Air travel provided by: Virgin Atlantic
We love Lufthansa, but we’ve heard more than a couple gearhead friends online say very nice things about Virgin Atlantic so we decided to give them a try. Not only did we speak with a real person when we booked the flights, but she gave us her name and direct extension in case we had any questions at all. If the service on the plane is half as good as it was on the phone, I think we’re in for a treat!  [Disclaimer: We paid full retail price for our plane tickets. Virgin-Atlantic has in no way compensated us.]

UK accommodations provided by: @FastestCat
Our good friend Cat Lund has offered to host us at her cottage in Northampton, about an hour outside London. Would you believe her cottage is on the grounds of a Monestary which was built in the year 1145AD? 1145. That’s over 300 years before “The New World” was discovered and 631 years before the United States of America was founded. On top of that, Cat’s going to play tour guide and show us around so we get a real taste of English country life. Fish and chips and a pint in a real English pub? YES PLEASE.

(And maybe I learn a thing or two about proper afternoon tea parties for after my daughter is born, yeah?)

Ground transportation provided by: Mitsubishi Motors UK!
That’s right! Thanks in part to the good words said on our behalf by a number of our UK friends – namely Darin Frow of the Mitsubishi Lancer Register and Adnan Ebrahim of CarThrottle.com – Mitsubishi UK is providing us with a press car for our time in the UK. We won’t tell you what it is yet, but there’s room for four adults and we’ll be taking a lot of pictures of it while we’re there. As we’re Mitsubishi enthusiasts, we can’t express how excited we about this! If you’re on Twitter, give @MitsubishiPress a shout of thank you, for us.

The Agenda
Our dance card is filling up quickly, but we’re still very much in the planning stages at this point. Of course we want to check out the tourist attractions. The Crown Jewels, Big Ben, Parliament, the Tower of London, these are must-see things on our list. We also want to get out to see Stonehenge. (And I promise, despite my respect and admiration of Clark W. Griswold, no shenanigans at Stonehenge.)

image: John Crouch, New Zealand

Remember this guy?
Like we said, we’re Mitsubishi fans here at GBXM. And Darin has made arrangements for us to tour the facilities at MML Sports! Who is MML Sports, you might ask? Well, they’re only the people who BUILT the WRC Lancer Evolutions which dominated the World Rally Championship in the 90s. Today, they still specialize in Lancer Evolution race prep. Frankly, the only way this could get any better would be if Tommi just happened to show up.

We’re also going to attend an as-yet un-planned meet-n-greet with Lancer Register owners at some point. We’re really looking forward to getting to know some UK Mitsubishi enthusiasts and comparing notes in person instead online for once. Will Andy make it down with his Evo IX GT? Will Karl show with his Evo V RS? We don’t know yet, but we’re stoked!

10 days, 5 countries, 2 cars
Unfortunately, Mitsubishi can’t allow us to leave the UK with the press car, so we’ll have to secure a rental (still on the to-do list). We found a guy in the London area willing to rent his Colt on a site called WhipCar, but they can’t insure foreigners, so we’re going to have to cross our fingers and hope the agency we pick at random will have the odd Colt or Galant available.

In Bruges
As you can see in the map above, we aren’t staying in the UK. On Thursday morning, we’ll take the Chunnel over to France and head immediately east. Hopefully we’ll have time to stop In Bruges, on our way to The Netherlands, where we (Brian & Vanessa) will meet our business partner in GBXM, Dennis, face-to-face. If we don’t crash with Dennis, we’ll at least stay in-town.

ET PHONE HOME
And the event that got this whole ball of wax rolling? Elbetreffen. Friday afternoon, the three of us will roll into Pretzsch-Elbe for the start of the biggest Mitsubishi meet in Germany. We’re expecting somewhere on the order of 400 Mitsubishis to show up from across Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and beyond. I’ve heard guys show from as far away as Finland sometimes. This is HUGE, and we never would have known about it were it not for our Baden-Württemburg Mitsu-Fruende family.

The TODO List
I need to get some custom GBXM “World Tour” shirts made for Dennis, Ingmar, Ralph, Tschippi, and order a set of side markers for Ingmar’s Lancer as well. We still need to choose our car rental for ET, find a hotel near Gatwick for the day before our flight home after ET, and double check out budget for things like the conversion rates between the British Pound Sterling and Euro, the high price of fuel in Europe relative the US, fees for things we want to see or will have to do (Chunnel, anyone), and so on.

There is still much left to do on our list. This is in no way complete. There are still easily half a dozen people we’re trying to coordinate face time with while we’re over there. 30 days from now, the GBXM 2012 World Tour will be nearly complete, for now, we enjoy the thrill of adventure on the horizon.

We hope to see you there.
And if not, we hope our story will give you some ideas for planning your own international gearhead adventures in the future. This really is some of the most fun you can have away from home. It’s a great, big world. Get out and explore it!

In the glovebox:

• 2 Reasons Why You Want to Make International Gearhead Connections
• Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!
• A Gearhead in Need

Thank you for subscribing to Gearbox Magazine.

image: Ginny Warner, loosha.nl

If you’re lucky, the steaming pile of unmaintained scrap on the shoulder doesn’t cause one of the mouth-breathers ahead of you to rear-end another one, causing an even longer delay, as they further impede the flow of traffic. In situations like this, you might think the people who couldn’t be bothered to maintain their vehicles ought to be punished for causing so much interruption to their fellow citizens’ lives.

But who is really to blame?
Is it really the poor schmuck who couldn’t afford a newer car or didn’t know how to properly maintain it? Or is it the local government, for not ensuring the school system was more about life-long learning than industrial era, assembly line memorization in pursuit of an increasingly less valuable certification? Why isn’t there cleaner, efficient mass transit in place so people who can barely afford a car might be able to go without? And why are our cities designed with where we live so far from where we work? And why, if that’s really what we want, aren’t the roads sufficient to carry all the traffic they must? Who is to blame for this?

