Scratcher (Costas' Camaro), now all in one thread.... Options

[StanIROCZ]

In the paddock he seems like such a nice guy.... has a little girl coloring and he wears a Powerpuff girl T-shirt... but he is a bad man on the race track

nicely done, congrats! I can't imagine what 1.7G feels like. I can get the occasional, nonsustained, 1.3 in my car when I get my panties un-wadded.

[Shortcutsleeping]

Thanks!

1.7 feels pretty stout. I got to give rides to three more folks at the tx2k track day!

We've got a plan for more DF, so maybe 1.8 will be in our future...

Love this shot

(IMG:http://www.witchdoctormotorsports.com/host147.jpg)


Costas
cars and such...

[198esp]

that is a pretty great shot, car is looking pretty slick

[rocky]

I would love to hang that picture in the garage for inspiration

[Shortcutsleeping]

Thanks guys...

I'm trying to get that last pic in high-res and if it is good then I'll be happy to share it.


Costas
cars and such...

[Shortcutsleeping]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W4gOBSuLzI...eature=youtu.be

Youtube vid of the NARRA event earlier this year at TWS. This is the third installment and Scratcher gets a quick view in the intro slot moving through traffic, then I get a quick interview around the 2 minute mark and then around 2:50 or so some more vid including some slow-mo into the carousel.

Thinking on making the haul to Sebring in November for the season finale of NARRA.

Costas
cars and such...

[Shortcutsleeping]

If you're bored and want to check out some pics. I may load some vid if I get time.

Found some improvement and went faster at a recent test. Saw some cool cars as well!

http://www.witchdoctormotorsports.com/ch210.htm

Check out the McLaren trying to get close to an awesome third gen!!! PSHAW!!!
(IMG:http://www.witchdoctormotorsports.com/ch210pic08.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.witchdoctormotorsports.com/ch210pic02.jpg)


Costas
cars and such...

[StanIROCZ]

I enjoy reading everything you post (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

It's tough to go faster without testing and as the ThinkFastEngineering.com manual says, you should change SOMEthing every session and see if you go faster or not.

Even when just the driver mod makes me faster every session? Seriously, over the past year I get faster almost every session without touching the car,,,, just growing ball sack (with a couple exceptions). I could play with my spoiler angle or adjust my front koni's,,, but then I wouldn't know if I got faster because of the tune or driving. I assume your statement is based on the assumption that the driver is using 100% of the cars potential.

[Shortcutsleeping]

Even when just the driver mod makes me faster every session? Seriously, over the past year I get faster almost every session without touching the car,,,, just growing ball sack (with a couple exceptions). I could play with my spoiler angle or adjust my front koni's,,, but then I wouldn't know if I got faster because of the tune or driving. I assume your statement is based on the assumption that the driver is using 100% of the cars potential.

In my mind (and everyone tunes differently) you pull enough data to effectively and subjectively view a change as a positive, negative or neutral. More importantly, you're bright enough to do a debrief after a session to help evaluate the performance.

SO...If you were my student and went to a trackday solo, I'd tell you to do the first session or two with everything the same (equalize air pressure) and get a baseline time. After the second session you'll sit down for 5 minutes away from everyone either looking at a track map or watching a replay of a lap. Dissect each corner into entry, mid, and exit and as you do the lap and prioritize what ONE BENEFIT would help you the most. Let's say it is on entry and the car is simply not getting INTO the corner as quick as you think is possible. Mid and exit are okay. So, we now know the result we need (better turn in) and we know to always begin adjustments on the end of the car that is NOT working until you run out of adjustments and then AND ONLY THEN can we "do damage" to the opposite end of the car to achieve balance. So, in the front we need more turn in. Let's ponder that. First, look at the tires. Are they rolling over too much and bumping pressure might help. OR are they not rolling enough and we're overinflated? Does the turn in suffer on both directions? Can we back off on the sway bar end links to let the car roll and bite a bit more? Can we make a damper change?

(Note: Neil has a great chart in his book, also this is damn handy too: http://www.amazon.com/Carroll-Smiths-Engin...er+in+my+pocket )

So let's say the tires looked great and you backed off on the sway bar end links. Initially you had them totally snug with bulging little bushings, and now you've loosened them 5 rounds a side where they practically rattle (noise does not slow you down, FYI).

Then on the third session one of three things happen. You get faster, slower or stay the same. If you get slower....time to ponder: Assuming you drove well and had clear track, did the setup change NOT help the turn in? Look at your data on turn entry....is the degrees per second turn-in not as good as before? Or time stayed the same? Did the turn in help but it caused you issues on mid or exit now? Or, most likely, you got faster...and you can debrief yourself and say "self, the setup change helped, the car rotate into the corner better and i went faster because of that and because I had more confidence in the car and I'm simply driving better". Now you get to debrief AGAIN pondering 'what ONE change could I make to help my lap times?". And it starts over again. If you're unsure, re-tighten the sway bar end links and drive another session. More than likely you'll say 'fork that!!' and you've successfully learned a quick little trick that can help your setups in the future.

