November 8th post event chatter

[Loren]

Jamie... watch your G-meter.

It's either way out of calibration, or you corner WAY harder to the right than you do to the left!

[Jamie]

It's taking data from the accelerometers in the phone, so there's a certain amount of slop, since I just have the phone wedged into place in the console. And on this course, yes, I believe I pulled the right turns harder.

[Carracer]

I think I scrubbed too much speed thanks to more steering input than needed.

Too much, but most importantly, too fast. You're whipping the wheel back and forth...slow hands!

Again: slow hands!

https://youtu.be/Vu-V9-Lr6kA

Definitely. Thanks for posting you videos. I'm comparing your video to my runs.

http://www.youtubedoubler.com/?video1=h ... uthorName=

This was my very messy clean run ( 51.584 ). You are absolutely killing me on the way to the turnaround ( I'm beginning to dislike decreasing slaloms ). After that I almost make that time up.

http://www.youtubedoubler.com/?video1=h ... uthorName=

On my fastest dirty time I wasn't as far behind on the way to the turnaround and I had a much better final corner than my previous run.

I think I scrubbed too much speed thanks to more steering input than needed.

I think part of the problem is that your shocks still aren't "good enough". You're not getting immediate feedback from the car that your steering input has done anything, and that's probably causing you to dial in more steering than you need.

You've experienced bad shocks (which may have been better in a way because they blew through the body roll so quickly that you instantly got into the bump stops and felt a change in direction), and now "better" shocks. You need to experience "good" shocks. Something with better compression damping that will translate your turn-in into a more immediate change in direction, rather than immediate body roll.

Or... just force yourself to work with what you have for a while!

Really old-school racers will tell you that with that kind of suspension movement, you need to make a two-stage turn-in. The first bit is just to set the suspension, THEN you actually get into turning the car. If you're NOT doing that, what happens is that you yank the wheel really hard and fast, and when you hit the bump stops, it upsets the car and slows you down. If you somewhat less violently set the car on the bump stops (without upsetting the car), then you can turn as aggressively as you want until you reach the limit of traction. All easier said than done, of course.

I already do the 2 stage turn in one some corners. I'm thinking my much better tires are making my shocks not able to keep up with grip they have. Really I need to learn to be smooth. I figured out the grip limit of my tires, now I just need to make it all work.

[Loren]

I'm beginning to dislike decreasing slaloms.

Bwaaaaaahahaha!

Everything in moderation. You probably won't see another one for a while.

[lddavis91]

Well, at least the vette is fixed an ran without a hitch. Too bad I couldn't drive that course to save my life, it was still fun to be making good noises again.

Screw you Greg, see if I ever let you borrow my duct tape and hose clamps again to fix your car if that is what your gonna go and do afterwards. (BTW, can I have that duct tape back) Beat me like a rented mule. Seriously though, great driving and way to put the smack down dude, my first FTD was 10 years ago but I still remember it vividly. Congrats!

I tried a different camera position this time hoping to get some better engine sounds, works until the speed gets high enough that the wind noise drowns out the engine noise. I was not smooth and not looking/thinking ahead, was driving as if I was in the midst of a mild seizure.

https://youtu.be/L8KfrUBxEAc

Now it time to add some displacement to the Vee and get it running again.

[ImpostorDan]

Pictures. As always, you're free to use them in whatever you want.
https://flic.kr/s/aHsknPv5j5

Philip, your skill with the lens is like photoshop for my driving; just looks better!

Had a ton of fun as always but left the day feeling like I took 1 step forward and 3 cones back. Can I trouble the course familiars for a few pointers from my best Sunday driver run? I already see many opportunities and the exit was horrible on the account of otherwise watching this tumbling orange object off the right side..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggVi3_9Y6R4

TIA.

[twistedwankel]

Phillip. You should talk to Kevin Bonitz even tho' he's driving an '02. The simple things he's done in the last year have produced amazing results!! SCCA stock. I rarely beat him anymore in either of my cars. His driving is spot on.

