Formula One Heads To Japan

Formula One is heading to Japan. And it will have a brand new circuit – the Fuji Speedway. With the breathtaking beauty of Mount Fuji as the background plus the action-packed race, Sunday’s race will sure delight F1 aficionados including myself.

Compared to the previous Suzuka circuit, the Fuji Speedway has a lot to live up to. And F1 drivers are looking forward to their first experience of Japan’s fresh GP circuit with an overtaking-friendly 1.5-kilometre straight and a multimillion-dollar refurbishment by Hermann Tilke.

But the most excited of all the drivers are the natives of the land. How do they feel?

“Fuji is a very interesting circuit, because one side is a very quick straight, and the other is very technical, especially sector three. For a driver it’s interesting, but for engineers it’s a real compromise. The last part is probably best for drivers. It’s a bit slow, but it’s fun to drive. And also this is the part where the driver can make a difference, good or bad,” said Sakon Yamamoto of Spyker in a FIA interview.

“The first time I raced there on the old circuit was in F3 in 2001. It was good until I crashed! My first race on the new circuit was 2005, in Japanese GTs. On the old track you could really use a big tow and you could pass more easily,” Yamamoto added. “Last year I was really surprised that so many Japanese fans cheered for us when I was driving with Super Aguri. That really gave me some power. So I’m looking forward to driving in front of them again. I also think my family and some friends are coming, so it will be good!”

“I am excited to be going back to Japan and to see this new generation of racing emerging. I have never raced in Fuji except when I was cycling, but this is a very famous circuit and its 1.5 kilometer long straight with heavy braking at the end could provide some great overtaking opportunities,” said Takuma Sato of Super Aguri.

“Fuji is close to Tokyo, where I am from, and it is set in the beautiful scenery of the mountains and lakes. I often went driving and cycling there when I raced bikes and it is a good ‘hilly’ training spot. The weather can be inconsistent as it is in the mountains, but on a clear day the view of Mount Fuji is amazing,” Sato concluded.

The Japanese GP timetable
(as provided by Planet-F1)

All times are local (Tokyo is GMT +9)

Thursday 27 September
15h00: FIA press conference

Friday 28 September
10h00 – 11h30: First free practice
14h00 – 15h30: Second free practice
16h00: FIA press conference

Saturday 29 September
11h00 – 12h00: Third free practice
14h00 – 15h00: Qualifying
15h00: FIA post qualifying press conference

Sunday 30 September
13h30 – 15h30: Japanese GP
15h30: FIA post race press conference

Japanese GP Info
No of Laps: 67
Race Distance: 305.721 km
Lap Record: n/a

New York Times Tells Us What Features Increase Resale Value

Christopher Jensen writing for the New York Times started off his article with the similarity between homeowners and car owners although I think that car owners are also homeowners. Anyway, he pointed out that homeowners know that some improvements they have made to a house will “pay off handsomely” when the house is put up for sale. This goes the same for car owners.

For those looking to buy a car and sell it after four or five years, any improvement that they have made on their daily driver will surely improve its resale value. And adversely, anything opposite of improvement will definitely lower the price of the car when the time comes to sell it. Just common sense really. But that’s not the entirety of it because Mr. Jensen’s article took an in-depth look as to what improvements will bring your car’s resale value higher.

According to Jack Nerad, the executive market analyst at Kelley Blue Book in an interview, safety equipments are good investments to make sure that the resale value of car would be high. “Safety equipment seems to be gaining in strength in terms of being an important feature.” But which safety equipments should we have in our car? Jesse Toprak of Edmunds gave us a guideline. He said that think ahead and figure out which safety feature will become standard equipment four or five years down the road.

Aside from a guideline, Mr. Toprak also gave us some example. He said that a minivan without side-curtain airbags is a big no-no. Thanks to the New York Times, we know now that five years from now, minivans will more likely have side curtain airbags as standard feature. So if I buy a minivan without that safety feature now, or after writing this post, I would be left with a vehicle that will have a low resale value five years from now. That’s not too good, right? After all, one of the reasons why some of us sell their cars after five years or so is to buy a new car with the sale of the old car financing the downpayment for the new one.

