Snails - Racing for Real

  • Thread starter CoachMK21
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Got new car, needed new rubber. Had run old rubber to ridiculously low - after 12-14 minutes, I was the guy drifting, not sticking to a line.

New R7 for dedicated tires.
New model Toyo 8R (replacing R888 for 'rain' or regular use) - and 17" Cup rims
New 8R the old car.

Owner was very, very friendly when I left. :cheers: My wife, less so when I got home. :nervous:

I spent more on those tires than buying the E36 328is two years ago. :crazy:

Now... Miss that car. :drool: Now the E46 330i will need 'new shoes' in a few months.... better order flowers! ;)
 
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DublDee
I'm looking to fit my Vette with the new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, once they are available here. Seems to be a pretty good tire for street and light track applications.
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Mine came with Dunlop DZ102s, I'll see how they do at our next autocross event. The tires are 460 treadwear but the car feels like it has more grip than my 86 on 240 treadwear federal 595ss. (also, the 86 only has 195s..)

On the street the Dunlops do quite well, and I managed to get 34mpg highway average over a 30 minute trip, 32 after I got off the freeway.
 
ConnorWolf
Mine came with Dunlop DZ102s, I'll see how they do at our next autocross event. The tires are 460 treadwear but the car feels like it has more grip than my 86 on 240 treadwear federal 595ss. (also, the 86 only has 195s..)

On the street the Dunlops do quite well, and I managed to get 34mpg highway average over a 30 minute trip, 32 after I got off the freeway.
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My STi came with Dunlops that stuck great. But I lived in coldland and so I got some Continental DWS all-seasons that were OK in wet and snow but really not great in the dry. My last purchase was Bridgestones from Costco. Very good grip, good reviews and less expensive than the Dunlops. Not sure abbout the $120s - you get what you pay for. I learned that with the MR2. After years of going through a set of GY Eagles every year, I downgraded, and of course lost grip.


Found this picture and thought I'd add it. Before I bought my Club Ford, I autocrossed my Tercel -
circa 1989: My first car, a 1980 Toyota Tercel. It was a great little car (as are most Toyotas) and it served me well for years, including here at my first SCCA autocross. It was also the first car I drove hard, the first car I got sideways, the first car in which I learned not to hit the brakes when you get sideways, the first car I spun, the first car I learned to replace suspension parts on...well, you get the idea.

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Rental kart season looks to be making some changes this year. Should be a lot of fun. The final race of each league will fall on a club day and cycle through with the "real karters". They're also planning to be more strict on weight, with a minimum being employed; which means I'm gonna need to add ballast. Awesome. :)
 
It's good to see others are getting out and enjoying the warm weather. I've only been able to make one autocross event and one ChumpCar weekend, and they were back to back weekends.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we took the Volvo to Watkins Glen for a double 7-hour race weekend. We finished 19th out of 106 on Saturday and 29th out of 96 on Sunday. We were as high as 7th on Sunday, but had a throttle body issue that took us 25 minutes to repair, so between 10-11 laps lost. This would have put us on the same lap as those who finished in 6th-12th overall. So it was a successful weekend, but could have been a little better.

For me, I started off the race on Saturday and it was quite crazy with 106 cars out there. I was pretty frustrated with how I raced and wasn't happy at all with it. After talking with others about the opening stints and watching others in-car video, I can accept it a little more. My lap times were comparatively slow for the team, but I think I only have a couple clear laps out of 20. On Sunday, my driving was much more consistent. The tires were shot, as they were the same tires we ran for the whole event, so they had 12 hours of racing on them when I got in the car for the final 2 hours. The transmission was ailing. It was popping out of 3rd gear if it wasn't under load. This happened most often in turn 1 and turn 8 a little less. It's not too good when you make a pass on the front straight, then essentially misshift and have that car you just passed close way up on you. Fortunately, there wasn't any contact from these issues. After it happened a couple times, I started holding the shifter in gear and turning with just my left arm, until I could get back on the gas. My shoulder wasn't pleased the next day.

Here are a few video's from the weekend.

Fastest lap from Sunday, on lap 2 of 44:

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Complete stint on Saturday - Only 35 minutes after cautions were removed
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First 16 minutes from Sunday - GoPro power cable got unplugged
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Round 1
I don't have any video from Rd 1, but it wasn't a great day. I had some really good battles, but I struggled with consistency and overall speed. I ran both qualifiers and the pre-final with the weight on, but it was starting to take a toll on my lower back and since it became apparent that this wasn't something that was going to be enforced (pretty impractical for the kids that race in the group), I took it off for the final last week.

