Spanky's Mission (and "Guess the Paint" rules)

[Fit4aking]

Spanky's Speedshop

Specializing in American Oddities.  Cadillac and Panoz.  Plus the addition of Fit allows for a variety of TVR tuning options.

We have a high class paint shop populated by many forms of artistic and reproduction designs.  Along with a variety of guest painters that stop by from time to time, we offer our services on all types of vehicles.

With over 55 years of combined shop experience our mechanical services are second to none.  Having factory trained technicians on makes from Audi to Weismann we cover all of your high performance needs.  Expert builds to suit any racing series, and the know-how to push the limits of any car within the boundries of a rulebook.  Our resume includes succesful runs at Muscle Inc., the American Legends Series, and a multitude of Hotlap Challenges.

Feel free to cruise our showroom and speak to Spanky with any of your questions.  More information available at the front desk.

[landstuhltaylor]

Ahh, the TVR. It's not exactly a muscle car, but fits perfectly into the pre-1976 era of minimalism.

[Blooze]

Ahh, the TVR. It's not exactly a muscle car, but fits perfectly into the pre-1976 era of minimalism.

LOL - I like this sentence.

$

[landstuhltaylor]

LOL It seems like it's wrong, but it's not. Sure, alot of regular cars were getting larger by the day with more and more options, but then there were the muscle cars. A small-midsize car, giant motor, and almost nothing else. This is even more apparent with the factory ordered stripper cars. 

[Fit4aking]

Spanky's Speedshop Guess-the-Paint Guidelines

I'll be running a trivia-type challenge along side the Official Challenges.  These in no way have anything to do with driving a car, setting a time, or checking out a curious build.  This one's all mine.

I run notes on the current challenge in here along with the dialogue form the shop (if anyones listening).  Somewhere in the post, as close to the beginning as I can, will be a picture of a car that I have painted.  It won't be trick photography or anything sneaky just a few good shots of a paint scheme.  If you can tell me where the design came from, you win.  Plain and simple.  If your guess is too vague I'll send a PM asking for more details, so not to tip off anyone else that your on the right track.

What do you win!!!  For now you win a copy of the car that is in question.  If there is an interst in this I'll open it up to any car in the Paintbooth Disasters section with the rest of the paints.  I have a few designs from other artists and I have their blessing to sell them as long as they are locked.  Unfortunately that means that the cheapest I can do it is a 10k buyout auction (not really a prize if you have to buy it now is it).  I'll update that section as soon as I get a few minutes to take pictures.

I look forward to keeping up with this and hope that there is a following.

[Fit4aking]

As I get ever closer to the end of Forza 2 Career mode I'm planning my run at the Hotlap leaderboard.  I began running my Solstice in D-class as well as my 500KR.  I now believe that starting at the top is going to be the best course of action.  But what car should I choose for each class.  My criteria is that the first choice be a RWD, for all classes.  (As much as I would like to run for #1 I want the cars I'm posted in to be the cars I'm likely to be in online, my personal favorites, not the sheeple's choice)

R1:  2002/Cadillac/United States/#6 Team Cadillac Northstar LMP-02
      2003/Panoz/United States/#11 JML Team Panoz LMP-01

R2:  2006/Chevrolet/United States/#4 Corvette Racing C6.R (Nothing in this class really fits my desire but this will do and its not a Saleen S7)

R3:  2006/Panoz/United States/#81 Team LNT Panoz Esperante GTLM (Was there ever a doubt)
      2005/Panoz/United States/#51 JML Team Panoz Esperante GTLM (I prefer the LNT car as they are more closely linked to Panoz Corporate)

R4:  2004/Cadillac/United States/#16 Team Cadillac CTS-V (Duh)
      2005/Chevrolet/United States/#99 Tiger Racing Corvette Z06 (Just because its ugly)
      2004/Ford/United States/#10 Tiger Racing Mustang (Any team that uses racing as a way to showcase its control system for handicapped drivers
      deserves the respect of a run-through)

U:   TBD - No contenders stand out except the Speed 12 but the thought of that car on King Cobra makes me want to forget to pack my parachute.

S:   TVR Sagaris
      TVR Tuscan R

A:   TVR Sagaris
      Cadillac CTS-V
      Panoz Esperante GTLM

B:   Chevy Camaro 1969 (Muscle Mongoose)
      Shelby 500KR (Muscle Mongoose)
      Porsche 944T (What, I'm the wrong kinda crazy)

C:   TBD - Still the weakest class in my garage, several possibilities, no standouts

D:   Pontiac Solstice
      Shelby 500KR

I'm severely limiting my garage to a handful of cars I really want to concentrate on.  I like the plethora of MI cars I have, the new LMMS cars are great, my single ALS car isn't competative but fun anyway, I could go on.  I'm gonna build my perfect garage starting with the cars I want to run the hotlapping, my current MI stable, the specialty cars from Spanky's Speedshop, all 3 versions of the Lexus IS (TBA), a curious 944T, and a Chevy Cobalt.

