New forum signature

I use this ubdesigner website who makes nice animated bar for my forum signature. They are pretty need and can avoid big signature that angry some forum admins.

Here is mine.

 

Try it out yourself!

Anzac spirit - Time to sharpen my weapon

It is the Anzac day today, a holiday for me to reflect the lives that sacrificed during the world war. What an opportunity to tell my wife that I need to get new tyres! ... I don't know it worked well deep down in her heart but I still got an "yes".

I have a set of right hand side Bridgestone RE55s SR compound at home, sitting in the shadiest and driest area in the garage. It is time to use it up since the manufacture date is in the 13th week of year 2005. To look it up. You can see the indented combination of the sidewall, usually in the inner aspect of tyre. The last 6 digits are the week and year of manufacture. I heard that the rubber will stay strong if the compound is kept away from the sunlight. I don't know. It is always good to have fresh rubber.

Went to a local tyre shop, whose boss kindly open for me on a public holiday. He ordered 2 left hand side for me. They are the same size (245/40ZR18). For those who are not aware, these are R-Spec compound (or S tyre in Japan, or Semi slick in Australian term). Their benefits are high grip and stable (unbeatable in any class) of their sidewalls. It is the ultimate weapon. The downsides are lots though : They are heavy (compare with road sports radials), noisy (have a constant wooooo noise at around 80kmh), pick up stones, and wear fast (I think their wear rating is a mere 80, and I already have the hardest compound of the list). Anyway, here are some pics for the thread pattern.

 

Also I looked at the old tread pattern that I am driving more evenly across the tyres. It is much better I think with a combination of better driving skill, wider offset and wider rim. Wish I had a camera to take pictures.

Nice exhaust notes comes with consequences

Yes I was too painful to write on the spot but I had to take some pics. After installing the clutch I found the exhaust notes is different. Sounds so great! I thought the engine is just rev better since the clutch/flywheel install. And the tinging sound is just the clutch noise.

So wrong. The bolt of the midpipe actually comes off. And when I chase my time at Winton, it came off and give a nice exhaust blast. The best racing noise on earth. It may have robbed a kW or 2 from the turbulance flow though.

When I come back from the pit, I discovered the bumper is melted.

I felt the pain and the pic is just taken today.

Burn exhaust guard where the midpipe is.... you can see where the hot air goes through the plastic of the bumper. The clips have gone (melted) and I have to find a way to glue it on... well my mechanics has to do it. He is the one that cause the loose bolts.

 

The middle bit also suffered.... This will not make the repair... I might have to thinking of something clever for that. Need to polish the tip too!
 

 

Thanks heaps for William for his spare parts!.... I owe you one!