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privateplates4u · 4 years

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Mercedes-AMG GT R: 5th Place – 2017 Motor Trend Best Driver’s Car

Mercedes-AMG calls it “the Beast of the Green Hell,” an overt nod to its development on the so-nicknamed Nürburgring Nordschleife. It’s the hardcore variant of a previous BDC winner, and it’s out for blood. Under hood, its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 has been cranked up to 577 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. It continues to feed a rear-mounted seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transaxle but with closer-spaced gear ratios. Manually adjustable coil-over springs twist their way around electronically adjustable shock absorbers, and a rear-steering system helps get the maximum agility out of the Cup tires. Carbon-ceramic brakes stop the car, and a manually adjustable nine-stage traction-control system helps get it up to speed again after the corner. It’s Best Driver’s Car week! Keep it on MotorTrend.com this week as we count down the finishing order of our contenders this year and share bonus content you’ll only find right here. Get those tires to stick just right, and the 3,680-pound GT R will nail the quarter in 11.4 seconds at 127.6 mph and knock off 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Around a skidpad, it’ll return 1.12 average g, and on our figure eight, it’ll average 0.96 g during a blistering 22.8-second lap. It even stops fast, needing only 96 feet from 60 mph. We Say “Phenomenal braking; arguably the most confidence delivered—which is appropriate because this car is bonkers fast, rudeboy loud. It’s throaty and thrusty off the line and very, very confidence-inspiring for a powerful rear drive vehicle. It just sticks—except when it pogos over rough pavement. The vertical motion, driving position, and overall shape of the car are reminiscent of the Viper—as is the confidence it inspires. It’s daunting at first, but once you manhandle it, the GTR just goes. And the more confidence you gain, the faster the AMG GTR goes; the harder you push it, the smaller it drives. It’s great fun to fire the brakes and dive-bomb a corner, then load up the rear wheels at exit, and just squash the throttle. Despite the front wheels appearing way out front, turn-in is evil quick. “Still, I’m not leaning into the corners as I do with a few in this field. It took until nearly the bottom of the road to find my rhythm with this one. In others, including the winner, that feeling was instant.” – Ed Loh Read about other 2017 Best Driver’s Car contenders: Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Lexus LC 500 Aston Martin DB11 Nissan GT-R NISMO Mazda MX-5 Miata RF McLaren 570GT “Simply brutal. It’s the AMG way. It felt so confident. Great brakes, great power delivery. So easy to drive smoothly. Excellent work from the men and women at Affalterbach.” – Erick Ayapana “This car is at home on the track; it’s where it makes the most sense. The AMG GT R is a car you need to drive flat out in order to have any real fun in it. Driving it slow isn’t boring, but it’s not enjoyable. Nearer to the car’s limits on a closed road or on track is the AMG’s home. This isn’t an everyday driver’s car, but in fantasy land it’s quite fun.” – Christian Seabaugh “Driving this car made me laugh out loud. Our Kermit the Frog green AMG GT R provides an experience closer to Mr. Toad’s wild ride. The engine sounds amazing and the ride up Highway 198 actually made me giggle—numerous times, out loud, with no one around to hear me. “Hang on to the wheel, and let it rip. It has the power to get unruly but holds the road incredibly well. It has so much power at the ready that you can put it in Sport mode and Comfort suspension and still feel like you are running with your hair on fire. “Just when you think you are about to get into trouble it just sticks. The big beautiful grabby brakes inspire confidence. But the car does have the ability to strike a little terror with so much power and an engine roaring all around you.” – Alisa Priddle “Absolute, unfettered, grinning-like-an-idiot insanity. If the Camaro had a dual-clutch and had a death wish, it would drive like this. I don’t smoke, but I need a cigarette, badly. “This is all the excitement and adrenaline the Ferrari and McLaren wish they had. Yes, the car is making you better and faster, but it’s also making you feel like you’re hanging on for dear life. It’s both electrifying and intimidating at the same time. “The power! My god, the power. Every time you dip into it it’s like being on the end of a fully extended bungee cord. “My one complaint: even at multiple felony speeds, the brake pedal is very touchy. A bit less bite and a bit more progression, please. It’s hard to modulate in the half an inch of pedal travel between nothing and emergency eyeball extraction. – Scott Evans “My kind of machine! Brutal, in every sense of the word. You need to be aggressive, and in possession of something akin to intestinal fortitude, but if you take the risk, the GT R offers the reward. The back end is jumpy, but in a predictable way. It’s a much more alive feeling than the regular strength GT