“Rice Racer” or “Rice Burner” is a commonly-used derogatory term for automobiles. I consider RICE to be an anagram for “Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancements”. If you toss a body kit on your car for purely cosmetic reasons, it’s likely that you suffer from Rice. It’s an epidemic. There are varying degrees of rice, and some aspects are open for interpretation. Clear corner lights and altezza headlight/taillight combos are common disputes on automotive forums.
This car is essentially the epitome of rice racer. It has a massive fart can, is lowered too much, the wheels are too tall and not wide enough for the car, the body kit scrapes the ground on turns, the paint job cost more than the car, and the driver has no idea what he’s doing (throttle control would be a good thing):
The much-anticipated new layout is finally here! There are a few changes that I feel like I should explain, just so we’re all clear here.
ADs
The previous hosting service was limited but free. The new hosting service allows me to clean up the layout of the site, but I’m very sorry to say that it does cost me money. I’ve added some ads to the main page (and only the main page) in order to cover some of the costs of keeping the Manual alive. I want to assure you that I’m not “selling out”, I’m trying to make the site better for everyone. I made it a point to keep ads off the individual post pages so that when you’re reading a tech article you don’t have to deal with a bunch of distractions.
Layout
I’ve changed the layout pretty considerably. I’m using an updated version of the same system, and have added a few extra features that have cleaned up the site and made it a bit more readable. I’ll be making small changes to the layout as time goes on, but for once I’m getting to a point where I’m legitimately happy with it. If you have feedback, just leave a comment.
Schedule
I’ve laid out a more defined schedule for articles to be released. I’m trying out a schedule which will make the first week of every month very exciting, with a week-long Monthly Special. I also hope to feature a vehicle or project I’ve come across once a month, and post weekly Shop Tips and Project Updates.
Feedback
Most of the changes I’ve made were directly inspired by suggestions from readers, so keep the comments and suggestions coming! If you run into any bugs or weirdness, contact me to let me know as soon as possible. Please post your vote here!
To know more about why styles are disabled on this website visit the
Annual CSS Naked Day website for more information. You get to bask in the 48-hour block of nekkid-ness today!
I’ve been fighting to make time for my project cars since my bassist first showed me how to perform an oil change. It’s difficult to predict how much time a project will take to complete before you start on it. Sometimes a stud will break unexpectedly during the weekend you’ve set aside for ‘car stuff’, and you won’t have it until Wednesday of that week. What do you do, if you have to work Mon-Fri and don’t have a designated ‘daily driver’ car?
A bicycle is an elegant solution for many of us. It’s not hard to get ahold of a decent mountain bike, and it’s cheap and easy to convert a mountain bike to an easy-to-ride commuter. Really, all you need is normal maintenance and some road tires. For around $150 you’ll have a healthy alternative to driving to work. I paid $50 for the bike itself, $50 for all new brake and shifting levers/cables, and $50 on tires. Given the option, I’ll take the bicycle almost every day.
Not only is this a good way to get to work and get into some semblance of shape, it’s also cheap! Paying over $3/gallon for gas is obscene, especially with a tuned go-fast machine that gets 20mpg. It just doesn’t make sense to me to drive into work any more. On a good day, I ride around 30 miles round trip. Most of the time I wuss out and take the bus for some portion of that.
The next time you’re putting your car up on jackstands, think about what could go wrong and always have a way out. A bike might just be that way out for you. For those of you interested in commuting by bicycle, check out the following sites:
I’m no hardcore bicyclist and I’m not in as good a shape as I’d like to be, but this keeps me from feeling sluggish. I get home from work and feel energized and ready to tackle whatever project happens to be in front of me. There’s no reason you can’t feel the same!
Well, there’s a new project in my garage now. My roommate bought what he thought was a 1972 240z, and we found out it’s actually a 1975 260z (even better!). After meeting with the (now previous) owner, it was loaded onto the tow dolly rented from Uhaul. Around 40 miles to go.
30 miles, and all is well.
20 miles and all is well.
10 miles and all is well.
5 miles to go and all is well.
4.4 miles - huh. That’s strange… How’d the Z get off the dolly? Why’s it going off into that muddy ditch? Why’s it soaked in 2 feet of water? Crap!
A AAA call later it showed up at my house with a very pissed off owner (my roommate; I was lucky enough to get a rant as he walked in the door). Apparantly the frame was bent near in half, the subframe was gone, the fender was totaled, and the sky was falling. After further inspection, there was just a bunch of water in the interior along with a crunched-up bumper. No structural issues. So, like anybody would do when their roommate buys a new car, I started gutting it for him. Here’s the resulting garbage:
More on this project later, along with proper pics. Enjoy!
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