SCCA Solo D Street discussion

[cmiovino]

Originally Posted by Locust

In street spec 50lbs is about one and a half 10ths of a second per 60 second course. It makes a difference. My co-driver and I averaged out runs with/without a 200lb passenger and it was roughly six 10ths. Take from that what you will. I'm of the opinion that if you pay the big bucks for national events you shouldn't leave any thousandths on the table.

Well, I will say my recent runs with a passenger were all much slower than expected. One event my SO came to my final 3 runs and all three were a good 0.5-1 second off pace from the morning and she's about 140lbs. Could have been the weight, could have been not focusing enough.

Also oddly enough, my two most recent back to back events, the car was down on fuel at about 1/4 and lower, which I typically don't plan. Both of those events, I did better than usual. I chalked this up to better driving.

I still find it hard to believe it's worth 0.5 seconds or more. Hundreds, sure, maybe a tenth, ok... but 0.5 is stretching it.

I know an SSC good driver who says he runs clear near the fuel light is almost on. My one buddy who runs in STX actually keeps his spare tire in as he claims it balances the car out, keeping more weight in the rear.

Nationally, of course, I'd say run 1/4 and lower, spare tire out. I think the difference there is you have the best drivers with maxed out cars and hundredths of a second counting.

[SCFD]

I finally had my first event yesterday and managed to place 4/17 in class and 23/103 overall (raw). DNF'd my first run, battled my way up from mid-pack, then swapped places with a couple pesky S2000s for a bit.

My car is prepped for DS but the club I run with has their own classing so I was running A-Stock which is basically for any low-HP RWD cars. There are a ton of Gen-1 BRZ/86s but the car to have would probably be an S2000, ND2 Miata, or Gen-2 BRZ/86. Allowable mods in this class is similar to SCCA Street class except there are no limitations on wheel/tire sizing. To optimize my car for this class, I'd have to pick up some 17x9 wheels and wider tires.

Class Results:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQUvX69HM-F/

[Autoxer62]

On the subject of weight, a friend of mine said he always ran better with a pretty girl along. All his race cars had a passenger seat for that reason.

[Locust]

Originally Posted by cmiovino

Well, I will say my recent runs with a passenger were all much slower than expected. One event my SO came to my final 3 runs and all three were a good 0.5-1 second off pace from the morning and she's about 140lbs. Could have been the weight, could have been not focusing enough.

Also oddly enough, my two most recent back to back events, the car was down on fuel at about 1/4 and lower, which I typically don't plan. Both of those events, I did better than usual. I chalked this up to better driving.

I still find it hard to believe it's worth 0.5 seconds or more. Hundreds, sure, maybe a tenth, ok... but 0.5 is stretching it.

I know an SSC good driver who says he runs clear near the fuel light is almost on. My one buddy who runs in STX actually keeps his spare tire in as he claims it balances the car out, keeping more weight in the rear.

Nationally, of course, I'd say run 1/4 and lower, spare tire out. I think the difference there is you have the best drivers with maxed out cars and hundredths of a second counting.

Well YMMV but I can only go off what my testing shows with my car and that was about half a second for a 200lb passenger. Likewise my testing showed that heat soak can be a significant factor on hot days as well.

To what your friend said regarding the spare tire, it does help sometimes. Really depends on how your car is set up and what the surface/course is like.

[renfield90]

(Cross posting from the STX thread for more visibility)

Anyone going to Nats this year and have an open seat for a codriver?

I'm asking on behalf of a friend from Hawaii, obviously too far for him to bring a car. He's driven with me a few times now, he's an amazing teammate and very easy on the hardware. I'd love to have him drive with me again, but with Kate moving to open this year we don't have a seat for him.

Although he's pretty comfortable with the twins platform, it doesn't have to be a DS seat. He'll drive anything, if you have any leads let me know and I can put him in touch. Thanks!

[cmiovino]

Originally Posted by SCFD

I finally had my first event yesterday

I must be an idiot because I just learned this weekend (and reinforced from your video) you need to launch these cars at 4-5k. I've been doing just at about 3k and you're down to about 2k once you engage the clutch and bog.

