Gizmodo: v8

Mini Corvette Engine Runs at 11,000 RPM

Sean Fallon — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:50:00 EDT

It may not sound much different that a weed-whacker, but I can assure you that if this 1/6 scale replica of the 1964 Corvette L76 327 cubic-inch V8 was put into a tiny car, it would give a Leprechaun the ride of its life. The mini four-stroke engine was fabricated from scratch by a guy named Jim Moyer, and it can hit a staggering 11,000 RPM when opened up. Impressive.

[Corvette Blogger via Jalopnik via DVICE]

Hossfly V8 Barstools, Drinking and Driving Required

Mark Wilson — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:23:47 EST

The Hossly V8 barstools would drive MADD mad...literally. Because while seated upon a standard barstool, drinkers can harness the power of engines normally reserved for trucks and heavy luxury cars. Apparently the contraptions make an obnoxious amount of noise, which should be an effective ear shield for our own drunken idiocy...but there's only one way to find out. We just wish this clip from SEMA caught these bad boys during higher speed ~~impact~~ testing. Hit the jump for a shiny bonus pic.

[autoblog via geekology]

Four of the Five RAZR2s Reviewed (Verdict: What a Difference a Carrier Makes)

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:52:39 EDT

Sascha Segan at PC Mag just worked his way through testing the AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and Alltel RAZR2 models. Though all RAZR2s have similar specs—"luxurious metal-and-glass design," 240-MHz processor, roughly 100 MB of memory, a 2-megapixel camera and "the biggest, most beautiful external screen you've ever seen on a flip phone"—each carrier treated this differently. We gave you a nice run-down of feature differences, but here's how the actual user experience differs from carrier to carrier:

AT&T V9
• Best call quality thanks to CrystalTalk active sound-quality management during calls
• Best web experience because of Opera browser
• Free built-in e-mail
• Worst battery life
• No video sharing
• No Napster/Yahoo! DRM music
• A dedicated button for Cellular Video, a VOD service that "absolutely no one uses"

Sprint V9m
• Obigo HTML web browser works well
• Can view video on external screen
• Start camera from external screen
• No e-mail option

Verizon V9m
• Start camera from external screen
• Very good sound
• Best for basic Windows Media users
• WAP browsing (which sucks)
• E-mail for extra pay

Alltel V9m
• View text messages on external screen
• Best for experts and iTunes lovers
• WAP browsing (which sucks)
• No e-mail option

T-Mobile V8 (which Segan did not review)
• Linux-based OS
• CrystalTalk active sound-quality management during calls

Bottom line: All this variation represents carrier control, not freedom of choice. Says Segan: "We're stuck with the mediocre choices picked by our carrier overlords for us—and if you want something different, no soup for you!" I hate to say I told you so, but I freakin' told you so.
[PC Mag summary and individual reviews of each carrier's RAZR2]

Cuts Like Butta: The V8 Chainsaw

Charlie White — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 12:24:53 EDT

Check out this video, where these guys have created a chainsaw using a V-8 engine. A chainsaw is already the most dangerous object you can hold in your hands, but take a look at what this one can do to a gigantic log. Cuts through it like butta. – Charlie White

Laying Into the Cut: A V8-Powered Chainsaw [Jalopnik]