ProCoach

From the perspective of someone who's assisted dozens of drivers through this kind of transition, it's going to be important for you to realize that the laws of physics don't know the difference between these two cars, that the absolute limits and the speed at which things happen might be different, but that your track familiarity and your current speed will EASE this transition a great deal.

Not concerned with the "no nannies." The 996 Cup, IMO, is a great deal easier to transition to because of the conventional gearbox and shift selection layout. The car is quite friendly, "the order of things" will be similar, if not the same, to what you're doing now, and as a matter of course, you'll be hyper-sensitive to feeding in throttle BELOW the point of the car's acceptance of that throttle, AS YOU LEARN THE CAR. Later on, you'll continue your "calibration" by developing the ability to pro-actively apply throttle in and through corner exit such that the rear (drive) wheels are going slightly faster than the front (ground) wheels.

THAT will be when YOU are, in essence, "the NANNY!" <grin> Work on threshold braking last... And on old tires, at first.

Slicks are like a drug. While the forum arguments on severity and speed of "breakaway" of R-Comps over street tires continues without validity, IMO, AFTER warm-up, the slicks are MORE consistent, LESS sudden in their breakaway characteristics and offer BETTER stability to the platform in critical areas than anything you've driven on so far.

Your acclimation to slicks should encompass two things.

A) Gauging and calibrating your rear end to learn HOW FAST the tires come up to temp and HOW the balance changes, AS the tires warm up. For instance, on your out lap, you will likely experience less grip on one axle than the other, usually the front less than the rear. That said, the initial understeer when the slicks are cold SHOULD NOT empower you to think the rear IS sticking well, BEFORE you decide to ROMP on the throttle! <grin> The best drivers KNOW that the car is severely compromised when the tires are cold, and WORK the tires in a specific, aggressive way to build heat and air pressure to a nominal level. Ideally, this can take less than the out lap, but that will take some time and a LOT of experience before you reach that comfort level, simply due to the greater difference between stick-when cold and warm. You MUST develop an ability to consistently drive close or just a tiny bit over the tractive capabilities of a WARMING tire, from COLD, throughout the entire process. THIS is where races are won and lost, often. Practice the way you want to race...

B) When the tires are at operating temperature, build and develop a methodology that allows you to PUSH beyond your comfort level in a controlled, incremental way. Your success will be predicated on the fact that you are using MORE of the capability of the hot, ready slicks than the next driver, similarly equipped. Right now, you will be surprised at the additional level of grip and the rate at which you can "roll speed" into the corner. Don't let that surprise get in the way of the fundamental measure, applying the throttle and making the progression to WOT as soon as you can. If the car tracks true on that progression, it's not quick enough...

Lastly, the "rear engine" thing...

The positives of the rear-engine configuration in this car are several, but first and foremost, the improvement in braking performance, the rate at which pitch forward develops and the weight distribution is IDEAL for maximal braking. The idea that you could slow or stop shorter than in the GT4 is not only true, this is one of the areas that IS superior to the mid-engine layout. Leverage this to your advantage.

Obviously, locating mass further towards the end of the "dumbbell" is a challenge, but not necessarily a negative. It just means that the timing and amplitude of the control inputs (brake/steering/throttle) will be different to get the maximum out of the platform. While less "neutral" than the mid-engine layout, the liveliness and rotational aptitude of the rear engine platform can be used to help point you sooner, quicker down the road so you can pull the trigger to WOT quicker. Fun! Another challenge is the light front end inhibits forward "bite" (as they say in stock car country) and promotes entry, mid-corner and exit understeer, IF the braking is completed too early, if there is no "pause" and if throttle application is too sudden/too much BEFORE the car is pointed close to the right direction to exit the corner.

By the 996 Cup design, the cars were quite civilized, capable and competent. I expect you'll find fewer differences than similarities in your driving experience, except for the fact that the straightaways will be covered a LOT quicker! <very big grin>

Enjoy! We're all pulling for you!

