1969 Ss 396 Chevelle Drag Car Project on 2040-cars

Auto blog

24 Hours of Le Mans live update part two

We tasked surfing journalist Rory Parker to watch this year's live stream of the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans. What follows is an experiment to experience the world's greatest endurance race from the perspective of a motorsports novice. Parker lives in Hawaii and can hold his breath longer than he can go without swearing. For Part One, click here. Or you can skip ahead to Part Three here. I write about surfing for a living. If you can call it a living. Basically means I spend my days fucking around and my wife pays for everything. Because she's got a real job that pays well. Brings home the bacon. Very progressive arrangement. Super twenty first century. I run a surf website, beachgrit.com, with two other guys. It's a strange gig. More or less uncensored. Kind of popular. Very good at alienating advertisers. My behavior has cost us a few bucks. I'm terrible at self-censorship. Know there's a line out there, no idea where it lies. I still don't understand any of the technical side. Might as well be astrophysics or something. For contests I do long rambling write ups. They rarely make much sense. Mainly just talk about my life, whatever random thoughts pop into my head. "Can you do something similar for Le Mans?" "Sure, but I know absolutely fuck-all about racing." "That's okay. Just write what you want." "Will do. But you're gonna need to edit my stuff. Probably censor it heavily." So here I am. I spent the last week trying to learn all I can about the sport of endurance racing. But there's only so much you can jam in your head. And I still don't understand any of the technical side. Might as well be astrophysics or something. While I rambled things were happening. Tracy Krohn spun into the gravel on the Forza chicane. #89 is out of the race after an accident I missed. Pegasus racing hit the wall on the Porsche curves. Bashed up front end, in the garage getting fixed. Toyota and Porsche are swapping back and forth in the front three. Ford back in the lead in GTE Pro. #91 Porsche took a stone through the radiator, down two laps. Not good. The wife and I are one of those weird childless couples that spend way too much time caring for the needs of their pet. French bulldog, Mr Eugene Victor Debs. Great little guy. Spent the last four years training him to be obedient and friendly. Nice thing about dogs, when you're sick of dealing with them you can just lock 'em in another room for a few hours. You don't need to worry about paying for college.

Chevy confirms 2016 Camaro will have wheels, brakes

Good news, everyone! Chevrolet has issued yet another round of teaser images and information about the sixth-generation Camaro, set to debut in Detroit on May 16. This time around, Chevy's teaser images confirm that the new car will not only have wheels and tires (Goodyear Eagle F1s, no less), but brakes as well. On top of that, we now know that the new Camaro will be 28-percent stiffer than the outgoing model. "The more rigid body structure allowed the engineers to more precisely calibrate the steering and suspension systems because they didn't have to compensate for chassis flex. The lighter structure also enabled the size and mass of elements such as the wheels, tires and brakes to be scaled accordingly," GM said in a press release, which you can read below. We've already learned that the new coupe will be 200 pounds lighter than its predecessor, has a bunch of unique parts, and according to GM's Mark Reuss, will outperform the Ford Mustang in every way. Now, it's only a matter of time before we see the sixth-gen Camaro, but surely not before Chevy issues even more teasers and information. Related Video: 2016 Camaro is Stronger, Lighter and More Responsive Computer aided engineering contributes to 28 percent greater structural stiffness DETROIT – The engineering team spent 9 million hours of computational time honing the driving experience of the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro before the first prototype turned a wheel. The structural modeling led to the Gen 6 Camaro being 28 percent stiffer than the current model. "The modeling abilities of computer aided engineering are advancing at incredible rates," said Jim Karlavage, Camaro program engineering manager. "Today, we can accurately model opportunities to add torsional strength without adding unnecessary mass. The result is a lighter, stiffer structure that benefits every aspect of the driving experience." The more rigid body structure allowed the engineers to more precisely calibrate the steering and suspension systems because they didn't have to compensate for chassis flex. The lighter structure also enabled the size and mass of elements such as the wheels, tires and brakes to be scaled accordingly. "The structural weight savings are compounded by opportunities to reduce un-sprung weight," said Karlavage.

2016 Camaro gets most revealing tease yet

Chevrolet started its long teaser campaign for the 2016 Camaro by just revealing the exhaust manifold and front frame, but as time has passed the company has slowly unveiled more. In the latest glimpse ahead of the pony car's May 16 debut, we're actually getting to see the model's profile completely undisguised. As suggested by the recent tease of the rear and hood, the 2016 Camaro wears a sharper, more angular design than the current model. This is especially the case when you look at the taut lines making up the rear. Chevy claims that the new shape underwent 350 hours of wind tunnel tests to be able to generate left lift, improve cooling and reduce wind noise in the cabin. A smooth underbody pan is among the aerodynamic tweaks, and it runs from underneath the front grille to the center of the Camaro. Chevy asserts that all of the changes at the front help reduce lift by 30 percent. Related VIdeo: 2016 Camaro is all about the Aero Total aerodynamic lift improved by 30 percent for improved stability 2015-05-11 DETROIT – After 350 hours of wind tunnel testing – often 24 hours a day – the new Camaro will slip more easily through the wind, and drivers of the Camaro SS will experience a marked improvement in reduced aerodynamic lift. These changes illustrate the lengths the aerodynamics team went to for improved performance, stability, cooling and lower wind noise intrusion "The importance of aerodynamics increases exponentially as we increase vehicle performance," said Kirk Bennion, Exterior Design manager. "As engine output increases, we need more engine cooling. As acceleration and top speeds climb, we need to reduce lift for better high-speed stability. However, we cannot make any changes at the expense of increasing drag, which can hurt fuel economy. "To balance these different aerodynamic targets, we tested literally hundreds of changes on the new Camaro, millimeters at a time." For example, the initial design called for the lower grille bars to be set at a 20-degree angle to the horizon. However, after meticulous testing, the team improved engine-cooling airflow by 1 percent by shifting the angle to 13 degrees – a change that achieved the airflow target while maintaining the original grille design. And rather than a traditional front air dam to reduce aerodynamic lift, the team developed a flush belly pan that stretches from the front grille to the center of the vehicle.