Placing blame never solves anything.
In fact, pointing fingers is usually a good sign of someone not actually doing anything to solve the problem. See every politician currently in the news. Clearly, poor, uneducated people being unable to afford reliable transportation and adequately maintain it to be reliable who break down and cause delays are a problem. Without a doubt, the growing number of oblivious cattle with neither interest in nor ability to drive clogging our roads because they live 25 miles from the office and can’t spend 3 hours on a bus twice a day commuting are a problem. But rather than pointing fingers, shouldn’t we maybe come up with solutions?

image: Kenn Kiser

We shouldn’t punish the vulnerable.
We should be recognizing the responsible. Instead of beating those who can’t further down, we should be lifting up those who can and do. I’m thinking there should be a graduated license structure in place. Each year, you would go to a special inspection location, pay a reasonable fee – maybe US$50-$100 – and get a complete vehicle inspection.

Once your vehicle was deemed safe (read: properly maintained) and your driving record was confirmed clear of any citations or at-fault accidents, you would get a special decal for your license and plate. If a police officer spots you passing on the right or not using a turn signal, you lose the credentials on the spot for the remainder of the year, but maybe you get a discount on your insurance and a little leniency if you’re doing 10-15mph over the posted speed limit. I mean, now they know you’re a good driver with a properly maintained vehicle, right?

We have problems to solve.
If we allow governments to penalize those unable to afford reliable cars or incapable – for whatever reason – of maintaining them, where will it end? If we allow laws which punish those most vulnerable among us, how long before others support laws which attack our weaknesses? What if they decide pre-OBDII vehicles are major causes of pollution and should no longer be allowed on the roads? How long before they restrict ALL lanes on the highway to a minimum of 2 persons per vehicle at any time?

Gearheads United!

• How do we solve the problem of people unable to afford reliable vehicles?
• How do we make being a good driver a point of pride for the average Joe?
• What should be checked at an annual inspection like this?
• What would a premium driver’s license be worth to you?

In the glovebox:

• FF: Why We Buy New Cars
• #GTKY: Awesome EVs
• #GTKY: Favorite Race Tracks

Thank you for subscribing to Gearbox Magazine.

Recently, I saw something about Honda working with Tesla to release an electric RAV4 (Hat Tip: TTAC). It will be about US$50,000 (€38,000), have a top speed around 75mph, a range of 100-120 miles (160-190km), and only be sold in California. In all fairness, I think this is pretty cool, because more people driving EVs will mean better EV technology at better prices – hopefully increasing demand for renewable power to charge them. But much like the Chevy Volt, I think gearheads can do better.

I quickly hit Google to track down some of the DIY EV RAV4 conversions I’ve seen over the years. Unfortunately, the automotive press has since flooded Google with thousands of paraphrased press releases in pursuit of the almighty pageview (they sell advertising based on pageviews – we don’t, in case you hadn’t noticed).

Searching for “EV RAV4″ all I got was a bunch of press release bullshit. If I didn’t already KNOW there are thousands of people out there building their own EVs, I might think the only way to get an electric RAV4 would be to come up with fifty grand and make a trip to California. If you ask me, that is NOT OK.

So I did some digging around. There’s this website called EVAlbum, which has almost 3,500 DIY EV conversions cataloged. Some are done by professional shops (the hot rod shops of the future, by the way), most are done by regular gearheads just like us. You can search by make or location. It’s really cool. You should totally check it out.

In the meantime, here’s some of the electric RAV4s already on the road I found on EVAlbum.

Mike Rathbone's 2005: RWD, 75mph top speed, 80 mile range

Steve Clunn's 1996: 55mph top speed, 30 mile range

Richard Haywood's 1999: 79mph top speed, 100 mile range

David Kois' 1996: 70mph top speed, 100 mile range

Steve Hawkins 2001: Probably one of the original Toyota conversions, but there's a Kawasaki Ninja EX-500 running an AC generator in that little trailer. SUCK IT, VOLT.

Andrew Biggs' 2005: has motor & controller, work in progress

A couple of these, above, might have originally been converted by Toyota, but that’s not the point. The point is, we have the ability to make our own EVs right now. Regardless your view of oil supply and demand, it’s a safe bet to expect fuel prices to continue to climb, while EV and renewable energy technology gets better and cheaper.

20 years ago, radio controlled cars ran for 4-5 minutes on an hour’s battery charge. Today, everyone’s running brushless motors, digital controllers, and lithium ion battery packs. Those same toys now run for the better part of an hour on a single charge, faster and more reliably than ever before. That’s exciting. And it’s coming to our driveways relatively soon.

Gearheads United!

• At what fuel price do you think you would look into driving an EV?
• Would you buy or build an EV? Which one?

In the glovebox:

• Toyota Corona MKII on a budget
• Crossing the Dark Continent in a Light Truck
• Forum Friday #3: Gearhead News from Across the Web

Thank you for subscribing to Gearbox Magazine.

Most of this article was originally published on my personal blog back in 2010, but considering our recent story on why we buy new cars, I thought it might be good to bring it back here on Gearbox Magazine. SMART goals are a simple, yet powerful way to make sure we get the most out of our projects.

Image: Schoschie, Creative Commons

SMART goals
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Notice I said “and.” SMART goals are smart because they are all of the above. There is a great deal of power in SMART goals, but if you omit any part of the formula, you limit potential benefit to yourself (and likely wasted a lot of time trying to come up with a half-assed goal).

Comparing SMART goals to lesser goals
If you’re not familiar with SMART goals, you might like to see an example of how they are better than lesser goals. Stand and deliver! Here you go!

