Author Topic: Motoring Related things in Korea & other areas 'close' by (Read 9164 times)

Cbxj · « **on:** January 18, 2015, 02:05:56 am »

Decided since I'm working in Korea for a while, and have been randomly posting things vehicle related in various topics, I'll just start putting everything here.

Starting with today.

This AM I went to the BMW driving Academy not far from where Im staying. Top Gear Korea is sometimes filmed there. its a pretty cool facility.

Some pics are in order:

First I grabbed my BMW issue jet pack and snapped this aerial shot

.

Anyway the driving was fun, a bit over nannied for me (not allowed to turn the traction control off and follow the instructor) however I was at the very back of the pack to enjoyed catching up during some of the "warmer" laps.

More random pics of the facility:

waiting area

show room

my ride-(the wagon) ...diesel, ...auto, but very well balanced, it was still pulling hard at 170 kph on the back straight when I had to stand on the brakes for the turn. really well balanced-- even when lifting off the gas.. maybe because the diesel/auto has less engine braking than Im used to. anyway... fun!

on the track, apparently those yellow pads are "kickers" to make you loose traction, but that is closed in the winter when the skid pads are open

mmmm

just a bit jelly on this vid game set up

swag shop

Maxed out on mini stuff

Cbxj · « **Reply #1 on:** January 18, 2015, 02:22:18 am »

Its really a strange thing...
It would seem in Korea, the more expensive your car is the more likely it is that you are handicapped, huh.. really strange...
BUT consistent. if its a Handicapped spot.. AUDI, BMW, JAG, MERC, they are all driven by handicapped people..

Cbxj · « **Reply #2 on:** January 18, 2015, 02:24:55 am »

This is the parkade where I park,
spotless...

I took these 2 shots standing in the same spot, just looking either way, the parkade runs the entire block.

DaDuke99 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 18, 2015, 03:54:59 am »

Handicapped indeed.

StreetsTheWay · « **Reply #4 on:** January 18, 2015, 11:26:02 am »

Damn, that's too cool. Looks like tons of fun, nice track layout.

Cbxj · « **Reply #5 on:** January 18, 2015, 06:17:06 pm »

Quote from: DaDuke99 on January 18, 2015, 03:54:59 am

Handicapped indeed.

yep and it seems if you own a porsche.. you can park anywhere...

Vtec1 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 18, 2015, 11:56:38 pm »

That's pretty cool man.
I remember 90% of cars in Korea would have full limo tint including the windshield haha.

Where is this track located?
I might have to stop by this summer l0l.

NuTypeR · « **Reply #7 on:** January 19, 2015, 12:19:57 am »

FYI, if you are wondering about that video game setup, Fanatec is the brand

Cbxj · « **Reply #8 on:** January 19, 2015, 02:59:49 am »

The track is literally 10 mins from incheon airport. The only program I could get into on (besides the winter skid pads) during winter was the one that did not features mmmmmm cars. But I'll book that for next time it opens up and report back. Either way 60$ for a bit of instruction, an hour in a new bmw, some emergency braking, some cone time, and about 30 minutes of track time is pretty good value I thought.

Cbxj · « **Reply #9 on:** January 21, 2015, 02:53:37 pm »

Keeping your car clean:
So im told that most hi rise buildings that have an underground parkade have a car wash business in the parkade.
I was talking to one of the people I work with and how nice his car always looks.
He pays ~60 dollars a month, and for that he gets 4 complete details a month (in and out)!..
not bad at all....

jellynuts · « **Reply #10 on:** January 21, 2015, 08:27:20 pm »

Man, Asia sure has it's awesome points. Thanks for sharing~

Vtec1 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 21, 2015, 11:33:59 pm »

I agree, its awesome for travelling and spending money.

But living there is a different story with <$5 minimum wage, hence why it's so cheap.
And the car business there is shady as uckfay l0l

Cbxj · « **Reply #12 on:** January 28, 2015, 10:48:51 pm »

These trucks rock, either side will open up like a big clamshell..
since a lot of companies dont have docks, loading and unloading from the side is the norm.. and you can get at the stuff in the front.

Cbxj · « **Reply #13 on:** January 30, 2015, 12:17:47 am »

Neat to be in a place where you see one of these every once in a while:

Cbxj · « **Reply #14 on:** February 03, 2015, 05:05:15 am »

So last Sunday afternoon, I sitting in a bakery in not far from my apartment enjoying a coffee and watching the traffic go by…

The delivery drivers here ride 50-150 cc bikes/scooters all year round …..it seems and lights, laws, pedestrians ect really dont matter.

