Top speed at Watkins Glen Bus Stop, Traqmate GPS verified.
Without: 136.3 mph.
With: 139.8 mph.
That's why gardening is good for you!
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Showing posts with label technique. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technique. Show all posts
October 7, 2011
Speed Secret
Top speed at Watkins Glen Bus Stop, Traqmate GPS verified.
Without: 136.3 mph.
With: 139.8 mph.
That's why gardening is good for you!
.
February 22, 2007
More on smoothness...
A quick update to our post below about apparent driver smoothness.
Thanks to reader "Flange Paffet" over at JustGoFaster (one of the best sites on the planet) again from the 2006 24hour race at Spa, here are the qualifying laps of Luca Moro and Wolfgang Kaufmann, both in Porsche 996 GT3 RSR.
In the first clip you can see that Moro is a much smoother, cleaner driver although it is clear that the 996RSR needs a lot of attention.
Kaufmann, here in an extended version of the clip in the older post, is flailing away, he is missing gears (well, more like selecting the wrong gear on the sequential). He does not get Eau Rouge right until the last pass in the video... but in the end he is a MASSIVE 5 seconds faster than Moro.
enjoy
February 20, 2007
DE Smooth vs Race Smooth
Invariably, when we submit a video to one of the many internet discussion forums, someone will declare that our driving (or whoever is in the film) sucks because the steering wheel moves around too much.
"The driver looks like he played too much Playstation" is a predictable barb and while in the ideal world smooth IS the ideal, the reality of tires, surfaces and trajectory are such that at the limit a driver is ALWAYS making corrections.
Club racer and frequent Bimmerforum poster Bryan Watts put it very well and very clearly:
"Someone driving at/near the limit won't be making a single steering input to apex and never move their hands except to unwind the wheel for the exit...that's what I like to call "DE smooth". That generally means they aren't pushing hard enough. If you're at the limit, you'll be making changes constantly as each few inches of pavement has different grip characteristics due to camber, roughness, wear, material, etc, etc and the amount of grip available from the car changes as it rolls into and out of the turn while the geometry changes and weight transfers. The really good drivers are the ones who can make these small changes so precisely and so instantly that the tire is always happy and the car looks "smooth" from the outside because of how much work they are doing on the inside."
(Editor's Note: "DE" stands for "Driver's Education" a short hand for club organized track days with instruction.)
To illustrate the above I dug up two video of the same pro driver in different situations.
This driver is a great example since his style is so exaggerated: Wolfgang Kaufmann has been racing for 20 years everything from Polos to Porsches. The video of his astounding laps of the Nürburgring in a Donkervoort racer are legendary.
In the first video below he is driving, presumably some acquaintances, around the Nürburgring in a ... VOLVO!
The video is very shaky but you can get the idea. Watch his hands, perfectly "DE Smooth", one input and then held steady.
If you think he's just going slow you're right, Kaufmann did have the 'Ring record in a Gamballa GTR at 7 minutes and 32 seconds, still a sub 9 minute lap in a Volvo with at least 3 people on board is not too shabby!
There is plenty of good commentary about the track and "Bonus points" for racing the Ring Mini at the end of the lap!
Contrast that with the video below where Kaufmann is at Spa, driving an FIA GT Porsche 996 GT3 RSR. The hands speak for themselves.
CG will probably chime in on this but I'm guessing that the RSR is so stiff in the front that it needs to be thrown and caught to make it turn.
Notice also that if you look at the track the car is smooth, this is because at the very limits of adhesion the effect of steering angle is much less pronounced.
I would love to see some comments on this subject either here or in the Axis Forum.
Update:
I found a different onboard from the same FIA GT race as above, this time from a GT2 Ferrari 430.
Not much flailing going on there!.
Below the Ferrari clip, we find out more about why exactly Kaufmann is in a Volvo... and as you see from his driving in that clip, no drama.
At this point I'm leaning towards the conclusion that that the setup on the 996 RSR above blew chunks...or maybe the tires were completely gone.
The guys over on Rennlist are adding lots of useful comments take a look.
"The driver looks like he played too much Playstation" is a predictable barb and while in the ideal world smooth IS the ideal, the reality of tires, surfaces and trajectory are such that at the limit a driver is ALWAYS making corrections.
Club racer and frequent Bimmerforum poster Bryan Watts put it very well and very clearly:
"Someone driving at/near the limit won't be making a single steering input to apex and never move their hands except to unwind the wheel for the exit...that's what I like to call "DE smooth". That generally means they aren't pushing hard enough. If you're at the limit, you'll be making changes constantly as each few inches of pavement has different grip characteristics due to camber, roughness, wear, material, etc, etc and the amount of grip available from the car changes as it rolls into and out of the turn while the geometry changes and weight transfers. The really good drivers are the ones who can make these small changes so precisely and so instantly that the tire is always happy and the car looks "smooth" from the outside because of how much work they are doing on the inside."
(Editor's Note: "DE" stands for "Driver's Education" a short hand for club organized track days with instruction.)
To illustrate the above I dug up two video of the same pro driver in different situations.
This driver is a great example since his style is so exaggerated: Wolfgang Kaufmann has been racing for 20 years everything from Polos to Porsches. The video of his astounding laps of the Nürburgring in a Donkervoort racer are legendary.
In the first video below he is driving, presumably some acquaintances, around the Nürburgring in a ... VOLVO!
The video is very shaky but you can get the idea. Watch his hands, perfectly "DE Smooth", one input and then held steady.
If you think he's just going slow you're right, Kaufmann did have the 'Ring record in a Gamballa GTR at 7 minutes and 32 seconds, still a sub 9 minute lap in a Volvo with at least 3 people on board is not too shabby!
There is plenty of good commentary about the track and "Bonus points" for racing the Ring Mini at the end of the lap!
Contrast that with the video below where Kaufmann is at Spa, driving an FIA GT Porsche 996 GT3 RSR. The hands speak for themselves.
CG will probably chime in on this but I'm guessing that the RSR is so stiff in the front that it needs to be thrown and caught to make it turn.
Notice also that if you look at the track the car is smooth, this is because at the very limits of adhesion the effect of steering angle is much less pronounced.
I would love to see some comments on this subject either here or in the Axis Forum.
Update:
I found a different onboard from the same FIA GT race as above, this time from a GT2 Ferrari 430.
Not much flailing going on there!.
Below the Ferrari clip, we find out more about why exactly Kaufmann is in a Volvo... and as you see from his driving in that clip, no drama.
At this point I'm leaning towards the conclusion that that the setup on the 996 RSR above blew chunks...or maybe the tires were completely gone.
The guys over on Rennlist are adding lots of useful comments take a look.
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