RE: I HEAR AMERICAN ECONOMY ON THE UP?
[quote]ORIGINAL: Lunchboxer I love credits / credit cards.. ! Just need to use it w/ proper discipline, I guess.. can't say no to free money, ya know! (cash back, etc.) [/quote] Very good point. And that is why credit cards should be given only to those who deserve them: the disciplined spenders who pay their bills and do not overspend themselves into debt. That is the problem with our American society, we are so commercialized into a spend, spend, spend, buy, buy, buy, that credit becomes a crutch to support that spending. And credit has been given out way too liberally. If you are disciplined and you do pay back your debts, then credit should be given to you. BUT if you buy buy buy and spend so much that your debt outstrips your income and ability to pay, you should be cut off from your credit cards. Another damn thing that has literally DESTROYED our economy really badly is that cedrit card companies WANT buyers to always owe them. These bastards want you to be at the magic debt zone where you have so much debt that all you can pay is minimum payment. The reason why is because you will never advance in paying down the debt (or progress very very slowly) and for a long as you pay just the minimum, you are an ever constant cash income to the card giver even though they first take a hit for your unwise spending to get to this sorry point. Then the economy took a dump and then even the card givers got hit because these cash-cow debtors began to lose their jobs and therefore could not even pay the min payments anymore too.
Posted on: 11/20/2009 11:05 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9269037

RE: TROUBLE WITH NEW AXIAL ENGINE
^^ +1! [sm=thumbup.gif] Pavmentsurfer, Th SH engines (yes, the LRP is made also by Golden Lion) are a cut above any of the Kingstar (Axial, HPI's Nitrostar) engines. The LRP .30ci will really be a considerably noticeable step above the the Kingstars. The K5.9 might be a torque monster, but the SH engine will be the better performer. I have no doubt that SH gave the LRP 30 a more aggressive timing profile to pull out more performance in the mid and higher RPM ranges than the K5.9 or any Axial can even dream about.
Posted on: 11/19/2009 11:17 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Car Nitro & Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9266660

RE: I HEAR AMERICAN ECONOMY ON THE UP?
[quote]ORIGINAL: DaveG55 There are reports that certain economic indicators are starting to swing upward but the one that directly affects most people, unemployement, is still very depressed and not showing any upward trend. That's what I keep hearing anyway. Until the job market improves again I don't believe that the economy will make any signifigant, rapid improvements. I don't really believe that any improvement will come quickly anyway. This depression that we are in was a long time coming. The problems really started 5 to 7 years ago and were pretty much ignored until everything started to cascade to the point where it could not be ignored any longer. I think the recovery will be the same. It will start off gradually, and maybe it already has, but will take a lot longer that 2 years to get back close to it's former levels. And, yes, I think that it affects peoples attitudes and actions. The people w/o jobs - or with extremely reduced incomes - will be depressed. And the people who are fortunate enough to not be affected tend to be more conservative in their spending and in how they display their circumstances. [/quote] I totally agree with everything you said here. However, the primary problem will be jobs coming back, and not just Walmart and McDonalds jobs, but good paying jobs with decent benefits. I do hope that more Americans will also consider saving and then buying worthwhile goods instead of the snap spending that many of us have fallen into, and thus also put our selves into debt from. One of the major reasons why the economy took a crap on us all is because we stupid Americans did this snap spending and did so with credit cards and loans with little regard for how to handle the debt down the road. I seriously hope we Americans will forgo credit and begin to save up before buying. Personally, I see the credit card companies raising interest rates as a good thing to help push us to save before we buy. And I aslo hope that credit card companies will look more seriously at who they give cards too. Like raising their min credit score requirements before an applicant is given a card. Again, we Americans need to change how we consume. We need to drop the snap spending, especially if it is on credit, and buy only after we have actually saved up the money. This will not give us the sky-rocket economic rise like the 90's and early 2000's, but it will make the economy more resilient and much more resistant to massive tankings like we saw a couple of years back.
Posted on: 11/19/2009 11:07 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9266645

