We're home at Bob's house now. No more driving today. Just sitting. It's very nice.
We're home at Bob's house now. No more driving today. Just sitting. It's very nice.
Bob pleasure to meet you at Barber this week ...congrats!!! Seth are you flying or driving home?
Headwinds are killing ~50miles of my range. 11:30pm eta.
In reply to 759NRNG :
Flying. I know pro racers complain about how much time they spend flying, but for silly amateurs, turning a 15 hour drive into a two hour flight is the height of luxury.
mazdeuce - Seth said:Bob and his irrational love of Kia has brought him to this point.
Congratulations Bob!! Kia should definitely be backing you!
In reply to bobzilla :
That Rio is a sharp looking car sir.
So is it true that the sundae cup cars all basically raced all week reliably? I saw one issue with a front bumper with something a little loose but that's about it.
That's something pretty awesome on it's own.
sleepyhead the buffalo said:Headwinds are killing ~50miles of my range. 11:30pm eta.
home, about half an hour ago
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:So is it true that the sundae cup cars all basically raced all week reliably? I saw one issue with a front bumper with something a little loose but that's about it.
That's something pretty awesome on it's own.
Effectively, yes?
Pete had to vacuum water out of his spare tire well twice... thanks to salty Chicago winters.
Re:Bumper.
We think the bumper might have been a mis-diagnosis. After Lanier, Marlon and I noticed a vibration, and though the culprit was the front valence. The car is loud... like I'd guess 82dB on the highway... so it was hard for me to tell new/old noises.
We pressed on with things, and attempted a front-back tire swap before the morning sessions at Heartland... where the car felt way more tail-happy than before; and I eventually "spun" the car and put the front two off. I finished the session with a goodly vibration... which was initially thought to be the sand-mud I picked up; or flat spotting. We couldn't 'detect' any surface imperfections... and Marlon went out for his afternoon session... and the steering wheel was shaking so much it was nearly impossible... but he was determined to get a time.
Eventually we swapped the the fronts back to the back (and vice versa)... where the steering was nearly completely absent of vibration... but the vibration from before persisted... and was maybe louder? Also, it was worse when we leaned the cars through corners on the highway.
Marlon's suspicion is the the belts inside the tire are letting go. Anecdotally, Facebook posts seem to indicate the has happened a few other times.
So, long worded answer, short:
Yes, the cars were flawless on mechanicals. With an undetermined issue with one set of tires.
Bob and I had a sway bar end link loosen up twice. He tightened it. Pretty sure Santa can leave a bottle of loctite in his stocking this year and it'll be better next time.
Fun fact. Measured tread depth on the one lap 615's. Fronts, which were on the rear until hallett, have 6/32. Rears, which were the fronts have 5/32. Started at 8/32 and west bars are at 3/32. So less than half the tread used in 3900 total miles, 7 track sessions, one autox and 2 skid pads.
Clearly we should drive faster.
mazdeuce - Seth said:Clearly we should drive faster.
Or use a softer tire. I say just throw money at that problem and not worry about the meat sack.
I appreciate the tire report. I wish there was collective info on all competitors.
Enjoyed following along with this thread. Does the qualifying session at the beginning set the run groups for the whole week, or can you move up the order as you move up in the overall standings? Did any of you keep tabs on what the total cost of the event was? I'd imagine between entry fees, gas, hotels, garages, etc. that it probably adds up pretty fast.
In reply to CrashDummy :
so, the first track session at Nashville, which was recorded for time/points, set the grid from there on. Running out of order can result in a 10-second dry penalty, and 30-second wet penalty... being applied to their session time. But, that 'primarily' applies to the first... ~5... run groups, and is more about a fast car hedging in 'drying' conditions to go out in a slower group to gain a better time.
Also, there's language in the rules, ala:
Thereafter, it is the responsibility of the run-groups to adjust the run-order as necessary.
