Ongoing Track Analysis Thread
Ongoing Track Analysis Thread
I am going to use this thread as a placeholder for my various track day adventures. Questions, comments, and feedback is always welcomed. The long term goal is to build a reliable car that fits nicely in the NASA TTS run group. Since NASA is not currently running in the NW region, I'm using local HPDE events to get the car dialed in until NASA starts up a NW region or until I get a diesel truck to haul myself down to California. Currently the closest NASA tracks are about 8-10 hours away (Thunderhill and Infineon)...
The track car in the thread is a 2003 Evo VIII. I bought the vehicle earlier this year and immediately began getting track modifications. At some point, I will list detailed power mods but that topic doesn't really interest me too much so I'll summarize by saying I have an E85 tune at around 370WHP/315WTQ. I know that some folks like to discuss power though, so if you'd like to see my part list sooner then just let me know and I'll get that posted. More important to me is the weight, suspension, and braking of the vehicle. To that end, the car is beginning its diet and I've removed all trunk weight and the backseats have also been removed.
Here is a picture of the rear of the car as it sits:
I also have installed some Sparco Pro2k seats with six point harnesses to keep me in place. To get out to the last track day, I installed a harness bar but will be installing an Autopower 4 point cage this winter as I'm leery of using a harness bar at the track. Here is a look at the front seat setup as it currently sits:
Right now, I still have stock aero but after some track days I plan on beginning aero mods mid-to-late next season. Here is a shot of the car as it looked a few months ago on springs:
The track car in the thread is a 2003 Evo VIII. I bought the vehicle earlier this year and immediately began getting track modifications. At some point, I will list detailed power mods but that topic doesn't really interest me too much so I'll summarize by saying I have an E85 tune at around 370WHP/315WTQ. I know that some folks like to discuss power though, so if you'd like to see my part list sooner then just let me know and I'll get that posted. More important to me is the weight, suspension, and braking of the vehicle. To that end, the car is beginning its diet and I've removed all trunk weight and the backseats have also been removed.
Here is a picture of the rear of the car as it sits:
I also have installed some Sparco Pro2k seats with six point harnesses to keep me in place. To get out to the last track day, I installed a harness bar but will be installing an Autopower 4 point cage this winter as I'm leery of using a harness bar at the track. Here is a look at the front seat setup as it currently sits:
Right now, I still have stock aero but after some track days I plan on beginning aero mods mid-to-late next season. Here is a shot of the car as it looked a few months ago on springs:
Last edited by skidmarq; Oct 3, 2011 at 08:39 AM.
Club Lotus Northwest Track Day - Portland International Raceway (PIR) - September 2nd, 2011
The first time at the track was a Club Lotus event at Portland International Raceway (September 2nd, 2011); really a semi-blind stab and a true shakedown day. My particulars were as follows:
Camber Alignment Front: -3.0
Camber Alignment Rear: -1.5
Sway Bar Front: Stock
Sway Bar Rear: Whiteline - Full Stiff
Suspension Specs: Ohlins DFV Coilovers (10k front and 12k rear) - 10 clicks from full stiff front and 7 clicks from full stiff rear
Brakes: Carbotech XP10 (front), Carbotech XP8 (rear) with Stoptech SS Lines, and Motul RBF600 Fluid - stock rotors
Tire Pressures: Nitto NT01s (245/45/17s all around) - 31PSI (Front) and 33PSI (Rear) - Cold
The ambient temps were around 65, heating up to around 85 by lunchtime session. My first run of the day was an adventure to say the least. The first thing I noticed on the third hot lap was that I had lost 90% of my brakes at 125MPH coming into the Chicane (turn one). It was a very unusual symptom though as I had a rock hard brake pedal but it just wasn't clamping down and stopping the car. It was literally causing me to raise my backside off the seat and perform a leg press on my brake pedal to get roughly ten percent of the stopping power I was expecting. I actually had to run right through the Chicane on more than one occasion as I familiarized my new stopping (or lack thereof) power. More on this later.
