WOW this turned into a great debate.....

The shop that built the widow initially said it was too "loose"....to the point that the builder took off the 500lb rear springs and put on 300lb rear springs...which he said made the handling "better" but still loose...however it saved him 2 seconds at streets of willow....

My impressions are quite limited, since I've only driven a stock 928 (sharky) and my M3 on the track.....bottom line is the widow has PLENTY of front end grip.....FAR more than sharky, which is limited by the 235/40-18 front tires really bad in turn 2....you can turn the wheel more, but it just pushes the front end MORE..... The M3 is quite a bit more "turny" than sharky.....the M3 has 245 tires up front and a quicker steering ratio, but it sits over 5 inches higher too.....you really feel each of those 5 inches...but it does feel considerably more neutral than sharky...I never really noticed it understeering, it would just tighten up the line no problem...in the course of doing that I would notice the stability control blinking, most likely keeping the rear end in check.....

The Widow turns in SUPER fast....even with the slower steering compared to the M3.....no problem changing directions...it must be the 900 less lbs compared to sharky or the M3.... I don't doubt that if I got heavy on the wheel it would oversteer.....since it never understeered all day...even when it would feel like it bottomed out at the bottom of turn 5.....it had a slight bottom out bump steer, but not bad...

 

The key to getting around the track safely, is being smooth. the key to getting around the track fastest, is very rough! Here is someone that is real quick around the track. watch his hands and feet (if you can)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UjnbIuJNuI
If you watch guys like Auberlin around smooth turns like turn 4 at laguna, why are they in a cat fight with the steering wheel? smooth is for teaching, on edge is for racing.
I dont think a tight car is any different than a loose car as far as easy or hard to drive. I had a heck of a time drivng a tight car, trying to induce throttle oversteer when it doesnt want to, is very difficult as seen by my video. loose can be a challenge, but at least you know where you stand after each turn!
Running a transponder is fine, but it only tells you lap times, not segment times. often, you will do some things that might not be reflected in lap times that is much quicker. video every lap. you can always erase it after your session, but its interesting to note segment times to see what is working and what is not working. Plus, video laps will give you accurate lap times too.

mk



mk

 

Damm that guy can DRIVE.....he almost lost it a couple times.....even dropped to 1st gear on that tight hairpin.....DAMM

 

Modern stability control , and 4 channel ABS, and a fly by wire throttle pedal pretty much means that you tell the car what you think you would like it to do and it figure out HOW best to do it ..... Amazing stuff , students with new BMWs ,Audis , and Cayman S would get away with things that should have had them spinning off into the dirt. One instructor had his student turn OFF the stability control .... next big turn it was Hello Dirt That is possibly one reason why Trail Braking has become a buzz word , ABS will help keep the front wheels rotating and turning in a corner.

 

So true!
All that mumbo jumbo should be turned off! (excpect the ABS, if its a new car, turn it off , and if an older car, left on as to be used as a safety net.)
mk

 

go to 1:23 1st through 4th

Mk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XICOJ...e=channel_page

 

1st gear going on the main straight.....damm

 

After parking it in the corner.....(early apex) what choice does he have ? needs first to get out of the hole Besides with tall tires and 2:20 REAREND it is more like second gear !

 

Oh boy....here come a WAR...after that comment

See Jim we are lucky that are track 928's have the far better LOWER gearing with our 2.64 & 2.75 rear end ratios....see our 1st gear is FAR too low for something like that!!!

 

Not parking it, but choosing to take advantage of the HP available at the expense of transmission/synchro abuse, and high engine RPM. Its a weapon I use that you cant in a 2.64 or 2.72/5 rear end . more gears, more utilzation of HP. I only use 1st when i need to, i can do it with a clean shift, and im in a battle where it matters. I used it in one of the world challenge clips where Mike Davis in the mustang starts to slide (late apex) and im on inside lapping Carol in the mustang. I needeed to get by her and get out of the "hole" of turn 11.

Mk

 

Actually, the S4 first is almost the same total ratio as most of the M3s I race with (i.e. 8:1 ish). However, they call theirs 2nd gear and I call mine 1st.

I've driven the M3 at laguna and you usually can go through turn 11 in 3rd. If you watch the other racing clips of the M3 and the 928 go at it, you can see the parity in the gear shifts.

mk

 

It does sound good doesnt it! ??

 

This brings up a question I've wondered about. It's probably elemental to the old pro's. But I notice he hits every gear when downshifting, even going from 6th to 1st. I've read and heard that you should, but I'm not sure of the reason why.

 

Huh?




tino

 

Just as he downshifts he hits the gas pedal to match rpm's of the next lowest gear. 6th-blip of throttle then 5th-blip throttle- 4th and so on.