Track Questions

[winddysvt]

OK --

this forum needs to come "alive"..... I started this same thread on our Cobra forum ---


let's see what we can do on SVTOA

OK ---


it's time for me to start getting some opinions ----

I'll try to make it brief....

what would you do if:

Speed: approx. 55 miles per hour - on the track ....

Conditions: Dry --- however -- ruts located at actual apex --- (makeshift part of the track I might add)



Turn 5: goes well --

turn 6 goes extremely well (I thought)

Turn 7: feel a slight imbalance in the rear left tire ---- very very very slight.... didn't panic - I was already slowing down and thought that I had taken my foot off the throttle.

REPEAT --
I was already starting to back off on the throttle....

SPIN - Spin Spin. Car heads left towards what would've been an open "parking lot" and "field".... then turns 90 degrees and slides about 100 feet (long and excruciating) into a grade 6 fence pole.................. the fence located in front of the "drag strip"....

what would you have done? remember - this is a "make shift" section of the track --- cones and concrete barriers set up to guide you thru the parking lot.

I do have this question:

should I have left the traction control on? This was my first event this year --- I was pushing and I was on a mission. Big mistake ---

but now... to learn from the mistake..... I'm going to school...

but --- opinions please? - track guru opinions would be especially appreciated.....

[winddysvt]

here is the link for the "map"

and some pictures of the after effects



http://www.geocities.com/winddysvt/FLASH.html?1059669204184

[winddysvt]

......


I know there are some awesome Performance drivers in SVTOA ---

.... we can do better, right?

we need to share our track "tips" with one another ----

:burnout: :fryem:
& waiting....

[NeilBerry]

Hopefully someone with more expereinced can advise you on skid control, but I can only offer general advice (from a rookie).

When I was at the IRP event in 2001, a 2001 Cobra lost traction on turn six-seven. I was right behind him. I was very concerned that he was going to fishtail back into my car. It seemed that he was over correcting at each flip. I eventually just floored it to get past him, which was taught in the classes (do not watch the car off the track, watch the track in front of you).

Another thing they taught in the classes was tail braking. Tail braking is really just an explaination to drivers of why the car will change handling dynamics under different braking situations. An experienced racer can correct a skid by knowing which tire needs more traction, and adjusting the braking level to put more weight on a loose tire. As an example, lets say you rear tires were loose: you might let up off the brakes to put more weight back on those tires (hopefully gaining traction on the rear tires).

I have spent alot of weekends watching events at Nelson Ledges in Ohio. There is one part of that track which seems to throw many drivers. It looks fine (though it has a slight pavement bump), and sends alots of cars into the grass and tires. The parking lot portion of IRP has pavement changes also.

When I go Open Road Rallying, I am alway mindful of which curves require lower speeds (ie. enter curve 10 at no more than 120mph). It can be easy to get focused going faster at a driving school/track day (I have been sideways myself), but maybe setting a personal speed limit for each curve is a good idea.

[Dellcobra]

Winddy,

I was at IRP also and that section was very interesting to drive through.

I think that when you felt the car begin to spin, that maybe you overcorrected which caused the car to rotate back the other direction.

You said you were slowing down and your foot was off the gas, this would cause the front of the car to have most of the weight on it and thus cause the rear to be light. Our mustangs don't like this and the will snap arround in a hurry when this takes place.

What you could have done is tried to correct toward the big area to the left. But once the car snapped arround to the right you were just along for the ride.

That section of track was very fast, but most people drove it funny. I would come out of turn 7 and let the car drift some and then go through the middle of two cones and not drive the car to the left side of the track. I think that is what caused your spin and the fact that you may have dropped two wheels off in the dirt.

I hope this helps and you are right we all need to learn from our mistakes. I was glad to hear you were ok and so was your instructor. I know the car got hurt, but that can be repaired.

Hope to see you again at a another on track event.

Dell Hughes

Southwest Regional Driector

[winddysvt]

thanks for the awesome advice!
thanks Neil ! thanks Dell!

thru "investigating" my incident --
I pretty have it down pat is to what led to this event....

part of it being some problems with the vehicle itself...
NOT the Kenny Brown modifications -- but the hood that we had. The Stalker Hood with the ram air --- Cervini's is suppossed to get a kit for the ram air part, but it doesn't have it yet. We should have covered those openings... I had felt the same thing on the roads here at home.....

--- we believe that the combination of too much air getting in and underneath the car.....
and then perhaps driving over a patch of grease or oil.....
led to the car being very off balance.... instantaneously
spin spin spin

when we spun I felt like Dorothy ----
like we literally came up off the ground.... no sound - - none of the usual "screeching" of the tires that you usually hear..... etc. etc. Were not in Kansas anymore Toto....

I think I was all of a sudden in a "hovercraft".....

--- but yes, Neil is right -- after the initial spin I have to learn how to react to different situations ---
this was just one I really didn't expect.....
I'm not sure if anything I would've done would've made it better -- or worse.

Just think --
I could've hit that pole head on ..... :jawdrop: and I could've been going higher speeds, but I wasn't because of my feeling of not really trusting the car like I did last year...
I just couldn't figure out what it was that was making me feel uneasy about the car..... it was that "lift" feeling --- I wasn't able to push the car like I did last year and it turns out that was a good thing.
good thing I didn't push it !!!!!

I went allot faster in turns last year in Gingerman, and if I had been driving faster... well --- good thing I listened to my "voice"...


Now --- to figure out what to do about that hood. I had thought beforehand that perhaps we should cover those openings....

anyway --- at least we hit sideways and at least I had lost allot of speed by then....

now, to go to a safety school and get out and get some practice!!:tmb:

[winddysvt]

Originally posted by Dellcobra
Winddy,


I think that when you felt the car begin to spin, that maybe you overcorrected which caused the car to rotate back the other direction.

You said you were slowing down and your foot was off the gas, this would cause the front of the car to have most of the weight on it and thus cause the rear to be light. Our mustangs don't like this and the will snap arround in a hurry when this takes place.

What you could have done is tried to correct toward the big area to the left. But once the car snapped arround to the right you were just along for the ride.

That section of track was very fast, but most people drove it funny. I would come out of turn 7 and let the car drift some and then go through the middle of two cones and not drive the car to the left side of the track. I think that is what caused your spin and the fact that you may have dropped two wheels off in the dirt.



Dell Hughes

Southwest Regional Driector

==================


my instructor and my experience told me that I did exactly what I should, I responded and I didn't over correct - (read above)
I didn't panic -

I had already lowered my speed and the car was very balanced and headed in a straight line......
I did not go off the track -
I was in a straight line - very balanced when the spun happened !

Both I and my instructor had time to look at each other in disbelief!

I steered in the direction of the spin, etc. etc. etc.

thats why I couldn't give this up....
I drove the car harder and faster the year before --- something just didn't feel right before the "incident" and
I knew something wasn't right and I probably should'nt have driven until we figured it out....

now --- its too late for Flash
but not too late for all of us to learn something from this.....

If you are feeling as if something "isn't right"....




LISTEN TO YOUR VOICE !!!!!