Da Groj

Being that I've only been to one other FAST club event...

1. Course design was fantastic for the space and the obvious needed elements to make it work. Had plenty of gotcha places and turned out to flow really well, pleasantly surprised.

2. Was a little bummed about only 4 runs. Did enjoy only being there for half a day though...

3. Weather was perfect

4. blah blah had fun.

5. Lawson is fast.

PrestonJ wrote:1. Course design was fantastic for the space and the obvious needed elements to make it work. Had plenty of gotcha places and turned out to flow really well, pleasantly surprised.

I like to design courses that reward the attentive driver.

2. Was a little bummed about only 4 runs. Did enjoy only being there for half a day though...

Those two items go hand-in-hand. To do a split day, we have a narrow window of time to work in for the Early session. Run groups simply CAN'T run more than an hour. And, if we have a full event, that's 27 drivers running the course in an hour.

From there, the math is simple. 4 runs x 27 drivers = 108 runs. Average 30-second start interval = 54 minutes.

If we tried to do 5 runs, our run total would be 135, and with a 30-second start interval, we'd run over 67 minutes.

The only way to do 5 runs is to run a shorter start interval, which is sometimes possible... but with 5 first-timers in each run group, it ain't gonna happen. It would require an average 26-second start interval. In addition to the reruns and slow-downs inevitably caused by having a bunch of new drivers, those same newbs are working course... and quicker start intervals are difficult for inexperienced workers to keep up with.

So... sorry, but 4 runs should be expected with the FAST Open format unless we happen to have light attendance.

5. Lawson is fast.

As are you!

PrestonJ wrote:Being that I've only been to one other FAST club event...

1. Course design was fantastic for the space and the obvious needed elements to make it work. Had plenty of gotcha places and turned out to flow really well, pleasantly surprised.

2. Was a little bummed about only 4 runs. Did enjoy only being there for half a day though...

3. Weather was perfect

4. blah blah had fun.

5. Lawson is fast.

What setup are you running on that MSM, front bar, tires? Great driving!

ctsteege wrote:What another fun day at the Autocross. Thanks again for putting on a fun event, even though the course really didn't set up for my TRUCK. The last section seem the tightest and it was offset quite a bit!! I think i still broke a few hearts by not coming in last.

On another note, I am getting a miata this week to start running and was hoping i could find someone to help me get into the Classic coming up at the dog track?

Sent you a message.

Loren wrote: You want to turn early enough that as you pass each cone, you're thinking about the NEXT one and beyond. You're not just dodging the cone in front of you.

I had a hard time understanding this when I started autocrossing because I was trying to take slaloms too "flat". ( and I would run stuff over when I turned early...because I was out of position)

Now I try to explain the approach to new autocrossers by comparing slalom steering to the way 18-wheelers take a right turn at an intersection. A good truck driver will just miss the curb with the last tire at the end of his trailer, however the front of the truck needs to make an arc in order to make that happen, and often swings the cab of the truck one lane (or more) to the left before turning back to the right. Since our cars are shorter than semi's we don't need to move the front so far over.....but the basic principle still applies.

Failure to get the front of our vehicles "out of the way" leaves us with two bad steering options:

(A) Turn early and run over the next cone like a semi knocking over a fire hydrant at an intersection

or

(B) Wait until the back of the car will clear the next cone and then turn....late. (and make the next cone that much harder.)

I agree that turning early is very important, but I know from experience that late steering inputs in slaloms are sometimes a symptom of positioning problems.

Loren wrote:Extreme other end of the scale: Watch Mike's video.

Thanks! I still have room for improvement though. My steering inputs were generally "early" but they were too "compressed" in the second slalom. (side A) I *want* to use all the space between the cones to transition the car, but in that slalom, on that run, I was transitioning the car too harshly. (making it harder than it needed to be)

PrestonJ wrote: 5. Lawson is fast.

Thanks!

They don't use pax, but if they did, I think you would have topped it. You were FLYING.

Z1NONLY wrote:I *want* to use all the space between the cones to transition the car, but in that slalom, on that run, I was transitioning the car too harshly. (making it harder than it needed to be)

You know, I sort of noticed that when I watched your video. But, when someone is THAT much faster than everybody else, it's hard for me to critique! Perhaps it's not textbook perfect technique, but I can't say anything.

What I sensed was that you weren't "snaking" through the slaloms, you were sort of making discrete turns out of them. At least some of them. Tonda was doing it, too. Very discrete maneuvers instead of "flowing". If feel like Tonda is one that I could teach a few things if I had the time to do it. "Philosophy" stuff, if you will. Not unlike a lot of the things you said in your post.

Z1NONLY wrote: You were FLYING.

He must have been! Philip and I were down at Miatapalooza after the morning session, thinking we weren't too far off the pace, then looked up the final results...all these guys in the afternoon planting 41s! Back to afternoons for me...get to sleep in, and an opportunity to learn some more speed.

Carracer wrote:What setup are you running on that MSM, front bar, tires? Great driving!

Small Fortune Racing front bar, 205/45R16 stones on 16x7 RPF1s.

My ribs/knees are still sore. Mike L convinced me to make the call today to Stranoautoparts.com and get a fix for C5 "frog legs" to keep the seat/and driver planted while driving hard. Thanks Mike for making me take the plunge. Life will be good from here on. Butt will remain planted. Didn't realize GM attached the seatbelt to the seat frame and not the car frame. Moan. What were they thinking? Oh, I get it... old guys going from car show to car show. Worked for 17 years with no belt extender required.

Just because I'm antsy and I haven't received a responsed in the upcoming thread, I'm checking here to see if anyone is willing to sponsor me at the Greyhound track on the 23rd, I would be very grateful. As I said in the other thread I have been to two Open events, a single session and a double. I'm trying to get more seat time, and the greyhound track is a lot closer for me. I'll take any instruction you're willing to give, but I believe I will survive without a lot of hand holding as well.

Nevermind, I'm all taken care of now

Final got a few minutes to snip and upload my fourth run...

https://youtu.be/lT7C8KQG2DI

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Carracer wrote:My best clean run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKjJ9pxUf28

Just a 0.044 gap between Jamie and I. I'm curious what our laps looked like side-by-side.

https://youtu.be/lbTXVxJmQmc
Here -- this one is a couple of tenths slower, but close enough for comparison. I filmed my fastest run from the side of the car. I don't know that you'll see much difference -- you move the wheel faster, but I think that's as much due to the car's floppy suspension as anything else.