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My first event this year was an autocross, and boy did I have to shake the cobwebs out! For whatever reason I was more nervous prior to this event than ever before. It's odd, anyway, by run 5 I was finally calming down a bit. It was an awesome venue held at an old naval station in Alameda, CA.
The car is currently setup with -2.7 degrees camber up front with a very tiny amount of toe-in (.25 degrees, I think) and 245/45 18 Dunlop Z1s. The D-Specs were set to 2 turns from full firm in front and 2.5 from full firm in back. The balance of the car was actually pretty good on this surface. I run the stock front sway bar and end links.
I was sticking with 245 series tires to fit within STX rules, and now they changed the rules to allowe RWD cars up to 265. Oh well, these tires will be shot by mid-summer anyway after a few track days. :-) The Bridgestone RE11s come in 265/40 18, that might be an option.
This is the first time I've taken video of my autocross driving and it's been instructive. Here's the video (it's easier to see in HQ):
- Gotta try to keep my head held straight instead of leaning into the turns.
- I really have to make a concerted effort to learn the shuffle-method with my hands. Some of those turns were just a bit too tight for 9-3 or 10-2.
- I was missing some cones by a foot or more. (Well, except for the wall I took out on run 5.)
- Need to be smoother with power delivery in certain areas. This could potentially be addressed with some balance adjustments, but I mostly like the balance of the car at the moment.
- Need to concentrate on looking further ahead more often and learning the course better. I got caught a few times with long straight sections ahead of me and not prepared for it.
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oh yeah, i'm totally hooked! the next event at putnam, at least with this organization, is not until august 1. however, they have two events planned at the new road course at bluegrass motorsports park in sparta, ky may 10th and july 10th. so, i might drive down there and do those, too. may 10th is in the air as the track may or may not be ready by then.
- Gotta try to keep my head held straight instead of leaning into the turns.
- I really have to make a concerted effort to learn the shuffle-method with my hands. Some of those turns were just a bit too tight for 9-3 or 10-2.
- I was missing some cones by a foot or more. (Well, except for the wall I took out on run 5.)
- Need to be smoother with power delivery in certain areas. This could potentially be addressed with some balance adjustments, but I mostly like the balance of the car at the moment.
- Need to concentrate on looking further ahead more often and learning the course better. I got caught a few times with long straight sections ahead of me and not prepared for it.
Zero - I watched your video side-by-side with that of a national champion we all know. Different courses but it was interesting. The biggest thing is your final point, looking ahead. He turns in much sooner and quicker. Good stuff, thanks. On a personal note - I know a huge thing with me is learning the course. The quickest drivers have seen so many different courses and practiced each type of *obstacle* so many times that they can really pick up a course quickly and have pretty consistent times for all runs. Me....it takes me a bunch of runs to get my times consistent (and even then they are not all that fast :-).
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07 GT 5spd: stock > road racing > stock.
- Gotta try to keep my head held straight instead of leaning into the turns.
- I really have to make a concerted effort to learn the shuffle-method with my hands. Some of those turns were just a bit too tight for 9-3 or 10-2.
- I was missing some cones by a foot or more. (Well, except for the wall I took out on run 5.)
- Need to be smoother with power delivery in certain areas. This could potentially be addressed with some balance adjustments, but I mostly like the balance of the car at the moment.
- Need to concentrate on looking further ahead more often and learning the course better. I got caught a few times with long straight sections ahead of me and not prepared for it.
Not that you asked, but here's what I think.
Overall not as bad as you think. Don't worry about your head leaning, it's natural, and not any problem. In fact if you look at pics of any racer their heads lean.
Steering. Overall is fine and there is no issue with 9 and 3 that's what I do. But for corners you need more lock you will need to move your hands. The turn at the end is a perfect example. If you need more move one hand at a time. Say your right turning right. Move it to about 11 or 12 and pull down, the left hand stays at 9 and you end up 9 and 3 or so mid corner. To unwind you reverse the method. Left hand up to about 12 and pull it back leaving your right around 3. Keep it simple.....
You are definitely being caught by surprise. If you can see things eariler, and learn to not drive to a point very close to the car you will smooth out, including your power applications. It's clear to me you drive kind of point to point. I can see it in your steering inputs, hear it in your throttle application, and see it your lines (you get late). Also you don't push the car nearly as hard are you could in many places, but that's a function of confidence and knowing what's next. The tires rarely made any noise which tells me you are not on the limit.
