Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

TomCat said:
:lol:

To be fair though, I think it's the wannabe drifter morons that cause the problems. That's why I don't buy into the RWD>everythingelse nonsense anymore. Being able to drift means less than nothing to me.
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Who told you drifting was the only reason RWD is better? As someone who has had the pleasure of racing a performance-oriented FWD car, I can tell you for certain that RWD is still better than FWD every god damned day of the week.
 
EyeMWing said:
Who told you drifting was the only reason RWD is better? As someone who has had the pleasure of racing a performance-oriented FWD car, I can tell you for certain that RWD is still better than FWD every god damned day of the week.
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Nobody, it's not a reason at all imo. I still like RWD for it's balance, steering, and strong layout. I like the fact that the fronts do the steering while the backs to do the driving. I just don't buy into the fanboyism of it anymore. I've driven plenty of RWD cars that floated like boats, understeered like pigs, and had steering so light and lifeless, it felt like a cheap old arcade racing game and not a real vehicle. Likewise, I've driven FWD cars like my Civic that absolutely blew away most of the RWD cars I've ever driven. So in my mind, RWD doesn't mean anything, if the car itself isn't built up properly and well tuned.
 
TomCat said:
So in my mind, RWD doesn't mean anything, if the car itself isn't built up properly and well tuned.
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...especially if its driven by a moron.

The Porsches in these videos are driven by people who appreciate and fear their power. They also fear damaging them. All the BMW drivers in the videos seem to not care about their cars. All they care about is drifting and that's just wrong.

I agree with you - having grip and driving fast is more important.
 
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CrazyRussian540 said:
Saw a Lexus CT600h in person today...
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You mean CT400h? :p And yeah, it would have been killer if Lexus did both a gas "sporty" version and a hybrid version, instead of trying to appeal to everyone with a "sport hybrid." We all know how well that goes. *cough* CR-Z *cough* :p
 
Okay, I have made up my mind. I have saved up enough money. I'm moving to North Carolina in August (possibly Colorado...still unsure about the location). Wherever I go though, I'm buying one of these:
3470827891_8c61209cfb_z.jpg

240hp, AWD, impeccable reliability and that sleeper factor.
 
rickhamilton620 said:
You mean CT400h? :p
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Yeahhh... that one.


_HighVoltage_ said:
Okay, I have made up my mind. I have saved up enough money. I'm moving to North Carolina in August (possibly Colorado...still unsure about the location). Wherever I go though, I'm buying one of these:
3470827891_8c61209cfb_z.jpg

240hp, AWD, impeccable reliability and that sleeper factor.
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Gotta get one in saffron orange! Thats a must for the V70R (just like cream yellow is a must for the 850 T5-R)
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
Okay, I have made up my mind. I have saved up enough money. I'm moving to North Carolina in August (possibly Colorado...still unsure about the location). Wherever I go though, I'm buying one of these:
3470827891_8c61209cfb_z.jpg

240hp, AWD, impeccable reliability and that sleeper factor.
Click to expand...

I <3 the orange. :)
 
http://www.itworld.com/security/139794/with-hacking-music-can-take-control-your-car

With hacking, music can take control of your car

March 10, 2011, 07:30 PM ? IDG News Service ?
About 300 years ago, the English playwright William Congreve wrote, "music has charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak." This week we learned that it can also help hackers break into your car.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Washington have spent the past two years combing through the myriad computer systems in late-model cars, looking for security flaws and developing ways to misuse them. In a new paper, they say they've identified a handful of ways a hacker could break into a car, including attacks over the car's Bluetooth and cellular network systems, or through malicious software in the diagnostic tools used in automotive repair shops.

But their most interesting attack focused on the car stereo. By adding extra code to a digital music file, they were able to turn a song burned to CD into a Trojan horse. When played on the car's stereo, this song could alter the firmware of the car's stereo system, giving attackers an entry point to change other components on the car. This type of attack could be spread on file-sharing networks without arousing suspicion, they believe. "It's hard to think of something more innocuous than a song," said Stefan Savage, a professor at the University of California.

Last year Savage and his fellow researchers described the inner workings of the networks of components found in today's cars, and they described a 2009 experiment in which they were able to kill the engine, lock the doors, turn off the brakes and falsify speedometer readings on a late-model car.