Round 2
I came into this week with the goal of being more critical of my technique and learning how to find more speed faster. I also came in with the mentality of being more aggressive, especially defending because that's how my buddy beat me last week. I was fast enough to hold him off, but was being too careful and not taking full advantage of my corner rights. You'll see me put this into play toward the end of the video. I got a tip from @Vitessekid quite some time ago regarding shifting my weight upon cornering, which at the time I was not comfortable enough driving to be able to utilize, but I've gotten to the point where the addition of this extra task is no longer overwhelming. Now where the kids beat me in outright acceleration off the corners, I can make up by adding more grip and rotation in the turns, especially the technical 5/6 complex. I had a slow kart in the pre-final and it was evident right out of the gate, It simply lacked power and I had to settle with 8th, which is where I started the final race. That particular kart started right in front of me so that was an easy pick right out of the gate, Probably could have had a better chance to win if I could have gotten by sooner but can't pass before I cross the line.

pre-final close call



Final

 
Lessen
Round 1
I don't have any video from Rd 1, but it wasn't a great day. I had some really good battles, but I struggled with consistency and overall speed. I ran both qualifiers and the pre-final with the weight on, but it was starting to take a toll on my lower back and since it became apparent that this wasn't something that was going to be enforced (pretty impractical for the kids that race in the group), I took it off for the final last week.

Round 2
I came into this week with the goal of being more critical of my technique and learning how to find more speed faster. I also came in with the mentality of being more aggressive, especially defending because that's how my buddy beat me last week. I was fast enough to hold him off, but was being too careful and not taking full advantage of my corner rights. You'll see me put this into play toward the end of the video. I got a tip from @Vitessekid quite some time ago regarding shifting my weight upon cornering, which at the time I was not comfortable enough driving to be able to utilize, but I've gotten to the point where the addition of this extra task is no longer overwhelming. Now where the kids beat me in outright acceleration off the corners, I can make up by adding more grip and rotation in the turns, especially the technical 5/6 complex. I had a slow kart in the pre-final and it was evident right out of the gate, It simply lacked power and I had to settle with 8th, which is where I started the final race. That particular kart started right in front of me so that was an easy pick right out of the gate, Probably could have had a better chance to win if I could have gotten by sooner but can't pass before I cross the line.

pre-final close call



Final
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Correct me if I'm wrong but shifting your weight to the outside rear wheel is what you want right? Too bad about the crappy kart, but that's the name of the game
 
RobbiefromBC
Correct me if I'm wrong but shifting your weight to the outside rear wheel is what you want right? Too bad about the crappy kart, but that's the name of the game
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Yes, that's correct on both points. It is a bit counter-intuitive because our brain typically tells us to stay balanced, therefor we naturally tend to lean into the turn, opposite the direction momentum is pushing us, rather than with it. It definitely has to be an intentional adjustment until it becomes second nature. Then of course with rentals it also depends on the kart. The one I drove in the main really didn't stick all that well even though it was fast. Too much lean in the fast sweepers would overload the outer rear and cause a 4-wheel slide. It almost cost me 2nd as I was pushing really hard to catch the leader.
 
Back from Camaro Fest 7. Spent Thursday at NCMMP, got in 4 runs at the drag strip at Beech Bend on Friday. No real pics of my car on the strip but a few I bought from ABI Photo while at NCM. They estimated 1100cars, to include vendor and manufacturer cars and over 1600 people showed up for the 2(3) day event.

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Well, I can now say I've autocrossed, tracked and dragged my car. Not sure when I'll get a chance to do it again, if I do. I discovered I prefer the track to autocross and drag racing and if you twisted my arm I'd probably pick drag racing over autox. The track they did Camarocross on was not to my liking as it's a small oval with a 2' or so concrete wall around it and the last turn was so tight full left lock looked to be required to get around it and it was right next to the wall where if you missed the brake or turn in point your front was gonna bash it and if you romped the gas to early and got loose your rear was gonna tag it. I skipped the AX since I've already done one event with the nearby club over a year ago.
Here's a pic of the last turn. EWEGLY!
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Dragonwhisky
Well, I can now say I've autocrossed, tracked and dragged my car. Not sure when I'll get a chance to do it again, if I do. I discovered I prefer the track to autocross and drag racing and if you twisted my arm I'd probably pick drag racing over autox. The track they did Camarocross on was not to my liking as it's a small oval with a 2' or so concrete wall around it and the last turn was so tight full left lock looked to be required to get around it and it was right next to the wall where if you missed the brake or turn in point your front was gonna bash it and if you romped the gas to early and got loose your rear was gonna tag it. I skipped the AX since I've already done one event with the nearby club over a year ago.
Here's a pic of the last turn. EWEGLY!
View attachment 661523
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Wow, I can see why that would turn you off to autocross. Before you lose all hope, I suggest you attend a SCCA event. We have much more strict safety regulations, like the course can't be within 25 feet of an immovable object, like a concrete wall or curbing or a light pole. Our region uses 50 feet, which is the regulation for karts. If you've watched some of my autocross videos, you'll notice we are always a safe distance away from anything that can wreck your car. That would be bad.