And if you want to have a bigger payoff when it is time to sell your car, consider buying a diesel-engined car. According to the same article, Mr. James Clark, the senior manager at Automotive Lease Guide, said that in 2005, a buyer of a Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI, the diesel variant in the E-Class lineup, will pay $575 more than a gasoline E320. During the time of purchase, one might think that buying the gasoline version is the better choice. But today, according to Mr. Clark, the diesel Mercedes-Benz resells for $5,000 more than the gasoline version. Hmmm… so stay away from gasoline-engined minivans without side curtain airbags.

ForTwo: Pretty Smart Or Obviously Dumb?

It’s chic, affordable, fuel efficient and small. Are you amenable to the saying that big things come in small packages? Then, how would you adjudge the Smart ForTwo?

Some say it’s pretty smart. But other aficionados say the car’s obviously dumb!

What’s your verdict?

“Americans are begging for this car,” said Smart USA President David C. Schembri. To be more exact, it’s Americans living in cities along both coasts that seem most interested in getting a Smart, which starts at $12,000 and gets about 40 mpg.

Newsweek’s Tara Weingarten talked to Schembri about everything that’s Smart. Excerpts are as follows:

Q: In America bigger is better. People think it means safer, even if that’s not true. Who wants a bite-size car?

David C. Schembri: I love this question. The logical conclusion to that question is that we should all be driving locomotives or 18-wheelers. The answer is we should all be getting smaller, as every other market in the world has done, for a variety of reasons including safety, economy, environmental and urban congestion issues.

Q: Yeah, but really people aren’t forsaking the SUV. So are you dead meat if you’re hit while driving a Smart?

DS: Any time you’re hit by an SUV it’s a dangerous situation. It doesn’t matter what you’re driving. But the Smart will work hard to protect you. The safety management system of the Smart is a safety cell, a reinforced steel cage that acts very much like a NASCAR roll cage. And there are standard safety features that are usually found only in luxury automobiles, like the electronic stability program, four front airbags, including head and thorax protection, ABS brakes and something called electronic brake-force distribution that helps the car stop fast. This is a tough car. It’s David vs. Goliath.

Q: A recent Consumer Reports review of Smart claims it’s a very unsafe car. If you say it’s got all these safety features, what gives?

DS: They tested a car that was never intended for the American market. It was a European version and doesn’t have many of the stringent safety specs that are required here in the States. There are about 90 new parts on the American version that were not on the version Consumer Reports tested.

Q: Is this just a do-good-mobile that’s all marketing hype?

DS: Smart is light, just 1,750 pounds, and we’re seeing about 40 mpg combined city and highway driving, though it’s not yet rated by the EPA. You feel good driving it, and you start to feel a sense of social responsibility from it. I equate it with other natural resources. If you’re in a restaurant alone, you wouldn’t order dinner for five, would you? Why drive a car large enough for five people if you’re just driving alone? You can help out other drivers by taking up a smaller parallel parking space, consume less fuel, thereby helping the environment, and feel great about it. Why is that bad?

Make a smart choice.

Can You Wheelie A Car? Oh Yes You Can!

This question seems so impossible, but it’s not actually! But of course you must have a rear wheel drive vehicle to perform this extreme maneuver! This trick is for some people who do not have anything to do with their lives except doing some extreme moves like this with their cars. You can do this for fun – that’s the main objective of this trick. And also, you can do this to impress the ladies and the crowd. Just see to it that you do this perfectly! You need thorough practice for this trick that’s why you need the right instructions and tips before you get extremely excited!

