well, I've gone and done it. I went agricultural at the Summit FATT.
The day just started poorly as I put the cop car in the snow off the skid pad, was kinda funny, but not a good omen.

During the first session, as I was trying to shake the cob webs off (it's been about 2 years since I've been out on track) I went in turn 1 too hot and put 2 wheels off - nothing bad, just a bit of mud on the car.
The instructor kept insisting my car oversteered way too much for a front wheeler, "there must be something wrong with your suspension". It is true that the car felt a bit twitchy - I am not very impressed with the Kumho 712s, my old SP4000 all-seasons were just as sticky, and more predictable. Anyway...

There goes session 2. On the second lap, I hit a pothole full of water coming out of turn 8, and went off in turn 9. Backwards. At about 70mph. Over the snow bank.
Luckily, I barely kissed the tire wall, no damage to the car, only to my pride. The instructor blamed the suspension and mentioned I should have given it more gas when it started sliding. I blame myself.
It's funny how what you think you remember from a incident can be quite far from the truth. I could have sworn that the car understeered, and then snapped oversteered. That's what I remember.
Then I looked at the tape... (about 50 times, in slow motion, much to the aggravation of my 3-year old!) The car oversteered, I corrected, it slid the other way and I over-corrected, and it finally spun out - at which point I gave up and put both feet in. Took a whole 3 seconds.
The funny thing is that I was in the process of telling the instructor how I should avoid that pothole on the next lap. As I finished the sentence, the car started sliding.
What I DID NOT DO (and I know to do this, I know it, dammit) is to put my right foot on the floor as soon as it started oversteering. I know this, I practice it in the rain at low speed on deserted roads - but with the chips down and when it really mattered, I flaked out and did not do it. That really pisses me off.
So, after seating out the whole session, I cleaned up the car and got a ride with Warren (thanks, that was cool).

That's when the day started turning around for me. I had already decided to get back on track for sessions 3 and 4, but was feeling pretty low. Even though my ears are still ringing (Warren warned me, I shoulda had some earplugs) I learned a lot in that 20 minutes.

- SLOW in. I know this, and thought I was doing it - but not really. Warren was going in the turns really slow - and of course coming out really fast. I have been over-cooking my entries, and no one told me... Guess I should have figured it out for myself, huh?
- my butt needs more calibration. Warren was correcting for oversteers I did not even feel. And he felt some in my car (he instructed for session 3) that I did not correct, because I did not feel them.
- make better use of the curbs in 6.
- brake better. I am very conservative on my brakes, mostly because I don't really trust/know them at high speeds (like slowing down for turn 1). As a result I brake early and coast into the turn, and that throws the balance of the car off.
- I want better tires. I will still get street tires until I get better (my current plan is to switch to R compounds when/if I get to NASA advanced group), but I want something stickier.
- easy on the throttle in the carousel. I had been overdriving it a bit.

So, I session 3, I got the line down for each turn, I used the curbs better, and I dodged that f...ing pothole coming out of 8. It felt a lot better, and I felt more comfortable with Warren instructing.

Session 4, I got a different instructor, who was pretty good. I felt a lot better and nailed most corners. I even got the ***** back to go for it in turn 9 - and went through there with all 4 wheels just barely sliding. Scary, but it felt good.

So, all in all, I have mixed feelings about the weekend. I have always tried hard to put the ego aside for the schools, and I think I was fairly successful at it. Running off the track though sure brought home just how much there is that I don't know. And riding with someone who knows what he's doing (as long as he stays on the right track, that is ) also made it clear that there are a lot of things that not only I do not know, but that I don't know that I don't know - if that makes any sense?

Like I did not even feel the oversteers that Warren corrected, for example. Makes me wonder, what else am I not even perceiving? It is hard enough to fix the things that you know you are doing wrong, but it is damn hard to fix things you can't even tell are wrong. Hopefully, the wisdom will come with experience.

I am looking forward to Summit with NASA in June. Until then, I need to figure out how to better secure my camera. It is mounted on the rollbar, but the footage is nearly unusable because it bounced so much. Any suggestions welcome. I would also like to get a pair of real seats for the car. I need to go to OG and sit in a few. I just don't want to spend $1000 for seats... We'll see how that works out.
So, thanks Chris for being my first instructor of the day, and sorry about taking you offroad... And Warren for the ride and instruction that got me back in the mix. And Owen for the last session. He really helped me string some of the corners together (5-9).

Edit: can't spell


[Modified by SJR, 10:32 AM 3/10/2003]

 

You did a good job when I was instructing No complaints here.

The off was pretty harmless looking. Lots of people got launched by snow banks without too much harm. The track conditions were just odd. Don't sweat the off. Only more experience will prevent something like your spin on friday.

Warren

 

It's easy to say that you should just stomp on the gas when it starts to spin, but it's harder to do in a real situation unless you've practiced it. Don't beat yourself up over it.

 

You can practice on the road all you want but the only thing that will make you overcome your natural reactions is track time track time track time!

 

thanks for the kind words, ya'll. And I am trying to get as much track time as finances and family allow...

 

I have never been on a track like that or had a real instructor.

But like any sport reaction time comes with tuning yourself in ie: practice and overview. I know you know this but handling your car in those conditions calls for sensitivity and feel that will be with you next time.

I think you were right at one point about how your day was going. Its tough to clear your mind before track time but run basic driving skills through your mind and most everything will follow.

And remember your a lucky Dog

 

The important thing is that you know your weaknesses and are learning from your mistakes. This is hugely important. I've seen many MANY people in your same position spend all of their energy blaming tires, suspension, etc. You're focusing on yourself, which is excellent. If the car does oversteer, you'll eventually learn to really, really like that... alot. I'm betting Warren's car oversteers alot more than yours does .

PS - Pothole. On a racetrack.
Now someone please tell me again why Summit shouldn't be my least favorite track .

 

It's not so much ON the racetrack. It's at the edge. It's a sharp dropoff, and with all the melting snow, it turned into a small hole with water.

Payton and I were screwing around with each other and dropping wheels in there intentionally to cover the other person's windshield w/ muddy water.

Warren

 

oh, don't get me wrong. Shortly after the off, I went and lowered the rear tire pressure, as well as softening up the shocks a wee bit. I like to reserve the old "it's car setup" excuse, just in case.
Truth of the matter is that as much fun as an oversteering car is on the open road at legal speeds, I am not ready to handle it at track speeds. Period. So, I tweaked a little to make it more neutral. When I am really comfortable making the car rotate (and catching it...) I will dial in more oversteer. And when I get bored with that, I will change the spring rates (currently 380 front 350 rear with Type R rear sway).
I won't blame the car setup, but I will definitely adjust it to match my skill level. And I hate having to admit they are not up to the car... yet.
thanks for the encouragement. I will try to upload the crash clip sometime this week or next, for ya'lls enjoyment.

thanks - and Summit is my favorite track 'cause that's the only one I've ever been on, and it's about an hour from the house.

 

Don't feel bad. Going off when racing is like falling when mountain biking (no matter how good you are, sooner or later it happens), Sounds like you have a pretty good idea what happened, what you did right and what you did wrong. I would say that makes the money you spent on the day well worth it. I spent Sat and Sun at Summit and managed to not go off although I had a few iffy moments. I could have pushed it a little harder but I decided to play it safe. I had Warren as an instructor too (and I rode in his car as well), that was a sobering experience. The one thing I would have wished for was more overall feedback (rather then brief comments about slightly early apex or go flat out through turn 10) from some of the instructors, it's hard to judge how you are doing. BTW, that was not a comment on Warrens instructions, he was very helpful. A friend made a tape of that might help a little when I get a chanch to see it.

P.S. I spun in the STREET on some ice a while back and managed to keep my car in the road and out of an accident. I did exactly the same thing you did (oversteer, corrected, over corrected, rotation and I also was in my old GSR too), the memory sticks with me, I got lucky there was no damage.


[Modified by tubedriver, 11:35 AM 3/12/2003]