Unlock technology with Maruti’s new offspring, branded as Swift Dzire LDi, named after the desire to create a passion for riding. Designed by Maruti, this car has striking physical traits that are sure to woo you. Maruti Swift Dzire is a new term for ‘a great pickup diesel car’. The fuel consumption is highly economical, giving more mileage in fewer liters.



This scientific contraption has a common rail multi injection fuel system at 1400 bar. The detailed technical specifications of this are 1.3L, DOHC, DDiS. The calculated engine power is 75 PS at 4000 rpm. Truly a power engine, it is the best-suited family car. Truly a power engine, it is a best-suited family car.



The interiors comprise cabin light in 3 position, cup holders; positioned to be of use, that is 2 in front while 1 on the rear. The door knob is designed circular and highlights a sporty look. Sun visors are located on both sides. There is a ticket holder and a tripmeter, the one that is digi visual and a lower console box. The back seats have a single folding ability for determining its spaciousness as per the needs.



The air conditioning however, is the one that requires manual settings. There is no automated remote-control access to this comfort element in your otherwise comfortable vehicle. The space allotted for legs at the rear seats is not all that spacious. Overall, the mileage cannot be called superb, but is definitely a good deal for a family car.



. Dzire is desirable for the cost-efficient customers. Efficient parallelism is maintained in the context of cost and good performance, the vehicle executes. It is highly recommended for people who want satisfactory performance of an engine in a price that is apt to the qualities it has to offer.

To know more about Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire LDi

From Sloting Plus:

SLPL 2400 red is the same than old aluminium ( 0,22g ) EXCEPT color and reduced friction
( 6,20 mm diameter x 3,24 mm wide )
SLPL 2401 purple is more thin ( 019g ) with M2 screw and not Sloting Plus M2.5
( 6,20 mm diameter x 2,48 mm wide )
SLPL 2402 gold is in thin brass ( 0,54g ) with M2 screw for applications where more weight than aluminium is necessary
( 6,20 mm diameter x 2,48 mm wide )
SLPL 2403 purple aluminium ( 0,38g ) is for axles 3 mm, particularly 1/24 . Screw M3
( 7,15 mm diameter x 3,65 mm wide )

This Peugeot is back in stock in the US at REH Distributors.

Sick yesterday - missed out on all the fun.

Snow today - s'no chance at any fun. Except pancakes. And coffee. Which ain't bad, but still...the trainer?? At least Jack had a great time out in the park with all the other kids...



What sweet, bitter irony - seeing how much I idolize Hampsten for his Gavia win. Lame. Joseph Heller couldn't have written it more heartrendingly hilarious.

Goddammit.

This video made me cry laughing because of the response of the guys taking he video. Apparently this guy can ride his motorcycle and text at the same time without holding on to the handle bars. Thats funny.

Here is a great video about these Japanese Decotora Trucks I posted some time ago. The pictures are great but you really need to seem them live and this video does them justice. They explain the history of how all this got started and they interview some of the truckers and artists who help create these amazing works of art.

These three Japanese motorcycle riders are using the sound of their bikes to jam in unison. Its by is by far the craziest thing I have ever seeing come out of Japan. Can any one tell me what this is about, its really pretty cool???

I don't know why but this Arab Kid Bike Drifting video is really funny.

A link to an article in Spanish about layoffs at Fly.

via Gizmoto

Honda created an amazing commercial to promote the upcoming launch of a second-generation Insight. They drove a ton of their hybrid cars out into the desert lined them up and created spectacular pixel animation using the vehicles’ headlights. These hybrid art cars are amazing but cant imagine the logistical nightmare it took to create this Headlight Pixel Art

This is for all the small car aspirants waiting for a bit of punk to kick in. Hyundai is out with its five door two-boxed hatchback starrer Hyundai i10. The car stands out from the crowd through its top notch design, pompous interior and safety concerns. Although i10 has been slotted between Santro and Getz it has got its own set of forte. Adding up to the surprise is the fact that India would be the sole production hub for Hyundai i10.


