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Post by ferris1248 on Oct 31, 2024 5:39:48 GMT -5
I recognize there are a lot of cars that handle far better than the old street rods of the my time but the whine of a 4 cylinder turbo, the screech of a 6 cylinder or an overhead cam F.I. can not match the gutteral sound of an American push rod V-8, cammed up and at high RPM or idling. Look at the crowd commenting on the NASCAR entry into Le Mans for the mystique. Heck, My wife's CX-5, in sports mode, handles a thousand times better than my old 57 Chevy with leaf springs and shackles. But that ol 57 was a lot more fun, stoplight to stoplight. At least it was back then.  |
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Post by Mynki on Oct 31, 2024 5:53:27 GMT -5
Mynki, Good comeback. I do like Bimmers; although maybe not as much as AMG's. Would love to have an M5 as a daily driver. But...if you really want to run a car to see how fast a BMW is - wish (you/I) could teleport your choice of BMW to Gainesville Raceway for a Test and Tune night. Pick out any car with NT (No Time) on the window. Had a couple of AMG's. Good cars, but I always felt they were for people older than me at the time. Their V8 black series engines are some of the best sounding I've ever heard. If I could teleport this Bimmer, would I have a chance? I'm guessing with 6.51 seconds @ 216 mph I wouldn't embarrass myself? www.autoevolution.com/news/fastest-bmw-in-the-world-m5-turbo-engine-does-amazing-6s-1-4-mile-130276.html |
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Post by ferris1248 on Oct 31, 2024 7:18:42 GMT -5
That's an impressive Bimmer.
How popular is drag racing in Europe?
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Post by gardawg on Oct 31, 2024 8:22:27 GMT -5
. can not match the gutteral sound of an American push rod V-8, flatheads ain't bad either ... |
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Post by drivinmike on Oct 31, 2024 9:10:42 GMT -5
I love my 2012 M3. Last of the V8 stick shifts. A rare competition kit car in moonstone silver with the S65 motor. I found it with 4,000 miles on it, and 7 months old. It was my daily driver until 2021 when I bought a 2 year old AMG GT. My wife was on my butt about having too many cars and kept hounding me to sell it. I tried every argument in the world to keep it. She just kept hounding me, so I told her I was putting it up for sale on Auto trader. What I didn't tell her was I listed it at $8k over blue book. I did tell her about all the scammers and "low ballers" who were trying to steal my car. She agreed I shouldn't give it away, so I took the ad down. It cost me $ 50 bucks and about 100 phone calls and emails. That was 3 years ago. It is still my favorite road trip car. Who doesn't love an 8300 RPM red line and a slick stick shift? Now, let's not talk about the maintenance. Aye carumba. That car likes to go to the shop and eat money. I spun a rod bearing at 49K, and locked up a $ 20K motor taking a 8000 rpm corner in to my neighborhood. I got rear ended at 35mph by a work van, so the car fax is ugly. The car is straight, reliable and still beautiful. So, I get to keep it. Winning? I'm going with yes!
Let's not talk about the cost of ownership on the AMG GT... that one is not for the budget conscious car owner.
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Post by ferris1248 on Oct 31, 2024 9:16:00 GMT -5
I never owned a flathead but they were legendary.
The mechanic class I went to had a donated Flathead-60 (136 ci I think) for us to tear down and work on. The thing was like a little watch with all the tiny parts.
It was in an old open wheel sprinter that used to run at Lakewood in Atlanta. Had Edelbrock aluminum heads and 2 Stromberg carbs on it. 2 speed trans. Little bastard would fly.
Almost got kicked out 'cause me and another student took it out in the parking lot one day. Had homemade funnel type headers and you hear it bellowing a mile away.
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Post by Mynki on Oct 31, 2024 9:52:06 GMT -5
That's an impressive Bimmer. How popular is drag racing in Europe? Nowhere near as popular as in the US. As far as petrolheads are concerned, the 'ring is our Mecca and one must make that pilgrimage!  There are drag racing strips about. But most people want tracks with bends. F1 is seen as the pinnacle of motorsport here. NASCAR wouldn't be popular as the oval tracks are not favoured compared to the likes of Silverstone, Monaco and Monza etc. The Las Vegas grand prix went down well here though. It looked quite the show! |
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Post by gardawg on Oct 31, 2024 11:58:18 GMT -5
I used to watch F1 but finally just got bored with it. Those cars are too fragile.
I like watching some banging and bashing with a car that can take a licking and keep on ticking.
To me F1 is like flag football.
but to each his own ... and honestly since riding a crotch rocket for so long cars just don't give me the same thrill.
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Post by limpit on Oct 31, 2024 16:19:40 GMT -5
ferris, your post on flatheads is taking me back in time. My Dad grew up in So Cal. Had a 1940 Ford two-door with a juiced up flathead. The car was pinstriped by George Barris. He used to tell me about Hudson Hornets and Olds F85's. If I could have any car right now, it would be a 1955 2 door Chevy post. Black. Fiberglass one piece flip front end. 427 (open headers) with a 6-71 blower, topped by two 750 Holleys. Tubbed Ford 9 inch rear. 4-6 mpg on race gas, but oh so much fun. See if you can find the movie "Two Lane Blacktop" - although the car in the movie had a tunnel ram.