RE: Coke vs Pepsi the Poll.
I vote Coke, but not Coke with that corn syrup [b][u]CRAP[/u][/b], I mean the original Coke with real cane sugar! Back before I was even born, Coke had real sugar, and upon tasting that real Coke (which sadly is only made in Mexico now), I will never drink the sorry corn syrup Coke again. I curse and spit upon corn syrup for destroying the taste of sodas. [:@] I hope and pray that corn syrup becomes so expensive that sodas will resort to cane sugar again. [:D]
Posted on: 11/19/2009 10:55 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9266612

RE: Belt or Shaft
Shooting for 100 actual MPH on a flat straight line? Definitely, direct drive and only 2WD, rear wheels powered. Anything more than 2WD direct drive will only hurt the precious needed torque to propel you to that magic 100. Also, a single nitro engine simply will not cut it. You will have to go multi-engine, no less than two engines turning very very high gears. No less than two engines are needed because nitro has a serious flaw: it is extremely weak in the torque department even though its HP is very high for the displacement. Now, if you are going electric, that has all the advantage of you can find motors that will give you tremendous torque, and coupled with alot of LiPo cells in series, you can literally almost twist the chassis like a pretzel assuming you have a motor capable of taking that amount of battery power. And couple that with the very tall gear ratio, 100 actual MPH is very possible. As for shaft or belt? If you must insist on 4WD, then belt is the way to go for this application. Shaft will east too much torque as the motion must be translated 90 degrees at the front axles and also at the back axles. Now, 100MPH and on-road straight line runs aside, for off roading shaft is the way to go. Shaft will resist rocks and other crap from ruining the drive train. Belts will get shredded and the belt spools will have teethe eaten off from all that crap. Even on on-roading, belt will still ingest rocks from the asphalt aggregate that works loose from the road surface. Now, if you want to use belt in off-roading, you must fully enclose the belt drivetrain to keep out all the rocks and crap. I mean FULLY enclosed. No part of the belts can ever be exposed to the air at all because dirt, rocks, and crap will get in and wreak havoc.
Posted on: 11/15/2009 9:56 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9256467

RE: Axial 28RR-2 Is it better than old one?
I have had the original .28RR (actually, 2 RR engines) for at least 2 years now, but I have not run them much, maybe 8 or 9 gallons through them. No rebuild yet as they still have good compression each. Here are my criticisms of my older RR engines: The block case metal sucks. The back plate I have broke a tab that the pull-start screws into. And thus the pullstart back plate wobbles and pulls out the OWB starter pin with it. The timing profile of this engine is no better than another Kingstar engine; the Nitrostar K 4.6 and also the Axial Spec1S. It's sad, like Supertib mentioned in another thread concerning another Kingstar engine, these engines and other RTR engines from Taiwan have reduced the industry standard of engine materials and quality. If Kingstar (maker of HPI's Nitrostar, also maker of Axial) would just use better materials and practice better quality controls, even if the timing profile is only RTR grade, these engines would actually rival most run-of-the-mill OS engines. Heck, they might even be able to challenge OS' race grade engines if the Taiwan guys would use better materials, use better quality controls, and design a more aggressive timing profile into their engines.
Posted on: 11/15/2009 7:26 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Car Nitro & Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9256021

RE: 2 or 3 channel remote whats that ?
^^^ Nice Avatar [:D] I personally use no less than 3 channels for my RC purposes. For 3rd channel, in nitro monster trucks, I always use the 3rd channel for reverse actuation. Now, in giant scale, 1/6th, 1/5th, or larger, sine these RCs are mostly gas powered (gasoline like you put in a real car, not "gas" as in nitro), I use the 3rd channel to operate a remot kill switch to the engine's spark plug so if for some reason I have to stop the engine fast, I just push a button on the pistol and the engine dies. I then hit the brakes to stop the rolling RC.
Posted on: 11/15/2009 5:40 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9255785

RE: Is the gascap siZe the same for HPI as for FG?
Yes, that is definitely nice. Hellya quit selling stuff some time ago, and I have no clue if he ever picked up selling stuff again, otherwise, since he was one of the FG importers, I would try to hit him up to see if he has any of those. I will however do some net surfing to see if someone else now carries that FG gas cap quick release system (liek FG Sully, DDM, Hobbythek, Bigboystoys, etc.) My only concern is if the RC takes a tumble and rolls over and stuff, that the quick release tab wont get knocked open from the body shell crumpling down on it and possible catching the lever and pulling it up.
Posted on: 11/13/2009 8:13 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9250511

