fleadh

Reposition your camera so we can see your hands/wheel. If you're using too much wheel it can easily scrub speed off a low horse power car (or a high horsepower car... just harder to notice! ).

-mike

Coloradoheel

I welcome input on this video - please be critical (I need it).

https://youtu.be/29u7cu_Xmo8

Quick backstory.. first DE in April 2012 (997.1 4S) - tracked that OL and DE until June of 2014 (roughly 40 days total).

Built a Spec Boxster last year. 2 DEs and some OL before first Club Race 8/2014 (High Plains). Other than that race weekend, rest of the year was OL and DE.

2015 has been club race at TWS (March), NASA race at HPR (April) and club race a Hastings (last weekend). Rest of the year will have 4 additional club racing events, 4 additional NASA events, and 5 WRL events (endurance racing).

I feel as if my skills are improving greatly (much more comfortable at the limit), and managed a podium last weekend (truth be told - if the usual SPB folks were there, that wouldn't have happened - but from a time and relative normal competition standpoint, I have moved from a backmarker to the front of the "B" racers in SPB).

My most obvious flaws (to me) are...not pushing hard enough in high-speed turns, and my shiftwork is either lazy or too aggressive/hard.

Hit me with your best. Thanks.

Circuit Motorsports

That's miata for you.

Here are very fast spec miata guys in a good bump draft maintaining the speed through the esses. Solo they wold have lost a little bit

DTMiller

Thanks all. Always appreciate the thoughts.

sbelles

A lot of trust there from both drivers.

jwasilko

I have a Miata (SCCA ITA prep), and many years ago I had the pleasure of working with Peter Argetsinger at the Glen for a session. One of the things he talked about was letting the car run 'free' thru the esses. Any time the wheels aren't straight you're scrubbing speed, and it's more noticeable in a low power car.

If I do the climbing esses correctly, my reward is to not losing any speed.

I'll dig up a video and upload it.

jwasilko

If you look at the video at 7:37 as the car is moving from right to left at the top of the esses you can see my hands relax on the wheel as I let the car go where it wants to.

Hope this helps...

If the video isn't working, try

Veloce Raptor

+1

Veloce Raptor

Let's talk about racing for a minute. This topic came up in another thread: full course yellows.

I am guessing we have all seen club racers who lag back from the car ahead of them under full course yellows. it's terribly frustrating if we are behind them because we can't pass them, yet we watch as our chances to resume the race with the pack diminish as we fall further and further behind.

First of all, to the laggers...what are you doing??? Did your brain go into neutral? There is a race about to resume and you are no longer in it. it is your responsibility to "mind the gap" as they say in Britain. Why would you NOT want to be right on the bumper of the guy ahead at the restart? i would MUCH rather pick up a couple of positions on the restart than to have to chase people down from 300' back at full race pace. To be blunt, if you are unwilling or unable to stay with the car ahead under fuull yellow, perhaps other sports beckon.

But what do we do if we are stuck behind such a clue-impaired person? There is not much, unfortunately. Flashing headlights and/or high beams is one way. Another is to stick your hand through your window net and wave the in-DUH-vidual forward, hoping they figure out what you mean. Another is to make sure your race car has a working horn... Weave back and forth. Wave in your windshield (but don't give the finger).

All of these are to various degrees obnoxious. Check your rules to see if any are prohibited, because the last thing anyone should do is generate a DQ for themselves due to the oblivious actions of someone ahead of them. But the fact of the matter is, these clowns can often ruin our races.

hf1

That was some great racing + editing! Thx for posting.

TXE36

And I was going to half jokingly post that perhaps a small tap or pit maneuver was in order . Nah, I'll save that sort of stuff for the go-cart track where it isn't my car and there are no 13s.

Seriously though, couldn't this be dealt with by having a maximum following distance rule, say one or two car lengths? If they drop back more than that, the following car can pass them. Add to that, the car being passed cannot compete for the position. It seems doable if a big enough problem and there are cameras everywhere for evidence. Could also do it with a double yellow minimum speed rule - especially behind the pace car.

On another note, going to "preview" MSRH tomorrow afternoon with the new ride - should be interesting. The goal there is to get below 1:55 and formulate strategery about how to instruct this weekend.

-Mike

bldn10

Re full course yellows, unless the drivers really are asleep at the wheel, I'd like to think they are lagging back to try to get a run on the car in front when the yellow drops. Unfortunately, if a lot of drivers do this, by the time you get back 10 cars or so you are way behind the leader and no one gets a run.

sierralima

I’ve heard ad nauseam if you want to be a better driver drive a Miata. So I bought a spec Miata.