Almost every bike ive walked past is sporting cheap 80’s design crappy tires, usually underinflated and worn out …

Still ive seen some amazing lean angles coupled with riding styles right from the isle of mann circa 1961,, you know, straight arms, straight back, knees tucked right in..

OK.. so its about 2 degrees out, and traffic is fairly heavy …

And I see this delivery bike WFO coming down the center of a 3 by 3 lane road, and by the looks of things he plans to make a left by going around the car waiting to go left then pitching in right in front of him… BUT he has to keep his speed up to not get T boned by oncoming traffic…..

He jinks right around the left turning car, then pitches it over to make the left…. Im doing the math… he’s too frigging fast AND there is parked cars in the right lane of the 2 lane road he is turning into… effectively suddenly making his turn decreasing radius….. (now that he can see).

OK.. im just waiting to see his decision… trunk… or low side.. he is already out of clearance and he’s kinda got this 2 wheel slide thing going on…….

At the last minute he straightens up, and goes up on the side walk (lucky there was a wheel chair friendly curb) still doing a good 45 or 50 kph on the paving brick side walk with people and fruit stands and all that other crap on the side walk… misses them all and pops back down on the road ½ way down the block…
Wow… all to deliver somebodies chicken or whatever… I gotta say the guy had skill…

Cbxj · « **Reply #15 on:** February 08, 2015, 03:13:52 am »

Came across this yesterday.. The overall driving style is "different" in Korea. No eye contact, no shoulder checking, ignore all lane markings, might makes right, and many other things,... so overall im amazed that there are not much more fender bending going on.

AND YES those are tow "trucks"
it must be a cutthroat business , they seem to swoop in pretty fast.. and most sound like they have some seriousness under the hood.

Cbxj · « **Reply #16 on:** February 08, 2015, 03:17:47 am »

Just in case you have a craving.... eat in, take out OR....
Delivery!!

Cbxj · « **Reply #17 on:** February 22, 2015, 08:30:13 pm »

HOLY MOOOOLY..
the smog right now..
this looks better than it is... you can see about 2 kms... max.. uuuuug..

Cbxj · « **Reply #18 on:** February 22, 2015, 08:35:00 pm »

bridge to the north in the DMZ...
you cant get there from here....

Cbxj · « **Reply #19 on:** February 22, 2015, 09:00:54 pm »

if your on the highway in Korea, assuming your not in a traffic jam..
you are doing one of three things... going over a bridge, through a tunnel...
or through one of these.... a toll gate... and if you dont have a pass... you have to stop to pay... the smallest toll I've had to pay is 600 won... or about 61 cents... quite a pain.. my commute most days is 3 toll booths.. one way...

Cbxj · « **Reply #20 on:** February 22, 2015, 09:16:34 pm »

And really, who could stay away from this place?.... and mmmmm pricing includes tires...... since my Dad never bought me my tires...

Cbxj · « **Reply #21 on:** March 04, 2015, 05:25:19 am »

So I have a long term car here. A Hyundai avante with 1.6 liters of fury, coupled to a 6 speed slush box cleverly programmed for minimum performance.
Anyway a guy from the car company shows up today in his van and offical uniform. To check the car he says. Ok. Sounds good since on our Subarus I check the oil every fill and a weekend rarely goes by that I'm not doing something under the hood or under one of our cars,,,,, on this baby I don't even know if the hood opens
He checks the oil with the engine running. ... Hmmm notes the milage, checks the tire pressure. Fills the windshield washer. Checks the engine air filter. And

... Yeah !!!changes the cabin air filter. Seems in a place with this much pollution it's a very regular service item. Now I guess I'll see him next a couple months from now.

Cbxj · « **Reply #22 on:** March 08, 2015, 03:43:31 pm »

Talk about a great place to store tires.... why not on the roof?,,, in the blazing sun... ? I sure hope their turnover is high
you might want to think twice about buying that odd sized tire from a cheap online place, maybe it was stored here for a year or so..

Cbxj · « **Reply #23 on:** March 08, 2015, 03:48:24 pm »

what car maker is this you ask.. why its a pretty big one actually, they have lots of models... and you know who they are actually.
It's Samsung!, this model I have not seen very many, but they make lots of cars..
Oh and that number on my dash?.... cell phone number to call when I double park you... or sometimes, you just park, leave the car in neutral, locked, and they can push you out of the way..

Cbxj · « **Reply #24 on:** March 10, 2015, 08:37:31 pm »

Liking the look of the Peugeot since Im a wagon kinda guy...