George_B

First Sean, Glad to see you back and hope you are feeling well. Secondly, Thanks so much for hanging out in the back of the pack with me. I owe you a set of virtual brake pads. I don't get to drive in traffic much so I'm sure I was a bit erratic but it was fun just the same. I messed up kinda bad on the next to the last lap and locked up the brakes going into turn one and spun into the inside wall. Didn't hit it that hard actually but damaged the suspension and had to pit.

Jim, again thanks for the help, will define some macros on my keyboard and try them out to see how it goes.

I'm glad I stuck around for the race, Again with Sean's help it was a blast.

George

User 52121

It's always worth sticking around, even if you're not "on pace".

Attrition plays a big role in our league (LOL) - at any moment the guy in the back could be the guy up front when the knucklehead up front makes a big move and takes everyone out.

Plus it's really more about the dogfight than the win anyways. I'd rather battle over last place than walk to an open-lapping win. And if you just so happen to be struggling with the pace at one track... maybe somebody else is too - then boom, you've got somebody to fight with PLUS I've found race pace and pressure help to improve skills way more than empty open lapping ever will. Pull out and now THAT guy is left tooling around by himself and you both lose out.

George_B

Jim,

I agree with everything you said. it is all about the "dog fights". I don't expect to win, i'm simply not fast enough. and while I want to place as high as I can. If there were 3 or 4 drivers at my level that would be great no matter what the position. One of the best races I've had in this group was at Road America where I was fighting some one for 7th or 8th place. In most of the races I've run after the first lap I don't even see any one again till i'm being lapped. On the other hand I don't want people to slow down for me (like Sean did last night) I have to work harder to catch up to the pack. I do believe the rift helps me a little. So i'm eager to get it working right. All in all this is a great group of guys, and I know I have to work harder to up my game. So i'll keep trying.

Where are we going to run next week ? I want to see if I can get some practice in this weekend.

George

User 52121

Ok I vote Imola

hsmith

Yes i vote Imola too!!

JustinL

Ok. I'll set it up for Imola. Racing at a track usually makes me like it better than just jumping in for hot lapping. I seem to really dislike how the Italians make their chicanes. Les combes and whatever the last chicane at Spa is called, I really enjoy.

Indy Rev

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome back. George it was fun to get some good laps in. I couldn't figure out why I was so slow all week. Down the straights it felt like I had a parachute Id get some distance on George in the turns then he would fly by me in the straights. I finally figured out today that my throttle wasn't calibrated correctly and I was only getting 3/4 throttle.

I will set up a Sunday practice from 7pm-9pm est

User 52121

Ahhhhhhh... Sean's back, Sunday practice is back... starting to feel like we've returned to the womb.

I may or may not make it Sunday. 60 friggin degrees all weekend means I might be outside...

But if I am home, and NOT outside, I'll be on.

Indy Rev

yep 60s here also.

sbelles

Yeah, here too and it's the first chance I've had to take the kids skiing. Should be...wet.

User 52121

Feb... in the midwest... 60s.... gotta take it when I can get it!

Too bad my big kid toy is still non-operational or I'd be out burning gas.

hsmith

Practice was fun last night. What a great track. I look forward to the race.

User 52121

Ok did some experimenting today and I've found that the more familiar I get with the car, the more I'm adjusting the brake bias BACK to the default settings (or close to it?)

Settled on 46.0%, seems to keep the car stable under braking and downshifting. Originally I preferred something down near 43... and had stability, but not the lap time.

Same with tire pressures. Was always aiming for 26.0-26.5. Noticed some of the alien sets, guys were actually around 23.0 - and the forums generally say "low 160kpa region"... which is 23-23.5.

So I messed around some. Knocked some time off. But what's odd is that I set my best lap on the first hot lap of a session... and fall off from there. Strange. For example, screwing around at Montreal today... I could cut a 39.0/38.9 on the first timed flying lap and it felt easy. By lap 5 I had to "work" to keep it in the 39's... seemed mostly to hover around 40.0.

With my old setup (high pressures) I'd be SLOW on my first few laps (43's) but settle into a comfortable groove by lap 5/6...albeit in the mid 41s.

hsmith

I'm actually at 46 for brake bias too. Since i switched back to right foot braking, it feels better to me. I haven't messed with the setup other than brake bias as i don't feel i'm quick enough yet with the defualt setup. Love this car!

Yes i also observed what you have with setting quickest lap times right out of the pits.

JustinL

Great win Jim. Controlled the race from start to finish. I considered putting a really aggressive early move when I was within striking distance, but I couldn't keep the car under me enough to give it a try. I spent more time catching and managing the car, than trying to put the hammer down. I'm going to try your setup again and figure out how they are different and what makes them better at different tracks.

Next week? Sonoma? (Infineon, sears point, whatever)