Mercedes F1 is making a move to get 7-time F1 champion Micheal Schumacher to come out of retirement to drive for their newely renamed team (former Brawn F1). As a major F1 fan, I am mixed about this. First, I have always HATED Ferarri, so thus, I hated Schumi. But, I would love to see Mercedes land him to see if he can be the wonder he was with Ferarri.
Time will tell,... I just wish they would make the announcement quickly!
The author is writing on behalf of Above All Motorwerks, an online retailer of BMW Parts and Porsche Parts.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
A Real Transformer?
Was perusing through the news pages, when I came across this.
Check this thing out, its like a real life transformer. This is a Water Cannon 10000, commissioned by the German Police. Worth over a $1M, this is set to replace an aging fleet of vehicles. Not even sure where or how something like this is used... just found it quite entertaining!
The chassis is made by Mercedes Benz, and gross weight is around 33 Tons!
For your Mercedes Parts, please check out our store - Above All Motorwerks
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Former BMW F1 team Sauber signs Kobayashi
Well, as an avid F1 Fan, this year should be an exciting one. There is going to be a LOT of change, both from a rules standpoint as well as a team standpoint. You have manufacturers leaving, independents joining, and looks like we are going to have the largest fields in recent history.
One particularly exciting development is the signing of Kobayashi by Sauber. Kobayashi came in near the end of last year competing in just two races, and with his former team ( Toyota ) leaving the sport after many years of complete failure, he was left looking elsewhere. In those two races however, I felt like I was watching a future star. Now, you never know in F1. There are a lot of guys that looked promising, only to fall flat on their face, but there just seems to be something different about this kid.
Time will tell, be sure to tune in this year for lots of exciting developments!
For your BMW Parts and Porsche Parts, please be sure to visit Above All Motorwerks.
One particularly exciting development is the signing of Kobayashi by Sauber. Kobayashi came in near the end of last year competing in just two races, and with his former team ( Toyota ) leaving the sport after many years of complete failure, he was left looking elsewhere. In those two races however, I felt like I was watching a future star. Now, you never know in F1. There are a lot of guys that looked promising, only to fall flat on their face, but there just seems to be something different about this kid.
Time will tell, be sure to tune in this year for lots of exciting developments!
For your BMW Parts and Porsche Parts, please be sure to visit Above All Motorwerks.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Mighty C5 A6 conquers the snow!
Well, not sure if you had noticed, but the Midwest got a bit of snow over the last few days.. I was actually in Des Moines, IA, and we recieved 15" of snow over a 24 hour period. Well, I was staying in a hotel downtown, and of course, the entire downtown shuts down... basically leaving me without any great source of entertainment ( ie bars ) open to enjoy.
So, I decide to find out how well my 02 A6 Q does in the snow.... Now, this is not a stock A6, it is lowered with a Vogtland Audi Suspension, 18"X9" Wheels on A/S performance tires. Snow was deep in places, and not so bad in others. I went out to Best Buy, and had to make it through nearly a foot deep snow across their parking lot, and this little wonder did it without a flinch. Definately gives me a good peace of mind.
Then just when I think I am clear, and ready to go home the next am, the temp drops to -5. I am thinking, OMG, did I have enough antifreeze in the Audi Radiator? Much to my relief, it was just fine. One last obstacle before hitting the road, pulled out of the parking garage, only to find my window was frozen shut. Be sure when this happens not to force it, or you will damage your Audi Window Regulator. I cant tell you how many of these we sell a week.
Anyway, got it on the road, and cruised home. Mostly 50%-80% ice packed roads, but the old A6 cruised along at nearly 70 the whole way home.
Until next time...
So, I decide to find out how well my 02 A6 Q does in the snow.... Now, this is not a stock A6, it is lowered with a Vogtland Audi Suspension, 18"X9" Wheels on A/S performance tires. Snow was deep in places, and not so bad in others. I went out to Best Buy, and had to make it through nearly a foot deep snow across their parking lot, and this little wonder did it without a flinch. Definately gives me a good peace of mind.
