OK changed to .WMV now...it should work for everyone...I hope.

Here is a video of my Sunday Time Trial run from VIR South course.

http://www.project-seven.goof....T.WMV

Please be kind and "save as".

Well, this was my second trip to the South course and my first time trial event. All I can say is that it was too much fun! I am hooked now. Running the TT had a whole different feel than the rest of the weekend. When I got out there, I could totally focus on the task at hand and put all the pieces together that I had been working on over the weekend...only sharing the track with two other cars. I remember once coming out of T2 and seeing the following car coming out of Oak Tree...That is OPEN track!

My game plan was simple. Don't try and be a hero...just go out there and run solid laps...get this event under your belt without doing something stupid. Things worked out pretty well. I was able to run a best time of 1:24.6xx on Saturday and ran a 1:24.8xx on Sunday. I kind of expected to pick up a little time on Sunday, but I think there were a couple of factors that came into play. First, I missed a shift going into Oak Tree on what seemed like my fastest lap (the only missed shift of the ENTIRE weekend of driving ) and second, I think that my Kumhos with six weekends on them are getting closer to being done.

I would appreciate if some of the VIR South vets (or anyone for that matter) would provide some constructive comments on anything I might could do better or different.

As you can tell by the long winded rambling above, and most imprtantly, I had major fun this past weekend.


Modified by RexRacer19 at 2:04 PM 4/13/2005


Modified by RexRacer19 at 7:27 PM 4/13/2005

 

What codec is that? Neither WMP nor DivX player will open it

 

WMP opened it just fine for me. What color was your CRX? I was there in the green civic ex.

 

I don't think that it is any special codec. I just made it using my Ulead Movie Factory 7 as MPEG-2. I tested it at home last night then again at work after your post and it seemed ok in WMP. I may have screwed something up or not had a setting right...To this point all I have used the software for is to burn my DV to DVD.

kommon_sense - Black #19 running in Blue group. #61 for the TT. I think that I remember seeing your car.

 

what's been done to modify the car besides NICE cage and exhaust? Nice driving by the way

 

Jeff, I'll see if the computer at the house will play the video...this one will not. I've got a number of tricks I use to drive south course. With you doing 1:24.x laps though, I probably don't know anything you haven't figured out already About four years ago I did a 23.3 there, but have not gotten close since.

 

Since I hope to go W2W at some point, I have been gradually turning it into a ITA/H4 car. All mods have stuck by those rule sets. So far...Tokicos w/ 400F/600R springs, bushings, radius rod bearings, big rear bar, etc. The engine is a .020" over rebuild that only makes about 110 WHP on Mr. Evans' Dyanapack. It still could use some cam tweaking and an ECU upgrade. It was my first stab at building an engine, so I am fairly happy with it. It has the stock FD and no LSD yet. I have been drooling over those for a while now...

In the next couple of weeks, it will have ANOTHER new clutch, as the one that is in it now slips something terrible from 2-3 and 3-4. Nursing that through a track weekend sucks. $100 new exedy clutch sets from ebay

Glad you like the cage...I hope I never have to use it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RexRacer19 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Since I hope to go W2W at some point, I have been gradually turning it into a ITA/H4 car. All mods have stuck by those rule sets. So far...Tokicos w/ 400F/600R springs, bushings, radius rod bearings, big rear bar, etc. The engine is a .020" over rebuild that only makes about 110 WHP on Mr. Evans' Dyanapack. It still could use some cam tweaking and an ECU upgrade. It was my first stab at building an engine, so I am fairly happy with it. It has the stock FD and no LSD yet. I have been drooling over those for a while now...

In the next couple of weeks, it will have ANOTHER new clutch, as the one that is in it now slips something terrible from 2-3 and 3-4. Nursing that through a track weekend sucks. $100 new exedy clutch sets from ebay

Glad you like the cage...I hope I never have to use it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You bringing that car to THSCC at Roebling in June? We could have some ITA fun...

 

Nope...That is a bit of a drive for me. I am planning (need to get signed up) to go to Rockinham in June. Are you considering that at all? I have never been there before, so I might not be up to speed. You'd probably kick my tail anyway.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RexRacer19 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Nope...That is a bit of a drive for me. I am planning (need to get signed up) to go to Rockinham in June. Are you considering that at all? I have never been there before, so I might not be up to speed. You'd probably kick my tail anyway. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Can't make Rockingham that weekend... Conflicts with a race weekend.

Looking at times, I would have you by about a second or so at South Course (at least going by TT times) if the weather this year was similar to last year's.

VIR South was too much of a trek for us, so I can understand not wanting to go too far for a track....but Roebling is just SO much fun!

