PCA SDR needs some karting teams!

[Tim Comeau]

I attended the last enduro on Wed night at Miramar Speed Circuit and man what fun to do and watch! Seat time is seat time. Their new weight handicapping system seems to work well. The end of the race was a nail biter with 3 teams finishing the 100 lap race, not only on the same lap, but within sight of each other. Third place SHOGO finished right on the second place team's bumper after having set multiple new track records in an attempt to catch up. Really exciting to watch. Home by 10PM, with a tired smile and a little sore the next day, but had a blast. Looking forward to the next one.

[gulf911]

Dan,
Comeau who? Was that what you mumbled?
That Comeau guy is the one who would have helped Jad get to the top of the podium, instead of dragging him down into the quagmire of losers and "also rans"..... Dang 911 guys.....

ummm....Tim? I think your 5th place would be considered an 'also ran'....

Some days, I can't stand myself...

[Tim Comeau]

Who was I paired with?

[gulf911]

Who was I paired with?

Well, I don't know....but I can tell you that was Jads excuse as well....

[Tim Comeau]

Yeah, it's one that usually covers us!
I was happy with my qualifying effort in our team's kart. Check out that time. That's the only results of the evening where I can be held completely responsible...

[GeorgeB]

I did a couple 15 minute sessions there and it is fun. It did feel like I was learning from it. You have to look ahead and behind, you need a great deal of feel especially since the cart is light and grippy, lines matter, dealing with traffic, and the tires changes thier character each lap. There is some throttle steer too although it is very subtle.

I'd like to try an enduro. Whats the schedule and how much does it cost? Also I need a fast partner.

George

[Red928s]

Count me in, assuming it doesnt break my student budget

[Tim Comeau]

George,
Any partner will do for your first event.

I didn't notice any big change in the tires except the first few laps, while they were coming up to temp. BTW, take a look at the kart's front tires to see how the tires are wearing across their whole width. This might give you some advanced knowledge as to how the kart will handle. Something interesting that I came across was the changing grip of the track during the enduro. As the karts were laying down more and more fresh rubber on the line, the line got stickier. So half way through the race, if you drove on the line, the kart wouldn't slide/rotate very well. The tires would bite much better than before and cause the kart to lean up hard momentarily, then break its grip and jump, then bite in again over and over. This resulted in a bouncing ride that was really inefficient with respect to lap times. I didn't know this until after the event when I described the kart's handling to one of the event managers. Obviously, modify your line if the kart starts doing this.

[Jad]

Tim,

Interesting you posted about the bouncing. I experienced it terribly at the end of the decreasing radius turn 1 or whatever (the end of the long right), but 4-5 different lines seemed to have no effect in helping the situation and my cart was about the only one doing it, though only the second half of my drive (maybe the last 40 laps -thanks Dan ). All I could figure was something bent/broke during the race, but it was definitely bad for lap times

[Tim Comeau]

Yeah, it started happening mid to late in the race. I didn't see other karts in front of me doing it. ???

[GeorgeB]

Tim,

Of course I'm just a novice so indulge me. I want Hp/weight and I want grip. Other stuff matters too but those are most important to me. Why should I change the ideal line if I have more grip? Does this mean that theoretically sliding is faster than not sliding? ( Rotating to me is not the same as sliding. Rotating is -for the most part- changing the slip angles on the tires that help you to turn).

George

[Tim Comeau]

You can have too much grip in a kart. It will cause the kart to "bicycle" or go up on two wheels. That's slow. You must be sliding to go fast in any form of driving. Yes , "rotation" is sliding, but only with the rear end. Conceptualize a pole driven down through the top center of the car and the car rotating about that axis. If you can turn in with no throttle, get the car/kart to rotate, you'll have at least half of your turning done before the apex point, leaving the other half to take place under accelleration out of the turn in what we call a "drift." NOTE: NOT A POWERSLIDE. NOT OVERSTEERING AT ALL.
So the goal is to slide in, and drift out.

[Frank Bain]

Tim's right. A kart, like a car can have too much grip. Just enough to slide it through the corners is perfect.

Experiencing a hop at the end of Turn 1 at Miramar Speed Circuit is not unusual. Karts are highly dependent on tire psi and slight variations can cause changes in the handling. There are techniques to work with that grip level and that becomes one of the skills to win an endurance race.

The next endurance race is scheduled for Nov 29. We've had a lot of interest and currently have a handful of SD Solo II competitors and Ferrari club members teamed up. Now, let’s see some Porsche guys really show how to drive!

[Tim Comeau]

Jad, Gimme a call....there's Ferrari guys to beat up on.

[gulf911]

Jad may want to decide if he want 3rd place ....or 5th....