Monday, June 20, 2005

The Death of F1

Sunday’s disgrace at Indianapolis marked the end of F1 as we know it. The Max and Bernie show will last another year or two before the lights go out for good but rest assured the end is inevitable now. In its place will rise Grand Prix Racing (formerly known as GPWC).

Toyota, Renault, BMW, Mercedes and others will take their multi-hundred million dollar budgets and build their own sandbox. Bernie and Max will then have a new F1, likely renamed for their sole remaining team, Ferrari.

It serves them right. Other bloggers have asked if F1 is a sport or a spectacle. I answer that sport is spherical. What of Monaco - sport or spectacle? We saw one good pass the entire race (Heidfeld not Webber), the safety conditions are atrocious, yet it is the most popular GP of all.

If F1 were a only sport, the rules would be clear to all and the application of those rules uniform. Witness the rule about tire wear as but one example. Instead we have a loose set of guidelines that leave lots of room for creative interpretation – which is then capriciously rules on by Charlie Whiting. Witness BAR’s brake distribution system last season as an example of that. Instead we have something that is somewhere between Figure Skating and Pro Wrestling.

That Ferrari declined to join each and every other team in supporting running with a chicane – even with all Michelin teams willingly forfeiting all championship points is a shame. That the FOM/FIA bozos would not let them run is tragedy.

Welcome to the world of the Grand Prix Racing.

Oh yeah, like the IMSA/SCCA and ChampCar/IRL splits the biggest losers will be the fans.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Mitsubishi Evo 8

At the SVTOA event last weekend, I drove a student's Mitsubishi Evolution 8. Wow, what a car! I must admit I am totally smitten by this car. With just a few modifications this little thing was producing over 370Hp. the steering and shifting was incredible, and the thing simply wouldn't understeer. The Recaro seats were very good - not as nice as the Recaro SPGs I had in my last race car - but far more durable. It's a bit heavy at 3260 lbs but the aftermarket has lots of carbon to help in that area.

This is the first car t me think about replacing the 5er.

The recipe for a super-fast track Evo8 is:

  1. Turbo Back Exhaust
  2. Uprated Fuel Pump
  3. Boost Controller
  4. High-flow Intake
  5. Larger Rear anti-roll bar
This should generate 350 RWHP and go all day long.

Where do I sign up?

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

SVTOA OpenTrack Event

Now that summer has broken here in Colorado the open-track season is in full bloom. My first event of the year was instructing for the SVT Owners Association last weekend at Pike’s Peak International Raceway. The SVOTA guys put on a pretty good event. Not quite as good as a BMWCCA event – which are run better than many commercial driving schools I have been to – but pretty good.

I had two assigned students and worked with 3-4 others. In Group 2 I had a E36 M3 and in Group 3 a Porsche 996 driver. Both were good, solid students with a firm grasp of the basics.

In contrast I did two sessions with a Mustang driver that didn’t grasp any of the basics and seemed determined not to.

Now a high-performance driving instructor may sound like a cool job, and most of the time it is. However, when things go bad, you are really just a hostage, strapped helplessly into the passenger’s seat with some ham-fisted, club-footed oaf at the controls of a 120+ MPH 2 ton brick.

My Mustang pilot is a prime example of the helpless hostage phenomenon. He claims to have done a half-day driving event and was convinced that he was the next Dale Earnhardt – thoughtfully indicated by the number 3 proudly displayed in the rear window. Sitting at pre-grid I asked what specific areas of driving technique he was looking to focus on during this session. He looked at me like he had never heard the English language before. I knew this was going to be bad.

My first session with a new student, I typically just watch quietly during the first couple of laps, allowing them to focus on driving without interruption. In this case I was providing feedback by turn 2. By then I had seen shuffle-steering, driving with one hand on the shifter, a long lurid power-slide, zero throttle modulation, zero brake modulation, and waaaay too much speed for a f-ing warm-up lap.

