onefastviking

Ok, what's the thought on this one ?
I have my own thoughts, but just curious on others thoughts.

http://www.streetfire.net/video/car-...&utm_term=img2

onefastviking

It's all kinda basic, think weight transfer, think where the weight is and how you need to move it for it to help you with what you need the car to do at that particular moment (turn in, exit, etc).

Experience helps, but at the end of the day the experience just helps make it more natural.

bobt993

Mike, I have run into this issue recently. Bouncing between a GTR, Cayman, Ferrari 430, then street 997S. As Viking says weight transfer and car balance is key. You may need to sit patiently for a lap or two and allow the driver to demonstrate what they are doing first. I then suggest using a slow speed corner to explore some limits of the car's transfer from under/oversteer. Pay a bunch of attention to how much steering input versus slip angle you feel. Watch where the car is going versus what the driver is doing about it. Ultimately, you would want to know the car from behind the wheel, but a bunch of improvements are to be made just working on the drivers inputs and tendency to put too much steering in.

Veloce Raptor

That's.....interesting.

cannon1000

Six days 'til my first DE ever. Sitting in the paddock - ready to roll...what is your advice to students at this point?

I've done two autocrosses and my times were pretty competitive or better than similar cars that have done it a while. Not nearly as good as those guys with tons of experience, race tires and setup cars. I know what the car feels like in under and oversteer (although @ AutoX speeds). My latest videos are on the Autocross section in the Performance & competition Section if anyone wants to sneak a peak. Run 1 was slowest @60.?s, Run 6 was fastest @56.5s - Run 7 would have been but I pushed too hard and oversteered it a bit at the end.

Veloce Raptor

Relax....have fun....listen to your instructor....focus on slower hands than you would use in autocross....have fun....relax....did I mention have fun?

cannon1000

I am going to have fun...oh yeah. I went into my 2nd AutoX with some of the advise here..."smooth inputs, one turn in, one turn out, trail brake, etc." and found that it is way different than on a nice track with large corners (relatively speaking). Each turn is like pulling into a parking spot at 40mph, traction on DOT's is all over the place. Definitely some of the basics apply...but on such a small, narrow, tight course...it is very different experience.

Which made me think - should we have "Ask the Coach for Racing & DE" and "Ask the Coach for Autocross" ? I am finding autocross let's me push the limits of the car at slower speeds and teaches me to learn the car's feedback - but at the same time it is much more sudden maneuvers than I would see at Road Atlanta for example.

Larry Herman

Why did I feel my IQ drop 50 points when I watched that?

bobt993

Oval turn to argue what apex to use? A. corner geometry dependent. B. Corner to straight versus corner to corner. Most oval drivers trail or roll to the apex with a lot of entry speed, then WOT at 85% of lateral G after peak. BTW you enter that wide and slow in a race and two cars will under you before the apex.

Veloce Raptor

this

and this

BostonDMD

Absolutely.......
Turn 6 at the Glen this week-end, I passed two in class cars at once by just taking the tight inside line.......
I couldn't believe it myself how easy that was.....

Veloce Raptor

Yup. There is so much grip there. Everyone seems to want to set up the classic DE line: wide & late. No need to there. Plus, if you do, you end up pointing a to the right, away from the corner, and thus the car has to work extra-hard to rotate left.

BostonDMD

In my car I throttle steer the inside line in turn 6 and 9, and I was amazed on how much passing can be done in just those two corners alone......
BTW, Dave it was to see you this week-end......

Veloce Raptor

Good to see you as well. Sorry I didn't have much time to visit, was running between a number of clients. You looked good out there!

Yes, agreed, same principle applies to T9, IMO, with some trail braking, again as long as you set the entry trajectory at least parallel to the track edge, if not slightly to the left, into the corner. In quali, enter wider to carry the speed. In the race? That'll get you passed every time.

Veloce Raptor

Just received a question via PM that I will answer here:

"Are hot tire pressures or hot tire temps via probe pyrometer more important?"

Well...they both are. But if I have to choose, as this person wanted me to do, I would say hot temps, as long as they are taken via probe across the full tread (inner, middle, outer tread). In fact, this lesson was reinforced this past weekend at the Glen. One person I was coaching was refining their set up. We got hot pressures, they were right on the money. But he complained the car understered pretty significantly in a couple of key corners. We then got hot temperatures with the pyrometer. They gave us information that led us to lower front cold pressures by 1 psi. In the race, he pronouced the car as "handling on rails" and he was very, very fast.