SMART: I will build the most powerful all-motor Mitsubishi Eclipse in North America by the end of the year.

This goal is specific as hell.

This goal is measurable. On December 31st, I will either have the dyno slips to prove my Eclipse is more powerful than Mr. Bullett’s (or any other Manchurian Candidates which might surface toward the end of the year), or I won’t.

This goal is attainable. Well, maybe. Mark has been consistently breaking this record almost monthly for the last few years, but it’s not like he’s got a NASA rocket scientist locked in his garage or owns an Unobtanium mine. He knows his stuff and works hard to keep pushing the limits. Enough homework and elbow grease, and I stand a good chance of besting him.

This goal is realistic. Okay. We’re talking about beating Mark Bullett at his own game, here, so maybe this isn’t the best example, but you get the idea. “First Mitsubishi Eclipse on the Moon” is unrealistic. If a goal isn’t challenging, it’s a lazy-ass cop-out, but while anything truly could be possible, you have to know your limits and set goals which challenge you to raise them a little bit at a time.

Finally, this goal is timely. I will do this by the end of the year.

Now, let’s look at a lesser goal.

Image: Girl in the Black Car

Generic: I will build a ten second Eclipse.

Way to go, Spilner. This is about as useless a goal as you can get. Sure, drag racing is implied (we’ve all seen The Fast and the Furious by now), but that’s about it. Maybe you drag race all the time. Maybe you tow your flat black DSM all over the region during the season and very seriously drag race, in which case breaking into the tens could be a very solid goal. Then again, maybe you drive this car to community college and your part time job at the mall, only getting out to the track a couple times a year.

Look back at the SMART goal, then look at the generic one. A “ten second Eclipse.” How much time have you allotted to make it a reality? Oh, you didn’t set a deadline? Well, then! You better dump truckloads of cash into this thing right away because nothing else matters. So close, no matter how far, right?

Is it attainable? Of course it is! And therein lies part of the problem. We’ve seen hundreds of DSMers cutting 10 second quarter-miles in the last decade, so we all know it’s absolutely possible, but how realistic is a 10 second car for you, in your situation?

(Note: The black Eclipse pictured above is that of Kim Schuenman, She is a real racer with a real race car. Just so we’re clear on that one.)

Image: xmatt, Creative Commons

Your situation
Coming up with SMART goals can be difficult, but if you don’t have a genuine understanding of your unique situation, you’re building upon a flawed foundation. To thine own self be true!

Before you even begin to shop for parts, ask yourself questions like these:

How do I most often use my car?
Where do I most often use my car?
What would make my car the most fun most of the time?

Image: kainr, Creative Commons

Closing
I’ve been working with SMART goals for a couple years or so now and I’ve seen how they work. Being able to track your progress toward your goal helps keep the motivation up to press on regardless. And there is no feeling like knowing – without any doubts – you achieved what you set out to do.

Gearheads United!

Coming up with SMART goals isn’t always easy, but they are well worth your time. What are you current goals? Can you make them SMART? Would you like help? Share a goal in the comments and let’s get you a specific target to aim for!

In the glovebox:

• Should Breakdowns be Punished?
• FF: Why We Buy New Cars
• #GTKY: Awesome EVs

Thank you for subscribing to Gearbox Magazine.

Where do you live?
Adelaide, South Australia.

What do you do for a living?
Horticulture, grounds, garden and handyman.

What kind of car are you driving?
Really depends on what is drivable and has rego [registration -Ed.]… Or has the most petrol at the time.
Current drivable ones are:

• 91 GTO (3000 GT) as a dail,y but don’t use it much.
• Ford Ranger (Mazda BT-50) that work has kindly provided for me.
• 74 GB Galant on a historic rego scheme (allows me to use the car 90 days throughout the year via a log book). Needs the motor reconditioned.
• 73 Dodge Colt A53H
• 81 GH Sigma Peter Wherrett Special that is on a historic rego scheme (same as the 74 GB).

How did you come to own/buy the Sigmatron?
Word of mouth. Speaking to a friend about an article on the car, he got me in contact through another person who owned the car and was wishing to part with it.

What is your end goal for the Sigmatron?
I want to make it drivable and get it registered on the road if possible.

What have you already done to the car?
Haven’t done anything to the car as of yet besides cleaning it and putting a cover over it. Besides that I have been collecting as much information on it as I possibly can via internet and magazine articles.

What are you planning on still doing to the Sigmatron?
I want to make it drivable and get it registered on the road if possible. If not, it will just be restored and taken to a few car shows and possibly head back to the Birdwood National Motor Museum where it has spent most of it’s life.

What was the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome, during the project/build?
As I haven’t even started to re-build it, I cannot really give a definite answer to this. But from looking at it and what is involved, I know there will be a lot of time and effort into making moulds of the flares/body kit on the car (not to reproduce and sell, but for my own sake in case something happens).

What’s powering the Sigmatron? Specs?
The original article states that it is powered by a 2.0L turbo motor, but the latest article from 2009 shows a picture of a 2.0L naturally aspirated one. As to whether it ever had a turbo motor or not remains a mystery. The car being 30+ years old, anything could have happened in that time to the motor. Also the people would have been under strict instructions at the motor shows not to open the bonnet.

How easy/hard is it to get parts of this car?
It is very hard apart from a few pieces to find anything for the Sigmatron as it is a one-off car that was only made as a concept car for car shows and not for production for the general public.

Some other information on this Sigmatron you would like to share?
It was destined to be crushed before being rescued by some employees of Mitsubishi. A few had inquired about the car before me and only want it for parts like the rim’s and seats. Luckily for me they were only willing to sell it as a whole and knowing how many other classic Mitsubishis I have, they knew it was going to a good home.

