Salutations, gents and femstigs.

My tax return is coming soon, and I'm strongly considering building a PC based racing sim rig. Force feedback wheel, three-monitors, mounted shifter and pedals. Maybe utilize my tablet for some fancy telemetrics apps that sync with the game. I'm going to do it piece by piece. I used to do some sim racing back before Forza was a thing, and looking at how Project CARS, iRacing and other racing sims seem to be pretty decent, I'm going to jump back into it. First thing first is the PC.

I've had my current Dell XPS M1530 since 2008. I don't want to admit what it cost me with the specs it has now, but I will say that my system would probably be outpaced by a $500 Lenovo. Guys, I'm still running Vista.

6.5 years is an insane amount of time to have any type of modern gadget and it has been my trusty battleaxe. Now that I'm no longer a student and don't have to carry a computer with me, I think its time to finally build a PC. I already have all of that sorted out, that's the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what wheel I want to use and what game I should focus the rig around. Project CARS keeps getting pushed back (Feb first, then March 17th, now April 2) and I'm dubious about anything that bills itself as "community focused". iRacing is just !$#king expensive, all around. 50$ a year, plus microtransactions? Then you have Raceroom. Also, Race:Injection. I'm sure there are others.

Disclaimer: I'm building a PC regardless. It's not just for the gaming rig. I'm an aspiring web developer (laugh, i dare ya :finger and I want something that I can upgrade with as little computer-manufacturer shitware as possible.

I also have a PS4 and I'm not opposed to building a console based sim, but my options on wheel choice are more limited (something about some security chip you have to have now?) and games are limited, too. Gran Turismo isn't coming out until like, a billion years from now, so I don't really care about that. Also, what if I wanted to go super bachelor-pad and have three monitors or get one of dem there oculus rifts? PS4 is cheaper but not as flexible.

Any thoughts? Doesn't seem to be a huge simracing community at MM yet, but some of these games are getting so good, you can learn a lot of the basics without, you know, threatening your life and the lives of those around you.

It's only been like a year since I've posted anything.

I guess I little bit of a recap is in order.

I bought a 2013 FRS last January, on MLK day. It made me feel like Thor, God of Driving, but it was slow and not all that great in the snow. So, when I got a position in Boston around August (and the company was paying for the cah to drive to the haba) I decided to sell all my earthly possessions to prepare to make a permanent move. That means, no more sexy FRS. No more SV650. No more track-prepped R6 that I stupidly turned into a street bike, rode it a handful of times, dropped it at 5 mph, and sold immediately (for a profit!).

Boston didn't work out, sadly. (Or maybe not. Boston in August is like Virginia in December. Cold. Not good for motorcyling). So I came back in September and picked up a slightly used (73k), one owner 2006 Pontiac GTO with a CAI, full headers and exhaust.

It has taken me to Pittsburgh and back. To DC, Charlottesville, various mountain bombs, and I can safely say that everything needs more power. As the FRS was a surgical tool, this thing is a jackhammer. And yes, I think its ugly on the outside, too, but that's sort of the appeal. There are few things better than looking like a bloated Cobalt but sounding like Cerberus with rabies. Car guys know what the car is, but few other people do.

Also, as everyone says, the GTO has the best interior that GM has ever made. Seriously. It almost makes me forget the other stuff I don't like.

I'm going to attend the AutoX test and tune in March and see what the car (and what my limited abilities) can do. Spoiler alert: I'm going to spin out and there will be body roll for days. Pics soon, once I try to figure out what image hosting site I used in the past. It's been awhile.

*Edit*

I dun figured it out. PS, anyone know of a way to image host through Google? Going through PhotoBucket is a PITA.

Prepare for the awesome photography skills of a millennial and a cellphone:




It has 200 mph on the speedo just in case you forgot it had a V8.





I strategically took pictures of everything but the front. Work dem angles.



None of these photos are recent, since its covered in snow in the driveway at the moment. Once it gets nice, I might try out my new camera and do some video recording of mountain runs and such.

So,

I sold the R6 and the SV650 (and the FRS.... )after moving to Boston and thinking I was going to be up there for awhile. Things didn't work out, so I'm back in the 'burg without a motorcycle.

I'm a little interested in trying some mild touring and the VFR800 always seemed like an interesting choice. A buddy of mine is selling a red 2004 with only 6k on the clock for a decent price... but I hear the VTEC (yo!) can be a little wonky on the early generation six's.

Any thoughts on the bike? I've never ridden one. The center stand, single sided swing arm and decent-ish ergo's is what attracts me to it.

My dad's 99 toyota camry started intermittently shuttering and lunging forward kinda I guess but it only happens sometimes. But it also threw a code and I read it and it translate to bank 1 O2 reading lean. Now this could be several things according to the Internet. Including clogged fuel filter and clogged/dirty injectors. Or a dirty maf but i thought I read this car has a map(which would be pressure I guess) Or a vacuum line iirc. Of course it could also be a faulty O2.

Anyone have any advice on what to start and eliminate first. I would think anything clogged before the fuel rails split, would cause both sensors to read lean unless bank 1 just was worse at the time it triggered the light. That statement would apply to the maf too I would imagine.

A few months ago the charcoal canister vent code popped up but after resetting it stayed off and it seems it can pop up when the tank is low or something like that.


Edit: it's the 3.0 v6

Cliffs:

Guy buys camry hybrid (loses man card). Gets a warning light that the battery system isn't working. Dealer tells him it will be $4400 for a new battery. Guy tears apart battery, cleans some connections, and fixes the problem.

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My birthday is coming up so I figured I'd like to drop by G-Force and do some karting for a few hours and hang out and eat afterwards. My buddy Kevin is coming with. I'm thinking of coming down at about 1 pm and doing 4 or 5 sessions. Anyone else interested?

so where do wrecked bikes end up? Sure, some on forums and craiglist, but I bet many are totalled and end up at auctions somewhere. Anyone have experience with that? I need a few.

Inspired by our recent V10 showdown in the hot and bothered thread I figured it would be pretty solid if we had a thread to get our eargasm fix for the day.

I'll not be supertypical of myself and not post a BMW haha. So here is one right from MM.

Chips Mustang:
[youtube]oAgoKg5vKh8[/youtube]

Lego has been doing more automotive sets lately, and it doesn't get much cooler than this. I think I might find a way to mount lego cars in my garage or something.



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2008 Toyota Tundra SR5
Double Cab
6.5 foot bed
Tow Package
Fog lights
Sliding back glass
Center Console (who knew that was an option)
Linex Bed liner with some bed cover (that wont be around long)

There will be some mods but mostly I'm going to post on the adventure of not owning an American truck. Short term will be to clean the living crap out of this thing... it was traded in and we bought it before it even hit the lot. Its going to get some chassis saver work, step rails, some under seat storage, tailgate security, etc etc... and probably a head unit upgrade. Long term i'll look into a leveling kit