Q's:those that rode with Demick or Rob @ WCC autoX, as a passanger in one of thier fast runs Options

[grantsfo]

and I practive my blip throttle all the time on the street to get it down.

-Britain

Good thing to practice on the street. Heel-toe braking/downshifting. In our old cars with synchromesh transmissions it helps in 2 ways. 1. You can downshift faster my matching revs. 2. It also matches revs for when you let out the clutch. When you are braking and/or cornering at the limit, popping out the clutch without matching revs will upset the car and can cause a loss of rear traction or even a spinout

Heel-toe isn't something that comes naturally to most people (feels very awkward at first). But if you get in the habit of doing it whenever you drive on the street it will become second nature and you won't even know you are doing it after awhile. And it has to become an automatic reflex to be used effectively on the autox course. So practice up guys. It makes a difference. Your synchros will thank you too.

Most people drove Saturday's autox in 2nd gear only so on a course like that there is no chance to use it of course. I purposefully designed the course so that you wouldn't have to shift. But most of the autocrosses I go to I have to shift between 2nd and 3rd gear anywhere from once to four times in a run.

Demick

Demick that course was just awesome. I did get to redline for last two cones at the end of the slalom but would have wasted time shifting. So what is your technique with loop? I would charge into it lift and then get back on power with mixed results. Some times I would get perfect rotation others I would plow if I didnt lift hard enough.

[rick 918-S]

I had Rob drive my car. I was a passanger. He also gave me a ride in his car. Both rides were overload. I couldn't find the course with a seeing eye dog. This was my first experience with AX. Can't say I am inspired to pursue it as a hobby. But I was able gain some valuable knowlage about the very next improvements to make to the car.

[Dave_Darling]

So what is your technique with loop? I would charge into it lift and then get back on power with mixed results. Some times I would get perfect rotation others I would plow if I didnt lift hard enough.

The loop wasn't that important, frankly... You only had a little bit of straight out of it to make up time, and there was enough going on there that you couldn't carry that much speed out of that section into the slalom anyway. It's the sort of feature where you can't make much time, but you can lose a lot!

Just get through it was the way I drove it. Dive in, brake, then drive around it. Try to keep the car from pushing too much (modulate the throttle, throttle-steer), then try to clip a decent apex and get on the gas to get set up for the quick left-right into the slalom. Getting the last half of that left-right set up correctly was the most important part, because if you got a good run into the slalom you could really keep your foot down and make up time!

Coming out of the slalom, there was more "foot on the floor" time, though I did have to back of a bit in parts to help the car get through the linked turns.

After the slalom, you had that right, then a left, then what amounted to a really long sweeper (with a couple of "fake" apex markers!), then a left and come complex-looking stuff. That complex-looking stuff was really a straight, if you set it up right, so it was another opportunity to keep your foot down. So that last left was very important as well...

Damn, that was fun. I can't wait until Sunday!!!!

--DD

[Demick]

Originally that loop was supposed to be about twice the diameter of what it turned out to be. So it was supposed to be a fairly fast throttle-steer loop. But GGR set up too close to the area we expected to have so we had to back off and tighten up on the loop - making it a pretty slow speed turn. There were a number of ways to get through, but this is how I drove it: I went in hard and fast and kind of threw the car into the turn while still fairly hard on the brakes scrubbing off speed as I entered the turn. The middle of the turn wasn't important except for getting set up for the exit. Many people probably tried to push the middle of the turn too fast and all that happens is you end up pushing - making it impossible to get a decent exit. So through the middle it paid off to be patient and keep the car close to the inside set of cones waiting for the earliest point when you can get back hard on the gas for the exit. Get on the gas too early and you push too wide for the exit and have to end up backing back off the gas again to make the exit (that's the worst thing you can do). But if you wait too long to get on the gas, you obviously just waste time.

Demick

[Jenny]

I rode with Rob in his car, and everything was just a jerky blur. Especially with the helmet on, my neck was being snapped from one place to another. And I could barely keep my head inside the window thru the tear drop loop. But man, was it fun!!

I won't be making it to this weekend's AX due to my gramps passing away, but definitely look for me at the next one. I can't wait to get Demick or Rob into my car!

Jen (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving-girl.gif)

[URY914]

In general, you should be under full acceleration or full braking at all times. You should never coast or hesitate before going from full braking to full acceleration or visa versa. There are exceptions like long sweepers or slalloms where you have to modulate the throttle. But other than that - full acceleration or full braking 100% of the time. That's sort of what is meant by 'never let up'.

I agree. Overbraking KILLS your time. I think people would be suprized how much the car can take. You're not going to hurt it. I would rather throw my car into a corner and scrub off speed, than overbrake and slow down too much. My current engine has no horsepower, so have to keep my foot in it as long as I can. My foot is to the floor on the gas as much as the brake pedal is.

Drive HARD! but controlled.

Paul

[ynotdd]

Jen sorry about your gramps,
There is only one way to go fast in a stock 914 NO LIFT!! its all about throttle control. and no brakes. if you must use the brakes it better be with your left foot. I was told this years ago ,it took me a few years to get it . Since I figured it out , I have placed every time since Tony D (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_flagge24.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/flag.gif)

[krk]

So I didn't get to ride with Demick or Rob, or have them as instructors (either of which would be tops in my book!), but as I mentioned on another thread, I had Howard Yao as my instructor and he took my car for a lap. As a total newbie, it was *so* helpful to ride with someone with a clue, even though the car was strange to him. The ride was a very intense 1 minute, but it was also a very large clue as to what I had to do. Glomming™ onto experienced folk is well worth it at my stage of experience.

kim.

[schweggy]

I had other obligations and couldn't do the AX w/ WCC last week, but I hope to make it out to Marina Sunday. I've never AX'd so can I hitch a ride and see what's what?

BTW SCCA is at Laguan Seca this weekend... not sure how much $$ it is ($6?) but if you're a SCCA member I know it's free. Lot of good racin' stuff going on here.