How do you improve your lap times?

[corners]

One of the Lakeside days I got tuition it was one of the best investments.

Turned out a heap of my lines were wrong! Minx can also vouch for this

[little decks]

Brake later...

If the car isn't squirming theres plenty of time there

[MattR]

No as per normal I'm away. Plan is Morgan Park on 26/10 and test out the new engine and see if somebody from SDT wants to set a benchmark for me.

Chris should be at Morgan park for that day Mark so he can have another go and set a new bench mark for you

Have you had a think about going straight to slicks with the new motor. If you need new tyres anyway the slicks can be found for similar prices to semis, and the old tyres, or good high performance road tyres will still work if it's wet.

[Magpie]

MattR if Chris does not want to set a benchmark feel free to have a drive of it. Still thinking of slicks at the moment considering FZ201's in soft and the 888's are down to there markers so whilst not road legal may have a few track days left in them. As the car is still road registered I would need to get another set of rims to put some road tyres on or use a set of 16" rims I have at home.

[deviant]

Brake later...

If the car isn't squirming theres plenty of time there

And get on the power much earlier.

If you do not have some degree of slip angle you are not going quick enough!

[Magpie]

Swap log files with other drivers...

Is this something that we can do on the forum? It may be a bit difficult because of different formats but for example Logworks (reads Innovate log files and imports cvs files) is free to download but I does not have GPS or a track map (it is linear time based). However Circuit Tools (Vbox) is not a free download so only people with Circuit Tools can exchange files but it has GPS, track data and other data channels.

[mazmad]

Circuit tools can export to csv files, to be read by other applications (such as racerender) so you might be able to share files from it.

[Magpie]

Thanks mazmad I will export a file from circuit tools and upload soon. Should it be in a new thread?

[manga_blue]

There are a few issues but it can be done. I use RaceChrono on an old Nokia and can export .kml, .csv, .vbo, .dat and .gpx files from that.

.vbo seems the way to go. I've swapped .vbo files a few times and loaded mine and others' together into Racelogic's PerformanceBox. A common problem is that one guy's racetrack is about 5m or so southwest of where the other guy's racetrack is. If you really want to compare lines then you usually have to shift one map around a bit so that your lap and the comparison laps overlay each other correctly.

RaceChrono on an Android looks much prettier but is not actually as good in real life. It only has .csv and NMEA exports and you have to run a vbo convertor on them. You get there in the end though.

There's another easy way of gathering data. The first time I tried doing comparisons I just lent my phone and GPS unit to Hellmun and he drove around Eastern Creek with it for a few laps. It really shocked me when I realised he had virtually zero transition time from full brake to full throttle anywhere. Some of his Vmins were a bit scary too.

[Guran]

I've been using Circuit Tools for several years and it was still free the last time I downloaded an update (a few months ago).

[Trackphotos]

There are a few issues but it can be done. I use RaceChrono on an old Nokia and can export .kml, .csv, .vbo, .dat and .gpx files from that.

.vbo seems the way to go. I've swapped .vbo files a few times and loaded mine and others' together into Racelogic's PerformanceBox. A common problem is that one guy's racetrack is about 5m or so southwest of where the other guy's racetrack is. If you really want to compare lines then you usually have to shift one map around a bit so that your lap and the comparison laps overlay each other correctly.

RaceChrono on an Android looks much prettier but is not actually as good in real life. It only has .csv and NMEA exports and you have to run a vbo convertor on them. You get there in the end though.

There's another easy way of gathering data. The first time I tried doing comparisons I just lent my phone and GPS unit to Hellmun and he drove around Eastern Creek with it for a few laps. It really shocked me when I realised he had virtually zero transition time from full brake to full throttle anywhere. Some of his Vmins were a bit scary too.

I use the android version of racechrono, as far as cheap gadgets go, a phone with a free app and a $70 gps receiver, it's great. I haven't made use of exporting sessions to overlay on Earth, in-app it's reasonably useful for comparing your own laps to each other though. I have the phone stuck at the top of my windscreen so I can see split times

[Magpie]

Racelogic's performance box and Vbox are comparable so native files could be used. I have found the shift in position is normally a result of using a different projection and when transferring DGPS data as it uses a base station to transmit error corrections. However I'm not sure how many hobby drivers use DGPS or other survey grade GPS for lap times.

Other things that need to be considered is the accuracy of the GPS, most navigation GPS do road snap, that is they assume that you are on a road hence their accuracy is not a result of the quality of the GPS. I think an iPhone is 1hz sampling, Qstarz and Vbox are 10hz (Vbox has an option for 20hz http://www.vboxaustralia.com.au/VBOX%20Sport.html).

[deviant]

It really shocked me when I realised he had virtually zero transition time from full brake to full throttle anywhere.

Even then you are not just stomping the brake or throttle pedal, it is full brake or full throttle but it is a controlled transition from one to the other and a controlled application...just a very quick one!

I have been watching a poster on another forum that regularly puts up his track videos. He has gone from a stock road car doing sprints through various modifications to that car being fully caged and racing it. It is interesting to see how the same driving style that did okay in sprints has left him slipping well back in races. Aggression is the key.

Harrys lap time pro is another fun app to use. Add an Emprum GPS extender to your iphone and it is pretty accurate.

[narita]

im a newbie so at the moment the trick for me is....

be less scared!

[NitroDann]

Don't lift.

More skinny pedal.

Practice good driving practices every day in your daily commute, hand position, heel and toe, left foot brake, posture etc.

Dann