Infineon A/X video Options

[Trekkor]

first lap is the warm up, second is timed.

Listen to me yelling at the end when I get my 34.485,
"that's what I wanted, right there"!

a/x

KT

[i love porsche]

thanks for these awesome videos...i wanna finish my car and ax sooooo bad!!!

[SirAndy]

first lap is the warm up, second is timed.

could have shaved off a second by downshifting in that hairpin.

just listen to your motor ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) Andy

[J P Stein]

I've found the 1st gear in a stock 914 box to be pretty much worthless for anything but the start of an AX......It's too short to be of any value. I have run nearly all of an AX in 1st, tho.....on an absurdly short /tight course.

Top speed in first for me is bout 35 mph and I have 7000 rpm to play with....that's about 60 feet OTG. Better to try to get the motor to torque (even off the bump) out of a tight corner than risk down & upshifting. Now, if I could find a "B" gear set.......I may have to settle for a "C".

[Brad Roberts]

I have setup 3-4 boxes this year just so people could use first in the really tight corners. I listen/watch people and make suggestions all the time that they use first gear to squirt out of a corner. It is questionable... but if they dont have a better time at the end... dont do it the next time. Pretty easy.



B

[McMark]

You can use first if you're good at rpm matching.

[Brad Roberts]

Trekkor... you left about 1.5 seconds if not 2 on that course.



B

[Steve_7x]

Trekkor,

The clip stopped playing about 75% into your warm-up lap - so take my comments with a grain of salt...

Just before the sharp left turn in front of the semi, you should have braked earlier so that when you turned left you were not so far to the right side of the course. By braking a tad late, you were to far on the right making the subsequent right turn sharper, slowing you down for the next straight straight.

Larry Sharp said it best... you need to be going painfully slow into that corner.

I only sawa few people get that corner right... not even sure I got it right myself... but when you watched the yellow RS (Larry) you saw the right line.

Steve

[SirAndy]

The clip stopped playing about 75% into your warm-up lap

it did that to me too!

just hit play again and it should run full length ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Andy

[Trekkor]

Thanks for the instruction!

I did try downshifting into first on an earlier run.
It was hard to get into first carrying that much speed into the first sharp hairpin corner. My first gear only likes to engage when I'm nearly stopped. Clunky.

I think if I started accelerating while the brakes were still on I could've got the rpm 's up earlier.

Steve, you are right. That corner before the truck was difficult for me. I can see how giving up on that one corner would pay off on the next set.

Brad, where did you see room for improvement? 2 more seconds off would have been amazing...

KT

[Andyrew]

Getting on the gas sooner would have been my idea's.. And more freequently..

But I've never ran a 914 on the autox so I have no clue what the heck im talking about (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

EDIT:woops that was me commenting about the other video.. lol
but this one is probably the same... lol

[J P Stein]

In the 2003 season my usual co-driver was out of town so I offered the ride to a local hotdog/buddy that had never driven the car. After he ran 3-4 sec quicker than me, I asked him where I had lost time. A one word answer "Everywhere" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

I watched each of your vids several times. It seemed....ah....nonviolent.

[Trekkor]

Right now my main focus is smooth steering input and proper car control.
My understanding is that tire squeal and sliding is " braking ". Fun though. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)

J.P. what would you have done differently?

KT

[J P Stein]

J.P. what would you have done differently?

KT

Don't ask me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) I'm still working on "everywhere".
That was an observation, not a critique. I'll leave the advice to the exspurts.

[Trekkor]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_bump.gif)
I welcome any ideas that would improve my driving.

KT

[DanT]

I agree that the use of 1st gear in severely slow corners is always worth a try. When I AXed a 1.7L extensively I used 1st on a lot of slow corners and it always made an improved difference.
In my 2.0L sometimes it did and sometimes it did not. I would always try it to see if it gave you that extra kick off of the slow ones. I also used it to help rotate the car faster than with just steering input. Several of the corners appeared that you were in too deep leaving you very much off line to enter the next corner. Maybe you should have given up the first corner to get the second one better for more speed after the second one.
Did you still have the Megs on in that video?