S. Very impressive car. This should be a podium car.” – Jonny Lieberman Randy Says “AMGs have a personality in their engines of a broad torque curve, and you got still the satisfying pull all the way to redline. And this fat torque curve makes the car easier to drive, too, because it’s more controllable that way. A Dodge Viper picks up torque as it revs, and so maybe you put your foot down at the apex, and then halfway out the corner the torque’s building, and things are changing. Whereas, in the AMG, that stays very much the same, and you just roll it in. It has a wee bit of entry oversteer, so it points for the apex very well. If a tire slides, it’s usually one of the backs. The front was very strong on the way in. I got a little bit of middle push, not much. I mean we’re talking a little bit this way, a little bit that way. Shock damping is well controlled, but it’s not harsh. It still had a decent ride. It was not the least bit upset with the bump in turn six, and I even drifted it over the rumble strips into the new pavement on the last lap. “It’s powerful enough to spin the tires. The car’s on the edge of that coming out of most of the corners. But this linear response to the throttle and the power curve makes it an enjoyable experience. You’re not wrestling alligators. It’s much more harmonious. I have to roll that power in. You can’t be stabby. And its stuck all the way to the track out. “I enjoyed the traction control that had adjustment available. Especially in tricky conditions. Any time you don’t trust the grip, that could be really, really cool. And it’s interesting to me that they give it such a priority. It’s right in the center of the dash, painted yellow. For me, that’s a substitute for all-wheel drive. “Braking was incredibly strong at first. And then the braking gs stayed pretty consistent, it was pretty strong, even up into the corkscrew, and the brake system compensated well for coming over the top. It stopped well even when it was light, which I’ve noticed that a couple of cars here don’t. But the pedal got a little bit long by my last timed lap, which tells me the fluid was getting hot. There wasn’t brake fade, but the pedal travel got a little bit longer. It still stopped, but when I braked for turn five it was pretty long, and when that happens I start thinking “I hope it stops for the corkscrew,” which it did. “It was an enjoyable car to drive, but it was just a little loose, not hooked up enough in the back.” 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT R POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD ENGINE TYPE Twin-turbo 90-deg V-8, alum block/heads VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 243.0 cu in/3,982 cc COMPRESSION RATIO 9.5:1 POWER (SAE NET) 577 hp @ 6,250 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 516 lb-ft @ 1,900 rpm REDLINE 7,000 rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 6.4 lb/hp TRANSMISSION 7-speed twin-clutch auto AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO 3.67:1/2.53:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Control arms, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar; control arms, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar STEERING RATIO 14.3:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 1.9 BRAKES, F; R 15.8-in vented, drilled, carbon-ceramic disc; 14.2-in vented, drilled, carbon-ceramic disc, ABS WHEELS, F;R 10.0 x 19-in; 12.0 x 20-in, forged aluminum TIRES, F;R 285/30R19 94Y; 335/25R20 99Y Michelin Pilot Super Sport Cup 2 ZP (Tread 180) DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 103.5 in TRACK, F/R 66.7/66.1 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 179.2 x 79.0 x 50.6 in TURNING CIRCLE 37.6 ft CURB WEIGHT 3,680 lb WEIGHT DIST, F/R 48/52% SEATING CAPACITY 2 HEADROOM, F/R 39.5/— in LEGROOM, F/R 43.5/— in SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 58.3/— in CARGO VOLUME 10.1 cu ft TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 1.6 sec 0-40 2.2 0-50 2.8 0-60 3.4 0-70 4.2 0-80 5.0 0-90 6.0 0-100 7.1 0-100-0 10.7 PASSING, 45-65 MPH 1.3 QUARTER MILE 11.4 sec @ 127.6 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 96 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 1.12 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 22.8 sec @ 0.96 g (avg) 2.2-MI ROAD COURSE LAP 1:33.01 sec TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 2,100 rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $157,995 PRICE AS TESTED $198,445 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/Yes AIRBAGS 8: Dual front, fr side, fr head, fr knee BASIC WARRANTY 4 yrs/50,000 miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 4 yrs/50,000 miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 4 yrs/50,000 miles FUEL CAPACITY 19.8 gal EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON 16/22/18 mpg ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 211/153 kW-hrs/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 1.06 lb/mile RECOMMENDED FUEL Unleaded premium The post Mercedes-AMG GT R: 5th Place – 2017 Motor Trend Best Driver’s Car appeared first on Motor Trend.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/mercedes-amg-gt-r-5th-place-2017-best-drivers-car/