I've never been to a drag strip, but it's something I've wanted to try. Even though I grew up a few miles from one and we could always hear it on race nights.
 
I do more time trials these days than solo events myself, but like Mark said solo events are still fun; but the quality of the site, course, and overall event can vary greatly from region to region and event to event. In general the idea is to maintain speeds between 30-70mph. When you see 45' slolams, pivot cones and pinchey sections that is just poor site use, typically done in an effort to extend time on course at a small lot. Which means you should seek out a big lot! There are some areas that have large parking lot events, but many of the higher speed events are runway courses. Even a moderately paced course layout at a site like that can be more enjoyable for a lot of folks, especially beginners. You won't find crossovers/loops, or a confusing sea of cones as they courses are laid out more linearly and come at you with a bit more visual clarity. Here is an old video of a typical course of that type;

 
Lessen
.207 R/T NICE!!
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Yeah, If you've never done drag racing that reaction time only matters when your head to head and first to finish line wins. I'm an utter newb at drag racing and they had us using the "Pro Tree" which means after the staging lights light up all three yellows come on together then the green. Several folks wanted the "Sportsman Tree" which stages the yellows on sequentially on 1 second intervals, I think. The reason they had us on the pro tree is to help prevent a lot of red lights. That best RT was accomplished on a run that was by myself and not having to think or wait for the other car to stage before the yellows popped. You really do have to "go on yellow" to get anywhere near a decent RT. If that would have been the sportsman tree I can well imagine how me and all the rest of the newbs would have been launching on the second yellow and red lighting every run. Hell, my second run I tried to power brake launch, didn't hold the brakes firm enough and jumped over the line before the yellow even popped. I was heads up the run with another car but the starter dude let me back up and once the other car finished let me get staged for my run.

CoachMK21
Wow, I can see why that would turn you off to autocross. Before you lose all hope, I suggest you attend a SCCA event. We have much more strict safety regulations, like the course can't be within 25 feet of an immovable object, like a concrete wall or curbing or a light pole. Our region uses 50 feet, which is the regulation for karts. If you've watched some of my autocross videos, you'll notice we are always a safe distance away from anything that can wreck your car. That would be bad.

I've never been to a drag strip, but it's something I've wanted to try. Even though I grew up a few miles from one and we could always hear it on race nights.
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I've AXed my car in a large parking lot a year and a half ago and the course layout was done so that I never felt I would be at risk to hitting any of the curbing or light stanchions. I'm not turned off to AX in general but that wall at Beech Bend was just more risk than I was willing to assume. I know I could have taken it easy but, as we all know, once you get on track, and it doesn't matter what track, mindsets change and the thrill of the moment tends to override those intentions the road to hell is paved with.

While I can't deny piloting a 10,000 HP top fuel car down the track is a tough thing to contemplate, running my stock 1LT with all the nannies on was pretty much easy as pie. My first run I tried launching the car in second gear, no power braking or burn outs to warm up the tires or anything, I avoided the water box all 4 runs anyway, had a horrible R/T and the car didn't start pulling until the ECU gave me full throttle at 4K rpm. Flappy paddled third and crossed the line. Second run I launched it in first and flappy paddled to third before crossing the line. Don't even recall what RPM I was shifting at that run. Third run I let the car decide where to shift and it ran the RPMs to 7K, which I didn't like much. The last run, which was my qualifier for the class ladders, launched in first, flappy paddled the run and shifted as the tach was passing 6K. As you can see my best ET was me flappy paddling and not really paying attention to the revs, while my best top speed was me tappin' the tranny and payin' closer attention to shift points. Not sure how that didn't equate to a faster ET but since I was there to learn I figured it was good enough. I passed on the ladder racing, mostly because it was just to damn hot to fart with it and I was planning to leave early to mid afternoon anyway and didn't want to waste anyone's time by not being in place when called. I did qualify 9th out of 12 V6s which included a couple of the cars in the class running twin turbo charger setups and they both ran in the high tens on Friday. I did learn that your R/T has nothing whatsoever to do with your ET because that timer doesn't start until you break the start light. You could literally sit fully staged with the light green, all day and night and the ET timer won't start counting until you break that start light.