Share one of your favourite moments you’ve had with this car?
Transporting the car from where it was located to where it was going. The amount of heads that my mate and I saw turn. We were following the tow truck and it was just funny to see the look on people’s faces as they were walking or in their cars turn their heads in disbelief as to what they were seeing.

Are you a gearhead? What does that mean to you?
I would have to say that I am a gearhead.

I really like my cars and go to a lot of shows/events to do with car-related things. I can appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making a car to what it becomes in the final product.

Where can people find and connect with you?
sigma-galant.com or gearheads-united.com – username: GB_BB4C|

Magazine issues:
AMC – Australian Muscle Car, Issue 12 March/April 2004
MM – Motor Manual, April 1980
UC – Unique Cars, Issue 301 July 22nd – August 18th 2009
SMS – Sydney Motor Show pamphlet/book

[Show as slideshow]

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Gearheads United!

• Which came first: Sigmatron or Fox body Mustang?
• What’s your favorite concept car? Was it ever built?

In the glovebox:

• Mike Little’s Beast from Down Under
• Refurbishing the Old Galant
• 2 Reasons Why You Want to Make International Gearhead Connections

Thank you for subscribing to Gearbox Magazine.

Today is Forum Friday, the one day of the week I’m supposed to have a handful of neat threads to share with you from all over the web. Unfortunately, I’ve been so busy the last few weeks, I’ve barely been able to get to my own home boards, and I don’t want this series to be my favorite discussions from GalantVR4.org, 4x4wire.com, and ExpeditionPortal.com. I mean, that’s all fine and good and all, but this is supposed to be about variety!

<subliminal>SEND ME LINKS TO AWESOME THREADS THE GEARHEAD UNIVERSE NEEDS TO SEE AND I WILL MAKE SURE THE WORLD KNOWS YOU FOUND THEM FOR US. </subliminal>

There was, however, one conversation - on GalantVR4.org - which stood out to me and inspired this post. It touched on something very important that I think nearly every gearhead who has to slowly build his project over time deals with once in a while; that feeling that it’s time to get out of one project and start up a new one.

The grey car was supposed to be spare parts for the race car in the garage, but here we see 464 about to get 195's engine.

The #1 reason why we buy new cars is…
We are tired of the old one. Hardly the revelation some might have expected from the headline, but what I think is so important is the underlying reasons why so many of us get tired of our old cars and get rid of them before they’re completed.

Some of our brothers and sisters are fortunate enough to reach a point where they complete their projects to the letter. They can step back, look at their vehicles, and consider them done. These vehicles are maintained, maybe driven to shows or raced for a couple seasons, and then the thrill is gone.

At the other end of the spectrum, some of us seem to never make any progress. It’s as if each step forward is matched by two steps back. How did my once running car become a gutted, dust-covered pile of steel and plastic in my garage? We laugh about being JSB (jack stand baller), but we’re crying on the inside. At once, we are reminded of our dreams and our shortcomings. Negative progress sucks!

The new engine going into 464/1000.

The #1 reason we get tired of the old one is…
We don’t take the time to properly plan in the beginning. This, too, is hardly a revelation, but this is where I think the majority of us Regular Joe Gearheads run into trouble. When we don’t stand for something, we fall for anything. If I haven’t determined I only need 300whp in my bullet-proof, reliable daily driver, so I can still run with the big dogs at the race track every other weekend, I’m susceptible to peer pressure to build the fastest, most powerful car I can. And we all know there’s a lot of pressure to do that sort of thing.

But I had a plan. I had a goal. And I STILL got tired of my car.
Hey. I’m not suggesting it’s a black-and-white deal. It’s just that it’s far too easy to think of arbitrary numbers as meaningful goals. Know thyself, gearhead. It’s perfectly normal to want a race car – most of us do – but few of us are willing (or able) to live with one on a daily basis. Do you really want to depend on a finicky bitch of a machine tuned right to the bleeding edge to get you to work every day? I don’t.

Remember this episode of Top Gear?

Clarkson was in a Lamborghini, Hammond was in a Porsche (of course), and May was in a stripped-down, race-spec Aston Martin. It was brilliant in the end, but for the majority of the episode, he was miserable. There’s a lesson to be learned there.

COMPROMISE.
Seriously. It sounds counter-intuitive at first, but can bring us rich rewards. In the Top Gear episode, above, Jezza and the Hamster drove 100% stock vehicles. Granted, they’re super-cars, but they’re stock. And though Captain Slow’s Aston Martin never broke down on him, as many of our relatively low-budget machines have done, the no-expenses-spared performance build turned the majority of the experience into a nightmare.

GET SMART.
The trick, then is to set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely – SMART – goals for our projects based on how we use them most often. When we turn our daily drivers into race cars, we have to expect to lose comfort and reliability. There’s a reason why just about every purpose-built race car out there arrives and leave the track on a trailer. Why do you think that is?

Just before I handed over the keys and title to the new owner...

In the end, I probably spent a good 80 hours and $200-$300 on my old Galant. When I was done and the rage subsided, it was better than I ever thought it could be. I mean, it was really, really nice. I look back at these pictures now and feel a twinge of regret at selling it, but I’m also fortunate to have another one in the garage and can use this experience to motivate me to make progress on it.

Gearheads United!

• Why did you buy your current project?
• What does it take to daily drive a race car?

In the glovebox:

• Should Breakdowns be Punished?
• #GTKY: Awesome EVs
• #GTKY: Favorite Race Tracks

Thank you for subscribing to Gearbox Magazine.

I’m glad I did. Today, GBXM shares the story of a gearhead building with conviction and purpose. 

Introduce yourself. Who are you, where do you live, what do you do for a living, and what do you drive?
My Name is Chris Essman. I live in Chicago, Illinois, USA. I work at a large telecom group providing emergency management for a few states, their various agencies, and a couple constituent companies.

I have two project vehicles, both of which were undergoing constant metamorphosis until last year.

The one getting all my attention lately is a 1992 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST which I intend to use for “Standing Mile” passes and hope to progress on to Land Speed events.

The other is a 1.5L 2008 Honda Fit Sport that I daily drive but have some plans for, that I at least find exciting. It has already had one home-made turbo kit on it and I am currently designing a compound (or staged) turbo system involving a trio of stock DSM turbos (two T25s as the primary stage and a 14B as the secondary) that I have laying around.

We’ll get to that later if you find it pertinent or interesting, provided the rest of this doesn’t exhaust you… haha. [Editor's note: We WILL be talking to Chris about the triple-turbo Fit in the near future. COUNT ON IT.]

Both of which I see as a sort of tribute to my late father, who succombed to end-stage esophageal cancer in January after an absolutely brutal two and a half year battle.

He would’ve been 65 this past March, taken well before his time. My father had an avid love for intellectual pursuits and a brilliant mind for engineering, something he did his best to have instilled in me. At least I would like to believe so. This was something he had always supported me with and encouraged me to push my understanding of, saying if I hadn’t broken anything I wasnt trying hard enough. Sure enough between a few friends we have a “wall of shame” with a whole host of parts that either failed us.. or we failed them.

And thats where these two cars come in. They are my rolling engineering experiments, multi-discipline endeavors that provide a constant challenge, and headache.

The real goal above all else is to build a car that I can drive under its own power a couple states over, make a few full bore passes at the mile tracks, change the oil, put the all-season rubber back on and putter home suffering as little carnage as is possible.

I fully realize how silly this sounds to Standing Mile and LSR veterans of course. Especially when my secondary goals are to eventually pull off a 200mph Standing Mile, as well as 225mph on pavement at Loring in Maine and 200mph on the salt at Bonneville.

These tracks are a ways from Chicagoland. Would you still look to drive the race car all that way and back? Aside from not having a ride home after a DNF, what other risks do you see in driving the race car long distances to the track? Would you retain HVAC functionality, a radio, any creature comforts? How might your desire to maintain streetability impact your ultimate performance goals on the track?
I do have a vehicle I can tow the car with, and I will have a trailer which I intend to haul tools, camping gear, parts, fluids and equipment. The plan though is to keep this car street legal and “streetable,” though that is an extremely subjective term.

The car does not have heat or A/C, even though most of the time I drive my DSMs it is during Chicago’s brutal summers. I am debating on putting a radio in, but I doubt I would be able to hear it over the fender-exit exhaust or even the 4.5″ straight pipe I am having made for street duty.

As far as driving a car like this great distances? Certainly there is the worry of an incident, or failure with extended street duty. But in all honesty I have not had much difficulty with daily-driving modified/heavily modified cars. Even on my current 17 mile commute (one way).

A temporary work engagement from late April through early July of 2011 had me commuting at minimum 40 miles from the far North East side of Cook County towards the Lombard/Joliet Area and often as far South as Kankakee/Bradley which is about 80 miles each way. At the time both my cars were modified. The Honda Fit had a second harnd journal-bearing GT2560 being tuned with a set of DSM 450cc injectors and an AEM FIC-6, and the Plymouth was powered with ECMLink V3, FIC1450cc injectors a couple fuel pumps, meth injection kit and sporting a 59mm Borg Warner S200sx in a variety of turbine housings.

I was experimenting with drive vs. boost pressure at the time so the Plymouth was constantly apart and put back together, but neither had ever left me stranded. *knock on wood*

I can’t say I expect to have the same luck with the Eclipse, as I’ve surely jinxed myself with that last sentence. But one can hope.

There will have to be some compromises made in terms of driving the car on the street of course. The Fit is the only car I take out if there is any hint of rain/snow forecast for the week.

What the extent of those compromises will be? I can only guess at this point in time. Admittedly being stuck in traffic on a main artery in stop-go traffic with a heavy clutch pedal, no A/C and a lightswitch-like clutch in 95*F heat wearing slacks and a button-up can prove uncomfortable. [As someone who also wears the button-up and commutes to work in an older Mitsubishi with no AC, one sympathizes. -ED.]

Driving the race car to the race and back is no mean feat for a full crew with sponsors, so I can appreciate how ludicrous that sounds for an unknown twenty-something working out of his garage on nights and weekends with only the support of some great friends, family and a dedicated girlfriend of 6 years. All of whom put up with my madness and car-babble.

The 1992 Eclipse is not my first DSM, but it is certainly the nicest so far.

I spent three years looking for a shell that had not been either destroyed by the salt that plagues the northern half of the US or an over-eager and under-researched teen who could arguably do as much damage and more in less time.

Finally in July of 2011 I found her, just a couple towns over. It was being sold by a Porsche Technician who had inherited from his mother and he had intended to turn it into a project of his own. Both of them had garage kept the car for the entire twenty year duration of its existence, and it just barely showed signs of use in spite of the one hundred and twenty thousand miles it had turned over.

It was immaculate and had all the small touches done to it that really made it stand out. Every mount and bushing had already been replaced with hard polyurethane, all the brake lines done in braided stainless steel, the AWD half shafts had been installed with the driver side A/C bracket that helped cut down on wheel-hop, and the list went on.

The owner’s name was Chris, and he just wanted his baby to go to a good home where it would be appreciated. I told him of my plans to run it in the mile and eventually take a shot at entering into Land Speed a few years down the road and a massive grin lit up on his face.

