Do we get any hints, clues, or outright disclosures?

Or do we just have to wait till August to see it in real life?

I'm gunna guess: A whopping whole lota motor?

Scott, who's secret weapon is a highly tuned gyrospcopic *** unit...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RR98ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Scott, who's secret weapon is a highly tuned gyrospcopic *** unit...</TD></TR></TABLE>

In that case, I hope it stays secret. I don't think anyone wants to see your secrets exposed.

Warren

 

I've got one of those, and it doesn't do me a damn bit of good.

It's fun to point at George, though.

 

Hmm...maybe this is something like Nixon's "Secret Plan" to end the Vietnam war.

 

Ed,

I am developing a very serious opinion to the effect that Data Acquisition is, at the amateur motorsports level, an additional hobby pursued in conjunction with the primary hobby, and not necessarily of direct and significant additional benefit.

I don't know anybody running pots on all four corners, and front and rear differential g-sensors that can plot a direct path from where they are to somewhere better.

Sometimes I have a hell of a time just getting the right tires on the car and getting suited up and mentally prepared before going to pre-grid. Pleasurable amateur motorsports is highly correlated with the KISS principle - which I'm learning in the time honored way.

BTW - if you haven't seen it, or wouldn't otherwise get it, go find the latest Racecar Engineering. It's got a neat article on Citroen's rally cars and their hydraulic conditionally coupled sway bars - which despite their relative complexity vis conventional sway bars are KISS compliant.

I'm still thinking about this and how useful conventional sway bars are when banging curbs in an understeering car, but it's very interesting and it's something that rings bells for anyone who's thought much about sway bars and single wheel bump / warp.

Scott, who could spend the money a Stack Club Expert system would cost on ACTUALLY RACING....talk about paralysis by analysis...

 

Well our first Container of JDM Stuff arrives this week... I think we have another '97 JDM ITR As well as 17 Engines B18 B16 B20 Some Gearboxes, Lots of JDM body panels etc. Some of this stuff will go into the Two other Touring Cars We have under construction in my shop right now, 1 Lightweight ITR US Spec. Which will probably have a B20 DOHC Hybrid. Lots of Carbon fiber, and become our next Honda Challenge Car with which we will cheat like crazy!. The other is A JDM Integra Si Rhd Which will probably become my Spare car for USTCC If the series continues which is doubtful with only about seven regular competitors. The entry fee for WC Is about the same and you get TV Coverage and lots of cars to race against! And no Turbo's or AWD Cars. I will probably run it in WCHC and TCRA. It is our intention to build up a Stable of FAST ITR's and possibly rent them out to Capable Drivers. I also have a plan in place to bring possibly 6 Cars and Drivers out from New Zealand To compete in the Honda Challenge, but as usual getting any response/assistance or encouragement from NASA is like pulling teeth!
I informed NASA of our plan two months ago but have had no response?
Kiwi

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KIWI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">....and become our next Honda Challenge Car with which we will cheat like crazy!</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's the beauty of H1 on the west coast!

Mmmm - light and powerful - hard to beat that combo.

Seems like something has to change in sanctioning in the near future. I don't now what's happening with SCCA and Kirks IT2 type stuff, but we're driving the kind of cars that are going to grow these organizations if that's what they want (and everything I see and hear suggests that's what they want).

Scott, who's still happy with the RS, ITE, SPU stairway to heaven in SCCA....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RR98ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ed,

I am developing a very serious opinion to the effect that Data Acquisition is, at the amateur motorsports level, an additional hobby pursued in conjunction with the primary hobby, and not necessarily of direct and significant additional benefit.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I just added a MyChron DA system to the Miata for this past weekend's race, and so far the only real use I've had for it is the pretty (programmable) shift lights and the lap timer. Seriously, though, an increasing number of the Spec Miata guys are making positive car and driver changes directly related to basic data analysis. If nothing else, it helps quantify what the driver feels on a particularly good or bad lap. I look forward to putting it to good use at Laguna Seca in a few weeks.