Brian C in Az

You will notice that steering with the throttle has a much more noticeable effect. Practice in a long medium speed corner transitioning from understeer to oversteer by modulating the throttle.

HelpMeHelpU

Peter--You are an amazing, truly amazing, fount of great wisdom. And your generosity in sharing it is beyond impressive.

Thank you.

MarcD147

Thanks Dave, ProCoach and others. Lots of wisdom and encouragement that I will be rereading several times ever the next 15 days.

ProCoach

Thanks for the kind words. I'm very fortunate to have had a long history of doing what I love. My business is in a good place and it's wonderful to give back every now and then...

ProCoach

Marc, I have to say that I put you right up with the serious students of this sport. Folks like Frank Pray, Paul Solk, Reg Williams, Chris Lewis and others that I know have good sense and even better minds.

You need to take a deep breath and drive the car. Your normal, thoughtful and incremental approach will get you where you want to be, SOONER rather than later.

Slicks are NOT treacherous, as long as you understand and execute successfully the warmup procedure. Accelerating and braking INLINE vigorously, even provoking slip and slide when you become comfortable with that, is FAR more preferable than side to side motion. Dragging brakes to warm rims and build air pressure and temperature inside the tire helps immensely.

My studio at VIR is up on the hill between pit exit and the Technology Park. When teams test, and I have my door open, I can tell WHO is leaving the pit lane during these tests by throttle application, shift time, loss of traction and how hard they take the first six turns of the track, sometimes.

The best drivers proactively and consistently drive with controlled aggression as soon as they leave the pits, gauging and building experience on how soon the tires "come in."

It's going to be a fun part of your indoctrination to this new, great car experience!

Sven76

Peter, would you suggest the same strategy with Cup2 "semi slicks"? Ideal pressure on the GT4 seems to be at 2.1bar, so you might have pressure of below 2 when you leave the pits after a break. I am very careful with the tire then as they should not be driven below 2 bar, I try to warm them up mainly on the brakes...

ProCoach

I would, carefully avoiding striking the curbings, but instead as you say, warming with aggressive throttle and brakes in a straight line.

Sven76

Thanks.

zzyzx

I've always understood that the following are correct:

1) Spinning the tires coming out of the pit and out of slow corners on warm up laps won't actually heat them.

2) Weaving back in forth is good for getting rocks and junk off but also won't heat the tires and should be done to a minimum.

3) The correct way to heat tires is to use the brakes, i.e. get hard on the brakes while also hard on the throttle on the warm up laps.

Are my assumptions correct?

Veloce Raptor

Pretty much. I would t necessarily use hard brakes on a cold car and cold tires...but brake gas brake gas brake gas is very effective

ProCoach

1) False
2) True
3) True

Matt Romanowski

Colin Braun wrote a great Speed Secrets Weekly on that exact topic. Certainly worth purchasing.

ProCoach

Speed Secrets Weekly 211 is the issue.

Kevin Fennell

I want to ask about tire pressures and their relationship with temperatures to make sure that I have it right.

The most important thing is selecting a pressure (within the safe range, so down to 22 hot for me) that results in the correct tire temperature?

I have a 2200 lb NASA TT3 car and a pb of 2:27. I can pretty much only get the tires up to temp with ~23 psi hot, and I am still not sure if I can get R7's up to temp out there.

I guess I am rambling a bit so I will go to point form for my questions.
1. Is getting tires to the correct temps the #1 consideration, over managing contact patch/wear etc? When I run them low enough to get hot they certainly wear more on the outside.
2. Is there a target temp for A7's when used for track use.
3. Should I be able to get a R7 to temp in a 2200 lb car with 250 HP at COTA?
4. What temp will I see on the tires after coming through 16-17-18 fast and slowing to enter the pits, will they have cooled 10 degrees? More? Using a probe pyrometer.

Thanks for any help! Ill bring some beer if you're at the COTA PCA event.