RX8SpdDmn

I went with TracQuest last weekend to Watkins Glen for a DE. They're passing rules are much more open, with fully open passing in the fast group. This was my 5th DE and my 3rd at the Glen. In the second day, I was bumped to the Fast group. There were some wicked cars there and you can see some in the video. One video is of a 2:22.10 with virtually no traffic. It wasn't my absolute fastest run, but I think it's a good representation. The other video is a few laps when I was passed by some seriously fast/exotic cars. We couldn't have asked for better weather for the end of October at the Glen. The 2 new videos are named 2005-10-xxxxxxx.wmv.
Enjoy!

http://www.scottbarton.net/anthony/TheGlen/Videos

BlueEyes

Nice videos man. Looks like fun. Passing is the most fun part of racing IMO.

How did you have your camera mounted?

RX8SpdDmn

With a tripod and bungee cords!!!

Yeah, my favorite part is having to go into the turns off-line. I plan on doing the BMWCCA Racing School next year, which teaches every line EXCEPT the driving school line.

BlueEyes

That's funny. When I saw how high the camera was mounted I figured it was either on a tripod, or hanging from the cieling!
Driving fast on the slow line is one of the more challenging aspects of racing. Should be a great school.

dmp

Can you get a pic of how you've got it hooked in??

I tried and failed doing that

expo1

Rx8SpdDmn you had much better weather than I had last month, rain all three days. What was your speed before hitting the Bus Stop / Chicane?? My nerves would only let me hit 110 on a wet track.

RX8SpdDmn

[QUOTE=expo1Rx8SpdDmn you had much better weather than I had last month, rain all three days. What was your speed before hitting the Bus Stop / Chicane?? My nerves would only let me hit 110 on a wet track.[/QUOTE]

I was hitting almost 120 mph (I think) on the front straight, and 130 mph on the back straight. That was up from 124 mph in May, when my car was fully stock.

I found trailbraking into the bus stop could be pretty dicey. The tail would start coming around pretty quick. Several times, I ended up taking the first turn of the bus stop with the wheel virtually straight, allowing the rear tires to do the turning!

RX8SpdDmn

I probably could, but I could just explain it, too. I have 2 legs extended to the rear floor, straddling the center console, and the 3rd leg pointed toward the rear, almost fully compressed, sitting in the center console tray (the lid is up). I then have bungee cords going from the low point in the center of the tripod back to the child seat anchors and forwards down to holes in the seat rails (this often gets caught up with the seat when I try to adjust it, though).

The bungees must have enough tension on them to keep the tripod/camera pulled down. I use either one long one (ie, from one child seat anchor, around the low point of the tripod center, then to the other child seat anchor) or two hooked together, and doing the same thing.

I don't think this would hold it in place in an accident, but I guess that's what the helmet is for! It works fine for the loads that I've put on it.

dmp

Excellent - thanks

BlueRenesis82

[QUOTE=RX8SpdDmn]
What speed are you shifting into 5 at?

RX8SpdDmn

I usually wasn't. I would get right up to the rev limiter in 4th. I knew I was haulin' if I hit the limiter. This only happened occasionally, though. I found that the time required to upshift to 5th didn't improve my top speed there.

I usually stayed in 4th through the bus stop and down to turn 6. However, I was trying a different line by turning in harder for the 1st left of the bus stop and then accelerating straight across the 2nd left and the right, clipping the rummble strips, and then just letting off for the outer loop. To make full use of this, I needed 3rd gear, but then I'd be upshifting during the track-out of the outer loop. It was probably faster, though. By staying in 4th and taking each inner loop turn individually, I'd end up coasting into the outer loop, whereas I could've accelerated and decelerated back down instead. I hope that makes some sense!

Spin9k

You're doing some pretty decent ... no make that very decent lap times at the Glen! How is your 8 setup/what mods do you have/tires...stuff like that? You're an excellent driver from the vids you show.... the Glen is a real test of a car and the driver and you've got it down pat!

RX8SpdDmn

Wow. Thanks a lot!

