So, what did you do today?

[blk96gt]

So the PDS event at TWS was short on instructors this weekend so ended up going back for another run at CW. During the race weekend I noticed I used about a quart of oil over the weekend. Ended up using about a quart this weekend over the course of 9 sessions. I finally looked under the car yesterday afternoon and realized the car has been puking oil out from somewhere on the drivers side. I'm hoping this explains why my oil pressure is only ~5 PSI at idle when I come off the track (oil temps normally 240-260*).

On Saturday I ran all the sessions with RA1's. First session was the best, with a best lap time of 1:56.6, and an optimal time of 1:55.8 (traffic was bad so it was hard to get clean laps). For Sunday I swapped to the RR's, and again the first session was the best. Had a best lap of 1:55.4 with an optimal of 1:54.7 (only got 2 clean laps, first lap out was the fastest). I had a 1:54.9 going on lap 4 but had to lift to get around someone between 6-5 and lost .9 sec. I need to dig into the data a bit more and look at the lateral and braking G's.

I'm still not sure about tire pressures for the RR's, and I didn't check to see what the cold pressures were before going out in the first session. I think they were 29psi front and 28psi rear, and they were pretty consistent for the 6 laps I ran. As it got warmer I kept bumping the cold pressures down and ended up getting as low as 24psi front and 25psi rear. If I had to make a decision right now I would probably go with 26psi all around cold. I have no clue what my hot temps were as I was having to hop out of my car and into a student's.

It's not racing, but here's the video of the 55.4 and the 55.8 on lap 4 where I had to lift if anyone is interested. I also have the TraqMate data if anyone wants to take a look at it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3xntwthB_I

[michaelmosty]

Wow Kevin, nice drive.........wow.

[blk96gt]

Thanks Michael. The weather really couldn't have been any better. Mid 60's in the morning, but got up to mid-high 80's in the afternoon. Track would get greasy about 1:00.

Anyone else have any comments on RR tire pressures? I know Mike P. said to start low, but couldn't remember where he was running his cold pressures. He was running nitrogen in his tires so he would have less pressure increase than I will with normal air. Would a heavier car generally warrant lower pressures, or is there no real rule and it comes down to preference?

[Trublu]

Impressive mate. Any less gear changes and you might as well stick an automatic box in there. What rear end gearing are you running?

[mach1]

So the PDS event at TWS was short on instructors this weekend so ended up going back for another run at CW. During the race weekend I noticed I used about a quart of oil over the weekend. Ended up using about a quart this weekend over the course of 9 sessions. I finally looked under the car yesterday afternoon and realized the car has been puking oil out from somewhere on the drivers side. I'm hoping this explains why my oil pressure is only ~5 PSI at idle when I come off the track (oil temps normally 240-260*).

On Saturday I ran all the sessions with RA1's. First session was the best, with a best lap time of 1:56.6, and an optimal time of 1:55.8 (traffic was bad so it was hard to get clean laps). For Sunday I swapped to the RR's, and again the first session was the best. Had a best lap of 1:55.4 with an optimal of 1:54.7 (only got 2 clean laps, first lap out was the fastest). I had a 1:54.9 going on lap 4 but had to lift to get around someone between 6-5 and lost .9 sec. I need to dig into the data a bit more and look at the lateral and braking G's.

I'm still not sure about tire pressures for the RR's, and I didn't check to see what the cold pressures were before going out in the first session. I think they were 29psi front and 28psi rear, and they were pretty consistent for the 6 laps I ran. As it got warmer I kept bumping the cold pressures down and ended up getting as low as 24psi front and 25psi rear. If I had to make a decision right now I would probably go with 26psi all around cold. I have no clue what my hot temps were as I was having to hop out of my car and into a student's.

It's not racing, but here's the video of the 55.4 and the 55.8 on lap 4 where I had to lift if anyone is interested. I also have the TraqMate data if anyone wants to take a look at it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3xntwthB_I

What the... you must be confused, I think you had sticker A6's for those runs, great job!!!

[BryanL]

That's rough Dan. Definitely should have just had it removed. I don't have a scan of my after x-ray but think it maybe on here somewhere. I do have a pic on here after the second surgery of pin removal and tendon graft. .

[blk96gt]

Impressive mate. Any less gear changes and you might as well stick an automatic box in there. What rear end gearing are you running?

3.27's. Even when I had the 3.73's I'd stay in 4th up to the carousal and downshift to third, then short shift back to fourth up the hill going into 9. I would stay in fourth until turn 3 and downshift to third. Not long after I was back in fourth before turn 2.

For me I've found that the less I shift the better. It's likely because I don't shift fast enough, but trying to shift quickly ends up causing me to try to drive more aggressively and less smooth, so I just avoid it unless I have to. I also seem to lose time when I shift, especially going from 2-3/3-2 or 4-5/5-4. I'm afraid I'll miss and go to to 2nd on the 5-4 downshift or 1st on the 2-3 upshift.

Also, while not a "real" car, I noticed in iRacing with the Miata around Lime Rock it wasn't worth it to downshift into 3rd for the first couple turns. I would be able to get into the sweet spot for the RPM in 3rd, but I had to get everything perfect to actually gain time. I found I was much more consistent staying in 4th, and I'll take consistency every time over nailing the perfect sector to gain .1 of a second one every five times (and usually lose .1 when I don't get it). I think the same thing applies to "real" driving.

[Fbody383]

It's not racing, but here's the video of the 55.4 and the 55.8 on lap 4 where I had to lift if anyone is interested. I also have the TraqMate data if anyone wants to take a look at it.

Ok, that's it... all my stuff is for sale.

Dude, thanks for sharing that. I too wonder if I shift too much and probably do.

I think you should miss Hallett... we don't have any fun and the racing is dull and boring.

[mach1]

3.27's. Even when I had the 3.73's I'd stay in 4th up to the carousal and downshift to third, then short shift back to fourth up the hill going into 9. I would stay in fourth until turn 3 and downshift to third. Not long after I was back in fourth before turn 2.

For me I've found that the less I shift the better. It's likely because I don't shift fast enough, but trying to shift quickly ends up causing me to try to drive more aggressively and less smooth, so I just avoid it unless I have to. I also seem to lose time when I shift, especially going from 2-3/3-2 or 4-5/5-4. I'm afraid I'll miss and go to to 2nd on the 5-4 downshift or 1st on the 2-3 upshift.

Also, while not a "real" car, I noticed in iRacing with the Miata around Lime Rock it wasn't worth it to downshift into 3rd for the first couple turns. I would be able to get into the sweet spot for the RPM in 3rd, but I had to get everything perfect to actually gain time. I found I was much more consistent staying in 4th, and I'll take consistency every time over nailing the perfect sector to gain .1 of a second one every five times (and usually lose .1 when I don't get it). I think the same thing applies to "real" driving.

I am going to get my data overlay on my video ASAP, I can't wait to compare our vids.
I whipped up a quick site just for that reason, you can side by side 2 youtube videos and get em sync'd up
http://dualvid.com/?vid_id=4h

[blk96gt]

Ok, that's it... all my stuff is for sale.

Dude, thanks for sharing that. I too wonder if I shift too much and probably do.

I think you should miss Hallett... we don't have any fun and the racing is dull and boring.

I hope I wasn't implying that I think shifting is slower. What I should have clarified is that, for me, shifting will sometimes slow me down. This is due to lack of confidence in my shifting abilities and wanting to focus on other things. My belief is that focusing on the braking zone, proper line and maximizing mid-corner speed should be worked on first, followed by optimizing shift points, although this may be the wrong way to go about it, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

One example for me is Turn 7 going CW. I started out short shifting into fourth going up the hill to 9 just before turn in. Once I got the line down through 9-8 I started shifting between 8-7, with the shift point getting later and later. My ultimate goal is to shift right at turn in and use the weight transfer to rotate the car for turn-in. That should slow me down just enough to make the turn-in and get back on the gas, minimizing the time off throttle. I'm just not very consistent with my entry in to 7, and I will be carrying more speed through by shifting just before turn in.

I won't be making Hallet this year, but hopefully next year I'll be able to make it. I am still debating on making nationals at Road Atlanta though.

Tyler: That's a pretty sweet tool you made. I'll have to bookmark that.