Then just when I think I am clear, and ready to go home the next am, the temp drops to -5. I am thinking, OMG, did I have enough antifreeze in the Audi Radiator? Much to my relief, it was just fine. One last obstacle before hitting the road, pulled out of the parking garage, only to find my window was frozen shut. Be sure when this happens not to force it, or you will damage your Audi Window Regulator. I cant tell you how many of these we sell a week.
Anyway, got it on the road, and cruised home. Mostly 50%-80% ice packed roads, but the old A6 cruised along at nearly 70 the whole way home.
Until next time...
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Grand-AM testing... cant wait!
Well, this is my first blog post on Blogger.com, so first a quick intro. I have spent the last 10 years immersed in the European Car racing scene... German cars to be more specific. This has been as both a driver for 5+ years of a BMW Race Car, and more recently, as part of the crew and Car Chief for APR Motorsports GTI in the racing series formerly known as the Grand Am Koni Challenge - now the Grand Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge... Hows that for a mouthful. Dang.
Anyway, this will be our 3rd year as a team with APR, and it has been a good ride thus far. The first year was pretty painful. We busted our asses, with little to show for it. The cars had pace, but we struggled massively with reliability. First it was driveline issues for a few races... then that was fixed, struggled with braking issues... and lets not forget the biggest issue, Turbo Wastegate Rod failures. These little suckers gave us fits. the dang things would just flat fail, leaving the gate open and a complete loss of boost. Unfortunately, this took the whole season to work through, but finally it was figured out. This along with some sporadic braking issues, and the cars were transformed. Additional tuning of the VW Suspension was also done to improve handing.
This brings us to 2009. This was a good year overall. For a second year team, we did quite well. We dominated the laps led, and won 5 of the 11 races. Unfortunately, we still suffered a few reliability issues that kept us out of the points at the end, but to watch our guys take that podium so many times, that was one hell of a reward for the 2 years of hard work.
So, this brings us to this year. Honestly, not sure what to expect. I am sure those Hondas will be faster than ever. Karl builds some good cars. Hopefully we will find some more to stay competitive. We are also entering a new S4 in the Grand Sport class. This will be the first time on the track, so expect some teething issues with this as well. The team has some of the finest engineers I have ever worked with, so I expect the items wont be killer, but it doesnt take much to set you back in Auto Racing. The biggest item is here we are now up against the Porsche Brakes, BMW Suspension, and the Mustang Power. But we have All Wheel Drive and Boost! :)
Anyway, thats about it for this first post. I will be back throughout the year with updates to the season, and whatever is top of mind. Thx for following us.
Author: Above All Motorwerks -
Anyway, this will be our 3rd year as a team with APR, and it has been a good ride thus far. The first year was pretty painful. We busted our asses, with little to show for it. The cars had pace, but we struggled massively with reliability. First it was driveline issues for a few races... then that was fixed, struggled with braking issues... and lets not forget the biggest issue, Turbo Wastegate Rod failures. These little suckers gave us fits. the dang things would just flat fail, leaving the gate open and a complete loss of boost. Unfortunately, this took the whole season to work through, but finally it was figured out. This along with some sporadic braking issues, and the cars were transformed. Additional tuning of the VW Suspension was also done to improve handing.
This brings us to 2009. This was a good year overall. For a second year team, we did quite well. We dominated the laps led, and won 5 of the 11 races. Unfortunately, we still suffered a few reliability issues that kept us out of the points at the end, but to watch our guys take that podium so many times, that was one hell of a reward for the 2 years of hard work.
So, this brings us to this year. Honestly, not sure what to expect. I am sure those Hondas will be faster than ever. Karl builds some good cars. Hopefully we will find some more to stay competitive. We are also entering a new S4 in the Grand Sport class. This will be the first time on the track, so expect some teething issues with this as well. The team has some of the finest engineers I have ever worked with, so I expect the items wont be killer, but it doesnt take much to set you back in Auto Racing. The biggest item is here we are now up against the Porsche Brakes, BMW Suspension, and the Mustang Power. But we have All Wheel Drive and Boost! :)
Anyway, thats about it for this first post. I will be back throughout the year with updates to the season, and whatever is top of mind. Thx for following us.
Author: Above All Motorwerks -
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