Sounds like a lot of fun Tom. Few things are more exciting than going nose-to-tail and door to door in a wolfpack for a full session. You have been out of the saddle for quite a while with mechanical issues so give yourself time to regain the edge and as always, preserve the car. You can't win if you don't finish. Lots of BSR drivers in that group are going to get excited and toss a trans or motor in the heat of battle. Cool heads prevail!
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2009 Cayman 2.9L PDK (with a few tweaks)
PCA-GPX Chief Driving Instructor-Ret.
You have been out of the saddle for quite a while with mechanical issues so give yourself time to regain the edge...
What? Lost my edge? Good point and I am sure that you are correct. I need to keep that in mind and temper my expectations accordingly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Topless
... and as always, preserve the car. You can't win if you don't finish. Lots of BSR drivers in that group are going to get excited and toss a trans or motor in the heat of battle. Cool heads prevail!
I know a couple of drivers who experienced that truth (can't win if you don't finish or if you spin off track) this weekend. Another excellent piece of feedback.
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1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor
Here is some video from last weekend. This is from Saturday's race - unfortunately my video cam didn't turn on at all on Sunday.
As this video shows, sometimes its not all about finishing place; the race itself can be quite rewarding even if you're back in the middle of the pack.
As usual, the start is insane. The BSR group got our own start (only Boxster's, all of the other cars started a half-lap in front of us) so it was pretty even. I got a decent jump but forgot to downshift into the first corner as the traffic piles up. Then I have no torque on corner exit, have to downshift, and in doing so, lose a little momentum and drop back one place.
There was a little bit of controversy after the race when I talked with the driver of the maroon car - he didn't think that it was entirely fair that I caught him after he slowed for the dust cloud. He wasn't mad but he did mention it.
From my point of view, the yellow flag is thrown just as I pass the flagman meaning to drive with caution and no passing. I could see the car that spun off to the left and there was no one else in from me but the maroon car so I maintained my speed through the dust whereas he braked heavily.
I didn't feel badly about it as I didn't literally pass him in the dust cloud; merely caught up to him. It still took me two laps to actually make the pass (including one failed pass attempt), so he had more than enough opportunity to drive away from me if he was indeed faster. And he had multiple laps after I passed him to get it back from me (which he almost did!).
All in all, a very fun race. Enjoy in full screen HD!
__________________
1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor
Here is some video from last weekend. This is from Saturday's race - unfortunately my video cam didn't turn on at all on Sunday.
As usual, the start is insane. The BSR group got our own start so it was a pretty even start. I got a decent jump but forgot to downshift into the first corner as the traffic piles up. Then I have no torque on exit, have to downshift, and in doing so, drop back one place.
There was a little bit of controversy after the race when I talked with the driver of the maroon car - he didn't think that it was entirely fair that I caught him after he slowed for the dust cloud. He wasn't mad but he did mention it.
From my point of view, the yellow flag is thrown just as I pass the flagman meaning to drive with caution and no passing. I could see the car that spun off to the left and there was no one else in from me but the maroon car so I maintained my speed through the dust whereas he braked heavily.
I didn't feel badly about it as I didn't literally pass him in the dust cloud; merely caught up to him. It still took me two laps to actually make the pass (including one failed pass attempt), so he had more than enough opportunity to drive away from me if he was indeed faster. And he had multiple laps after I passed him to get it back from me (which he almost did!).
All in all, a very fun race. Enjoy in full screen HD!
Thanks for sharing....
The side by side action at the very end -- was very tense to watch -- I'm sure it was fun as well as a handful.
The maroon car was also warned at the end of the race not to show up again with full fiberglass bumper, hood, etc.
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After one race weekend and one practice day, here are my thoughts on running a square setup;
Thus far, I have posted consistently slower lap times at two different tracks while running square vs staggered. Somewhat disappointing.
The staggered setup tends to understeer. Dial out some of that understeer and the car can be fairly neutral (balanced). With this setup, I was able to match class record times in BSX and post some pretty fast BSR times. But they were still a few seconds off of the fastest BSR guys (who all run square).
The square setup tends to oversteer. A lot. If you like to drift at 120mph, then put another set of 255's in front, don't change a thing, and that rear will slide with little provocation. The problem is that the car loses grip when the rear is sliding and its hard to go any faster.
At first, I thought it was me. I thought that I had to get used to the car being loose and not to fight it - kind of let the car have its head and keep my foot in the throttle and keep it out of the ditch (meaning counter-steering like a madman to keep the rear of the car in line with the front!).
