The r3v autocross video thread

[tinkerputzer]

There was plenty of it in some of the other runs this one was faster than those though :)

[Wh33lhop]

Not at all bad overall. You have a pretty good feel for the car and what's fast in this one. If I were to nitpick I'd say you could have been more aggressive in the first slalom, and you could have cut it closer to a few of the cones along with smoother on the brakes at 0:36 (but that didn't cost you much time). But I can tell you have a good idea of what line to take, and a good idea of where the circle of grip is--you're in tune with the car. Now work on your consistency and you can dial your driving in even more.

[tinkerputzer]

Thanks for the compliments and critique Wh33lhop. I'll work on being more aggressive at the beginning of the course. That's actually a trend i've noticed with myself is i tend to drive a bit on the conservative side at the beginning of courses.

[tinkerputzer]

Here's a vid from yesterdays event. Nitpicking welcome.

This was by far the most composed run and it happened to be the fastest too. Every time i tried to push it (both accel and braking) the car got way too tail happy. As in near spins. Besides my driving though i'm thinking a few basic things with the car could be contributing to this.

Been running an old set of v710's and it seemed like they just did not want to bite like they have in the past. Probably due to cooler weather and not getting/staying hot enough. Looking forward to getting a tire that has good cold bite, but i want to wear these out first.

My car as it sits right now has a bit of forward rake. I'm thinking leveling it out (dropping the rear a bit) may help.

Thanks for any advice guys.

[jr02518]

More runs at El Toro, in a Z06 on A6's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyMey2hqPaY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzRnpRT6mKE

More info on events at www.solo2.com

We are running the 19th at AAA Speedway in Fontana.

[Wh33lhop]

Here's something you don't see every day... 430whp stang on bald-ass tires in the pouring rain. First video is my first run ever in this car, I almost get crossed up but manage to save it. I'd guess the car could put down about 150whp that day, lol.



Here's my least slow run, jeez it's crazy modulating the throttle exiting the corner... Then down the entire straight

[tinkerputzer]

Nice! I laughed when you pinned it in the first video :) I've seen some of the newer mustangs autocross and they look like a handful and a half in good weather. I've yet to autocross in the rain but i bet it's a good learning exercise for throttle restraint.

Here's my best run from Sundays event at El Toro. Wide open course. Saw around 75-80mph in 3rd.

[deutschman]

Are those 15x8 TRMs? If so what size tire are you running? I have the wheels but am still contemplating tire sizes. I cant wait for my first autox event!

[tinkerputzer]

Yep 15x8 trm c1's with 225/50/15 kumho v710's. They're about 1" too wide for the wheel, but i got a deal on them i couldn't turn down. Basically bought a set of wheels and the tires came with. I hear ya about choosing a tire size though. When the kumhos are done i'll be looking for something else. Right now i'm leaning toward the rival in 205/50, but am tempted to get the 225/45 in hopes of some day there will be a 15x9 in e30 offset :)

[deutschman]

I think I am going 205/50/15 as per Andy Hollis's tire tests on GRM.

[Wh33lhop]

Nice! I laughed when you pinned it in the first video :) I've seen some of the newer mustangs autocross and they look like a handful and a half in good weather. I've yet to autocross in the rain but i bet it's a good learning exercise for throttle restraint.

Here's my best run from Sundays event at El Toro. Wide open course. Saw around 75-80mph in 3rd.

Yeah it seems like the new Mustang's e-throttle has an annoying little damping function that keeps the throttle open for a second after you lift. What you are seeing is me finding that out the hard way :p

It was a good exercise. The last run was the most boring, but where I tried to keep the throttle inputs as smooth as I could, and held the car as close to the line I wanted as possible. Wound up being the fastest by a half second or so.

That course looks super fun! I may be down at El Toro for pro solo this year; not sure. I want to see you slaloming faster though, get on it!

[tinkerputzer]

Ah that makes sense about the throttle, that would take some time to get the hang of. Let me know about that pro solo event at El Toro. I'll see if i can make it too.

I know i leave a lot on the table in the slaloms. I need to find a big empty lot somewhere to set up a slalom and practice hundreds of times. Do you see anything obvious that i'm doing wrong other than needing more speed?

[Bullet Ride]

It's hard to describe the feeling, but when you're ripping a slalom the car gets set in a rhythm where very little steering input is required and you're almost driving it through with the throttle, mainly because at the speed you're moving, by the time you're crossing a cone you're already steering the opposite direction to get around the next cone. At least that's what it feels like to me. When you're at that limit though it's also pretty easy to spin the car lol.

[matthugie]

What I noticed (and this is especially applicable to the slalom) is that you seem to be a little bit behind, meaning you need to be doing your actions sooner. In most cases, you want to be done with your direction change by the time you reach the cone you're going around. This is something that took me a while to fully grasp, but it does yield better times for many elements.

[Wh33lhop]

What I noticed (and this is especially applicable to the slalom) is that you seem to be a little bit behind, meaning you need to be doing your actions sooner. In most cases, you want to be done with your direction change by the time you reach the cone you're going around. This is something that took me a while to fully grasp, but it does yield better times for many elements.

I'm not following you here--a slalom is a constant direction change.

Tinker, you are transitioning very slowly from left to right; your steering input is like a sine wave. If you were going as fast as you could through that slalom your steering input would be more like a square wave. Full left when you are on the right side of the centerline, and as you cross the centerline you quickly transition to full right. Keep throttle inputs as steady as possible so as not to upset the car.

I think if you had a long slalom you would do this naturally by slowly increasing your speed. If I were you I would try and go faster than you want to through a slalom and see how you handle it. When you get to the point that you are doing what I described, don't go any faster. :p

I spoke with my codriver and it looks like pro solo is likely. I'll try and let you know.