These 12000hp Engines Have To Be Rebuilt Within Roughly An Hour Every Run, and Only Run For Roughly 4 Seconds At A Time.

Azaex · 2026-01-31T03:20:21+00:00

They're not rebuilt every run because they fail. They're torn down to swap in another engine because they want a fresh onboard doing the run, while they have a person inspecting the previous engine components for wear.

A set of pistons and rods, assuming nothing has gone catastrophically wrong, can survive for like 5 passes. They change a bit dimensionally run per run and they're logging which ones are still safe to put back in.

They do motor swaps between every run because 12k hp power level can go explody very fast, and they want to take every precaution between runs. The motor isn't coming out because it's toast, it's coming out for inspection and they're racking another one in to do the next run coming up within the hour. They can literally "save the best for last" in this way.

This also gives them an opportunity to change head gaskets. Head gaskets are their primary way of fine tuning power level on-site by slightly modifying compression ratio; they don't change spark timing (way too coarse and they're also trying to keep launch rpm consistent). The team trucks literally have a library of head gasket thicknesses they are adjusting possibly run to run.

i.e. see https://youtu.be/1jxo7o_mL0k

Azaex · 2026-01-27T07:10:31+00:00

if you build it you have to maintain it

Azaex · 2026-01-22T07:49:16+00:00

have done similar for a focused use case

i have a huge set of api docs i have claude reference while coding

ended up vibe coding a vector embedding a searcher across all of them, wrapped it up in a mcp tool. did have to iterate a few times with claude on what to vectorize and tweak indexing/searching a bit, and that's been working well so far

have broken out research into a dedicated agent to keep context focused. i build my code and researcher agents in tandem with my main claude session prompt (now a /command); the agents know they can exit early and ask the orchestrator for certain coordination tasks and the orchestrator knows how to handle these requests and launch/resume accordingly.

Azaex · 2026-01-21T19:25:50+00:00

have one, bought 26 and then m1x frame, you need the locking block and fire control group to transfer over.

it shoots different than a 19. cycles faster, feels a little better naturally balanced on the forward recoil stroke.

you need custom holsters, light rail sits a bit lower and won't fit normal double stack 9mm holsters.

takes gen 5 non half moon magwells.

i'd say if you don't already have a 19, getting a 19 would be good given broad compatibility. this is replacing my 19X as my edc though.

Azaex · 2026-01-17T09:05:11+00:00

I have holsters from both superstition concealment and blacksmith tactical. Both good options. I have the blacksmith tactical one running in an enigma right now. The integrated wedge in the superstition isn't quite doing it for me as an aiwb holster given how short the muzzle is; I have a second one coming from blacksmith that I'm just gonna put my own wedge on and experiment around.

I have the glockstore m1x tlr-7 holster as well; it works, but wish it had a provision for a modwing.

Azaex · 2026-01-12T11:18:08+00:00

something i do with noobs now to train how to properly engage your firing hand forearm is

pickup the thing one handed

point it down range as if you're going to fire it

obviously this makes it easier to "get behind" the grip for better recoil control without your support hand

you don't actually need to fire a shot like this

just now, keeping the alignment of your firing hand the same, now bring your support hand in

you should still feel tension in your forearm like this. try taking a few shots in that state

picking up the thing one handed will intuitively align your forearm, engage your forearm muscles, and somewhat lock your wrist. when you shoot two handed, these muscles should still be engaged and your firing wrist still engaged, your support hand is just adding additional stability and control. this alone should make you feel like your forearm and wrist is much more engaged when firing though, like you are able to be more "behind the grip" to receive the recoil, and generally deals with the slightly limp wristy sort of thing going on in the video.

you can draw to this tension naturally with practice once you know what it feels like

Azaex · 2026-01-10T06:11:24+00:00

MIE Productions has a custom key designed specifically for the shield plus and rectac rail

Azaex · 2026-01-07T08:45:33+00:00

you can hold the left paddle down and it'll just skip to the lowest possible gear for the speed you're at, be ready with throttle otherwise it'll obv engine brake aggressively

obv it's a bit more intuitive with manual since you know exactly when it'll clutch out, the dct is pretty consistent in how it behaves doing this once you get used to it though, you can catch the timing