[Trekkor]

No megaphones. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

I think the approach I usually take is to carry as much speed as possible before the turn and brake very hard before the turn begins.
If the course allows it, I'll shift before the turn , too.

I think at Infineon, I traded fast entrance for slow exits.

That was by far the narrowest course I've ever run, and shortest.
The course was maybe two cars wide. Not a lot of room for error. Getting through without a cone was an acomplishment in itself.

There were a couple of places where I wish I had my SIX. I was on the rev limiter, as I was in second gear the entire run. Having another 50hp and 1000rpms would be nice, eh?

KT

[J P Stein]

To stimulate discussion, I'll make a few general comments.

All the fast guys that I know have loads of experience.....10-20 years worth and they do it as frequently as possible. Kinda like fishing, 10% of the fishermen get 90% of the fish.....opportunity & practice.
A good fisherman can look at a section of river and tell whether or not it is a good spot. A good AXer can look at a course and tell where he can make time or where he needs to cool it. He can then be aggressive on his first run.

Aggression is a key....maybe THE key. This is hard for folks like me who have driven on the street for 40 years and have developed safe driving habits. If you're not pushing the car & yourself you're gonna be.....safe, smooth, but slow. Guys that are fast are on the edge of control...or over it, but have the ability to stich the moves together to *make it look smooth*....in the car, it is actually quite violent. Their car is frequently not traveling in the direction it is pointed. *Watch these guys closely*.... you can learn "things". They will pick off a cone or 2, but seldom have a "big moment".
I watch 2 local guys that compete nationally. Never seen either of em' spin.....even in a strange (to them) car.....wierd. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Nuthin wrong with sliding the car....little slides men you're on the limit.....not to be confused with big slides....those cost time. Sliding the car while brakeing is not good (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
If you're not sliding the car, you really don't know if the car is understeering, oversteering, or neutral.....thus you can't make good decisions on car set-up.

These are my opinions and they are mine. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

[Trekkor]

It's interesting, JP, I used to be very cautious.
I never wanted to hit any cones or slide or (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) spin.

I have a knack for recovering from spins. I am not scared to spin out. I have a clip from Alameda where I spin out sliding 50 yards sideways out of the top of third gear.
I wish I would have stopped for the downed cone on the course to get the re-run. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

I do all those things, testing the limits of the various sections of the course.

Hopefully by the end of the day I can scrounge up a clean run with my best driving in each portion of the track.

All the TTOD contenders hit the cones and go DNF.
It's the few runs that they squeeze out at the end that put them on top.

[J P Stein]

All the TTOD contenders hit the cones and go DNF.
It's the few runs that they squeeze out at the end that put them on top.

At SCCA, the first 3 runs count.......that tends to focus one's attention. One often gets more runs, but the times aren't published. Guys (and gals) that are really good will crack off 3 runs within a few tenths of each other. The cream still rises to the top.

Frankly (flame suit on), PCA is the bush leagues by comparison......but they are fun (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) The GGR seems to exclude cars other than Porsche. Thus, you don't get to see most of hot dogs in your area. Go to one of the SCCA National tour events in your area.....enter if your ego can take it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Your TTOD cars are (or seem to be) SCCA E Mod cars......fast, but not the fastest. Driven well....and quickly *within the first 3 runs*, they would prolly do well at SCCA.
DNFs, loops, cones, going slow to learn the course... will get you a mid pack finish, BTDT.....all too often (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) A car *specificly setup for* E Mod (rather than.. oops your in E Mod cause ya got twin plugs) has taken TTOD at out local
SCCA events....but not always.

BIG tiars, low weight, decent P/W ratio will make you look good.....till ya run up against a bunch of hotdogs with similar set-ups. Hell, even *I* look gud at PCA.....sometimes (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) .

I went up to a PNWR event this last season....not one of my better days, but that's not the point....an SCCA BSP C-4 Vette waxed the field by a second or more.....and them PNWR guys take their AX very seriously.....100 car fields are the norm.