The up-market interiors including a rear spoiler, leather wrapped steering wheel, leather wrapped gear knob, keyless entry system and a stereo would surely give you the kingly feel. And with the foldable rear seats you won’t ever lack space no matter what it’s needed for. Other high end attributes of the car include fog lamps in the front bumper, alloy wheels and rear wiper.


Priced around 4lakh i10 comes in four variations namely D-Lite, Era, Magna and D-auto. Code named Pa, i10 will replace autos prime (santro in India) but in India it will coexist with Santro. The i10 stands in competition with Chevrolet spark, Maruti Suzuki zen estilo, Maruti Suzuki WagonR and Tata Indica xeta. But with the added expertise Hyundai would surely win the race this time. Thus if you are on your way to buy a small car this is a must consider option for you as it is surely a well budgeted car for all that it offers.

To know more about hyundai i10

Guess which is the ride down to UIC...and when the peak power output test started?

The new Distributor for Austalia for SCX is B & B Hobbies Pty Ltd

t: 1300 857 883
f: (02) 8569 1838
e: frikkie@bbhobbies.com.au

Unit 4, Dural i Park, 280 New Line Road, Dural, NSW, 2158

w: www.bbhobbies.com.au

I'm back.

Thanks to my upstairs neighbor for opening up his wireless router while I wait for Comcast to get out here. (having a hard time writing - my fingers are still stiff from the ride...isn't it almost April? Dammit. Warm up already.)

Well, the bees ended up with the boy after all. I got the the burrito this time, and here I am, in my new place, with Jack, warming up and satisfied after a fun first Turin ride, very early in the season for me, after a MHD (mental health day) spent unpacking and grocery shopping.

The new digs and my living situation are astoundingly good, almost too good to be true. Knock on cyberspace - I hope the economic situation begins to improve soon. A layoff now would be catastrophic - like when Homer Simpson gets the job at the bowling alley and then starts having kids. So since nothing lasts forever, I'm going to make the most of this chapter of my life.

I woke up this morning at 5:15, and the thought of getting home at 8pm to the sight of all those unpacked boxes nearly made me cry. So I dialed up my boss right then and there and said, "I need a day to myself, to get my shit together. And get it together I did.

Even with his first two week days here in Independence Park spent largely alone during the day, Jack has died and gone to Doggie Heaven. And this morning must have been like getting to see the Hydrant himself. We spent almost an hour in the park, on the tennis courts with Luna and Pee Wee and the others. He showed me he could fetch, and get along with everyone. (I used to blame every chewed DVD and book on him back in Logan, but there's been nary a one when I've gotten home. Must've been that "other dog."




I called my dad, stepdad, brother, made a huge breakfast, unpacked every box, did three loads of laundry, listened to NPR all day and nearly finished the bike room. It's got a bit more work needed, after Jack decided to go "finger-painting" in there last night after Mark had just finished laying down the coat on the floor.

Oops.



Then it was time to get dressed for the Midweek Gem, the Turin ride. Took my new, generous upstairs neighbor with me. After a flat change (in four minutes, Randy! - still long enough for Daley and Smitty roll by and laugh) at Custer and Main - we were off on my first Turin ride of the year.

I have a power test at the Dugas lab, UIC, tomorrow so I was hoping to just get my prescribed three hours at pace in. The group broke up however just after Ravinia on Smitty's flat tire, and I rolled with a 2CCer and a guy a Mapei jersey after turning around at the Metra crossing in Highwood. The gates were down, and it was getting dark, so I just turned around. We all regrouped however at Green Bay when Smitty took a long hard pull, putting all of us at about 85% when Daley launched off the front as the road angles south. Have fun with that. I rejoined at the Scott turn and the same thing went down on Sheridan, into Keniworth.

So I am home, and am eating dinner. It's a stir fry concoction, with chow fun rice noodles, some mustard and soy, with peas, carrots, onion, and topped with salmon fillet and some Rooster sauce. I got a book on wok cooking years ago, and it's really made it easy to improvise with Asian cooking. As long as you have some basic ingredients and a little creativity, you ready to go.



It's time for bed. I really needed a day like this today...I feel normal again.

