This is Real Rap
One of the saddening examples of this society deteriorating is the lack of taste in what’s true hip hop and rap. It seems like all the little kids these days are hyped up over the mainstream junk by “artists” who make millions by capitalizing on poor taste and judgement. On the flip side, this essentially makes their life easier since it seems like the preferred formula these days is to insert a bass heavy beat, and “rap” about nonsense with fake 5 liner lyrics. Not only are the lyrics and rhyme completely whack, but the subject as well. There’s no more soul in hip hop.
I almost never bother to listen to the radio anymore because all I hear is Soulja Boy, Lil Wayne, and other gold teeth wearing rappers. Thankfully, real talent existed back in the day and is as good as ever today. Take this piece by 2Pac from his 1991 2Pacalypse Now album.
Behind the Scenes of the Kansai Workshop
Not only are these photos nicely taken, but they really show off the craftsmanship that goes behind a custom bicycle frame. Here, you can see Kusaka San, the master-builder of Kinfolk and Vivalo Bicycles. These photos were taken with a Canon EOS 5d Mark II, by photographer Jesse Carmody.
Head, Meet Downtube
Hi, my name is Heng Wang and I’m going to be one of the bloggers on GRANDMIGHTY. I’ll mostly be covering the track / fixed culture.
This is what happened yesterday: while messing around on some tricks, I fell and my head hit my downtube — hard enough to put a dent in the downtube. Here’s the bike before the incident:
Tacoma on Volks
I was just talking with some peeps today about a local Toyota Xrunner that had white TE37s. I came across this clean looking Tacoma with some time attack styled TE’s. Looks good.
Bend Oregon Bike Edit
This video was originally done for a local Film Festival in Bend, Oregon. It has more up and down jumping footage than you could possibly need in its 9 minutes span. There are a few interesting, short interview segments in between clips as well of the… Oregonians.
GT5 (the full version) vs Forza 3
> GT5
> Forza 3
Discuss. I personally think GT5 trailer just shat on the Forza 3 trailer. Now vehicle dynamics? We are going to have to wait on that.
Notables:
GT5 has real licensed leagues (WRC–woohoo! Nascar–eh.)
GT5 has finally introduced crashes into their game.
Forza3 brought HD.
Have added drifting and rally.
Santa Cruz DOMINANCE
As a Santa Cruz mountain bike owner, I would like to go ahead and congratulate Santa Cruz bikes and the Santa Cruz Syndicate on their 4th win in the World Cup Downhill competition this year. Now 4 might not sound amazing, but when there has been 4 races, 4 wins doesn’t sound too bad, now does it?
In addition, Steve Peat of the Santa Cruz Syndicate has done the unthinkable and won 17 races. Yes that is a record.
Fort Williams, UK (most recent race) video — Greg Minnaar wins first:
http://www.fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk/fwwc_home.html
And here is the bike that the Syndicate are currently riding:
Custom fit Santa Cruz V10 with a siiiick paint job. Picture taken from www.dirtmag.co.uk
Picture taken from www.littermag.com
Trials Riding of Both Nature
Bike Trials is a pure form of skill, not to mention extremely entertaining to watch. It initially grew out of Spain and all the riders have specialized bikes with (usually) no seats and relatively short suspension travel. Huge emphasis on balance and brake modulation.
Here’s the video that stunned the world, by rider Danny MacAskill:
Impressive indeed. When you drop in a motor on one, it looks so much fun…
GNAR. On top of that, you can do crazy ass crap like terrorize your nearest metropolitan area and get away with it. Not like anyone can really catch you…
Fixed Gear Gap Jumping
After doing a bit of surfing around, I stumbled across this ad for the Milwaukee Bruiser frame. It’s undeniable that the whole fixed gear scene has spread far and wide recently, but it looks like people are taking it to another level aside from the messenger-bagged lifestyle. I see more and more people specializing their bikes with fatter tires and opting for beefy frames with gussets instead of thin-walled and lightweight counterparts. Interesting division, and kind of shows the dynamism of the whole thing. People are also apparently stepping outside the realm of parking lot flatlanding into things like gap jumping, as per the example below.
While the gap isn’t huge, it looks like if you don’t clear the second ledge, your rear wheel is going to kiss the curb and probably blow up.
Here’s another shot of the actual jump somewhere in the streets of Brooklyn.
I’m personally still more of a BMX/DJ kind of guy when it comes to stuff like this, but do yo thang. It’s cool seeing people trying new things.
Anyway, here’s a random picture of a girl doing something.
JDM AllStars Round 2
Clash Productions did a superb job with their videos from the JDM AllStars Round 2 event. This all took place at Lydden Hill/Lydd Raceway on the outskirt of London, England on May 2nd through the 4th, 2009.
Bringing the heat, smoke, and angles.
SS Factory FD3S
SS Factory did a nice rendition on their RX-7. The lower-body diffuser elements add a nice beefy style to the car.
