Don't ignore drainage - it could make or break your garden

Many new gardeners are so keen to start planting they don’t take the time to look at their soil’s structure or how it drains

Ask any gardener what they love about their plot, and you’ll get as many answers as there are species of plant. Some will go straight for flowers; colour is sexy and exciting. Others will take you to their raised beds and show you beautiful vegetables; growing your own is rewarding and delicious. Then there are those who take pride in a luxurious lawn, mowed and weeded and manicured to perfection. Gardeners love containers, trees, wildlife and roses – the list goes on. However, there is one aspect of any garden which is the antithesis of exciting: drainage. It’s a vital part of any garden but is undeniably boring.

Given everything that been happening in the world recently, it can be easy to think that humanity is circling its own drain. However, politics aside, drainage is crucial to the survival of many plants. Many new gardeners are so keen to start planting they don’t take the time to look at their soil’s structure or how it drains. I can’t blame them. Even for a keen gardener like myself, garden drainage is a mundane necessity. But looking at the way water interacts with the land is an important consideration for any garden. My garden, and my own ignorance, is a good example.

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McLaren F1 GTR "Longtail" Turns 20, Gets Artistic Photo Shoot

The McLaren P1 supercar may be all modern and fancy with its fresh looks and hybrid drivetrain, but F1, which was launched more than decades ago gets nearly as much attention nowadays. Introduced in 1992 as the most innovative supercar of its time, the F1 went racing in 1995 and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in its maiden season. In November 1996, McLaren rolled out an upgraded GTR "Longtail" model, which wasn’t as successful as the original GTR on the race track but it’s considered one of the most exotic McLarens ever built. With the "Longtail" exactly 20 years old as of November 2016, McLaren celebrates by releasing a handful of high-res pictures of a Gulf-liveried example.

Developed for the 1997 racing season, the GTR "Longtail" featured a much longer nose and rear section, wider fenders and a bigger rear wing. A complete redesign rather than just an update, the "Longtail" boasted improved aerodynamic downforce in order to compete with prototypes such as the Porsche 911 GT1 and Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR. Unlike the exterior, the interior carried over from the standard GTR, but McLaren added a new steering wheel, gear shifter, and center stack.

More changes were operated under the hood, where a stroke reduction brought the BMW-sourced 6.1-liter V-12 down to 6.0 liters in an attempt to prolong its life and improve reliability. The gearbox was also replaced with a new X-trac six-speed sequential transmission with quicker shifts. FIA-spec cars were still limited to the 600-horsepower output imposed by the air restrictor, but cars entered in other series had their engines tweaked to generate as much as 900 horses. For a race car that tipped the scales at only 2,018 pounds, it was downright amazing.

But, despite its redesigned aerodynamics, the F1 GTR "Longtail" was unable to compete with the new Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR, which won the FIA GT championship with a comfortable lead. The McLaren teams finished second and third in the standings in what became the F1’s final official season in GT racing. At the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans, the GTR finished second and third, behind the seemingly unbeatable TWR Porsche WSC-95, but ahead of the 911 GT1 and several LMP cars. An impressive performance given the circumstances; one that McLaren takes great pride in given that the anniversary photo shoot was made with the Gulf-liveried, No. 41 "Longtail" that finished second at Le Mans in the hands of Jean-Marc Gounon, Pierre-Henri Raphanel and Anders Olofsson.

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The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

I really enjoyed Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood a couple of years ago and have finally got round to reading the second book in her acclaimed MaddAddam trilogy ‘The Year of the Flood’. Set in the same universe as … Continue reading →

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Hyundai i30 Wagon

Sold as the Elantra GT here in the U.S. and the Hyundai I30 in the rest of the world, Hyundai’s resident hatchback entered its third generation for the 2017 model year. The four-door hatchback has already made its debut, featuring a new, angular look on the outside with a cleaner and more modern layout on the inside. Standard technology includes things like a rear-view camera, phone connectivity via Bluetooth, USB, Android Auto, or Apple Car Play. Under the hood, the I30 came complete with a handful of engines that includes a new, turbocharged four-banger that delivers 138 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque. Now that the four-door hatch has made its debut, it should come as no surprise that our camera crew caught the longer i30 wagon putting in some work.

In most cases, shorter models turned wagon usual differ very little, but Hyundai has gone to considerable lengths to cover up this prototype. It should be identical to the four-door hatch from the rear doors forward, but the excessive wrapping and padding could suggest that there are some other differences to be found when the i30 Wagon bares it all. So far, it looks like the third-generation i30 lineup will include a four-door hatch, a four-door coupe, and this wagon. But it’s not all gravy because that means it’s unlikely that we’ll see the sportiest of all, the three-door i30 hatch, in this generation.

