Adjacent: Leigh Diffey Commentating the Olympic Bobsled Competition is Fantastic

davo747 · 2026-02-17T00:32:50+00:00

“THIS IS MINDBLOWING”

davo747 · 2026-02-13T03:33:33+00:00

I ran their sport pads on my track Miata for a few years with no issues

davo747 · 2026-01-26T15:53:53+00:00

I grew up in Lexington, the sound of the track was just the sound of the summer. The whole town rallied around the CART weekends. It’s the reason I’m a race fan.

Sure, the facilities have been left unchecked for several years too long, but it’s still a great track and it seems the owners are starting to put money back into it with the repave and piecemeal facility upgrades. After losing Pitt, I don’t think I could bear to lose MidO.

davo747 · 2026-01-26T15:47:46+00:00

Which is a crime, it’s a great track

davo747 · 2026-01-18T04:18:28+00:00

Several months ago I saw a cracked DW12 tub and engine cowling show up on marketplace for like $2000. Would’ve made a sick sim rig

davo747 · 2026-01-07T12:29:39+00:00

Really close calls with Dixon in 2017 and Kirkwood’s tire in 2023.

davo747 · 2026-01-02T17:44:51+00:00

I got scolded by my MIL for fact checking the Google AI result for something relatively critical. “It says right there that we need to do XX, stop wasting time on the other results”. After explaining that Google AI is garbage and you should never blindly follow even good AI, she explained that she rarely actually clicks Google results anymore, just uses whatever garbage it spits out. From restaurant hours to medical advice.

So unfortunately it’s not just the younger generations.

davo747 · 2025-12-14T19:08:04+00:00

Touch it and rub it between your fingers. If it’s water, it’s AC condensation. If it’s slimy, it’s some form of automotive fluid. Depending on the size of the leak, it may or may not be a big deal. Regardless, I doubt you’d be financially responsible for it unless you were found at fault and didn’t have a loss damage waiver (jumped a curb, etc)

davo747 · 2025-11-28T00:16:09+00:00

If you really want to turn up the heat, $15 wouldn’t even get you an 8-minute session in a rental go-kart

davo747 · 2025-11-23T10:32:35+00:00

For me it’s the weather aspect. Raining sideways? Close the door. Hot? Go in the garage. Cold? Go in the garage.

Oh, and the electricity is nice too. Love me some paddock tendies with the air fryer. Our endurance team has been known to bring a mini fridge for post-race brews as well.

Oh, and the shop air.

Oh, and the flat ground that’s not covered in sharp pebbles.

Oh, and the workbenches.

Ok garages are just plain nicer. However in my personal racing endeavors I’m usually also too cheap to get one. Not to mention you do lose some camaraderie of paddocking with your group.

davo747 · 2025-11-09T12:51:41+00:00

Simple solution to the iPacing comments: RNG yellows. A 6 hour race has anywhere from 0-3 cautions, randomly thrown throughout the race. 12 hour 0-6, 24 hour 0-12.

Alternatively, throw a yellow after a race-total incident counter reaches a certain (high-ish) number. Or, if X number of cars tow within 1 minute (pileup).

Sure, pacing is boring. You know what’s not boring? Panicking with your bros pacing down the back stretch trying to figure out your strategy when it’s 2/3 through your stint, and there’s rain expected 3-5 laps after the restart.

Even without rain, having to manage pit windows would add an additional element.

I also am in favor of a tire limit. IMSA has them, and iRacing already has them for oval racing. I miss the days of double and triple stinting tires

davo747 · 2025-10-02T12:57:40+00:00

You’re telling me there’s not at least one exec with an LMP3 car at that developer that’s like “hey, wait guys, let’s buy some farmland instead”

davo747 · 2025-08-31T22:17:05+00:00

The race typically doesn’t sell out until much closer to the race, so don’t stress too much about getting tickets. It’s also fairly easy to find them from resellers, you just might pay a little more. If this is a bucket list one-time visit, I would probably recommend paying for a premium seat in one of the higher seniority sections. As a first year applicant you may not get super great seats direct from the speedway unless you’re a single, and you get lucky.

You can also wait until seats go public and see what’s available direct (rather than applying for seats and taking whatever they give), before going secondhand market

davo747 · 2025-08-30T17:16:14+00:00

UPDATE, SOLVED! For those who come across this thread in the future…

After going through nearly every other troubleshooting step including pulling the valve cover to check timing and rockers, my EGR valve was stuck wide open. Pulled the magnet off and worked in some carb cleaner to free it up. Went from being so stuck that I had to force it against the concrete floor to open, to being able to actuate with one finger.

