Does anyone have the replay from the formula test race at lime rock?

@davyc412: iRacing is down right now so I can't check, but I'm pretty sure this is it. It's not actually finished uploading yet, but I'm about to head to bed so posting this now. It'll be about an hour before it's done. Don't download it until it's 335MB.

Get it here.

Or some other kind soul may upload it for you in the meantime ;)

PsEG's recap is here if that was more what you were looking for.

I'll check it out when I get home (at work right now). If it's it's he raw replay file that's what I need. Been putting together a bit of a promo video for formula duder that I'm hoping to get done in the next few weeks, just don't have lots of footage since I've only got one replay (and from only one track) :)

replay works great. thanks! :D

Anyone got a decent setup for the CTS-V for tomorrow, or has anyone verified Khann's works from last week?

I haven't had time to try and put together a setup for the oval race. The figure 8 one seems ok from what little running I've done, as does the baseline. They're both really hard on their tyres though.

I'm gonna put some time in today to try and make a more consistent oval setup.

@khann: You're my hero, Khann. Used your setups the last two races. The cars handled great. Only thing that hurt me was my lack of experience with these cars/tracks. Appreciate you sharing those.

@khann: Tires.

@skullcrushermountain: I will fight you.

@maxx77: Eh, I wouldn't hold out too much hope for this one. I know next to nothing about oval racing. I'll do my best though ;)

e: Well, I've done what I can with my very limited knowledge. The baseline setup does genuinely seem quite fast, but I found it a bit hard to be consistent with it. This setup is actually a little slower than the the baseline, but I was able to run more or less the exact same laptimes over an entire race distance (they didn't get quicker even with low fuel though, which seems a bit weird.. maybe the tyre wear offsets that?).

It's also a much more forgiving setup. Messing up my line with the baseline setup seemed to make me understeer into the wall quite easily, but I'm able to stay in the power with this setup. I also find it much easier to run on the high line, which seems like a useful thing.

You could take a click or two of fuel out if you wanted to gamble on there being a bunch of safety cars (which seems a pretty safe bet..), but it doesn't actually seem to have that much of an effect on laptimes, so you might as well play it safe.

I have no point of reference, so it could actually be a horrifically slow setup. I was running 32.2 - 32.3 non-stop for the distance. Also no idea what weather PsEG will be using and that could have a dramatic effect. If any of the oval racers among us could chime in, that would be great. I basically just wanted a setup that was easy to drive.

Get it here.

@skullcrushermountain: Tyres. :D, I don't feel very tired today ;)

@khann: I'll have to try your setup later today and compare it with the one I worked on earlier this week, but I had the same feelings about the baseline and how it would understeer after a few laps. I didn't change much beyond some springs and camber stuff. I just wish we could change the gearing of this car to get max RPMS in top gear.

@slowbird: Yeah the gearing thing is a bit of a bummer.

I've actually just finished changing my setup quite a lot. Tightened the whole thing up. It's a little loose for the first 3 laps, but after that I can run consistent 32.0s with race fuel (which I also increased because I accidentally left it a bit low on the other one). Making a tiny change on the drive ramp had a massive effect on the setup. Had no idea about that. Could probably increase it one tick to tighten up the oversteer a touch, but I quite like it how it is.

Here it is (also updated the other link)

Would love to give your set a go too, if you don't mind sharing it.

i am going to try to make it tonight. emphasis on try. ive been getting home at quarter past 9 (and dead tired) every night this week so far, which means ive had almost no time to practice. so it should be interesting... hopefully i don't cause any cautions if i am able to make it lol.

@davyc412: No excuses!

OH MY GOD, THAT RACE WAS SO LONG. I had fun, though, even if my wheel doesn't want to function once it's cooled down. I hope you all had fun, too.

Remember, Formula Duder tomorrow night. Okayama's the target!

@pseg: Slowbird and I were talking after the race, and we had a pretty good idea for an upcoming Thunder race. The old pre-repave (incredibly bumpy) version of Daytona is still available for a reduced price of $5 or so. Would be a pretty inexpensive route for us to go for a super speedway race (and the rough track would make for a more fun race of not trying to spin out over bumps while only inches behind other cars and going incredibly fast, which I feel is in the spirit of Friday Night Thunder!) Also, think of all the Daytona USA jokes to be made!

