Heldenzeit's Garage (Endless Maintenance)

[SVX]

Cali's car scene kicks the crap out of anything we have in the UK. I definitely need to move there one day.

You're not the only one. I used to think New Zealand's was the end all in terms of car culture, but the maturity of SoCal's scene just has it beat.

 

[Cano]

That bumper is smiling

ftfy

Cali's car scene kicks the crap out of anything we have in the UK. I definitely need to move there one day.

For real. I put up with all the other BS here because the car scene is so good.

I've always said California is the best car place in the entire world, even with the emissions crap they have to deal with. I really want to move there in the future.

 

[Heldenzeit]

New wheels came in today for the LS400. Old set of Bridgestone Seig, built in 1993. 16x7 +35 and 16x8 +38. Hopefully get these and the coilovers on the car this weekend.

 

[homeforsummer]

Guessing those deliberately look like AMG wheels, in some kind of tongue-in-cheek Japanese VIP-style reference to the LS400 being a facsimile of the W140 S-class?

 

[Heldenzeit]

Guessing those deliberately look like AMG wheels, in some kind of tongue-in-cheek Japanese VIP-style reference to the LS400 being a facsimile of the W140 S-class?

Bit of both. Best part is that they were only $400 from Japan and are in pretty good shape. Small diameter, so I can keep the ride quality nice.

 

[carracerptp]

How much do they weigh?

 

[Heldenzeit]

How much do they weigh?

I'm not sure. Feels about the same as the stock wheels that are on the car.

 

[Cale]

Importing wheels from Japan is so fun.

 

[Heldenzeit]

#ruined

Rear looks great, and works fine.

Front needs a higher profile tire. Also a bit too low, as there isn't much suspension travel.

 

[CodeRedR51]

I've always said California is the best car place in the entire world, even with the emissions crap they have to deal with. I really want to move there in the future.

The negatives of California outweigh the positives for me. But the main reason is that I could never afford to live there anyway.

 

[Cale]

Oh it looks like you've got some room to come down.

Chop chop

 

[Heldenzeit]

Oh it looks like you've got some room to come down.

Chop chop

Well, yes and no. Even at this height the upper control arm bottoms against the chassis. I raised it up a bit last night, which helped, but it really needs a taller front tire. I think one of the bushings is bad, as I'm getting a terrible clunk in the front end. Also, at the height I had it in the picture, the oil pan was only about 4-5 inches off the ground. I'm not the type to slam a car like that haha.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Miata was featured over on Rad Roadsters when I took it to the KINOD anniversary meet. Cool shot, shame there's a Prius behind it though.

Article here: https://radroadsters.net/kinod-10-a-decade-of-roadsters/

 

[Heldenzeit]

Hung out in Little Tokyo after Anime Expo. Kinda neat pic of the LA skyline in the background.

 

[GDII]

Beautiful shot!

 

[Punknoodle]

It's been a while since I dropped in here. Car looks like a lot of fun!

 

[ImaRobot]

Hung out in Little Tokyo after Anime Expo. Kinda neat pic of the LA skyline in the background.

and you didn't even say hi.

It was absolutely hectic this year.

 

[Heldenzeit]

and you didn't even say hi.

It was absolutely hectic this year.

Ah sorry. I forgot you were going!

 

[ImaRobot]

Ah sorry. I forgot you were going!

Haha all joking of course. There was just so much people to what I remembered last year, that I don't even think it would have been possible. I was walking around with a sailormoon all day haha.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Went to a Miata tech day on Saturday with a few friends in the car club. It was near 100*F, so I didn't feel like doing any work myself.

 

[Turtle]

That Mazda 6 looks really nice. I can't believe they've been around for 4 years and don't look dated at all; still the best looker in it's class by far.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Ｈｅｌｌｏ, ｐａｒｔｙ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Video of me driving the Ferrari 458 last week. The car sounds soooo good!

