Track video
 

Here are a few laps from Sunday at Thunderhill. First time with the fatcat (FCM) coilovers and a proper alignment. Much faster than I have driven this track before and I am sure I can go faster still. Lots of fun. The car did not skip a beat all weekend even though it was hot.

What are you logging with?

*Edit*

Solo DL, I'm a fan!

Great video! How do you get your brake pedal inputs? Did you have to install anything? I use the app Torque and I've looked through the Race Chrono app and they don't include braking.

AiM SoloDL gives you that capability. I'm enjoying mine.

Nice driving! That track looks like a dream

Yes, it is an Aim Solo DL. I posted more details on this here: https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-racing-...alysis-244151/

Thanks, it was a lot of fun.

Thanks for sharing, that was a good video. One of the clearer ones I've seen and I really like that Aim Solo DL.

^ except for the bug splat hahaha. But yes it did look good ;)

True.....................also, what was on fire or smoking heavily near or in the pit?

Yeah, just my luck the bug landed right before my best set of laps... I'm not sure what that smoke was, although I did lift a little the first time I saw on approach to turn 10 as there was no corner worker in that station.

Wow , really impressed with that !

great video, motivation for when i hit the track...

Thanks for the positive comments. I'm still trying to figure out my next track date... PCA-GGR are back at Thunderhill on labor day weekend, but I'm not sure if I can make that one yet.

I'm also looking at options to improve the audio. So far I found the following:

1. A dedicated audio recorder, like: This could go in the glove box or trunk to eliminate wind noise issues and should be the highest quality option.

2. A 2nd camera. A contour roam would be the same price as the above audio recorder and I could put that in the trunk or glove box, but also have the option of setting it up to record the driver or another view from inside the car where wind noise should be less of an issue (but still present).

3. Save money for track time and use my android phone to record audio.

I think I'm going to try and resist the shiny objects and start with option 3 :)

Hmm, I need to find out what these guys are using to record audio :)

I would think the mic is inside the car. I was in contact with a guy earlier this year who did Hollywood recording and he said he would help me out with our very problem. Except I ran out of money because of my suspension upgrade :lol2: He was going to help me with mic type, filter, and placement, so I don't have any info in that regards, but he did tell me about a really cool device to be able to use a pro mic. It's called the Beachtek DXA-2T. It plugs into the 1/8 mini mic jack on your camcorder. I still need to get a camera with one of those jacks. Hopefully for next season.

Just incase you are interested in what I do and if it helps, I use two Sony Handycams and place them on a camera mount I made from stuff I bought at Lowes, which I mount to the child restraint mounts by the rear speakers. I had a friend weld two support beams and that got rid of any camera shake. If you run two or more cameras or if you run a camera and separate mic, what I do to sync up the videos is right after I press record on both cameras is I clap twice with a good second or two between each clap. Then in the video editing software using the audio graph, I match up the two spikes, which are the claps and the video is synced. ;)

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And no, I am not proud of the crap paint job haha


The only problem with the location is all the wind gets channeled back against the mic, but here are my results.

Holy elevation changes!!

From what I have gathered, you get a microphone towards the rear of the car (close to the exhaust) then mix the sound in with the video.

Nice setup, love the result with the view out the car and no camera shake. The audio is reasonable too, and what a track! Thanks for sharing.

What software do you use to edit the video?

Thanks! It's a cheap mount and you can set a camera anywhere along the bar. Just a 1"cubed bar with the predrilled holes and an L bracket. Without the welded support arm I would get some shake.


I use Corel VideoStudio Pro X5.

This time with audio recorded from the phone in my pocket. Still pretty crappy, but at least you can now hear some engine and tire noise.

I have to say, driving the RX-8 was a dream this past weekend. I dialed in my sway bar settings, ride height and tire pressures for what felt like the perfect balance and had lots of grip and confidence in the car. The few times I pushed too hard and the rear stepped out a little I was able to quickly and easily correct with minimum drama.

