Guran's NA6 "Little Reddy"

[evil_weevil]

love the sequence shots Bryan, when you said to me you need to slide the car around - those photos certainly put it into perspective!

now I know what to do!!!

[Guran]

Joe - Yes I've been to the War Memorial several times before this, but the last time was when I was in high school ... nearly thirty years ago! Nothing much has changed in the WW1 and WW2 halls since then, but you look at things with very different eyes when you're older. We'll definitely be going back again though, so we can finish looking through the other exhibits.

Chris - Since my car is standard, the turn-in on those corners isn't the best. That's why I like to use a bit of trail-braking or lift-off oversteer to get the car pointed through the turn, and on the throttle sooner. Otherwise it's a battle with understeer. And we all know that oversteer is much more fun too! This approach might help you or it might not - depends on the setup of your car. Give it a try next time.

[Guran]

On 31 May 2011, I was contemplating the potential models of car that might be challengers for Class 1A at NSW Supersprints.

Of the recent model cars, I think the only likely threat is from the Suzuki Swift Sport (2006-2010) 1586cc, 92kW, 1090kg, 84kW/t. Motor did a 1:17.29 in this model (Sep 2007), which is close to my 1:17.00 PB on street tyres. The next Sport/GTi due later this year might be even closer.

The Swift Sport is now here and it is definitely a contender judging from the reviews in Wheels and Motor. 1586cc, 100kW at 6900rpm (7200rpm cut), 1060kg, 94kW/t, and a playful chassis that likes lift-off oversteer. Definitely has potential to pip my NA6.

Interesting to see that the TV ad has already been pulled from Australian TV for being a bit too racy!



That's nothing compared to the Japanese TV ad! Not bad for a $24k shopping trolley.

[Guran]

... but wait there's more:

But most of all, I won't have a hope if the new 1.6L Lotus Elise shows up at the Supersprints (1598cc, 100kW, 876kg, 114kW/t). Fresh out of the box and fitted with R-specs to replace the Neovas, I suspect that thing would be capable of 1:13s!

Now there is a limited edition Lotus Elise Club Racer. $69k plus on-roads for a stripped out, ultra-light track day special. Same Toyota-sourced 1.6-litre naturally aspirated engine as the base Elise, 100kW and 160Nm, but driving only 852kg of car - 24kg lighter than the base model. It also gets a Sport setting for its Dynamic Performance Management traction control system, different sport suspension (including Eibach springs and Bilstein dampers) and an adjustable anti-roll bar. This thing ought to be capable of 1:12s at Wakefield Park. Yep, that'll be a fair match for my 20-year-old NA6! At least there will only be ten of them in the country.

[Guran]

I decided to be a conscientious objector at yesterday's Supersprint Round 2 at Eastern Creek North Circuit. IMHO, the NSWRRC event was not worth the high entry fee ($245 + $15 Dorian hire + $10 shared garage hire), for the paltry four runs that competitors got (22-25 laps total) on only half a track. I could not believe that they were running groups of only 10 cars and some groups in the last run had only 6 cars. No wonder there were only 71 drivers competing, which is well down on the typical 100 at Eastern Creek. Times are on Natsoft.

Another reason I didn't enter is that I was committed to coaching my son's U8 football team at Saturday morning's game. But after lunch, I headed up to Eastern Creek to have a look and attend the 2011 Presentation event afterwards. At the track, I had a quick chat with the MX-5 Club guys, then met up with Guy Coles and we took some photos from turn 4. I've posted all my photos on Flickr for those who want to have a look. Guy's shots will be MUCH better than mine, I'm sure.


IMG_4096 by Guran5, on Flickr

The presentation started at about 5pm in The Garage bar/cafe above the pits. There was free drinks and finger food for supersprint championship entrants. Mike Hicks ran the presentation as he is Chair of the CAMS Supersprint Panel. Graeme Emerton (CAMS NSW Director) presented me with my trophy for 3rd in Type 1, 1st in Class 1A, and class records at Eastern Creek (1:59.288) & Wakefield Park (1:14.978) - reward for a long but very satisfying and entertaining 2011 supersprint season. Other MX-5 Club members awarded trophies were Stewart Temesvary, Keith Monaghan, Tony Williams, Phil Abraham, Allan Bugh, and Ralph Thompson.


2011 NSW Supersprint Presentation by Guran5, on Flickr

[Guran]

I've been wondering how the laptimes on the north circuit would compare with those from the original full circuit. So this morning, I set to work and came up with the following graph of the best times from yesterday, compared against each driver's PB time on the original full circuit in 2011. There is a very strong correlation between the north circuit times and the original circuit times. Essentially the north circuit laptimes are 67.9% of the old full circuit. So it looks like my target time on the north circuit will be about 1:21.


EC North v EC Original by Guran5, on Flickr

I'm about to send in my entry form for the CSCA Supersprint on 6th May at Eastern Creek north circuit. Cost is only $200 which includes Dorian hire and garage use (I think). It will be interesting to compare experiences.

