Earlier quoted context omitted.
When you are very rich, the difference between $400k and $40k isn't noticeable.
Is this from experience? Most wealthy people I know are also the most cost sensitive.
Everything I know, I learned on Tumblr.
Lamborghini Is Forging Ahead with Forged Carbon Fiber
91–100 of 108 posts
Re: Lamborghini Is Forging Ahead with Forged Carbon Fiber
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
It gets worse. I ran http://selfracingcars.com/ a few weeks ago, too.
Ooh, awesome. I've never run Chump Car but I've got about 10 24 Hours of LeMons races under my belt. There IS something about driving a not-yours (or at least not-expensive) car wheel-to-wheel vs a trackday.
I bet that was a blast. Did you complete the race and what type of car were you running?
Re: Lamborghini Is Forging Ahead with Forged Carbon Fiber
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well yeah but since Audi bought them they actually have decent guts as opposed to just being really pretty show ponies. The Aventador was an R8 with a really good bodykit and there was NOTHING bad about that, it was the first Lambo in a long time that could actually take a corner at speed.
The Gallardo was the rebodied R8. The Aventador is a true bonkers Lamborghini.
Ah, quite right. Not enough coffee when I made that comment, thanks.
Re: Lamborghini Is Forging Ahead with Forged Carbon Fiber
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly. Luxury good manufacturers have recognized this trend a while ago, that the nouveau riche from non-western countries have a tendency to purchase all these toys in a me-too competition with their counterparts in the west. Its a shame since I would expect them to have better sense than that to have accumulated that much wealth. Then again, its their money so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Depends what you think the purpose of having wealth is. Why can't it just be the means to the end of having more toys? Especially when the wealth is inherited or kleptocratic.
I guess that's true; one can't really tell or moralize about other people's money. They are free to do as they wish; I agree with that on a personal level.
But if we think of wealth more than an abstract thing and more as a societal contract, then things do change a little bit. Wealth is society's way of abstracting the capacity to work. You can keep all your wealth in gold coins in a big building but without a society that values it, its really not worth that much. Wealth is a claim on other people's work, other people being members of a society. So, we have the situation that only the combination of wealth and society is actually worth anything.
If that is the case, it is in the interest of the wealthy, to foster a society in which 1) More work can be obtained in total and 2) More work can be obtained for less money. The former leads to philanthropy (betterment of society), and the latter leads to lobbying against taxation for the rich and other measures to redistribute income; since when more wealth is held by few, the few can make the many work for less (more labor than capital).
But wait, there is another dimension: if you think about the wealthy in Germany buying an expensive BMW, it still doesn't seem as bad, since the wealth is still within German society. But when you have wealthy Chinese buying a German car, then the wealth which was accumulated by the labor of the Chinese society is now going to the German society.
Re: Lamborghini Is Forging Ahead with Forged Carbon Fiber
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its hard to beat a 911 gt3 cup. Well, the miata might but it fares better than any supercar. They are affordable and don't cost that much to operate. Its a Porsche so the thing is reliable. Its hard to top the spec miata if you are doing club racing. I think the Porsche can offer somehow similar enjoyment while being faster. If you are feeling lucky then try out rallying. A miata will also work but its quite a differ…
A gt3cup is expensive to maintain. IIRC 100k/yr for engine and trans rebuilds. (I have a GT4 car from another mfg and it is much less onerous)
That sounds about right. I don't think its that expensive given the car itself. I've personally turned wrenches on street cars with higher maintenance costs than that (due to big turbos and pump gas). Still way more than a Miata, though. :)
Re: Lamborghini Is Forging Ahead with Forged Carbon Fiber
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are really hard to drive. A quarter inch of steering input goes a long way on those things. I will never drive another one. Its mental.
Are you talking super karts or shifter karts? I've had a lot of fun in shifter karts, but never been on the track in a real super kart.
Both. I was lucky to try them out and it was crazy fun. But I would not track either of them. Too intense. :)
Re: Lamborghini Is Forging Ahead with Forged Carbon Fiber
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know how we got to talking about this, but Honda makes a road legal MotoGP replica* bike for $184k. *Minus the pneumatic valves and probably a few other things.
Oh, I was specifically asking about Ducati since that's what was mentioned. The replica bike you mentioned is a huge disappointment for one reason: "Europe and Australia are offered a 160 hp version, the American market gets roughly 100 hp and in Japan, it's an even paltrier 70 hp." Unless you live in Europe, you have to spend another $10,000+ to get it back up to spec. I'd rather get a Desmosedici, I think.
That thing, unrestrained electronically, could probably make 100 HP with one cylinder dead and a corn cob plugged in the exhaust pipe.
Re: Lamborghini Is Forging Ahead with Forged Carbon Fiber
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you take your car on the track there's a very high probability it will get seriously fucked up. Unless you're cruising around casually you're going to be taking chances, and when you take chances you'll eventually go off the road, grind into something, or worse. Fixing your Porsche is expensive. Fixing your Ferrari is stupidly expensive. If you want to have fun on the track take out a car you can afford to wreck.…
That said, you will find yourself backwards in a 911 at some point and wonder why. There is something to be said for front engine cars for non-pros.
That's why people need to work up from karts to more and more powerful cars. By the time you're ready for a 911 you shouldn't be wondering, you should know.
Re: Lamborghini Is Forging Ahead with Forged Carbon Fiber
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Such as?
Particular driving styles. For example, if you have a boxer engine with a turbo and floor it for the duration of a long banked turn, centrifugal force can prevent the oil from circulating through the engine and it can get damaged. There are gotcha's like this which complicate the equation.
Boxers have oil starvation problems.
I have had two friends kill BRZ engines on track simply by putting slicks on the car...
Re: Lamborghini Is Forging Ahead with Forged Carbon Fiber
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
It gets worse. I ran http://selfracingcars.com/ a few weeks ago, too.
Ooh, awesome. I've never run Chump Car but I've got about 10 24 Hours of LeMons races under my belt. There IS something about driving a not-yours (or at least not-expensive) car wheel-to-wheel vs a trackday.
This is why I race SCCA spec Miata too.