My next issue was that the car got incredibly tail happy. This was not expected, and I had two near spins on lap four and became quickly cognizant of the oversteer behavior the remainder of the day. I was puzzled, as my hot temps after the first session were a "little" high but nothing crazy (around 42PSI although I was shooting for 38-40PSI). I thought my rear sway bar might be too stiff, which kicked my tail around but didn't have my jack-stands and made a suspension adjustment instead (softened the Ohlins by five clicks in the rear which is pretty substantial for those that have these coilovers)...this made a little difference in the second, hotter ambient, session but it was still very tail happy. My pressures after lowering cold temps between sessions were even higher at 44-46PSI hot. More on this later as well.
The last issue, which is what actually caused me to call the day short after only two sessions was a distinct flutter/stutter sensation under part throttle conditions. The BOV that came with the car was a Forge RS, and I always noticed this behavior on the street but it was even magnified on the track. This became very burdensome as it would unsettle the car during sweeping turns. The last thing I needed was one more thing to contribute to the already difficult driving conditions. By the second session, the car was fluttering/stuttering hard even under WOT conditions. As mentioned, not worth risking anything so I called it a day after two sessions and began troubleshooting these three major issues.
Even with all the stress, I was able to get a couple 1:33-1:34 laps (measured via video footage, not actual GPS data). I knew that my goal of a sub-1:30 lap could be achievable if I get things sorted out. As a comparison, my old Evo X (350WHP, springs, and R888s) was able to turn a 1:36 last year with me driving.
I have unedited footage and will likely get it edited and posted at some point in the near future as it was a great run group with a couple Ariel Atoms and some Spec E30s...the frustrating thing was that there were only seven cars in the group and I could have had plenty of open track if my car was performing better...
The first time at the track was a Club Lotus event at Portland International Raceway (September 2nd, 2011); really a semi-blind stab and a true shakedown day. My particulars were as follows:
Camber Alignment Front: -3.0
Camber Alignment Rear: -1.5
Sway Bar Front: Stock
Sway Bar Rear: Whiteline - Full Stiff
Suspension Specs: Ohlins DFV Coilovers (10k front and 12k rear) - 10 clicks from full stiff front and 7 clicks from full stiff rear
Brakes: Carbotech XP10 (front), Carbotech XP8 (rear) with Stoptech SS Lines, and Motul RBF600 Fluid - stock rotors
Tire Pressures: Nitto NT01s (245/45/17s all around) - 31PSI (Front) and 33PSI (Rear) - Cold
The ambient temps were around 65, heating up to around 85 by lunchtime session. My first run of the day was an adventure to say the least. The first thing I noticed on the third hot lap was that I had lost 90% of my brakes at 125MPH coming into the Chicane (turn one). It was a very unusual symptom though as I had a rock hard brake pedal but it just wasn't clamping down and stopping the car. It was literally causing me to raise my backside off the seat and perform a leg press on my brake pedal to get roughly ten percent of the stopping power I was expecting. I actually had to run right through the Chicane on more than one occasion as I familiarized my new stopping (or lack thereof) power. More on this later.
My next issue was that the car got incredibly tail happy. This was not expected, and I had two near spins on lap four and became quickly cognizant of the oversteer behavior the remainder of the day. I was puzzled, as my hot temps after the first session were a "little" high but nothing crazy (around 42PSI although I was shooting for 38-40PSI). I thought my rear sway bar might be too stiff, which kicked my tail around but didn't have my jack-stands and made a suspension adjustment instead (softened the Ohlins by five clicks in the rear which is pretty substantial for those that have these coilovers)...this made a little difference in the second, hotter ambient, session but it was still very tail happy. My pressures after lowering cold temps between sessions were even higher at 44-46PSI hot. More on this later as well.