After two laps we had yet to see a turn-in or apex point and had a train of faster cars rapidly building behind us. I advised him to point them by, he looked in the mirror (for the very first time) and observed that the 427 Cobra immediately behind us was driven by his brother. Recognizing the situation for what it is I screamed “Point him by right now!” Nothing like brotherly rivalry to get this instructor killed.

After a constant stream of guidance and little improvment for 4 laps I decided that this discussion would be better conducted parked safely in the pits. After a review of the basics of car control – steering, braking, throttle control, turn-in, apex, etc. - we tried the track again. Things were better but I was still hoping for this to be over - quickly.

To reset the karmic balance I was given the privilege of driving a co-worker’s Ferrari F355. Not just with the owner in the right-hand seat but also with my wife there as well. We had a blast, after a couple of laps to get used to the steering and gated shifter we were blasting down the front straight at 100+ MPH and 8500 RPM. They say it’s just a V8 but the sound is indescribable. I have driven a number of Ferrari’s in the past, but had forgotten what a joy they are on the track. The ride was over all too soon. Thanks again Mark, that was the high point of the entire weekend.

The low point was actually during the first Group 4 session on Saturday. After a couple of warm up laps I was just starting to get comfortable when exiting onto the straight I noticed something was missing. Something like 100HP. The boost gauge said ”0” so I knew where my horsepower went. I pulled in to the garage and found that the supercharger’s internal belt had broken (again).

Since the unit was rebuilt with new seals and bearings in February I think I will replace the belt myself. It should take about a day and require only a new belt and a small gear puller.

The SVTOA guys put on a good event, lots of track time, stayed on schedule, good instructors, and no bent cars. Everything this car guy needs.

Restart

After my hiatus to focus on work I will attempt to post a little more regularly.

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Australia Notes

I sure is weird to JPM in a McLaren and DC in anything but. The Williams sure has a pretty front wing configuration while the Ferrari looks like a dog's dick. It looks like a modified version of the X-wing is back with McLaren having what looks like viking horns rising from the cockpit.

It looks like Minardi won't get to run.

About the US commentary. Varsha is a waste of air. Hobbs and Matchet are great - a real driver and a real mechanic. Varsha is a real moron. Over the last couple of years Towsend Bell has stood in when David Hobbs is absent. He is easily my favorite commentator. Unlike Hobbes, he still has the killer instinct of a racer.

More news, It sound like williams had some trouble with their wind-tunnel in the off-season. Something about a calibration problem. They claim to be 45 days behind in development as a result.

Another year and another twitchy Jordan. This must be the third straight year that their car bobs and weaves under braking. It must scare the shit out of the drivers. In addition to the twitchy they are devoid of sponsor decals. Might expensive way to run a team. The new owners better line something up quickly as drivers alone won't pay the bills.

GT4 Tips

I recently won the All-Japan GT championship. The award - a "Option 350z" value 395,000 credits. I already have a 750+HP Nissan 350z Concept racecar (and just won the AJ-GTC with it). I decided I wanted to give it a try to see if it was faster than my current car. In just a couple of laps it was obvious that turbo-lag made it much harder to drive. I decided I would sell it - the value with 6 miles? 42,000 credits. Tip - don't drive award cars if you thnik you might sell them!

I built a 03 BMW M3CSL to compete in the european races. The Mercedes McLaren is faster. Racing the bimmer rates over 150 A-Spec points - winning is hard - that damn Merc can simply walk away on any long straight. Suspension tuning is crucial in winning in underpowered cars. After 3 tries I managed to dial out most of the understeer. Springs, bars, ride hight, and brake balance are all optimized to improve front-end traction.

Why can't you sell crappy concept cars? WTF an I going to do with a 150HP Pontiac Sunfire concept or a Toyota Triathalon?

Nordschleif is hard. It is blindingly fast and in a really fast car it is very hard to stay in the track. If you have done the 1A license test in the 2005 M5 you will know what I mean.

