Category: Petrol-head

Anything car related.

Formula1, my car(s), Top Gear, stuff like that..

October 3, 2012 Petrol-head

Lewis and McLaren

When Eddie Jordan first disclosed that Lewis was transferring to Mercedes, I tweeted that it was a mistake.

I still think that it is.

Schumacher might have been once great, but Mercedes haven’t supplied him with a fast, reliable car, or a reliably fast car (both!!)

I don’t think that will change with Lewis in that hot, recently vacated, seat.

What I don’t like also, is the manner in which this has been done.

Poor Schumacher, whilst I couldn’t stand him in his first incarnation as an F1 driver, I actually like the guy now, but he should have been left to properly announce his future *first*.

It would have been the proper thing to do in my opinion.

Then, and only then, should Lewis been offered the drive, at least publicly.

As to the mistake – the glory is in winning the championship – not the money.
Money may be nice at the end of the day, but, unless Lewis is really stupid, he could retire today and live a very comfortable life for the rest of his long years.

Thing is, like all great racing drivers, Lewis is a proper racer – the championship is the *only* thing that should matter, that is what makes you into a lasting “name”.

Lets look at it this way.

I would name, Fangio, Stewart, Lauda, Piquet, Prost, Senna and Schumacher as names of F1 drivers that have a *massive* legacy – why ?

Ask yourself – how many times they won the championship…

All of them, 3 or more times.

Clark, he won it twice, and he’s British, so he normally gets recognition, fine.

I’d list Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell, but they only won it once each, and Mansell went on to win the Indy CART championship the following year, and again, they are British, so get a little bit of a nod.

But – in comparison to the others that have won 3 or more… no, sorry, great as they are, they are not quite in the same league.

I mean, I forget Villeneuve (both of them), Rosberg (Keke), Rindt and a few others that only one it the once (Hulme ????)

That championship winning is what gives you a legacy, Vettel and unfortunately Alonso are only one more championship win away from making that grade, Lewis could be, but only with McLaren IMHO.

Mercedes, and the Brawn team before them, I think got very lucky with the year that Jenson won the championship, and no, I won’t take away the fact that Jenson is a good driver, he is just a Prost – a little too clinical, “Professor-like”, in the same manner as Prost, but, Lewis, the guts to put the car where it needs to go, that, I personally like.

After Jenson’s run of wins the year he won the championship, he didn’t do that great, the other teams had caught up on the technological advantage that Brawn had at the beginning of that year.

Can Mercedes do that again ?

With Brawn at the helm, possibly in 2014, with the proposed new rule changes for engines, however – not next year IMHO, and that is another year I don’t see Lewis winning the championship now.

I hope I am wrong, but, I fear he has made a mistake.

June 17, 2012 Geek-tech, Petrol-head, Rant Post a Comment

Daytime Running lights

Let’s start with an admission, I have an Audi RS4, it has optional Daytime Running Lights (DRL) – and on my version, they are standard incandescent (halogen) bulbs.

I will also admit that I do occasionally have them turned on.

There – those admissions are out of the way.

I however, have a bit of  a problem with DRLs.

The problem I have with DRLs is how they are almost ubiquitous on new cars and they all have one flaw in common, with a notable exception, Volvo. (maybe the now defunct SAAB)

Interestingly, the reason they are ubiquitious, is EU law.

It’s stated here, which basically states that it is a requirement for all new cars and small vans registered after Feb 2011 must be equipped daytime running lights.

The flaw ?

The requirement is only for the *front* of the car, mainly for pedestrians and cyclists.

So – why is that so bad ?

Well, it isn’t for cyclists and pedestrians, it does give them a greater chance of seeing cars that are coming towards them before they cross the road.

However… let’s get back to other road users, and take a look from behind.

The are a awful large proportion of people these days that have no idea how and when to use lights in inclement weather, and let’s be honest, Britain isn’t exactly known for it’s periods of unbroken stunning sunshine.

This spring for example has seen the wettest April in 100 years, (or Oxford, wettest since records began)  – and May hasn’t exactly been better.

The problem with all this rain, at least car related, is that with the large, wide wheels on modern cars, the resultant huge quantity of spray that is kicked up on the motorways can, and regularly does, make visibility horrendous.

Now, as all these people with DRLs go, “I have DRL, no need to turn my lights on, I’m OK”……

HMMM – as so back to the flaw.

DRLs are only on the *front* of the car – which means that all the spray makes the rear of the car almost impossible to see – even more so as these idiots haven’t got their lights on – the proper lights, the dipped lights that actually turn on the rear running lights on a car, the ones that make the rear of the car visible, like they do in the dark at night.

These idiots, I’m not going to call them drivers, as they aren’t, they are passengers with a wheel in front of them, with no clue about what is going on around them, are putting lives of innocent drivers, and any passengers at risk of serious injury or worse, and are effectively got the backing from the EU with the DRL legislation.

Now, the blame isn’t 100% with the drivers of these modern cars.

Some significant blame has to be apportioned to both the manufacturers of the cars, and to the UK and EU legislators for making cars with DRLs that only specify that the DRL are on the front of the car – and not the front and back.

The other issue I have a problem with, and I have seen this more with Mercedes cars than any other cars – is the use of automatic headlights.

There is a very good case for having technology that automates things, but technology has a limit – in the case of automatic lights, there is a sensor that determines how dark it is must be for the lights to be activated.

Trouble is with that there are a number of situations where there is enough light, but visibility isn’t good enough, such conditions can easily be found in heavy rain, with lots of standing water, or fog.

Fog is an interesting one, it can be bright enough to make you squint, but the actual visibility can be horrendously poor – and this is what confuses the automatic sensors on the automatic lighting controls on the cars.

Trouble there – the drivers are so reliant on the technology, they don’t think to do what they must do according to the Highway Code – at minimum, turn their dipped lights on.

They may even think if they have DRL, “I’m ok – I have DRL” – but that isn’t the case – I may be able to see them in my rear-view mirror if they are behind me, however…. and here is, to my mind, the crucial bit………….. I can’t see them when I am behind them.

Volvo know this, their daytime running lights are at both ends of the car… that makes them the safest option.

Question is – why haven’t other manufactures understood this and acted accordingly ?

And the deeper question – why hasn’t the EU realised this, and acted done the right thing and when they mandated DRL for the front of the car, acted with overall safety in mind, and mandated DRL for the read as well ??

After all, the whole reason stated for the DRL EU legislation is safety…
Quoting from the URL ealier,…. “In countries where DRL is already obligatory it has been hailed as a very positive development in the field of road safety.”

Come on people – wake up…
Use your lights appropriately – and EU …… well, slap!, smell the coffee…