The last issue, which is what actually caused me to call the day short after only two sessions was a distinct flutter/stutter sensation under part throttle conditions. The BOV that came with the car was a Forge RS, and I always noticed this behavior on the street but it was even magnified on the track. This became very burdensome as it would unsettle the car during sweeping turns. The last thing I needed was one more thing to contribute to the already difficult driving conditions. By the second session, the car was fluttering/stuttering hard even under WOT conditions. As mentioned, not worth risking anything so I called it a day after two sessions and began troubleshooting these three major issues.
Even with all the stress, I was able to get a couple 1:33-1:34 laps (measured via video footage, not actual GPS data). I knew that my goal of a sub-1:30 lap could be achievable if I get things sorted out. As a comparison, my old Evo X (350WHP, springs, and R888s) was able to turn a 1:36 last year with me driving.
I have unedited footage and will likely get it edited and posted at some point in the near future as it was a great run group with a couple Ariel Atoms and some Spec E30s...the frustrating thing was that there were only seven cars in the group and I could have had plenty of open track if my car was performing better...
Last edited by skidmarq; Oct 3, 2011 at 09:16 AM.
So with track day over, I knew I had some work to do as I was scheduled for my next track day in less than four weeks. I began troubleshooting the brakes first. As mentioned earlier, the symptoms were quite odd and something I hadn't felt before. I have experience boiling the brake fluid multiple times on the racetrack and I immediately knew this wasn't what was happening due to the rock hard pedal (as most of you are well aware, boiling the fluid causes the opposite effect of a spongy pedal that can even travel to the floor with no stopping power). I thought it might be the pads, or bedding process I used, but since they were brand new that didn't really make sense either. I also used the same bedding process I've always used so that didn't really make sense either. To be honest, I was kind of grasping at straws with those guesses. To verify whether these things were causing the issues, a quick visual inspection proved that the pads were still 90-95% life so that wasn't it and the rotors still looked new with no spider cracks or other damage. So I began reading the EvoM boards and saw that, in the past, others had reported a similar symptom and attributed it to the vacuum assist system in the Evo, or so the theory went. I started looking in the engine bay and found that the vacuum line between the brake booster and the intake manifold had popped completely off while on the track. I reattached the line, put a new vacuum clamp in, and the brake problem began clamping normally again - so I hoped that the brake issues were a thing of the past.
The next thing I discovered was that my air pressure gauge (five year old, little cheap portable unit) was reading almost 5PSI low! This means that during my hot sessions the NT01s were likely running at 50PSI or more! This would definitely help explain the greasy feeling on the track so I invested in a nice Longacre air pressure gauge and tire pyrometer to ensure this didn't happen again and set my rear coilover settings back to 7 clicks from full stiff, which is where they originally were. As a precautionary step, I also adjusted my Whiteline rear swaybar to full soft to ensure this wasn't causing a balance issue with my still stock front bar.
To investigate the engine flutter/stutter, I took the car up to the guys at English Racing. I had also done some research on this and found that the Forge brand BOV was widely reported to exhibit this behavior so I asked them to rule it out completely by replacing it with a stock Evo IX (metal) BOV. Since I'm tuned to about 26-27PSI, we felt this would be the perfect solution at those pressures. We also double-checked the tune, although I didn't really suspect that was the cause, but it was still spot-on as expected. Unfortunately, even after replacing the BOV, we noticed that the symptoms were getting better under partial throttle, but a different type of stutter would still occur under WOT. Aaron "the evil genius" at English Racing immediately said "SPARK PLUGS!". After swapping in a new set, the car was pulling beautifully under both partial and WOT throttle conditions. The combination of the BOV and spark plugs were the culprits to my acceleration problems. With all three issues corrected, it was time for another track day shakedown to see if it held up for the entire four 20 minute sessions...