RE: Why Do Poeple Think Their Wireless Company Owes Them?
[quote]ORIGINAL: quietnas1 Thunder from all the stuff I have read that you posted I would think you were a pretty stand up guy. How do you know that I am not being understanding and showing concern. How do you know I just throw free stuff at them. That is one thing I have never done. I'm actually very good at getting to the root cause of a customers issue. I have gotten plenty of comendations from the customer and I have gotten plenty of awards. So I think I do my job quite well thank you. And all this while I have been insulted on the phone. Granted in the end most customers apologize but you can only block out so much. I'm talking about folks who want an iPhone style phone for free and get angry and insulting when they don't get. I'm talking about the folks who are just rude and belittle you. There is no need for it. I'm talking about the folks who hit 2 for Spanish because we answer quicker and then yell saying things like English your in America and we have to sit there take the insult and apologize and continue to help. Just tired of Rude poeple. Just like the moron I saw at walgreens. [/quote] I totally hear you, and that is exactly what I mean about people trying to lie to you and get something for free. And I blame this on our commercialized society and its horrible drive to coerce everyone to spend, spend, spend, consume, consume, consume instead of save up and buy things that are worthwhile. This type of commercialization has spurred on undercutting where one company tries to out do the other. And because of this, customers hold the attitude that they are due something even though they might not. I am not saying there is something wrong with price cutting competition this because it does keep price gouging in check without the need of regulations and all, HOWEVER, price cutting does also drive the companies to become liars in themselves as they bend every possible rule to offer a cheaper product, including importing "dumped" goods that only hurt the industry because the company will now export the jobs, the workers are fired, they go on unemployment (that's paid for with your and my taxes), and of course, these displaced employees cannot consume anymore. And yes, they will get another job, but with most companies exporting jobs, the new jobs they get do not pay as much. These ex-employees therefore cannot contribute to the economy like before; and in alot of cases, I have seen many of them barely making it by with little or no extra money to save or spend on things they used to buy/do. And that is that much money lost from the economy. These customers will sacrifice cell phone for regular house phones and therefore do not even contribute to the cellphone industry anymore. This example is only one major ill of our commercialized society and looking at all industries, is one of the major factors why the economy sucks now.
Posted on: 11/13/2009 7:56 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9250484

RE: Is the gascap siZe the same for HPI as for FG?
I noticed that too. But on my FG caps, the vent hold does not get clogged, but for some reason, the rubber intake thingy that is supposed to allow air in but keep fumes from escaping out fails and for some reason quits letting air in. (I have yet to figure it out, by my initial guess is the long rubber thing might pinch upon itself from the built up gas pressure inside the tank.) When the cap on one of my FGs began to quit allowing air in, I made the mistake of taking pliers to rip of the tip of this rubber thingy. That tip is what keeps the fumes from escaping and also keeps the fuel from leaking out of the hole when your RC rolls over.
Posted on: 11/13/2009 7:38 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9250465

RE: everyone put in 5 words to make story
again punched him in the
Posted on: 11/1/2009 4:16 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9220557

RE: What if you got fooled?
I hear you on that. Back in the 70's, GM was up to the same kind of tactic back then, well, they did not outsource overseas to make crap cars, they unfortunately made crap cars on American soil and became an embarrassment to made in the USA (which I actually am angry about). One of the cars that they made was called the Nova. The Nova might have been okay at the time, but I am very sure that the Novas had their fair share of lemons coming straight form the factory. In the Spanish speaking Amaricas, the Nova got a bad reputation. and Nova (No Va) in spanish means "It does not go!" Thus Nova sales in the Spanish speaking Americas sold horribly. I am actually angry that GM has the never to still do this and try to pass trash cars, even to the UK. I am sad to see that they are still trying to play this 1970's tactic 40 years later. I do hope that the GM restructuring seriously explores this and makes positive changes.
Posted on: 11/1/2009 4:11 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9220547