Marcus Garvey
I do more time trials these days than solo events myself, but like Mark said solo events are still fun; but the quality of the site, course, and overall event can vary greatly from region to region and event to event. In general the idea is to maintain speeds between 30-70mph. When you see 45' slolams, pivot cones and pinchey sections that is just poor site use, typically done in an effort to extend time on course at a small lot. Which means you should seek out a big lot! There are some areas that have large parking lot events, but many of the higher speed events are runway courses. Even a moderately paced course layout at a site like that can be more enjoyable for a lot of folks, especially beginners. You won't find crossovers/loops, or a confusing sea of cones as they courses are laid out more linearly and come at you with a bit more visual clarity. Here is an old video of a typical course of that type;
Click to expand...

I reckon my main problem with local SCCA sanctioned AX is that whole work thing. While the entry fee is the cheapest anywhere, The day itself can run $100 dollars or so, depending on who you bring with you, and I can spend that much at a local indoor kart track and get 6 times the track time, for 3 people, and not have to "work". Granted, I won't be driving my car while doing it but that takes that expense risk out of the equation as well. I may do another AX event once I start doing performance mods to my car but that's still some time away. No Mark, I probably won't be doing suspension before engine mods but I will have some upgraded brake parts. On Wednesday night, before NCMMP, I had my brake fluid flushed and Motul 600 RBF put in it. Next thing is replacing the pads with some Hawk's but that will wait until the OEMs are down far enough to need replacing. I may consider some sway bar replacements before I AX or track again but, that's still a year or more away. Got other things I need to spend money on now. Been fartin' around with my hobbies more than I should this last couple of years and I need to buckle down and get my poop in a pile for to retire in about 10. If things work out the way I want, then some money will be gettin' spent on cars and guns and things. We'll see.
 
For anyone interested or just bored, here's a link (click the picture) for my "full monty" of pics and vids from CamaroFest VII

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Far as I know it's set to public.
 
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Taken from PittRace website... it wasn't really a simple tightly contested as they make it seem. The point paying format heavily benefited drivers with a weight advantage. Kody is a talented kid, but I can outdrive him any day of rhe week in like equipment and spec weight. Good season though that's for sure.

SUMMER RENTAL LEAGUE RECAP


The 2017 Summer Pitt Race Rental Karting League, concluded with the final race on July 23rd coinciding with a round of the Pitt Race Karting Series. The rental league was hotly contested with the largest field ever for a rental league with 19 pre-registrations for the entire series. Twenty-Nine total racers battled through five rounds of racing with Kody Johnson coming out on top taking top spot with 141 total points. Josh Nessel finished the series in second with 125 points. Collin Thomas ranked third with a grand total of 118 points.

The series winner was in no way clean cut and clear. Johnson came out strong in the first round with a win, Thomas taking second and Chad Hawks making an appearance in third. Round Two was dominated by newcomer Rocco Tarli followed with a tie between Johnson and Thomas, leaving fourth to Warren Croyle. Round three kept the theme of mixing it up. Croyle came in motivated by his round two finish to jet to the top of the podium. Nessel followed up with a second place and Johnson kept his momentum with a third podium finish in a row. By round four, the leaders of the series had found their rhythm and finished in a mixed three, Nessel taking top honors, Johnson pulling a second place, and Thomas sliding into third. The final round of the Summer Rental League took place during a round of the Pitt Race Karting Club Racing Series. Tarli must have been motivated by this exposure the PRKS racers as he returned to the top of the podium. Johnson racked up with a second place finish and Nessel added to his points with a third place podium.

The 2017 Summer Rental League shows real promise for the future of racing in Western PA with a sold out field and many of the racers looking to step up to the world of Club Racing in PRKS. The goal of the Rental League is to give aspiring racers some exposure to competitive karting as well as provide them access to club racing and racers. This was certainly accomplished with the excitement and competitiveness shown by newcomers such as Chad Hawks (4th place overall) and Jake Hall. Pitt Race locals continue to push the competitiveness of the rental league, led by Johnson, Nessel, and Thomas. And the presence of three racers, Johnson, Tarli, and Hall, coming in under the age of 16 shows the potential for future years of racing here at Pitt Race!

This camaraderie is great to see and we expect a great field for the Fall Rental League starting September 29 and introducing a Saturday morning format. We look forward to seeing you at the track!
 

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