After running online and seeing all of the people that have several variations of Mugen Integra's, Vipers, Evo's etc, I've decided to make the cars I like as competative as possible without succumbing to the pressure of allowing the leaderboard to determine my car choice.  Win, lose, or draw, I'm gonna make my garage MINE now that I don't need to keep specific cars around for career challenges.  Look for another garage sale, this time on built and tooned cars.

[Blooze]

I like the list!

I too am trying my best to hold the National line.  However I have let the idea that Acura and Honda are a good deal for world trade allow me to treat Honda as a distant cousin.  I could do the same with Lexus, but I don't like Toyotas...

The R# classes are hard.  One of my sub collections is all of the R cars from the time trials.  I am building them out as I run across them - experimenting with the Blooze Toon on the R cars.  So I end up running a bunch of foreigners... 

I can however limit a few of them - the #12 F333 SP for instance, will only get run on Mugello, and the funcky looking Porsche will only get run on the "Ring".  It is the Time Trials connection that caused me to choose the #51 (RA2) over the #81.  But, regretfully, the Panoz comes up a bit short on the R3 circuit.  Luckily, the #58 Viper is a contender.  The #2 Saleen is another Time Trial car.  My rerun of R2 will see me in one of the other Saleens and the #3 Vette.

Speaking of R3 - the Porsche GT3 on the "Ring" endurance race is going to force me to come up to speed with at least one of the beasties.  For my part, I have chosen the "Leapin' Lizard".  I will be running that car a lot - it will get a strong toon.  There's not much good can happen attacking the ring in a car that you are uncomfortable with.  Also for R3, my "cousin" rational will propably see me putting a lot of time in on that black Honda NSX, #18, I think - I like that car.

I'm with you on the R4 choices.  Before I am done with the R4 class I will have a QR on every US car.  I like the current state of my R4 run in that it was run with the red-headed step child of R4 - the Acura #42.  I originally ran the R4 laps with the #10 Mustang but those got wiped.  I was able to replace all of the #10 ghosts with the #42, but the Mustang is insisting on a rematch - especially with the advent of the Blooze Toon.

I find it interesting that they have enough Corvettes to create a room with unique rides - same with the Vipers and the Porsches.  Has anybody set up a series like that?

Top down - bottom up.  I have tried it both ways.  I have physical limitations that make R1 a real trial for me.  I just don't see that fast.  I am hoping that spending time in S and U will have me somewhat conditioned to "see" faster.  Then all that is in the way is the 61 year old twitch muscles... 

Ah, S and U...  what to do.  Some of it gets dictated by things out of the rhelm of logic.  I have an Enzo with a Broncos livery - it will get a shot. 

Any choice is ugly.  For some reason I have an affinity for the 330 P4, it will be a major player in both classes, and I have a Broncos livery on one of them (I have five  ).

I have as much a "Jones" for AWD as you appear to have for RWD.  So far I have managed to keep myself out of the Audi GT cars - they have a sheeple tait to them, but for the other "roll your own" classes, AWD ends up getting special attention from me.  They unkind might lay it off to "You have NooBee racing skills" and the more generous might lay it off to "I have figured out how to set them up so that they can contend in the higher classes." 

LOL

That will teach you to come up with what I consider an interesting Post on a night when I can't sleep.

$

[landstuhltaylor]

I had a hard time sleeping as well, Blooze. In fact, I am still up from last night! As far as C class cars go, the Saleen S281 does very well on the Sebring tracks.

[Fit4aking]

Without tippin my hand too much I was considering using the Lexus IS300 or the IS350, but more on that later. 

Had I not eaten so much I was home in time to play for a bit but the couch was way to comfortable and even with the wireless remote and not having to get up to turn anything on I was too lazy to do any of it.  Ah, the holidays !!

I only had 1 C-class car somewhat built up untill a few weeks ago when I built out an E36 M3 for a challenge.  I really like that car as far as power and handling go but I'm not sold on it completely.  It has a base toon but I believe I would have to start over to get it where I need it too be.  The time that would take could be best spent on another car that would double as a test session for Spanky anyway.  I just don't want to use a bit of time on a car that I wouldn't normally drive over a car that I have put on the back burner.  Perhaps I can work that out tonight.

The Saleen would make a nice C-class but its not the lowest PI car I had considered.  I am deliberating between the Lexi (?) and a Mustang GT.  I have fond memories of being passed handily by a Lexus on Sebring early on.  I couldn't get my Solstice around it in the twisties and would lose ground on the straights.  I'm leanin towards one but I want to drive the variations stock before determining.

