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WCM Ultralite S2k

Brake Bias Issues

The only major dynamics complaint I had about my Ultralite was the rear lockup issue under hard braking. The car comes with a very nice set of Wilwood brakes (front and rear) with separate master cylinders for the the front and rear so it definitely wasn’t a component quality problem.

The issue I was having is that under hard braking at autocross the rears would immediately lock up and cause a lot of oversteer. This was even worse at the track where braking at the end of straights would lock the rears well before the fronts leading to bad porpoising at the rear.… Read the rest

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WCM Ultralite S2k

“Diff”icult times

After 18 months of procrastinating about updating the blog about the Ultralite I figure its time to start putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Regular followers of the blog may remember that my Buttonwillow adventure ended with the Ultralite being flatbedded home as it looked like on of the two bolts holding the diff in place had backed out and gas tank prevented me from doing a roadside fix. I was thus still quite happy on the truck ride home as I thought it would be an easy fix and I should be back on the road soon – little did I know that I was in for some “diff”icult times.… Read the rest

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cars personal photos road trip videos

The road from LOG 31 (Video)

Timelapse video of 3 Elises driving back from Lotus Owners Gathering 31 (LOG 31) in Vegas back to the Bay Area through Death Valley and Sonora Pass. Route chosen by Steve M and video by John Z, I just tagged along to make up the numbers 🙂

It was a spectacular drive with Sonora Pass (skip to the 3:10 mark in the video to see footage) with almost no traffic and excellent asphalt quality. The pass is closed for significant portions of the year due to snow so you should call ahead before you make the journey. Full route info below:


View Larger Map… Read the rest

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personal technology

FamousFood.us updated

Just a quick note that I have recently updated the FamousFood.us databases to include the 2012 Michelin Guide, Best Thing I Ever Ate (Season 6), Diners Drive-Ins & Dives (upto season 13) and Throwdown with Bobby Flay (Season 9). This update has added over 300 new restaurants to the database.

So head on over to FamousFood.us and find the restaurants featured on the Michelin Guide and TV shows like Best Thing I Ever Ate, Food Wars, Man V Food, Throwdown with Bobby Flay and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Happy Eating 🙂… Read the rest

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motorsport personal thoughts

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma

I recently attended the 2011 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway and was immediately struck by how different the experience was to the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis that I attended in 2002. This post is a quick recap of what I saw at Sonoma and why F1 needs to change and become more fan accessible.

I am a massive F1 fan and have missed watching only a handful of races since I started watching it in 1995. When I moved to the US in 2002 and got funding for my Masters degree the very first thing I did was start planning a trip to the 2002 US Grand Prix at Indianapolis.… Read the rest