RS ZWEI

What lap times were you guys doing at Taupo?

Also, how do you think lap times would compare on the full Taupo track between a 997.1 GT3 CS and a M3 CSL (both on R888's)?

Macca

Nik, you have to remember many of us had never driven this track before. For some like myself this was only our second or third track day full stop.

From what I understand the best 964 (Pete) put in around 1.53.XX.
My 993 best lap was 1.50.32
Matt in 996.2 GT3 managed to get in an awesome 145.14
Paul got a 1.50.XX in his little Carrera 3.0 (a great result!)

AIM start line was off for this track so maybe slight variances on those times.

Taupo can throw up very different times depending on traffic. I think with another session out there you would find consistency and the 964's doing 1.51 the 993 1.48 the 996 GT3 1.44

We had a lot of 997.1 GT3 RS and GT3 in our Prestige group. Infact the GT3 count at Taupo was 5-6 cars!

From observation Taupo is all about the driver. I have no doubt Racing Ray could pull a 1.46 in my car and a 1.42 in Matts.

If we are talking simply imperical difference between those two cars with the same driver I would say 2.00 seconds a lap in favour of the GT3 assuming the driver is a competent 911 driver. At Manfield Id known that down to 1.5 and HD down to 1.3s. Taupo is all about baking, and catapulting out of slowish corners - the GT3 will brake harder and put down the power better than the CSL IMHO. Its a totally different driving style mind.

If the GT3 is posting consistent early 1.44s Id say that would be right with a good driver experienced with the track. If the CSL can manage late 1.45.XX Id be saying also well driven.

Of course what do I know....LLOL

Macca

I need to add above that all those cars quoted were running R compound tyres.

Here are a sample of recent dry "Bridgestone" Series times for Taupo/Manfield etc I think these are Nov 2012 so all on Hankook 221 R compound (same as what most of us are using now).

I think loosely speaking C cat = 944s etc with around 210hp or below and under 1180 kg, B Group mostly 3.2 carreras and maybe 944T with weight below 1300kg and around 250 bhp, For A Im assuming 964/993 944T with 300 hp and under etc....but Im sure the guidelines are published somewhere...

Im not sure for others but my ultimate lap time target in the 993 is to achieve current Bridgestone C class fastest laps. Of course driving each track in NZ only once ever will not achieve this any time soon but that is my ultimate eventual personal goal in the 993. Best lap times for the tracks cat C seem to be broadly speaking from my research something like-

Taupo = 1.46.00s or under
Manfield = 1.20.00s or under
Hampton Downs = 1.17.00s or under

Im unsure on Taupo but should be 1.10.00s (old course I suspect).

John McM

In between rewiring wall sockets post painting and tackling the hood release on the Turbo 3.6 I will revisit the data for Taupo and Manfield with the correct start/finish line.

Given Peter and Paul run almost identical times at HD, I'd say he could run a 1:50 at Taupo with more practice. What intrigues me so far is whether the real world data bears out the notion that a C2 will lap a second than the C4 at HD.

Macca

John. Maybe you are right, but also weight and 4WD are a known penalty at Taupo. The comers are tight mostly second gear, the surface fairly abrasive and the straights are relatively short and not so fast. A heavy car will be work against its own systems here and 4WD is also a penalty in getting the car rotating quickly around those corners. Taupo is a track that pure horsepower cannot reign. It needs balance and perfectly executed turn in and shifts from what I observed to get really fast. That little silver elise was showing its strength against some of the GT3s out there being great power to weight and well balanced chassis. I still maintain with one more full day practice the times I posted above...

peterC2S

Good trip down to Pirongia today to look at the 944 - all good. Like I think Chris says its all about the sensory overload - raw and loud! Running a lot of negative camber and was blowing and raining down there so didn't really get to stretch its legs on the road - but enough to know its exactly what I was looking for. Need to swap the seats over as the drivers one (RT 4009) was made for someone of slimmer proportions. Passenger one I think is a 4000W so fits like a glove. Hope to get everything sorted and out at HD on the 15th.

Anyone else coming out tomorrow to Steve's for the V8's?

John McM

Much as I'd like to be there I'll be bonding with my boys at the Digital thingy at Vector. Sounds like we have seen the end of the Red Baron at HD. Make you sell her to a potential Rennsport member!

I may yet make it to the Twilight night. I just need to have work under control. Then I can see your new toy.

ChrisB_NZ

Excellent, sounds like great car. See you tomorrow, I'm heading out with Kevin Etches, should be there around 9:30.

cbnz

The times set by Kevin Etches in the 964RS were all on Bridgestone's, they are at least 1 second slower than Hankooks. Its also not a fair comparison as they are race cars, where you guys have hybrids. The best way to go faster is to remove weight.

Macca

Yes. I think the race cars not only weigh much less but they are much stiffer and have track tuned shocks, roll bars and geo. Our cars will never likely end up below 1300 without an aggressive regime. They are road cars as you say.

I dont have the times for those tracks on the Hankooks. Would be interesting to compare if you do?

John McM

Macca, I can't move the start/finish line on AIM, or at least not far enough to make a real difference. For some reason the system mapped its own track and decided to put the start/finish on the infield.

Nevertheless, it has tracked all laps to the same point so to my mind the times are good enough for our purpose. Paul and I are doing a regularity trial at Pukekohe next Saturday. I'll be taking the opportunity to get a tow and see what makes for fast laps.

Macca

Hi John. I spoke to Matt G and he has same issues with Taupo & Puke. He was looking into a fix. Silly as the start gps data points should be easily uploaded. I dragged mys tart line up the straight at Taupo and it made at most maybe 0.4s difference. As you say its just a relative tool in any case...good luck with next weekend...

Pete. Be congrats on the new red wagon!

mjg

You can edit the (lap) start/finish marker in GPS Manager by selecting the track, clicking the tool icon (or right-click and select modify), then move the cursor to the desired position and click cursor pos beside the lap marker data, then click okay and update the Solo with the new version. The lap marker is in the wrong spot for Manfeild, and from a quick look probably the other NZ tracks too. You can also add splits to the track maps this way, which is very useful if you want to focus on particular areas of the track.

Once you've recorded data with the new track map, you'll need to regenerate the map from the new data, I think. It looks like we're stuck for existing data. In theory you could adjust the existing data using "beacon shift", but that's limited to no more than +/- 500m of shift.

John McM

The lesson is to get off my butt and align on the start/finish. You only have to do it once per track. Not a biggie.

Getting a bit antsy with track withdrawal, albeit I will be slipping around with my original seat back in. Seriously looking at a Rennsport race seat. Perforated center ala Singer. There's only way this can go from here, just a bit slower and measured from here.

Macca

Give over to the Force John! You know you will end up spending the money eventually - so you may as well spend it now and enjoy the fruits of that money for much longer - these are the lessons I learned the slow way. “Do or do not. There is no try.”