Someone out there has a set of nice xcross shocks with low miles having converted to coilovers. Cheap. Just make sure they were stored with piston collapsed to keep shaft from rusting. One rust spot will make it leak. You might even get them with springs attached?

Remember the Koni's, Bilsteins, KYB-AGX all have lifetime warrantees (provided you don't linger) if bought new. Two are adjustable.

You have options. I have Koni yellows on my RX8 (cannot adjust rear without removing from car so leave set 75% firm). I have Bilstein sports for my Z51 vette which handles well and no adjustment needed - rides fantastic on highways.

Do your homework. I couldn't find anything "new" to fit the front of my 86 Mustang struts. So I found a discontinued but new pair of Koni "Reds" which were fully adjustable like the yellows and fit the stock unit perfectly. For the rears I wanted on the fly adjustables and found a reasonable set of 10 position KYB-AGX was perfect and easily adjustable reaching thru the spoke wheels. That pairing worked great for an otherwise pig handling car when on new OEM shocks.

What Loren and Jamie have been telling you!!

Another story.
I and a racing chum had 90-91 first gen AWD Talons (handling dragrace pigs) long before they became popular for xcrossing. His was a 91 and mine a 90 (with shitty one off gearbox later factory upgraded under warrantee). These cars were bulletproof with 190HP if you changed the timing belt. Would not rotate at all in corners. Point, shoot, pray for rain.

My friend told me how to modify my front strut tube by drilling a hole in the bottom to accept the bolted end on a koni yellow specially made for those cars. The rears were unreachable adjustable normal yellow ones so the installer put them at full hard. The car's ride was brutal and one couldn't stand to drive more than an hour on the highway without a kidney massage. With that setup of 2/3's hard in front and 100% hard in the rear on R tires my first xcross I was able to beat close competitors by 4 seconds as the car rotated perfectly rain or shine. Everyone assumed I changed the boost or some other illegal trick:) So I let them drive it. End of discussion. Due to the design of the rear shock tower I was able to drill an access hole in the plastic and remove the top nut, push a slotted tool I invented in there to collapse the shock fully and change the setting at will in 5 minutes. No more kidney issues. I am a firm (pun intended) believer in adjustable or high quality shocks AND tons of seat time to sort it all out. Replacing the rear shocks first has always been my greatest bang for the buck for ride and stability.

[Native]

Had an absolute blast with Steve co-driving. Steve, thanks for the words of wisdom, it all came together in my last run of the day.

It was a good time, no doubt! And yer welcome. I'm glad my words turned out to be wise... nice driving, Dan!

[Loren]

Season Points have been updated.

[Loren]

Can I trouble the course familiars for a few pointers from my best Sunday driver run? I already see many opportunities and the exit was horrible on the account of otherwise watching this tumbling orange object off the right side.

Overall, that's not a bad run. You can't run sub-52 on that course without getting mostly right.

At a glance, I'd say there are probably a handful of places where you could have had slightly better position that would have allowed you to get on the gas earlier, and your entry to the final cross-course right was off, which botched that whole sequence and probably cost you at least half a second. (I did the same thing, I think... but, I have no video to prove it)

Basic concepts: Look ahead, think ahead, late apex, turn earlier & less. Same ol' stuff. Easy to talk about, not always easy to implement!

[Tim_M]

My ham-fisted attempt along with 8 shifts to keep the turbo on the boil:

https://youtu.be/MXsWG3jvRX8

Lots of room on the cones (except for the +1) and abusing the front tires.

Fun course!

[friskyflea]

3-wheeling... all the cool kids are doing it.

egads...!

[friskyflea]

I think this is my third run. It is slightly sanitized: I'd show you my 4th but I could clean up that one enough to be presentable.



The 4th run was going swimmingly until about right here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133057342 ... 221797888/

[Jamie]

Aww...she actually bleeped out the adult comments...touching. Need to turn up the music.

[Tim_M]

friskyflea: Those bleeps are too funny! Thanks for sharing. :-)

Philip: Mucho thanks for the images...used them in the video...right on!

Les: Wish my car had that V-8 soundtrack...very nice.

[Greg]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uydzAXd ... e=youtu.be