Isle of Man TT- on four wheels.

Okay, it's important to manufacturers to have records and titles to help support their position as motorsport-friendly cars. I get it. And I'm jealous.

Subaru has been on a tear lately, with Travis Pastrana at Mt. Washington and Rally Driver Mark Higgins at the Isle of Man. Pastrana was in a full-on Rally prepped car, but the Isle of Man run was in a nearly stock car. (The "open exhaust to warn spectators" bit, while probably true, surely offered a little bonus.

Check out the Isle of Man run on YouTube. Weird, but it seems almost scarier than doing it on a bike since the roads are so narrow. Maybe it was the part where he almost lost it at 150 mph....

Subaru says: Driving a US specification 2011 Subaru WRX STI, Higgins achieved speeds of 162 MPH and a lapped time of 19 minutes 37 seconds over the 37-mile track, navigating more than 200 corners. "This is one of the most daunting tracks I have ever driven, and the most terrifying," said Higgins, a Manx native. "We were only able to get two practice runs and on our second practice I had the biggest "moment" of my career. We had a passenger on the run and so coming into Bray Hill at more than 150 MPH, the extra weight compressed the suspension more than on previous runs and shifted the Subaru to the left and then right as I corrected--it was a real tank slapper. The whole thing went by so quickly that we never slowed below 110 MPH, and then we were back on the power. It was amazing and the helicopter shots really show just how hairy it really was." The WRX STI was a production US spec car running a standard 305 HP turbocharged boxer engine. Some safety modifications were made. The Subaru was equipped with a Lifeline fire suppression system, Hockley Motorsports roll cage, motordrive competition seats, Mintex brake pads (but stock calipers and rotors), and a louder open exhaust to warn spectators of the on-coming car. The speed limiter was turned off to allow a higher maximum speed; off-the shelf Tien springs and dampers were added to accommodate the numerous high-speed jumps on the circuit, sending the WRX STI almost four feet off the ground. The car ran on street legal Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tires.

Why do people call it a "tank slapper" when it isn't on a motorcycle?

z31maniac wrote: Why do people call it a "tank slapper" when it isn't on a motorcycle?

Just a guess as euros are weird people.

Maybe because it was a lock to lock oscillation during a high speed section? Either way, man has mad skills to recover from that. Even tougher mind to be able to continue to set a record pace after that kind of incident.

..and Subaru?! DAMN! You crazy!

I've read that the Isle of Mann motorcycles are the most like street bikes than those used in any other motorcycle race series. It leaves me dumbfounded to watch those guys run those bikes so fast when they are so obviously out of shape through most of the course. In a car? I'm dumbfounded again.

Dunno. I guess it's because, like me, he grew up racing motorcycles (no I am nowhere near as good as him!) and uses the terms.

The Abomination got away from me a couple times in slaloms and I used the same term to describe what happened.

z31maniac wrote: Why do people call it a "tank slapper" when it isn't on a motorcycle?

Don't cars have gas tanks too?

WOW!! He put a LOT of lock on didn't he?

I had the incredible good fortune to be able to go over last year, two weeks before the TT. I drove at least 10 laps in our rented Ford turbo diesel wagon. I never tried to go fast...just drinking in the course I had been reading about since I was a teenager. The TT stories were part of what got me into bike racing. An incredibly beautiful place.

Bray Hill is just past the start/finish in Douglas. It's really steep, moreso than the film shows. The bike racers tell new riders not to spectate at the corner at the bottom, where this guy had his moment. "Otherwise, you won't race."

You don't realize it in traffic as you drive through the little villages and between the stone walls, but the run up to Ramsey (the city at the middle of the film) is mostly straight. The bikes do over 160 with the throttle pinned for long, long stretches while the edges of the road rush up and recede but the bike goes fairly straight.

Up and over the Mountain just after Ramsey and it's all open and actually curvier.

