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Gentlemen, Hack Your Engines!
Les Gasser writes "Ahh, drag racing! If you've never experienced the scent of nitro or
the flashing flames of a top fueler running 320MPH+ in 4+ seconds in a
standing-start quarter mile run at dusk, you're missing world-class
performance art. (See 'High Performance' for the classic on drag racing history and
culture). Now the NYTimes (registration needed) has 'Gentlemen, Start Hacking Your Engines,' an article on
're-engineering' engine control computers for maximum performance,
combining the drag racing and tech-geek traditions." Having learned everything I know about racing from Gran Turismo, I'm amazed to learn there's more than just buying a "racing chip".
Cobweb...if you had seen "The Fast and the Furious" you would of remembered the laptop that the police officer/(under cover racer) had a mad leet laptop controlling his engine.
There was opengl and everything....
You are so 2 years ago.
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Help my mini cause: My journal
Having learned all I know about racing from Mario Kart, I'm surprised they don't just carry some mushrooms and turtle shells.
"These are cars that can be remotely re-tuned during a race." Somebody has been watching the Compaq/HP commercial I think! ;-)
Martin
evoking seasons,
can be extremely hard for
haiku newcomers.
Well,I got as far as the second sentence where it mentions racing a Honda Civic and I can't read anymore. My brain has activited it's "Fast and the Furious" automatic defense system. I'll try again when I'm drunk enough.
Chika Chik-ah... do-e ow ow.
No matter how much HP you get a Civic to, it's still a civic. I had 20(+/-) year old guy and his girlfriend in a Civic SI come up next to my 427SC Cobra replica that I built (412hp, 420tq & 2200lbs total weight) and try to run me from a roll at 65mph. I don't care how much ECU tweaking someone does, there is: a) No replacement for displacement b) HP/TQ to weight ratio is KING c) "NAWS" on a stock motor will only last so long d) If your driving a Civic and want to roll against a open-side-piped, fire-breathing light-weight 427SC Cobra, you might want to have your head examined. ...and the girlfriend thought it was the funniest damn thing when I left 2 black lines for 100ft down the interstate...
On the technical side - Most of the ODBII compliant ECU's take a lot of time to crack. Many folks have done it on different models, but an easier way is to piggyback them most of the time.
Has Linus seen The Fast and the Furious yet?
Kernel 2.6 really needs to incorporate some NOS flow control, otherwise we'll top out at 140Mph!
These people are obviously mildly retarded.
Everyone knows that the engine has very little to do with racing performance.
It all boils down to the simple concept that if you want to be faster, you are going to need a Type-R sticker, some huge chromed wheels on the rear wheels (regardless of FWD or RWD) - or at the very least some chromed hubcaps that look like alloy wheels (the other racers won't know the difference).
you need a monster spoiler, some racing decals, and a coffee can sized exhaust tip.
If you want the power of nitrous, but don't want the hassle and/or cost of an installation, you can just clip a small fire extinguisher to the A frame of your car and other racers will know that you are faster.
All of this talk of "engines" and "chips" just shows a general ignorance about cars that I personally find appalling.
There are some odd things afoot now, in the Villa Straylight.
BMW released their new micro-processor (ooooh!) controlled ABS braking system when odd transient failures were reported by some customers - those that survived anyway.
It turns out that in certain excessively high RF environments the processor locked up. One such environment was while driving past one of those huge "Golf Ball" early warning radar stations so "popular" at the time.
I remember this because of the interesting discussion of what the fail-safe behaviour of a braking system ought to be:
void brakesPressed(BrakeEvent e)
}{
My dream has always been to modify my Ford Tempo to take a V12 Lamborghini engine and destroy everyone else out on the road. I don't really care if my car crumbles to dust after I destroy all of your cars - I'll take the Darwin award.
Wouldn't you be ashamed to be a person who mods his car or takes a great appreciation of fast cars only to be schooled by a Tempo?