hello all, its always cool to see one of my track vids used on the forums, that is what I make them for ... this is an interesting thread, but it looks like I need to clarify a lot of things here. Beware, this may be the longest post in history and my spelling really sucks huge.
first I'll comment on the original post, starting with the title:
>>Full slicks can make you a fast driver.
No, not really, .....Russ, you had the correct view on it ->
"Slicks don't make anyone a faster driver, they make the car drive faster."
so, really the title should be 'Full slicks can make your car faster', because that is all they do. Now, slicks behave differently than street tires so to fully utilize the slicks is entire conversation in itself. It took me many events to understand how to really use the grip of the slicks, and im still learning how to get it all out of the tire.
Also, on a side note, I really should be offended by the title as it implies that I am fast only because I run slicks. I mean, just look at the title again:
>>Full slicks can make you a fast driver.
and you reference me and my video as the driver....wow, without those darn slicks I must be horribly slow ;-) ...right?
(by the way I ran a 2:34 on my street tires when my slicks corded at one of the RA events last year....but that is another conversation too..hehehe)
ok back to the post:
>>Case in point. A friend of mine used to run a normal high end sportscar lap time @ Road America with r-compounds (2:40's) He then got a bit more seat time, and came across a set of factory Porsche Cup wheels/slicks (used qualifying or practice sets).
well, umm, ... close but not really, let me clarify some things.... my better lap times had less to do with tires and more to do with seat time, keep in mind I ran over 25 events in 2004 and over 20+ in 2005, this is not a 'bit' more seat time, this is more events than many track junkies will run in a 10 year period!!! So its really not accurate to tie my lap tiems to tires at all, the slicks only came into the picture at the end.
>>He immediately now runs a 2:31 lap time
WAY off here, as related to what i said above, i did not 'immediately' run 2:31 lap times.... it took me many events at RA over the last 2 years to get to my current lap times ...by the way i bested my 2:31 with a 2:30, and that is a good segway for me to talk about relative lap times and how the ramp up works.
You have to remember that its easly to make big monumental gains in lap times when you are new to the sport. Its not uncommon for a new driver to drop 5 or 10 seconds off an RA laptime in ONE DAY!!! But, for an experienced driver, that changes to 5 or 10 TENTHS of a second. The reason is, as you approach faster lap times for any given driver/car combination, the more effort is needed to go faster, and by effort i mean in the car and the driver.
So, for example, when I was green to this sport (I still am really), I was making big jumps at RA, so between my first event there and my seconds event there, it was like a 10 seconds jump in lap times. Then it went to 5 seconds gains between events, but seemed I had to drive harder...then only a few seconds gains between events, but I was goin relatively fast now, so a small gain was a big differential between what cars could or could not do similar times. Now I am at a point where it take a LOT more effort either in driving or in the car to get a SMALL gain in lap times. That is the ramp up that you have to understand when talking about this sport. when the lap times are far from the theoretical best lap time the car can do, the gains can be huge with little effort, when the lap time start to approach that theoretical fastest lap time, the gain are very small and the effort is huge.
I learned it the hard way, when i was new to the game i would say things like, 'ohh, i can drop 15 second, i know i can, easily'...well sure, i was so new to the game that small changes in driving got me 10 seconds, but then wow, that last 5 seconds seemed very hard to get. Now its about small gains, 0.5 seconds is a huge gain...and really I have moved to focus on consistency rather than fastest lap.
>>In this video he has some bad (early turn-in) lines, and isn't as smooth as he could be, and still busted a 2:31!
Ok, I really should be offended now!!
so far you have said im only fast cuz i run slicks and now my lines are bad....sheesh, at least my car looks cool (heheheh)
Now it is true that I wasn’t as smooth as I should have been, but when your pushing hard for a fast lap, it get more difficult to be smooth (heheh), the the ‘bad lines – early turn in’ comment is another one that is way off. I will explain why, but first I keep in mind that I will be speaking in generalities, as you can dissect every turn on every track and how to take it the fastest, some are early apex, some are late, some you double, et, et. So … in GENERAL, at RA, when you are starting out, you want to late apex, for good exit speed and probably a more important reason is that it is SAFER…in other words you have less of a chance to run out of track on turn exit when you turn in later. However, as you start to go faster and improve your braking and turn entry skills, you start to inch your turn in back farther and farther, but not so far that you hinder exit speed. That is the faster line, HOWEVER, is a harder and more dangerous line, think about it, a slight mistake on early turn in and you are off track on turn exit. Now obviously its relative to the individual turn, so again im speaking in general, but moving my turn in points back SLOWLY!!!..was one of the biggest contributors to my fastest lap times. And trust me, there is no way you get low 2:30s in my car without driving decent lines.
>>Literally slicks are a safety equipment upgrade! They perform even with bad lines, and keep you on the track.
OMG no!!!! do not sell them as a safety upgrade, they ARE the opposite. To an inexperienced driver they will give a false sense of car control. It took me a long time ,with great mentors, to get acclimated to using the tires and the very high corner speeds….if you are not ready for how they will behave, the ramification are big.
>> They perform even with bad lines, and keep you on the track.
Wow, again, I should be a mad man by now, as ur just reiterating that my lines are bad and im only stayin on track because of the slicks. ….. ahh no offense taken, I guess? LOL
On a side note though, the comment about ’ and keep you on the track’ is way off, because the goal is to use all the grip of the tire, slick or street, and when you are trying to do that, nothing ‘keeps you on the track’ but the driver. The possibility of going off track is the same, just takes higher speed to do it, but that is why u use a slick to go faster, so ur back where you started…
>> Saw that. But in context (driver not being a professional), I think that's a fairly decent lap!
Hey thanks PonyBoy…a compliment finally!!! Whoot!!! Honestly, I know there are a lot of things I need to work on, so I take all external criticism appropriately and try to put ego aside so that I can constantly improve my driving.
>> I seem to recall the last time I saw Damian at MAM his car was making around 400whp.
Hey Batoutahell, I wish I ran it at 400!! (heheh) Actually, its potential was in that range, tuned at 15 psi was supposed to make around 380 to 400, I never ran that, I have only run the car at wastegate boost, 11-12 psi, around 340 to 350 rwhp maybe? But I don’t mind having all the guys im whoopin on think that im running 400, its much more gratifying (heheheh)
>> It's crazy how many events he runs.
Yeah, its silly really, the sport got me by the ballzz….and it feels gooood!!!!!!
>> and said slicks shaved around 5 seconds at RA. The biggest difference was seat time as I recall him saying...Damian chime in and let us know.
Hey Steve, …yes and yes…keep in mind to that RA is SOOO friggin big that it will exaggerate any changes you make. For example, at the smaller track I have been on like MAM, and the 2 autobahn tracks in Joliet, the slicks only drop a few seconds since they are tighter/smaller tracks.
All this mumbo jumo I am spewing is just my personal perspective on it all, I am another student of the sport, that’s all. For me it has always been about the enjoyment the sport gives me and less about lap times……BUT ILL STILL SPANK UR ASSS AROUND THE TRACK!!!! ;-)
Well on to what is really important…the next track season!!!! WHOOOT!!!
I plan to run NASA Midwest season again and maybe mix it up with some w2w racing too, as well as try to make all the fun open lapping events I can....and rumor has it that I may run the One Lap of America this year… but its just a rumor.
See you guys at RA in spring!!!
Damián Dela Huerta - 1993 CYM Track Car
2005 NASA Midwest TTU Champion
and keeping the boost lower on the FD engine is what will keep you from going broke too 
, hehe..
