4 Things I Learned From Real Racing 3

image from and credit to : Real Racing 3 for iPad, iPhone and Android

1. Brakes are crucial

     If you know the quote "what comes up must come down", then you know that there are two side of things: up and down, left and right, speed up and slow down. So no matter how fast your car can become, it has to slow down too. Otherwise you will be off course. Just like on life's corners, the right speed is needed. If not, you hit the wall, you get overtaken and you start from scratch.

     So, if you hit a wall in life, think about it. There's no other way but to move forward. Keep on fighting

2. Bump to brake

     If you bump the car in front, it brakes. It slows down and you find yourself tagging along. Even if you try to gas it up, you wont accelerate. This is good only if you are over speeding and hitting your brakes wont do it. To simplify, it's like learning how to slow down and use other's momentum to apply to yourself.

     When you have a very good life, you tend to forget other things and speed up. You overtake, pass and enjoy the moment. But if you don't know what's ahead of you and you're still speeding, you end up in a tragedy. Take this as a reality check. If you're the only one speeding and all are slowing down, there's something wrong about you.

3. Grass is not your enemy

     I had the privilege to join a track day with my old colt mirage. It's slow compared to the other cars on the track and the suspension is not that good. So, I had to think of something to compensate. While on a hot lap, I unconsciously drove through the grass and I would say it shove off a fraction of a second.

     Then I apply on Real Racing 3. Pros? It does shave some time. Cons? You have to service the car more. How to apply in life? Life is a carnage. It is a battle field, comparable to a street race dogfight. You have rules of engagement. But you have to break some of them once in a while. Sometimes, even you morals. If needed, you have to go off track.

4. Upgrade whenever you can

     There are times that no matter what you do, you'll end up as a runner up. That's the moment to realize you need an upgrade: more speed, more handling, faster braking and faster acceleration. On a long straight, you need more top speed. On corners, it's handling and acceleration. And on both, you need faster response on braking. It's good that upgrades in the game cost cheap. All you need to do is race, get the money and gold, buy upgrades.

     In real life, you have to upgrade a lot of things. But most important, you have to upgrade yourself: in physically, intellectually and psychologically. Dress up and present yourself properly. Keep asking questions and embrace new knowledge. Know how to face and handle negativity. In short, keep on growing, even if you are already in your 90's.

Enjoy the Game!

barn find find story

it's inspiring how old cars come back to the lime light. here's a story from briggscunningham.com

After being hidden away in a dusty warehouse in St. Petersburg, FL since the late 1970’s, LeMans 1960 Corvette #1 has finally emerged. Here is the real back story.

In 1993, Corvette restorer Kevin Mackay contacted the Lemans organization in France requesting the VIN #’s for the three (3) 1960 Cunningham Corvettes. After waiting for about six (6) months, they arrived. He subsequently gave them to Chip Miller (Events at Carlisle owner).

In 2004, Chip knew his days were numbered due to a rare and fatal blood disease, amyloidosis. He had been searching for the LeMans 1960 Corvette #1 and, without telling Kevin, agreed to give the VIN #00867S103535 to Larry Berman (Briggs Cunningham – Motorsport Historian) with the understanding that it wouldn’t be posted on the web site until after Chip had passed away. He passed on, the VIN # was posted then on the web site in 2004, and nothing happened for about eight (8) years.

On June 21, 2012 a person named Rick Carr did a “Google” search of that VIN # and it took him to the www.briggscunningham.com web site section “Race Car Roster”. He then sent an email to Larry Berman explaining that his father had been a car collector for most of his life and had purchased a highly modified 1960 Corvette from a junk yard in Brooksville, FL in the late 1970’s and that it had been in their warehouse ever since. He thought that it may be a prototype, finally uncovered the VIN # from years of paint & then removed the body to verify the number. He found that the same number was on the steering column.

Larry Berman was aware that Chip Miller had promised a friend that if the #1 Corvette was ever located, he would help him to acquire it. The friend had been searching for this car for about 19 years.

A call was made to Chip’s son, Lance, with the news that #1 was possibly available. He was excited with the prospect that he could fulfill one of his father’s wishes. After some conversations & emails, it was decided that the friend would fly to Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL to inspect the car. A deal was made and the car finally saw daylight after about 35 years.

The timing of this scenario could not have been better since the Corvettes at Carlisle event (August 23-26, 2012) was the perfect venue to showcase LeMans 1960 Corvette #1 to the public. It was unveiled in its “barn find” condition alongside its former teammate #3. We are looking forward to seeing the completion of the restoration of this historic Cunningham race car.

cunningham: the man and the machines

Road Racer Briggs Cunningham(1907-2003): Horsepower, Endurance, Sportsmanship

from: wikipedia.org

from: briggscunningham.com

from: chuck.goolsbee.org

rally pace notes with google maps get direction

from google maps

the "get directions" of google maps reminds me of rally pace notes. anyone using the app for tsd rally?

hyundai: i see a comparison to mitsubishi

hyundai i20 wrc: from racecar engineering

with the announcement of hyundai being back to wrc, i can't help but compare the whole scenario to mitsubishi's domination in the rally championship way back. i wonder what whould hyundai call their motorsport division, not to mention the engine that would carry them to championship. things are definitely looking good for the hyundai.

3 minute brake

3 minute brake

Just found out:

"When you stop at a stoplight and hold your foot on the brakes for approximately 3 minutes, the area just under the brake pads is under more pressure, so, it gets much hotter...about 400 degrees. This area expands even more, causing the rotor to "WARP". This area is permanently thicker than the rest of the rotor, thereby causing a sometimes violent vibration only under braking."

from: http://hdabob.com/Brakes.htm

so... now i know what to do.