That thread about cars

[Ryujin]

My cousin's husband used to race dragsters.

Never raced but 8 racing schools qualify me for a license, while over 20 years of track photography told me why I shouldn't

 

[LordEntrails]

I should also note that there is a way to burn through money faster than WH40K, car modding, or boats. It's racing. I've seen more than a few motorcycle racers burn through a second mortgage in a season, then never come back to the track again. I'd hate to think what racing cars would cost.

Racing costs as much money as you are willing to put into it. Takes a great deal of discipline not to spend that next paycheck on something cool/hot/fast or just to replace something worn. Like Tires! Tires are crazy, you can go anywhere from a set of street tires you drive home to thousands of dollars per race (i.e. F1, Indy, Nascar, etc).

How do you make a million dollars in racing? Start with two.

From Minneapolis so naturally we ice race here.

Winner gets a bag of cheese curds?

while over 20 years of track photography told me why I shouldn't

I would never do motorcycles. I require 4 wheels, and even then I am not casual about safety like so many others are. Sure nomex and a firesuit, gloves and shoes are hot, but all it takes is once. I've seen 2 car fires on the track in just a few years. No one ever hurt because the group I run with has its own safety truck w/ fire extinguishers never more than 60 seconds out and no one ever injured. But 60 seconds in a fully enveloped gas fire you don't survive unscathed without a full set of certified gear.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

One of my mentors was one of the last white guys to grow up in Compton. (I’ve seen some of his old pix.) As a result of his background, he was among the most unlikely rap fans I’ve ever met. He introduced me to this song, which I now share here, in this place:

 

[Ryujin]

Racing costs as much money as you are willing to put into it. Takes a great deal of discipline not to spend that next paycheck on something cool/hot/fast or just to replace something worn. Like Tires! Tires are crazy, you can go anywhere from a set of street tires you drive home to thousands of dollars per race (i.e. F1, Indy, Nascar, etc).

How do you make a million dollars in racing? Start with two.

Winner gets a bag of cheese curds?

I would never do motorcycles. I require 4 wheels, and even then I am not casual about safety like so many others are. Sure nomex and a firesuit, gloves and shoes are hot, but all it takes is once. I've seen 2 car fires on the track in just a few years. No one ever hurt because the group I run with has its own safety truck w/ fire extinguishers never more than 60 seconds out and no one ever injured. But 60 seconds in a fully enveloped gas fire you don't survive unscathed without a full set of certified gear.

If you want to be at least competitive even at amateur level, in sportbike racing, you're going through between $600 and $1200 worth of just tires per weekend. If you're a front runner, double that. Folks are wearing airbag suits now, to try and improve survivability in a crash. Two ambulances on site for a race weekend. At least one on a track day, for non racers.

I crewed for a friend who raced the FZR400 that I'm riding in that picture, for three years. His mantra was "IT on Monday" to remind himself that he wasn't a pro racer, so there was no need to try and push so hard that he'd pay the price. He still took a couple of rides in an ambulance.

I've crashed several times on the street, but never did on the track. On the track everyone is going the same direction and, if you're careful about choosing the groups that you ride with, there's a certain minimum level of skill and understanding of the rules of engagement. No intersections. No oncoming traffic to turn left across your path. The biggest danger is that some idjit thinks he's the next coming of Valentino Rossi and gets well in over his head, taking you out along with him. I've dodged a few of those in my time. Fixing broken bikes is also expensive and not recommended.

 

[SkidAce]

 

[SkidAce]

And before you say "Oh, GT"

...I modified it with a special kit to add a GT500 supercharger to the standard GT 4.6 engine.

Really catches people off guard hehe...

 

[Deset Gled]

I rented a car for a work trip today. They were low on stocked vehicles so I got upgraded to a Lexus for free. No complaints from this customer.

 

[dragoner]

Used to have a Challenger, had a hurst pistol grip (car vids are cool):

 

[Richards]

A couple decades back, a few of my co-workers were having a discussion about their ultimate dream cars. One wanted a Lamborghini, another a classic Corvette Stingray, and so on. They dragged me into the conversation (I'm not a car guy), so I told them my dream car was probably a Dodge Caravan.

After much mockery about my "pedestrian" dream car, I pointed out that I was already driving around in my dream car, while they would have to wait for theirs, if they in fact ever managed to get one.

They pretty much left me alone after that when it came to car discussions.

Johnathan

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A couple decades back, a few of my co-workers were having a discussion about their ultimate dream cars. One wanted a Lamborghini, another a classic Corvette Stingray, and so on. They dragged me into the conversation (I'm not a car guy), so I told them my dream car was probably a Dodge Caravan.

After much mockery about my "pedestrian" dream car, I pointed out that I was already driving around in my dream car, while they would have to wait for theirs, if they in fact ever managed to get one.

They pretty much left me alone after that when it came to car discussions.

Johnathan

Back in the late 1990s, a guy was trying to hype up a business deal to me, claiming I could make enough money to buy whatever car I wanted. Then he asked me what that would be. A buddy of mine was sitting there, silently observing.

I said a fully loaded Audi or Volvo sports sedan.

He said, No, I mean WHATEVER car you’d want to buy. A dream car.”

I replied, “I know all the various badges out there, and have fantasized about Porsches, Lotuses, Maseratis, De Tomasos, McLarens and others. I have friends and associates who own such vehicles, so I’ve been IN them. But I also know that I can’t drive a stick, and probably couldn’t handle the horsepower safely. And even if I could, those cars are impractical for my lifestyle. So I would get a loaded sports sedan from Audi or Volvo.”

The look on that guy’s face was so befuddled that my buddy started cackling his ass off. The rest of his spiel was disjointed after that.

These days, I might add a few other companies’ sports sedans and certain SUVs to the mix. But nothing truly exotic.