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I distinctly remember listening to a radio interview years ago of one of your US famous women drag racers, she drove rails and her hubby ran funny cars....you'll know whom I'm referring to. She was running 4's in the days when they still ran full quarters.
Not from me !I have no problem with ABS being mandatory and not allowing it to be disabled. Because not every driver other than Sterling Moss, Louis Hamilton, and joeqsmith is a fucking genius at cadence braking - and all those 99.9% of soccer mom drivers are my mortal enemy in an accident situation.
Let the personal attacks start.
The best drivers I know all run drag racers, their concentration and reaction times are amazing.
A friend of mine races road courses for a hobby. He took me for a ride a few times around the track. Talk about thinking fast. I have a lot of respect for his driving skills. Another friend runs vintage open wheel cars. That's some crazy stuff. I just try to keep the bike going in a straight line but they think I am a bit off my rocker as well.
Anyways, she was asked to recite all the things she had to attend to and that that went on during a run.
Well it took her nearly five minutes to convey it all in words for the layman such as me to fully comprehend.
From that day forth I've had immense respect for those that are pushing the boundaries of what's possible on wheels.
No, you're not off your rocker....go Joe go.
BTW put some time sheets up or some pics of you latest bike version.
The buddy is slowly getting back into his car after std 20B's blocks weren't able to handle 1500 hp so new everything, this time all billet stuff. $$$$$
It's dry sumped running 60 lb boost, on meth and shoehorned into a tube framed and carbon fibre Dodge Stratos.
Man does it sound fine on the dyno. -
I think ABS is a godsend, not that I ever had to use it - but the other idiots did.
Personally, I tend to form my opinions based on my own experiences. You never use ABS and yet you feel it is a godsend. You have never ridden with me or seen me drive but feel the need to comment on my driving abilities. Around here, if you drive you will use ABS assuming you have it and have not pulled the fuse. -
We need some man hugs in here!
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We need some man hugs in here!
You newbies need to get to know the membership better.
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I have a friend who drives a slingshot (front engine dragster). It's running on some amount of nitro and blown. You can't see in front of you so he watches the wall to judge where the car is.
I distinctly remember listening to a radio interview years ago of one of your US famous women drag racers, she drove rails and her hubby ran funny cars....you'll know whom I'm referring to. She was running 4's in the days when they still ran full quarters.
Not from me !I have no problem with ABS being mandatory and not allowing it to be disabled. Because not every driver other than Sterling Moss, Louis Hamilton, and joeqsmith is a fucking genius at cadence braking - and all those 99.9% of soccer mom drivers are my mortal enemy in an accident situation.
Let the personal attacks start.
The best drivers I know all run drag racers, their concentration and reaction times are amazing.
A friend of mine races road courses for a hobby. He took me for a ride a few times around the track. Talk about thinking fast. I have a lot of respect for his driving skills. Another friend runs vintage open wheel cars. That's some crazy stuff. I just try to keep the bike going in a straight line but they think I am a bit off my rocker as well.
Anyways, she was asked to recite all the things she had to attend to and that that went on during a run.
Well it took her nearly five minutes to convey it all in words for the layman such as me to fully comprehend.
From that day forth I've had immense respect for those that are pushing the boundaries of what's possible on wheels.
No, you're not off your rocker....go Joe go.
BTW put some time sheets up or some pics of you latest bike version.
The buddy is slowly getting back into his car after std 20B's blocks weren't able to handle 1500 hp so new everything, this time all billet stuff. $$$$$
It's dry sumped running 60 lb boost, on meth and shoehorned into a tube framed and carbon fibre Dodge Stratos.
Man does it sound fine on the dyno. He was going to drive a funny car and was telling me about some of the tests they run. The best part was he is sitting in the car and they give him a signal. He has to turn on the fire suppressant..... and eventually get out of the car in some amount of time. He did this a few times. Then when they had him do it for real, he gets the go and they block his air intake. It's a fire... You don't get to breath I guess.
I now run 25 or so PSI with C16 gasoline. It's a cheap thrill, that and I like bikes.
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You newbies need to get to know the membership better.
That's what the man hugs are for
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Nice Joe, the buddy is running low 7's.
His cars are turbo'ed and rotarys. He ran C16 in the early days but found the limit and had to move to methanol to go faster. The turbo he runs is bigger than a dinner plate, ice intercooled and 4" plumbing.
From an earlier build:
We did some crazy hours to finish this in time to get shipped to Aussie for their Nats where it didn't do well as it was still in development.
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One of the oldest - windshield wiper delay. Without it in light rain you either operate the switch like crazy or let the blades rub themselves to oblivion.
"I never use AM radio, even though I have it, FM is good enough because in the UK you only need BBC Radio 4. RDS helps... I would prefer a perfect digital radio, but DAB was crippled from the outset. "
I cringe at the idea of DAB radio in a car.
Will make handheld phone use seem positively benign by comparison. At least, I hope I never encounter a guy, head down below the dash and pushing buttons furiously trying to find a channel on the thing, coming towards me. Or else, that he wanders off into the ditch before he reaches me. 