Seems taking a page out of Slowbird's "Stay Out Of Trouble" book worked out well. Had a bit of a panic when Dark got loose in the first few laps, which put me out of touch with the rest of the field for pretty much the entire race. Was a bit lonely.

Ended up being a blessing though, because it kept me away from pretty much all the madness ;) (except for a few heart attack moments avoiding crashes).

That said, it would have been fun to mix it up a bit more. The little bit of dicing I did with Slowbird near the end was fun.

@khann: I just watched the replay. Pretty funny when you and Slowbird were swapping positions, usually several times on the same lap.

I'm pleased with my performance, even though 1st place eluded me once again. The one thing I didn't really pay attention to was whether 15 gallons would last the length of the race. I swear in practice the game told me I had enough fuel for 89 laps. Seeing the replay though, I almost assuredly would have been in the wreck that claimed PsEG and Davy towards the end of the race had I not pitted for fuel, so in the end it worked out mostly for the best.

Really enjoyed it though. I like these Friday races a lot, especially since it's the only series I'm competitive in. I already bought the new Daytona track, but I wouldn't mind spending $5 to get the old one for some future league races. But stick to no caution flags, and preferably have a set number of laps instead of a time limit (time limit is probably ok for the figure 8 though).

i tried to keep it out of trouble. that second crash i was involved in was a freak accident. looks like someone was trying to enter the pits too hot and locked up and spun up off pit entry up the track. wrong place wrong time :_(

@davyc412: Yeah Marc got a bit loose coming into the pits (which seemed extremely easy to do in these cars) and hit the wall. Unfortunately that made him spear across the track directly in front of PsEG and yourself.

@maxx77: That fuel prediction thing seems hugely inaccurate. I couldn't get a good read from it, which is why I ended up just putting 23.8 gallons in. Finished the race with 5-6 laps of fuel left I think.

Dat first corner, I swear the rear wheels decided to leave the ground during the corner entry hump.

That was a really fun race. Interestingly I had the 4th fastest quick lap and 4th fastest average lap, and a 7th place finish to show for it. Sorry about the wreck PsEG, exactly as Khann said I locked up trying to pit and hit the wall at a bad angle. On the upside, my car got a lot of air after the hit.

@samuraigarrin: Nice running with you for a good chunk of the race.

sounds like fun starting the steps now

FYI to race fans, the American le mans series is racing this afternoon at CotA with live streaming beginning at 4:30

the stream will go live at http://www.alms.com/ @ 4:30 pm EST. first time they're racing there, so should be a good one!

Oh man, I am not going to have much time to practise for the Duder race.

Thankfully it's pretty easy to set up the Skippy.

I forgot to activate my account, like a dummy. Saw the live streams and figured I'd stop in and run some races with you guy. Probably will only run the Formula Duder stuff, but looking forward to the track time and some laid back racing.

-Travis

Pumped for Okayama tonight!! First Skippy race, this should be interesting.

Think I'll sit it out tonight and watch the live stream if there is one. Last night's race put me in an oval racing mood today, so that's all I've been doing. Gen6, National, SS, anything that's designed to turn left, I've driven it today. I jumped into the Skip for about a half hour just now and immediately realized that I've totally forgotten how to drive it. I'm starting to wonder if I should start focusing on one discipline rather than splitting my time between the two. Anyway, I'll be rooting you guys on from the grandstands. If I find time to practice with the Skip next week, I'll try to do the next race.

Depending on how serious you want to get about your performance, it is always smart to focus on one chassis until you can produce very consistent performance in it. Developing and understanding the basics of race craft, vehicle dynamics, and the optimum racing line will make switching from car to car or road to oval a hell of a lot easier. But, if it sounds like too much work and what I said made as much sense to you as "this colorz are taste funny", then just get safe enough in whatever you want to drive before you go out on track with other people around haha.