Sorry for the lack of posts...just moved and finally have internet access back.

Turin ride tonight, then making a salmon stirfry...will get a good hump day catch up in over dinner.

via Splunch
Have you ever had to get up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and on the way you stubbed your pinkie toe on a piece of furniture because you went out in the dark?. Now there is a life saving pinkie toe devise that will enable you to walk far in the dark called the "Cozy Car Slippers". These not only keep your feet warm but have working head lights to illuminate your path as you head out half a sleep.

SLOT MINIAUTO 54 – APRIL

Lotus is the great protagonist of the magazine in April. Lotus Exige of Ninco, Ostorero’s Lotus 79 and Lotus 28 (Lotus Cortina) of Scalextric have an interesting story inside. In addition, the track test of the new SCX Ferrari 599 GTB, Peugeot 908 HDI FAP of Scalextric, AutoArt Jaguar D, and the new Citroën 15-6 of Hobby Classic.
The Triumph Spitfire Le Mans by Ocar also has their role.
It also contains an interview with David Cosculluela of Ninco, explaining the new XLot reasons.
This issue informs the readers, the model chosen to offer to subscribers. A great surprise!
(More information on www.revistasprofesionales.com)


SLOT MINIAUTO 54 - ABRIL

Lotus es la gran protagonista de la revista del mes de Abril. El Lotus Exige, de Ninco, Lotus 79 de Ostorero y Lotus 28 (Lotus Cortina) de Superslot tienen un reportaje destacado. Además la prueba en pista del nuevo Ferrari 599 GTB de Scalextric, el Peugeot 908 HDI FAP de Superslot, El Jaguar D de AutoArt, y el nuevo Citroën 15-6 de Hobby Classic.
Los Triumph Spitfire de Le Mans realizados por Ocar tambien tienen su protagonismo.
También se recoge una entrevista a David Cosculluela, de Ninco, explicando las razones del XLot.
En este número se da a conocer a lo lectores, el modelo escogido para regalar a los suscriptores. ¡Una gran sorpresa!
(Más información en www.revistasprofesionales.com)

Aston Martin V8 Vantage N400
Originally uploaded by fastwallpapers

If I had a dream car, it would have to be the Aston Martin V8 Vantage! What a sharp looking car.

If you go shopping in a car like this, where do you park? Do you park at the end of the parking lot and walk, do you drop someone at the door and come back to get them, or what? I see people with much less expensive cars that walk a quarter mile after parking at the very end of the parking lot, but this just gives a target for people to aim carts at.

I guess if I had a car such as this, I could afford to have someone do my shopping for me. Just wondering?

The Tatas' Rs 1-lakh car seems to be posing a challenge to two-wheeler major Bajaj even before it is on the road. A study has indicated the two wheeler sales are sure to see an erosion once Ratan Tata's dream Rs 1-lakh car is launched. This indeed has made India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer Baja Auto to seriously consider entering the passenger car market.

Nano is an attractive and cute 4-door car .The car is made for five people to be seated and the engine of the car is located at the back of the car. Initially the car is launched in three colours- Red, White and Light green. The car will also be coming in two versions one is the standard version that is marked by the single color interiors, two spoke steering wheel and vinyl trimmed seats. Even though the car doesn't belong to the luxury range, Tata plans a luxury version for Nano with dual color interiors, three spoke steering wheel, fabric seats and body color bumpers .The luxury version will also be equipped with stylized steel wheels, fog lamps, central locks, power windows and A/C engine management system with heater.

To know more about Tata Nano

Cathedral of Junk in Austin Texas @ Yahoo! Video

iJustine internet sensation extraordinaire did a funny piece on the Cathedral of Junk in Austin Texas. A crazy structure made up of you guessed it, junk. The reason its here is because I caught a glimpse of a bunch car parts on Cathedral of junk and because it closely related to art cars in general. Some people with art cars also have gone into to the art house business as well. Anyways its a pretty cool and funny video check it out

A link to a few shots of the new SCX Fiat Abarth 1000 I shot recently. This car is lots of fun to drive no-mag even with the stock tires.

instructions for how to cash in your car insurance
Originally uploaded by jasoneppink

So your behind on your car note, take the plunge and cash in on your Car Insurance! That is a JOKE of course. I just thought it was a funny sign.

