NASA Mid-Ohio Apr 21-22
- Thread starter Alan C.
- Start date
Be there Fri. Have to work Sat at noon.
Jim
Jim
Didn't know anything was going on there. :frown:
- Joined
- 11 October 2006
- Messages
- 312
It's the first Ohio/Indiana Mid-Ohio event. Looks to be a good group of cars. I did not see any NSX's entered.
If you are interested in HPDE or TT I believe the run groups are sold out. I'm going up to help out some of the guys I used to race with in HSR and PCA.
If you are interested in HPDE or TT I believe the run groups are sold out. I'm going up to help out some of the guys I used to race with in HSR and PCA.
Hey, Alan,
It was nice meeting you again at Mid-Ohio last weekend. I was the guy talking to the gentleman with the Zanardi. The HPDE event went great. Nothing leaked or broke and the weather was awesome so I'd say it was a successful weekend. My silver wheels are now dark gray thanks to the Hawks :smile:
I'm definitely going to attend the next event in July.
It was nice meeting you again at Mid-Ohio last weekend. I was the guy talking to the gentleman with the Zanardi. The HPDE event went great. Nothing leaked or broke and the weather was awesome so I'd say it was a successful weekend. My silver wheels are now dark gray thanks to the Hawks :smile:
I'm definitely going to attend the next event in July.
Great weekend. Much better than last year when I only went on Friday.
Although I don't have to have an instructor, I try to get one when I can. In five years I have only had one I didn't get something useful from, and maybe I just missed it with him. Anyhow, four hot tips for average drivers (like me -- 1:55-2:00 laps) going to NSXpo this year.
1. Since the track has been redone the turn-ins and apexes on a couple of turns are a little later than before. This is particularly so in turn 1, the turn at the end of the front straight, and turn 'X', the one just before the carousel. I have no idea why, but give both a few more feet. In 1, the turn-in now seems to be just past the corner worker stand and the apex is way down the pit curbing, maybe 10' from the end. In turn 'X' the turn in used to be about mid-way between 200 and 100. It now seems to be right at the 100 mark. Also, it seems harder to get the car settled here than it used to be, so try to complete your braking before you start to turn. More experienced drivers probably won't have much trouble here, but I did. If you don't get the car slowed down and settled, you will likely miss your apex and you may run out of road.
2. One instructor pointed out there is a little black patch about 1' square just past the turn-in for 1. If you put your left front wheel on it you will be lined up just about perfectly for the apex and track out.
3. I don't know what setup we'll be using this fall, but another instructor showed me that when going straight into the keyhole at the 300 marker to aim for the post holding up the Acura bill-board. I think this puts you on pretty much the same line you would follow if you were going through the chicane. You can brake real hard in a straight line gong up hill. I got mixed messages, but it looks like either left wheels on the left edge of the left tar strip or straddle the left tar strip both work pretty well. If you do this, I found I was hitting the apex when the middle of five bill-boards was directly ahead. From there I squeezed on the power so I was pretty much all in at the middle of the track and tracked out to the curbing with no drama. This entrance is similar to the carousel and you can pick up 2-3 car lengths on people who swing wide.
4. The hump leading into the section people call "Thunder Valley" has been shaved way down. If you apex the previous turn right, and it is only a few feet before the hump, and get on the throttle you can now take this flat out. I found if I aimed for a little fir tree, that was lower then most of the other trees, that I tracked out very well. My instructor said to "aim for the trees." When I asked him which ones he said "any of them." I finally picked the little fir.
My own observation. Last year I had a lot of problems with the sequence of turns at the end of the back straight. This year I did a couple of things that might be worth trying if you have trouble there. First of all, the second turn, over the hill, is a throw-away in my opinion. I don't think you can pick up any time there and you can lose a lot if you run too wide or go off. Therefore, I concentrated on holding as much speed as I could coming off the back straight. I also accelerated toward the second turn. There is a short straight there and you can do it. However, the net result for me was that I was over pretty far to the left, maybe 2/3 of the way across the track. Consequently, I absolutely had to trail-brake into the second turn and I had to be going slow enough that when I crested the hill I was still over to the left and I could open my steering a couple of inches on the wheel and not track out too far. I have no way to know if this is the best way but it worked for me. People who hung way out to the right maybe had a better line over the hill, but I think they gave up more coming off the back straight. People who tracked out to far on the other side of the hill had a real problem getting back to the left side of the track for the next turn.
Some additional personal observations:
I used to go to the track and just run with my usual tire pressures. Someone suggested bleeding the pressures so they would stay more normal. On Saturday I bled them after every run. On Sunday I bled them after the first run and left them alone the rest of the day. I think the Sunday approach worked best. I picked up about 6.5# in that first run!
I have a 1999 with a six-speed. Last year I tried shifting down to second entering the keyhole and carousel. This year I shifted to third. It worked a lot better. In fact, I only shifted four times a lap. I went into third at the keyhole, back to fourth for the back straight, third at the end of the back straight and stayed in third until I hit the front straight. I think it worked very well and neither of my instructors suggested I should have done anything else.
