Welcome to The Smoking Tire. Kick ass automotive videos and more.

Want a Job in F1? Stay in School Kids

Monday, February 20th, 2012

by Zack K

 

Whenever I meet a kid who is debating whether or not to finish high school, or go to college, I find myself becoming a 45 year-old guidance counselor and preaching about the necessities of a higher education.”Grad school is the new under-grad”, “You can’t raise a family on $35k a year”, etc etc. Before you comment, I know there’s careers out there that don’t require college. Jobs in trade are legit, but even they require their own form of higher education. You can also become a dick cop, make it as an extreme athlete, a race car driver, start a business or get lucky in entertainment, but the odds are against you. An education doesn’t have to mean a career you hate. You can take a math degree and be an accountant, or you can break code for the CIA. You can engineer pipelines like my friend Dan, or you can build race cars.

 

Exhibit A: a job in F1. The Marussia F1 team needs a new aerodynamics engineer. Jump for more info, and the cool video job posting for one of the most important jobs in Formula One racing. (more…)

20.02.2012 News, Video 1 Comment

Kids, Fire is Awesome

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

by Zack K

 

Despite what your parents and some 60 year-old shirtless bear (do not Google) have told you, fire is awesome. In Top Gear’s latest episode we learned the Aventador shoots blue fire under WOT. Constantly. Not on the over-run or during a downshift or just for a split second; it shoots fire like Batman’s car. Like an F-16 hitting the afterburner. Just fire, fire, fire, fire! It was a fantastic display of cool (If you haven’t seen it, do.). The ultimate signal lamp that you’re driving a bad-ass car. Truly fitting for a Lamborghini. How else do you make that car more striking? (more…)

11.02.2012 Uncategorized 9 Comments

Tested: BF Goodrich g-Force Sport COMP2 Tires

Monday, February 6th, 2012

Tires are a difficult item to shop for. You can test drive a car, and you can read a dyno sheet and hear a YouTube clip if you want to know which exhaust to buy, but when you buy a set of (probably very expensive) Ultra-high Performance tires for your sports car, you can’t return them after a full day of track testing and say they didn’t work. Tires can mean the difference between setting a record-breaking lap time and dying a very painful death inside a ball of metal that used to resemble a car. And when you buy a set, you’re stuck with them, even if they suck. That’s why I’m a big fan of tire tests. They are always at a race track, so you can push the tires to their limits, and they offer an opportunity to feel how a tire responds to your hands and feet, instead of reading a data sheet, marketing jargon, and user reviews on Tire Rack from people you don’t know or necessarily trust. So, when BF Goodrich invited me out to California Speedway to test their new g-Force Sport COMP2, I simply had to say yes. Hit the jump to find out how they (and I) did.

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06.02.2012 News, Photos, Reviews 3 Comments

What’s Wrong with this Picture?

Monday, February 6th, 2012

 

by Zack K

 

Take a look at this picture and tell me what’s wrong with it. Make the jump for the answer.

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06.02.2012 News 16 Comments

Totally Realistic Options List on Tony Stark’s Acura NSX

Friday, January 27th, 2012

by Zack K

Since the Acura NSX made so many people swoon at the NAIAS, I thought it was a good time to bust out this funny spec sheet of Tony Stark’s NSX from The Avengers. Of course it’s all fictional, but I love the amount of cool, “techy” words they mix together. It’s almost like a mad-lib; This hyper _____ wheel prevents neutron_____ and ____ attacks while modulating modulators. My favorite is the wheels made from, “particle matter technology.” Isn’t everything made with particle matter technology? Make the jump for the build sheet. Oh, price is about $10M. But the taxes are surprisingly cheap.

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27.01.2012 News, Photos No Comments

Tests Say the Juke-R is Awesome. Duh. But Would You BUY One?

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

by Zack K

The Juke R was released into the wild recently, starring as the pace vehicle for the Dunlop 24 Hour race. Everyone and their mom saw the awesome video of it sliding around a small course, being chased by a Gallardo, SLS AMG and some other pretty cars. At that event, every magazine and blog (except this one!) were invited to stop by and drive this midget power-lifter around the course. And what a surprise, it’s really fun and really fast. Shocking. The results of putting a Nissan GTR drive-train into a shorter, lighter car are as risky and predictable as replacing the cheap Hershey’s syrup on your Sunday with a fancy chocolate flown in from Sweden. Gee, I wonder if that will taste good? (more…)

24.01.2012 News, Video 6 Comments

“Dirty Ole Trench”: Determination or Delusion?