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Sweet looking ride there!! I guess the limit for C16 is a bit over 30PSI before there are no more gains, so I've been told. Your friend is way beyond that. I was up around 30PSI several years ago but the bikes frame was wanting to twist making it next to impossible to drive. My wife bless her heart, put her foot down and said no more. The bikes don't have a lot of safety equipment.
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Sweet looking ride there!! I guess the limit for C16 is a bit over 30PSI before there are no more gains, so I've been told. Your friend is way beyond that. I was up around 30PSI several years ago but the bikes frame was wanting to twist making it next to impossible to drive. My wife bless her heart, put her foot down and said no more.
Currently the issue is keeping the donk from twisting out of the engine plate.....some secret squirrel remedies have taken shape to fix that. The bikes don't have a lot of safety equipment. 
Hint given earlier.
He's never run C16 in this baby only in the 13B 2 rotors he ran while learning the craft.
These 20B's are another different class of grunt but they still jumps them off the line at 10k rpm.
Pushing the boundaries is neither cheap nor simple but a hell of a lot of fun to be involved in.
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A dashcam brought me a lot of peace. I used to think this a lot : "crap, that moron nearly hit me, what if I had to explain it to the police ? To the insurer ? Would they offer a shitty 50/50 deal while I wasn't in the wrong at all ?". Now it's all gone. Best 100 EUR spent ever.
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The most useful car electronics? The electric starter.
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Funny, no one has yet said 'Power Windows'.
Trust me, first starting off on a hot day, ventilating out the car, or at the toll booth, you use it and would be inconvenienced without it...
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Currently the issue is keeping the donk from twisting out of the engine plate.....some secret squirrel remedies have taken shape to fix that.
I returned to the basics. Add more weight. I think it was 11 lbs of additional tubing when it was all said and done. Shown after power coating. Hint given earlier.
He's never run C16 in this baby only in the 13B 2 rotors he ran while learning the craft.
These 20B's are another different class of grunt but they still jumps them off the line at 10k rpm.
Pushing the boundaries is neither cheap nor simple but a hell of a lot of fun to be involved in.
If I took every turbo I have and stuck them together, I doubt it would flow as much as one of your friends. The ones I use now were custom made. The problem was the old parts were no longer available and finding a turbo that would fit into such a small area and have the flow I needed was not something standard.
I am guessing your friend would respond to this thread with 1) control system, 2) data logging
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I am guessing your friend would respond to this thread with 1) control system, 2) data logging
Nah he won't as he thinks I'm plain nuts.
I keep telling him he's the one with the problem..........
https://www.facebook.com/MarkovinaRacing/
Microtech for ECU but I think he's moving to Helltech.
He logs chassis too with a Race Pac
Interfacing it all was a bit of a headache when we put it all together but there's some talk of major changes in the electrics as well as what's happening under the hood.
This next configuration will put a horn on a jellyfish going by what he told me a couple of days back.
Austrailasian or southern hemisphere records are in his sights to go with some NZ 2 rotor ones he already has under his belt. Check his FB page for any hints of the stuff he's got installed.
Don't know what is with the air here but in the opposite direction from my place is one of our NZ champion drifters,
Good stuff this air must be....we're all nuts.
http://www.darrenkellydrift.com/
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If it's not larger than my wife's hair dryer, it's not a turbo. This is a turbo!
I use a Microtech on my newer bike. It's fairly simple to program. My old bikes are very crude. Just some timers, ignition and logger. All tuned by hand.
Race Pac was one of the better loggers I looked at. Now days with the PIC parts, I am surprised there is not some very high quality low cost loggers. Low demand keeps the costs up?
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OBD2 so I can work out why the engine light is on before I get shafted by the garage.
As if the self diagnostic actually work
It is there because of regulations but it doesn't help at all to pinpoint the exact problem.
Anyway. I like to have a radio, cruise control, ABS and a rain sensor to control the wipers (the latter is not fitted on my current car). For the rest please as least as possible because all it does is break down or be annoying like electrically adjustable mirrors or electric windows. The manual ones work much faster. -
OBD2 so I can work out why the engine light is on before I get shafted by the garage.
As if the self diagnostic actually work It is there because of regulations but it doesn't help at all to pinpoint the exact problem.
The OBD2 diagnostics actually work well in my experience.
I've had a failed fuel injector which created a miss and pulling the code showed the cylinder # that was misfiring and sure enough after verifying spark plug lead was good, spark plug was good and dizzy cap was good - pulling the injector and measuring resistance showed it open circuit.
I've had OBD2 report a problem with TPS (and the vehicle was showing a higher than normal idle), replace TPS and all good again.
I've had OBD2 report an EGR issue and found a vacuum solenoid had failed.
You are correct in that OBD2 will not point to the exact cause of a fault, but the FSM (Factory service manual) is VERY clear in guiding you on what to measure/test for a specific code.
Obviously this presumes that you have some mechanical/vehicle repair skills beyond filling the petrol tank
So, I'd say OBD2 is very useful if you have a modern vehicle with ECU/EFI etc etc.
cheers,
george.
