I thought I'd have a play with Google Video uploads, so I've placed two of my recent movie making efforts online.
The ARC Rally of Melbourne 2005
Historic Winton 2004
Enjoy!
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
What does an ALK do?
ALK stands for Anti-Lift Kit and is a common aftermarket suspension modification. It's basically a new set of lower suspension mounts that adjust the front geometry and alter the anti-lift character of the suspension. Cost of a kit for my 2002 Impreza WRX is around a few hundred bucks. If you're serious about track work and altering the front suspension you'd be better to go straight for a full kit with new strut tops. For the odd weekend squirt the ALK is ideal. Cheap and effective.
A common misconception is that the kit will REDUCE front end lift on acceleration. This idea comes obviously from the name anti-lift, however the revese is in fact true.
Normal suspension in any car has a characteristic known as anti-lift, which defines how much forward or backward force is transferred into upward and downward force when braking or accelerating. This force results in pitching and diving. A suspension setup with a 100% anti-lift will not pitch or dive at all, but instead transfer all forward and backware force to the tyres. This is bad however, because the tyres have to do much more work and you will much sooner overcome the level of grip they provide. The tyres will also spend less time in contact with the road if the surface is anything but billiard table smooth.
A car with less anti-lift (or more tendency to lift) will pitch and dive more, however the level of grip is higher because the fore-aft load on the tyres is reduced and they spend more time on the road. This is the reason why cars have springs and shocks. Less suspension movement and firmer suspension is good in terms of responsive handling and quickly changing direction, but bad in terms of outright grip, so some sort of happy compromise is required. That's why any car, even F1 cars, have some form of suspension to allow vertical movement, and do not simply bolt the wheels direct to the chassis.
The WRX ALK does two things.
1) reduce the anti-lift characteristic of the suspension, which in turn increases the level of front end grip for the reasons outlined above.
2) increases the amount of caster which in turn gives more dynamic camber when cornering.
In concert with the kit, a slightly different set of wheel alignment parameters can be used, and are generally provided by the manufacturer of the kit.
On the road, the difference is quite noticable. The WRX turns into corners much more eagerly, and higher cornering speeds can be attained. The natural tendency to understeer is reduced and power can be applied to better effect. Overall I'd recommend this modification to anyone.
For the dollars it's a very effective modification.
A common misconception is that the kit will REDUCE front end lift on acceleration. This idea comes obviously from the name anti-lift, however the revese is in fact true.
Normal suspension in any car has a characteristic known as anti-lift, which defines how much forward or backward force is transferred into upward and downward force when braking or accelerating. This force results in pitching and diving. A suspension setup with a 100% anti-lift will not pitch or dive at all, but instead transfer all forward and backware force to the tyres. This is bad however, because the tyres have to do much more work and you will much sooner overcome the level of grip they provide. The tyres will also spend less time in contact with the road if the surface is anything but billiard table smooth.A car with less anti-lift (or more tendency to lift) will pitch and dive more, however the level of grip is higher because the fore-aft load on the tyres is reduced and they spend more time on the road. This is the reason why cars have springs and shocks. Less suspension movement and firmer suspension is good in terms of responsive handling and quickly changing direction, but bad in terms of outright grip, so some sort of happy compromise is required. That's why any car, even F1 cars, have some form of suspension to allow vertical movement, and do not simply bolt the wheels direct to the chassis.
The WRX ALK does two things.
1) reduce the anti-lift characteristic of the suspension, which in turn increases the level of front end grip for the reasons outlined above.
2) increases the amount of caster which in turn gives more dynamic camber when cornering.
In concert with the kit, a slightly different set of wheel alignment parameters can be used, and are generally provided by the manufacturer of the kit.
On the road, the difference is quite noticable. The WRX turns into corners much more eagerly, and higher cornering speeds can be attained. The natural tendency to understeer is reduced and power can be applied to better effect. Overall I'd recommend this modification to anyone.
For the dollars it's a very effective modification.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
A WRX, a Monaro and a Mountain pass
I had the pleasure yesterday of driving the spectacular strip of bitumen that winds from Marysville past Lake Mountain over the range to Reefton and Warburton. The route we took can be viewed on Travelmate.com.au, which has an excellent Map Maker feature for creating maps and routes.
Marysville to Reefton Map
What made it even more fun was that one of my mates was tagging along in his dark purple Holden Monaro CV8. Known in the USA as the Pontiac GTO, and in the UK as the Vauxhall Monaro, this 2004 build example is the last of the original classic shapes before they got the Septic styled bonnet vents. All in all it's a nice looking car with a purposeful stance. It sports the Chevrolet sourced Gen III 5.7 litre V8, pumping out 245kW and 465Nm, giving it an 85kW edge over my 2002 build WRX, but also hauls an extra 300kg.
Even so, every one of my 160 kilowatts was lugging an extra 2kg on average, so the Monaro definitely had a lot of straight line squirt. In my favour, the CV8 was a 4 speed auto... (oh and a big heavy lump). We were both running Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tyres, though mine were 17" and his 18".
It was a brilliant day for an attack on a mountain pass, with not a cloud in the sky and temperature up around 30 degrees. To be honest, it was actually a bit hotter than ideal for the WRX, with the turbocharged engine preferring cooler denser air, the better to cram into the cylinders, but as it turned out that was nothing to worry about.
