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DC_McGregor
01-09-2002, 11:44 AM
Here's the setup I'm currently using for the #32 GTQ Porsche.

Tires, soft at max pressure (27.6 lbs.).
Ride height, minimum (3.1 in.).
Wings: 10.0/11.0 (subject to change). (Spa: 8.5/9.5)
Springs: 425.5/525.7 (F/R).
Camber: -3.5/-2.5 (F/R) (subject to change). (Spa -3.0/-1.0)
Front shocks: 14.0/18.0 (bump/reb.)
Rear shocks: 26.0/28.0 (bump/reb) (Spa 27.4/28.9 max settings).
Roll bars: 1.30/1.40 (F/R) (1.34/1.36 being tested for Z GP)
Gears: 2.299; 2.075; 1.530; 1.220; 1.000; 0.840 (Spa 5th: 0.990; 6th: 0.830)
Final drive: 3.600 (Spa 3.400)
Brake balance: 60% front
Weight distribution: 44.9% front.
Fuel for 12 laps at Zandvort GP: about 20 gallons. If you go off a lot, it wont be enough, but with a low number of offs it will give about 1/2 lap margin for error. Expect the fuel to last about 1 1/2 laps after the low fuel warning.

Notes on changes from Spa. The wings were increased substantially. Zandvort isn't as high a speed track. The wing settings I used for Spa were probably too low, given the handling difficulties I had. I also softened both front and rear springs for the Bus Stop chicane at Spa. They remain as at Spa. I reduced both front and rear camber from -3.5/-2.0 for Spa to aid tire wear. It might even have helped. I've increased the camber for (hopefully) more mechanical grip. I stiffened the rear shocks in hopes of reducing understeer for Spa. The above are my "default" settings. I had made 5th and 6th gears a little bit taller for Spa. The above gearing seems to be fine for Zandvort.

I would estimate that 14 or 15 laps at Zandvort would be possible on a full tank. I'll recommend that we run 12 and 24 laps for the sprints. Then 40 or 48 laps for the enduro. Up to 10 laps, tire wear is not an issue. The tires are clearly going off after that. For that reason, I'd like to see slightly longer sprint races. Having to consider tire wear adds an interesting dimension to the races.

Fastest lap times at Zandvort GP will be under 1:40. Probably as low as 1:35, although I cannot approach that time. Taking a late apex is critical for certain corners. Those apices are not easy to spot, nor are the turn-in points needed to hit them. Zandvort is an easy track to learn initially, but mastery of the track will be anything but easy. I would also recommend racing against a number of ai cars to learn different lines through the corners. I'm currently using 15 ai cars (the most the track supports). Knowing those different lines will aid in passing human drivers as well as being able to spot and correct errors in your lines.

DC_McGregor
01-12-2002, 10:13 PM
After initial problems, we got off to a good night's racing with 2 12 lappers. Unfortunately, the problems took too long and Tim (porschenut550) had to drop out. Doug/Racecar, SCGTGary and myself held down the fort.

Race 1 waa a romp for Racecar. Even being punted off at one point couldn't put a dent in his lead, finishing almost 30 seconds ahead. Doug posted a PB (personal best) of 1:36.25 in this race. Great time!!! My fastest lap was about 1:37.5. Gary was a bit off the pace, with a best lap of about 1:39.5. Not too shabby for a BMW though. Good going, Gary.

Race 2 started with McAsleepAtTheWheel forgetting to brake for turn 1 on the first lap, punting Racecar off and giving Gary the early lead. Racecar immediately took off in pursuit with McG bringing up the rear. After a long siege - including an off - Doug got around gary and assumed his usual position. In the meanwhile, McG was driving an uncharacteristic race. Smooth, steady and consistant. 1:37s and 1:38s, except for one lap when his co-driver, Sir CrashALot, took over. Towards the end, Doug had a couple of uncharacteristic offs allowing McG to catch up, then immediately pulling away again. On the next to last lap(?), Doug had a couple of offs allowing McG to take the lead and open up a small margin. (Tires going off Doug?) Oddly, McG stayed on the road to take the win with a margin of victory about 5.5 seconds. Gary had a much better run as well, being only about 30 seconds in arrears at the end. Well done all!

Next week's track isn't set yet. It may be Phillip's Island. I'll post late tomorrow (Sunday).

A final note on setups. I posted that I was using 10.0/11.0 D/F (F/R) last week. After practice, I reduced that to 9.0/10 (F/R) for the race. It enabled me to get down to 1:37.08 in practice.