Be warned though, if you happen upon a car that you can't help but suddenly fall in love with, you will quickly be bitten by the bug, and you'll have to join Black Adder Motorsport for the cure.

-Travis

was looking forward to this one (even though i had virtually no practice)... something just came up thats gonna take me away for the next few hours, doesnt look like ill be able to make it to this one

:(

:(

:(

if im not in the basement on one of the microscopes ill be watching on twitch so put on a good show!

@travis_mihm: I want to keep doing both road and oval racing, but I think I might start to shift the balance of my time over to the ovals. I was originally planning on focusing on the Skip Barber series, but now I'm rethinking that. Some days I like the Skip, some days not so much. Today is a day where I'm just not feeling it. Honestly I just need more practice driving it. I should have done so this past week, but GTAV said I should do otherwise.

This Skip is what I like to call an "Intermediate Trainer". People refer to the Skip as a great training car, but it's really only great if you already have a well developed grasp on the fundamentals, otherwise it is an incredibly frustrating animal to try and tame. If you want something on the road side that is a great platform to focus on without wanting to murder yourself after ten minutes on the track and 20 spins, consider the Mustang. It has enough power to make you giggle a little, but not so much that it's too much to use effectively. It's severely limited by the tire compound and tread width, so limit is relatively low and considerably easier and more gradual to find than the Skippie. The Baseline setup produces manageable understeer with some slight roll-oversteer on exit when driven past the tires' grip level. Much easier to manage and react to than the Skip Barber's baseline setup, which is generally super-tail-happy on entry and pushes like a freight train full of concrete on exit.

-Travis

@travis_mihm: I was considering going for the Mustang once I reached that license, mainly because I drive one in real life. Nothing like having a solid rear axle and more horsepower than you know what to do with. I really don't mind that the Skip isn't fast or easy to tame though. I usually lap within a few seconds of the fastest cars on my "good" days. Like I said, I'm sticking to it, but not tonight.

Geez, Travis the class of the field on that one. Made us all look bad. Had some fun close racing with Slowbird (and PsEG at the start), but of course nearly spun out and ruined that fun.

I was watching that race as a spectator. Travis definitely dominated. I suspect he's a robot and as such, not eligible for this league. Gonna have to keep an eye on him...

Some of you were talking about how much your back hurts after lengthy races. I had that same problem until just recently. I use a Playseat, which is a nice little rig for the money, but it has no lumbar support. Murder on the back. I went shopping for a pillow to put on it when I found this:

I got it at Bed Bath & Beyond, but I've seen it in other places since. It was only like $7. It's called KissMyBack, which is awesomely dumb. It's meant for office chairs and car seats. There's a strap on the back that holds it in place. It's kinda hard to tell from my photo, but there's a very pronounced curve to the mesh. It's very comfortable. I can sit in that chair all day (which I've done a few times thanks to iRacing) and not feel any back pain when I finally stand up.

Uh. Are you a Bond villain henchman?

Thanks for the compliments guys. Appreciate the league event and the opportunity to race. Definitely loved the live feed, watched it after the race. I wish I could do something like that, but I tend to focus a little much on the driving, and I don't think I'd make a very pleasant commentator! "HOLY F*** that was f***ing close, grabbed 1st gear like a g****** jack***. Oh s*** I forgot about the f***ing live feed!" Would probably be funny, but not work safe.

Fantastic qualifying pace to Khann and Slowbird. I think I would have had something for you if I'd have checked my telemetry earlier and made the air pressure adjustment, but I just could not get a good lap in and was fortunate enough to better Slowbird's time by a matter of hundredths.

I'd also like to invite any of you guys over to the forums for my newly-founded team at http://blackadder.proboards.com/. I just launched the team and the site this week, so I'm still in the structuring phase, but there is some good information over there for anyone interested in the tech talk. Definitely enjoyed running tonight, you guys run clean and respectful, and I look forward to more races.

