You've seen it on many other sites by now but I thought it would be unfair if we did not put it on Axis as well. Here is the video of the Corvette ZR1's record lap at the Nürburgring.My question: why is it that GM test drivers shuffle steer? Is it a corporate mandate? The video of John Heinricy driving the Caddy CTS-V was the same... hmmm..
Anyway, great fun to watch... I think Mr.Mero thought he was about to be toast at Schwalbenschwanz for a second!
Video after the jump
Shuffle-steering works for me. Sure, in a Real Race Car (tm) that doesn't go 3+ turns lock-to-lock, don't let go. But in a street car, it's the way to go.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree. In a street car with a fairly quick ratio, stick with 9&3 when possible. Corvettes have pretty quick ratios, as do Z3s, Z4s, Hondas, and many others these days. Low-speed shuffle steering is one thing, but I say keep your hands planted for the quick stuff.
ReplyDelete-Freep
Oh, and btw,
ReplyDeleteYAY PUSHRODS!!!!
-Freep
I can't think of one corner at the Nürburgring where you would have to turn the wheel more than a quarter turn unless you were driving a van...
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm sure you noticed that there would be significant time to be made if the driving was cleaner. I asked CG to compare some speeds with the GT3RS because on some corners it looked like he was a little slow (relatively) and this monster time comes in part from the monstrous acceleration of the ZR1
ReplyDeleteHaven't had the time to compare speeds. I personally think that was great driving! specially considering its using real street PS2s.
ReplyDeleteApex speeds are insane in the fast stuff and look fine in the slower stuff, where the most impressive part is track out acceleration. It certainly requires a lot of throttle modulation.... amazing driving..
It doesn't look that clean b/c its 600hp on street tires, and if you are at the limit it will move all over the place. That's why you shuffle steer, I do it too. It allows you to be faster for any correction, specially on the tighter stuff. If you are caught needing a quick correction at the limit of your 9-3 hands you are screwed or would not be as fast returning the wheel.
You need a real racecar with 1.5 turns lock to lock to never need shuffle steering.
Well, in the end, you do what works for you.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that two very quick GM drivers do it...
too bad you don't get to se the other hand.
CG - I agree with everything you said except for the part about 9 and 3. Emerson Fittipaldi claims to have pioneered steering wheel and hand position research, and I subscribe to his school of thought that your hands can be quicker at 9/3 because it removes one extra calculation for your brain (indexing the current wheel position). When seating position is correct, the wheel has a comfortable 180-degrees of motion (each direction) with hands at 9/3. That's pretty useful.
ReplyDelete-Freep
btw, remember those PS2s are RUNFLATS!
ReplyDelete-Freep
obviously, runflat is not an excuse anymore...
ReplyDeleteshuffle or not, i dont think many people could drive such a beast of a car to such a time at the ring.
ReplyDeletei give credit where credit is due. that was an awsome drive. makes me want to buy a real car.
-the race edition/DW
I think the car is great. The fact that they are using a hybrid version of the FXX/Enzo ceramic brakes on a $103,000 car is impressive.
ReplyDeleteGM has done a wonderful job with the ZR-1. They put more carbon body parts than any other so-called sport car manufacturer (Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, etc).
The transmission ratios are very close from 1st to 5th. An overkill given the power from a supercharged V8, but the right thing nevertheless.
The runflats are heavy tires. These days, the GT3/GT2/GTR/Scud all come with DOT race tires.
I bet that a talented Nürburgring driver, with the ZR-1 and DOT-R tires (Michelin Sport Cups or Pirelli Corsa), will put this car under 7:20.
This car is beating the Carrera GT and the GT2 in their home ground (a race track).
I still want Chrysler to bring a 2008 Viper ACR to the Ring.