The run groups after about the "Top 25" are a bit more fluid through the week; and yes... if you start showing increased pace, the grid will start to take note of it, and adjust a car slowly up. Also, the last two run groups also sometimes start accepting 'bent and just running to get a score' and 'we wrecked and are finishing the event in a rental car' additions. Also, the culture around run-groups in OneLap is very much different than you'll find in other places. It's stressed that there be active communication amongst the grid workers, and the people within the run-group to discuss the speed of the driver, the car, the conditions... and the familiarity of all with the track in particular.
The impetus from Brock, is that it's "on our own recognizance" that we figure out the order to 'reduce' the chance of a pass happening... and if a pass happens, that those involved will execute it in a way that doesn't impede another's time (balking can result in a 10-sec penalty); there's also the priority that passing does not lead to either car-to-car contact or car-to-infrastructure contact.
The event only works if everyone involved in on-track driving is actively participating and being honest in evaluating the likelihood of a pass, and executing one in a respectful way. Honestly, that was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the SundaeCup cars as a group. We were very open about what we were doing, why we were going to run in the order we were... and our expectations about the cars around us. We very much carried forward the vibe/culture of GridLife's SundaeCup group to OneLap; and it was very well received and worked very well within the OneLap format... imho.
This was fun to follow along with, thanks for updating throughout the event.
sleepyhead the buffalo said:Honestly, that was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the SundaeCup cars as a group. We were very open about what we were doing, why we were going to run in the order we were... and our expectations about the cars around us. We very much carried forward the vibe/culture of GridLife's SundaeCup group to OneLap; and it was very well received and worked very well within the OneLap format... imho.
This. I heard a lot of good things through the week and we tried to make it as fun and open as possible. Even some love boops in grid. I think we as a group carried the Gridlife banner well and can't wait for next year.
Also, chasing down a Blackwing in the wet, while it cost me 3 seconds on that last lap, was exremely fun.
In reply to bobzilla :
I watched much of the Facebook Live sessions. On those videos, the Sundae Cup (SC) was always spoke of highly and positively. There was always an announcement similar to, " the SC cars will be up in 2 sessions." You were an easily definable group. Sure, 4 separate efforts but easy to see as one group effort. The knowledge and expereince in the class was deep too. Every car had at least a previous competitor. Some competitors had MANY previous years like more than 4 years previous.
Congratulations to all. Seems like such a fun time. Hope to attend one of these in the near future.
Any insight on brakes? How did the pads do? Rotors? Any issues? Curious to see how the cars did with regards to brake wear.
kevinatfms said:Any insight on brakes? How did the pads do? Rotors? Any issues? Curious to see how the cars did with regards to brake wear.
General run-down...
Marlon / Mazda2 = G-Loc R10 front, OEM rear drum
Becky / Mazda2 = G-Loc R12 front, OEM rear drum
Pete / GD3 Fit = G-Loc R10 front, OEM rear drum
Bob / Rio5 = Porterfield R4 front & rear (disc)
I didn't have an issue with the R10's... but I was leaving a lot of braking performance on the table, since I was behind the curve in getting to know the car/tires in the short timeframe, and with 'the clock running' the whole time. No idea on wear on the pads/rotors... but I'd expect they'll be able to last through the rest of the year on all cars involved. (I recall Bob making a comment at Putnam that the wheels were covered in dust, despite the pads showing 'almost no wear')
Also, "squeaky brake" wasn't really a thing on these cars, and they stopped well on the street and track. Spacecadet might chime in later... it sounded like he might have been reaching the thermal limit on the R10's... and has a tradeoff to consider between cooling them better vs. going up in temperature range to the R12.
In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :
We had squeaky brakes. I still have squeaky brakes. We did find the limit of grip (getting into ABS) more than once. Mostly later in the week as the driver (me) started to find his cajones and being a bit more aggressive. Fade was never an issue and overall grip with the Porterfields were really good IMO. Seth may have more to say.
The brakes were better than I was at using them. Good modulation and ABS when I ran out of talent.
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