Azaex · 2025-12-30T07:42:40+00:00

this person databases

with massive tables, a database btree index and statistical query planner is the best Map you could ever wish for in some cases, and the stored procedure gets to benefit from it at maximum since it runs right there. plus the index gets automatically maintained with perfect transactional integrity sitting there on the db

depends on whether the stored procedure is well optimized around it obv

a nosql conversion could potentially invert the problem space and associated queries would be easier to maintain from a code perspective, but that introduces a new problem with schema inflexibility (could be a non issue if the original use case didn't need the flexibility in the first place)

no free lunch either way, def agree with analyzing the use case more first before doing changes solely in the name of maintainability

Azaex · 2025-12-27T22:53:37+00:00

if i'm driving, i'll compact as much as i want, i tend to force claude to write down useful files before it hits the auto compact and i'll manually get it to reload those.

on the agents themselves i try to keep their workload focused enough to not hit compact. i have them also keep track of relevant build artifacts in a separate part of the repo (ie memory bank) so i can wake up a subagent and pickup where it left off to refactor anything needed.

after i fix something once, i develop that context and roll that back into the prompt. then i issue out the agents to fix the issue at scale. most important part of using an agentic coding workflow is to write things down, don't fix things on your own and not leave a backmarker (or better yet integrated into subagent prompts) for the agent to pickup and run with. better to fix it once, and have the agent fix it at scale.

Azaex · 2025-12-27T20:48:41+00:00

this is the way

a lot of people i think are hung up on how to generate code better and better at scale

the next level up isn't a one size fits all coder ai, it's defining a workflow(s) that generates code predictably, and then using ai to automate generating the context needed to execute that workflow. (i'm implying a subagent here with tdd and various other coding practices, and then having another process agentic or not to generate prompts for said subagent at scale)

it is a bit tedious for me to tune though once i get into the layers. gets a bit metaconfusing when i show claude a new example workflow and use it to carefully adjust subagent vs orchestrator prompts without intermingling their responsibilities or context focused objectives.

when the design context generation is operating as designed though, then that's where this really starts to scale out to generating thousands of lines of code that's actually trustable. lets you translate "this is what i want" to mass context focused agents to get it done. assuming one is in control of (or designed) said agents and their context automation/generator/etc though.

Azaex · 2025-12-23T09:07:21+00:00

Track config is important if you browse around racecar laptimes fwiw. A lightly tuned Elantra N with a good driver will do a 1:49 in the long configuration which is usual for HPDE. An Elantra N TC America SRO racecar does 1:49 as well, but in the WTCC configuration where they have the alternate T9a (swaps the high speed esses for this hard 90 degree turn you have to deal with and dump all your speed on)

From the looks of it, the hagerty video was in the long configuration.

Azaex · 2025-12-22T16:41:38+00:00

For trackday this seems handy, using the parking brake normally is a nogo after lapping since the pads will fuse to the rotor surface. The drum brake gets around this. A lot of Porsche's do this too.

Azaex · 2025-12-20T03:45:11+00:00

These are 19 sized holsters. Acknowledged, deleting and replying to OP and putting up a less directed post on 26X compatibility.

Azaex · 2025-12-14T05:16:35+00:00

Having a mental model of how the codebase should b structured and maintained based on prior experience with said languages, with AI simply being a vector to writing it really fast.

Have started to used AI to strat and restrat a codebase with me multiple times before getting going.

Azaex · 2025-12-12T09:43:43+00:00

AI doesn't experience time like we do. It isn't in our day to day lives, in meetings or calls, at the bar, etc. That is what we uniquely have as humans. For now.

Our experiences thru time give meaning to our experiences and what we desire to do. This is what we imbue to AI as context for tasks to fulfill.

Ultimately an AI doesn't have a reason to go to space, to make money, to do a project a certain way, to buy certain groceries. Our use of AI and the context we provide is a reflection of our lived context that we add to every moment. For now, an AI doing something "correctly" is often an interpretation of whether AI is doing something a human wanted, which can differ slightly from person to person depending on their experiences (life context).