So, we’ll go ahead and let that sink in a little as we talk a little bit about this wagon and what it will bring to the third-generation i30 lineup.

Continue reading to learn more about the Hyundai i30 Wagon.

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Learn How to Obsessively Clean Your Car's Wheels: Video

Have you ever wondered what goes into keeping a car looking better than new? For most of us, cars are a tool of life, but there are some people out that literally spend an entire day each week to cleaning and perfecting their car inside and out. To put it into perspective, the $100 details offered by your local car wash make your car like clean and misguidedly like new, but a real, obsessive detail will set you back hundreds of dollars and at least a day’s worth of time. One part of obsessive detailing means keeping your wheels clean. It can be extremely difficult if you have to drive your car in the winter and don’t have winter wheels, but the guys over at AMMO have put together a video. describing just what goes into keeping wheels car-show clean as well as the brake system and the wheel wells.

You’ll want to watch the whole video to get the full gist of what you’ve got to do, but in short, there are multiple steps to cleaning your wheels that will seem obsessive to most, but a necessity to the few who take pride in having the cleanest and best looking cars out there. And, if this seems like too much to you, that’s okay – it’s not for everybody. But, if you have a really nice car that you like to show off, and you do a lot to keep the body and paint in awesome condition – I’m talking about mirror-like shine – then you probably want to go to the extent of excessively cleaning the wheels, wheel wells, and brake system. Even if this kind of obsessive car care isn’t for you, now you’ll understand why someone who is that into it will freak out over a small scratch or some dirt when it wouldn’t make you think twice.

With that said, go ahead and click play, then let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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BMW Brings New M Performance Parts To Essen Motor Show

As the calendar year draws to an end, the Essen Motor Show comes to conclude the year of European motor shows with numerous tuning, motorsport, and track-race production models. The organizers expect more than 300,000 visitors to come to the exhibition halls at Essen’s Grugapark, which will have a wide array of cars and aftermarket products on display, including many from BMW.

The German automaker will bring its latest M Performance parts to Essen, as well as eight vehicles, including the M240i Convertible and the M2 Safety Car. The public will also be able to demonstrate their racing talent at the “DTM M4 Driving Simulator” by following in the tracks of Marco Wittmann, the newly crowned DTM champion.

As for the actual performance parts, BMW will introduce a handful of upgrades for the M3 and M4. First up, there’s carbon rear wing made entirely of carbon-fiber with the struts sporting M motorsport stripes in blue, red, and violet, and "Performance" lettering on the sides of the blade. The coupe and sedan will also get an M Performance suspension that will enable drivers to adjust ride height between five and 20 mm (0.2 and 0.8 inches) via a spring plate on the front and rear spring struts. The coil springs are painted red for a motorsport-inspired look. Both the carbon wing and the suspension system will be offered starting summer 2017.

The M3 and M4 will also get something new under the hood. Unfortunately, I’m not talking about power upgrades, but the new carbon engine cover should make a few enthusiasts happy. Made from hand-crafted, high-quality carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, it will give the M3 and M4 a race-inspired look under the lid.

The BMW booth will also showcase the brand’s new M Performance Accessories, including an Alcantara steering wheel with carbon trim and race display, gear selector lever and carbon handbrake grip with Alcantara bellows, 19-inch, double-spoke 405 M Bicolour alloy wheels, black matt rear diffuser, and carbon tailpipe trims. All these parts will be exhibited on an upgraded M240i Convertible model.

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Mazda RT24-P

After a few seasons of racing gasoline-powered prototypes in North America, Mazda switched to a diesel engine based on the 2.2-liter SkyActiv-D unit found in its production cars. That didn’t go very well, so the automaker returned to the 2.0-liter gasoline four-pot in 2016, when it continued with the same Lola chassis. With IMSA Prototype class rules revised for 2017, Mazda ditched the old Lola underpinnings in favor of a Riley chassis and redesigned the bodywork of its race car. With rules now more permissive as far as designs go, Mazda came up with a race car that uses many of the Kodo styling cues seen on the company’s production cars.

The new race car will compete in the new DPi class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The category replaces last year’s Prototype class and introduces revised regulations to the series. The new Riley chassis was designed and built by Multimatic, while the engine was carried over from last year’s race car.

“This is a huge moment for Mazda Motorsports and the entire Mazda family,” said John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports North America. “To have a car which features Mazda design language at the top level of our motorsports program is meaningful for us as a brand. We believe we have the right team, the right drivers and the right chassis to win races and championships."

Mazda Motorsports will tackle the 2017 season with two vehicles. Car No. 55 will be driven by Jonathan Bomarito and Tristan Nunez, while car No. 77 will be piloted by Joel Miller and Tom Long. The season will commence in Daytona on January 28, while the final race will take place in Georgia on October 7.

Continue reading to learn more about the Mazda RT24-P.

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