The next thing I discovered was that my air pressure gauge (five year old, little cheap portable unit) was reading almost 5PSI low! This means that during my hot sessions the NT01s were likely running at 50PSI or more! This would definitely help explain the greasy feeling on the track so I invested in a nice Longacre air pressure gauge and tire pyrometer to ensure this didn't happen again and set my rear coilover settings back to 7 clicks from full stiff, which is where they originally were. As a precautionary step, I also adjusted my Whiteline rear swaybar to full soft to ensure this wasn't causing a balance issue with my still stock front bar.
To investigate the engine flutter/stutter, I took the car up to the guys at English Racing. I had also done some research on this and found that the Forge brand BOV was widely reported to exhibit this behavior so I asked them to rule it out completely by replacing it with a stock Evo IX (metal) BOV. Since I'm tuned to about 26-27PSI, we felt this would be the perfect solution at those pressures. We also double-checked the tune, although I didn't really suspect that was the cause, but it was still spot-on as expected. Unfortunately, even after replacing the BOV, we noticed that the symptoms were getting better under partial throttle, but a different type of stutter would still occur under WOT. Aaron "the evil genius" at English Racing immediately said "SPARK PLUGS!". After swapping in a new set, the car was pulling beautifully under both partial and WOT throttle conditions. The combination of the BOV and spark plugs were the culprits to my acceleration problems. With all three issues corrected, it was time for another track day shakedown to see if it held up for the entire four 20 minute sessions...
Last edited by skidmarq; Oct 3, 2011 at 09:22 AM.
Cascade Sports Club (CSCC) Track Day - Portland International Raceway (PIR) - October 1st, 2011
My next time out at the track was a Cascade Sports Club driving event at Portland International Raceway (October 1st, 2011); after trying to fix all the issues that surfaced during my last track day it would be interesting to see how the day panned out. My particulars were as follows:
Camber Alignment Front: -3.0
Camber Alignment Rear: -1.5
Sway Bar Front: Stock
Sway Bar Rear: Whiteline - Full Soft
Suspension Specs: Ohlins DFV Coilovers (10k front and 12k rear) - 10 clicks from full stiff front and 7 clicks from full stiff rear
Brakes: Carbotech XP10 (front), Carbotech XP8 (rear) with Stoptech SS Lines, and Motul RBF600 Fluid - stock rotors
Tire Pressures: Nitto NT01s (245/45/17s all around) - 29PSI all around - Cold
Changes to setup: Rear swaybar firmness, tire pressures, seats/harnesses, rear seat delete, BOV
We had a great turnout with Lucas and Myles from English Racing joining my brother, friend Kevin, and me at the track. Lucas had his powerful black Evo VIII in my run group along with Kevin's "far-from-stock" Subaru Forrester XT. I like to tell him that I get anxious when I'm following him as a loaf of bread could hit my windshield at any time. Myles also brought his 600WHP Integra out to run in the Novice group with my brother and his twin turbo, 570WHP 350Z (my old car). It was the first time out for both of them and they both had a blast.
Also new to me for this session was a Racelogic PerformanceBox GPS data acquisition system. My last track day I used Harry's Laptimer for my iPhone. I hooked it up using the external TomTom GPS antenna and could never get it to accurately record data. Others have raved on the Harry's solution so it was probably user error. When I'm at the track, I just want stuff "to work" without having to fiddle around too much and the PerformanceBox definitely does the trick. It is literally as easy as suction cupping it to your windshield, running power into the cigarette lighter, setting start/finish line via one button press, and forgetting about it the entire day. Once the start/finish line is setup, it stores the location in ROM so even powering off the unit is no problem. All data is recorded onto an SD card and it can be loaded up on your computer when the day is done using their great software, Circuit Tools. In addition, my original plan was to overlay the GPS data from the PerformanceBox to my HD video recordings via TrackVision but apparently the native output format of the PerformanceBox CSV file isn't recognized by TrackVision without modifications so I just did some quick in-video ghetto track time edits as I passed the start/finish line until I could get the TrackVision stuff figured out.