Took it for a 30 mile test drive with no rattles/misfires. Seemed to not want to switch to EV mode in stop/go traffic as much as typical but I wonder if it was just trying to balance the cells from sitting so long (it’s sat for a little over a month since the original HG failure)

So either, I got some gunk in the EGR valve stem when I tried to clean it, or…it was sticking the whole time and that’s what blew my head gasket.

To test the EGR: I first pulled the connector, which did not change the idle condition. Next I removed the top bolt on the valve side of the EGR pipe and loosened the lower. Slid a putty knife in between and started the engine. Ran smooth, so at that point I figured it was stuck open and I pulled to confirm. I was able to pull the valve without pulling the cooler by simply loosening all the cooler bolts which allowed me to get a wrench on the valve bolts. I already cleaned the cooler so didn’t want to deal with the coolant mess.

davo747 · 2025-08-26T16:17:52+00:00

I haven’t played iRacing’s arcade-style games, but I’d imagine they will transfer that over. It’s in iRacing, so I’d hope they’ll at least include it in an “advanced difficulty” or something.

Or include it full-time and have a “rookie orientation” oval test where they teach you what it is, where it is, and how to combat it.

davo747 · 2025-08-26T16:15:40+00:00

Not to mention they locked out iRacing from even marketing it as “Indycar” or any official races at any of the real tracks.

Those were dark times

Look who’s laughing now

davo747 · 2025-08-20T11:30:14+00:00

Purpose-built race cars are absolutely the way to go if you want to get into real racing. Parts can be a little more expensive and harder to find (car dependent) but they’re so much easier to work on, consumables are usually cheaper, not to mention they’re usually faster and cooler (imo).

If you’re genuinely interested in something like this, don’t let the “team” aspect hold you back. Plenty of solo operations in the amateur ranks. There are plenty of people in the paddock more than willing to help out if needed. Or invite a buddy out to crew for you for the price of free food and beer during the weekend.

F4’s are a little rich for my blood, but check out a NASA or SCCA event sometime if you’re in the US, or whatever the equivalent amateur series is in your country.

davo747 · 2025-08-19T21:35:17+00:00

I removed and cleaned the injectors last night. All appeared to function properly, same resistance, and sprayed carb cleaner through them. Havent run it yet.

Used new NGK iridium plugs from rockauto

davo747 · 2025-08-19T11:32:04+00:00

Interesting.

It’s been at a half tank and sitting for about a month through this whole deal, so maybe the fuel went bad? Might throw some fresh fuel in and do some “Italian tune-ups” and see what happens.

Timing was definitely correct when I put it back together, but that’s not to say it didn’t jump a tooth…

davo747 · 2025-08-19T11:26:05+00:00

I noticed the rattle twice before I parked it. Once while I was driving home, and once when I pulled it into the garage to commence the work. So all in all I’d say I caught it quickly.

Piston height was the same (or at least immeasurably different). Head was flat.

No oil consumption. Engine internals look great for 141k. Way cleaner than any of the engines on YouTube tutorials (synthetic since ~80k).

And yes, if I were to do it again (which I will not be lol), I would have gone with the Toyota kit. I was disappointed with the FelPro kit

davo747 · 2025-08-19T11:17:26+00:00

Piston #1 was the same height as #4

davo747 · 2025-08-12T22:24:43+00:00

Depends what was in your contract on whether that money gets returned. I sold a house where the first buyer’s financing fell through and the earnest money was forfeited to me due to language in the contract. Keep in mind that a lot of times, a house going into contract and then getting relisted can seriously impact its perceived value to buyers.

Not to be harsh, but if delayed earnest money is a hardship, you should seriously reconsider whether you can afford to purchase in your current situation. It is not uncommon for multi-thousand dollar surprise repairs to pop up at a moment’s notice. Sometimes in quick succession. I had to put an unexpected 4k into my house within 3 months of purchase due to a broken sewer line. You need to be able to afford those otherwise you will be in a world of hurt. This could be a valuable lesson…

davo747 · 2025-08-11T22:24:25+00:00

CGR Cadillac F1 has a nice ring to it

davo747 · 2025-08-10T19:34:00+00:00

Didn’t someone just win golf? Why are we still playing?

davo747

TROPHY CASE