The driving highlight for me has to be going through the apex of Turn 8 consistently ~5 mph faster than last time. There's nothing quite like the feeling of all four tires drifting slowly across the track towards the exit at over 90 mph and 1.1g, using all the track in perfect control and yet at the edge of control :)

Very cool man - lovin' that software !

May or may not be "legal" for on-track racing but here is what I did and I was quite happy with the audio.

Microphone - Imgur

Mic is an Audio-Technica Pro-24CM that plugs straight into my GoPro's 3.5mm external mic jack.

Here is a very long, very boring vid I made back when I still had a cat so its a bit tame. I may go make a more exciting video this weekend. Anyway, I was quite happy with the audio and the very little amount of wind noise. Being right on the bumper its shielded from the majority of it and it picks up the exhaust nicely.


(yes, its pretty much cantilevered in.. even if that zip-tie fell the mic wouldn't go anywhere due to the line running into the closed trunk...)

Interesting placement :) The wind is actually muffled nicely for being outside.

Thanks!

rickeo: nice job with the mic setup. Unfortunately my camera doesn't have a mic in.

I checked your other post and since you have steering angle available as an input you should log it.

You can also make a steering angle "gauge" on your video that way you can see your steering inputs.

I have steering angle sensor on my FC track car.

Check again :)
The reason that is not recorded, along with brake pressure and some of the other values is because it does not work for me. Possibly because I don't have traction control.

A lap of Laguna Seca. Audio recorded with the phone secured in the door pocket. Listen carefully and you can hear the tires and the backfires when shifting. Car was flawless all weekend and passed 90dB sound with the BHR mid pipe :)

Great driving and awesome times!!! Just compared your t6 speed to mine and you had a good 7 mph on me :lol2: You also crushed my T11 speed as well :)

Great video. thanks for posting!

Thanks, I think I found your video on youtube... want to post it here?

The tires and suspension help quite a bit. I'm pretty sure I could take a little more speed through 6 as well, but it is a scary corner to do that.

Sure :)



What tires are you running, I'm running the Yokohama AD08s. Do you have any engine mods? Your exit speed, got you so much speed down the front straight.

I just watched t11 a bit, and I am going much deeper into the braking zone before braking than you. You are off throttle before the 3 and I come off just after. I am not settled, I hit the apex, but I end up bleeding off too much speed in the process. Well driven!

I am on 255/17/40 direzza z2 tires, 17x9 rpf1 wheels and fcm suspension.

On T11, yes, I get the impression you are turning the car more after the apex than I am though it is a little difficult to tell with the different video angle. My aim through there was to get on the throttle as early as possible and I measured my success by looking at where I needed to shift up.

The engine is stock aside from a bhr mid pipe and some mild Afr tuning. The combination won't be more than a few HP at most and I also have the limiter turned down to 8700 rpm to try and save a little wear at the track. I have posted a dyno in another thread here.

Awesome driving. Car must be set up really well to push it that hard at Laguna! Man, that looks fun. Do you think there is anything to be had starting the back straight in 3rd instead of 4th?

Nice lines and very smooth . Looks like heaps of fun :)

Thanks, yes looking at the logs I lost time coming out of T6 in 4th so will try to either carry more speed, or drop to 3rd next time. Tricky though as it will be quite high in the rev range. I could also use 2nd in T2 for a small gain.

Is your video speedometer gps or obd? How much of a speed difference in gps to obd with the 17" wheels?



Assuming the dial is gps if you take 6 in 3rd you'll run out of gear on the steep part, especially since you are limited to 8700. Will shifting there hurt your time more than just leaving it in 4th?

Are you taking 8 in 3rd? I was taking it in 2nd, but the more I think about it. The downhill will help the acceleration, and might be better to just stay in 3rd.

GPS speed on the video. OBD speed reads about 3% higher.