[CoffeeBoss]

Congratulations Bryan - some well deserved trophies for the cabinet / pool room!

[Guran]

Thanks Matt. All I need now is a cabinet / pool room! I'm out of space on top of my filing cabinet at work.

I'm now entered in a supersprint at Eastern Creek North Circuit on Sunday 6th May 2012. The round is being organised by the Jaguar Drivers Club of Australia as part of the Combined Sports Car Association (CSCA) Supersprint Championship. Entry fee is $185, Dorian hire is $15, garages are FREE (first come, first served). That's a damn site cheaper than the $245 + $15 + $25 = $285 charged by NSWRRC for the same thing. Entry numbers are capped at 110 (only 10 more than NSWRRC). They are very close to the limit at the moment, but still have several spots available. Members of non-CSCA clubs are welcome. Entry forms and Supp Regs are HERE for those who're interested.

[evil_weevil]

congrats on all the trophies mate!

I know you will..but please get some in car of the North track in reddy mate, will be very interesting to see/hear your thoughts on that track. from what I have heard it is more focused on big horsepower cars. I'll get there one day!

oh, that Lotus is hot! ever since I drove the elise and evora at the farm I now have put Lotus onwership on my bucketlist

[Guran]

Thanks Chris. Yep, I'll definitely have the spycam going at Eastern Creek North on 6th May. I was watching the cars go through the new T4/T5 flip-flop on Sunday and it's a tricky bit a track. They are definitely two distinct corners, not kinks that can be straightened. Quite a lot of elevation change too. Many guys were turning in far too early for T4 which gave a poor entry for the uphill T5 (see photo). I think a better way is to sacrifice a bit of T4 entry speed with a late apex in order to maximise exit speed from T5. T6 (old T10) will be much more interesting now due to higher entry speed. But overall, the north circuit does appear to be set up mainly for high powered cars.


IMG_4103 by Guran5, on Flickr

[Guran]

This morning I've been analysing the PerformanceBox data for my new street tyre PB lap on Star Specs at Wakefield Park (1:16.40 PBox on 8th Apr 2012, 1:16.36 official timing) versus my old PB on RE001s (1:16.81 PBox on 4th Sep 2011, 1:16.80 official timing). Where did the 0.41s improvement come from? Here's the breakdown:

• 1.5km/hr better exit speed in T9: -0.06s by the T10 braking point, despite slower acceleration on back straight.
• Braked slightly harder in last phase before T10 turn-in and got on the power earlier: -0.04s by the exit of T10
• Less acceleration on straight: +0.28s between T10 exit and T2 brake-point due to a 3km/hr lower top speed
• 4.5km/hr faster through T2: -0.24s to T9 entry despite similar top speed up the hill (less acceleration)
• 4km/hr faster through T9: -0.11s
• 1-2km/hr faster through T4 & T5: -0.09s
• Less acceleration down hill: +0.09s
• Slightly later apex and on throttle sooner in fish-hook: -0.24s

So the main difference was that the Star Specs gave substantially better grip in the corners (-0.78s), but the conditions meant acceleration was a bit down (+0.37s or more). On a cooler day with the car accelerating a bit harder, it looks like there's at least another 0.5s to be shaved off my PB ... which would drop it into the 1:15s.

[Guran]

Is this the greatest subscription gift ever? Yesterday I received my FREE 64-piece Sidchrome socket set worth $220 as a giveaway with a 2-yr extension of my Wheels magazine subscription (cost $140). Amazing!

• 7 metric 1/4" drive sockets 4mm to 10mm
• 8 metric 3/8" drive sockets 10mm to 19mm
• 13 metric 1/2" drive sockets 12mm to 27mm
• 7 A/F 1/4" drive sockets 3/16" to 3/8"
• 8 A/F 3/8" drive sockets 7/16" to 3/4"
• 13 A/F 1/2" drive sockets 1/2" to 1"
• 2 A/F 3/8" drive spark plug sockets 5/8" and 13/16"
• 3 universal joint 1/4", 3/8" 1/2" drive
• 3 ratchets in 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" drive
• 1 flex ratchet 1/2" drive
• 2 extensions 1/4" drive 50mm & 150mm
• 1 extension 3/8" drive 150mm
• 2 extensions 1/2" drive 75mm & 125mm

Sorry, if you missed it the offer ended 20th March.


IMG_4156 by Guran5, on Flickr

[Apu]

I got mine last week too! Hehehe!

Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

[PaulF]

My dad's 38-piece set turned up today. He's already got a nice socket set though, and he's away on holidays... He wouldn't mind if it just never turned up, would he?

[Guran]

Fixed! (cut & paste error! )

• 7 A/F 1/4" drive sockets 3/16" to 3/8"
• 6 A/F 3/8" drive sockets 7/16" to 3/4"
• 9 A/F 1/2" drive sockets 1/2" to 1"

These are seriously good tools. Paul, I'm sure your dad won't mind. Especially if he doesn't know what was meant to come his way.