ring•wall

Nürburgring Germany, known for the most bad-ass automotive race track in the world, now also has the largest touch screen multi-user information wall in the world.

Now there are two reasons to visit the ring.

TR

Jonathan Ive

Mercedes F-Cell Concept

Seems like everybody is downsizing these days. 

The F-Cell Roadster is driven by a fuel cell, through drive by wire technology, via a joystick instead of a steering wheel. It has a top speed of 25 km/h, and a range of up to 350 km/h. The point though, is that it's emission free.

An interesting design study that draws on a broad range of engineering era's. Some elements tie back to the early automotive industry of the late 1800's, while other elements share genes with modern F1; and still others are looking ahead to incorporate future yet-to-be-commercialized technologies. 

And just imagine what will happen when AMG gets ahold of this...

TR

Armstead Snow Mo-bile.

This is actually pretty impressive tech.

TR

Big Ass Fan Co.

Introducing the Big Ass Fan Co.

My Uncle, Rick Oleson, is an Industrial Designer / Engineer at Big ass. He's an engineer with a sense of humor, which is a bit of an oxymoron...  and a great fit with Big Ass corporate culture.

The Big Ass Fan Co. was originally called HVLS Fan Co., yet every time someone saw one of their huge industrial fans (up to 32' feet in diameter!) the universal comment was 'wow, that's a big-ass fan'. In a bold move of marketing genius they changed their name to Big Ass Fan Co. and never looked back. The name defines the company and the product, in a most unforgettable way. Anyone offended by the name needs to stop taking life so seriously; you can take your job and products seriously, and still make fun of yourself at the same time! I like their style..

I love the industrial 'Powerfoil' models. No question, we will be installing a Big Ass Fan in the next [new] design studio at FYI. We may even need to design the building around our Big Ass Fan!

Check out this pic; [Amazing] (there is a airplane in the pic too).

They didn't reinvent the wheel, just the fan.

TR

British Space Program.

British engineering taken to the next level..

Now that's one fine piece of kit.

TR

2006 Ford GT video

If you haven't figured it out by now, it's GT40 week at FYI!

Likely more than you ever wanted to know about a Ford supercar...

This is the last GT post, I promise.

TR

FORD GT / GT Tungsten

Now, fast forward to the 2006 Ford GT. A modern rendition of the original GT40, in both spirit and performance. The GT has a 550hp supercharged V8. It's bigger and heavier than the vintage racer - yet manages to maintain both proportion and capability. An impressive accomplishment considering what the original GT40 represented.

1968 vs. 2006...

This is a mid-engine 200+ mph racecar, that you can buy and drive on public roads. One of the [few] great examples of what an American car company can accomplish when they 'get it right'.

An instant modern classic.

TR

Troy Lee Designs SE2 Helmet.

My new brain bucket.

The 2009 Speed Equipment Helmet in History Blue.

Susanna's in History Red.

TR

Apple ipod shuffle

Just received the 3rd generation ipod shuffle.

Shock proof & capacity for 1000 songs.

The volume controls are on the earbud cord. If you press the button in the middle the pod has voice-over that tells you the song name and artist and/or playlist.. in 14 different languages.

hmmm, where to begin.. ah.

Amazing to look back at the evolution of technology.

2001 vs. 2009

Wow. It's TINY!

(thanks matt!!)

TR

Project Phazer Turbo

The Yamaha Phazer Mountain has a lot going for it. The ergonomics nearly match a modern motocross race bike for starters. The 500cc four-stroke motor is actually a very high-tech mill that's essentially two YZ250F motors grafted into a 500cc twin. It's fuel injected, and has a peak of 80 hp. at about 12,000rpm. It's also the lightest four-stroke in the Yamaha range, at about 40lbs. less than the Nitro.

The downsides are 80 hp., just isn't enough here in the Coast Range of B.C., where we have long, steep and deep ascents in thick snow. Up in the alpine, power to weight ratio becomes essential to get to where you want to go. What to do?

