St Louis Event #5

[STLMARSHALL]

Sunday was a really good course! I enjoyed it and tried something new. I am wanting to learn to drive every second of the course on the limit like I did when driving the other 3 cars I have borrowed. I am trying to get on the throttle earlier and brake later while carrying more speed everywhere. Unfortunately I chose a cold track to start this endeavor, but that is ok as I still learned a few things. I ran run 1 using my normal conservative style to learn the track. That resulted in a 53.9. On run 2 I stepped it up to full tilt and it bit me with a spin. That was ok as I learned a new limit on what the car would take. On run 3 I backed it down only in the 2 spots where I made mistakes and made some other improvements. In the end I was .3 seconds slower than I was last event compared to a CP car (on bias hoosier slicks vs my NT-01 street tires) I am trying to catch on raw times. The CP car ran heat 3 which had a little warmer pavement so maybe my times were not really that bad.

I only got 2 videos before the camera died:

Run 2 with the spin (59.3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gHff4IQ5Kg

Run 3 (52.9 - 1 cone): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Q5BlN2XIw

I was also surprised with a gift that I did not receive last fall after the 2013 season ended.


http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr2/mmarshall01/9180e01a-fda3-41ad-9308-6ec1b9a15f48_zpsad08a264.jpg (http://s464.photobucket.com/user/mmarshall01/media/9180e01a-fda3-41ad-9308-6ec1b9a15f48_zpsad08a264.jpg.html)

[skullandbones]

Hey that was like winning the championship all over again! Congrats and thanks for the video.

WEK.

[STLMARSHALL]

WEK I am glad you enjoyed the video.

[skullandbones]

Mike,

I am not sure what rear end suspension you have but I was thinking it's probably a live axle 3 link. So are you pushing the car to the limits so you can see where to back off a little? That is, was the spin due to driver over doing it, suspension reached it's limit, or more the cold track conditions? Have you finished with setting the car up now or are you constantly adjusting and changing from course to course? Thanks, WEK.

[STLMARSHALL]

Yes it is a FFR 3-link. Yes trying to find the limits on every element of the course. Once I have learned the limits I will then have to put it together for the perfect lap.

The spin was caused by the car sliding after the last element. It is hard to see in the video, but I got on the power too hard before entering the slalom and the back end stepped out left. I had to get the car moving left to enter the slalom and that steering input caused the rear to snap back the other way. The slide was very subtle and I really did not think it would have caused a spin, but it did. The track was very cold and I was struggling for traction everywhere.

The car is very close to perfect. I will continue to try to make if better, but they will be very small changes. I don't think the Daytona will ever be an easy car to drive fast, but I plan to continue to improve my driving to compensate.

[CraigS]

Cold track makes all the difference. I am not surprised you spun once. One thought for you-don't throw away a run making it conservative. I always go all out even on the first run. that means I need to walk the course a lot so I don't get lost. I also step back a little and try to get the overall course in my head. Figuring individual turns is needed but not getting lost is more important. Looks to me like you are having a ton of fun and that is what it is all about.