What a game. In a couple of weeks I have gotten all the licences except SuperLicence. I have won over a dozen race series (all the beginner except the sport truck series) and all the professional except the Lightweight Cup. How can a Lotus Elise (which works well in MR and Spider) have a wheelbase too long to compete in the Lightweight Cup? I am still only 9% through the game. I'm looking forward to the remaining 91%...

F1 Tonight!

Tonight is practice for Australia. It looks like Minardi may not be allowed to start. They apparently don't have their 2005 aero package ready and need approval from each team to run in 2004 spec. Ferrari and Red Bull had declined. Bastards.

Trivia Answers:

Luigi Faioli was 53 years and 22 days old when he won the Grand Prix of France in 1951. He drove with an Alfo Romeo that he shared with Juan Manual Fangio.

Fernando Alonso was 22 years and 27 days when he won the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2003 with a comfortable 16.7 second advantage over runner-up Raikkonen. Driving a Renault.

New Trivia Question:

Which now defunct team made it's F1 debut on this date?

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

F1 Trivia

Since this weekend is the first race of the year, here are a couple of trivia questions:

Who are the youngest and oldest F1 race winners?
Extra Credit: What cars were they driving?

New Benchmark

Yesterday 104 people read this blog beating the previous record of 45. I wonder what caused the massive surge in readership?

The Bicycle

I have tried to keep this blog focused on car, but this morning I must let one of my other hobbies intrude. Another way I spend time and money is building bicycle frames. Today I build in steel but I plan my hand at a carbon frame in the future. Anyway, I got an e-mail this morning from a Dazza Llewellyn, professional builder in Austrailia. Dazza is one of the best lugged-steel framebuilders, muse and mentor in my humble attempts.

Here is an example of what can be done in the medium.

Monday, February 28, 2005

The myth of the fastest SUV

As you might guess, I'm a bit of a car guy - not a closet car guy - but an out, loud, and proud car guy. People at works are aware of this (see my office and you would understand) and frequently seek advice about cars. Mostly it's harmless stuff - "Should I balance my tires every time I rotate them?" or "How can I make my Saab faster?".

Every once in a while I get a zinger that gets under my skin. I was at a housewarming party over the weekend, and got one. While chatting casually with the owner of a nicely modified Audi S4 about big turbos, chips, and Iconel downpipes, a twenty-something party-goer wanders up, listened just long enought to decern the topic is cars and spews forth: "Yah, I'm lookin for somthin new, probly an SUV, but, you know a FAST one... which one is the fastest?" The irony of this question haunts me still.

The fastest SUV.

Ever see the soccer playing elephants in Thiland? Think Polo but with a 4 foot ball. a bunch of crazy Thais riding them like horses, really big horses. This was the image that formed in my mind as i wondered about the fastest SUV. Then I remembered that Hans Stuck had set some record (absolute I belive) lapping the Nuerbergring in a BMW X5 with a 600+ HP V12 LeMans engine.

When I tuned back in to the conversation, he had begun quoting horsepower and 0-60 times. He seemed pretty set on the Cayenne Turbo - 400+ hp and '60 in less then five. My Audi buddy was trying to explain how 400hp and a high center of gravity might not produce the best vehicle dynamics (especially in the hands of a novice driver I thought silently) but our new friend would hear none of it. Convinced of his superior knowlege, he bid us adue, "Later dudes", and walked up the street to an ancient VW Jetta. An anemic burn-out and the boom of too-loud subwoofers announced his departure.

My Audi buddy turned to me and said, "You can teach a pig to sing but it wastes your time and annoys the pig". Yep, that pretty much covers the myth of the fastest SUV.

Friday, February 25, 2005

GT4 - Day 1

The waiting is over, GT4, the long awaited sequel to GT3, and easily the most realistic driving simulator on the market is now available. I got my copy, along with Logitec's Driving Force Pro 900 degree steering wheel, at BestBuy for $200 and got a $20 gift card for my trouble.

