VIR - please critique my driving

[zubydafa]

please tell me where you all think i can cut time at VIR. my lowest is around 2:17...i am looking for input on areas where i can be cutting time.

i'm slightly low on power...still having tuning issues.

needless to say, i really am driving with all momentum. car is in the shop this week to see if we can fix things before i hit carolina motorsports park next week.

here's a 2:18 with my buddy's fiance. they're both trying to get into tracking and came to keep me company this weekend. good friends.

these first couple laps are in the 2:17's. i split my last session 15 min for each of them.

[pal]

Your times are good so you must be doing something right - give yourself credit. A couple of points I would like to make-

(1) Shuffle steer - You shuffle steer a lot. While this may make you faster in the short term, it stops you from consistency and longer term improvement. I recommend 3 and 9 on track (and on street) as it helps establish a frame of reference that your mind will learn at a subconscious level. It will make you a more consistent driver and over time help you improve; in the short term it may make you slower while you get used to it.

(2) Early apex - You early apex some turns from what it looks like in the video. One example is T4. While T4 is more or less a throw away turn to some extent, it does help to late apex it as it feels better getting out and you have less steering on exit and hence can get on the gas sooner. This is another exercise that should be mastered (I am always working on it) for long term improvement. And a perfectly executed late apex feels oh so good.

Excellent times otherwise. What work do you have done to the car?

[zubydafa]

Originally Posted by pal

Your times are good so you must be doing something right - give yourself credit. A couple of points I would like to make-

(1) Shuffle steer - You shuffle steer a lot. While this may make you faster in the short term, it stops you from consistency and longer term improvement. I recommend 3 and 9 on track (and on street) as it helps establish a frame of reference that your mind will learn at a subconscious level. It will make you a more consistent driver and over time help you improve; in the short term it may make you slower while you get used to it.

(2) Early apex - You early apex some turns from what it looks like in the video. One example is T4. While T4 is more or less a throw away turn to some extent, it does help to late apex it as it feels better getting out and you have less steering on exit and hence can get on the gas sooner. This is another exercise that should be mastered (I am always working on it) for long term improvement. And a perfectly executed late apex feels oh so good.

Excellent times otherwise. What work do you have done to the car?

thanks!

stock suspension.

work on the car...not too much really.

michelin pilot super sports.
hawk dtc60 pads
vibra technics solid motor mounts
auto solutions ssk
afe intake (sounds cool - doubt it does anything performance wise)
APR aero

and cat delete + rpi exhaust.

funny thing is, i'm horribly low on power. like 255whp low. people have been trying to figure out what's wrong it with. everyone has been pointing at vanos, but the car isn't throwing vanos codes, no rattles, vanos bolts are intact. it did, however, fail the vanos exhaust diagnostic. i was 279whp before trying a custom dyno tune last month which didn't go right.



regarding turn 4. i tried several entries into that turn and sort of felt comfortable early apexing to get the left rear tire to hop it so it would rotate the car. i still enter the uphill esses at over 120hp (losing speed as i go up them). i tried late apexing but i feel like the outside of that turn is wasted space because i'm carrying a faster pace by (cheating) and hopping over the apex the way i am now.

that's just the way i see it. my next time out, i'll try the late apex entries again and see how it manipulates lap times.

thanks for taking the time!

[zubydafa]

also, i had the chief instructor of VIR (bill foster) instruct me 3 weekends ago and he told me the school line is hang right and late apex, while the racer line is early turn in. we tried a few variants until we found one that felt best. i should test them all out for times, though.

[zubydafa]

hmm, great point on the shuffle steering. i'll strongly consider implementing 9and3 only at my next track day, even if it means bumping down a group.

[yousefnjr]

nice slide @ 1:20 in the first vid

[pal]

I was told about shuffle steer many years ago by an old timer and it took me a few events of slower track times before I started to get better and actually started focusing on other aspects of learning. Its worth it.

As for your car, I think you should go back to a stock flash and dyno. If the power returns, you know its the tune. If not, then the other thing I can think of is that having no cats is causing the motor to lose too much back pressure and hence you are losing power and torque; the gains if any may need much higher rpms that are not possible on this motor in its current form.

These are 2 obvious items I can think of; if these don't work then its a mystery.

[zubydafa]

It's at a shop right now and it failed the intake vanos test.

They're recommending a rebuilt vanos. Ehh

[pal]

Originally Posted by zubydafa

It's at a shop right now and it failed the intake vanos test.

They're recommending a rebuilt vanos. Ehh

Was the valve cover opened up for anything besides valve adjustment?

If you plan to replace VANOS, the may as well replace the exhaust cam sprocket and also look into Dr VANOS 'improved' parts?

[zubydafa]

Originally Posted by pal

Was the valve cover opened up for anything besides valve adjustment?

If you plan to replace VANOS, the may as well replace the exhaust cam sprocket and also look into Dr VANOS 'improved' parts?

nope. only opened for valve adjustment, and now just recently to inspect the vanos assembly.

[seank]

Dr Vanos has an upgraded unit with better seals. Failure is common with the s54.