Murdered Out 2Eleven
The Lotus 2Eleven is where you turn to if the Elise and Exige don’t quite reach your track-ready expectations. The car weighs only 1500lbs and has 252BHP, pretty remarkable power-to-weight ratio. The 2Eleven below is a blacked-out, prime example of one.
If you’d like to know some more information on this car, FifthGear does a nice job with the explaination in this episode:
NYC TrashBike Coast Jam
Check out this video of the jam at Brooklyn Banks. Soundtrack is Dead Bent by MF Doom. For a few more cool DJ/BMX vids, take a look at this Post at the Forums.
E30 M3 with the Lurking V8
This is probably what you do when you really want to elevate your ///M factor. Drop in a crazy S62 M5 motor into a stripped E30 M3 chassis. Grade A job on the wheel fitment and selection too. I wonder what the weight distribution is with that huge powerplant sitting under the hood, but who cares when its got a freakin’ twin turbo BMW V8.
Before the white paint job and the time-attack schemed BBS’s:
All shiny and roll-caged up…
6 Hours of Dirty Hands On Experience
Before I go rambling about my six hours of hands on experience (get your head out of the gutter), I’d like to introduce myself. My name is David (yes the most generic name you could give a child) and I mainly have two interests – cars and bicycles (specifically mountain but I still love the roadies).
This picture sums up my interests quite nicely.
In terms of mountain biking, I’m not the ballsy downhill “hucking” type, but I enjoy the slow grind with the benefits of smooth, flowy singletrack.
In terms of cars, I appreciate vehicles that move from Point A to Point B, and I also enjoy the vehicles that get to Point B a “hail” of a lot faster than others (off road and on). I also appreciate the engineering that goes into any form of transportation (like bikes and cars!), and constantly try to understand the motives of designing a vehicle this way or that. I’m also a function over form guy, but if good form is from good function, why not. Lastly, I don’t mind getting my hands dirty, as long as I have some proper guidance and the right tools to do the job.
Alright, well about a month ago, the Evo (pictured above) got some Bridgestone Potenza RE-O1Rs (clearance sale) mounted on the stock Enkeis. After the install, I noticed a “metal-on-metal scraping” sound coming from the right rear of the car. The sound was rare, so I didn’t think much of it. In addition, about two months ago, the BRAKE light began flashing which usually indicates low brake fluid pressure, but there was plenty of brake fluid in the reservoirs. I did not think the Evo was smart enough to tell me when the brake pads were low, so I decided to not do anything.
Well one autocross and about 200 miles later, the scraping noise is in full force, and I’m pretty sure that it has to do with brake pad wear now.
Where's the beef?
Lo and behold, there is no more pad left. Odd, fronts are at 20%, and rears are at -5%. That sound I’ve been hearing is brake pad baseplates rubbing on rotor! My rotors got a free lathe job!
Well, new pads and rotors ensued.
Girodisc Blank Rotors and Girodisc Magic Pads
Come 9:30 AM of the day after I got my rotors and pads, I embark on my first disc brake rotor and pad installation journey. I decide to start off with the rear brakes (since there is no material left). I borrow a friends torque wrench, jack, jack stands, socket set, alan keys—essentially nothing of mine. I go through and untorque the lug nuts on the rear of the car, put it in gear, release the e-brake, and put the car on jack stands (only in the rear).
Removal of wheel: cake work.
I make my way toward the bolts on the calipers, and now the caliper has come off the rotors with old pads still in them (pulling the pads back with your hands will help you remove the caliper with pads inside if your rotor has a lip to them). So according to my forum “How-To” research, the rotor should come right off. Nope. The rotor is seized to the hub. Rubber mallet comes into play. Nope. E-brake adjustment comes into play. Nope not that either. After desperately searching for a way to remove the rotor, I realize there are two threaded holes (look at picture above) under two of the stud holes. I now see what these are for – to pull the rotor off of the hubs if they are seized.
Excellent. Now where do I find a bolt that will fit the threaded hole and remove the rotors that decided to make a rotor install difficult. Turns out, the baby seat bolt (yes the baby seat bolt) fits right into the hole. I tighten it down, and “pop” goes the rotor.
Now that the rotor is off, the next thing to do is remove the pins that hold my shims and brake pads in place on the calipers. Having no center punch (or anything off the sort), I resort to the classic “Alan” key and rubber hammer combination. I scratch my calipers. I proceed to using the “Philips” and rubber hammer combination. Great success (Borat voice). With the removal of the pins, I am quickly able to install the pads and new shims into the caliper, and proceed to pushing the pins back into place. The rotor is now on the hub which is nicely held in place by the lug nuts. Well, not enough spacing between the pads for the rotor to slide on. Great. Using my inner “chi” I am able to pull the pistons apart, only by clenching my teeth and making a strenuous face that only a mother could love.