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

 

This little post was found on reddit, the funnel through which much of the strange and crazy auto content flows. Commenting on the picture above, his page simply says “Found this trench two weeks ago, and it got the better of me.” I assumed he was trying to drive down it and got twisted up. But the picture below showed me he had a different idea of what it means to “conquer” it. (more…)

22.01.2012 News, Photos No Comments

A Trike That Doesn’t Suck

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

(This story comes to us from PipeBurn.com)

by Zack K

The only trikes that were ever cool were BigWheels and the off-road kind. BigWheels are cool because they have the grip and stability of a KY wrestling match on ice and off-road trikes are cool because they’re fucking dangerous. I got to spend a day riding one up near Humboldt (I was 12 so no, I wasn’t high), and it’s an interesting exercise in planning. You have to plan when you will turn, to make sure you’ve slowed to the necessary 4MPH to prevent flipping it. The big, 1970s balloon tires floated over rocks and holes just fine, but it essentially had the ability of a drag bike: Forward is good, turning is bad.

 

The only trikes you see now are the ones we all hate. Sold with the line, “Do you want to ride a motorcycle, but lack the physical ability to lean? Do you sit on your couch holding home-made handlebars fashioned from pipe cleaners, making exhaust noises and watching old episodes of Renegade? Have we got the vehicle for you!” they’re outdoor patio benches with an engine. I saw two (riding together, of course) cruising through Malibu on our Mulsanne shoot. The consensus from all 8 of us was canyon-shaking laughter. They are motorcycles for the lazy. They’re cars without any of the benefits. Trikes, no one likes you.

 

Except this one, the “Bonneville Spirit.” It was built in France by Francis Bouillet, inspired by Bonneville and in my (and Thad’s) opinion, it is the king of trikes. Jump to read more. (more…)

18.01.2012 Editorials No Comments

Giant Heads Up Displays Make me Nervous

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

"This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient but I do love fig newtons."- Ricky Bobby

by Zack K

Doctors have recently decided “distracted driving” includes many things beyond using a cell phone. Bluetooth and hands-free are useless in the fight against people’s lack of attention behind the wheel. The DMV in California even lists “Viewing objects outside the vehicle” as a contributor to accidents. Basically, we all suck at driving. Then, a few months ago, MINI announced it’s social-connection feeding tube app, “MINI Connected“, a program that reads you Twitter and Facebook updates while you drive. It fueled a small- yet informative- rant from yours truly. Now, Mercedes has decided to not just throw caution to the wind, but light caution on fire and throw it into a spinning windmill, with their conceptual driver media interface D.I.C.E., which stands for “Dynamic & Intuitive Control Experience.”

 

The goal is to make your car as smart as your phone, connecting to you to everything as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Instead of checking Yelp on your phone for nearby eateries, they pop up on the dash, with the option of projecting them onto the windshield. If you saw Mission Impossible 4 you’ll know the idea. Watch their video and you’ll see the “driver” getting all sorts of fascinating info, like how many cars drive over a bridge he’s near. Amazing! Just what I always need to know while driving down the street! I get why they’re doing it, but I have concerns.

Make the jump for a short explanation and their video. (more…)

18.01.2012 News, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Online Ferrari 458 Configurator Changes a Man

Monday, January 16th, 2012

by Zack K

The Ferrari 458 Spider configurator has confused me. I clicked the link, and immediately changed it from the dark Rosso mugello to the traditional Rossa Corsa, because if I’m going to buy a Ferrari I want it to be “Ferrari red.” But since this is the internet where you can find a picture that caters to your fantasy about having a threesome with a Halo truck and a furry I decided to click through the other colors, just to see how they looked. I started with the usual blue, black and white but then kept going: Grigio ingrid (like sand), Blue Abu Dhabi, even one resembling British Racing Green-which felt somewhat sacrilegious- looked good enough to drive daily. I questioned my taste, “What the hell is wrong with me? I don’t want a teal car!” (more…)

16.01.2012 News, Video 1 Comment

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