Round 4 - Indianapolis (May 22nd)

They should survive, yes. The Foyt and the Chevy are slightly more reliable than the Offy because they run lower boost pressures in race trim.

I used the biggest front wing stagger for Q , may i use it for race too?


i did best results with this setting in Q session

Yes, that depends on the car and the rest of the setup. Whatever works for you, is OK. Just beware that you will also have to put more force on the straights in the steering wheel to correct the car willing to go left. That may cause some more front tire heat and such besides being less comfortable, but you can try to correct that with setup.

Had sooooooo much fun this evening in two impromptu runs with Peter, Raul, François, Mick and Jan. Spent lots of time in dirty air, getting used to how the cars affect each other and how best to adjust your technique when following a car. Lots of overtaking and even racing side-by-side into corners. I think we all learned a lot. Really looking forward to Carb Day with the practice starts and races!   

lets race

It is really amazing how you loose front wheels feeling while entering a corner behind other car... very tricky!!!

And yes, Im having big problem keeping the pace with you (Jason and Bob).. Is it in car setup or ther is a bid disadvatnage in engine power?

Quote :

how best to adjust your technique when following a car

That reminds me of some tips in that regard I wanted to give for those interested.

When you follow another car you lose front grip, that you all know well. So what you have to do is spend the least time possible there, and you do that by "crossing" the path of the other car, either from left to right or right to left. Which is best? Actually you will have to do both over a whole stint if you adjusted your car properly.

At the beginning of the stint your car will understeer heavily at turns 1 and 3 (Because you come very quickly from down the straight), so you need to enter the turn earlier. Get out of the slipstream before your turn in point so that you have clean air and your car responds properly to the initial steering input. Hold it there pointing to the apex and when the car in front crosses your path, lift slightly to shift weight to the front and ease pressure from the front tires. Because of that trajectory, you will be in the chute between both turns again outside of the other car, but having lost more speed and again in clean air, so you can rotate the car to point at the exit turn and follow the other car out. In the straight you should be able to use the slipstream to get back whatever you lost in the corner. 

At the end of the stint, the opposite will happen. You will have a more oversteery car and entering the turn to quickly would unsettle it. Instead, use the slipstream to your advantage in order to reduce front grip. Enter the turn either exactly behind the other car, or do a later turn in that requires more front end grip -the one you have in excess now.

Please note that this all is just a matter of changing around one car length your turn in points, and that you will not always be completely offset to the car in front. Sticking out one half of the car may suffice, so do not make it too exaggerated or you will easily lose the trajectory. 

I'll try to be at the server early today, so as to help anybody not yet comfortable or willing to ask anything.

Alberto, these are very helpfull tips, for me at least. This is the situation in which Im kind of aware of the things you are writing, but when somebody confirms that, like you just did, it makes a big step forward in self-confidence.

Thank you.

Alberto Ibañez wrote:

Quote :

how best to adjust your technique when following a car

At the beginning of the stint your car will understeer heavily at turns 1 and 3 (Because you come very quickly from down the straight),

Strange but I've not that problem the Chevy Eagle. I've got the opposite in fact. I'm suffering a slight oversteer in 2 and 4 (and sometime on 3). But I've just has some very minor understeering problem in 1 and 3. And for that to happen I've to miss my entry.

But it's not my biggest issue in fact. I'm having a difficult choice to make on the radiator. Keeping the temp in green level and being half a second slower? or having the temp in yellow zone but being faster? Quite a dilmena for the whole race as the engine can suffer more with the second option

Your car is setup more neutral, that is why you have oversteer at turn 2/4 and a neutral turn entry into 1 and 3. If you can live with that over the whole stint, that is a good setup to have.

In any case, remember that sometimes drivers mistake as oversteer what in truth is an understeer problem at ovals. If you enter the turn too quickly you turn the front wheels too much and start losing speed, to a point where the wheels grip back -only that you have them turned to the left at that point!- So they grip back in an angled position, and send the back inmediately flying out.

Alberto Ibañez wrote:

Your car is setup more neutral, that is why you have oversteer at turn 2/4 and a neutral turn entry into 1 and 3. If you can live with that over the whole stint, that is a good setup to have.

In any case, remember that sometimes drivers mistake as oversteer what in truth is an understeer problem at ovals. If you enter the turn too quickly you turn the front wheels too much and start losing speed, to a point where the wheels grip back -only that you have them turned to the left at that point!- So they grip back in an angled position, and send the back  inmediately flying out.

Thanks . So my set seems to be quite good then

Not sure I've mistaken as you said. I'm driving in a regular 48 with full tank. It's just a second below my time in qualifications. So....