[cmiovino]

Little recap of this weekend's "Cone Killer Classic" in the Central PA region. Drove up the night before and a normally 2.5 hour drive became 4+ hours with traffic at 4PM... yay.

Brought my jack and tools to rotate the wheels the morning of the event. Did the fronts first as last time I rotated them the front stud threads were getting weak already. No problems in the front and put new Gorilla lugs on as the OEM ones are a PITA to finger on with the PP wheels.

Got the the rears and literally on the last lug it appeared fully crossthreaded on. Figures. Left it as is and put the rear wheels back on, as well as the OEM lugs up front again. I've never stripped or cross threaded a stud in changing my WRX wheels probably 50+ times over the years.

Day one I was hitting my max at the 44 flat after the morning runs and still pissed off about the wheels stud. Talked to some people and they said to launch at 4-5k instead of 3k. That and holding a bit more speed through some sections netted a 1.5 second better time. I was right around the top 1/3rd in PAX with a lot of good drivers (Sam Strano, Alex Piehl, and a bunch of other tops guys).

Day two was harder. I ended up 47th out of 94, so right at the halfway mark. I'd get one section done well and mess up another, and visa versa. My 225 Yoks are getting really cooked on the outer edges and are due for a flip. Overall tread is just above the wear bars. Still undecided if they're the right tire for the car. Some events they're brilliant and I'm crushing CS times, other times they're off pace... or it's just me, ha.

[Locust]

Originally Posted by cmiovino

I must be an idiot because I just learned this weekend (and reinforced from your video) you need to launch these cars at 4-5k. I've been doing just at about 3k and you're down to about 2k once you engage the clutch and bog.

You want the tires to spin a few rotations and then hook. No bouncing and if you do it right you shouldn't have to lift.

[nico_rsx]

Koni yellow: is it still required to install a washer/spacer to be street legal in DS on new koni struts?
I only found this, but it date to when twins were in CS. Is there a more up-to-date document available?
https://www.scca.com/articles/200410...t-koni-edition

[strat61caster]

If you can fit the fat tapered OEM bolt in both sides of the strut then yes you need the washer, as far as I know Koni never changed it and it's how you get extra camber in ssc.

[msaikhan]

on tight turns, should i be braking while turning or no braking at all only throttle while turning?
i usually get my braking done before start turning and on the gas during turn, but seems to be understeering(because no weight on the front i think)

[steverife]

Originally Posted by msaikhan

on tight turns, should i be braking while turning or no braking at all only throttle while turning?
i usually get my braking done before start turning and on the gas during turn, but seems to be understeering(because no weight on the front i think)

Given this is an autocross thread, I'm assuming that you are talking about autocross...

It is really easy to overwhelm your front tires and understeer while braking or on the throttle. Getting your braking done early is good. It is okay to "coast" or use very little throttle as you do the bulk of your turning and then feed in throttle as you are straightening the wheel.

[timurrrr]

Originally Posted by msaikhan

on tight turns, should i be braking while turning or no braking at all only throttle while turning?

One of my recent technique changes that made a significantly improved my results was adding just a bit of braking at turn in of corners.

The sweet spot is somewhere around 10–20% of max braking, and depends on the car setup.
Between 0% and the sweet spot, the more braking you add, the more front grip you have.
If someone tells you "but circle of friction!..", don't talk to them ever again
The sweet spot itself is pretty wide, you don't need to be super precise.
Between the sweet spot and 100%, you're back to the classroom "circle of friction" logic: more braking = less front grip.

In longer braking zones (e.g. slow corner after a long straight at the track), you should typically do
100% ... 100% ... sweet spot ... sweet spot ... off the brake ... maintenance throttle ... accelerate.
The duration you're at the sweet spot is shorter the faster the corner is.
In some corners you might want to go straight from the sweet spot to acceleration.

[strat61caster]

Imagine there's a string between your steering wheel and your pedals...