RE: OEM, but not the real OEM
[quote]ORIGINAL: dsales [quote]ORIGINAL: SAVAGEJIM It is to the point now that if I am looking at a car or truck, the very first thing I look for is the VIN (vehicle identification number). The very first character tells you where the care is made. And according to US law, a car cannot be claimed to be made somewhere unless 80% (maybe more) of the entire car and its components are made form
Posted on: 11/1/2009 3:56 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9220519

RE: flooding 813
[quote]ORIGINAL: clubin moo, one other thing you may want to check is pull off the primer bulb, there is a carb vent from there might be bunged up? If I recall it is a channel that is cut into the white plastic with the return fitting on it. Let me know. I haven't had any issues with the 813 yet. I did plug those holes with silicone though-kind of a stupid having it open like it is. [/quote] I'm in your same boat as mine too have not yet failed on me, and that is why I am following this thread too. I have not filled in the holes in my own 813 carbs, but definitely after reading through this thread, I am going to do so immediately and will do so on all future 813 carbs I obtain. mooman, thanks for sharing; this thread and your other post on the 813 carbs have definitely has helped understand me about these things.
Posted on: 11/1/2009 3:22 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9220462

RE: flooding 813
Very interesting, and definitely, thanks for posting the pics. You are right, this ball and piston do not show in the exploded diagram at all. I wonder why Zen did not bother to show these parts? Moreover, I wonder why Walbro does not include these pieces in the rebuild kit? I can understand if they do not want to include the brass thing, but the spring and the ball is a must. From the looks of your ball, it has corrosion on it, that in addition to the sand on your cloth shows that dirt and stuff do get in their. And the corrosion on the ball combined with the sand can both combine to result in a stuck ball. Stuck open, or stuck close, whichever is not the proper position, I agree with you, this might be the culprit for fuel spewing when it is not supposed to be. With this in mind now, I am going to inspect my own 813 carbs and if that hole is dirty in my 813 carb holes, I am going dismount the carbs , clean them, and take your advice and cover the holes up with silicone. I have no clue why this hole that houses a moving functional part is exposed like this. My only guess is that the 813 might be primarily designed for GoPed engines that use a bigger intake manifold and gasket and this hole thus might not be normally exposed.
Posted on: 11/1/2009 1:56 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9220305

RE: OUR DAY @ THE BEACH .....
I am never anyplace near a beach; so all my running is in maybe a qaurry pit or two but mostly in grass. If you can find some dunes with dune hills and all, I would so love to see your MB going at it and catching some sick air! And yeah, I totally will bet your MB CAD engine will really make it sail! Also, I think your lens are a bit dirty; big mar blur on the middle.
Posted on: 11/1/2009 1:42 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9220269

RE: flooding 813
In looking at the exploded view diagram I just posted, I realized that the most probable cause of your fuel spewing out into the carb is mechanism that squirts fuel into the inlet might be stuck in the open position. This kind of confirms what Roger mentioned in is second posts, the hole(s) that holds this mechanism shaft or pother parts of this mechanism might be worn out. Or, at the very least, their might be some debris that have fouled up this mechanism by getting in between the parts and/or filling up the hole(s) they go into. When you had your carb apart, did you clean out the holes and passageways with pipecleaners?
Posted on: 11/1/2009 11:21 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219950

RE: THIS MEANS WAR..
46u, that is actually very interesting information to know. I too know that lubes breakdown from high heat, but for castor, I didnt know that breaking it down actually improved its lube properties. I have read everywhere that synth has superior lube properties namely a much lower coefficient of friction, but as for their break-down in higher temps, I didnt know their broken down products are useless (or near useless) unlike that of castor. Since our 2stroke engines are continually bringing in fresh brand-new lube with the fuel in each combustion cycle, I am wondering if even if the existing lube breaks down, will that break down have any affect on lube? Afterall, the fresh fuel, air and lube entering the engine constantly replaces the lube that might have gone bad. I guess the only flaw tat I can think of in my thought is just what temps do the lube break down? If the engine is so hot that whatever new lube that hits the parts immediately breaks down on contact is not good at all. DC2, another nice vid showing off your engine's power. I see that you are feathering the trigger the whole time to keep the front wheels on the ground as much as possible. Since your grass is not perfectly flat (I see your MB bouncing a little), I can see why you are doing so just so you can keep the wheels on the ground more.
Posted on: 11/1/2009 10:17 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219820