Very interesting to me that the bike record is so much faster than the car...around 131 I believe. I understand it wasn't a race car and the driver just ran a lap or two, but the car has so much more rubber on the road and a top speed not too much behind the bikes. The bikes' acceleration is much superior of course and I guess it underscores the part about the long "straights."

Thanks for posting and for giving me a chance to brag a little. I can't wait for "Closer To The Edge."

dyintorace wrote:

z31maniac wrote: Why do people call it a "tank slapper" when it isn't on a motorcycle?

Don't cars have gas tanks too?

not between the driver's knees. well, i guess that's where they are on karts.

AngryCorvair wrote:

dyintorace wrote:

z31maniac wrote: Why do people call it a "tank slapper" when it isn't on a motorcycle?

Don't cars have gas tanks too?

not between the driver's knees. well, i guess that's where they are on karts.

Exactly. I've had my fair share of tank slappers on a bike, so I purchased an Ohlins steering damper, but it seems like recently I've heard the term applied more and more to cars.

Just seems weird is all.

Carry on!

Everyone seems to have great fun at the TT, even the police:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1HqiUeKpyg

Nice recovery.

z31maniac wrote: Why do people call it a "tank slapper" when it isn't on a motorcycle?

I call it "speed wobble"

I call them tank slappers and I've never ridden a motorcycle. It just conjures the right image to me even if a car's gas tank is not between the driver's kness.

I always thought (perhaps mistakenly) that the definition of a "tank slapper" is when the fuel sloshes from side to side of the tank, thereby "slapping" from one side to the other. Is that not where the term comes from?

dyintorace wrote: I always thought (perhaps mistakenly) that the definition of a "tank slapper" is when the fuel sloshes from side to side of the tank, thereby "slapping" from one side to the other. Is that not where the term comes from?

Handlebars slapping the sides of the tank, back and forth.

That was a great show. The slow-mo footage at the end was incredible. I almost pooped my pants.

Osterkraut wrote:

dyintorace wrote: I always thought (perhaps mistakenly) that the definition of a "tank slapper" is when the fuel sloshes from side to side of the tank, thereby "slapping" from one side to the other. Is that not where the term comes from?

Handlebars slapping the sides of the tank, back and forth.

Now I know!!

dyintorace wrote:

Osterkraut wrote:

dyintorace wrote: I always thought (perhaps mistakenly) that the definition of a "tank slapper" is when the fuel sloshes from side to side of the tank, thereby "slapping" from one side to the other. Is that not where the term comes from?

Handlebars slapping the sides of the tank, back and forth.

Now I know!!

"95% of the time, more throttle is the answer. 5% of the time, it ends the suspense."

Regarding "the moment"... I've done a lot of autocross but so far very little high-speed stuff.

I was really surprised at the amount of steering lock he was using... At that speed I'd have thought the corrections would be on a similar scale with the inputs. Was also surprised to hear him talking about dabbing the brakes at moments during the penduluming... I'd love to see a datalog of the steering, brake, and throttle inputs overlaid on the video...

Re-watching, it does get pretty sideways, but that seemed like parking-lot amounts of steering input...

yeah, he got 3 full turns of the wheel at one point. I think that must have been full lock to full lock. which makes him one of the ballsiest drivers I've ever seen, and one of the luckiest.

yikes.

I've seen both Mark and his brother David drive at Pikes Peak a few years back - both are very talented rally drivers, and because I have Manx ancestors, I've always followed their careers. I visited the IOM in 2007 - a truly lovely place, and there is a lot more motorsport there than just the TT. The Manx International Rally is a tarmac event, and there are numerous other motorcycle and car events. Lots of action for an island that's just around 15 miles by 30 miles. It's also the only place in the British Isles that still has no speed limit outside of the towns.

On bicycles, it's about time to cheer for sprinter Mark Cavendish, AKA the Manx Missile, on the Tour de France.

Didn't notice at full speed. Noticed big time at reduced. That was a lot of input. Nice save.