Re: Mosport setup problems (very long)

FWIW, I am certainly NOT the fastest guy in the bunch, just recently graduated from lawnmower to really fast lawnmower to keeping it on the road most of the time. The following is not setup help (I'm a setup idiot, like Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder), but rather how I went from 1:28s to the 1:22s. in the Ferrari at Mosport, with Allison Hine's setup. The track is really hard, one of the hardest, I think, because there are so many blind corners. I was stuck in the 1:28s myself with the Ferrari for months, until I made an effort to change my driving technique a bit: I would brake really early for the turns, especially T1 and T4 (the downhill left hander). T1 I take by tapping the brakes ever so slightly in a straight line just when the Armco starts, turning in early and shifting up to 4th after braking (you should've approached it in 3rd), and just letting it take the apex and using the throttle to keep it stable. Shifting to 4th allows me to get on the power really early during the turn. For T2 I brake early and downshift to 3rd. To me, this one has two apexes, and you shift back up to 4th on the second one - be careful not to drift too much to the right. Then for the slow right hander. I shift down to 3rd, brake, then as the revs come down, again to 2nd. Then smooth on the power (so you don't spin), to exit in 3rd, then hit 4th. Keep it in 4th, just tap the brakes slightly and just let it drift to the left. Add some power to keep the tail tucked in. JUST as you exit this, start braking and shift from 4th to 3rd to 2nd for the tight, uphill right hander. Because it's uphill, that helps to slow you down. Be ginger in this section, because it's easy to spin, an the car usually arrives here with a lot of energy. This section for me is a royal pain in the ass. Then down to 1st, turn as early as possible without bumping the curb, and when you get the car pointed in a straight line, very smoothly apply the power. The key to a good gear ratio setup, I think, is do it so that you avoid hitting maximum revs when the car runs over the "dips" in the back straight. So now you're maximum revs, and approaching the "jump". Approach from the left, as straight as possible. Everyone, including the AI cars, jump quite high here. I hate that. I know I could be faster, and on occasion I do jump, but I prefer to hold it until JUST before the crest of the hill, then I back off the power a little bit. The car will either jump very slightly or get really light in the suspension, so when it comes down I brake smoothly, downshift and turn in. This is why you need to keep the car as straight as possible, so it's more stable when it "lands." Keep in mind that you're essentially slowing down through this right hander, so you just use the throttle to keep from going off. As soon as you exit this, keep it on the right, downshift to 3rd and brake for the left hander, and take a late apex. Then the last turn is basically very slow in 2nd, but it took a lot of practice to exit with enough speed to keep up with the AI cars. That's my 2 cents. If it sounds familiar, I had a lot of help from reading Riccardo Nunnini's (sp?) wonderful website on GPL driving technique: http://website.lineone.net/~richardn/. Only that there are things that just didn't work for me, so I added my own. Once you find a good setup, you'll develop your own approach. But consider that I knocked off 6 seconds without doing a thing to the setup. Hope this drivel helps, L.S.

I'm having big problems getting a good lotus setup for mosport :( Apart from the 3 yumps being a pain in the arse I'm finding the car very sqirmy under braking, particularly at turn 1 and the last yump. I seems to break away very sharply to the left under braking. I'm not sure what I've done to make it do that though :( I also seem to lock up the front brakes from time to time despite fiddling with the brake balance and moving it back a bit. Is it just me or is this track really hard! btw PB so far is 1.28.xx in the Ferrari and 1.29.xx in the Lotus TIA Kev

Thanks for the post, I could really reflect my own technique in there (especially the two-apex part of T2). Luis Soto wrote: > > I would brake really early for the turns, especially T1 and T4 (the downhill > left hander). > Yep, I always say that the slowest way through a corner is entering too fast. -Gregor

Kev wrote:

Quoted text (7 lines)

> > I'm having big problems getting a good lotus setup for mosport :( > > Apart from the 3 yumps being a pain in the arse I'm finding the car very > sqirmy under braking, particularly at turn 1 and the last yump. I seems > to break away very sharply to the left under braking. I'm not sure what > I've done to make it do that though :(

Some real vague general advise.... If you're running low ride height and/or low front bump dampers and/or are too abrupt applying the brakes, you may wind up riding on the dreaded bump stops. When this happens, the car tends to go in random directions. Front toe-out can make the car unstable under braking. The Ferrari seems more sensitive to this effect that most other chassis. Asymetric camber can cause problems. You have to _ease_ on the brake to allow the car to settle. > I also seem to lock up the front brakes from time to time despite > fiddling with the brake balance and moving it back a bit. Is it just me > or is this track really hard! How else are you going to find the traction limit! =:o > btw PB so far is 1.28.xx in the Ferrari and 1.29.xx in the Lotus > > TIA > > Kev -- ============ Anti-Spam measures have been taken! Remove the duplicate 'g' and 's' to reply.