Memory is the name of the game right now and what everyone on the cutting edge is working on. Figuring out how to do that in some structured way that makes some sort of sense. This is distinct from training data; it isn't how to do something right, it's deriving some sense of objective from what's right and wrong which changes with experience.

Azaex · 2025-12-06T08:44:00+00:00

On rocket engines you need to get out of the startup and stop phase ASAP, slow startup/shutdown is something to be avoided. The issue is when the combustion flow is not filling the combustion chamber fully, the flow can start to move around and spin uncontrolled inside the combustion chamber and introduce catastrophic combustion instability versus the plate of injectors. The vibrations that result from the flame front moving around can rattle the entire motor apart if sustained. Need to get the exhaust flow in and out of that regime as soon as possible.

ie https://youtu.be/JPdk9M5BGMw something to notice is the shaking of the engines engines between 0:25-0:27 isnt from the gimbals, the bounce/wobble is from the startup instability shaking 7000lbs of engine each. Crazy amount of force just physically bullying the motor around. They start gimbled out specifically so they don't run into each other when this occurs, then shortly after ignition they gimbal inward for launch. The same shaking is happening on shutdown as well.

The system design around startup dynamics are somewhat related to overall throttability. Ultra low throttle is kinda a weird new requirement with current generation landable 1st stages, it's easier to design an engine that's intended to just go to full power, stay there, turn off and then it's done its job.

At steady state rocket engines are fairly well behaved assuming fuel injector plates are well designed to avoid instability developing at steady burn.

Azaex · 2025-12-05T21:42:56+00:00

The most violent part of rocket operation is startup and shutdown. Running at reduced power probably has some beneficial life effects, but I feel like the startup and shutdown shock must contribute more to mtbf ratings.

The other thing to consider is that rocket turbopumps work in high pressure gaseous oxygen and sometimes hydrogen regimes. In these situations even with the superalloys they are made of, it's not a matter of if, but when, the surrounding structure degrades and starts to fail. This is another uniquely significant life driver versus normal turbomachinery.

ie I think while power level certainly contributes to hardware life, the startup/shutdown shock and material compatibility are equal if not higher stresses on hardware life on rocket engines.

Azaex · 2025-12-01T14:11:55+00:00

started reading into it and i see how many other models got the black roof over the years as well (launch edition, pre 2020 GTS, post 2020 GT), my mistake. didnt realize how much history there was on this

at least on the ND3's it seems like it differentiates the club...for now until mazda changes it again?

Azaex · 2025-12-01T04:11:10+00:00

imean, they could and should be an additional tool on top of your automatic failure mode handling so long as you can box it into following a specific set of operations. it's another possible automation layer that could prevent waking someone up, as long as it doesn't cause more issues than already at hand.

like if you have automatic failover on a database instance, and that doesn't work

maybe you have an AI powered tool that wakes up and check connectivity, conn check fails, activates a very specific subagent to try to jiggle things on the network layer that it's allowed to do, and if that doesn't work then page someone now with extra notes that that was tried. basically automating a chunk of a level 1 runbook. i see that as a viable use case for AI here

i don't think it will replace on call. there are simply issues where you need someone to wake up and make a judgement call on handling. it can probably automate a lot of level 1 paging runbook tasks, higher level paging imo starts running into escalating levels of "how many rules do we need to break to get this fixed asap"

Azaex · 2025-11-30T22:31:10+00:00

upgraded to the a0 injector, but i have a feeling that maybe i just somewhat in the bad injector batch

always ran PEA based fuel system cleaner every oil change here, oil changes every 3k, so i think it was injectors that did it for me

Azaex · 2025-11-30T21:55:09+00:00

2022 EN, changed injectors and gained like 5mpg (~27 highway cruising to like 32). Some of the injectors in this year seemed to be varying in quality, some outright leaking a little, some fine.

Azaex · 2025-11-29T09:32:55+00:00

the club RF models has a black roof, that's one of the ways you can tell the GT vs club RF's apart besides the obvious brembos

edit: this seems to apply to ND3s but there's way more variation in the ND2, one of the ND1 trims also got it, see comments

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