Luxury Cars
What Is “The Blip” And “Heel And Toe”? Race Car Tips – Tech Session
January 11, 2012 | 
Author :: Hello, ok straight to business.
What is the Blip as reffered to by Race Car Drivers?
The Blip is used when you are changing down a gear without losing speed or grip. Properly done the RPM should be raised to approx 2700 to 3000 RPM just before the clutch is engaged again. You do not push the throttle and hold it, you tap it, the best term to explain it is you “Blip” the throttle, this is a quick and sharp burst.
The blip should take place just before re-engaging the clutch by doing this you will not get the shock through the drive train or slow the car down when going from a higher gear to a lower gear. In a competition environment on the race track when you are driving close to the tyres limitations of adhesion, a down shift with out a blip of the throttle could cause a loss of grip and send the car into a spin or lose grip in the straight line braking zone.
How and what is Heel and Toe?
Because you are using your left foot on the clutch and your right foot on the brake, you have to make some adjustments so you can blip the throttle. The way to do this is to adjust your foot position and use a race pedal box designed for heel and toe. You use the ball of you foot pressing on the brake pedal making sure you leave enough of the outside of the foot to roll over so you can blip the throttle. By blipping the throttle you will enable a smooth down shift with out losing any tyre grip.
The correct brake and throttle pedal relationship should locate the throttle and brake approx 30mm to 50mm apart. The throttle is set slightly below the brake pedal when the brake is hard on. The heel and toe method is a pretty hard technique to master and requires plenty of practice. The heel and toe term was phrased over 40 years ago when the brake pedal was on the right and the clutch pedal was on the left and the acc pedal was in the middle and 6 inches lower. Then you had to use your heel and toe to blip the throttle.
As I have explained with today’s pedal systems the heel and toe is not used, but the term still remains. The pedal system in most road cars are not set up for heel and toe, so drivers are forced to go through some real contortions to be able to touch the brake and the throttle pedal at the same time.
This is why I recommend you change the standard pedal set up to a race pedal system if you are using the car for track racing, rally, drifting or track days it will make life a lot easier and improve your lap times.
Thank you for your time, I trust this has been of interest to you.
Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Grant-Loc-9039/race-car-189475.php
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Rosberg eats cheeseburger and plots Mercedes victory
Nico Rosberg drowned his sorrows with a double-cheeseburger in China, albeit mindful that Mercedes may now be on the right track to victory.
The German was reportedly angry after the Shanghai race when, with potentially race-winning pace in the W02 for the first time, the team asked him to drive slowly to avoid running out of fuel.
According to Bild am Sonntag newspaper, 25-year-old Rosberg swallowed his frustration with a post-race visit to a fast food outlet for a burger, fries and large milkshake.
“I have nothing against pizzas either,” he smiled. “I think after this I won’t eat anything for two days!”
As for his anger, Rosberg clarified: “Quite honestly, it’s something I’ve never experienced before. I was totally exhausted and not angry but so disappointed that I felt like crying.
“I was not first but fifth and I had to be alone for a few minutes afterwards,” admitted Rosberg.
On the bright side, the Brackley based team seemed to turn a corner in China and Rosberg thinks more podium tilts in the near future are likely.
“The first two races were not easy at all. After the tests we thought we would keep up with the best and now after Shanghai I believe it again,” said Rosberg.
He said Mercedes went back to basics with the W02 after Melbourne and Sepang, concentrating on the setup and ensuring that Rosberg will no longer have to describe it as a “cucumber”.
“You could say that,” Rosberg smiled. “The car has winning potential now. I remember in China seeing Sebastian Vettel in the mirrors and thinking that in two laps he would put me behind. But he didn’t.
“The team has done a great job, but falling into euphoria now would be wrong. Sebastian doesn’t have to worry too much yet. In Quali we still lack too much — almost a second, but hopefully we can improve that.”
Source:
Detroit Thinks Small: With gas prices going to stay high, this time it’s for real
The Detroit Three are ready to make more cars than trucks again — the market has already dictated that — and the C-segment (Civic, Corolla, Focus, Golf, etc.) is the next big thing, with more refined, better-equipped models on the way.