Winding up out of Marysville we were stuck behind a little Corolla for a few minutes, so I had a big purple Gen III looming in the mirror like a big playful doberman. Once the Corolla courteously pulled over and let us passed, we picked up the pace a little, but the straights and flowing curves meant that we were both pegged at the 100km/h speed limit.
Finally that sign that we all know and love appeared. The little squiggle with 35km/h recommended speed.
Left hander first... Here we go...
Late braking, blip the throttle into 2nd, point it in, nail it just before the apex and around you go. The corner tightens up but you can just wind on more lock and tuck the nose in... still accelerating. Exiting the corner, changing into third and straight into a right hander... short straight, on the brakes again, another left, another right.
The CV8 is nowhere... absolutlely nowhere to be seen. Within about 90 seconds I've put about a kilometer between the two of us. I back off and once the road opens out into short straights and sweepers, the big V8 comes looming in the mirror again. The top end of the Gen III is fabulous when it can be put to good use.
Then once again the road tightens up, snaking left and right with added savagery. The bitumen is smooth, sticky and limits of adhesion are very high. The WRX is in its element again, changing direction eagerly, transferring all 160kW to the road with the wonderful surge you get with a turbo Subaru and hurtling through the forest like a tiny white rollercoaster. I back off again and in short order I see the Monaro exiting the corner behind me nice and flat, but with a little twitch as the tail tries to step out. Off we go again.
Once or twice I enter a corner a touch too fast, but a slight lift of the foot rotates the tail out and nose in to put it back on line. Sometimes if you hurl it into the corner too eagerly, the tail comes out a touch before settling and hurtling onward again. It's a very easy, forgiving car to drive fast and it's easy to see why the WRX was a target for theives and ram-raiders. The sting in the tail is that if you do reach it's limits, you're going very, very fast!!
A passenger who rode in both cars commented that the Monaro was much more comfortable to ride in, but you could also feel the rear end twitching on corner exits as it tried to put down all 245kW through the 18" tyres.
All in all we had a great day enjoying two nice performance cars in an environment that they were meant for.
Marysville to Reefton Map
What made it even more fun was that one of my mates was tagging along in his dark purple Holden Monaro CV8. Known in the USA as the Pontiac GTO, and in the UK as the Vauxhall Monaro, this 2004 build example is the last of the original classic shapes before they got the Septic styled bonnet vents. All in all it's a nice looking car with a purposeful stance. It sports the Chevrolet sourced Gen III 5.7 litre V8, pumping out 245kW and 465Nm, giving it an 85kW edge over my 2002 build WRX, but also hauls an extra 300kg.
Even so, every one of my 160 kilowatts was lugging an extra 2kg on average, so the Monaro definitely had a lot of straight line squirt. In my favour, the CV8 was a 4 speed auto... (oh and a big heavy lump). We were both running Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tyres, though mine were 17" and his 18".It was a brilliant day for an attack on a mountain pass, with not a cloud in the sky and temperature up around 30 degrees. To be honest, it was actually a bit hotter than ideal for the WRX, with the turbocharged engine preferring cooler denser air, the better to cram into the cylinders, but as it turned out that was nothing to worry about.
Winding up out of Marysville we were stuck behind a little Corolla for a few minutes, so I had a big purple Gen III looming in the mirror like a big playful doberman. Once the Corolla courteously pulled over and let us passed, we picked up the pace a little, but the straights and flowing curves meant that we were both pegged at the 100km/h speed limit.
Finally that sign that we all know and love appeared. The little squiggle with 35km/h recommended speed.
Left hander first... Here we go...
Late braking, blip the throttle into 2nd, point it in, nail it just before the apex and around you go. The corner tightens up but you can just wind on more lock and tuck the nose in... still accelerating. Exiting the corner, changing into third and straight into a right hander... short straight, on the brakes again, another left, another right.
The CV8 is nowhere... absolutlely nowhere to be seen. Within about 90 seconds I've put about a kilometer between the two of us. I back off and once the road opens out into short straights and sweepers, the big V8 comes looming in the mirror again. The top end of the Gen III is fabulous when it can be put to good use.
Then once again the road tightens up, snaking left and right with added savagery. The bitumen is smooth, sticky and limits of adhesion are very high. The WRX is in its element again, changing direction eagerly, transferring all 160kW to the road with the wonderful surge you get with a turbo Subaru and hurtling through the forest like a tiny white rollercoaster. I back off again and in short order I see the Monaro exiting the corner behind me nice and flat, but with a little twitch as the tail tries to step out. Off we go again.
Once or twice I enter a corner a touch too fast, but a slight lift of the foot rotates the tail out and nose in to put it back on line. Sometimes if you hurl it into the corner too eagerly, the tail comes out a touch before settling and hurtling onward again. It's a very easy, forgiving car to drive fast and it's easy to see why the WRX was a target for theives and ram-raiders. The sting in the tail is that if you do reach it's limits, you're going very, very fast!!
A passenger who rode in both cars commented that the Monaro was much more comfortable to ride in, but you could also feel the rear end twitching on corner exits as it tried to put down all 245kW through the 18" tyres.
All in all we had a great day enjoying two nice performance cars in an environment that they were meant for.