The weather forecast showed a 50% chance of rain so I spent most of my time praying for it to stay away. Ambient temps stayed in the 60s most of the day and I made some minor tire pressure adjustments to account for them. All in all, it was a beautiful day for racing. We had a small bit of drizzle right before lunch but got lucky and had a dry day the rest of the time.
Cascade's policy is that the first session of the day is to be with an instructor, even those with previous track experience like myself. Not a big deal, my only concern was that I truly wanted to get some solo, dry laps in hopes that I'd ultimately get my sub-1:30 goal that I've been trying for all year. On the flip side, it is always great to have a passenger to provide feedback as all of us fall into bad habits, etc. I was not being very smooth in the opening session and Dave (instructor) called me out a couple times. I also didn't have a bunch of confidence in the car since there were a lot of changes made since my last time out. With the new setup, extra 200 pounds, traffic, etc - I was able to put down a 1:32.86 so I was optimistic that I'd be able to reach my target if the track stayed dry.
In between the first session, I checked my tire pressures and they were right at the 38-40PSI mark all around. Interesting enough I noticed passenger side front about 1.5PSI hotter than the driver's side so I wondered if the passenger in the car caused that (car was corner balanced with no passenger ballast added). I dropped it 0.5PSI in preparation for the next session. Overall, the first session was a good one and the car was handling very nicely. Brakes were strong, and it was very neutral feeling and oversteer could be called upon demand based on driving technique. Probably just about what you'd want for a fast lapping vehicle (or at least it matched my driving style best)....
My first solo session (session two) was mainly spent continuing to test the car and build confidence while encountering many "cool down" laps caused by slow vehicles on the track. Cascade does not allow open passing so if you get caught behind a slow car between turns one and seven then you can really have a long time to wait...my best time during this session was 1:30.57 so I was less than a second off my goal. By the end of the session, I was really gaining more confidence in the car though, and knew I could drive even harder during session three.
Session three was very eventful, and it included spin outs, a full course black flag, and an individual black flag for me (doh!). The full course black flag was caused due to one of the cars dumping coolant between turns seven and twelve right in the driving line. We sat in the pits for 14:30 while they quickly dumped some quick dry and cautioned us on the track conditions. For any complaints I may have with Cascade, they definitely are the most safety conscious club I've ever run with. This is definitely a good thing. My personal black flag incident was due to me blowing through the Chicane at turn one. I was doing some brake testing and was seeing how deep I could get into turn one. Let's just say that waiting until the 350 mark wasn't going to happen so I decided to play it safe and go through Chicane instead of doing anything stupid like trying to make the turn and spin or hit someone or a wall. After heading down pits, and explaining what happened they told me I did exactly the right thing and let me back out to finish the session. With all the eventfulness of the session, my best time was 1:32.62 which was a step backwards. Between sessions, I took tire temps and was happy to see that my pressures looked spot on with essentially no variation between the rear tires' inner-middle-outer areas. The front tires did appear to be about 20 degrees cooler on the insides, but the middle and outer sections were identical. Because of this, I only made a slight adjustment to pressures to account for the ambient temperature rise going into the fourth session.
