars. Like anything mechanical, they don't age well if they're just sitting.
It's a tough life, but someone has to drive them...

Even if it is a 20 year old jalopy:

That's the nice thing about cars like this. It can be 20 years old and still shows well. Yes, 33,245 original miles, that's all. It's been garage kept all its life. At work it's parked in a garage. At home it's parked in a climate controlled (temp + humidity) garage. When you open the door, it still smells like a brand new car.

The not-so-nice part: maintenance costs AND fuel costs. I drove it for most of last week and got 14MPG. Granted, my right foot tends to be a bit heavy when driving it compared to my more economical cars. I put 19.6 gallons into it yesterday. and it has a 24 gallon tank. Eek.

Fun fact: The interior on this was based off my 2004 Infiniti M45. Notably the interior colour scheme. Infiniti went cheap when building the M45, so all dash & centre consoles and steering wheels were black, no matter the interior colour. It's why you'll see I chose the black dash & steering wheel for this car. The darker dash top also helps reduce reflections. Similarly, the light coloured carpet in the Infiniti tended to get dirty, so I went with the black in this car. If you see a light coloured interior Bentley, it'll traditionally have a steering wheel which matches the seat colours or wood. Dash upper will be the same as the seats as well. In cars produced after this one, Bentley started spec'ing out ones like this. Likewise, I had the custom pillows made for the rear seats using the remnant leather from the interior. These are now a 'standard' option from Bentley.

 

[Chauncey Gardener]

That's the most beautiful jalopy I've ever seen.

 

[orbital]

+

100mph straight up on the speedometer is strong TPA ^^

Bentley raced in the GT class of various series.
the engine note was very different, similar to Yamaha 'big bang' in the it fired two cylinders at a time per bank.
... this gave a extremely grunty sounding note.

The car was waaay faster than it sounded

 

[TPA]

Many years ago, I had the privilege of driving it on the track at Daytona. Sadly, 100MPH was the max they allowed us to go. I actually don't remember what top speed on this car is. As much as I'd like to see it, the consequences if something went wrong are too high for me. I stick to the skies if I want >100mph.

 

[Galane]

So. I had to exercise the cars. Like anything mechanical, they don't age well if they're just sitting.
It's a tough life, but someone has to drive them...

Even if it is a 20 year old jalopy:

View attachment 94551

V8 or W12? According to the Car Wizard the V8 is much easier and lower cost to work on, and it's not that much less powerful.

 

[TPA]

6-Liter Twin-turbo W12. Something close to 550HP which was good for its time.

 

[pnwoutdoors]

Many years ago, I had the privilege of driving it on the track at Daytona. Sadly, 100MPH was the max they allowed us to go. I actually don't remember what top speed on this car is. As much as I'd like to see it, the consequences if something went wrong are too high for me. I stick to the skies if I want >100mph.

Don't blame you in the least.

Twenty-five years ago, I had a Mazda Miata with some modest suspension improvements, but it was factory stock otherwise. Lived in a place with serious mountain roads, canyons and drop-offs, ditches and rivers, and all sorts of boulders and critters in the road at unexpected times. Wanted to better-know how to avoid such messes, if at all possible.

So I did a couple dozen instructor-led track days (on a moderately twisty course). Done in order to push my car sufficiently hard so I'd know how it would behave in quick (even severe) maneuvers. Even in that Miata, top speeds hit about 105mph. But the car wasn't designed to be doing hard cornering at 100mph speeds. In the ~40-70mph range (and slower), it could be stellar, hanging with many very fast and competent cars. At those speeds, though, the fat cement walls surrounding the track's "danger" zones began to loom large. Had visions of getting the "stink eye" from the insurance guy, assuming I'd even bother with that discussion. Can't imagine a 4ft shorter Miata and a pitiful look on my face would go far.

Still, the training saved my bacon on more than a few occasions. Worthwhile, on one's "stock" street vehicle and typical tires, if only to know what to expect and how to handle it. Doesn't guarantee anything, that's for sure, but it can help.

Been to Laguna Seca, Thunderhill and a few others I can't recall anymore. Good times.

Which reminds me. Somewhere I've got a bunch of old photos of races at Laguna Seca. Out of countless hundreds of pics, there were a few that didn't turn out half bad. I'll have to dig those up.

 

[orbital]

Don't blame you in the least.

Twenty-five years ago, I had a Mazda Miata with some modest suspension improvements, but it was factory stock otherwise. Lived in a place with serious mountain roads, canyons and drop-offs, ditches and rivers, and all sorts of boulders and critters in the road at unexpected times. Wanted to better-know how to avoid such messes, if at all possible.

So I did a couple dozen instructor-led track days (on a moderately twisty course). Done in order to push my car sufficiently hard so I'd know how it would behave in quick (even severe) maneuvers. Even in that Miata, top speeds hit about 105mph. But the car wasn't designed to be doing hard cornering at 100mph speeds. In the ~40-70mph range (and slower), it could be stellar, hanging with many very fast and competent cars. At those speeds, though, the fat cement walls surrounding the track's "danger" zones began to loom large. Had visions of getting the "stink eye" from the insurance guy, assuming I'd even bother with that discussion. Can't imagine a 4ft shorter Miata and a pitiful look on my face would go far.

Still, the training saved my bacon on more than a few occasions. Worthwhile, on one's "stock" street vehicle and typical tires, if only to know what to expect and how to handle it. Doesn't guarantee anything, that's for sure, but it can help.

Been to Laguna Seca, Thunderhill and a few others I can't recall anymore. Good times.

Which reminds me. Somewhere I've got a bunch of old photos of races at Laguna Seca. Out of countless hundreds of pics, there were a few that didn't turn out half bad. I'll have to dig those up.

+

Miata is a drivers car, it's balanced & you can drive the snot out of it.
Spec Miata racing there is always like 80 cars out there, crazy amount of Miatas..
the cars are mostly 'stock' but the racing is always a blast to watch.