“Boy, do I have a surprise for you!” he exclaimed. Never would I have guessed that in the garage adjacent to where I was standing that there was a full-tube chassis, former record holding Lakester class LSR vehicle. One that had done nearly 300mph and held two records at one point. I was floored. They were getting prepped for SpeedWeek at my Mecca… Bonneville. Unfortunately they were too busy for any real pestering but to get just a glimpse of what went into such a feat laid out in front of me was a true eye opener.

This coupled with my recent discovery that Mike Reichen of all people had been my HVAC tech for years and had actually worked in my house, I was now determined to try my hand.

Who is Mike Reichen and why is this important to mention? (We’ve heard of him, but for those who might not…)
Mike Reichen is the owner and pilot of multi-record holding Evo 2, which had been trapped at an astonishing 237mph in the standing mile recently. From a standstill to 237mph in just 1 mile! In a two liter 4-banger no less.

My longer term goal, for 5 years from now, is a paltry 225mph at Bonneville with a couple miles to wind out. He [Reichen] rowed that car through – yes it is a manual transmission – in a mere fraction of that distance. Clearly the result of the machine cooperating, years of hard-earned experience, and a team of capable gearheads that I hope to try and emulate in due time.

He is also a very nice, hard-working and humble individual. I can however guarantee he would not remember meeting me as did not even recognize him when he was working at my house over the course of a couple days a few years back and then another visit last summer. It wasn’t until a colleague of his was back for a follow-up appointment and saw my Eclipse in the garage that any dots were connected because he made an off hand remark to the effect of “I know this guy Mike who races these Mitsubishis” and it wasn’t until a prodded him a bit on that did I learn just who he was referring to!

I won’t give away where he works as I doubt he would appreciate that.

So after years of trial and error on a few different platforms, endless research and little sleep I have come down to a combination of parts I think will be capable of actually hitting 200mph.

Currently the Eclipse build consists of:

The next step is getting the chassis certified to meet the exceptionally stringent rubric for Land Speed, including the full cage, roof rails, the suit, and the halon system. Then the aero and suspension modifications, as I get a few shakedown passes in and see what she feels like at speed.

Can you shed a little light on some of the more challenging build requirements you’re facing for LSR certification and how they’re different from the typical 1/4 mile or road racing car? Why are these requirements so intense? 
Because I eventually intend to work my way into the LSR game, and I am on a severely modest budget due to all the goings on of buying my first house and other costs of life, I need to go big the first time on the safety equipment. That means having a cage built to remarkably stringent standards that the LSR tech officials require of cars that intend to exceed 200mph.

Being that my biggest ambition is to try and touch 225mph, the cage, fire suppression system consisting of 20lbs of halon, roof rails, parachute, helmet, and fire suit all have to meet code. Since I can guarantee a legal 200mph license run wont happen for a few years at the minimum, I have to plan on over-building as rules change. Some tracks, particularly standing mile tracks, have vague and varying rules. So what one tech may certify another may flag.

The sanctioning bodies for LSR events at the Loring Timing Association and Bonneville are so intense because its first and foremost about safety. Not just mine either – spectators, other racers, and emergency personnel.

They are concerned with not just what might happen if the car gets loose and goes end over end at 150+ mph, but also what the first responders will encounter when the car stops moving and they have caught up to survey the scene and extricate me. If thats even possible… or necessary at that point.

A grim thought, but a stark reality of not just LSR/standing mile, but motor sport in general. There just seems to be less room for error when you approach the 200mph marker. Which is why I plan to take baby steps. My budget may certainly help to that effect.

As far as what aerodynamics and suspension work needs to be done, there is what I have read, what I’ve been told, what I suspect, and then ultimately what I will have to learn the hard way. Theory and practice very well may not line up. Air will be creating a remarkable amount of friction on the surfaces of the car.

The undercarriage and wheel wells will create weird turbulence and pressure points. Any body panel gaps, deep offset on the wheels, high pressure areas at the body transitions at the hood cowl and rear of the cockpit will all contribute to parasitic losses.

I have only had a couple chances to get the previous chassis, a 1992 Laser RS Turbo (5MT/FWD) which is for all practical purposes identical, up to speeds where those things become a serious consideration and obvious problem. Unfortunately there was not much data gathered at the time beyond the physical sensation of speed and an unsettling feeling of the front end lifting off as the stock tach needle sank past 9k in 5th gear. This was on a closed course, I want to point out. I won’t say when or where, but lets just call it “Mexico” for now.

I have a lot to learn, that cannot be overstated. But its the challenge that has me interested in the first place.

Gearheads United!

• What’s the fastest you’ve ever gone in a car (on a closed course, naturally)?
• Have you ever attended a standing mile of land speed racing event? When & where?

In the glovebox:

• The Fastest FWD in the World
• Kim Schuenman – 1995 Eagle Talon TSi AWD
• Being a Car Guy Dad

Thank you for subscribing to Gearbox Magazine.

Welcome to the family.
Since its inception in 1992, the Lancer Evolution has lived up to its name and done plenty of changing, growing and, well, evolving. Not only are we in the 10^th iteration of the car, but there have been a number of special sub-models along the way, such as the Tommi Mäkinen Edition, the RS Sprint (UK) and the infamous FQ versions (UK). However on March 8, 2012 a very unique new member became part of the Evolution family tree. The 311RS. And seeing as how the special versions are usually reserved for other parts of the world, this time it’s us Yanks who get the cool one. This one is born and bred in the good old US of A. 

The 311RS starts life as an off-the-shelf Evolution X GSR, but then the transformation begins.  The car’s good looks are the brainchild of Jon Sibal, and I have to say that I found the car absolutely stunning in person. The simple livery is enough to give the car its own personality without going over the top, and is set off by a shade of blue unique to the 311RS. The wheels receive the treatment as well, to round off the package. The interior is finished in Etnies E-Suede, the mother of suede-like synthetics.