#Best Driver's Car #Car Performance

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ottomanbob · 7 years

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how I learned to memorize a deck of cards in 3 minutes, in less than 1 month

Memorizing decks of cards is a great way to cultivate focus muscles. I obtained baseline competency of this skill with about 4 days of moderate practice, then reduced my time by 80% over the course of a month. Here’s a graph of my “deck time” over the course of 32 recorded trials:

After about 3 weeks of daily practice, I clock in a pretty consistent 3:10 per deck. I might have considered that impossible just 30 days ago.

To develop this skill I used a combination of Tim Ferriss’ Bikeshop Pro method, meticulous tracking and measurement, and a handful of very cool apps. Ferriss and other memory advocates/athletes may recommend starting with “Bikeshop Lite” AKA the “Roman House” or “Memory Palace” method before moving to Pro. Frankly, I’d advise against this. It’s a waste of time.

Basics of Bikeshop Pro (ft. @ottomanbob)

I won’t go into detail here, I encourage you to instead refer to Ferriss’ post. Here’s a summary:

Assign every card in the deck a person, action, and object.

Create a route through an actual physical space with which you are familiar. I used my drive from high school to the beach, stopping at home on the way.

Choose 17 distinct locations on this route. As you flip through a deck combine the subject from one card, the action from the next, and the object from another. Place this image at the first location on your route.

Continue in triads for the rest of the deck, using the 52nd (leftover) card creatively in your last scene.

feel gud

Proud. by Jameswmann.com via Attribution Engine. Licensed under CC NC.

how I did it (and you can too)

Of course, nothing this cool is that simple and effortless. Here are some detailed actionable tips from journey to proficiency:

1. Assigning an image to each card was one of the trickiest parts of this whole process. I tried about three different organizational strategies before settling. I started with someone else’s Anki deck (see below), which had assigned images of celebrities to Diamonds and Clubs. (I can no longer find this deck online). For Spades and Hearts, respectively, I assigned a male friend and memorable girl from each grade level of my education. The King of Hearts, for instance, is my girlfriend doing yoga on a mat, whereas the King of Spades is my college roommate, Yves, lying facedown on a mattress. lmao.

When choosing your images be super duper intentional. There are so many things I would change if I were to start from square one. In my list there are three or four images that involve a person feeding, petting, or slapping a different small animal. All three of these actions and their objects are far too visually similar.

In addition, make sure your actions/verbs are versatile. “Bill Gates rebooting his computer” is very difficult to combine with “Wambui doing yoga on a mat.” How does one reboot a yoga mat? I’ve found more grotesque and visual verbs to be more effective. A quick list:

Shitting

Fucking

Masturbating

Jumping

Diving

Screaming

Roundhouse Kicking

Kissing

Ground and pounding

Some truly bizarre imagery from my Anki deck.

2. Use ANKI to memorize your newly minted images. This crude interface uses spaced repetition to ensure maximum returns on your image memorization. The mobile app is pricey as fuck, unfortunately, but it’s useful for nearly any sort of memorization exercise. I started with the 26 celebrity cards from this deck, then downloaded images for the remaining 26 cards. I completed my flashcards using the Anki desktop app, which is free, and the batch media importer plugin. Be careful when syncing the cards to your phone, it’s not intuitive, but it’s worth it.