RE: flooding 813
[quote]ORIGINAL: 46u Let me ask a question. I have dealt with many carbs on motorcycles with acceleration pumps and all of them on motorcycles have a one way valve which normally is a little ball bearing. I have seen this problem on motorcycles and every time it has has something to do with this valve. [/quote] I found this exploded view of the WT813 carb (I think this will help assist us all in this discussion) http://www.modelflight.com.au/manuals/pdf/zenoah/Zenoah_Racing_Kit.pdf In this diagram, is the valve you are describing piece #13 (they call it an inlet valve)?
Posted on: 11/1/2009 9:58 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219788

RE: flooding 813
The question was actually directed to Mooman. And yes, I already know that getting a new one is best based on what Roger said. Actually, my questions are directed to anyone else who also have the 813 and had it fail on you. This would give me an idea of just how long I can expect before my carbs will fail (well, it the probability of them failing would be consistent when yours failed). Also, if one of my 813 carbs fail in such a same manner, I plan on disassembling it to try to find out what went wrong. Things I will try to discover is if: The passages ways and and other holes wear out like Roger was describing? Did cracks develop anywhere inside the carb such that fuel spews out the wrong place? Why would putting in new o-rings and diaphragms not fix the carb? ...and so on
Posted on: 11/1/2009 9:49 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219213

RE: Built Me a Baja Rat Rod
Maori, Thanks for sharing how you made the functional pipes, and that is nothing short of impressive! Tuned pipe or not, I am thoroughly impressed that you fabricated that functional exhaust pipe rack. I wish I were proficient in welding to even braze together the parts that you did, otherwise, I would be trying my hand at something very similar too. Well, I might actually try to see if I can make the functional side exhaust parts while still having a tuned pipe mounted to the engine. (You know, adding the brass or copper pipeworks out the stinger of the tuned pipe and extending it to the side exhaust pipe rack, but of course, I would create new problems that I will have to adjust for such as the additional back pressure created of the added pipeworks.)
Posted on: 11/1/2009 9:20 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219716

RE: Baja5B owners start saving, 2speed will be here
Yes, it definitely does. I am looking forward to final pricing and I do hope that this gear set will be ready and available for sale by the time around x-mas as originally anticipated. I will definitely be buying a set. As already mentioned several posts before me, I too am curious what the final design will look like. And I and to see if this gear set could be modified and adapted to be mounted on FGs. Even though FG already has a 2speed gearset of their own, just the sample looks of the design sown in the pics above already reveal that this gear set will be superior to FG's gear set.
Posted on: 11/1/2009 1:57 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219236

RE: flooding 813
That is not good, as I have a couple of these very same carbs. Will, fortunately, I have at most maybe 3 gallons on my G270 engines and have not yet experienced the problem, but that is not to say that I will not have problems later on down the line. How many gallons of fuel have you put through your engine before you noticed this problem? Also, just asking for a rough guess, about how many hours have you put on the engine with this carb?
Posted on: 11/1/2009 1:28 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219191

RE: OEM, but not the real OEM
I remember that. Especially Chrysler putting their Chrysler star on a Mitsubishi and reselling the Mitsubishi as their own. This kind of bothered me, because the resold Mitsubishi mini pick-up trucks Chrysler sold were woefully underpowered for pick-up truck duty. No towing power whatsoever, and loading the bed with cargo would cause the tires to hit the top of the wheel wells (the suspension was not designed to carry a load in the truck bed). It is to the point now that if I am looking at a car or truck, the very first thing I look for is the VIN (vehicle identification number). The very first character tells you where the care is made. And according to US law, a car cannot be claimed to be made somewhere unless 80% (maybe more) of the entire car and its components are made form that claimed place. I always look to see if the VIN begins with a "1" or "4" because that means the car is made in America (well, 8% or so of it and its components at least). Other VIN trivia: VIN begins with "2" = made in Canada VIN begins with "3" = made in Mexico VIN begins with "J" = made in Japan VIN begins with "K" = made in Korea VIN begins with "S" = made in England VIN begins with "W" = made in Germany
Posted on: 11/1/2009 1:22 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219184

