Woofcast #31

Short 1 yet again this week. This time, Todd couldn’t make it. db and Gabe carry on without him.

-We are not all in SoCal. Only db is.
-db is NOT a geometry wizard.
-Todd was outvoted.
-JCW Tires for Gabe?
-Tires are black, round and they do wear out.
-db lied?
-Too much brake dust? Want better stopping power? Change your brakes.
-To compress the rear rotors, you can get a tool or use one of many different ways. Check out this NAM thread or Harbor Frieght Tools.
-Tear off’s on wheels? Gabe, get on it!
-OEM Pads made of chalk?
-db doesn’t like a big brake kit.
-But big brakes do look hot.
-Big news for the week and some rumor squashing
-Don’t wd-40 or armor all your brakes. Really, we were joking.
-This is the first non-Todd cast. What a trooper!
-db kinda knows what he’s doin’.
-Remember when installing the JCW intake, it’s 113 and white with red stripe.
-ECU is skippable, but really, you should think twice about it.

We should all be back next week, barring anymore alien abductions or black 7 series pulling up. Can’t control those things.

Survey? You know what to do. The WRR Frappr. Get a decal.

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db did the hard part
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31 replies on “Woofcast #31”

  1. I took the survey guys, but I must confess that I gave you a poor score on how much I trust your opinion on “home furnishings.” I’ve got a mind of my own, alright!

    As for brake dust, for those of your out there who hate the stuff, I stumbled upon one unexpected way (short of tear-offs) to get the dust off with a minimum of work: Armor-All.

    Back when I was young and foolish and still used Armor-All on my tires, I over-sprayed onto the rim once and noticed that the brake dust just wiped right off the rim in that spot where it had been sprayed. So I sprayed the whole rim, waited about 20 minutes, and then hosed it off. Presto – clean wheel. The coating it left behind also seemed to repel future accumulations.

    For what it’s worth.

    -NS in NE

  2. Nathaniel – not sure what made you mention home furnishings but for what it’s worth here’s the chair I sit in for the Podcast.

    And if it wasn’t scaled so freakin’ small compared to 21st century furniture, I’d have this in my living room right now.

  3. Just to let you guys know, most brake kits dont need a 18″ wheel. The Wilwood 11.75″ kit can fit in 15″ team dynamics.

    you feel that DB… that feels like vindication 😉

  4. is it just my computer or gabe and db sounded like the chipmunks or inhaled helium gas for the whole hour. the speed on playback must be on doouble speed.

  5. is it just my computer or gabe and db sounded like the chipmunks or inhaled helium gas for the whole hour. the speed on playback must be on doouble speed.

    It’s not you. If you download the podcast and play it on your computer or portable player, you will notice that it sounds normal. If you listen using a flash-based player (like the one at NAM), this show and some others have that problem.

    That, btw, is the number 1 reason why Todd records on his Mac instead of me recording on my PC. I’m trying to get it fixed, but not having much luck.

    Anyone want to start db’s Mac fund? 😉

  6. Here is the technical reason why we sound like chipmunks…

    You’ve been chipmunk’d! Sometimes the Macromedia Flash player has a hard time dealing with files that are encoded at a rate that is not a multiple of 11.025 kHz. The result is what we call the “chipmunk” effect. When you download the file, it will play normally on your computer or device. Note: To avoid being chipmunk’d, encode MP3’s at 11.025 22.05 or 44.1 kHz (or use Odeo Studio).

    From http://odeo.com/help/faq

  7. Oh no db, you’ve asked for a mac! We’re never going to hear the end of this :(.

    Another person is now being lost to the “iLife.” I will have to stop listening when the show becomes all about the “iMINI.” (It’s not that that I have anything in particular against macs, it’s just fun to “counter-bash” them as mac addicts can be very protective 😉 )

    Oh, and the JCW brake kit I have needs 17″ wheels, or one of only 2 or 3 16″ wheels, but does not require 18″ wheels. Does anyone know how long the JCW brakes usually last (spirited driving, maybe a couple track days a year starting next year)?

  8. Concerning JCW intake: Does the secondary intake open at 4500 RPM when just revving, or only under driving conditions?

  9. Concerning JCW intake: Does the secondary intake open at 4500 RPM when just revving, or only under driving conditions?

    It comes on anytime you go over 4500rpm.

