Quote:
Originally Posted by Shark_Bait88
Did my first track day two weekends ago at Road America. Had a blast, and noticed something interesting.
The car seems to reach the threshold of grip in right turns much faster than in left turns. There were two spots on the track where it was most noticeable.
1. Going through the Carousel (long right sweeper) the rear end would start to get floaty from mid-corner to exit if my speed was too high or I started to apply throttle. Could really only start to get into the throttle once I was pretty much out of the corner completely. (Not saying I'm complaining about not being able to mash the throttle. I couldn't start to apply steady throttle through corner exit)
2. I couldn't go through the Kink any faster than about 85mph. Anytime I entered at 90+ it would get squirrely on the exit, and I wasn't lifting or giving jerky steering inputs. That was with applying even throttle through the turn and getting back on it at the exit. I'm on a fairly used, but still good, set of last year's Rivals; and by comparison my buddy was able to take the same turn at 100mph on stock tires in his BRZ. (Of course you could argue that he's just a better driver than me, which is likely true, but doesn't seem to be the source of this probelm)
Essentially, in right hand turns steady-application (not overuse) of throttle is causing the car to loose grip rather than gain it. This is with smooth steering and pedal inputs as well. All the instructors who rode with me noticed that the car wasn't behaving like it should, and recommended I have the rear end looked at.
After discussing it with one instructor, we figured that it could be that the stock sway bar is pre-loaded one way or it could be a bushing problem.
Car has stock suspension apart from OEM crash bolts, and the only other upgrades are a Berk single-exit delete and Kosei K1s w/ the previously mentioned Rivals. Alignment was set to about -1/-1.5 camber F/R with 0 toe in the front and 1/32 toe-in in the rear. I was only running the car in VSC Sport Mode, since it was my first time at an actual track day.
Haven't taken it anywhere to be looked at yet, but was curious to hear thoughts from you all.
|
From the explanation of the carousel that I was given by my instructor, and my book research; you can't apply additional throttle through it. It's a steady hold until "You can see the white of their eyes"; i.e. the apex at the very end of the turn (there is a small drop here too). This is as you prepare to let the car pull left (throttle through the apex, come out left, be looking at the upcoming kink). The best indicator was that the car 'settles' slightly at the end of the carousel, and is ready for throttle.
I've been through the kink at 110 on ZII* spec.
As for the right vs left; it might be driver weight? I haven't really noticed this phenomenon.
Keep in mind I'm a noob though; so I'm not definitively saying you are wrong.