This is just for fun, but after the first three turns at the end of the back straight, there is a left turn that goes over a hill and into the right turn that leads into Thunder Valley. There is a bridge over the road at the apex. I found, if I did this right, I could hit the apex, hold my wheel where it was and I would track out a few feet over the crest but track right back to the turn in for the next turn. This was so neat it is now my favorite turn on the course. It is a lot of fun when it works.
Remember, I am not an expert, nor am I a beginner. I have less than 200 laps at Mid-OH. A lot of experienced people have thousands, maybe tens of thousands. These comments are meant for people like me and they are only suggestions of things you might want to try. Like me you will probably find most instructors have all sorts of useful tips you never would have thought of on your own. You just have to listen to them. Oh, and pass them on!!
Although I don't have to have an instructor, I try to get one when I can. In five years I have only had one I didn't get something useful from, and maybe I just missed it with him. Anyhow, four hot tips for average drivers (like me -- 1:55-2:00 laps) going to NSXpo this year.
1. Since the track has been redone the turn-ins and apexes on a couple of turns are a little later than before. This is particularly so in turn 1, the turn at the end of the front straight, and turn 'X', the one just before the carousel. I have no idea why, but give both a few more feet. In 1, the turn-in now seems to be just past the corner worker stand and the apex is way down the pit curbing, maybe 10' from the end. In turn 'X' the turn in used to be about mid-way between 200 and 100. It now seems to be right at the 100 mark. Also, it seems harder to get the car settled here than it used to be, so try to complete your braking before you start to turn. More experienced drivers probably won't have much trouble here, but I did. If you don't get the car slowed down and settled, you will likely miss your apex and you may run out of road.
2. One instructor pointed out there is a little black patch about 1' square just past the turn-in for 1. If you put your left front wheel on it you will be lined up just about perfectly for the apex and track out.
3. I don't know what setup we'll be using this fall, but another instructor showed me that when going straight into the keyhole at the 300 marker to aim for the post holding up the Acura bill-board. I think this puts you on pretty much the same line you would follow if you were going through the chicane. You can brake real hard in a straight line gong up hill. I got mixed messages, but it looks like either left wheels on the left edge of the left tar strip or straddle the left tar strip both work pretty well. If you do this, I found I was hitting the apex when the middle of five bill-boards was directly ahead. From there I squeezed on the power so I was pretty much all in at the middle of the track and tracked out to the curbing with no drama. This entrance is similar to the carousel and you can pick up 2-3 car lengths on people who swing wide.
4. The hump leading into the section people call "Thunder Valley" has been shaved way down. If you apex the previous turn right, and it is only a few feet before the hump, and get on the throttle you can now take this flat out. I found if I aimed for a little fir tree, that was lower then most of the other trees, that I tracked out very well. My instructor said to "aim for the trees." When I asked him which ones he said "any of them." I finally picked the little fir.
My own observation. Last year I had a lot of problems with the sequence of turns at the end of the back straight. This year I did a couple of things that might be worth trying if you have trouble there. First of all, the second turn, over the hill, is a throw-away in my opinion. I don't think you can pick up any time there and you can lose a lot if you run too wide or go off. Therefore, I concentrated on holding as much speed as I could coming off the back straight. I also accelerated toward the second turn. There is a short straight there and you can do it. However, the net result for me was that I was over pretty far to the left, maybe 2/3 of the way across the track. Consequently, I absolutely had to trail-brake into the second turn and I had to be going slow enough that when I crested the hill I was still over to the left and I could open my steering a couple of inches on the wheel and not track out too far. I have no way to know if this is the best way but it worked for me. People who hung way out to the right maybe had a better line over the hill, but I think they gave up more coming off the back straight. People who tracked out to far on the other side of the hill had a real problem getting back to the left side of the track for the next turn.
Some additional personal observations:
I used to go to the track and just run with my usual tire pressures. Someone suggested bleeding the pressures so they would stay more normal. On Saturday I bled them after every run. On Sunday I bled them after the first run and left them alone the rest of the day. I think the Sunday approach worked best. I picked up about 6.5# in that first run!
I have a 1999 with a six-speed. Last year I tried shifting down to second entering the keyhole and carousel. This year I shifted to third. It worked a lot better. In fact, I only shifted four times a lap. I went into third at the keyhole, back to fourth for the back straight, third at the end of the back straight and stayed in third until I hit the front straight. I think it worked very well and neither of my instructors suggested I should have done anything else.
This is just for fun, but after the first three turns at the end of the back straight, there is a left turn that goes over a hill and into the right turn that leads into Thunder Valley. There is a bridge over the road at the apex. I found, if I did this right, I could hit the apex, hold my wheel where it was and I would track out a few feet over the crest but track right back to the turn in for the next turn. This was so neat it is now my favorite turn on the course. It is a lot of fun when it works.
Remember, I am not an expert, nor am I a beginner. I have less than 200 laps at Mid-OH. A lot of experienced people have thousands, maybe tens of thousands. These comments are meant for people like me and they are only suggestions of things you might want to try. Like me you will probably find most instructors have all sorts of useful tips you never would have thought of on your own. You just have to listen to them. Oh, and pass them on!!
Sorry I missed you guys on Sat-Sun. I booked home after Fri. OH State Trooper who pulled up next to me at the gas station on the way home gave me a couple of looks with the big white Numbers on the side of the car. :biggrin:
