Didn't Dan Gurney say that?
I think he actually said "I'd rather go in slow and come out fast than go
in fast and come out dead".
there are two mantras I mutter to myself when I'm racing. One is "wait,
wait, wait, wait, NOW" (forcing myself to not turn in too early) and the
other is "brake a little later, brake a little harder, brake a little
longer, turn a little later".
Turn nine at Laguna Seca (the old turn nine--the off camber lefty downhill
after the corkscrew) is THE place for yelling those mantras at myself. I'm
sure every racer in FOT does a similar thing at a similar turn.
I find my vintage racecars are much more forgiving of the sins of driver
error. The Radical is absolutely not. If you brake too early you find
yourself parked ten yards before the corner. If you turn in early there's
not enough room in the whole paddock to save it.
-----Original Message-----
From: bob bownes [mailto:bownes@web9.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2002 2:01 PM
To: Rocky Entriken
Cc: Barr, Scott; fot@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Rear Wheel lift
The road racing corollary:
Go in slow, come out fast. Go in fast, come out dead.
Rocky Entriken wrote:
>
> Having no idea of Scott's experience level or driving style, I want to
offer
> one different view:
>
> It ain't all about the equipment you have on the car.
>
> Perhaps you can slow down to go faster.
>
> I had an epiphany of sorts at the 2000 Solo II Nationals, after seeing
some
> photos of myself in a key corner that were taken by the trackside photog
> there. He caught me in the same place on two different runs. On one
(first
> run) I had major rear wheel lift. On the other (third run) I did not.
And I
> was 1.6 seconds quicker on the third run.
>
> The car is a Mk. I Spitfire, D Prepared in Solo, G Prod in road racing.
And
> yeah, it has a welded-up rear so wheelspin is not really my problem.
>
> The difference? On the third run I backed off sooner for the entry to
the
> corner, got on the gas sooner and was accelerating through and out of
the
> turn.
>
> When I came hard into the corner and was still braking heavy as I turned
in,
> I got that inside rear wheel way up in the sky. Made for a really
> spectacular photo, but I could also see the error in technique. Already
into
> the turn, I was still trying to get slowed down.
>
> When I got my braking done earlier, when I was shot at that same spot in
the
> corner the car was flat, all four on the ground, and actually looking
very
> un-spectacular ... but demonstrably faster.
>
> Not so easy to do. Man, you just KNOW you can go deeper into that
corner.
> Yeah, you can, but then it takes longer to get back out of it again, and
> that is the key.
>
> I'd attach the photos, but Mark's program would just strip them. [That's
not
> a complaint; it strips all kinds of bad stuff too! :-) ]
>
> --Rocky Entriken
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Barr, Scott" <sbarr@mccarty-law.com>
> To: <fot@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2002 10:11 AM
> Subject: RE: Rear Wheel lift
>
> > Joe and all,
> >
> > On my rotoflex GT6 (same rear suspension as Joe's SuperSpit Tiny Tim),
I
> > replaced my 5/8ths bar with the 7/8ths bar last year, with no real
effect
> on
> > the wheelspin while in right-hand turns. It does corner flatter, but
the
> > drive wheel still spins, both on short sharp turns (such as Blackhawk
> Farms'
> > turn 3A) and carousel turns (such as Blackhawk Farms turn 3). My
current
> > theory (W.A.G.) is that the weight transfer still occurs, causing loss
of
> > traction at the right/rear wheel, regardless of the flatter cornering
> > attitude. Still reading through Mr. Puhn's book to figure this out.
> >
> > But, point is, the 7/8ths bar didn't help me. Perhaps with Tiny Tim's
> > lighter engine, the result would be different.
> >
> > Scott Barr
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Joe Curry [mailto:spitlist@gte.net]
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2002 7:08 PM
> > To: Friends of Triumph
> > Subject: Re: Rear Wheel lift
> >
> >
> > John and Ted,
> >
> > It appears that my next step is to put the 7/8" swaybar on the front
> > (replacing the 5/8" one) and see what the result is at next Sunday's
> event.
> >
> > Thanks for the tips. I'll let you know how it goes!
> >
> > Joe
> >
> > John Price wrote:
> > >
> > > Joe:
> > >
> > > It depends on what your spring rates are and what kind of sway
bar
> you
> > > have in the front. As near as I can tell from my research, the
options
> > would
> > > be stiffer springs/larger sway bar in the front or softer
> springs/smaller
> > > sway bar in the rear. I am fighting the same battles with my TVR
> > >
> > > John
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