Juan Pineda Subject: Re: Lap Notes for Infineon (Spec Miata) Hi Larry, Here's my input: >Turn 1: > >Work on not scrubbing any speed off that don't need to. >Apex at wall, go out across track. >Keep throttle WFO. >When track steepens, can use that for turning in for lining up on berm >for entrance of two. > My observations was that the faster drivers did not actually apex T1 very close to the wall. The line that I saw was actually apexing maybe 1/3 of the track width from wall at the apex. That let's you get really parallel to the exit berm and all the way to the outside of the track. If you apex close to the pit wall, then you have to either turn more sharply when you get to the outside of the track before heading up the hill, or you have to drive up the middle of the track after T1. Compare my line around T1 to the RX7 ahead of me in the following video. > http://www.logician.com/Videos/SP_2_8_2004.wmv The RX-7 is following what I think is the faster line. I know the absolute speeds in the video are not very good, but this is just for discussion purposes. >Turn 2: > >The flagger in the grandstands is nearly invisible. >Downshift to 3rd for entrance. >Light braking. >I need consistency in amount of braking going in to turn 2. >Can't carry enough speed to just leave it in fourth. Since the engine >revs higher than I thought, no advantage. >I was grabbing fourth before 3. >Every so often I go through 2 with just enough speed that I drift out >to edge of track. >late in day, put a strip of tape across top of visor to use as a >sunshade. >What part of grandstand to aim for going over top of hill? > Another point is that I think you are supposed to drive way over the apex berm. It doesn't seem to upset the car. I've seen cars that are more than half way over the berm, as in this picture of Hank Watts: > http://www.sportscarimage.com/Track/NCRC-dec27-2003/pages/ncrcdec27-2003_0298.htm >Turn 4: >Look through turn. >I have tendency to apex 4 a bit early throwing me out to the berm. >Take turn 4 in third. >Turn 4 requires slow in to go fast out. >You must be going slow enough that you can do a fast turndown. >Aim for a late enough apex that you can be hard on the gas (flat?) >before the exit and still not fall off the outside edge of the track. > I found that I had to slow down more for T4 than I would have expected, although I'm still in 3rd. Trail braking is important. I think the apex is actually more to the middle of the berm. Have you seen Hank Watts' SP description? It's relatively new, although probably geared more toward Porsches: > http://pca-ggr.org/pdf/InfineonDescription.pdf >Turn 5: >Apex 5 to minimize scrubbing off speed. >Come about 2/3 of way to left of track. >Aim at snack shack. > Why not all the way out to the left in an SM? I believe that's what Barry does, yet he still has plenty of time to get over to the right for his double apex line through T6. >Turn 7: >Go down to 2nd. >Shift to 3rd before "2nd Apex". >Look ahead/through turn on braking. >What is braking point? >When I worked on the braking point I was locking up the left front >wheel. >I need to work on the defensive line going into 7. >I've been concentrating more on making the second apex so that I've >got a faster run down into 8. > I am unsure how deep to go on the first apex. It seems to me that you shouldn't go in very deep because that increases the path length through the turn. I was hitting the rev limiter just as I reached the exit berm, so that's where I was shifting. I'll have to try shifting earlier. At the time, I didn't have an LSD, so maybe with the LSD I will hit the rev limiter earlier -- one can always hope! Another point here is that I observed the faster drivers using all of the road at the exit, and going part way into the new "chute" pavement that merges in right there at the exit of T7. Watch my video to see what I mean. >Turn 8: (& esses in general) >Can nearly do esses flat. >Brain says yes, foot says no. > I liked the description you gave in your Email to me better regarding the conversation between your brain and right foot. :-) This one is more PC, but the other one was more true. >Seem to need to lift when going fast to get enough grip to turn car- >later in esses. >Maybe adjust suspension for more grip in front? >I traditionally apexed later than I needed through the esses (The >Bondurant line). >People traditionally totalled their cars by apexing too early, early >in the esses. >Let the car settle on the "straights" between turns. >The "softer" the shocks, the more settling will be needed. > >Turn 9: > >Good speed coming out of 8A will send you to left side of track going >into 9. >Minimize scrub and work on getting a good line going into 10. > >Turn 10: >Work on left foot braking in 10. >A light stroke of the brakes with the left foot when lined up straight >at the left berm on entrance. >My speed wasn't quite carrying me to the outside edge of the track. >Need to look ahead and concentrate on apex and exit. >Hard for me to consistently slow just enough with left foot braking. >It feels weird coming off of brake with the gas floored. It's a >different sort of weight shift than just gassing it. > >Turn 11: >I keep blowing it when I try to go fast. >I think I turn down too aggressively and wash out the front end. >My apex may also be wrong. >Apex at penultimate tire stack? >Was "needing" to grab third before the exit. > I don't know if they change the positions of those tire stacks. In my video I was apexing just before the last stack. It is also important to drive completely over the paint (at least when it's dry). The barriers are the apex constraint, not the paint. >Turn 12: >Can't still do turn 12 and 1 as a single curve. Minimize scrubbing off >speed. Don't forget to shift to fourth or will hit revlimiter near >S/F. > I'm not sure about whether it is better to make it one smooth curve, or straights followed by small tighter turns. The advantage of holding the wheel straight at first is that you will gain speed sooner, although presumably you will give some of that gain up later for turning a little tighter. Don't know which one gives you the "greater area under the curve". That's why I was going parallel to the pit wall, and not coming out from it so that I could turn more gradually around T12. Maybe it's not that big a difference either way. That's my two bits -- probably worth much less than 25 cents! -Juan and more commentary From: Juan Pineda Subject: Re: Lap Notes for Infineon (Spec Miata) Hi Larry, >Interesting, I don't think I ever trailbrake in 4. For me it's a >classic on the brake, of the brake, turn and gas sequence. I'd expect >trailbraking on a downhill turn to cause the rear end to come out. > I believe trail braking to be important in T4. That is the way I was taught to do it by several people, and it helped me a lot when I actually did start trail braking. I never felt in any danger of having the rear end come around for trail braking there, and even if it did, my Miata seems pretty well behaved, so I'm pretty sure it would be no problem. >>Another point here is that I observed the faster drivers using all of >>the road at the exit, and going part way into the new "chute" pavement >>that merges in right there at the exit of T7. Watch my video to see >>what I mean. >> >> > >Sometimes my line takes me out there, sometimes I get a later apex and >am lines up on the left without going all of the way across. One of my >secrest used to be a really late apex on the exit of 7 which would >line me up straight down the Esses. > We had that discussion in my Porsche group. After the latest event, they all decided driving wide at the exit of T7 works best. Wide would make even more difference on lower HP cars. >>>Turn 12: >>>Can't still do turn 12 and 1 as a single curve. Minimize scrubbing off >>>speed. Don't forget to shift to fourth or will hit revlimiter near >>>S/F. >>> >>> >>I'm not sure about whether it is better to make it one smooth curve, or >>straights followed by small tighter turns. The advantage of holding the >>wheel straight at first is that you will gain speed sooner, although >>presumably you will give some of that gain up later for turning a little >>tighter. Don't know which one gives you the "greater area under the >>curve". That's why I was going parallel to the pit wall, and not coming >>out from it so that I could turn more gradually around T12. Maybe it's >>not that big a difference either way. >> >> > >I come from the school of underpowered cars and minimizing tire >scrub. I don't now the optimal in a SM. > Keeping the wheel straight minimizes scrub the most. But at some point, either way, you have to turn the wheel. The question is whether you are better off with a constant radius turn and scrubbing a little for a long time, or defering the turn-in to pick up more speed at first, and then later turning the wheel. It's not obvious to me which one works better in this case. -Juan