I like signs because it makes me think I can draw; stick people, stick cars, etc. I can do that! Maybe I should apply for Graphic Road Sign Artist, it even sounds important.

MORE FUNNY ROAD SIGNS:
Wits End Funny Road Sign
Mountain Lion Funny Road Sign
You Will Never Get To Work On Time Road Sign
Stupid Road Sign
Funny Message Road Sign
Devil Professor Road Sign?

Be sure and check out these other Car Salesman Jokes and Car Lot Humor;
Car Salesman Joke; Eyeglasses
Green Pea (New Car Salesman) Prank
Car Salesman Joke-Flying Cars
Car Salesman Joke-A Little Tail
Service Department Joke
Mexican Joke
Transmission Joke

March 21, 2009 -- Sebring, Florida -- The Flying Lizard No. 45 and No. 44 Porsches finished their sixth consecutive Sebring race fourth and fifth in GT2, respectively. The twelve-hour race was another contest of will and endurance: nearly half of the starting cars were no longer running by the end of the race.

With Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 45 starting second and Seth Neiman in the No. 44 starting 13th on the GT2 grid, both Porsches ran into trouble within the first ten minutes. The clean race start quickly turned ugly for the Lizards when on the fourth lap the No. 45 was hit by another GT2 car, causing rear suspension damage to the No. 45. The Lizard crew made the repair in the pits but the lengthy stop dropped the No. 45 from third to 13th. Meanwhile, the No. 44 had its own issues with an early race spin which sent it back to the pits for an unscheduled pit stop and fresh tires.

Over the next 10 hours, both Lizard Porsches cycled through their drivers, who patiently worked their way up from the back of the field. The 12-hour race had only three cautions, making it more difficult to find opportunities to regain lost laps or gain time in the pits. But by hour 10, the No. 45 Porsche was in fourth (Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Marc Lieb) and the No. 44 (Neiman, Darren Law, and Johannes van Overbeek) had recovered to fifth, with the No. 45 (Marc Lieb) having set the fastest race lap of 2:02.494.

At hour 10, the No. 62 Risi Ferrari was in the lead (having led most of the race) and the No. 95 Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing Ferrari was in second. The No. 21 Team PTG Panoz in third. The No. 45, with Marc Lieb at the wheel, was running a faster pace than the No. 21, and worked over the next hour to overtake the No. 21, putting pressure on in the corners, but losing ground on the long straights and to traffic. Taking an opportunity to pass, Lieb moved past the No. 21, but was not able to complete the pass, and the two cars made contact, with the No. 45 spinning into the tire wall. Although the radiators were not damaged and Lieb was able to make it back to the pits, the crew had to adjust bodywork, replace all four tires, but then was unable to fuel the car because of the damage to the hood. With Joerg Bergmeister behind the wheel, the No. 45 went out on track again, then pitted one more time for additional repairs and refueling. He was back on track again quickly, having lost just one position to the No. 44 with Johannes van Overbeek at the wheel, which moved to P4.

With the car nearly undrivable, Joerg was able to maintain a fast enough pace over the final hour to keep fifth and stay ahead of the No. 61 Krohn Racing Ferrari in sixth. The No. 44 was in fourth, but lost time in the pits with a late race pit stop, and finished fifth, just behind the No. 45 which took fourth place. The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari won in GT2, the No. 95 was second, and the No. 21 third.

Team principal and driver of the No. 44 Porsche Seth Neiman said, "This was another classic Sebring -- a race where you have to give it everything you have just to finish. A podium spot was not in the cards for the Lizards this year, but I'm proud that both cars finished the race in the top five. It was unfortunate that the No. 45 was knocked back so far in the field so early in the race, but a testament to the crew and to Joerg, Patrick and Marc that they came back not just once, but twice during the race to finish fourth. The No. 44 also had a rough start, but together with Darren and Johannes we were able to climb back up to fifth. Congratulations to Risi Competizione on their well-deserved win and seamless race."

News and photo used with permission from Flying Lizard Motorsports, no reuse for any reason.

http://www.scxworldwide.com/ipb/index.php?showtopic=1232

Click on the link above to be taken to the poll to vote for the RX42B for all SCX Nascars, GT, DTM, and LMP's. Voting will close at the end of this month, SCX needs to know that the faster RX42B is the motor we want!

If you'd like to vote but are not a member of SCXWorldWide's message board please email me at slotcarnews@yahoo.com and I can set up an account for you to vote for the motor. Random voters will win the SCX Hobbytown Nascar.

DaveK

ESPN 8pm EST

Watched Mel Brooks' "High Anxiety" last night before bed. Damn, is Cloris Leachman funny. And hideous too. But what hell is it with her and the witch costume at the end? That broom certainly didn't work...

The 70's were a strange time, when you think about it. So many modern conveniences and wondrous new things...747s and touchtone phones. But then the older generation at that time gave us plenty of institutional memory of The Great Depression, no phones, or planes...and ate Fruit Cup (yes, as a pronoun) before dinner. And don't be late.

I have been getting the best sleep ever in my life since returning from Camp last weekend. Last night after turning off the movie I was in bed by 9:30 and sound asleep by 10. All week I've been bounding out of bed by 5:30 at the latest, ready to start the day. It's the alcohol and caffeine, or lack there of. Wait, I'm not on some sort of wagon...I just learned from a friend that his doctor told him that caffeine stays in the system for nearly 12 hours, and disrupts sleep patterns.

News flash.

So during camp I banished all coffee to before the ride, and none when I returned, in any form. Whereas last year I would guzzle the stuff all day long. I slept so much better this year. I also didn't write anything before sleep - doing all of it before breakfast, which worked well because I was up and alert so much earlier from all of the great sleep.

I've been continuing here, at home, now that I'm back. One coffee when I get to work, on top of what I'm drinking now, and that's it. Alcohol I've banished to the weekends and only with friends. Everyone knows that it wreaks havoc on sleep as well. It's contributed so much to my recent start-of-season weight loss that to add it back in now would be moronic. That said, I will have a few, and did - at camp - to celebrate the great days' rides, but yeah, it interfered with sleep.

It's all quite surreal, considering that less than two years ago I could barely make it out of bed on time to be at work downtown by 9:30. Yet, here I sit with five paragraphs already in at five after six in the morning. Breakfast is already in me, constitutional behind me, and I'm halfway through my pot of French press.

I live for breakfast. It is my favorite meal and time of the day. To catch up the news, to write as I am now, and just have some free time and solitude before the chaos of the day begins. Usually I have oatmeal, with peanut butter and banana, and honey drizzled on top on days like today where I have time in the morning. Yesterday, I rode to work in Northbrook and leave at 6:15, so I have a couple of pieces of rye toast with nutella on them. Plus yogurt and at least one cup of coffee before I go, in either case.

But it's not truly a morning without the full pot of French press. My favorite post-ride meal is oatmeal as well, with everything I mentioned above, except I also drop in a fried egg, over easy, and stir it all up, with maple syrup. I know it sounds gross, but after a four hour ride and your body is screaming for food, it's the most fulfilling thing I could possibly imagine eating at a time like that. Then you just fall over on your couch and take a long nap.

I hope I can get enough packing in before I fall asleep tonight. Actually moving out tomorrow. I have about half the stuff I moved in with. Am going to try to get it all out this weekend and next. Seems strange, like I'm watching it all happen, but to someone else.

The change will be good. I am taking Jack with me, and I hope he adjusts well. We'll have a big park to play in plus a couple neighbors, both with dogs, to take morning walks with and who can hopefully look after him while I'm out. For me as well, I'm closer to work - by bike, as well as within walking distance now to the Metra, so I won't have to stress about the blue line making me late.

The neighborhood is super cool, chill, and I'll be very close to Smoque, the bar-b-que place I love and haven't been to in about a year. Not sure if that's a good thing. But, regardless, I am already looking forward some warm summer nights in Mark's backyard with other friends as Jack gets to run around and play with other dogs.