3. Designing my route was a fun meditative exercise, as it required me to mentally travel through my favorite neighborhoods and take snapshots. I would recommend against choosing spots on the highway (too small) or sprawling areas like “Nalo Town” (too large). Ideal spots on the map are urban, with lots of texture and character. For instance “MidPac,” my high school, has lots of distinct features but is too big an area. When recalling my first triad, I often find myself browsing around the 50 acres of the campus, looking for an image I don’t recall.

“Maunalani Park,” conversely, just consists of some grass, a playground, a court, and a parking lot. I can mentally browse it in a matter of seconds. Plus there are lots of surfaces and items with which my characters can interact.

i.e. Bill Clinton fellating a sheep on the jungle gym.

4. After about two days of assigning images, locations, and practicing flash cards, I started with small batches of cards.

It should be noted at this point that I have only practiced once with a proper deck of cards. Instead, I’ve been using iPhone app 52Cards. The app has an integrated timer, which is super useful, and is much better for practicing on the go/toilet.

Recalling 22 card batches, then checking my score. Here I began to notice that most of my errors were in “writing,” or constructing my scenes. Not during recall. I also made sure to take note whenever I hit a new PR (personal record).

5. After a couple days of small batch practice, I started doing full decks. This was the most grueling part of the whole process because it’s so goddamned long. I was shooting for accuracy, not speed, and every one of my first few decks would take at least ten minutes. It’s pretty uncomfortable for a millennial to stay laser focused for ten minutes straight. My first high accuracy (90%+) full deck took about 12 minutes! (I still practiced my flashcards on these days, as well.)

6. What gets measured gets managed. Despite all the aforementioned work, I attribute most of my success in developing this skill to meticulous and deliberate tracking and analysis. Over the month, I designed and refined a Google Sheet for recording my times and accuracy. Using a bunch of simple formulas, I’m able to gather a ton of insights to improve my practice.

(A)CPM = accurate cards per minute, SP(A)C = seconds per (accurate) card

This sheet has enabled me to graph my progress, calculate a trendline curve (third degree polynomial regression seen above) to predict future speeds, and observe other trends. Currently, there are 32 entries in my spreadsheet, but I’ve probably practiced on twice as many decks. I don’t record data for sessions I do on the toilet or tram, unless they are really remarkable. If I do, I’ll note qualitative data as to why.

Some insights from my spreadsheet:

I tend to hit new personal records after taking a one or two day break.

My two most recent PRs have been while listening to LCD Soundsystem and Father John Misty. This is likely due to the tempo of the songs, not their brilliant songwriting.

My speed seldom improves over the course of one day. Brain fatigue is real!

youtube

7. I prefer listening to music over using a metronome, though I’ll usually practice in silence if possible. 170+ BPM dance music like LCD Soundsystem proves to be particularly effective. Of course, I’m not actually turning cards at 200 BPM. It’s more like 30 BPM, at the start of each measure. If you can tolerate the tick of the metronome, I recommend the Pro Metronome app. The lite version should suffice for this application.

8. Take Breaks! Once I started making serious progress, I got hooked, flipping decks at every dull moment. As a result my speeds actually decreased, and the whole process became less fun. I now force myself to take days off. Remember the purpose of this exercise is to cultivate focus, not distraction!

9. I thought this would be a cool party trick. It is. BUT after 2 glasses of wine, my accuracy tanks. W/R/T showing off at social gatherings, under-commit on speed and over-deliver. When I tried to show off at a dinner in Paris, I made the mistake of keeping everyone quiet for five minutes while I flipped cards. I think it would have been better to let people chat and instead take ten minutes.

Pin-up Cartoon Playing Cards by Andertoons via Attribution Engine. Licensed under CC BY.

in conclusion

I’m yet to observe the real long term benefits of toning and honing my focus muscles, yet I do feel some dramatic immediate effects. Now, when I look at a deck or decide to focus on something, it is much easier to turn off the outside world and extraneous thoughts in my head. This type of focus is something I recall regularly feeling doing homework in elementary school, before the internet ejaculated all over my brain. At the very least, card memorization is a badass party trick and a source of personal pride. And for a distraction behavior, it sure beats Facebook.

As my speed improves, I’ll update this post and move onto other focus exercises, like Rubik’s cubing and speed chess.

xx adam

#memory #focus #cardmemorization #memory athletes #deepwork #deep work #productivity

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