 

Don't get me wrong - I'm no Luddite. I just think that Data Acquisition can consume as much time and effort as you want to give it. The basics are of unarguable worth, but from there eventually the law of diminishing returns will inevitably apply. If you are a single person race team this will hit you very quickly.

Scott, who'll eventually run a basic package, but for now will be happy with his SPA sequential shift light and Intercomp Lap Timer (not that I've ever been completely happy with it)....

 

Kiwi, I would be glad to swap out with a New Zealand racer. They come here and race our cars and we get to go there and race thiers. AMEN to you about the USTCC.

 

Data Acquisition systems need not consume a whole lot of anyone's time. They provide a tremendous amount of useful info, to help you improve your driving and car, because they just don't lie. A simple system is relatively cheap and simple to use. I have a GPS based DL-90 system made in England by Race Technology, at http://www.race-technology.com. This system eliminates the need for any lap beacons, as your position vs. time comes from the GPS. It thus draws the track map showing your "racing line" on each lap. You then place a marker on your PC screen for any # of sectors you want. System will then calculate your lap and sector times for each lap, and you can then decide where you are consistent, and where you can improve. i.e. if you drive one sector consistently within 0.2s, then you can concentrate on the sectors where you were able to go through it 0.7 sec faster that one time.

You can do a simple coast down test on a straight section of road to determine the rolling resistance and the aerodynamic drag for your car (might even be able to test the aero drag changes of your aero mods). Input this and the car's mass and gear, diff ratios and tire size and the system becomes a real rolling road dyno. The two built-in accelerometers record lateral and longitudinal g's. Thus at any time on the track (or road), you get an instantaneous horsepower and torque readout. Great for checking on the progress of your engine mods.

For the lateral g's, you can plot the lateral g's of each lap and determine how much is the max cornering power for your set-up (as seen in those slow corners), and whether or not you are using the full lateral g capability of your car on those fast sweepers, or whether you are being a little shy with the throttle pedal. It will quickly show you where you can improve. It can also plot g-circle plots with lateral vs. longitudinal g's, which will show you how much you are using the tires, trail-braking into corners and powering out of them. You can generate plots showing vehicle speed, lateral and longitudinal g's without connecting a single wire to the car. If you add a cable to an ignition wire, you can now plot RPM. Another wire connected to the throttle position sensor will show you just when in the corner you floored it, and whether or not you are consistent. Add a third wire to the brake switch and you now have a brake flag, to show you where on the track you are braking, and whether if you braked deeper, you actually improved your sector time.

If you want to use the system to its limit, add a string potentiometer (available from Corsa and others) around the steering column and record the steering angle. With a good book and some time, you can see if the car is understeering on corner entry or oversteering on exit. You can also add wheel speed (not really necessary with GPS info). Thus you have a 6-parameter setup with lateral and longitudinal g's, speed, RPM, throttle position and steering angle, plus a 7th signal for the brake flag. The unit is the size of a pack of Marlboro's plus the GPS sensor, which is the size of your PC's mouse and sits on the dash. But you don't need to connect any wires to get useful data. By storing your runs, you can compare your progress over the season or over the years. You can let someone else drive your car (heaven forbid!) and see if they are faster and where, and maybe even why. You can just Velcro it into place and move it from car to car (as in to see if your friends are lying). Take it out when you’re done and bring it home to your PC. Hey, you could even spend some time away from these damn boards.
When the systems cost an arm and a leg, they are in the realm of the race teams, but this system is under $800, and considering how many dollars are getting dropped by everyone on their cars, this might be a much more worthwhile investment in gaining some speed. Plus who needs a dyno except for tuning. However this simple system doesn’t give you any real-time data while you are driving. It does have a monitor program to confirm in real-time that your sensors and any connections are working, as long as it is plugged into a PC.

Now I know there are some of you who just want to drive the damn car, but times they are a changing. We may be soon racing Honda Hybrids. You may however have to carry a laptop to the track if you just can’t wait to get home to your PC and see if you actually went above 1.4 g’s in that last corner. Put some physics into your toys, it might put a smile on your face.