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Post by nikonoclast on Oct 31, 2024 19:06:34 GMT -5
I used to watch F1 but finally just got bored with it. Those cars are too fragile. I like watching some banging and bashing with a car that can take a licking and keep on ticking. To me F1 is like flag football. but to each his own ... and honestly since riding a crotch rocket for so long cars just don't give me the same thrill. Your "flag football" line is classic. The rarified air of Europes most pretentious twats doesn't travel well. It also resembles a "Bikini Bowl," where the models play football in high heels. Watched the Mexico GP last week ... Millions in high-tech wiped-out in the first half-lap ... I'd pay cash to watch them run at Bristol or Darlington ... |
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Post by ferris1248 on Oct 31, 2024 20:12:49 GMT -5
ferris, your post on flatheads is taking me back in time. My Dad grew up in So Cal. Had a 1940 Ford two-door with a juiced up flathead. The car was pinstriped by George Barris. He used to tell me about Hudson Hornets and Olds F85's. If I could have any car right now, it would be a 1955 2 door Chevy post. Black. Fiberglass one piece flip front end. 427 (open headers) with a 6-71 blower, topped by two 750 Holleys. Tubbed Ford 9 inch rear. 4-6 mpg on race gas, but oh so much fun. See if you can find the movie "Two Lane Blacktop" - although the car in the movie had a tunnel ram. I read the bolded section and before I got to next sentence, I was thinking "Two Lane Blacktop" |
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Post by Mynki on Nov 1, 2024 7:56:51 GMT -5
I used to watch F1 but finally just got bored with it. Those cars are too fragile. I like watching some banging and bashing with a car that can take a licking and keep on ticking. To me F1 is like flag football. but to each his own ... and honestly since riding a crotch rocket for so long cars just don't give me the same thrill. It's a double edged sword I guess. F1 is all about speed. Stronger cars would be heavier. Heavy means slower... And Europeans are not really interested in racing around oval tracks ,be it cars, bikes or even horseracing. Oval tracks exist, but they're very rare Never seen 'flag football'? Sounds a bit gay to me. Then again, I grew up playing rugby so all other sports featuring an oval shaped ball look gay to me. Assuming flag football uses one? Aussie rules football is an exception. That's a real mans game too. No ridiculous amounts of padding or shoulder pads needed! |
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Post by gardawg on Nov 1, 2024 9:54:36 GMT -5
Never seen 'flag football'? Sounds a bit gay to me. Then again, I grew up playing rugby Well then I guess you would recognize gay behavior in sports. |
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Post by ferris1248 on Nov 1, 2024 10:05:54 GMT -5
F-1 is a world unto its self. Probably the most sophisticated engineering in the world. I like watching it from time to time but would rather see NASCAR on ovals or road courses. F-1 seems to have a lot of politics involved and a lot of bitching between the teams.
There does seem to be an outcry from our younger fans for more more road courses and NASCAR is responding.
Like dawg, I prefer some rubbing, pushing and banging. It's probably because that's what we grew up with. In the old days, just about every town or city of any size had a 1/4 mile bullring, maybe a 1/2 mile oval.
Indianapolis and the Milwaukee Mile were our first big ovals and they were mainly Indycar places. Minimal banking and wide. Darlington was our first big stockcar oval. A mile oval, it was a little weird as it had a wide sweeping turn on one end and a tighter banked turn on the other.
It's all good though. Man and machine is my favorite sport regardless of the venue.
European rally racing makes me shake my head though. The spectators must have death wishes.
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Post by Mynki on Nov 1, 2024 10:13:21 GMT -5
Never seen 'flag football'? Sounds a bit gay to me. Then again, I grew up playing rugby Well then I guess you would recognize gay behavior in sports. Indeed I do. That's why I've always stayed away from badminton, synchronised swimming, lacrosse, wrestling and American football. Funny video though! |
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Post by Mynki on Nov 1, 2024 10:25:31 GMT -5
F-1 is a world unto its self. Probably the most sophisticated engineering in the world. I like watching it from time to time but would rather see NASCAR on ovals or road courses. F-1 seems to have a lot of politics involved and a lot of bitching between the teams. There does seem to be an outcry from our younger fans for more more road courses and NASCAR is responding. Like dawg, I prefer some rubbing, pushing and banging. It's probably because that's what we grew up with. In the old days, just about every town or city of any size had a 1/4 mile bullring, maybe a 1/2 mile oval. Indianapolis and the Milwaukee Mile were our first big ovals and they were mainly Indycar places. Minimal banking and wide. Darlington was our first big stockcar oval. A mile oval, it was a little weird as it had a wide sweeping turn on one end and a tighter banked turn on the other. It's all good though. Man and machine is my favorite sport regardless of the venue. European rally racing makes me shake my head though. The spectators must have death wishes. Yeah it's all good. I was just explaining the differences on both sides of the pond. I like F1, but over the years it has had it's bad points. There have been times when races have been a bit of a presession due to the teams with all the money being so far ahead of lesser teams. But the FIA have done a lot of work to make it more interesting. The bitching / politics come about due to the insane amounts of money at stake. The Europeans also have something called touring car racing. That's similar 'ish' to NASCAR but on more complicated tracks. It's essentially an advert for all of the vehicle manufacturers to race track versions of their road going models. Though in the real world, a gearbox from a BTCC car would cost more than the top of the range model being showcased / advertised etc. There's pushing, rubbing and banging in this. Rallying is awesome. But yeah, there have been a number of fatalities over the years. That's all part of the appeal. Watch these crazy bastards! Then obviously you have the endurance races like Le Mans etc. Those drivers are a different breed. |
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