But alas, nothing helped. At least nothing within the driving skillset that I possess today.
So, where do I go from here? I still think that the square setup will be faster. Why? Because the front end grip is hugely increased over the staggered setup. That should allow faster entry and mid-corner speeds - which should result in faster corner exit speeds which results in faster straight line speeds. Basically, faster everywhere.
The next step is to work to tune out some of the oversteer. This should help plant the rear of the car through the corners so I can increase the speeds.
I'll let you know how it goes...
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1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor
I run square on AX events and any non-smooth action makes me do a 180. Bigger sway bar (GT3) is the commonly prescribed solution to help balance the car.
I'm tuned in to see how you address it.
Different cars with different setup will respond differently. Duh! But for what it's worth I ran both ways quite a bit. My best setup for square was middle adj hole on the front sway and softest rear sway setting. When running staggered I liked full soft/soft running NT-01s. Tires with more lateral grip might need more (firmer) sway settings but try this as a starting point.
I did a lot of testing over 3 years and nearly always ran faster staggered but only by a few 10ths. AX was faster square hands down. In racing, a good square setup might benefit heavy braking, passing into corners and holding your line in heavy traffic. Data showed I nearly always gave up some top speed at the end of a long straight.
Everything is a tradeoff.
Don't underestimate the fact that you have been out of the saddle for a while and the edge is dulled a bit. Back when racing MX/Grand Prix I found that sitting out for 6 months due to injury required 1-2 months of weekly racing to get my competitive edge back. My first few days back in expert class usually resulted in a DFL finish.
__________________
2009 Cayman 2.9L PDK (with a few tweaks)
PCA-GPX Chief Driving Instructor-Ret.
I usually post a nicely edited highlight video of the race - and I still intend to do that - but let's start with a 45 sec video clip of what not to do!
In Sunday's race, I started last (7th) and worked my way through the field to battle for 3rd. I was doing everything that I could think of to get by but just couldn't get it done.
Then this happened.
Nothing major and it was nice that when I came to a stop, I could see that the down-track traffic was clear so I could immediately get underway. I had put a big lead onto the the cars in 5th and 6th and while they did catch up to me, I was able to hold them off for the 4th place finish.
Be sure that the replay is set to HD for the highest quality.
Tom where did that spin come from? Wham! Too shallow and too hot to the apex?
Quote:
Originally Posted by thstone
I usually post a nicely edited highlight video of the race - and I still intend to do that - but let's start with a 45 sec video clip of what not to do!
In Sunday's race, I started last (7th) and worked my way through the field to battle for 3rd. I was doing everything that I could think of to get by but just couldn't get it done.
Then this happened.
Nothing major and it was nice that when I came to a stop, I could see that the down-track traffic was clear so I could immediately get underway. I had put a big lead onto the the cars in 5th and 6th and while they did catch up to me, I was able to hold them off for the 4th place finish.
Be sure that the replay is set to HD for the highest quality.
Tom where did that spin come from...wham? Too shallow and too hot going in?
Tom where did that spin come from? Wham! Too shallow and too hot to the apex?
I think that it came from diving in too hot. I was trying to trail brake at corner entry but since I came in so shallow I had to put a lot more angle into the steering which broke the rear loose and then I wasn't quick enough to catch it.
Subsequently, rather than carrying too much speed at corner entry, I came into that turn a little wider and a little slower and concentrated on getting on the throttle as soon as possible to get a good launch at corner exit (the old adage of slow in and faster out is always a good bet).
I like your "Wham" characterization! R-compound tires let go somewhat quickly and without much tire squeal beforehand so you better to be ready when that happens or the car will come around fast like this one did (thank you Boxster low polar moment of inertia).
I am also glad that the audio didn't catch any of what I was yelling to myself inside my helmet...
__________________
1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor
Here is a short video clip of Race #1 at the PCA Festival of Speed at AutoClub Speedway. There is a spin in the first tight corner and everyone gets jammed up - chaos everywhere!
Recommend watching in HD full screen! (YouTube will often default to low quality)
__________________
1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor
Lil Red
2009 Porsche Cayman 2.9L
Good point and I am sure that you are correct. I need to keep that in mind and temper my expectations accordingly. 
986RS
Long term project...
Fiat 500 Abarth Cabriolet
Enjoy in full screen HD! 
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But for what it's worth I ran both ways quite a bit. My best setup for square was middle adj hole on the front sway and softest rear sway setting. When running staggered I liked full soft/soft running NT-01s. Tires with more lateral grip might need more (firmer) sway settings but try this as a starting point.
Linear Mode