 

What Karl said. I'll take a look at home and see if I can contribute anything. But since I only managed a 25something on Saturday, I guess I'm not one to go telling someone who is a second faster how to drive....

 

OK. Changed the video format to .wmv. Sorry to anyone who wasted time downloding the mpeg that was flakey.

MaddMatt - I am always wanting to learn more. You along with all the other H-T folks have way more experience there than I do. I always try and keep an open mind for this kind of stuff, 'cause you never know when you might learn something new.

 

nice heel toe action

 

OK, a few things come to mind. Just things to *experiment* with that have worked for me at south course.

Approaching T1: if memory serves, you can brake later - off the gas at the 4, brakes at the 3. At least I could in the GS-R (which I should point out does have ABS and big 3" brake ducts)

T1: do that one in 2nd gear. And I'd try apexing it a little later, keeping the car center track just a very little bit longer. That's a pretty fast straight you're coming onto so exit speed is king.

Approaching spiral (sorry, don't know turn numbers): stop forgetting to shift into 4th You can take 3rd under braking going up that little hill no problem.

Spiral: it sounds to me like you can be on the gas more and earlier going down that hill. I'm not in the car, but a lot of people don't drive through there as fast as they can.

Bottom of spiral, the sort of 170 deg. left hander: under braking for it (which you now need because you just did spiral faster), grab 2nd gear. It's impossibly busy with the turning and the braking and the shifting, but it can be done. As to line, you're doing it right. There's a little ditch thing through there where the track meets the gators that really slingshots the car around. Tons of grip.

South Bend: again, I'm not in the car. But if you don't *need* to go all the way track right coming outta there, don't. You're just adding distance. It's a triviality but sometimes that's the difference.

The thing before Oak Tree (the right hander): there's two schools of thought on how to do this complex. Mine is this. Where you're apexing that first kind of shallow right hander, I'm trying to keep the car almost artificially track left. This lets me round off Oak Tree a bit more, which means more power earlier, which means faster down the straight...you get the idea. Give it up a little in that first right hander to gain something down the straight.

That's how I drive the place anyway. Interested to see how the other folks who've driven VIR-S respond. Great driving Jeff, a 24 at VIR-S nowadays is a damn good lap.

 

Karl drives the exact same line I do.

Oak Tree is a pet peeve of mine. That's where the contenders and pretenders are separated. I absolutey do not apex the turn before Oak tree. I do a rim shot approach just as you would approach Nascar on the full course. A rim shot approach sets the car up at a less severe angle for Oak tree, good for several more mph coming out of it. And since that's the turn leading to the longest straight away.....


...dear God I'm on dial up, I'll never download 4 minutes of video.....

 

I disagree wit you and Rice. Turn 11? is quicker but harder to drive when clipping the apex curbing. Maybe we should try a comparo if i ever get a job and get back on track

 

Nice vid Jeff! I'm looking for a steering wheel... Where did you pick yours up?

I could see Julie possibly going for a TT weekend in the Acura.

Just have to take care of all the other items with the car before that's a possibility.

 

Ryan - Just a cheap Grant wheel that I bought almost right away when I got the car back in '98. I think I gave around $100 for it at Pep Boys. They may not make that model anymore.

I feel that the number one (and hardest to me at least) thing that I need to work on is getting into the turns quicker. I feel like I am getting through the middle out out of them ok but the entry is killing me. My habit is to break a little earlier and get rid of more speed before the turn in...thus making the turn in less dramatic. This is where sometimes I wish I was not driving such a "square" car like the CRX. That car has kicked my *** more than once getting into the corners due to the twitchy nature of it.

I don't know why but I never did try and do T1/2 in 2nd or coming out of the bottom of spiral...something to try next time for sure.

Maybe I just need to get the rev limit bumped up a little...

The car will drive a tigher line coming through south bend. My thinking for using all the track there is simply to keep the car freed up as much as possible by having less steering input. It may be that I have reached the point of diminishing returns there. That can be hard to judge sometimes to me.

Yes I drive the "chicken" line at Oak Tree. I simply do it because it is less risky to me. There is not much runoff room coming out of that turn if I screw it up. That little crest at the first apex (T11) really upsets the car when I take the wide line going in.

My driving lines and tecniques have been more on the consevative side up to this point. The mindset has been geared more to the DE environment. "We are not racing, but learing." and I don't want to be "that guy" that causes others to lose time becasue of a bad off. I have had plenty of other things to work on up to this point. It may be time to change that thinking a little and start working on the real tough stuff...

Thanks again for taking the time to give some advice. A few folks have posted here and others have IMed me. Thanks to everyone.

 

Nice driving. I wish I could have made this event. The weather was perfect for you guys. Maybe I can give you a run at Rockingham;-)

Tim