 

[Clark]

Those style of events are so crap in the UK (or at least the ones I've done), i did one in a 360 a few years ago and you were told to change up at about 3500rpm :|

 

[Heldenzeit]

Those style of events are so crap in the UK (or at least the ones I've done), i did one in a 360 a few years ago and you were told to change up at about 3500rpm :|

That's hardly off idle!

 

[Clark]

I know it was so crap it was as well have been the 1.6 four pot out of my fiancee's Toyota. The whole point of a Ferrari V8 is revs and then they stop you from enjoying that.

You really looked like you were able to drive the car reasonably hard. How much was that if you don't mind me asking?

Also that video for me shows clearly how Dual clutch 'boxes make driving less of an event. I'm not on about manual vs auto but just how the engine note lowers and that's about all that happens, there's no fireworks or movement in the car.

About 30s in shows how different a single clutch sounds and acts compared to twin clutch

 

[Heldenzeit]

I know it was so crap it was as well have been the 1.6 four pot out of my fiancee's Toyota. The whole point of a Ferrari V8 is revs and then they stop you from enjoying that.

You really looked like you were able to drive the car reasonably hard. How much was that if you don't mind me asking?

Also that video for me shows clearly how Dual clutch 'boxes make driving less of an event. I'm not on about manual vs auto but just how the engine note lowers and that's about all that happens, there's no fireworks or movement in the car.

About 30s in shows how different a single clutch sounds and acts compared to twin clutch

I agree absolutely. Thankfully I was able to rev the car to it's full 9000rpm redline. It was a birthday gift, but the extra two laps (7 total) and video is around $400.

The gearbox is wonderful. You can shift early coming out of a corner if you want it to hook up easier and downshifts are perfectly smooth every time. I can get on the brakes quicker, as I can use my left foot, saving time in the transition. There's good reason this car isn't available with a traditional gated shifter, as much as I like them.

 

[homeforsummer]

Those style of events are so crap in the UK (or at least the ones I've done), i did one in a 360 a few years ago and you were told to change up at about 3500rpm :|

It's why I've never been that bothered about doing one.

However, you have to understand exactly why they're run like that: some of the people who pass through those events will know next to nothing about any aspect of car control. Consider how bad some people are at driving quite slow, easy-to-drive cars, and then consider the potential for utter chaos letting those same people loose in a car that might have four times the power and might suddenly lose grip at three times the speed.

Also that video for me shows clearly how Dual clutch 'boxes make driving less of an event. I'm not on about manual vs auto but just how the engine note lowers and that's about all that happens, there's no fireworks or movement in the car.

From personal experience, that couldn't be further from the truth. Pottering about on the road it's more or less the case, but I've driven a handful of cars on track in the 500-700bhp range (488 GTB, GT-R, Turbo S) and frankly the very last thing any of them needed was to be more of "an event".

I think the threshold for me is somewhere around 400bhp - anything less and there's enough time to allow you the spare brain capacity to execute decent shifts (on the way down particularly), but above that you're approaching corners so quickly that a good automated 'box really helps you concentrate on braking points, cornering lines etc. Having the safety net of not missing gears when you're shifting down from very high speeds is also pretty handy.

 

[Clark]

It's why I've never been that bothered about doing one.

However, you have to understand exactly why they're run like that: some of the people who pass through those events will know next to nothing about any aspect of car control. Consider how bad some people are at driving quite slow, easy-to-drive cars, and then consider the potential for utter chaos letting those same people loose in a car that might have four times the power and might suddenly lose grip at three times the speed.

.

I know yeah, obviously also the fax the companies would make much money if they were constantly having to repair and service the cars.

And on gearboxes I think it's more sound wise than anything, I hate the way dual clutch changes sound.

 

[Doog]

Those style of events are so crap in the UK (or at least the ones I've done), i did one in a 360 a few years ago and you were told to change up at about 3500rpm :|

Somewhat reminds me of a similar event I did earlier this year; I drove a 911 GT3 and much to my disappointment the instructor insisted on shifting early for me. Thankfully they gave me full control over a Ferrari 430 and it was way more fun.