Isn't it more important to know you car's torque curve and the track's upcoming challenges than to just generally say a "short shift" will improve lap times? I will also add that a reluctance to downshift and to stay in the higher gear may be just as beneficial (or not!) at times. I'm still looking at faster competitors at my last Glen race but sometimes this advice may be counterproductive.. How about GSum and other available data.. not that I would have a CLUE what that is..

 

GSum, baby! The GOSPEL!

 

One of the first things I was tasked to do in helping a Formula Atlantic guy back in the '80s. Up in the grandstand with a bunch of stopwatches and a clipboard. Then compare sector times with what the driver was trying to accomplish. Swap some gears in the Hewland, and head out again.

 

Boom! Hi Ken!

Underscores... if the goal is to optimize, then I think we have more and/or better tools than the good ole days! Logging, video, in car timing, and instructing (now called coaching I guess).

I have always thought there was a difference between the number of folks that say they want to optimize and those that truly work hard at it, leveraging whatever tools they could access (including afford).

I think there is a much much larger gap today.

Like the folks that say they want to improve, yet spend 10x more time editing and posting their videos (hey look at me) than they do studying them in fine detail.

I remember when we first ran Thill backward... spending 2 hours post Saturday night BBQ (and beers) with the wife in the hotel room, looking at cracks in pavement and wispy weeds as brake markers, all in an effort to further figure out the puzzle pieces and go faster on Sunday.

I guess now they go back to the room and get on Facebook.

Sigh.

Anyway, since my car is in a new configuration, one thing I tried last time out was a bunch of different shifting patterns--- necessitated by different cams, different tires, 300 pounds of ballast, 500 fewer revs and the same gearing. Now in addition to my *** sensors, I can look at some data. Don't have to count video frames any more.

 

Of course! it is certainly not a panacea for everything. Also, awareness of torque and HP curves (they will be different) as well as track features, etc.

The point is that sometimes being in a higher gear is often ignored (or ridiculed as we have seen from one inDUHvidual here) when in fact it often can be faster. It may sound slower because we are not hearing 8,400 RPM's of engine scream but sounds doesn't always mean faster laps...

 

Probably one of my favorites videos on how to drive quickly. At the 2 min mark Jackie talks about choosing gears. Great verbalization of revs and gearing and shifting

 

Funny observation - I volunteer for various tasks while at the track. Last week I was at pit out with the headphones on monitoring the chatter among the corner workers. I noticed that loud cars seemed faster than quiet cars going down the straight, even though in some cases the quieter car was passing the louder car. Audible illusion?

 

Love that speech by Jackie

 

I knew you would dis Ross Bentley as you've done so many other people and muck up my thread.

Thanks for that.

Also, shifting at redline is only useful if power peaks at redline, which is not the case in most automobile applications, and only if you are on a straightaway.

 

Yes, Bentley, Krause, and I (among many others like Jackie Stewart) make our living spreading disinformation

Go pollute a different thread Mark

 

Wow, got 4 "This message is hidden because mark kibort is on your ignore list." in 90 minutes!

 

thanks for posting that jackie video just superb!!

 

Stupid mobile app.

 

I believe that segment is from "Weekend of a Champion" and he was having breakfast with Roman Polanski who was filming said documentary. It was re-released in the past few years with another 20 mins of footage of Sir Jackie and Polanski talking in present day in the same Monaco hotel suite that that breakfast took place in! I believe it's still on Netflix and a great flick.

 

Clearly you win!

Yeah, the Jackie Stewart video is fantastic. So many valid lessons in a bit over 2 minutes...

Mark, tell us how wrong Sir Jackie is as well, eh?