The last session of the day was just good all around. My only complaint was the lack of open track and the slow cars that were in our group. Midway through the session I put down a 1:29.74 followed by a 1:30.91 in open track conditions. It took me all day but I finally achieved my goal. Laps eleven and twelve were some of the most fun all day as Lucas and I were neck and neck for a lap and a half. Lap eleven was some great footage showing me chasing Lucas while putting down a 1:30.57. I've put the footage of session four on YouTube and it can be seen below...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KPukGfOKRI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Mrcw7eYqU
My next time out at the track was a Cascade Sports Club driving event at Portland International Raceway (October 1st, 2011); after trying to fix all the issues that surfaced during my last track day it would be interesting to see how the day panned out. My particulars were as follows:
Camber Alignment Front: -3.0
Camber Alignment Rear: -1.5
Sway Bar Front: Stock
Sway Bar Rear: Whiteline - Full Soft
Suspension Specs: Ohlins DFV Coilovers (10k front and 12k rear) - 10 clicks from full stiff front and 7 clicks from full stiff rear
Brakes: Carbotech XP10 (front), Carbotech XP8 (rear) with Stoptech SS Lines, and Motul RBF600 Fluid - stock rotors
Tire Pressures: Nitto NT01s (245/45/17s all around) - 29PSI all around - Cold
Changes to setup: Rear swaybar firmness, tire pressures, seats/harnesses, rear seat delete, BOV
We had a great turnout with Lucas and Myles from English Racing joining my brother, friend Kevin, and me at the track. Lucas had his powerful black Evo VIII in my run group along with Kevin's "far-from-stock" Subaru Forrester XT. I like to tell him that I get anxious when I'm following him as a loaf of bread could hit my windshield at any time. Myles also brought his 600WHP Integra out to run in the Novice group with my brother and his twin turbo, 570WHP 350Z (my old car). It was the first time out for both of them and they both had a blast.
Also new to me for this session was a Racelogic PerformanceBox GPS data acquisition system. My last track day I used Harry's Laptimer for my iPhone. I hooked it up using the external TomTom GPS antenna and could never get it to accurately record data. Others have raved on the Harry's solution so it was probably user error. When I'm at the track, I just want stuff "to work" without having to fiddle around too much and the PerformanceBox definitely does the trick. It is literally as easy as suction cupping it to your windshield, running power into the cigarette lighter, setting start/finish line via one button press, and forgetting about it the entire day. Once the start/finish line is setup, it stores the location in ROM so even powering off the unit is no problem. All data is recorded onto an SD card and it can be loaded up on your computer when the day is done using their great software, Circuit Tools. In addition, my original plan was to overlay the GPS data from the PerformanceBox to my HD video recordings via TrackVision but apparently the native output format of the PerformanceBox CSV file isn't recognized by TrackVision without modifications so I just did some quick in-video ghetto track time edits as I passed the start/finish line until I could get the TrackVision stuff figured out.
The weather forecast showed a 50% chance of rain so I spent most of my time praying for it to stay away. Ambient temps stayed in the 60s most of the day and I made some minor tire pressure adjustments to account for them. All in all, it was a beautiful day for racing. We had a small bit of drizzle right before lunch but got lucky and had a dry day the rest of the time.
Cascade's policy is that the first session of the day is to be with an instructor, even those with previous track experience like myself. Not a big deal, my only concern was that I truly wanted to get some solo, dry laps in hopes that I'd ultimately get my sub-1:30 goal that I've been trying for all year. On the flip side, it is always great to have a passenger to provide feedback as all of us fall into bad habits, etc. I was not being very smooth in the opening session and Dave (instructor) called me out a couple times. I also didn't have a bunch of confidence in the car since there were a lot of changes made since my last time out. With the new setup, extra 200 pounds, traffic, etc - I was able to put down a 1:32.86 so I was optimistic that I'd be able to reach my target if the track stayed dry.
In between the first session, I checked my tire pressures and they were right at the 38-40PSI mark all around. Interesting enough I noticed passenger side front about 1.5PSI hotter than the driver's side so I wondered if the passenger in the car caused that (car was corner balanced with no passenger ballast added). I dropped it 0.5PSI in preparation for the next session. Overall, the first session was a good one and the car was handling very nicely. Brakes were strong, and it was very neutral feeling and oversteer could be called upon demand based on driving technique. Probably just about what you'd want for a fast lapping vehicle (or at least it matched my driving style best)....
My first solo session (session two) was mainly spent continuing to test the car and build confidence while encountering many "cool down" laps caused by slow vehicles on the track. Cascade does not allow open passing so if you get caught behind a slow car between turns one and seven then you can really have a long time to wait...my best time during this session was 1:30.57 so I was less than a second off my goal. By the end of the session, I was really gaining more confidence in the car though, and knew I could drive even harder during session three.