Blooze, I had built out an S4, RS4, TT and decided to only keep the TT (for the paint) Both of the other cars were sold back to the game.  I have all of the Audi R-class cars but will probably not keep them.  I intend to only have the Panoz, Caddy and the DLC Peugeot around in that class.  So much for brand loyalty in game.  They are heavy and pushy IRL and it carries over well in Forza so, blah on them.

The cars I chose for each class aren't meant to be the best cars or the fastest but my ultimate goal is to do my best in them for the sake of using something different.  Each time I'm online racin I'm the only one in a Panoz, or the Mustang.  I like being different.  I could go through and really concentrate on a specific car for each track type but that's not me.

[Fit4aking]

Why am I here?  Not a question to be taken lightly, but not too seriously either.  Somewhat rhetorical, but also a good, honest question.  So, why am I here?

It could be my addiction to Forza, my interest in cars in general, or just the ones from days gone by.  It could be the group of people that started and continue to populate this wonderful place, or it could be the wealth of information generated and shared here.  I'm lucky to have my own space and that's a draw but if my views were irrelevant, would the Speedshop exist?    So back to the question at hand.  Why am I here?

Simply put, I'm here because I asked for help and was offered a chance to learn.  Dirt and Blooze took the time to listen to my rants about some random Panoz and offered thier experience to make me faster.  But wait, doesn't that make me just like a cousin that won't leave after a holiday dinner?  Perhaps.  That little tid-bit of information gave me the confidence to actually post a time in the monthly Muscle Inc or OldSchool Speedshop challenge thread.  Even though I was routinely at the bottom of the list.  I was ashamed of my times when the New York Minute was in full swing so I shyed away.  I was embarrased at my Staog in the Valley times even though it inspired me to create the GeeTO Tiger, I never posted.  I even took part in the Savannah vs. 944t challenge behind the scenes bacause I was way off the pace.  Looking back I've been involved in my own challenges along side of Muscle Inc for quite some time. 

So is that it, that's why I'm here!  Not exactly.  I stayed because of the comradery, the fun and the variety.  I have fond memories of some online racing with BMC, Dirt, Hoplee, Hekalite, and even on chance encounter with the Blooze man on Mugello.  But were those the days, was that the golden era of Muscle Inc?  Sure it was my beginning but could it be that I came along at the peak, THE Muscle Inc Moment.  I hope not.

What I do know is that I am here, I like it here and although nothing is absolutely perfect I truly enjoy the mindset here.  I really enjoyed going back to our roots with the D-class cars and I look forward to all of the weekly challenges.  But I'm gonna be honest and say that I miss the DOT Spec Muscle Inc cars.  I miss Stardust, Facination, the Tiger and the prospect of a Boss 429 making its way into my B-class garage.  When I get my box back, all other projects are on hiatus until I get those 4 cars up and running in B-class.  I'm strappin in and putting all of my flights of fancy on the back burner until I can honestly say I'm ready for the next actual Muscle Inc Challenge.  All other garages and participants be on notice, Spanky's is gonna be ready.  Really ready for a true Muscle Inc challenge.  That's really why Im here, to run the crap out of Amercan Iron, as it was originally intended.  See ya on the track, I'll be waiting.

[Drift2XL]

Any word on when your going to be back in action there Fit?

[Fit4aking]

Shipped the coffin back to MS Yesterday.  I have an error in my profile with xbox.com so I can't track it online and they can't fix it till I get a new serial number.  I can only track by phone, so no I have no idea when I'll be back.

Its a race between MS and the Fed Gov, if I get my taxes back first I'll probably replace my aging original xbox with an Arcade 360 for my daughter.  I sent both out yesterday and already have feedback from the state.

[Whizard72]

Now that just bites the big one, RROD.

At least with a new Arcade 360 you'd get the newer 'Falcon' motherboard with the 65nm CPU and 80nm GPU. They make a difference, believe me. I had an original which was a toaster by comparison.

[Fit4aking]

Hey, Wizards here.  Glad to see you migrated.  Hope you find some useful information here.  There is a long thread about Manipulating the Weight Bias that goes further into the SWR and Bias discussion.  Well worth the read.  Jump in whenever you like.

[Whizard72]

I'll be sure to, Thanks.

I'm currently sorting through a LOT of information between here and the o-fish forums, my gawd, did henry ford have to invent such a complex machine?

If I have useful input to add, I will jump in, but I'm absorbing a lot of information and testing it in the game and with my limited spare time, don't expect much anytime soon.

I now run with full sim, only braking line, ABS and manual shifting with a controller now. I can't afford a wheel yet.

Hey, Wizards here.  Glad to see you migrated.  Hope you find some useful information here.  There is a long thread about Manipulating the Weight Bias that goes further into the SWR and Bias discussion.  Well worth the read.  Jump in whenever you like.