Here's a hint. Slaloming or transitioning... turn sooner and carry more speed. In fact turn at the the cones (imagine hitting them with the turn signal). If you do that only means you can carry a touch more speed. Turn earlier, not harder. Also you need to look at least at the exit of the corner you are entering and learn to trust yourself and that you don't need to look at a cone right to the car. In fact that makes you more prone to hitting it, and then you are late because you pop you head up and you are on top of or in the next maneuver already.
Interestingly the course is similar to what we ran @ the Dixie Tour. You might have seen my video from there, but if not check it out. I'm on R-comps, but it doesn't matter other than going a bit quicker. I drive ST type tires the same way, just less grip (and in fact they slide more so early inputs are more critical). Also I'll post a link to my co-driver/car owner's vid. Not to put him on the spot, but to contrast the driving that day (he was in space I think that weekend, he's good when he's on). The comparison is in the very same car, minutes apart. He's fighting with it, I'm not.
You'll see I turn sooner transitionally than Mike and you do zero2sixd... You need to lead a car to go quickly as it has mass that takes time to move around.
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SCCA National Champion (x6)
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I appreciate the feedback a great deal. I've got a lot to work on, but it's helpful to have some focus areas.
I think it's worth rigging a video camera just to watch yourself drive. It's different than having somebody in the passenger seat coaching. I wouldn't necessarily have noticed these things without it, nor appreciated what the coach was trying to explain without seeing it (and replaying it).
Thanks a lot for the contrasting clips of the same course, that actually helps tremendously to see the difference.
I just got back from corner-working an 8-hour NASA Enduro weekend. No driving for me, though I'm gonna go freakin nuts if I don't get back out on the track soon.
I just got back from corner-working an 8-hour NASA Enduro weekend. No driving for me, though I'm gonna go freakin nuts if I don't get back out on the track soon.
Being at the track and not being able to run must be really hard!
Remember that post I made back in February - "learn how to drive your Mustang fast" (or something like that). Well this was the weekend, Sat and Sun at Pocono. One of our fellow members took me up on the offer for his first track day. I'm pretty sure he had a great time, I'll let him add his inputs if he chooses to do so. We had great weather both days, not a lick of rain. It was a little cold Saturday morning - cold tires, cold track, rusty drivers = slow session, but by the afternoon we were up to speed.
So this was my first time driving a car with race seats and harness. I'll tell you guys, it makes a hugh difference! No sliding around, no sore knees, shoulders locked in - wow, not only do you "feel" the car better but its less tiring and allows you to concentrate on driving more. Highly recommend. And the Nitto555...thumbs up. They slide a lot but in a good way, let you do some nice 4 wheel drifts, real progressive, no sudden surprises. Yea the track season has begun!
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07 GT 5spd: stock > road racing > stock.
Last Monday was my first go at Laguna Seca and it was a beautiful day for driving the car hard; probably 65 degrees and a little bit of coastal fog. At those temps I did notice some issues with the brake ducting though, I think it was actually cooling the brakes a bit too much. I was getting some vibration when I frist applied the brakes torward the end of the day when the temperatures were dropping. Not sure what else to attribute that to since they were and have been fine ever since.
Regardless, it was a fantastic day of driving and the car held up well as usual. I saw both a 911 turbo and a Ferrari 360 with blown engines hauled off on flatbed trucks. It really made me appreciate the Mustang and the comfort of knowing that if I do indeed blow an engine one of these days that it will cost me far less to replace than either of those two.
The Mustang GT really is a track day bargain. Compared to just about every other RWD or AWD option in this price range, it has a rather bullet-proof drive train.
One other note, it is certainly no guarantee that if you own one of those (Porsche or Ferrari) that you can drive it fast. I passed the Ferrari several times throughout the day and nearly ran into an Elise head on when he spun just in front of me. We were both stopped on the track for what seemed like an eternity until I drove into the gravel to get around him. That was exciting.
About 3 minutes in there will be a silver C6 Z06 with Hoosier R6s and StopTech brakes pull on the track. That was a fantastically fast car. Later in the day I would be passed by that car repeatedly, and I think this was his first track day in that car.
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. Different courses but it was interesting. The biggest thing is your final point, looking ahead. He turns in much sooner and quicker. Good stuff, thanks. On a personal note - I know a huge thing with me is learning the course. The quickest drivers have seen so many different courses and practiced each type of *obstacle* so many times that they can really pick up a course quickly and have pretty consistent times for all runs. Me....it takes me a bunch of runs to get my times consistent (and even then they are not all that fast :-).
I'm gonna go freakin nuts if I don't get back out on the track soon.