Well, add a turbo for starters. I used a Swedish system by MCXpress. It's a rear mounted turbo that's tucked under the seat, and is driven off of the exhaust. This doubles the hp. from 80 to 160 hp., when running a race gas mix of 50% 110 octane VP race gas, and 50% 94 octane pump gas, and 16 lbs of boost. BIG step in the right direction!

The MCX system consists of Turbo, intercooler, ECU, air intake, exhaust, blow-off valve, and all the requisite plumbing. Note: you need to add a head shim to lower the compression for the added boost.

Another problem with the Phazer is that the stock suspension sucks! With double the power the handling is bordering on outta control. Time to call Sweden again, this time to Ohlins to get a custom valved set of fully adjustable coil-over premium suspenders! Another huge improvement, actually, at this point it's an entirely different machine altogether..

Other adjustments and updates included swapping out to a set of Apex Mtn. handlebars with heated hooks - which also raised the bar height about 1". Moving the Yamaha powder skis in to the narrowest stance really improves handling in deep snow. Can side-hill and carve turns effortlessly all day long.

After destroying a guage cluster, I moved the unit down and mounted flush on the headlight shroud. Not only is it less prone to damage, I can actually see it while standing - which is about 90% of the time. The Boost guage is mounted at the base of the handlebars so you can keep an eye on it when pushing max boost, to make sure you don't cross the line from max to grenade.

The Phazer is fast! It's still accelerating hard and can lift the skis at 140kph. But that's not really the point. I don't know (or care) what the actual top speed is... we're all about getting up in the alpine to play in the powder. You need that power and track speed to climb in deep snow at high altitude.

The last problem with the Phazer is that the stock 144" x 14" track is too soft. The lugs are not stiff enough and just fold when putting the power down. I upgraded to a 151" x 14" camoplast challenger extreme with stiff 2.5" lugs. Huge improvement in traction and better float in deep snow.

Now let's go back to bench-racing 101, and review power-to-weight ratio's. 

To put things in perspective let's compare the Phazer turbo to say, 

A 2008 911 turbo..

The 911 Turbo makes  480 hp and weighs 3500 lbs, 

which = 7.2 lbs to move per hp.

The Phazer Turbo makes 160 hp and weighs 500 lbs, 

which = 3.1 lbs to move per hp. hmmmm.

Let's geek out even further..

The 911 Turbo makes 480 hp out of 3.6 L motor or 133hp per liter. Not bad.

The Phazer Turbo makes 160 hp out of 0.5 L motor or 320hp per liter!!! Hello.

For the 911 to have the same power to weight as the Phazer it would need to have about 1100 hp! Starting to get the picture? 

With skills, you can go almost everywhere you could go with a helicopter in the Coast Range. Not to mention that riding snow with hp., is soo much fun! Gravity is no longer in effect. Going UP can be more fun than you ever had going down..

TR

Hägglunds BV206

The Hagglunds BV206 was conceived by the Swedish military as a high speed troop carrier. The BV206 was designed to move through the tundra of northern Sweden. It can reach speeds over 50kph, and can be driven on pavement, dirt, sand, mud, snow, even water... that's right it's amphibius too! Seriously, watch this video... BV206 video.

The BV is lightweight. The motor is in the front, but all four tracks are driven through a hydrostatic driveline. The front and back also articulate through hydraulics as you turn the steering wheel. It's extremely manuverable and designed to be much faster then typical snowcats.

Susanna really wants a BV.

Tom does too. (hmmm..)

Note the Swedish Crowns still visible on the first aid kit.

TR/BV on mushi mushi ridge.

JP lurking in the back window. Sno-Gangsta.

The BV206 is the ultimate 'recreational vehicle' for umm, 'challenged' geographical locations.

JP and Estelle, on a 'typical' father/daughter afternoon(?!)

Big thanks to Henry, Nancy and Jeff for letting us mobb the BV around in their zone.

Fun stuff!

TR