Three wheels good?

"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
10/30/2013 at 15:53 • Filed to: rally

DISCUSSION (13)

Hermann > Dusty Ventures
10/30/2013 at 15:55

Kinja'd!!!

Why is your name so small?

Turner950s > Dusty Ventures
10/30/2013 at 15:57

Three wheels preferable. Add lightness!

Dusty Ventures > Hermann
10/30/2013 at 16:07

Because my driver said she'd "take care of it" but forgot, so my name ended up being last second pharmacy paper stickers. The service crew washed the other side of the car and my name disintegrated off.

Hermann > Dusty Ventures
10/30/2013 at 16:14

Ahahahahah. Things I love about racing. Anything will do.

"Hey, stop the hose! Something fell off the car. Looks like... a bunch of stickers. Is there something missing? I can't find what's missing."
"Just the Co driver's name"
"Eh. Who cares anyway"

D > Dusty Ventures
10/30/2013 at 17:04

I know you were the co-driver, but how was the Yaris?

Dusty Ventures > D
10/30/2013 at 17:14

Fun car, handles great. Just needs more power and better gearing. We hit a couple long uphill sections where we couldn't break 30

His Stigness > Dusty Ventures
10/31/2013 at 00:54

Hey Mr. Dusty what do you think of this?

Dusty Ventures > His Stigness
10/31/2013 at 02:17

To be super honest, while I can tell you've put a lot of effort into it I disagree with the premise. For starters much of the enthusiast culture has long embraced the turbo engine. Nevermind the fact that rally has used it since back in the pioneering days when rally drivers were shoving turbo snails in their covered wagons on their way west, competing in the famed Oregon Trail Rally. 22 years ago a turbocharged Nissan won the famed Bathurst 1000 in Australia, a race tied to roaring V8s every bit as much as the Daytona 500. Despite that the Nissan not only won but set the record for the fastest Bathurst 1000 ever, a record that wouldn't be eclipsed until 2010. It was also the third turbo car to win the 1000 in four years, and the following year another Nissan would make it four out of five. Ferrari has been slapping turbos on their cars for decades as well, including what is (arguably) the greatest Ferrari of all time, the mighty F40. Even the Americans got on board long ago with the Buick Grand National GNX (a car that at the time was the second fastest in the world to 60 mph, smoking everything out of Italy and only being outpaced by the 911 Turbo).

I went off a bit on a tangent there but my point is I think if you say "the naturally aspirated engine is the enthusiasts’ bread and butter" you're going to get a lot of commenters calling bullshit, and that's what we're working to get away from. Issues beyond that: you still need to try and scale back the German-ness. I've heard people say it seems like you're just saying the same thing over and over again as if you think saying it enough times will eventually sway people to your side. And ending with "Germans are superior. Aren’t they?" is just staight up begging for trouble. As a whole if you want my advice I'd say stick this one back in the file cabinet and try something else. I'm sorry.

His Stigness > Dusty Ventures
10/31/2013 at 02:22

I didn't put a lot of effort into it though, I just thought of the 911, it's engine, and how everything is getting a turbo, and I just started writing.

So you're saying turbos are good? I assumed (obviously) that the typical enthusiast line is always to prefer a naturally aspirated engine.

The whole piece was meant to be kind of a joke, especially the last line "Germans are superior. Aren’t they?" Do you think a disclaimer at the end would make it any better?

Dusty Ventures > His Stigness
10/31/2013 at 02:54

Exactly, enthusiasts love themselves some turbo. In fact they've been sticking them on cars for over 50 years now and the first country to do it properly was *drumroll* Germany in 1974. To elaborate, GM made the first turbo engine in 1962 but it was unreliable. BMW made the second turbo in 1973, but the turbo lag and sudden abrupt power surge when the turbo finally spooled up was considered so dangerous they discontinued the engine. A year later in '74 Porsche put the turbo on their 911 (ironic, no) and that was the start of the turbo's story of success. Also don't forget that the most powerful era in Formula 1 history was the turbo era from 1977-1988 when turbo F1 engines were making up to 1,500 horsepower. In other words enthusiasts have been loving the turbo since before you and I were born.

As for your "Germans are superior" punch line, you really can't get away with that kind of joke right now. Too many people are going to think you're serious. You need to work on getting that range and diversity we've talked about first. Branch out a bit and move beyond your standard writing comfort zone. As is true with many other things pushing yourself in writing makes you better. As for this piece, I really don't think it's one for Oppo

His Stigness > Dusty Ventures
10/31/2013 at 16:21

Automatch seemed to agree with you and suggested that I just post the question about the 911 and how it will adapt with the times and I think combined with your advice that's what I shall do.

And the 911 was the first production turbo? That's kind of funny considering that the 911 is the worst possible car to try out turbocharging in.

Dusty Ventures > His Stigness
10/31/2013 at 16:33

The 911 was the first successful production turbo. The other two I mentioned (the GM and the BMW) both made it to production but were terminated within 1-2 years due to their listed issues. And I for one like the turbo 911s, I think they're fantastic cars.

His Stigness > Dusty Ventures
10/31/2013 at 16:38

Oh you said Germany was the first to do it "properly." The Turbo were great cars but they were a little amusing. My Grandad actually had one of the first Turbo's in the US though. My Grandad is actually to blame for German bias. My mom and Grandma have said that I am my Grandad reincarnated (he passed before I was born).