I noted improvments in many areas. More cars and tracks of course, but the vehicle dynamics are better as well. Carry too much speed into corners and your car will understeer predictably and the feedback throught the wheel captures the "softness" caused by understeer very well.

I started buy driving an E46 BMW M3 around Laguna Seca - something I have done for real many times. I was astounded by the improved force-feedback function. After getting into the wall in 6 and again exiting the corkscrew I finally got a solid lap - 1:42. Nice. Then I discovered that they added another of my favorite tracka - Sears Point (now called Infinion Raceway). I took the M3 there and found it very realistic compared to the real thing. Turn 10 - a 100+ MPH epic in real life, is much less scary in the game.

The Logitech Driving Force Pro steering wheel is a wonder. A bit smaller than the previous version, the whell is rubber covered and a pleasure to use. The new shifter has a positive clic with each shift, a significant improvment over the previous Driving Force wheel. I wish they has added the same click to the "Paddle Shifters" they provide little or no direct feedback.

The force feedback is much more sophisticated then GT3. It's less noticable, but always there. I quite like how the steering goes soft when the car begins to slide - just like the real thing. The feedback is nothing like the original force-feedback game, Pole-Position, where the wheel basicly shook violently when you left the racing surface. It is much more subtle now, it just pushes back against input nicely, shakes a bit over alligator teeth, and and feels as real as any simulator I have ever driven.

I raced in the Sunday Cup and the 4WD challenge Beginner racinf series and found the behavior of the other cars are completly different in GT4. They seem to have personalities, some will give you room at the apex, others wont. In the Sunday Cup a dark green Audi A6 could always be counted on to whack me at the worst possible time, but a white WRX would always leave a bit of room when necessary. Same in the 4WD cup - a black WRX whould hit every other car on the track to prevent them from passing. Sadly an all too common occurance in real racing too.

I four hours last night I completed the first licence test, and won both the Sunday Cup and 4wd Challenge racing series. A couple of quick car sales and I am back in my favorite car a Nissan Skyline R34. In addition to a number on new car options, GT4 now offer two different used car lots and inventory changes regularly so be sure to get there early....

If you want the best driving simulator you can find - look no further than GT4 and the Logitech Driving Force Pro steering wheel.

Monday, February 21, 2005

2005 F1 Rules

Qualifying

From the start of the 2005 season, the grid position of a driver will be based on the aggregate lap times set in the first and second qualifying sessions. In 2005, as in 2003 and 2004, qualifying will consist of two qualifying sessions. However, next year, both sessions will be crucial for the drivers’ grid position, with the first session taking place on Saturday from 14.00hrs local time and the second session on Sunday from 10.00hrs local time.

As in 2004, both sessions will be single lap qualifying sessions, however, in 2005 drivers will contest the Saturday session in the reverse order of their finishing positions in the previous race. The teams may decide the amount of fuel they use for this session.

For the Sunday qualifying session, the cars may be refuelled, but the amount of fuel used for this session may not be changed for the race, and the same regulation is applied for the set-up. The aggregate of the lap times set in the Saturday and Sunday sessions will then decide the grid positions.

“For the first time TV will be able to show all the cars doing a flat-out lap that counts for the grid with minimum fuel,” said FIA President Max Mosley, “And then that will be combined with the other one on the following morning, so the complaint that we never see the cars with minimum fuel going flat-out is answered.”

Engines

Engines must now last for two races rather than just one, with any unscheduled change resulting in a 10-place penalty on the grid. That will put a premium on reliability.