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4) As must as I like traction control, I hate ABS. More than once, I've had my current car brake for me while driving on dry pavement. I've never looked into it but would not be surprised at all to find that modern electronics (software included) were not the root cause of more than one accident. Strange is the cars I have owned will allow you to disable the traction control but not the ABS.
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I had a hard time with traction control until I learn at times I should turn them off. Now I like them.
In my experience (with a rear wheel drive car), traction control is good only when you are already in motion. When you are stuck in snow or an icy parking spot, traction control often is more hindrance than help. Sometimes, spinning your wheel is the best way to get off that slippery spot. Same with a slush filled dip in the road which happens whenever a storm drain is very near stop sign/light. The road dip a little so water runs into the drain, but when snowing, slush collects there so when you stop at the light, you are stuck.
The first two or three years of having a car (BMW 328i) with traction control, I didn't realize that yet. I carried six 25 pound bags of cat litter (150 pounds) for extra weight in the back to give it more traction. Even with that, I would often need a push to get off an icy parking spot. One time, I just decided to turn the traction off and wheel-spin my way out of that spot like my pre-traction control cars. Works wonders - I was then back to having trunk space even in the winter.
Traction control on front-wheel drive cars seem to be less problematic in snow-in parking spots. Still, I would prefer traction control with an off button. -
Rick, why do you need a car with control of earthenware pots and jars?
Now winter has set in I am reminded of how much I like my Ford Quickclear windscreen, that is a great gadget.
I never use AM radio, even though I have it, FM is good enough because in the UK you only need BBC Radio 4. RDS helps... I would prefer a perfect digital radio, but DAB was crippled from the outset. Typical designed by committee and with low tech and high license fees.
I agree with tautech that the best thing ever is ECU control, with OBD2 and better diagnostics over CAN, however take a look at John Deere in the USA for how they now control simple on the job fixes with their ludicrous "intellectual property" DRM on tractors - coming to a car you own soon...
I am old-school... With older cars, they are so direct. I can see what is going on. From DIY tune up's to fine tuning spark plug gaps or adjusting the timing with a timing gun. Now, I can't change a bloody car battery without going to a trained mechanic so it can use his computer to tell my car's computer that a new battery is installed. Cars have gotten to be so cold - just another piece of black box machinery.
Yeah, the ECU do wonders to the car's reliability. But... spending a weekend tuning up a car, or a weekend fiddling with the distributor just give you a different kind of relationship than merely taking the car out for a spin.
As to radio, it is a habit. I used to listen to audio business books during work commute. These days, I still like listening to yepping - news or talk shows. Here in the USA, news or talk are almost exclusively AM radio. I do enjoy music a lot, but not while I am driving. -
Exactly, I totally agree. It's what I've been saying all along. ABS doesn't just decide to brake for you. It simply detects wheel lock and backs off and modulates the brakes - either mechanically or electro-mechanically.
On the public road I much prefer that giving the typical driver some control of their "Truck of Peace" F350 in an emergency is better than letting them lock the brakes and skid into everyone.
This, plus the mention of cadence braking, brought back a memory....
Some years ago, I was travelling home in my old Ford Falcon one evening after it had been raining. The road was wet and slippery and on a slight downhill grade. I rounded a bend to find an accident at the point of minimum warning and hit the brakes. The wheels locked up, but I had the presence of mind to back off and re-apply the brakes a few times and realised I might just pull up in time!
That was until the joker behind me slid into me, breaking traction and adding enough momentum to run into the car in front. Cost me a radiator and a bonnet, with the bumper just needing to be readjusted. Police turned up - but the guy who had run into the back of me had scampered.
I found my braking effort had a name - cadence braking - and while it was very effective, I have to say it is one of the most unintuitive actions I have ever tried as a driver. It required clear thinking in a stressful situation.
ABS does this - and I wholeheartedly support its use in motor vehicles.
Other things:
Intermittent wipers - especially ones with variable timing
Power windows - when you need to get air through the car
Radio - to make an entertaining noise
Air conditioning - essential in Australia
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Funny, no one has yet said 'Power Windows'.
I hate power windows. They are just another expensive and extraneous feature to break.
ABS has disadvantages as well at least if GMC implements it but that goes for anything they do. The ABS brakes on my pickup become close to useless without the vacuum assist and they make control worse under adverse road conditions like gravel or ice.
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My radar detectors have paid for themselves over the years.
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ABS systems have come a long way since their original bang-bang controllers which could only dump pressure and release locked wheels. They now include pumps and/or accumulators which hold pressure that can be released on command for increasing (or adding) braking force even when there is no pressure from the master cylinder (pedal input).
Exactly, I totally agree. It's what I've been saying all along. ABS doesn't just decide to brake for you. It simply detects wheel lock and backs off and modulates the brakes - either mechanically or electro-mechanically.QuoteMore than once, I've had my current car brake for me while driving on dry pavement.
That has nothing to do with ABS.
If this example was adding non-required braking then its faulty and needs looking at, but a single report of a single faulty unit is not a reason to write off ABS and refuse to use it as the benefits for the majority of conditions and situations outweigh the known downsides (no matter who the driver is on public roads). Likely such events are being logged in detail on the ECU for those with the tools to extract it.