What To See in 2009 [ January 6th, 2009 ] By: Charles Smith Posted in » Ramblings

New Years bring new seasons of racing, new cars, new toys and new feats of engineering. There is plenty to look forward to in what is going to be a great year.

In contrast with Subaru leaving the WRC, American leagues (NASA and RA) will still feature Subarus as their most common race car (and possibly still their winningest).  With DIRT’s possible new entries into the sport such as their ProjectRS you’ll have plenty of new Subarus in NASA. 

Fans of Petter Solberg will hopefully be able to watch his driving, albeit in most-likely a non Subaru as he is now a free agent. Rally Norway has even extended its entry deadline for Petter until January 13th.  

Rally America is still expected to have its big names return: Travis Pastrana, Ken Block, Andrew Comrie-Picard and the not so well known Kyle Sarasin. So there will be plenty of competition to watch. Infact, with such big names dropping out of the WRC, Rally America could gain in popularity (world wide even).

2009 is set to be an exciting year. Do any of you have big rally plans this year?

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How To J-Turn - The Video [ April 11th, 2008 ] By:Charles Smith


If you would like to read about how to do it, see our text article here on TwoGuysRally.

Video on YouTube. Video on Revver.

April 11th, 2008 | 3 Comments

How To J-Turn (James Bond Reverse to Forward) [ April 10th, 2008 ] By:Charles Smith

Performing the J-Turn

  1. Shift to Reverse
  2. Go in a straight line backwards at a good speed(higher speed for more grippy surfaces)
  3. Take your foot off the gas abruptly
  4. Jerk the steering wheel Right or Left (Left for an actual J as seen from above)
  5. Clutch in
  6. Move the gear selector to Neutral (BE SURE YOU’RE IN NEUTRAL!)
  7. Clutch out and then Clutch in (This step is the double clutch, it will make the reverse to 1st/2nd gear transition easier on the transmission)
  8. Move the gear selector to 1st/2nd gear (keep one hand on the wheel!)
  9. Once the car starts pointing in the direction of travel bring the Steering wheel to straight ahead
  10. Clutch out and Gas! GOGOGO

The speed required for a J-turn increases with grip. The faster you’re going in reverse, the easier the car will whip around, but also the easier it will be to lose complete control of the car. The first few times it is attempted, don’t worry about forcing the transmission into 1st or 2nd gear, focus on the speed and steering inputs (also safety!).

J-turns are not like the other how-to articles on this site, they are jerky and not smooth. Quick pedal movements and quick steering inputs upset the balance of the car making it possible to complete the 180 degree rotation.

Why Perform a J-Turn

Why not?! You get to look like James Bond doing it. While it is mostly a for show technique it does have a legitimate use: spin recovery. After a spin, you might be facing the completely wrong direction, and a J-Turn is a fast and dangerous way to save some recovery time.

So go out and find a safe place to practice a J-turn. A safe place means somewhere you are allowed to do this and has lots of space so you will not hit anything. Keep in mind it is much easier on loose stuff or wet tarmac than the grippy dry pavement we find all over. I would not suggest doing this in high center of gravity vehicles such as an SUV as the risk of rollover is huge.

Here’s a video version: How To J-Turn - The Video.

April 10th, 2008 | 2 Comments

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