Aerodynamics

Front wings have been lifted by 50mm to reduce downforce and those at the rear have been brought forward 150mm relative to the centre line between the rear wheels. The diffuser at the rear becomes shallower, at around 40 percent the height of 2004 levels. The changes, intended to cut downforce by about 25 percent to slow cars on safety grounds, should make cars 'twitchier' toand more spectacular to watch with their reduced grip

Tyres must last for qualifying and the race. "The focus in the factory has been to recover that downforce and obviously it won't be until the early races of the season that we'll see how well each team has done," said Williams' co-owner Patrick Head. Testing has seen teams experiment with innovative aerodynamic parts, notably McLaren with a horn-like wing on the engine cover.

Tires

Tires must last for qualifying and the race. The reason being that harder, and therefore more durable, tires will reduce cornering speeds. This means pit stops will look very different, with fewer mechanics involved as cars take on fuel without tire changes, and will be less frequent. Tires can be replaced in the event of a puncture or damage caused by debris but not during a re-fuel. Drivers would previously have changed tires two or three times during a race, after 70 to 100km, in carefully orchestrated pit stops. They must now last around 350km. All drivers will be allowed three sets of the same specification tyres for Saturday and Sunday. One will be used for Saturday practice, another for qualifying and the race while the third set is held back in case of a puncture.

GT4 Update

It look slike GT4 will be here on Thursday. Here in Denver Best Buy is offering GT4 and the Logitech 900 degree wheel for $200 and you get a $20 gift card.

The Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC)

Never heard of it? If you are an F1 fan you certainly will. In 2008 it is possible that a second single-seat series will be started to compete with Formula 1.

Founded by in 2001 by BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat (Ferrari), Ford, and Renault in order to create, own, and operate the Grand Prix World Championship as a new series to compete with the existing Formula One Championship.

Money and control are the central issues to this conflict. The current Formula 1 structure is defined by a secret agreement called the Concorde agreement which expire in 2007. It gives Bernie Ecclstone, President of Formula One Management, managerial control over all money generated and provides the 23% be shared with the teams.

GPWC was formed to alter these economics and restore more control to the teams themselves. Based on information made public this weekend, GPWC is talking about providing up to 80% to the teams.

The tactic was working until Ferrari’s decision 2 weeks ago to abandon GPWC and sign an extension of the current Concord Agreement. As the premier brand in F1, they have demanded the lion’s share of the revenue. It looks like Bernie has done just that.

The camps have formed – Bernie and Ferrari in one and everyone else (save Jordan and Red Bull who sit on the fence) in the other. Only time will tell.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Daytona 24

Thanks to a well times business trip I was able to attend the Daytona 24 Hour sports car race a couple of weeks ago. What an event. The Daytona track is spectacular - no wonder NASCAR types flock to the place.

I arrived on Friday to watch the GrandAm race. The M3s did well against a gaggle of new Mustangs in GT and the Turner Motorsport boys finished a strong third in ST. The ST win went to TC Klien in a Z4.

I bought a scanner from Racing Radios saturday morning and got a list of frequencies to listen to the chatter between race control, cars, spotters, and crews. It is the only way to go for endurance races. I should have bought one sooner.

The 24 started a few minutes late and the first hours saw the demise of a number of competitors. Sadly both PTG BMWs were out by 9pm. I stayed until about midnight and returned at 9am to watch the finish.

I have driven in a couple of 6 hour endurance races and can't say enough about competitors in the 24. While the drives suffer mightily, it's the mechanics who really bear the load. To watch machanics laying a steaming pools of antifreeze at midnight is truely a sight to behold. Their dedication is endless.

I scored some cool race schwag at the event, including a genuine race used rear wing end-plate from Jacques Villeneuve's 1997 World Championship winning Williams FW19 Formula One race car. It has some crash damage so I believe it is from the Canadian GP where he crashed into the wall hard on lap 3. The only other crash that year was in Monaco. Pictures show that only the front of the car was damaged in that crash.

Catching up

So two months later - the new injectors did not directly fix the problem, but they definately improved things. The actual fix was to install another coolant temp. sensor. The sensor i got from BMW a few months ago was DOA.

It's still not perfect, it can be slow to start at times but I don't have to resort the pulling the fuse anymore.