Joined: November 7, 2008, 4:48 am Posts: 1097 Location: snow city - it's wet!
kreb wrote:
I suppose that late braking is useful if you want to block someone's entrance into a corner, but lots of crashes happen that way, and in the case of track days might get you thrown out of the event.
Also true .. my comments about late braking to pass were from a racing perspective and completely inappropriate for most track day events.
Joined: March 7, 2006, 6:15 pm Posts: 2401 Location: Northridge, CA
Hey Kurt, was nice meeting you at ACS. Car looks great, a long way from last time I visited the forums (which was a while ago, TBH..). I watched a part of the video, the potential of this little rocket is very obvious, with some aero work this car is going to be playing with the big boys. The ease in which it hangs to the back of the Porsche going around the oval is no joke, add downforce and the thing will just keep on sticking to the track, T1 won't require a lift , just turn in
Keep bringing it to the track, it's the best tool for developing both the car and the driver. I'll be in WSIR in the 12/14 Speedventures event, it is the Miata Challenge season finale too.
Forgot to add, did you have arm restraints on? Those are a must in an open cockpit car, best $25 you can spend if you don't have them.
Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm Posts: 6421 Location: SoCal
Hi Moti, I completely forgot that you were on here! Oh yes, arm restraints, the whole business.
I'll be back to the track but have to finish the book (one more week) and squeeze out a few home projects to build up some "car credits." That track is intimidated, but not as much as before, and I know it gets hot as hell there, so I figure I have until about April or May before it's a no-go.
Streets of Willow and Laguna are on the must-do list as well.
Joined: March 7, 2006, 6:15 pm Posts: 2401 Location: Northridge, CA
Big willow is ALWAYS intimidating, doesn't matter which time of the year It is a great track though, very challenging.
A few tips with regards to the local and not so local tracks -
Streets is the worst one, no doubt. Terrible facility, broken pavement everywhere, awful runoff, and the flow is mediocre at best and only in limited sections. The only thing that is good about it is that most day over at SOW are really cheap, but that's not a great reason to run any track in my book..
Laguna is an iconic track so if you haven't driven it I'd agree that it is a bucket list item. To me, it's fun not very exciting to drive because for the most it has no flow at all - go straight, brake, turn, straight, brake, turn... only part that has flow is from T8 (Corkscrew) into T9 (Rainey curve, the BEST corner at Laguna) and into T10. It is however, a beautiful facility set in nice scenery and has world class track prep with a perfectly groomed runoff.
The socal go-to track is Buttonwillow Raceway. It's not a particularly great track, but does have good flow with some nice elevation changes (like Cotton corners), most areas have a decent runoff and the facility is alright. Here's a video of the last super-sprint race we had over there (Config 13 CCW) -
There are two CA tracks that should be on your to-do list for sure - Chuckwalla Valley Raceway and Sonoma (Sears Point).
CVR is about 1.5 hours east of Palm Springs, it is in the middle of nowhere, there are no services around the track and most of the year the weather is awful. But, and that's a big one, the pavement is perfectly smooth, there's a ton of runoff the track has fantastic flow. Video from CVR -
Speedventures traditionally has an event @ CVR in March which is a good time of the year to be there, so you should look into it when the time comes.
Sonoma is the best track in CA hands down. It takes forever to get there, 7-8 hours towing, but the track is worth every second of the drive. Very intimidating with concrete walls practically lining the track, but man the thing is just epic to drive on. Huge elevation changes, flow that is second to none, true testament for both driver and machine capabilities. The facility is world class and so is the surrounding areas (Napa valley). HIGHLY recommended! Lap around Sonoma -
Joined: February 8, 2007, 4:20 am Posts: 335 Location: British Columbia, Canada
mainlandboy wrote:
Hey Kurt,
The car looks good and I am looking forward to buying a copy of the book. I really enjoyed reading the Kimini book.
I was wondering why you decided not to install the fenders for the car. I saw on your build pictures that you test fit them, and I thought it looked really good with them on. Just curious.
Mark
Bumping my own quote, because I'm still curious about the fenders.
Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm Posts: 6421 Location: SoCal
Because Midlana is wider than most Locosts. the rocks that fly off the front tires completely miss me. It's only an issue when turning. I'll eventually put the fenders on, but am in no hurry.
Read the numerous stories here about front cycle fenders failing. Ask owners how long the forward surface of the rear fenders look nice, before being defaced by all the rocks kicked up by the front tires; fenders on Locosts take a real beating. In SoCal, where I am, there are enough hot rods running around without fenders that I (so far) have squeaked by the rules. There's also an impression that cars under 1500 lbs don't need fenders, and I think some cops think that as well - only, it's not true. Technically, the 1500-lb rule only applies to vehicles that weigh <1500 lb, but they had to have been originally sold before 1965.
So yeah, they'll eventually get added, but reluctantly.
NASA Nocal won't let you run track days without fenders. It's a little silly, because most cycle fenders don't come very far around the front of the tire, so you'd still get the "up in the air" effect should they contact anything from the front.
Joined: January 10, 2008, 4:47 pm Posts: 7652 Location: Massachusetts
OK, so i'm the guy at the front of the line with a pup tent. Also a large open fire with something nice and roasty turning on a spit. This is a shameless attempt at attracting the entire Slotus Team, because I don't want to get bored while I'm waiting in this line.
We should all chip in for a couple of rent-a-groupies. I'd volunteer my sister, but she'd probably insist on staying in la Jolla while she was down there!
1. What is "Lulu?" Being self-published means using a Print-On-Demand (POD) service, sort of an automated Kinko's copy center. I use Lulu, the same POD printer used with my previous book, Kimini. An author sends Lulu a manuscript, which they store on a server. When an order comes in, it's printed, bound, boxed, and shipped. It's a decent deal for authors that are unable (or unwilling) to deal with "real" publishers. Once the manuscript is uploaded to Lulu's store front, the process is completely hands-off; Lulu handles sales, shipping, and any customer issues. The downside is that because they aren't printing thousands of copies at a time, the cost per page is a lot higher, but for many writers, that's an acceptable overhead to get a book to market. Also, since Lulu has printers located around the world, your book is automatically printed at a regional facility, including Europe and Australia.
2. Can I buy it on Amazon? No. Bookstores don't like dealing with PODs because: 1. Bookstores expect a big discount, and 2. They expect to be able to return unsold inventory at the end of each month; neither of these conditions work well in the POD ecosystem. (Longer answer: maybe later. Lulu has ways of tying books into retailers, but no doubt it'll be at some cost. So while it might be able to happen, don't count on it for the short term.)
3. Can I buy an eBook version? Short answer: not at this time.
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