Seeing Is Believing (FreeEMS Show-casing)
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:11 pm
A lot of people will never learn about, or come to appreciate what FreeEMS has to offer for them without some sort of demonstration. People like things they can understand, feel, touch, watch, listen to, etc. Nothing has proved this to me more than how excitement is generated by PCB designs, even though they're very much the easier part of the overall project. (not easy, just easier)
Over the coming year or so, I'd like to see some specific things done with FreeEMS, so I thought I'd put this thread here to document my thoughts, collect feedback and further ideas from people. Below is a rough list of tasks for people to tackle. No one has "dibs" over anything, first in, first served. Quite a few are location specific, but some can be done anywhere, too.
Sub 10 Minute Lap Of Nurburgring
This is a pretty easy task, on a dry day, with light traffic, and no accidents. It takes a well setup car with good brake balance, a not too firm ride, and a bit of power. The main element here is driver skill. Th' 'ring is VERY MUCH a driver's track, which is why when I was there in a ~170hp FWD 1990ish Mazda MX-6 with horribly biased brakes (way too much front, maybe 0.7g max retard), on UHP street tyres, I managed a 9:49 on my second lap. The first lap was horrible, I wasn't expecting the volume of traffic, first time driving LHD fast, didn't want to nuke the car (not mine), didn't want to nuke various other vehicles, etc. On that second lap, I only got passed a few times by the quickest of cars, and myself flew past various cars you'd expect never to catch, such as an F40 Ferrari. Doable. Do it! Take me with you if soon :-)
Bonus points for sub 9 minutes, that car had done 8:30 with the owner on a good clear day. My truck could be made to do this if it were in the right hemi-sphere... but it isn't, you're safe.
Sub 10 Second Quarter Mile Pass
If you're low on driving talent, or corners make you sea-sick, this might be more up your alley. Knock up a high horsepower, softly sprung, RWD street car, add some slicks, and configure launch control and flat shift, and show them who's boss. I think that my truck could do this on 30PSI with appropriate tweaks. Be warned.
Bonus points for sub 9 seconds, my truck will never go this fast, don't worry! :-)
300+ KPH Bonneville Salt Flat Run
Perhaps you're more into aerodynamics than sheer power, or perhaps both, if so, this one is for you. Smooth something down until you'd rather run your finger over the surface than your girlfriend's behind, add a good dollop of power, and some fins, get out there and drive until you get lost. I drove 8 miles out in the FreeEMS Volvo before it was FreeEMS powered, all @ 100 MPH, that's all it'd do. My personal goal is to run up to 300 KPH in my truck on the street, I doubt it'll ever get there, but it can hit the limiter in 5th in 17 seconds from a stop @ 210kph, so it might get close. You've been warned.
Bonus points for three-fiddy (350) kph, no, truck will never do this either.
Quadruple bonus points for 4 hundy (400), no, no shit show in hell of truck doing this.
Win a national class in auto-cross in the US
We don't really have that scene in other countries (I looked in Spain, and it's small-time in NZ). Build to a spec, kick some arse, easy, right? :-)
The Naked Truth
The thing is, NONE of the above represent what FreeEMS can do at all. They're all about car setup, power, and skill in varying amounts. But your average moron just thinks circuit boards look pretty and doesn't appreciate the intricate beauty inside the firmware, so this is the only way we can reach their hearts and minds, by showing them what it can do. It's not relevant that MS1 could also do all of the above, honest.
OK, I'm done for now, too sore to continue. Ideas, humour, bullshit, and other critique welcome.
Fred.
Over the coming year or so, I'd like to see some specific things done with FreeEMS, so I thought I'd put this thread here to document my thoughts, collect feedback and further ideas from people. Below is a rough list of tasks for people to tackle. No one has "dibs" over anything, first in, first served. Quite a few are location specific, but some can be done anywhere, too.
Sub 10 Minute Lap Of Nurburgring
This is a pretty easy task, on a dry day, with light traffic, and no accidents. It takes a well setup car with good brake balance, a not too firm ride, and a bit of power. The main element here is driver skill. Th' 'ring is VERY MUCH a driver's track, which is why when I was there in a ~170hp FWD 1990ish Mazda MX-6 with horribly biased brakes (way too much front, maybe 0.7g max retard), on UHP street tyres, I managed a 9:49 on my second lap. The first lap was horrible, I wasn't expecting the volume of traffic, first time driving LHD fast, didn't want to nuke the car (not mine), didn't want to nuke various other vehicles, etc. On that second lap, I only got passed a few times by the quickest of cars, and myself flew past various cars you'd expect never to catch, such as an F40 Ferrari. Doable. Do it! Take me with you if soon :-)
Bonus points for sub 9 minutes, that car had done 8:30 with the owner on a good clear day. My truck could be made to do this if it were in the right hemi-sphere... but it isn't, you're safe.
Sub 10 Second Quarter Mile Pass
If you're low on driving talent, or corners make you sea-sick, this might be more up your alley. Knock up a high horsepower, softly sprung, RWD street car, add some slicks, and configure launch control and flat shift, and show them who's boss. I think that my truck could do this on 30PSI with appropriate tweaks. Be warned.
Bonus points for sub 9 seconds, my truck will never go this fast, don't worry! :-)
300+ KPH Bonneville Salt Flat Run
Perhaps you're more into aerodynamics than sheer power, or perhaps both, if so, this one is for you. Smooth something down until you'd rather run your finger over the surface than your girlfriend's behind, add a good dollop of power, and some fins, get out there and drive until you get lost. I drove 8 miles out in the FreeEMS Volvo before it was FreeEMS powered, all @ 100 MPH, that's all it'd do. My personal goal is to run up to 300 KPH in my truck on the street, I doubt it'll ever get there, but it can hit the limiter in 5th in 17 seconds from a stop @ 210kph, so it might get close. You've been warned.
Bonus points for three-fiddy (350) kph, no, truck will never do this either.
Quadruple bonus points for 4 hundy (400), no, no shit show in hell of truck doing this.
Win a national class in auto-cross in the US
We don't really have that scene in other countries (I looked in Spain, and it's small-time in NZ). Build to a spec, kick some arse, easy, right? :-)
The Naked Truth
The thing is, NONE of the above represent what FreeEMS can do at all. They're all about car setup, power, and skill in varying amounts. But your average moron just thinks circuit boards look pretty and doesn't appreciate the intricate beauty inside the firmware, so this is the only way we can reach their hearts and minds, by showing them what it can do. It's not relevant that MS1 could also do all of the above, honest.
OK, I'm done for now, too sore to continue. Ideas, humour, bullshit, and other critique welcome.
Fred.