An additional 120.8 horsepower and 96.2 lb-ft of torque have been realized over the factory spec Evo X, due to some intake and exhaust modifications as well as a careful recalibration of the engine’s computer. A better ride and handling are achieved with a number of high quality suspension components from JRZ. Grip and stance are improved with a set of 18×10.5” wheels from Volk Racing shod with Nitto’s sticky NT05 tires, sized 285/35/18. The car then receives a proven performance alignment setup from the pros at Evasive Motorsports. Slowing this rapid vehicle comes easier thanks to some lightweight two piece rotors from Girodisc, brake pads utilizing a compound specific to the 311RS which are backed by titanium heat shields, and steel braided brake lines. Helping the car stay stuck to ground are a front lip spoiler from JDP Engineering and a Voltex Gurney Flap which adheres to the factory rear wing.

The Whole Package.
All too often with modified cars, you end up improving one area while neglecting another resulting in an unbalanced car. This can leave the user with a vehicle that has become so focused that it is no longer enjoyable on the street. Or maybe the parts were selected without consideration of how they would interact, making the car perform at a lower level than when it was stock. The 311RS on the other hand was designed to excel in all areas, including street performance, which is where I suspect that these cars will spend most of their time. The car’s tagline says it all: “Developed on the track, prepared for the street.”

Another neat fact is that a number of the components, such as the JRZ RS-1 coilovers, were developed on this car, with the intention of being a dual duty part. To take it one step further, the 311RS’s creator, Ryan Gates, has been competing in Time Attack racing with an Evolution X since the car’s US debut in 2008. Suffice to say he knows a thing or two about these vehicles. Being an enthusiast himself, Ryan had the foresight to allow buyers to further tailor the car to their own personal needs. For example, there will be option packages that increase the car’s track capabilities even further, to parallel his championship winning 750whp Time Attack monster. There’s even a “Camera Pack” which includes two GoPro Hero2 cameras, integrated playback system and portable memory so one can record their adventures.

So, does it work? Short answer = yes. And it seems to work quite well, actually. The car clicked off a 1:58.8 at Buttonwillow’s infamous CW13 configuration. This feat was accomplished on the same Nitto NT05 tires that are standard issue on the 311RS, and in this case, that had seen 12,000 miles and countless heat cycles to boot. It is estimated that the car will be able to accelerate to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds, and get through the 1/4 mile in the mid-to-low 12 second range.  Pretty impressive for a warrantied, street-legal car that will transport you and 3 of your friends wherever you’d like in climate controlled comfort.

It’s here.
Gearbox Magazine was of the lucky few invited to the 311RS release party, which took place in Southern California at the Oakley Headquarters. Just going to Oakley is cool, but then throw a party on top of it and you’re in for a good time. First of all, Oakley HQ is an amazing place! If you ever get a chance, be sure to stop by and check it out. It looks like something out of a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie. The receiving area, for example, features a quartet of vintage Ejection Seats. The event featured DJ’s, beautiful women, an open bar, free 311RS swag, and of course, the 311RS was on display out front, greeting everyone as they arrived. Ryan’s Time Attack car was on display as well. After hanging out for a bit, we moved into Oakley’s 400 seat amphitheater for a Power Point presentation and a short film on the 311RS. The film featured some amazing footage, a lot of which was shot in Sonoma, CA, on and around Infineon Raceway. Film production was quite good, thanks to state of the art equipment and the guys at Film Matters.

Only 11 of these special vehicles will be built. Production is scheduled to begin after the final phase of development, which involves three competition events: The Texas Mile; The Modified Tuner Shootout; and my personal favorite, the One Lap of America 2012. Deliveries could begin as early as Summer ’12. Pricing starts at $49k. Email info@311rs.com for more information and/or visit the website www.311rs.com.

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GEARHEADS UNITED!

What is your definition of “street car”? As gearheads, we may be much more lenient with our requirements for something that can be called a street car. For some of us, our race car may even be a street driven car! On the other hand,  some of us may be very conservative with what we will let fly on the street.

• What characteristics are important for your street car?
• Where do you draw the line between street car and race car?

In the glovebox:

• Toyota Corona MKII on a budget
• Forum Friday #2: Gearhead News from Across the Web
• Junkyard Parts: Introducing Andrew Holloway

Thank you for subscribing to Gearbox Magazine.

Birthday Wishes
When we join a new forum, we generally have to enter our birthday. I’ve joined so many forums in the last couple years, I know there have been times when I haven’t entered my actual birthday. And I know not every forum sends out the automated birthday email, but it was kinda neat this year to see my birthday marching toward me.

It seemed like Ozzie boards down under were the first to wish me a happy birthday, followed by those hosted in Europe, the US eastern seaboard, and then the US west coast. I’m not sure how customizeable they are, in terms of delivery times or content, but the picture above is just a sampling of the warm, automated wishes I received this year.

Do you get a lot of forum birthday emails? How many?
Are you on any of these forums with me? Drop me a PM and say hi! Let’s talk cars! 

In the glovebox:

• GU+ at the Prescott Rally
• Should Breakdowns be Punished?
• The Sigmatron

Thank you for subscribing to Gearbox Magazine.

The Bookmans Spring Thaw 2012 EV Drags was sponsored by Bookmans Entertainment Exchange, a local business who’s Grant Rd. store in Tucson, Arizona, boasts EV charging points and a sizable solar array. Originally scheduled for Saturday the 14th, rainy weather pushed things to the following Sunday. The forecasted rain arrived late and wouldn’t leave, and by 11am track officials had to make the tough choice to postpone.

Rescheduled for Sunday, the event now became a mix-in with the regular sportsman championship and test ‘n’ tuners, which led to the obligatory gas vs. electric lineups… and deep down inside, that’s really what everyone wanted to see, right?

