orthojoe

Returned to Thunderhill this past Friday (WITH a HANS). While I improved on my prior best over the top by .7 seconds, my goal of 2:02 still eludes me. Theoretical best was 2:03.0. I made 2 videos of my best runs. Do you guys prefer simple or multiple views? I can't decide which is better.

orthojoe

I took pictures of my tires off the following day. 5 days on these tires now, and it looks they are going to give me more. The rear driver side looks disproportionately worn compared to the other ones.

front driver


front passenger


rear driver worn disproportionately. Also noticed that tire pressure kept on running higher on this particular corner


rear passenger


This is what the tires looked like beforehand. Interestingly, even though I swapped sides, that rear passenger tire that was swapped to the driver side still wore disproportionately... Any ideas on what is going on?
https://rennlist.com/forums/11237372-post6.html

orthojoe

I also got a chance to drive the new C7 Stingray.


My thoughts on the car:
HOD allows test runs in the new C7 stingray. 3 hot laps. My impressions:
1) power wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be
2) My *** was sliding all over the place in these seats that have no thigh bolsters.
3) brakes are very good, but very sensitive/twitchy. Just need to get used to them
4) seating position for me is HORRIBLE. I'm short and I like to sit closer to the wheel, so what happens is that my elbow hits the center console and I can't turn the steering wheel right. We figured out how to fix the problem by raising the seat way up into the air, but now your seating position is no good. Who wants to sit up in the air?
5) steering feels kind of numb to me. I didn't feel like I was getting much feedback from the car. Not like the BRZ or spyder.
6) the auto blipper paddle switch is in a stupid position. I keep on accidentally hitting it and turning it on/off
7) The sound wasn't that great
8) I'd rather have a cayman or boxster

Marine Blue

So do you think you could turn faster laps in the Corvette? Power seems incredible based upon how your passing the other cars.

I drove a C5 Z06 a few years ago and I also felt very disconnected to a point where I wasn't comfortable pushing the car. It was a really weird feeling. My C32 has far better steering feel and is far more confidence inspiring.

orthojoe

Corvette should be able to turn faster laps than my spyder. Those 3 laps I was driving was at 5-6/10ths at best. It looks like I was going faster than I really was because those laps were being done in the beginner/novice group. The car really didn't feel that much faster to me in terms of power. More low end torque for sure. Keep in mind I wasn't allowed to rev above 5000rpm (cars are still new and being broken in) and there was a large passenger next to me. According to the power curve on that car, it still builds power up to 6000rpm. The torque does drop off after 5k rpm.

blue44

what did you think of the harness position with hans Joe ? I met with Bob from Stable Energies on Apr. 24, looks like their harness bar will require modification of the Spyder upper bulkhead pad to make it work. I found the seat / bar / belts / hans ensemble to work pretty well together...

Donn

Schmidts Cat

Funny joe. I recently drove the vette at Sonoma and felt the same way on all the same points! Only one difference. I am tall, and hated the driving position... So who is it good for? And, I had all the nannies on, so it shut me down constantly. I couldn't tun the wheel and apply the throttle at all.

orthojoe

The harness position on the stock roll bar isn't ideal. While it works, I can tell that I am allowed to slide forward more before the hans restraints start to work. Can you post pictures of the harness bar mounted onto your car? How extensive was the modification?

That is funny, man! Good to hear that my observations aren't way off base. I can't say much about the characteristics of the car at the limit. I just wasn't comfortable with the car with all of the issues going on like the auto blip switch, twitchy brakes, navigating around novice drivers, and not being able to turn right (lol). If you look at my one complete lap on video, I think it was an embarassing 2:22 lap. LOL.

the_vetman

Thanks for the vid and your thoughts, Joe. That woman next to you better be super hot, because.... man, is she frickin' annoying or what...

All other cars (with maybe the exception of the dark 981) were driven poorly.

WRT HANS and Stable Energies, etc., etc., I still don't get what the big deal is?? Many people use HANS with stock 987 roll bars and don't seem to have much - if any - problems.

the_vetman

Hmm... interesting.

2XIPA

Great videos as always. To answer your question, multiple views = more satisfying for my ADD. Thanks.

orthojoe

The worst 'coach' I've ever had sit next to me was at a Cadillac CTS-V event. OMG, I'm still scarred to this day at how horrible she was. This lady wasn't nearly bad. LOL

Yeah, they were putting test drives in with the novice group. Probably to force you to slow down. LOL.

How tall are you, vet? Are the mounting points at the level of your shoulders or below? I'm 5'8", so the mounting points are above my shoulders, which is the problem.

Thanks, man! I think I like the multiview too. If only that towhook mount up front would get a straight on view instead of being canted off to the right...

blue44

I'm still thinking about the harness bar, haven't done it yet. Upper bulkhead pad would have to be removed and profiled to allow the harness bar to pass. Looks like you could remove the carpet on it and profile the foam and re-glue. Finding the factory bar location ok if not optimum...

Donn

zedcat

[
WRT HANS and Stable Energies, etc., etc., I still don't get what the big deal is?? Many people use HANS with stock 987 roll bars and don't seem to have much - if any - problems.[/QUOTE]

I have a 986, so pretty similar. When I got the seating position low enough to pass the "broomstick" test, my shoulders were well below the cross bar of the stock roll hoops. The documentation from hans (and Schroth) indicate the shoulder harness should be flat or angle down from the shoulder to the mounting point for the hans device to work properly. That's the reason for the harness bar that mounts below the stock cross bar. Here's the photos from Stable Energy. In the 986 it's tight against the bulkhead but just enough room to wrap the harness.

zedcat

second try to attach photos