Two years ago, I also tried doing a wheelie in public with just minimal knowledge about it. I was just instructed verbally by a “reliable” friend. I was got totally red in the face when it turned out to be a flop! Of course I wanted to redeem myself so I researched for the right instructions and tips – and so I found it in WikiHow.com! The site gave me the right steps on how to do a car wheelie! And after weeks of practice, I finally got the technique.

Now, if in case you want to give it a shot, follow these guides first before you start your engine. This might help you execute the best car wheelie that you’ve been dreaming of! Follow these steps courtesy of WikiPedia.com:

In Manual Transmission

• Get a manual car with at least 250 Horsepower. This might not be enough to get a huge wheelie but it will release the weight off the front suspension. For a good Wheelie it’s recommended to have 400hp+.
• Get some tires that have a lot of traction or do a burnout first to heat up the tires to gain more traction.
• Go somewhere away from traffic, private property is a great place to do it.
• Watch for cops, if on public road
• Once clear prepare yourself!
• Do a burnout to gain more traction.
• Release your burnout and then line your car straight with the road.
• Push the Clutch Pedal to the floor.
• Put the Shifter in first gear.
• Rev the engine to 1000-2000RPMs below the Redline, being careful not to hold high rims too long.
• Quickly release the clutch.

Automatic Transmission

• Get an automatic car with at least 650hp+. It requires that much power because you can’t rev the engine for RPM torque like in a manual car.
• Get tires with lots of traction.
• Once clear prepare yourself!
• Do a Burnout to gain more traction.
• Release your burnout and then line your car straight with the road.
• Push the brake as hard as you can.
• Give the car as much gas as possible without doing a burnout.
• Simultaneously release the brake and FLOOR IT

If you had all the requirements then you should have just done a wheelie!

Do A Burnout!!!

If you’re rich enough to buy a new set of wheels every week then you can do the burnout as often as you want. But before doing this rubber burning stuff, you should learn the basics and, of course, do it with attitude and tenacity!

In racing, burnouts are very common before the opening lap commence. Heated rubber can help racers obtain an excellent handling while racing their car. I’m not posting this burnout here to tolerate you and your car to burn your tires and produce the awful burning smoke to clear things up. But if you insist or you get addicted with this hot stuff, you can do whatever burnout you want to achieve.

I’m here to give you the steps and tips on how to do a burnout with a front-wheel drive car which I proudly learned from my number one how-to-manual online – WikiHow.com . Just a piece of advice to all rubber-burning heads – TAKE IT EASY!

For Front Wheel Drive Cars

1. Put the car in first gear.
2. Hold in the clutch.
3. Rev the engine.
4. Pull on the handbrake. Alternatively, you can skip this step.
5. Release the clutch.
6. Move the handbrake up and down to control the burnout.
7. To stop the burnout ease off the accelerator and free the brake.

How to do a burnout in front wheel drive cars:

1. Put the car in first gear.
2. Hold in the clutch.
3. Rev the engine.
4. Pull on the handbrake. Alternatively, you can skip this step.
5. Release the clutch.
6. Move the handbrake up and down to control the burnout.
7. To stop the burnout ease off the accelerator and free the brake.

Tips:

• If the engine stalls you haven’t revved the car high enough before popping the clutch or your vehicle doesn’t have the power to burnout.
• To test if your car has sufficient power nail the gas from a stopped position and see if you can spin the tires.
• An alternative to a line lock is a “Brake Clamp”. Designed to clamp off a brake line when being worked on, these can also be used to shut off the rear brakes thus allowing only the front brakes to function when the pedal is depressed. Note: most cars have a steel brake line from the brake booster to the rear of the car; the area to put the brake clamp is a short length of rubber hose that attached to the differential. (Some cars have two separate brake lines, one for each side, in which case two brake clamps are required.)
• Try changing your tires. The worse your tires are the easier it is to make them spin, plus they smoke easier and you will not ruin your good tires.
• Increase the amount of smoke by lubing your FWD front tires with old motor oil.
• It can help to give the tires a quick powerful spin before pulling the e-brake.