A lap of Sears Point aka Sonoma Raceway in my stock 2013 BRZ

[smmmurf]

Here is a lap of Sears Point from March 17th in my stock 2013 Subaru BRZ.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUBdlXPbjp8"]Stock 2013 Subaru BRZ @ Sears Point Sonoma Raceway 03/17/13 Toyota GT86 Scion FR-S - YouTube[/ame]


As with my previous video at Thunderhill, the BRZ was still on the original Michelin Primacy "Prius" tires and aligned to -1.4 degrees of camber front and rear with zero toe. The brake pads were changed to Ferodo DS2500 and the lines were flushed with Motul RBF600.

Laptime: 2:01.95

[wootwoot]

lol... with those stock tires you sure need a lot of steering correction. looks like fun!

[tintumz22]

Woooooowwww! that was fun!!!!

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by wootwoot

lol... with those stock tires you sure need a lot of steering correction. looks like fun!

The rear sure does dance with the Primacy's!

[smbstyle]

Random question - how did you mount your camera for that in car view?

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by smbstyle

Random question - how did you mount your camera for that in car view?

Hi, I used a ChaseCam mount.

[suaveflooder]

That was AWESOME!! Thanks for sharing!

[smbstyle]

Originally Posted by smmmurf

Hi, I used a ChaseCam mount.

what did you mount it to? passenger seat, rear window...?

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by smbstyle

what did you mount it to? passenger seat, rear window...?

CruiseCam goes on either headrest mount. Mine was on the passenger seat tilted forward to get a better angle (this doesn't work with a passenger). It's an okay setup. You really have to ratchet the thing tightly to the metal bars on the headrest so it doesn't slip.

[donoman]

You're my hero.

[donoman]

I'm just wondering... how do you learn to drive like that, with so much steering wrestling and quick reactions? I don't do that at all. I'm a brake, turn, hold and gas sort of dude. Totally slow motion compared to the OP's steering corrections. I've seen F1 drivers doing like the OP too.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by donoman

I'm just wondering... how do you learn to drive like that, with so much steering wrestling and quick reactions? I don't do that at all. I'm a brake, turn, hold and gas sort of dude. Totally slow motion compared to the OP's steering corrections. I've seen F1 drivers doing like the OP too.

Hypothetically all the wrestling and steering correction is bad, it's wasted energy and motion taking away from the fastest line using 100% of the grip and never overstepping the boundaries of the car. Racing drivers look like that because they are paid to drive a car in a 99%-100% window of speed, overstepping the tires limits can be the key to a fast lap.

As for learning to have those reactions, it's seat time and experience to know how quick you can give inputs and what magnitude results in the desired response, a lot of it is intuitive and it's hard to 'teach' but the 86 is a good place to learn. The best place imo is a dirt track oval, the second best place is in a kart, even the little indoor rental track places can provide some good experience. Most of the ones I've been to are actually setup so there's only one or two corners that require any serious reduction in speed getting a fast time at those places can be quite a feat.

I think OP's car is a little twitchier than most due to having zero toe in the rear, I never tracked with that alignment but I did DD like that for a few weeks and the car wandered all over the road, felt darty. With some toe-in the rear OP's car would have likely been a bit more stable... and a lot less fun to watch.



Edit: Here's a video from a midget running a V8 from the same company that built the motor in the Jun build.


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYV7k8KUXXw"]World 50 Lap Midget Race - Western Springs - Synergy V8 Aggressor Davey Ray In Car - YouTube[/ame]

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by donoman

I'm just wondering... how do you learn to drive like that, with so much steering wrestling and quick reactions? I don't do that at all. I'm a brake, turn, hold and gas sort of dude. Totally slow motion compared to the OP's steering corrections. I've seen F1 drivers doing like the OP too.

Thanks for your kind comments!

I would agree with @strat61caster. The ideal lap is smooth and at the limit with no errors resulting in loss of traction. That might be difficult or impossible, though, because finding out where the limit is means that sometimes you exceed the traction available. When that happens, you need to correct before the slide gets bigger. Ideally, you can stay on the gas and correct with a little bit of counter-angle, but sometimes the slide is more dramatic and requires you to back off a bit and/or throw in more opposite lock to sufficiently recover.

Getting comfortable making quick corrections is best learned with seat time in vehicles that you can feel comfortable pushing hard. I practiced on go-karts before doing track days in my WRX and racing Spec Miata.

I hope to return to the track some day! A few months after posting this lap at Sonoma, I started racing with a BMW team (Performance Technic) in the US Touring Car Championship. At the end of the year, I sold my BRZ and retired from track events to try a new hobby. Coincidentally, I find that salsa dancing also rewards precise timing, strong focus, and an understanding of technique and balance. I'm the silly tall guy in the following video.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35jc1INq-U0"]Son Montuno at MDC Summer Showcase 6/26/2015 - YouTube[/ame]