I will need to shift up the hill, but that should not be an issue. Actually, the hill makes shifting more worthwhile since you spend the same time shifting, but accelerate slower. The tricky part will be keeping the corner speed up in 3rd since the downshift will be late and at high revs.

When I was there I was thinking it was better to stay in 4th and try to carry more speed through the corner, but now that I have seen the data on how long it takes to accelerate up the hill I am pretty sure 3rd will be quicker. It takes ~6s to accelerate in 4th from my mid-corner speed of 72mph to my 3-4 shift point of 84 mph. All that time I am losing time staying in 4th instead of 3rd.

Yes, I am in 3rd for T8. I was only dropping to 2nd at T11. There is a little time to gain at T8 as well as T2 using second, but probably not very much.

Thanks

I kept going back and forth on taking 6 in 3rd or 4th - if i take it in 3rd, then i'm bouncing off the rev limiter for a bit before a quick stab of the brakes and turning in, or shifting into 4th just to shift back into 3rd, just to shift back into 4th on the way up that hill, which doesn't seem much faster...

I'm also in 3rd for T8...

not that you asked my opinion or input hahaha

this is making me want to watch all these videos while at work.......

curious - what mods and tires are you guys running?

dragon - you said fatcat coilovers and a BHR midpipe on Z2s? 245s / square setup? anything else?

tanker - other than the AD08s, anything else?

I think I need 4th for sure before T6. Will play around and see what I can do next time. Pretty sure the fastest way is to shift down to 3rd on the way into the corner though it will make it harder to get the corner right.

On my mods, that's pretty much it. Am running the same tires front and rear and also the same height (13.75in). Have the front camber maxxed out, and also a mazdaedit tune to mask the cell from the midpipe and lean out the AFR a bit, but also lowered the limiter to 8700.

I use Harry's Lap Timer Pro to record video/data with an iPhone 4S mounted just ahead of the rear view mirror.

http://erik.vandermey.net/RX-8/rx-8-bhf-aug-2013.png

Chasing an s2000 at Sonoma raceway. Lost a bit of time through the exit of T10 with a little correction and then through T11 following the car in front, but otherwise pretty clean and my best time of the day. Still have not sorted my audio though. Next time I hope...

Looks like a fun track!
I feel like around 0.50 on the lap timer, you're staying mid track without really setting up for the turns. I don't know this track, but feels like you should be using more of it there.

Other thing is you seem to start drifting into a turn before you really turn in, like around 1.05 on the lap timer, which you want to avoid. It makes you apex early and slow, and reduces the margin for error at the turn exit if you had gone faster.

It is massively fun, but also a little intimidating with all the walls.

Thanks for the feedback... yep I still have a lot of learning to do and need more practice there.

I'm not quite sure where you mean for the first one. At 0:50 on the lap timer I'm at the apex of T6. The entry to that turn is a tricky one and I could be more right at the very start.

The next turn, at 1:05, I'm intentionally coming in to make it a double apex turn. This is not the recommended line, but it was fun to try and I think slightly quicker if I was to get the execution right.

I'm also turning a little while braking for T11 to shorten the corner. Not recommended for a first visit to this track, but also fun to try :)

Wikipedia track map

Absolute blast at Thunderhill with GGR PCA last weekend:


Much quicker than when I last drove this layout in Sep 2013, but still room to improve.

Looks like you're losing time getting on (and mostly) off the brake pedal too aggressively. Getting off smoother will allow you to transition into the turns better.

Can you see that from the pitch of the vehicle? I tried looking for it, but I couldn't tell...

I've always thought of smooth is fast as far as application goes, but not as often as far as coming off the brake. I have much to learn...!

Getting off smoothly helps with overlapping turning with braking (ie trailbraking). Actually a typical good brake trace looks like a fast ramp up in pressure, with a slow trailing off.

I'm sure I have room to improve, but I don't think I'm too bad at this. The brake bar in the video is drawn from the on/off switch, and not a pressure sensor, so it might be giving a false impression.