Session three was very eventful, and it included spin outs, a full course black flag, and an individual black flag for me (doh!). The full course black flag was caused due to one of the cars dumping coolant between turns seven and twelve right in the driving line. We sat in the pits for 14:30 while they quickly dumped some quick dry and cautioned us on the track conditions. For any complaints I may have with Cascade, they definitely are the most safety conscious club I've ever run with. This is definitely a good thing. My personal black flag incident was due to me blowing through the Chicane at turn one. I was doing some brake testing and was seeing how deep I could get into turn one. Let's just say that waiting until the 350 mark wasn't going to happen so I decided to play it safe and go through Chicane instead of doing anything stupid like trying to make the turn and spin or hit someone or a wall. After heading down pits, and explaining what happened they told me I did exactly the right thing and let me back out to finish the session. With all the eventfulness of the session, my best time was 1:32.62 which was a step backwards. Between sessions, I took tire temps and was happy to see that my pressures looked spot on with essentially no variation between the rear tires' inner-middle-outer areas. The front tires did appear to be about 20 degrees cooler on the insides, but the middle and outer sections were identical. Because of this, I only made a slight adjustment to pressures to account for the ambient temperature rise going into the fourth session.
The last session of the day was just good all around. My only complaint was the lack of open track and the slow cars that were in our group. Midway through the session I put down a 1:29.74 followed by a 1:30.91 in open track conditions. It took me all day but I finally achieved my goal. Laps eleven and twelve were some of the most fun all day as Lucas and I were neck and neck for a lap and a half. Lap eleven was some great footage showing me chasing Lucas while putting down a 1:30.57. I've put the footage of session four on YouTube and it can be seen below...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KPukGfOKRI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Mrcw7eYqU
Last edited by skidmarq; Oct 5, 2011 at 10:55 AM.
I probably won't get too "radical" such as removing AC, etc until I begin competition racing since the extra few pounds aren't as critical until I'm being timed...
For TTS; you definitely have to decide if you want to run 245's more more power or 275's with less power. Weight the car properly to get to your 8.7:1 modified with a little wiggle room and you're set.
If you're on the stock turbo; the decision is a little easier. I've got a crapload of spreadsheet calculations, so if you haven't done those, start now!
Where you'll get into deep $ and find the remaining time is in aero. Buying, installing and figuring out aero is really the biggest blocker for me in going to TTS. My .02
If you're on the stock turbo; the decision is a little easier. I've got a crapload of spreadsheet calculations, so if you haven't done those, start now!
Where you'll get into deep $ and find the remaining time is in aero. Buying, installing and figuring out aero is really the biggest blocker for me in going to TTS. My .02
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I gave Harry's Lap Timer a second go at this last weekend to, my first experience I had the same problem of it actually recording data...turned out to be because I had it in the middle of the car strapped to the cage it wouldn't get very accurate. This time I relied on the gopro for video and put my iphone in a suction cup mount that I screwed to the driveshaft tunnel. Recorded all my lap times and G data which I'll attempt to combine later on. All else fails I really can't complain for 15 bucks, yet. I'm gonna get the 5hhz GPS in his next release.
Thanks man, appreciate the valuable feedback. The 245s feel good at this stage in the game but I know that I'll need more rubber underneath me when I try to get nationally competitive. For that reason, I'm going to plan on going with the larger rubber while targeting the lower power (guesstimating 360-370WHP range - dependent on my weight at that point but going by some of you guys as the template for that power number).
What I've been discussing with English Racing is the best way to increase torque while still keeping my horsepower within TTS limits. From reading through some of your awesome threads, I am aware that larger displacement vehicles like Vettes have a huge advantage in that area...
