what Sways for the track

[FPerron]

If you are chunking them you are overheating them.

 

Mike

 

I didn't even have to check to know that Gingerman Raceway is run clockwise. If you are overheating the outside front tire, you are probably understeering, and a bigger rear sway bar would help. I'll also guess that the damage is happening in slow corners because "beginners tend to enter fast corners too slow, and slow corners too fast."

[Drogos]

There is some truth to that statement

I had tires at 46/44. First time that high, usually 44/42. I am wondering if that contributed to the tire demise. Higher pressure means higher temps. but I am sure friction between tire and the road dwarfs temp. changes resulting from little pressure variations in the tire itself. It sounded like the the tire took most of the beating in the long fairly fast sweepers - #2 and #10 (off camber). I had issues with #2 especially. I know my line was far from optimal but no matter how I approached it I had initial understear and when I lifted a little to correct the speed the back would dance around a little. Tricky turn, pretty long one, easing off halfway through the turn. If I had the right speed with constant pressure on gas paddle, it holded the line fairly neutrally with very dramatic squealling from tires

[jamal]

you lost me right there can you elaborate please.

 

You take a dremel or grinder to the lower hole in the strut and widen it toward the outside of the car. This lets the upright and tire angle in at a sharper angle. You only need to remove about 2mm to get you all the way up to -3ish degrees.

 

This lets you retain both stock bolts which are stronger and provide a higher clamp load than the aftermarket ones. I did this to my own struts after I was unhappy with my alignment numbers. At -2.5f/-1.1r the car works great.

 

Your tire size and wheel offset will determine the max you can get. -3 is probably not possible on stock LGT wheels with 225 tires for example, but with a +48 offset it would be.

 

There is also a slight suspension geometry advantage to doing it this way over a camber plate but that's a whole other subject.

[FPerron]

There is some truth to that statement

I had tires at 46/44. First time that high, usually 44/42. I am wondering if that contributed to the tire demise. Higher pressure means higher temps. but I am sure friction between tire and the road dwarfs temp. changes resulting from little pressure variations in the tire itself. It sounded like the the tire took most of the beating in the long fairly fast sweepers - #2 and #10 (off camber). I had issues with #2 especially. I know my line was far from optimal but no matter how I approached it I had initial understear and when I lifted a little to correct the speed the back would dance around a little. Tricky turn, pretty long one, easing off halfway through the turn. If I had the right speed with constant pressure on gas paddle, it holded the line fairly neutrally with very dramatic squealling from tires

 

Actually, lower pressures cause more rapid heat build-up.

[boxkita]

Get tire chalk (or white shoe polish) and mark all 4 tires in a triangular pattern. Start from first rib on the tread and pull the line toward the rim. Make it about 1/2 inch wide. Preferably the stripe would be near the triangles (about 1/4 inch high) near the edge of tread.

 

Mark before every session, and check after each session. If the rollover (which is the squealing) is more than previous session, add more pressure (1 psi at time). If the rollover is less, note the pressure in your log book along with air temp and weather conditions, as you have found, more or less, the correct psi for that tire in those conditions.

 

I run counter-clockwise tracks, and flog the crap out of my right front tire. I set that tire at 51 psi cold. The left front tire is 48, the rear right tire is 42-44, the rear left tire is 38-40. Getting to these numbers took at lot of time and expert advice. I went from shredding front outer tire in a single 25 minute session, to 8 events on a set of tires.

 

This "no matter how I approached it I had initial understear and when I lifted a little to correct the speed the back would dance around a little" is why you dont lift in the corner. If you make your suspension too stiff, you'll spin. Adding too much sway without anything else, will make this only worse. With a stock suspension, once you set your steering, you are committed. Learning where/when/what speed is how you go faster.

 

Find a Miata driver in your class, or better yet, an instructor with one. Tell them you want to run with them. With the power of your car, you should be lapping the Miata. If they have video, have them drive behind you. You'll have to drive slower so they can keep up, though. Then, if you have video, have them drive in front of you. If you can follow their line (this is where having an instructor in the miata is good), you'll be doing well.

[FPerron]

get tire chalk (or white shoe polish) and mark all 4 tires in a triangular pattern. Start from first rib on the tread and pull the line toward the rim. Make it about 1/2 inch wide. Preferably the stripe would be near the triangles (about 1/4 inch high) near the edge of tread.

 

Mark before every session, and check after each session. If the rollover (which is the squealing) is more than previous session, add more pressure (1 psi at time). If the rollover is less, note the pressure in your log book along with air temp and weather conditions, as you have found, more or less, the correct psi for that tire in those conditions.

 

I run counter-clockwise tracks, and flog the crap out of my right front tire. I set that tire at 51 psi cold. The left front tire is 48, the rear right tire is 42-44, the rear left tire is 38-40. Getting to these numbers took at lot of time and expert advice. I went from shredding front outer tire in a single 25 minute session, to 8 events on a set of tires.

 

This "no matter how i approached it i had initial understear and when i lifted a little to correct the speed the back would dance around a little" is why you dont lift in the corner. If you make your suspension too stiff, you'll spin. Adding too much sway without anything else, will make this only worse. With a stock suspension, once you set your steering, you are committed. Learning where/when/what speed is how you go faster.

 

Find a miata driver in your class, or better yet, an instructor with one. Tell them you want to run with them. With the power of your car, you should be lapping the miata. If they have video, have them drive behind you. You'll have to drive slower so they can keep up, though. Then, if you have video, have them drive in front of you. If you can follow their line (this is where having an instructor in the miata is good), you'll be doing well.

 

+1