This is the first ever video I have seen where the trailers were also included in the race. I call it Trailer Trashed in this Extreme Trailer Racing from Britain. Hilarious.

Burly Pink Pedal Powered Tank

More photos on flickr

This Burly Pink Pedal Powered Tank was built to freak people out at the 2ND annual Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby. It is a human-powered pink camouflage art tank vehicle that and can soak onlookers in water or vaporized hot dogs. This Pink Tank is the brainchild of a 30-year-old Philadelphia gearhead Vin Marshall who managed to persuade nine of his friends to build the 2,000-pound replica, complete with a functioning pneumatic cannon. The idea was to make this beast human powered so a computer model showed that it could fit hardware for six pedalers and yield about 1.5 horsepower. Using tires instead of tank treads they gave it bicycle-like gearing to get more power from less exertion. They used a salvaged rear differential (which allows wheels to spin independently) from an old truck axle made turning more efficient. It took them 11 days and $3,000 along with suspension and steering from an old Geo Metro and a Ford 150 pickup. The frame and axles were built from scratch, to ensure the tank would not buckle under the tank’s enormous weight. Six old 10-speeds provided the pedals, cranks and bottom brackets. The group replaced the bicycles' regular chain wheels with industrial-grade chains and sprockets to handle the increased load on the transmission.Official Web Site is Tango Echo


Here is also a video and the funny thing is that the there is a clip of the deathmobile from animal house
Episode 5 of the TE Labs Show: Team Pzkpfw

A review by PeteN95:

The entry level rally car in Europe is the S1600 class which consists of small, FWD hatchbacks made by most manufacturers and seen commonly on roads all over Europe. This is the stepping stone rally class to the faster S2000 class and eventually the mighty AWD turbo cars of the WRC, the World Rally Championship. The smaller cars of the S1600 rally class are already well covered by other slot car manufacturers, with the Citroën Saxo, Fiat Punto, Ford Festiva, VW Polo, and SEAT Ibiza all available. Sloter enters the class with the Opel Corsa 1600.

The Sloter Opel Corsa is an aggressive looking, but small car with a spoiler at the rear and an air scoop at the front of the roof panel. It is covered in a factory rally livery of silver, blue, and yellow with a large Opel logo on the roof. The paint and striping quality is pretty good, but the yellow on the scoop and spoiler is a little thin and there are places where the stripes are not as crisp as they could be. There is a fairly well detailed, full depth interior with a full roll cage and driver and navigator figures. The Corsa is also available in a “roll out” livery, as well as a plain white version if you’d like to do your own livery.

The reason the Opel has a full depth interior is it’s a sidewinder (SW) drive train, which I believe is a first in it’s class and unusual in slot rally cars in general. It also has a very unique and innovative motor pod design. The pod looks a bit like a Slot it type at first because it has four screws near the corners, but it is not designed to float. Instead, it is made to be modular, allowing different types of motors to be mounted in different orientations using the same pod! They do this by using some very clever inserts which simply snap into the main pod. The inserts are then locked in place when the pod slides into the chassis. The pod actually slides up into the chassis about ¼” into a very tight fitting cavity, eliminating any possible movement or flex required to remove the inserts.



The motor is a standard Mabuchi (18k) similar to other RTRs mounted in a bell drive SW configuration, but the pod also allows a long can boxer style motor to be mounted in an inline configuration. This is done by removing the front insert in the pod, after removing the pod assembly from the chassis. The rear pod screws also function as the rear body mount screws, so after removing the body with two screws in front and the two rear pod screws, all that is required to remove the pod from the chassis is to remove the front two pod screws. The pod then slides down out of the chassis and the front insert, which contains a thick Fly/Ninco sized button magnet, can be snapped out. After the motor is removed, the extra pod insert that comes with the car can be snapped in place of the SW motor and you have converted the pod to a long can inline set up. Of coarse you will have to change out the SW spur gear for an inline crown gear (not included), but a very clever design!



