PhilElement

Sorry to bring this back from the dead but I was goggling and came across this and well I still like talking about my crash....because I survived!

So many of you are correct but without the whole picture it's meaningless so I'm here to clear a few things up and hopefully contribute to aero info.

I like to tell people I've done the same thing 100 times over and what you get away with using aero you cannot get away without. That same year I also raced another car without aero and the car's handling is worlds apart. If I had known my wing broke off then I did all the wrong things

Aggressive turn in for this car, not really. If I was tap dancing a non aero car then maybe. The old car had an imbalance in the front to rear DF especially after I modified the rear wing. This caused high speed push along with aggressive front toe out which really required a ton of steering input.

Clipping the curbing absolutely did me in! The corner worker later told me the car bounced and looked like it stayed in the air as the car spun. I didn't lose it on turn-in I lost it when the car bounced over the curbing. Nothing in the world was going to save me at this point. It was like spinning in anti-freeze (which I've unfortunately experienced).

Entry speed with aero vs. without aero is a tough one to answer but the dynamic of this car with no rear wing resulted in a huge imbalance. Subarus in 2004-2005 had a negligible amount of rear downforce (about 30 lbs) even with that huge factory wing. In 2006 they added a deflector helping air to the wing increasing DF to around 130 lbs. Without the OEM wing these cars had lift at the rear. My car had close to 400 lbs of rear DF and a substantial amount of front DF. So now you remove all rear DF, you add rear lift, and to make matters worse the huge front splitter and canards were probably pushing down with at least 300 lbs of DF.

The seating position must just be an effect of the camera because I actually run an adapter to bring the steering wheel closer to me and my elbos are substantially bent. Without this the wheel is much too far from me as I'm 6'2" so I have to have the seat back far..plus it helps with weight balance.

Shuffling the steering wheel and not to do it is like telling someone you shouldn't brake while turning To each his own but this isn't exactly a Ferrari getting around the track

The 148 MPH entry speed is true...sorry it's not debatable. HP and top speeds don't directly correlate to lap times. Now HP goes a long way at VIR!

Luckily with the help of sponsors and friends and some choice aero mods such as my custom Fulcrum Aeroworks wing we've ticked off a 1:57.1 at VIR with 510 whp.




The new Fulcrum wing is so much nicer than what I was using. I have more downforce with much less drag now. Even at huge slip angles I'm still creating DF so the car is much easier to catch in a slide.



Thanks,
Phil Grabow

ProCoach

Rock on, Phil. You are a delight to watch.

No question, the curb upsetting the car while loaded did you in...

Would love to see your data (would not share unless you gave permission) to compare to Marc Goosens and the DP/Atlantic/DSR data (that I have).

PhilElement

Thank you. I don't run telemetry but it's something I know I need to go to the next level. For instance just a couple weeks ago I ran against the Dodge Vipers in the Viper Cup, US GT, and Whelen TT at NJ Thunderbolt. To be honest I just couldn't determine the fastest line or gear to use through the back section of the track. So on one of my laps I ran up a gear, running a wide line, and then on the next lap I ran down a gear and a tighter line.

Hopefully at the Ultimate Track Car Challenge they will pick me or maybe I'll convince them to run it on our car. The key is going to be getting up front and running a killer qualifying lap.

The weekend of that video I was actually on pace to run a high 56 lap because I was able to stay flat out through the first up hill kink (then promptly shifted into 4th instead of 5th exiting 10 and there went the motor). I just kept chickening out for the next one however. I swear my mind was telling me to do it but my foot kept flinching I don't know that will be faster though as I might be gathering up the car too much at the end of the uphill.

I have over laid my videos with those who have telemetry and on the raw HD videos I can actually see my tachometer (this is how I know my speed). I'm faster into the uphill esses and in the middle I'm down about 5-10 MPH but I'm often +10 MPH faster just past the exit of 10 compared to some fast Z06s.

The biggest hurdle I'm facing with the better aero package is how much better my braking is now. I just find myself braking much too early now. Once I get this down my lap times should fall even more as this is typically where you'll make up most of your time.

Thanks,
Phil Grabow

PhilElement

I just wanted to add one thing about the curbing at VIR. This year alone I've cut down two tires cutting the curbing at VIR (slicing open the inside sidewall). The gators are vicious on the inside of the curbs! Now I was cutting inside of the curbing which is the fastest way around those tight sections because if I hit them it upsets the car too much.

It's too risky for me to continue cutting the curbs, since I was flatting around the exit of the uphill esses, so now I just try to run really clean with no curbs at VIR. Now at Thunderbolt, that's a different story....I was all over those babies