RE: Built Me a Baja Rat Rod
I know I am several days late on this, but that is a very nice job you did on your 5B there. I have to know, where did you get the functional side exhaust pipes? Does that exhaust system have an expanding volume chamber to facilitate power promotion? etc
Posted on: 11/1/2009 1:19 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219178

RE: Your favorite funny commercial?
Probably my fave are the Pepto commercials that make fun of that gawd-awful Macarena dance from like 20yrs ago [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XghJuH6GSCo&feature=related[/youtube]
Posted on: 11/1/2009 12:29 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219087

RE: What if you got fooled?
Quality would be a differnt story. I for one would support it because it is quality form competition that drives the domestic makers to spur on innovations and improvements of their own. Look at what the Japanese car makers did in pulling American cars out of poor quality. Toyotas, for example, drove up quality standards of American cars ever since the 70's, and lets face it, American cars during that time were designed to fail at 100K miles or after 5 years on purpose so you would have to buy another. American cars skimped on materials and design and annoying thinks like knobs falling off, window cranks screwing up, door hinges coming loose and so forth plagued American cars. Japanese competition, by way of their quality, fuel efficiency, and innovation by way of ergonomics and function spurred American cars to try to follow suit too. And if it were not for that competition, American cars would still be made like crap. However, competition can drive quality the other way too. Here is how. Lets say you have a car maker whose sole purpose is cheapness and they skimp on everything. The driving consumer factor is cheapness and the buyer is so pulled in by the cheapness, they can care less about the quality because it was cheap. And the cheap owner becomes delusional that he even lies to himself and will dare say that his cheaper built car is just as good as the mainstream car when in fact it is not. And he will vehemently hold on to this lie to the end. What then happens is more and more people buy the cheaper sorrier built car such that the American makers have no choice but to follow suit and make their cares cheaply and sorrier too just to remain competitive. Otherwise, they simple become only niche vehicles and their market base drastically dwindles to a trickle.
Posted on: 11/1/2009 12:15 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219058

RE: What if you got fooled?
[quote]ORIGINAL: dsales But that just what Acura and Infiniti do in a way... Just take an average car and put their badge on it (to make it seem better) [/quote] Well, not really because Acura is still a subsidiary of Honda (Honda owns all of Acura) and likewise, Infiniti belongs to Nissan. Honda actually does not skimp on quality with Acura, nor does Nissan with Infinity (Acura and Infinity are supposed to be the "Cadillac" brands of their respective parent companies). The Daewoo unfortunately is a sorry excuse for a Chevy; and I will never buy one. If I had the money, I would buy a Corvette or a Chevy half ton pick-up, but never anything Chevy compact because most, if not all chevy economy cars suck to high hell.
Posted on: 11/1/2009 12:00 AM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9219021

RE: Baja5B owners start saving, 2speed will be here
Weight is one thing, and yes, it contributes to hurting acceleration since more mass has to be accelerated. In line with that, it is not necessarily just the weight of the whole gearset, but it is also where the mass resides in the gears, moment of inertia in this case. And moment of inertia is all about where the meat of the mass of the rotating pieces reside. What that means is if all the mass is in the shaft, the piece has a very small moment of inertia and thus, rotating acceleration (called angular acceleration) is faster. But is the mass of the gears reside closest to the teeth of the gears (much further out from the shaft), the moment of inertia is way larger and thus this hurts rotating acceleration. What this means is it is very possible that two gears can weigh exactly the same, but one will be much easier to accelerate in a rotation than the other gear; it all depends where their masses reside.
Posted on: 10/31/2009 11:21 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9218947

RE: Baja 5T Double Back-Flip at Dunetoberfest
I'm definitely impressed! Good thing they did it on sand dunes, I wish I had such a terrain where I'm at. The sand definitely would cushion the landing for my RCs from such a sick-air jump and double flip!
Posted on: 10/31/2009 11:09 PM by Author "SAVAGEJIM" in the forum "RC Giant Scale Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9218921