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I was at the recently opened Dominion Raceway on Sunday.. I like the layout of the circuit, but they still need to make a lot of improvements.. In particular, the section between the bridge and turn 1 needs to be smoothed out. There was a guy with a new M3 pitted next to me and I made a comment about the terrible bumps as you brake going under the bridge.. Apparently, he didn't know what I was talking about. He's a driver coach & he offered to ride along with me during the next session. When we hit the bumps before the bridge, he was like "Oh, I see what you're talking about... I barely feel these in my M3!" Obviously, the Penske coilovers are much stiffer than the M3's OEM suspension.
I was fortunate to have old friend tag along that day to observe & take some photos (I'm trying to talk him into tracking his Audi S5 too). Anyway, he does photography as a hobby and recently bought a new DSLR.. He took some awesome professional quality photos!
If your suspension is stuttering over pavement ripples, you have too much rebound damping. Sadly too many people think the magazines know what they are talking about when it comes to suspension - there are a few good articles out there, but most of them are just stupid because they don't understand suspension tuning. You want the suspension as soft as you can get without being bouncy. The reason is, the wheels need to stay in contact with the pavement for traction. If your rebound damping is too stiff, the wheel will not extend into the hollow of the ripple, and you'll have a wheel (or more) in the air. This is the worst possible thing under braking because your ABS assumes you have traction and unlocks the brakes (wheel stops instantly when you lose traction) so you hit the top of the next bump with no braking at all, and everything compounds to get worse very quickly. Stopping distance goes to crap, control of the car goes weak, and you're fighting just to adjust speed when you should be focused on course, heading, and traction. My bet is the M3's suspension is better in tune with keeping the wheels on the ground by not being overdamped.
If your suspension is stuttering over pavement ripples, you have too much rebound damping. Sadly too many people think the magazines know what they are talking about when it comes to suspension - there are a few good articles out there, but most of them are just stupid because they don't understand suspension tuning. You want the suspension as soft as you can get without being bouncy. The reason is, the wheels need to stay in contact with the pavement for traction. If your rebound damping is too stiff, the wheel will not extend into the hollow of the ripple, and you'll have a wheel (or more) in the air. This is the worst possible thing under braking because your ABS assumes you have traction and unlocks the brakes (wheel stops instantly when you lose traction) so you hit the top of the next bump with no braking at all, and everything compounds to get worse very quickly. Stopping distance goes to crap, control of the car goes weak, and you're fighting just to adjust speed when you should be focused on course, heading, and traction. My bet is the M3's suspension is better in tune with keeping the wheels on the ground by not being overdamped.
Stiff =! better
Thanks for the info
I have no prior experience with suspension tuning, so I'm learning as I go with the Penske coilovers.. Events like this past Sunday are well suited to "adjust & test" with their 2 hour open track session at the end of the day.. I'm already itching to go back!
I´ve got this video of a trackday a few weekdays ago in Autodromo Las Americas, Dominican Republic. Sorry for the sound quality but they made us go to the track with the windows at mid level.
Thanks for the info
I have no prior experience with suspension tuning, so I'm learning as I go with the Penske coilovers.. Events like this past Sunday are well suited to "adjust & test" with their 2 hour open track session at the end of the day.. I'm already itching to go back!
-Mike
Mike you are killing it bro !! Track star....BIG TIME. Keep up the good work. You're making us all proud !! Love the videos and photos
I´ve got this video of a trackday a few weekdays ago in Autodromo Las Americas, Dominican Republic. Sorry for the sound quality but they made us go to the track with the windows at mid level.
IS-F holds its own at the Summit Point Shenandoah Circuit
Here's a video from last Saturday at at Summit Point, WV. Apparently, the Shenandoah circuit is considered one of the most technical & challenging circuits in the country, especially for heavier high powered cars. There are lots of back-to-back turns and many of them are off camber. It was indeed a challenge, but once I started to learn my way around it, I was having a blast!
I staged at the tail-end of the group 2 solo drivers, which are released from the pits first, followed by the rest of group 2 (w/instructors). I never saw any of that second wave of cars in my mirror, which included this Lamborghini Gallardo & Ferrari 458
Here's a video from last Saturday at at Summit Point, WV. Apparently, the Shenandoah circuit is considered one of the most technical & challenging circuits in the country, especially for heavier high powered cars. There are lots of back-to-back turns and many of them are off camber. It was indeed a challenge, but once I started to learn my way around it, I was having a blast!