In that experiment, they had to plug a laptop into the car's internal diagnostic system in order to install their malicious code. In this latest paper, the objective was to find a way to break into the car remotely. "This paper is really about how challenging is it to gain that access from the outside," Savage said.

They found lots of ways to break in. In fact, attacks over Bluetooth, the cellular network, malicious music files and via the diagnostic tools used in dealerships were all possible, if difficult to pull off, Savage said. "The easiest way remains what we did in our first paper: Plug into the car and do it," he said.

But the research shows how completely new types of automotive attacks could be on the horizon. For example, thieves could instruct cars to unlock their doors and report their GPS coordinates and Vehicle Identification Numbers to a central server. "An enterprising thief might stop stealing cars himself, and instead sell his capabilities as a service to other thieves," Savage said. A thief looking for certain kinds of cars in a given area could ask to have them identified and unlocked, he said.

In their report, the researchers don't name the make of the 2009 model car they hacked.

Savage and the other researchers presented their work to the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Electronic Vehicle Controls and Unintended Acceleration, which is studying the safety of electronic automotive systems in the wake of last year's massive Toyota recall. That recall was prompted by reports of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, a problem that was once thought to have been connected to electronic systems but ultimately was blamed on floor mats, sticky gas pedals and driver error.

With the high technical barrier to entry, the researchers believe that hacker attacks on cars will be very difficult to pull off, but they say they want to make the auto industry aware of potential problems before they become pervasive.

Car hacking is "unlikely to happen in the future," said Tadayoshi Kohno, an assistant professor with the University of Washington who worked on the project. "But I think the average customer will want to know whether the car they buy in five years ... will have these issues mitigated."

Another problem for would-be car thieves is the fact that there are significant differences among the electronic control units in cars. Even though an attack might work on one year and model of vehicle, it's unlikely to work on another. "If you're going to hack into one of them, you have to spend a lot of time, money and resources to get into one software version," said Brian Herron, vice president of Drew Technologies, an Ann Arbor, Michigan, company that builds tools for automotive computer systems. "It's not like hacking Windows, where you find a vulnerability and go after it."

So far, carmakers have been very receptive to the university researchers' work and appear to be taking the security issues they've raised very seriously, Savage and Kohno said.
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CrazyRussian540 said:
Yeahhh... that one.




Gotta get one in saffron orange! Thats a must for the V70R (just like cream yellow is a must for the 850 T5-R)
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Well, he could get it in Laser Blue as well, but no other than those two.
Although I'm more inclined towards the Saffron one, it's just that more special
 
guys, what's the worst thing for winter tyres? high temperature, high speed, or lotsa cornering

I'm asking because I was blasting across germany a while ago with my winter tyres on (4?C so no trouble there) and when cornering at speed, it felt like the tyres were made of jelly

After I slowed down a bit (I was being an idiot, I admit, for doing 210 kph while my tyres are only rated to 190 kph, granted), things got back to normal.... very weird
 
Well, high speed is a cause for high temperature. Rotating at high speed doesn't affect the tyre at all, but because of rolling resistance tyre generates a lot of heat when spinning at high speeds. Also spirited cornering will make the tyre more warmer, because there will be some slipping, which will turn to heat. Especially so in winter tyres, because they're softer and treads deform all the time (to generate more grip in snow and ice). Running with high tyre pressure will cause it to deform a bit less, but it'll also make the tyre slippier.

190km/h rated tyres shouldn't have any problems coping with 210 km/h for short periods of time, but longer periods might warm the tyres so much that they lose some feel. It's only 10% difference in speed, and they've huge security factors to make sure it's safe at 190km/h, but you never know. And anyway, if your tyres explode at 191km/h, I don't take any responsibility of that :D
 
These are not trackdays, these are Tourist drive sessions where everyone owning a car and a licence can go for a drive......
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
Okay, I have made up my mind. I have saved up enough money. I'm moving to North Carolina in August (possibly Colorado...still unsure about the location). Wherever I go though, I'm buying one of these:
*snip*
240hp, AWD, impeccable reliability and that sleeper factor.
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Goddammit, why did you have to post that. Now I want one.
 
The one I am getting will probably be black, worst case scenario - silver.

The Saffrons are way too rare and expensive. I wouldn't pay $4000 more just because of the car's color. T5-R may be cooler and boxier, but AWD will be undoubtedly better.
 
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