My car has Dunlop SP SS Race 255/35/18 tires, Hawk HP+ front pads and HPS rear pads, Ate SuperBlue fluid, and a B&B midpipe (no cat) going into the stock muffler.
The clear corner markers and '06 MX-5 Miata shift ****, as well as a few vinyl decals give me that extra visual horsepower that I need. Oh, and the flames!!
www.scottbarton.net/anthony/misc
Select FlameThrower!.wmv

Oh, my alignment is at -.9 deg camber front, -1.4 deg rear, 0 front toe, .12 rear toe. -.9 was all I could get out of the front

My car has the check engine light on right now. I've reset it a few times and it seems to make a little better power when the light is not on. I've gotta get that O2 sensor a little furthur out of the exhaust stream...

willhave8

Good stuff. Best I did was 2:38 on the OEM bridgestones & stock pads, RB Sway Bars... Yeah, I know I am a newb on the track. But you know what? My grin was as big as yours

Anyway, I was comparing your line to mine and I was usually on it but you were smoother in the left hander leading into right hander that contains the pit lane entrance (radius 10?). The other place I know I sucked at was in the last turn coming out of the boot (radius 18). I never was got the hang of getting up on top of the flat part of that corner before turn in. That caused me to exit early and I lost speed every time I went into that corner. Part of that might have been the 'blue bushes' at track out...That is not a corner to exit early in.

Cool to watch your videos and compare them to mine.

Guess I need to do more time on the track

Hey Spin, do you have any videos from Sept at the Glenn?

willhave8

Hey what is up with the timing posted for my post? I am writing this at 11:17PM on Thursday. I wrote the post above at about 10:50 on Thursday... Site is operating ~23 hours behind reality

RX8SpdDmn

I believe you're referring to turn 9. The off-camber left-hander that dumps back onto the NASCAR straight. The key there is LATE turn-in! Turn in late and just hold the wheel. Don't adjust. It just comes right in. Once you get it, it's a lot of fun! It took me a full DE to get that one, but once I got it, it just clicked!

Spin9k

Well, I took TWO cams (for back/front view), BOTH **** the bit unbelievably by the time I got there, but I do have my Traqmate GPS data, which is actually a more complete record than the visual, at least for my own driving which I thought was horrible that weekend!

RX8SpdDmn has it all over me - like I said - some great driving and lap times he produced there.

I was totally off my pace after (arriving late due to construction delays) then spinning in T1 on the 1st session on Saturday freaked me out. My travel times are similar to RX8SpdDmn - 6-7 hrs, i.e., way too long , plus the approx 1K+ cost - I doubt I'll do the Glen again real soon.

Fortunately, a few weeks afterwards I fell in love with the track at Mont Tremblant in Quebec w/the NE Audi Club holding a North American super HPDE there - what a beautiful, smooth as a baby's bottom, more fun track, better location, nicer town, great French style food, not quite so far, cheaper - that kind of thing. Gonna go there AMT AP next year. I DO have vids from there on my site where I had a great experience, start to finish!

BlueRenesis82

is there any way you can have a little camera looking directly at your speedo? I have a Sony minidv and would like to have my speeds too....

Spin9k

With a wide-angle lens on your DV cam you can see the speedo, and even read the numbers if you play it out on your computer uncompressed as an .avi file As you compress it down very much like to turn it into a .wmv it gets pretty hard to read...plus as you saw at the wheel your arm obstructs the view fairly often.

That's why I got the Traqview unit...GPS accurate speed every foot of the track replayed at your convenience....no tire or speedo innacuracies and sw is in the works to superimpose that on the video taken at the same time...now that's more like it!

BlueRenesis82

how much was the traqview thinger?

Spin9k

www.traqMATE.com ... about a grand and worth every freakin penny!

BlueRenesis82

after watching the vids, you are a damn good driver, and there is pretty close to no runoff at teh glen. I would be afraid the first couple times I drove there. You have 6 ft then concrete? Ouch

solito

Expo ! ...Are you Beetlegeuse? ...Man I think I saw you at Blockbuster video in Lumberton NJ.

expo1

Nope, I am a big Howard Stern fan and love BeetleJuice. You think if I were BettleJuice I would have time to have 1,100 posts here