Trying to get used to heel/toe, never driven w/o ABS power steering, etc. First weekend was this past weekend at TWS.

I’ve been poking around the Miata websites. So far I’ve found a lot of info on technical and mechanical discussion but less on driving technique.

You guys were so helpful with the soap and tape on my windshield, etc. suggestions. I was reading some of Ross Bentley’s stuff on momentum vs point and shoot driving.

Any tips from going from a somewhat mid HP (and almost 1000 lb heavier) car to a momentum car, or identifying the limit, or driving style to increase the speed at the limit? Obviously light brake. Some of the tips I heard this weekend were try to drive the out and checkered laps w/ no brake to develop the feel (which I try to do in M3 and GT3 – but of course you don’t want to be the a$$hat going off in the out or checkered lap finding the limit), and when you come around turn 1-2 feel the car settle on the bump stops and take off from there. Also scrubbing speed with steering vs brakes.

I have Andy Lally’s laps at TWS in a past reincarnation of this car on Traqmate and am attempting to compare to mine (not used to Traqmate). He was about 6 seconds faster than me. Our braking and acceleration points look similar, but he uses quicker more forceful brake and carries more speed through the turns with more lateral Gs. And his shifting is faster.

I was running on 100 treadwear worn rain tires from 2011 (throw away tires in case I locked up brakes and flat spotted). Any advice for carrying speed through the corners other than push it til you feel the limit, and try not to go over?

Heel/toe – I was trying to be quicker about it, but it seems the more I try to rush it the more likely I am to mess it up. I’ve been sitting in the garage practicing, but with the engine off it doesn’t give you much feedback. ;-)

Overall I find the Miata to be a harsh, unforgiving, unsympathetic teacher. I like it.

Veloce Raptor

I am guessing Andy was assuring he was on the brakes for very little real estate, in order to maximize his vMin and minimize the number of feet he was at or near vMin.

As for "pushing it"...I dunno...I guess I would rather learn how the chassis feels when it is settled in a corner, and then start braking less & less to raise the speeds it carries, settled. through the corners. Incrementally carrying more speed & lateral G's through the corners.

TXE36

Going from your M3 to the Miata was a very big change. The M3 was heavier, and with the V8, had lots more power (lots more even than my 6 banger M3). I always cringe when people refer to Miatas and other low power cars as momentum cars - all cars are momentum cars and should be driven with that in mind. The Miata does highlight mistakes that steal momentum, however. The running joke is Miata guys don't use brakes. Of course they do, they just use them a lot less.

Your observations about Lally driving the Miata are identical to Lally driving my old E36 street E36 M3. He carried lots more speed into turns, used steering to precisely scrub speed while keeping the car balanced (than using the brakes), and kept the car on the edge all the time. From the passenger seat the sensation was like nothing I've ever felt in a car - it's hard to put it into words. Almost a floating sensation or possibly like the feeling when shushing down a mountain while snow skiing and the car was happy all the time.

One thing Lally shared with us a dinner was that it's important to anticipate what the car is going to to do before the control input is made. I'll put the video below, but taken at his word, it means most of those control inputs you see are not reactionary. Indeed, on lap 1 at T3, you can see him put a large steering input in after track out - I'm convinced he was calibrating himself to the car since he had never driven it before.

Another thing to keep in mind, last weekend the air temps where literally 100F, that Lally data was collected with temps in the 50s, as it was November.

Yep, that's pretty much the way you do it :-). The spin I had in T6 on Sunday was from doing exactly that. The previous lap I thought I was on the limit and the spin, from pushing just a bit harder, confirmed it. I'm a big fan of incrementalism, one of the reasons being that by using it, I don't spin very often and when I do, they are pretty minor events.

WRT heel toe, make sure the pedals are optimum. Change them if necessary to fit your feet and foot mechanics. Sometimes this can vary from two identical cars. I required a 7/8" spacer on the brake pedal of my street M3 to keep it above the gas at full application. The track M3 is perfect w/o a spacer. It's your race car, make it fit you. You want the brake pedal to stay above the gas. Once you have that, consider altering the pedal shape. And you just need practice, the DCT in the M3 didn't give you any of that.

I know it's a cliche, but I think all you need are seat time and less brakes, more gas. Get rides/instruction from our local Miata hot shoes. You were doing well enough that there was paddock talk about your first weekend in a Miata and it was very complementary. I'll send you my Lally data if you want it (it is from an AIM solo).


-Mike