In article <[email hidden]>, "Luis Soto" <[email hidden]> writes:

Quoted text (10 lines)

>That's my 2 cents. If it sounds familiar, I had a lot of help from reading >Riccardo Nunnini's (sp?) wonderful website on GPL driving technique: >http://website.lineone.net/~richardn/. Only that there are things that just >didn't work for me, so I added my own. Once you find a good setup, you'll >develop your own approach. But consider that I knocked off 6 seconds >without doing a thing to the setup. > >Hope this drivel helps, > >L.S.

Hey, if I could knock 6 seconds off my 1:29, I'd be thrilled! I can't see being able to go that fast in some of those turns, though... Eldred -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett GPL hcp. +70.45 Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

> Hey, if I could knock 6 seconds off my 1:29, I'd be thrilled! I can't see > being able to go that fast in some of those turns, though... Neither did I. Turn 5, the slow right hander that's slightly uphill, it's the slowest, and it's a pain in the ass. I'd say you have to be careful there, and also at the last turn, the right hander before the pit straight. I think that by braking a wee earlier for most of the turns at Mosport enables you to just "attack" that apex and get on the power earlier. Exit speed seems to be the key, I think. Maybe one of those speed demons that get 1:21s around there can shed better light on this! Glad to be of help L.S.

It's the current track I'm trying to improve on and yeah, I've found that I am getting the turn in for most corners earlier than the driving line would indicate and then just letting the speed get scrubbed off as I approach the apex to each corner ready to get the power down. I managed a 1:20.8 about a month or so ago, but comparing my current crop of replays with replay analyser to my current, old PB I can see where I can gain time and am expecting to post a sub 1:20.5 sometime soon (when I get time to drive GPL that is. Damn, isn't work annoying sometimes.) -- Peter Ives - (AKA Ivington) No person's opinions can be said to be more correct than another's, because each is the sole judge of his or her own experience.

Peter Ives wrote:

Quoted text (23 lines)

> > In article <[email hidden]>, Luis Soto > <[email hidden]> writes > >> Hey, if I could knock 6 seconds off my 1:29, I'd be thrilled! I can't see > >> being able to go that fast in some of those turns, though... > > > >Neither did I. Turn 5, the slow right hander that's slightly uphill, it's > >the slowest, and it's a pain in the ass. I'd say you have to be careful > >there, and also at the last turn, the right hander before the pit straight. > >I think that by braking a wee earlier for most of the turns at Mosport > >enables you to just "attack" that apex and get on the power earlier. Exit > >speed seems to be the key, I think. Maybe one of those speed demons that > >get 1:21s around there can shed better light on this! > > > > It's the current track I'm trying to improve on and yeah, I've found > that I am getting the turn in for most corners earlier than the driving > line would indicate and then just letting the speed get scrubbed off as > I approach the apex to each corner ready to get the power down. I > managed a 1:20.8 about a month or so ago, but comparing my current crop > of replays with replay analyser to my current, old PB I can see where I > can gain time and am expecting to post a sub 1:20.5 sometime soon (when > I get time to drive GPL that is. Damn, isn't work annoying sometimes.)

That Replay Analyser is a fine piece of software. Not only did it show me that I had a potential half second to be gained, but also at which corners I needed to work hardest/concentrate most on to not lose to much time. As a result and 12 laps into practice today and I got a 1:20.35 which I posted to Schubi's site today. :)

Oh, hush now, and leave us mere mortals alone! -- Colin Harris (Mosport best 1.24 and a bit) ColinHarris in N3/NL & VROC Remove "your knickers" to reply As a result and 12 laps into practice today and I got a 1:20.35 > which I posted to Schubi's site today. :)