Current Eliminator 2

The list of attendees was all-inclusive, with NEDRA (National Electric Drag Racing Association) record-setting vehicles and drivers aplenty;

Racing started with Junior drags and the Sportsmans competition. The first EV to run was Killacycle, a record-setting 7.864sec machine. It’s fantastic to watch plumes of smoke from an EV burn out and hear almost nothing but squeeling rubber, both bikes and cars did not disappoint. The bikes look positively violent to ride, riders are literally hanging on for dear life.

Killacycle: Silent, staged, deadly.

A large portion of my day was spent in the pits studying a couple of awesome machines, namely White Zombie and DC Plasma. Owing to the rescheduling of the event the Zombie had a driver change as Tim Brehn had to leave town. Bob Oldfather, CEO of Bookmans Entertainment Exchange, event sponsor, was drafted by owner John Wayland into the driving seat.

Zombie Burnout

Bobs first run in the Zombie – a 10.85sec  run down the quarter mile – impressed John, and the car got quicker as settings where tweaked and amperages increased by an enthusiastic Otmar Ebenhoech ready with his iPad, plugging into the Zilla controller.

Otmar was very busy in the pits tweaking at least 3 machines using his Zilla controller, including Predator and the E-Stang

White Zombie would best the Camaro by 0.067sec

DC Plasma, a converted Pontiac Fiero, gave a couple very impressive burnouts, but was dogged by one of the motors ceasing power on one run, likely due to the all season tires being run, according to John Metric.

Tires are evil. They must be punished.

A real great performance for the day came from Shawn Lawless and his Lawless Industries team, running their bike, Predator. The bike crept from the mid-eights to 7.90 and then a final time of 7.84secs, smashing its previous 8.6-second record.

Jeff Disinger prepares the Lawless Industries Predator for a run

Heading out for its forth run of the day, Zombie developed a problem. Stuttering at the wheels was initially thought to be a busted rear end due to a hearty burnout. The issue was actually traced to a ground fault leaking current through the motor housing to the chassis due to brush dust build up, playing havoc with the controller. An air compressor was called for and was used, in conjunction with a surprisingly effective leaf blower, to banish excess dust.

The fault vanished and it seemed as though Zombie was good to go. Alas, the issue returned in the staging lanes, and the Zombie pitted. In true racing spirit, John Wayland quickly had the Zombie jacked up and the rear wheels loaned to another racer, Rich Rudman. The Zombie’s sticky rubber was fitted to Rudman’s E-Stang which went on to take 6/10sec off its next run.

E-Stang getting some sticky rubber courtesy White Zombie

Under the hood, White Zombie sports twin 9" motors & a Zilla 2000AMP controller

White Zombie's 355V Lithium Ion battery pack provided by Dow Kokam

Charging all these EVs in the pits presented a problem for race organizers, one which was solved by a very large diesel generator I would estimate to be at least 50KW. Many teams even had their own gensets. In the opinion of some, this might seem antithetical to the idea of racing clean machines, which in a sense it is but… Without factoring in wildly varying charging losses, a diesel generator running at a constant load below peak can have very high thermal efficiency, probably a lot higher than 6-7 high octane V8s

Team Zombie had an impressive solution to trackside charging, a 70KWh dump pack which was towed to Tucson from Washington state, where it was charged using the local grid with energy derived from hydro-electric power. Thats right, those Columbia River generators where pushing the Zombie on its 10-second runs in the desert.

One day (it may happen), it would be nice to see a 50-60KW photo-voltaic (PV, solar) system next to a drag strip. Hey, if it happens anywhere, it should happen in Tucson or Phoenix first right? Imagine hooking up to the sun between runs [instead of making a run for more E-85 or expensive race fuel - Ed.]!

Chris Harriman's Miata EV runs an AC50 motor, Curtis controller, & Lithium batteries

Front battery packs and controller in the Miata

Another couple of my favourite EVs where Chris Harriman’s Miata, which ran consistently and was often paired with Dave Delmen’s E-Flux DeLorean. There is nothing cooler than an electric DeLorean. I’m sure this was how the car should have been driven off the showroom floor originally, with electrons!

Dave Delman's "E-flux" Electric Delorean

DC plasma, which ran into traction issues (the remnants of which can be seen on the rear bumper!), sports some serious electrical hardware (as did all the EV racers in attendance). Here’s a couple more pictures of this fiery little, mid-motor EV. Keep in mind, this might have started out the Fiero you could buy for a couple hundred bucks in the local Craigslist, but it’s now much more.

DC Plasma runs twin Zilla 2K controllers and twin Transwarp 9 motors

DC Plasma's twin Zilla controllers and battery packs

How much more? A quick Google by the editor reveals the Zilla 2K controller is capable of handling 640,000 watts, and retails for approximately US$4,600 (from Manzanita Micro). The NetGain TransWarP 9 motor is only about 9″ (23cm) wide/tall x 24″ (61cm) long, pushes this Fiero to 10-second E.T.s in the quarter-mile, and retails for US$2,300. DC Plasma runs TWO of EACH of these things. That’s US$14,000 before you start counting batteries, wiring, and the rest. The folks building electric race cars take their hobby just as serious as any other gearheads out there.

This was a brilliant day for local EV enthusiasts, thanks to the local Tucson Electric Vehicle Association 2 (TEVA2), Bookmans, and NEDRA. Also, a big thanks to SIR for accommodating an unplanned weather-forced schedule change.

Gearheads United!

• What similarities do you see between EV drag racing and conventional drag racing?
• What do you think of the obstacles overcome to run these times on battery power?

In the glovebox:

• #GTKY: Awesome EVs
• Back to the Past: Essen Motorshow 2010
• Rotterdam RX-7 Type R is Damn

Thank you for subscribing to Gearbox Magazine.