Caliper and pads slide on. Tight fit. Nice. I proceed to tightening the caliper bolts (with a torque wrench of course) and put the wheel back on (with a torque wrench of course). 1 down, 4 to go, in addition to 2 hours having gone by.
I proceed to do the other rear rotor and pad of the car. It goes swiftly; another hour gone. Hahahaha.
Alright, well “front rotor and pad” time. Upon removing the wheel, I realize that I am no longer playing with the kids; I’ve moved up to the big boys. Not only are the pads bigger, but the caliper is probably twice the weight than the rear (duh, it’s four pistons and not two). Being the scrawny armed man I am, holding the caliper in the air while trying to pull off the rotor is no easy task, especially when the rotor is about fifteen pounds in weight (think moments). I now have a severe case of A.S.S. (Asian Squat Syndrome), and the added weight isn’t helping any. However, the front caliper pins are welcoming. They are much bigger than the rears, therefore missing with the “Philips” isn’t an issue. Everything I learned from the rear brake assembly is helping with the fronts, but wait installation is getting too easy. Turns out, my method of spreading the pistons on the rear caliper is nowhere as efficient on the fronts. After trying many methods of teeth clenching, and ugly face making which lead to no avail, I decide to try this:
Insert one pad into inner side of caliper.
Place rotor on studs; lock into place with lug nuts.
Place caliper on caliper bolts, with one pad and shim installed.
Pull on outside pistons without getting a hernia.
Voila! Pistons backed out and now all pads and shims fit. As I just start to put the wheel back onto the car, I realize that I have put the shims on the wrong sides. Repeat.
2 hours later, I’m down 3 of 4.
Last front rotor and pad go as planned. One hour later, I am packed all up, wheels torqued, and time to bed in the brakes.
Oh, there's the beef.
DO NOT GO FAST IMMEDIATELY! The first drive around the parking structure (yes I did the install in a parking structure) resulted in no brakes whatsoever. Probably the closest I’ve been to pooping my pants in a long time. After about two seconds of depressing the pedal, my brake pads start to grab my new rotors, and we are good to go.
At this point, I am covered in brake dust, high temp grease, and of course dirt. Apparently I wiped my nose, forehead, and cheek while I was working on the car because people did the “stare but don’t make eye contact” look as I walked past them. I look like an orphan from the Industrial Era (without the broken arm, and amputated leg of course).
Upon finishing, I decided to take the elevator back to my apartment. Well, somebody unfortunately had to mind my smell and my look as the elevator brought me back to my floor. The first question that comes out of their mouth (no lie) is “So, did you go hiking?” Right. Didn’t know there were charcoal mines around for me to go hiking through.
“No, just working on my car.”
“Oh cool.”
Notice how the top is silver. Scratched well into the baseplate of the pad.
I end the six hour laborious task with a Creamsicle, soy sauce rice, iceberg salad, string cheese, and Lawry’s seasoned chicken. Nice. Saved myself $250 bucks, and now know how to install pads and rotors.
Rocking F(ilipino)DM
After doing a little browsing around, this nicely done E46 M3 caught my attention. My first reaction was towards the wheels, I didn’t want to believe they were Rotas. After further investigation, they indeed are a set of Rota Grids, in specs 18×8.5e +30 and 18×10 +20. The owner of this car (or some might call perpetrator) is from Driftworks.
As much as I’d like to hate on the Rotas, I can’t deny the fact that this car is very well executed. The fitment is great and the color scheme is classy. The design of these wheels suit the car nicely, aswell. Not bad…
Daikoku Futo RX-7 Representation
To kick off the site, here’s some eye candy from a big RX-7 gathering a while back. It was held at the famous Daikoku parking lot area (located south-west of the Tokyo Bay). The best part is, this meet was held on 7/7/07. There are definitely some nicely done RX-7s, but the blue Zimax one is drool-worthy.
Step in the Arena
Hello everybody and welcome to GRANDMIGHTY. The goal is to keep up a steady supply of ideas, with content ranging from cars & motorsports to music & lifestyle topics… basically what we, the editors, think is cool. While this concept might appear to be a little vague at the moment, just stay tuned for updates and posts to roll in. Hopefully your tastes will be similar and find the subjects to be interesting.
To be honest, I’m not really good at these first post shenanigans — compounded by the fact that I’m a little brain dead from all the tweaking of the site’s layout. There are still a few portions that need fiddling around with and pages to be added, but those will come soon enough.
On that note, I’ll get back to the grind and end this post, so the real stuff can start rolling in. Enjoy and PEACE!
Comments Open, Forums Closed
Give something new, and take away something else… Up to this point the comments on this website for each individual posts had been closed. At the time I wanted to focus on the Forums instead, but after assessing the situation a bit more, I think it’s better to flip it around. The comments are open and the Forums will be closed indefinitely, this should help promote more growth towards the main website
Peace.
Posted Jun 24, 2009 by Eric | Categories: News | 1 Comment »