  10. Db – do you honestly really believe that guy? I mean seriously? I’ve got two laptops on my desk right now… a brand new Toshiba and my two year old Powerbook. I live with both platforms on a daily basis. And I am here to say that guy is about as full of sh*t as anyone I’ve ever heard.

    And he seriously needs to consider going to a looser notch on the belt.

  11. Considering the age of that vid, I don’t believe him. I think that was made in the days of OS8 or 9. I can tell you the first time I saw that was on Win98 (not second edition), so my computing experience at the time was worse.

    Oh the joys of a windows re-install…good times, good times

  12. I will have to agree with db on the whole big brake kit idea. Unless you are frequently racing your MINI on a real race track (not autocross), there is no real performance benefit. Upgrading the pads and fluid is all you need for the street, and it will get you through any driving school weekend. If you take it a step further, and put on some stainless steel lines, the feel will be even better.

    Also, remember all that rotating mass you lost when you ditched your S-Lites and runflats…well it’s now back in the form of a big freakin’ brake rotor.

  13. Also, remember all that rotating mass you lost when you ditched your S-Lites and runflats…well it’s now back in the form of a big freakin’ brake rotor.

    The additional rotational mass really depends on what BB kit you use. But in general I agree with you. As I said on the Podcast I got through just fine on my last track day with stock pads and rotors. However there is a very appreciable difference in feel, performance, and most importantly enjoyment I get out of the car with larger more power brakes. I’ve driven (and tracked) a car with the JCW brake kit loved the feel enough to make me forgot about “needs” and focus on “want” 🙂 And finally I really want my MINI to brake like my BMW.

  14. Also, remember all that rotating mass you lost when you ditched your S-Lites and runflats…well it’s now back in the form of a big freakin’ brake rotor.

    You *may* be getting some mass back with bigger brake rotors (I doubt BMW designed the stock ones with lightness in mind), but it’s closer to the center of rotation, so its got less of an arm; if you take away 5 pounds that’s rotating 8.5″ from the hub and move it so that it’s rotating 4″ from the hub, you’re still going to have less momentum to deal with, so acceleration and deceleration will both be improved. Er, right? 🙂

  15. –forgot about “needs” and focus on “want”–

    Can’t argue with that. Heck, most of my own car modifications are heavily biased toward the “want” side of the scale.

    Honestly speaking, the JCW brake kit is a nice compromise between the stock setup and a balls out 4-piston Brembo (or equivalent) kit. Gabe’s BMW analogy is dead on. It’s like putting M3 brakes on your 328i.

    Regarding the rotational mass theory, I remember reading an article that Car and Driver, or Sport Compact Car, or some other magazine did a few years back showing how 0-60 times are negatively affected by big brake kits. Sounds like more incentive to get a pulley at the same time.

  16. My first comment was in reference to the WRR podcast survey. It asked a bunch of questions about whether or not I trusted the opinions of the hosts on a bunch of topics – one of which was home furnishings. It’s obviously sort of a catch-all survey for all flavors of podcasts. I just thought that particular subject was funny so I made a snyde remark about it.

    Does that mean you haven’t taken the survey, Gabe? Shame. Get ’em Db!

    As for your chair, that looks super comfortable and supportive – and for $900 by jove it’d better! I hope you got a better deal than that. I LOVE that Eames chair and ottoman you linked to.

    I retract my statement – at least for you Gabe. Super chic. I love thumbing through I.D. magazine – lots of cool stuff in there and I get a kick out of how half the ads in the mag are for chairs like yours.

    And I’ll chime in on the Mac video too – it was funny but obviously OS-9 from at least 5 years ago. I’ll admit though, that many of those same things really bothered the crap out of me back then too, but are not even issues nowadays. Funny video though. We’ve got a couple of those old CRT iMac’s here in the office and every time I see that little handle, I just imagine someone snatching the thing up and flinging it across the room just for fun. Of course ours are running Tiger and barely used. I AM a huge fan of the 20′ iMac G5 I’m typing on right this moment.

    It’s too bad all the Mac-hate out there from people who haven’t touched a Mac since 1999. Someone looking to buy a laptop asked me about my Powerbook and over the course of the discussion said “well someone told me that Mac’s crash all the time.” I told her that I have to reboot my laptop ’bout twice a month, and that’s putting it to sleep and waking it up constantly as I move around. I’d love it if my PC were that stable.

  17. If you do a show on tyres some time in the future I’d be keen to here db’s recommendation for a good non-runflat to run on 16″ 5-stars on a Cooper. I can’t wait to ditch these runflats.

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