THSCC Forums

I agree that long acceleration zone followed by long hard braking is ultimately what makes an ideal horsepower course but where are you gonna find that? Only place I know of is not AX but HPDE. However long acceleration zones followed by only moderate braking zones gives those with big horsepower some advantage as well. Its the long/numerous acceleration zones that are quite rare that set this course apart for me. Fact is your wrong and your just gonna have to come to terms with that.



I find it puzzling that you were unable to use full throttle at all through there. Must be something with the silly FWD. I'm quite certain I was between 1/2 and 3/4 throttle all the way to the first gate on the runway and foot to floor from there to the three cone slalom. I did give up a lot of speed braking at the end of the taxiway but I don't think I slowed too much and Aaron even specifically commented at how much more aggressively I attacked that area. To be full throttle through the gates on the left before the three cone slalom required a somewhat more "graceful big arch" line but I don't think I added any significant distance, it just allowed me to turn wwwwaaaayyyy early for the gate and head straight for the slalom maybe someone who rode with me (Aaron) can comment.

All I know is the course was fun and on my third run I didn't hit the brake from the left off the taxiway to the finish in third gear. I even managed to stop afterwards without completely making squares out of my tyres.

Interestingly, I did tap the brakes on my 4th run which was my fastest if I hadn't hit the stupid cone on the taxiway, but I'm not smart enough to know whether that was because I was faster on the taxiway or the runway. One of these days I may be competent enough to be able to analyze differences in runs besides saying "Well, I was faster because I didn't slip and hit the gas and brake at the same time on this run"

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1990 Faded Reddish CSP Lite Miata
2002 Electron Blue Corvette Z06
2005 Mazda 6 Wagon
2003 Nissan Pathfinder DTV (Dog Transport Vehicle)

Dude, if I could come to terms with when I am wrong (which is never!) I probably wouldn't be rapidly approaching the big "four oh" and still single!



I didn't explain myself very well. I was full throttle right after turn-in onto the crossover but then I had to breathe the throttle for my turn-in onto the main runway. I was then full throttle again for a bit before I had to breathe it some more to stay on my line. Somewhere before the first gate, I was able to floor it again and then I had to shift it into third at which point I was flat-foot all the way to the 3-cone slalom.

I probably should have said I couldn't flat-foot it all the way from the crossover to the 3-cone slalom. Anybody that could falls under one of the 3 scenarios I listed in my previous post. Or an alien and my new hero.

Jim

I understood it because that sounds EXACTLY like I did it.

Even trying to be full throttle turning OFF the Xover onto the runway would have had me on the Tweetsie Railroad.

My just doesnt like to turn that well....... yet.

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

FWIW, I flatted footed Karl's S2000 from the exit of the 180 to the 3-cone slalom on my last three runs. Upon exiting the 180 I did need a slight and short lift. Once the car was settled on exit I upshifted to 3rd. The 3-cone really didn't require a much of a brake, just a quick brush, and then it was hard back on the gas...but, Karl's car was handling like it was on rails.

Eric

Obviously I didn't execute it as well, but yeah - this sounds exactly right. The moment I could see daylight out of the "big 180" on the far side, I was full throttle. Quick upshift to third gear as I bent the car left for that next offset, and we're literally "off to the races." Very little slowing down was required elsewhere on the main runway (even though I made that mistake on at least one run).

I really liked the course a lot. But to me, it wasn't so much about placing the car precisely in "this spot." It felt more like I was managing speed given the constraints of having to get to that gate over there, without jeopardizing my ability to make the one after that, and the one after that.

Ah, what do I know...once I typed that out, it sort of seemed like they were about the same thing...

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Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

This is the first course that I have used 3rd gear, and it nearly scared the stuffing out of me. Walking the course, it was hard for me to figure out how fast I would be going on the runway. At those speeds smooth transitions are really important and I think I was too hard on the brakes which upset the car. I spun out twice with nice dirt slide on my first run of the day. I was begining to think if I had flat spotted my tires a few more times, they would nearly be round again.

Anyway, it was a humbling day for me.

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2003 Subaru WRX Sportwagon = daily driver/boost and booster seats
2000 BMW 540iT = wife's kid hauler
2012 Toyota Highlander = the boring reliable vehicle

I'd like about 50 more tries at that course to experiment with lines out of the crossover. I intended to make an arc out of it to open up the path through the first two gates on the runway, like Les, and I think I was doing a decent job of that during the official runs, but I could not find 3rd gear while in that sweeper on runs 2-4. I did find 5th once, and fortunately I didn't find 1st. Finally, on my last fun run I carried 2nd to the end of the sweeper, and found 3rd easily. Maybe the centering springs on my shifter are weak (that's what the guy at Carolina Mustang said, but he wants to sell me a Tri-Ax), perhaps it's another symptom of the worn 3rd gear syncho. Since the shifter bolts directly to the top of the tranny, I doubt it's a cornering induced shift linkage misalignment. Of course, my rear axle (housing, the whole thing) moves side to side quite a bit, so maybe it was pulling the transmission & engine sideways on their mounts, causing a driver to shifter misalignment. Maybe I should stop
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I'm open to co-drive offers

Anyway, it was a really fun course, and we need a pair of 10x50 binoculars in the bus to read car numbers.

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Art McDonald
Premier Amateur #518
2008 Dishman Cup
Pivot Cone Snob

Rodney is a waxer (but in a good way)

You can't fix stupid. It's not complicated to understand, some folks just don't care.

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Phil... Now I miss the ITR and the M3!!!
1990 Honda Civic SI

Maybe we should put those people in the bus during an event and make them work T&S a bit. I think they'll learn real fast about having proper #s!

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GS - 17 Honda Civic Si
STS - 91 Honda Civic Si
S04 - 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS

http://www.kestrelracing.com

Won't work. If they don't care if their numbers can be seen, why would they care if they see and record other's numbers correctly? It's the same as those who come to run, but don't show up for worker assignments. X2 What Phil said!

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SCCA Solo Triad Award Recipient 2014
SCCA HSL National Champion 2012
SCCA DSL National Champion 2013
SCCA DSL National Champion 2014
NCR National Driver of the Year 2012
THSCC Heel of the Year 2011
Former Club Secretary
http://www.petscompanioninn.com

When I drove my 325Ci at Spartanburg, after getting used to the 944, I couldn't downshift into second and couldn't figure out why.

I was just too stressed out and I was pulling it over into the R gate! Once I relaxed (this took serious conscious effort) it would go in fine.

R 1 3 5
^ 2 4
|
mystery gear

Same thing happened last weekend- I was heel-toeing too fast and wasn't leaving the clutch out in neutral long enough before I tried to go back to second, so the tranny wasn't spun up and it wouldn't go. Finally got it towards the end of the day though.

We need a taser.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Yes! Outstanding idea. When I was worker coordinator, I asked if we could beat those who deserved it, but it got denied. A taser, some pepper spray, either one is good for me. If anyone has a police dog, that would also work well, and as a bonus, the blood trail out to the worker station would serve as a reminder to the others!!!

If they don't care to do what's right, then it comes down to motivation. If we don't have proper motivation tools available, they will not change their behavior. Take folks who do not work. To me, if they show up again, they should work two heats (one for today and one make up) before they're allowed to drive. The problem with that is that unless the worker coordinator remembers the name, they get no penalty other than DNW for times.

There, I almost feel better now.

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Phil... Now I miss the ITR and the M3!!!
1990 Honda Civic SI

Lighten up, Francis.

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Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R

2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner