It's hard to believe that this is the 18th post to RISING EDGE. I promised myself that I'd write one article a week for one year, and then reassess from there. With this post, I'm already more than 1/3rd to that milestone. By...
When I'm at the track, I like to poke around the paddock and check out other cars for inspiration. Sometimes I'm more appalled than inspired. I can't understand why safety is often neglected in race cars. (Note that I am speaking here about dedicated...
Call it an update of sorts regarding some recent topics of discussion. Today I am revisiting the Yokohama A052, as well as providing an update on my Sim Racing journey. Yokohama A052, take two. The A052s don't fit into the tire class I am claiming for NASA TT,...
Motivation, and lack thereof What motivates you when it comes to cars/racing? I have been contemplating this a lot lately, because in the wake of some major life events, including losing my father to cancer, I have struggled with finding any motivation to work on my cars. Thinking back,...
The adage "the right tool for the job" is typically referring to, quite literally, using the correct tool for the task at hand. But what if your tool is a race car? Something from a recent conversation has really stuck with me. In discussing with Carlos Mendez how...
I'm trying something a little different this week with quick(er) thoughts on two different topics. Let me know what you think of this format: your feedback is highly important to me. The Death of Car Forums Bulletin Boards and Usenet groups were replaced by forums in the...
My very long-time friend, Mike Burroughs of StanceWorks fame, recently posted a video declaring that he hates the nearly-perfect S54 E36 he has owned for 17+ years. This is an E36 that, by all measures, is one of the nicest out there – and it has been for the better part of two decades.
Racing and large egos go hand in hand. Over the years, I've seen drivers make questionable, sometimes flat-out dangerous moves to gain a position in a low-stakes club race [prototype and GT car tangling 2-wide at 130mph through Bishops Bend; one of them got air-lifted]. I've...
When I was younger and didn't have the finances to race real cars, I raced radio controlled cars instead. Specifically, I raced electric 1/10th-scale touring cars on outdoor asphalt with rubber tires (they were also raced indoors on carpet with foam tires). The cars were highly adjustable,...
I love nerding out about roll cage design. Door bars in particular. There is something almost voyeuristic about seeing part of a roll cage through an open door. While a roll cage alludes to protection in a rollover, in wheel to wheel competition you are more likely to get hit...
Say the letters "PTG," and any E36 fan will immediately have a mental image. Prototype Technology Group campaigned their BMW-contracted E36 M3 program to great success in the mid-late 1990s. The GT3 class cars featured distinct bodywork, impressive development, and legendary drivers (Bill Auberlen and Boris Said, amongst...
What is an OEM-style shifter? On most manual transmission BMWs, the shifter linkage consists of a sub-assembly that includes it's own "carrier", selector rod, and shift lever. In addition, there are some bushings and shims involved to keep things tight. The pivot "cup" and...
SpecE30 is dead. Long live SpecE30. Alright, so not completely dead, yet. But it's headed that way. Let's discuss why. Availability For the better part of two decades, donor cars were $500-1,000. Not anymore. Clapped out rollers can command $2,500+. Decent running cars seem...
As detailed in my recent post about Tire Parity in NASA Racing, there are new rules for NASA's power to weight racing classes (ST and TT) intended to create better parity between the bevy of tire choices. Thankfully these new rules are not based on manufacturer's...
Over the years, my track experience has mostly been relegated to the E30 chassis; up until recently, the only other platforms I had driven hard were an E36 on track and a GR WRX at autocross. While the E36 featured some very notable improvements in suspension design and chassis dynamics...