Hopefully I didn't come off as too pretentious, I was lucky to check my telemetry and make an air pressure adjustment without any pre-race laps to sort it out, and lucky to break away early thanks to Khann giving me a very gracious amount of room in T1. I did save the replay, and the Skip Barber at Okayama [EDIT: It will be easier to start over with datalogging if I just do it for Charlotte, which should at least be more helpful this week!] will be featured in an article I'm writing for the Black Adder forums about how to use telemetry (And a solid application of performance driving basics, of course!) to assess your performance as a driver and figure out what you need to work on to start shaving time. Expect the write up to be done by around Monday, and I'll be sure to mention the Giant Bomb Racing League!

-Travis

1:15 am... just got home. missed the race, missed the livestream :/

@skullcrushermountain sometimes it feels that way... first flies with bad eyes, next sharks with laser beams attached to their heads.

oh also, if anyone has a replay file, ill take that so i can have more footage.

@davyc412:

@davyc412 I will upload mine to my google drive and share it.

Gotta wait for it to finish uploading. Annnnd there we go.

https://docs.google.com/a/mtu.edu/file/d/0BzsNvO8U4NgZdHVPeEcxTjZ0Y3M/edit?usp=sharing

-Travis

I think the biggest issue I'm having with the Skippy is that I have no confidence in the rear end, which is making me really hesitant on turn-in and destroying my laptimes. It also puts me somewhat on edge the whole race which I imagine is why I'm making so many mistakes.

Might have to practise just throwing it into corners so I can get a bit more comfortable with how the car feels at/slightly beyond the limit. Better use of left-foot braking might help as well.

Khann, add me on iRacing and I will be happy to run some laps and try and help out. For anyone that likes to nerd out on data, I will have a lot of it in one of the threads on the Black Adder website for Charlotte road. Progressively "better" and faster lap videos, track guide, data analysis, etc. Find it here (Data will be up tomorrow or around 3AM tonight if my insomnia kicks in like a roid-raging saber-toothed jackrabbit): http://blackadder.proboards.com/thread/31/faster-method-madness

When you drive the Skippy, your job is to be consistent enough to keep the car traction limited by both ends. Reaching the grip threshold at the front end first is easiest to control, since the weight is at the rear. It's always easier to control the end that isn't being driven; most FWD drivers set the car up loose enough to have to manage the rear end more than the front, simply because it's easier to do consistently. I would highly suggest running a softer, more forgiving rear ARB setting and getting used to it until eventually you're limited by understeer all the way around the track. Then increase the stiffness a little and so on, until you find a comfortable balance between moderating understeer and oversteer.

And if it makes you feel better, Charlotte sucks. Really. The oval is great. The road course was an afterthought. It is bumpy, it is unforgiving, it's slick, and the transition to/from the road and oval sections is hellish at best. If you can run 16 laps here without significant error, you'll probably... well, win. In my datalogging for the article I'm writing, I ran three separate sessions, and each time I spun out in no more than 7 or 8 laps. So... might not be as dominant this week lol.

-Travis

@travis_mihm: awesome, got it. thanks :D

Another driver I race with on iRacing referred me to your league. I'm interested in some racing.

I finally got around to posting Round 1 of Formula Duder on YouTube! I should have Round 2 up later this week.

I probably won't do a recap video of last week's Friday Night Thunder, since it was a rather long oval race. I kind of feel like the archive of the Twitch stream does it enough justice, anyways.

@pseg: Glad you didn't show my smashing in to you moment ;) Didn't even realise Davy and HayFourZee were fighting for quite so long in that race.

Oh man, that is so far beyond my "drive around a bit, click some buttons in setup and hope for the best" method. I guess that explains a lot ;)

@pseg: Ugh, not my finest hour, that race. Not that the next race was all that better for me, heh. Freaking twitchy cars...

@khann: I won't be putting this kind of effort into the rest of the races, trust me. I just decided to do the write-up on the next stop for the league because I'd have gone mad doing the analysis in the Mustang for my CESCS events. I don't really get that much into it unless I'm competing in one of the iRacing championships, or for the CESCS league since I don't want to be broadcast on the Global Sim Racing Channel looking like a dummy. =P

-Travis

finally able to take a look at that okyama replay. got some good shots. 60gb of recording in, looks like im about 70% of the way there :D