What I've been discussing with English Racing is the best way to increase torque while still keeping my horsepower within TTS limits. From reading through some of your awesome threads, I am aware that larger displacement vehicles like Vettes have a huge advantage in that area...
I gave Harry's Lap Timer a second go at this last weekend to, my first experience I had the same problem of it actually recording data...turned out to be because I had it in the middle of the car strapped to the cage it wouldn't get very accurate. This time I relied on the gopro for video and put my iphone in a suction cup mount that I screwed to the driveshaft tunnel. Recorded all my lap times and G data which I'll attempt to combine later on. All else fails I really can't complain for 15 bucks, yet. I'm gonna get the 5hhz GPS in his next release.
harry's lap timer is really cool..
All it needs is a high rez GPS like this one...
http://bad-elf.com/
Thanks man, appreciate the valuable feedback. The 245s feel good at this stage in the game but I know that I'll need more rubber underneath me when I try to get nationally competitive. For that reason, I'm going to plan on going with the larger rubber while targeting the lower power (guesstimating 360-370WHP range - dependent on my weight at that point but going by some of you guys as the template for that power number).
What I've been discussing with English Racing is the best way to increase torque while still keeping my horsepower within TTS limits. From reading through some of your awesome threads, I am aware that larger displacement vehicles like Vettes have a huge advantage in that area...
What I've been discussing with English Racing is the best way to increase torque while still keeping my horsepower within TTS limits. From reading through some of your awesome threads, I am aware that larger displacement vehicles like Vettes have a huge advantage in that area...
In the same regard, lower/tighter tracks with quick transitions can play into our hands better. And running a wider 275 will increase that particular advantage if you choose to do so. IMO, you'll need it on a 10" or wider to really take advantage. Some of the Vettes run 11" wide on 275's. Reason being you want to stretch and utilize ALL of that tire!
Gotta pay to play at the front...
I gave Harry's Lap Timer a second go at this last weekend to, my first experience I had the same problem of it actually recording data...turned out to be because I had it in the middle of the car strapped to the cage it wouldn't get very accurate. This time I relied on the gopro for video and put my iphone in a suction cup mount that I screwed to the driveshaft tunnel. Recorded all my lap times and G data which I'll attempt to combine later on. All else fails I really can't complain for 15 bucks, yet. I'm gonna get the 5hhz GPS in his next release.
That's why I'm loving the PerformanceBox. Set it once and forget about it the rest of the day. The only complaint I have so far is integration with TrackVision. Will continue troubleshooting until I figure that out though...
By no means am I ripping on Harry's software though because there are legions of folks who swear by it...it just didn't work for me is all...
Watched your vid. Nice job on the double-apex corners ignoring the first apex and hitting your marks on the 2nd! Using the curbs nicely. I know those cones are there to help, but if they weren't there, you'd have a LOT more track-out you could use to carry speed to be sure!
And the 1 lap you're behind the other Evo around the 15:00 mark... you're running tighter lines!
And the 1 lap you're behind the other Evo around the 15:00 mark... you're running tighter lines!
Thanks man, appreciate those kind words! Yeah, "Cascade club lines" are a little different that what I like to run. The cones placed on the track before the entrance to turn six are to prevent folks from running entry angles too wide as they claim a track walk indicates a small elevation runoff there but I actually like to enter very wide there anyway as it allows me to carry more speed through the short straight to turn seven...
Club rules though, gotta play by them...
Oh, and as a reference point, I believe Lucas is running around 75-80 more WHP than me. Good practice for when I go against Vettes in the future...LOL
Club rules though, gotta play by them...
Oh, and as a reference point, I believe Lucas is running around 75-80 more WHP than me. Good practice for when I go against Vettes in the future...LOL
Last edited by skidmarq; Oct 3, 2011 at 02:33 PM.
I was going to say to toss the Forge RS but I see you already did. I had similiar problems at the track and picked up a used APS twin vent. I am going to try that at the next track day and see if that helps the issue or not.