The Detroit Three are ready to make more cars than trucks again — the market has already dictated that — and the C-segment (Civic, Corolla, Focus, Golf, etc.) is the next big thing, with more refined, better-equipped models on the way.Leading off this movement is the 2011 Chevrolet compact. Combine the now-signature Chevrolet horizontally split grille with “fierce-eye” headlamps and a rakish, coupelike four-door roofline, and you’ve got the replacement for the Cobalt, coming in two years. At GM’s annual meeting, Rick Wagoner dropped all kinds of hints about the car, including the likelihood it won’t be called “Cobalt,” making that car a one-generation model nameplate.The new-for-2005 Chevy Cobalt was touted as a Honda Civic-killer, yet it barely matched the retrograde 2001-2005 Civic, and was on the trailer a year later when the class-leading 2006 Civic bowed. With the 2011 Chevy compact, GM may finally be learning you have to figure out where Honda will be with its next-generation Civic (also due for replacement in 2011).The Chevy will have more equipment, benchmark safety, and quality, Wagoner promised and, most important, “nine miles per gallon more than Chevy’s entry in this segment today.” Add 9 mpg to the current 2.2-liter, five-speed-manual Cobalt, and you get 33-mpg city and/or 42-mpg highway. Who needs a Chevy Volt at twice the price?If the Chevy manages those EPA estimates for the conventional compact, it comes to 36.5 mpg combined. Sell the Chevy compact in Civic-volume numbers and GM will nail the coming 35-mpg CAFE standard. The plug-in 2011 Chevy Volt, also coming by late 2010, and the post-Cobalt will ride on the new Global Delta platform, shared with the next Opel/Vauxhall/Saturn Astra and Opel/Vauxhall Zafira MPV.What are Ford and Chrysler doing?Ford: All-new C2-platform Focus for 2011 converges with the 2010 Mazda3. The European Focus makes its debut slightly after the North American version, but they won’t be completely related. European and U.S. Foci will generally share interior style, but the Euro Focus will use better-quality materials, because Ford of Europe can charge much more money — about $28,000 there based on current exchange rates — than Ford North America can. Meanwhile, Ford’s smaller Aveo-fighter, the Fiesta, comes early in 2010 as an 2011 model in four-door sedan and three-door hatchback body styles.Chrysler: The compact Dodge Caliber is in for a major change for 2012. A Chrysler/Nissan car — using the Nissan Versa platform — targeting the Fiesta and Aveo, and probably based on the Dodge Hornet concept, comes in ’10 as a 2011 model. A Chinese Dodge/Chery entry-level car may be ready for 2012 as well.
2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 V6 – Road Test – Auto Reviews – Car and Driver
Click to read our road test on the Genesis Coupe 2.0T Turbo.
C’mon, really? Hyundai? No pedigree. No racing history. No factory museum filled with dusty glory machines. Yet here’s what
dares—dares!—to call the phosphorescent-Slurpee spill of paint on our Genesis coupe: Lime Rock Green.
Puh-leeze! Weren’t these jokers riding around on donkeys when Bob Sharp was running 240Zs at Lime Rock? There’s also Nordschleife Gray and Interlagos Yellow. On a Hyundai? They can’t be serious!
Uh, they’re serious. On sale since March, the Genesis coupe is a revelation, no pun intended. It’s a genuine yardage gain for the yin-yang team and a serious kink in the law dictating that rear-drive hoots must cost big bucks.
Is it HUN-dye, hi-WON-dye, or hi-YOON-day? (Around the factory, at least, it’s the latter). If we can’t concur on a pronunciation, let’s agree that Hyundai has come a long way. Lately, the workmanship has stood with that of the Japanese masters. The designs are fresh, and the dynamics have firmed up and flattened out.
Still, Korean culture works against a Hyundai sports car. Car guys are scarce in a homeland-come-lately to the auto age. Almost everyone drives thrift cubes—often white, always slow—and Korea only built its first racetrack, Everland Speedway about 35 miles south of Seoul, in 1993. In contrast, Japan has a high-performance heritage going back to the A6M5 Zero.
With Hyundai, it has always been about the price, and so it goes with the Genesis twins. The syrupy $33,000 sedan upon which the coupe is based dives for
’s knees. The four-seat coupe also aims below the waist at competitors, with a 210-hp, 2.0-liter turbo four starting at $22,750 and a 306-hp V-6 at $25,750. The standard-equipment list is decent and includes a six-speed manual, power locks and windows, cruise control, stability control, a trip computer, and stereo auxiliary jacks.
The 2.0-liter turbo Premium and V-6 Grand Touring are the middle models, with leather, sunroof, and hot stereo, while the loaded Track version comes with all that, plus a stiffer suspension, Brembo brakes, limited-slip diff, and trunk spoiler. The V-6 Track runs $30,250, right where the foreign rivals start.
The base opens at $30,625, a poverty-trim
, at $30,225. Only a strip-o
swings lower, at $27,105. The Genesis coupe is the first Asian to move into the neighborhood ruled by Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers. As in the movie Gran Torino, we’re expecting fireworks.
Considering the price—always considering the price—Hyundai has bull’s-eyed the target, starting with specs that are right for enthusiasts. Firstly, it’s rear drive, the ne-plus-ultra credential for a sporty car. Also, the base 2.0-liter turbo offers wiggle room for tuners, the V-6 enough horsepower to satisfy if not electrify with its 5.7-second runs to 60 mph (all on regular gas!).
And there’s no shell game with the performance options. Six-speed manuals can be had with both engines, as can the Track equipment group. The V-6 gets a name-brand ZF six-speed automatic with paddle shifters (turbos get a five-speed auto made by . . . somebody). A harder-core R-Spec model is coming as basically a Track version cleansed of luxury bits. As you see, Hyundai is working to get this right.
Even after cutting 4.6 inches from the Genesis sedan’s wheelbase, Hyundai still had a plus-size form to clothe. The wheelbase is 10.6 inches longer than the new Z’s, and the body is 15.1 inches longer. There’s enough capsule space for a pair of folding back seats with decent legroom, though Hyundai opted—wisely, we think—to favor a foxy roofline over adult-rated rear headroom. Quarter glass that sags down for extra visibility also gives the coupe some graphic identity, as do the two scimitars for headlights. The fenders bulge alluringly with their big Bridgestones. However, Hyundai couldn’t resist pasting on a corporate Sonata grille that does little for cooling and even less for the coupe’s cunning visage.
Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q2/2010_hyundai_genesis_coupe_3.8_v6-road_test