One tip I would like to share regarding pit stops:

Since it takes a lot of time to haul these beasts to a stop, you need to know precisely where your pit box is ahead of time.  Overshooting your pit box will basically kill your race because you will lose a lot of time backing up or going around again.  A lap or two before you intend to pit the first time, press the "request pit" button (however you have it mapped) and look for your crew standing up with the lollipop outstretched. This will give you a point of reference for when you actually come in.  You could also do this at the end of the first pace lap, then press "request pit" again to cancel the stop request.

I found it very hard to spot where they are while being on the track.

If you can't see it, leave the request activated (not all the time, obviously) and if you can't see the red box while passing the pitlane entrance, you know they'll be in the second half of the pitlane.

Raul Jereb wrote:

It is really amazing how you loose front wheels feeling while entering a corner behind other car... very tricky!!!

Jackie explaining the challenge we will all face on Sunday  Cute cartoons 

At the moment, I'm not sure what to think. I started of with a very nice, neutral setup, that was - obviously - understeering in traffic. Now I've got a setup, that is a little less understeering in traffic, but oversteering like eff in clean air. And to add insult to injury, that phlegmatic engine doesn't help, either. Guess who's not in the best mood right now...

On the positive side, the car gives me a good feedback about what the rear is doing and is pretty gentle in its reactions, so I can easily catch it again. Though it isn't the fastest way around the track...

Michael Drechsler wrote:

I started of with a very nice, neutral setup, that was - obviously - understeering in traffic. Now I've got a setup, that is a little less understeering in traffic, but oversteering like eff in clean air.

Michael, is this with a full tank?

Jason White wrote:

One tip I would like to share regarding pit stops:

Since it takes a lot of time to haul these beasts to a stop, you need to know precisely where your pit box is ahead of time.  Overshooting your pit box will basically kill your race because you will lose a lot of time backing up or going around again.  A lap or two before you intend to pit the first time, press the "request pit" button (however you have it mapped) and look for your crew standing up with the lollipop outstretched. This will give you a point of reference for when you actually come in.  You could also do this at the end of the first pace lap, then press "request pit" again to cancel the stop request.

Exactly this was my problem in Trenton. In first race i totally missed my crew so i had to run one more lap. In second race i missed my crew by 1-2 places so i had to go back and i lost lap during yellow. Problem is that is difficult to guess the correct moment to brake. Next time i will run rather more slower and catch the exact place than miss my crew again.

At Trenton, my pit changed all the time in warmup because people were going in and out of the server to get race engines, making the race slightly more unpredictable. Since people are not supposed to jump in and out of the server during warmup this time, surely we should also be able to practice pit stops then?

Jacob Fredriksson wrote:

At Trenton, my pit changed all the time in warmup because people were going in and out of the server to get race engines, making the race slightly more unpredictable. Since people are not supposed to jump in and out of the server during warmup this time, surely we should also be able to practice pit stops then?

Good point.

A tip for calculating braking for the pit stop:

- Learn the distance you need for braking to a halt at the first pit box.
- Add to it as much distance as your pit slot is displaced towards end of the pitlane.
- In case of doubt, use the default one you learned, you will never be wrong with that one and any time loss will be minimal.

- Do NOT shift down to first gear for increased engine braking. It is tempting, but it is too easy to destroy the engine or spin the car.

And a (only half funny) story so you have an idea why these cars brake so badly: The increased inertia in the brake discs weight and size is so noticeable that everyone tries to put as small ones as possible. One guy was stupid enough to try ... motorcycle brakes (From the 70s!!!). It caused one of the biggest wrecks ever at a speedway.

Jason White wrote:

Michael Drechsler wrote:

I started of with a very nice, neutral setup, that was - obviously - understeering in traffic. Now I've got a setup, that is a little less understeering in traffic, but oversteering like eff in clean air.

Michael, is this with a full tank?

Basically all the way down. Behaviour in clean air starts near neutral and becomes more oversteering along the way, but in traffic it stays about the same.

It's normal for the car to become loose as the tank runs dry.  If you are running maximum wing flap stagger, I would suggest going to medium or minimum to compensate.  The car will understeer a bit more on a full tank, but the compromise will be worth it.

Of that I'm aware, both the balance shift and the wing stagger setup. The setup I began with was excellent in clean air, but undrivable in traffic. Now I'm struggling to find a setup that'll do fine in traffic without being a death trap in clean air.

Michael Drechsler wrote:

Of that I'm aware, both the balance shift and the wing stagger setup. The setup I began with was excellent in clean air, but undrivable in traffic. Now I'm struggling to find a setup that'll do fine in traffic without being a death trap in clean air.

Have you tried a more aggressive positive/negative camber setting in the front?

Jason White wrote:

Michael Drechsler wrote:

Of that I'm aware, both the balance shift and the wing stagger setup. The setup I began with was excellent in clean air, but undrivable in traffic. Now I'm struggling to find a setup that'll do fine in traffic without being a death trap in clean air.

Have you tried a more aggressive positive/negative camber setting in the front?

Not yet so far.