Folks who are vested enough to not only want to go faster but are willing to methodically look at the car, do debriefs, make track notes and also keep records of setups and changes are typically folks who can self-learn assuming they've at least got a baseline procedure to follow. Most any procedure will work and the one I outlined above is the one I use, taught to me by Neil. My last outing I did three sessions flip flopping changes to double verify that they worked.

Now, sometimes you've got to take a sharp car (setup wise) and 'dumb it down' so the driver has a stable car to 'get up to speed' in. Then, when the driver has caught up to the car, we can begin to re-sharpen that car and the driver goes really fast. Now, the setup from step 1 and step 10 ended up being the same, but we had to get the driver up to the ability to drive the damn thing and that took 9 steps. I've had a student who showed up with a prepped c5Z06 on hoosiers and after one session he bolted back on the streets because there was no way he was getting to the level of the car on purple crack. He could almost reach the car's level on streets, but hoohoos were out of the question at that point. A few track days later and we're again ready to bolt on the hoosiers and begin to work our way towards reaching the limits of that combination.

Long and winded and hopefully you followed that....
but that's my .02

Costas
cars and such...

[StanIROCZ]

I should probably restate what I said. I've changed to softer rear springs at Grattan because the car was very loose on that particular track. I did that because I could tell something was obviously wrong. What I said before was centered around the thought that if I can't feel anything wrong why should I change it? I'm still getting faster with driving. After every session I look at Harry's lap timer and overlay the video with the data for my fastest lap. I usually focus on the G meter to see if I'm at the edges of the traction circle or not. If not I know I'm not using the cars full potential at that point in time on the track (assuming no elevation change impact etc) and I go back out the next time and work on braking later or whatever it may be. I come back in with a faster time. Repeat. Harry's also has the ability to overlay speed and acceleration data from one lap to another and that is useful in determining why I ran faster one lap than another (in most cases it is because I braked later). I could probably be a bit more aggressive with testing mechanical things even when everything seams ok, but going to the track by myself most of the time means that I'm pretty busy all day and sometimes its nice to sit down with a Gatorade in the shade and think about driving rather then a mechanical thrash in the hot sun (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I finally sucked it up and taught myself left foot braking over labor day weekend at Grattan. I went slower during the morning sessions and spun out with a duffed 4-2 downshift but now that I got it I won't ever go back (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

[Blainefab]

I finally sucked it up and taught myself left foot braking over labor day weekend at Grattan. I went slower during the morning sessions and spun out with a duffed 4-2 downshift but now that I got it I won't ever go back (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

I think you'll still be learning LFB a couple of years from now. I made the mistake of trying it during a race and decided that it helped in T1 at Sears Point. The problem was that I hadn't done it enough for it to be an automatic response to a braking situation, and in the heat of battle a few laps later I got confused and couldn't find the brake pedal into T2 - terribly frustrating experience. Drove off the outside and into a tire wall, right foot still on the gas and left foot lost.

That was 10yrs ago, I've been LFB in the truck ever since. Felt awkward and jerky at first, but I persevered. Once I could modulate braking with the left the same as the right, I practiced handing off the braking from one foot to another during braking zones, without changing the decel rate at all. It took years before it got ingrained into my brain and I'll use the left foot automatically in panic situations.

Haven't had the balls to try it again on track, tho.

[Shortcutsleeping]

https://vimeo.com/84606424

1 minute teaser vid from the NASA season opener here in Texas.
I missed qualy due to a persistant cooling system issue and had to start last.

Full writeup and more vids coming soon.

Costas
cars and such...

[Shortcutsleeping]

https://vimeo.com/84813119

First race on Saturday. Go from last to second, but then rising temps mean I pull off before damaging something expensive.


Costas
cars and such...

[Shortcutsleeping]

https://vimeo.com/88661203
Inside-my-helmet-cam for a few laps of MSR-C outside of Fort Worth. It's damn cold, the tires are fairly old and I'm trying to keep the pointy end forward.


Costas
cars and such...

[Shortcutsleeping]

TWS story http://www.witchdoctormotorsports.com/ch220.htm

First time on Hoosiers and I won a new set!

Sunday's race I started last since I didn't think I was going to do it, and ran it up to P1: https://vimeo.com/94120203


Costas
cars and such...

[StanIROCZ]

Patience my ass lol

Contgrats!

[Shortcutsleeping]

Gotta think fast when you crest the hill and JUST CATCH A YELLOW BEING THROWN so you know SOMETHING is wrong down there...

https://vimeo.com/101186362

One of the races that weekend: https://vimeo.com/100343994


More vids and full writeup to come soon.


Costas
cars and such...

[roy]

What an Oh Shit moment that was in the first vid.

[Shortcutsleeping]

Yeah, more than one person called it a CODE BROWN.

FULL HALLETT WRITEUP, PICS, VIDEOS HERE: http://www.witchdoctormotorsports.com/ch223.htm

* * * * * * HUGE THANKS TO JEREMY on this board for all the help that weekend!!!! * * * * * *

(IMG:http://www.witchdoctormotorsports.com/ch223pic34.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.witchdoctormotorsports.com/ch223pic16.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.witchdoctormotorsports.com/ch223pic35.jpg)



Costas
cars and such...

[79T/A]

I would love to know more about the pink Camaro. Got any links to a page about it?