I staged at the tail-end of the group 2 solo drivers, which are released from the pits first, followed by the rest of group 2 (w/instructors). I never saw any of that second wave of cars in my mirror, which included this Lamborghini Gallardo & Ferrari 458
-Mike
Mike, you are killing it man !! I love this track. It is very technical. I especially like that Nurburgringesque carosel too. Very cool !! Im going to share this on Facebook .
Mike, you are killing it man !! I love this track. It is very technical. I especially like that Nurburgringesque carosel too. Very cool !! Im going to share this on Facebook .
Thanks, Tammer.. I didn't think I would enjoy this track, but I did.. I will definitely go back some time.. The mini karussell was interesting, but after awhile I started to think of it as a more of a novelty & a nuisance rather than a good track feature. They don't do much actual racing on this track, but I read that when they do, they often bypass the karussell. I'd prefer a regular banked turn with smoother transitions....
Here's a video from last Saturday at at Summit Point, WV. Apparently, the Shenandoah circuit is considered one of the most technical & challenging circuits in the country, especially for heavier high powered cars. There are lots of back-to-back turns and many of them are off camber. It was indeed a challenge, but once I started to learn my way around it, I was having a blast!
I staged at the tail-end of the group 2 solo drivers, which are released from the pits first, followed by the rest of group 2 (w/instructors). I never saw any of that second wave of cars in my mirror, which included this Lamborghini Gallardo & Ferrari 458
-Mike
I too was screaming out for you to go as well lol.
Steering Mike I've noticed your pretty much a 10 to 2 man and go 11 to 1 in the tight stuff is this technique you have natural or taught??
Also noticed with this technique your car is very stable on exit and the inputs are slow and deliberate which as mentioned keeps the ar very stable.
Makes the car easy to drive fast.Also like Tammer's car all these F's seemingly have a mighty brake setup which is really encouraging to see.
Thanks, Tammer.. I didn't think I would enjoy this track, but I did.. I will definitely go back some time.. The mini karussell was interesting, but after awhile I started to think of it as a more of a novelty & a nuisance rather than a good track feature. They don't do much actual racing on this track, but I read that when they do, they often bypass the karussell. I'd prefer a regular banked turn with smoother transitions....
-Mike
Hey Mike, that is one of my favorite tracks. Te used to run it in 24hour of LeMons back in the days ( I think they stopped). Back then I drove a 20V swapped 1st gen MR2 (spin master) and a car that small was a blast to rotate around some of those turns.
It's funny you mention racing with the karusell because we use to actually run it in that series. Going 2 or 3 wide when entering was always a "complex" situation, usually if you didn't force your way in the middle you got stuck up top or down bottom.
One time I actually got my MR2 sidways in the karusell and it was a "interesting" experience. I also got to race "against" the pro driver Mike Skeen during one of those races.. I wish I could go back one day.
I too was screaming out for you to go as well lol.
Steering Mike I've noticed your pretty much a 10 to 2 man and go 11 to 1 in the tight stuff is this technique you have natural or taught??
Also noticed with this technique your car is very stable on exit and the inputs are slow and deliberate which as mentioned keeps the ar very stable.
Makes the car easy to drive fast.Also like Tammer's car all these F's seemingly have a mighty brake setup which is really encouraging to see.
I think it's more natural than intentional for me..It's one thing (among others) that I should improve... Though, I do conciously try to use smooth steering inputs. Steady breathing is another area in which I need to improve.. At one point in the video, you can hear me telling myself "breathe!.. breathe!..."
Originally Posted by Piston1047
Hey Mike, that is one of my favorite tracks. Te used to run it in 24hour of LeMons back in the days ( I think they stopped). Back then I drove a 20V swapped 1st gen MR2 (spin master) and a car that small was a blast to rotate around some of those turns.
It's funny you mention racing with the karusell because we use to actually run it in that series. Going 2 or 3 wide when entering was always a "complex" situation, usually if you didn't force your way in the middle you got stuck up top or down bottom.
One time I actually got my MR2 sidways in the karusell and it was a "interesting" experience. I also got to race "against" the pro driver Mike Skeen during one of those races.. I wish I could go back one day.
I will definitely go back to this track sometime.. I originally thought it might to be too technical & challenging to enjoy in the IS-F, but I did have a lot of fun figuring it out.. In hindsight, it's those aspects that make it even more rewarding when overtaking cars that are considered to be more "track-worthy". I realized afterwards that the orange Mustang is a Boss 302 Laguna Seca model, which is apparently no slouch on a track
Give me a shout if you feel like coming up this way to hit that track again... We can probably scare up a few others & arrange a Summit Point IS-F invasion
08-09-16, 05:34 AM
Dominion Raceway, Virginia