I ran the car straight out of the box, with the magnet, and it went very well. Not too stuck down, but very stable. It read about 180gms on the Magnet Marshall total, with a weight of about 79gms, so about 100 grams of additional down force. The car did have quite a bit of gear noise from what turned out to be a slightly tight gear mesh. It has quieted with additional running and I would prefer a little tight out of the box, as opposed to too loose to begin with. It was now time to remove the magnet, as I believe all rally cars should be set up, so I lubed the bushings while I had the body off. This is where I ran into problems. The tires are rather soft and although there was no problem running with the magnet, the tire spin when the magnet was removed caused the tires to expand and come off the wheels. I had a similar issue with the Sloter Opel, so I got some glue to fix the tires to the wheels.

Unfortunately, a bumbled and hurried attempt at using fast Superglue resulted in destroying the stock tires. Slower glue gives time to seat the tires correctly, for future reference! Normally this would not be a problem, but the Corsa uses a strange size tire, about 20mm x 8mm?! Even in my large collection of spares, I had nothing similar. Fortunately, the wheels were a standard size and some Ninco ribbed rally tires in 19x10 size fit just fine. A little Dremel work in the rear wheel wells was required to give clearance for the wider tires, but just a bit. The stock tires are pretty soft and I think they would work fine for non-mag running if glued to the rims, but be careful and use a slower adhesive, unlike myself.

With new tires installed, we were ready to do some real rally drifting! And drifting is what this Opel excels at! I was amazed as I got up to speed by the degree of control afforded by this very small car. The more I drove it, the more I liked it. Most of the smaller slot cars tend to be rather tricky to control at the limit because of the short wheelbase and narrow track, but the Corsa was very easy to drift in a nice controlled arc, all the way through most turns. The standard 18k Mabuchi motor is plenty powerful for this small car, but an NC-2 might also work well in the long can, inline configuration. I just can not imagine the car being any better balanced than it is now. Sloter still could work on making the wheels more concentric, as the car vibrates a bit, but overall this car is an improvement over their first rally car, the Opel Manta, and probably the fastest S1600 class slot rally car available at this time.

The number one lesson learned at camp:

Always, always, always...make sure there is nothing illegal in your bag. I am not talking about forgetting your stash or smuggling lemurs or something. Nothing patently illegal, just an item or two that will keep you from getting through the security point, or worse.

Such as the collapsible billy club I keep in my chrome bag in the unlikely event I run into the unruly cager on my commute...on occasion.

As I came through the metal detector and waited for my bag to come through the X-ray machine, I got a sinking feeling as the technician asked, pointedly, "who's bag is this?"

With the loud rip of velcro his hands were rooting around inside, talking out my shoes - looking at the cleats, setting aside the bungee chord and multitool. I asked if I could help. He just waved me away with a hand motion, and then said, "I'm looking for something long and metal...like...THIS."

My jaw literally dropped open (and a moth came out) as he removed the weapon. Holy shit. I had completely forgotten...

"Oh, no...oh, no..." he kept repeating. He must've known I was a nice guy who'd made a mistake and was in store for some not very nice treatment. A throng of baby-blue clad TSA employees had very quickly gathered, and a severe looking woman with a crew cut walked up to them, took a cursory glance at the club, then at me, and said...

"Arrest him."

On the walk back to the CPD office, I was given the good-cop-bad-cop routine, alternately being told I would have no trouble making my flight, and that I was in deep trouble. But upon running my Social and seeing I had no record, the cop who seemed to be most in charge just asked if I had really forgotten it was in there. He was obviously stressing the fine line between crime and accident, and when I stressed right back I had certainly no idea it was in there, I was free to go.

There was some question and joking whether or not I would make it back to Chicago...



-----------

This just in...camp is hard:




And then it's even harder:

This is the 1:25 interval I ran from Cayucos Beach to the top of the wall. Average power of 292w, and a peak 10 minute power of almost 340w.



(It's so tempting to try and lose just another 10 pounds and get that power to weight ratio up, but...)

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A preview of the local racing season here in Chicago on the Chicago Cycling Examiner.