Finally, letting my hachi loose at the tracks!

[Mux213]

NoHachi,

I agree with you on the point of drifting. There are 2 or 3 corners that seems pretty driftable but those high grass rimms...... Basically the circuit is just to small. But drifting is the thing these days and the guys at gummen no longer like normal driving if they cant drift....

I only tried drifting once or twice on the bigger corners (not on the outside, the inner ones) just for the fun of it, gave up after ending up in the grass. Which is a good thing because my times droppen 2 or 3 seconds after I started concentrating on grip driving

It almost went pretty wrong btw, the sierra that was there lost it at some point and almost ran into the cars parked waiting to do their round

As for helmets. You have a point, if things go wrong you can have an accident and its safer if you wear a helmet. I probably should have worn it.

I'm waiting for them to post up the time sheets so I can see what position I have on the list.

[NoHachi]

Looks like you have a good mentality towards these days. Mine changed significantly after my little mishap: Any form of racing has its dangers.

Back to the joys of racing..after all, we wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't just so much fun.
The big outside corners are just a blast! In a fast run you have the car on the brink of a 4 wheel drift all the way through. Straighten the steering wheel for just a sec, tap the brakes, and fluently transition into the tight corner at the end of it.
Drifting, or oversteering is so simple in these corners..just a touch more throttle and the rear comes around, its just not that big a deal. The real challenge is in keeping the car on the edge. Inside the car it feels like one big slide, but from the outside things look tight and in controll.

[Mux213]

NoHachi,

The problem I have with that outside corner is that when it goes wrong, there is a bump, 1 meter of grass, and then a VERY high and solid wall of earth. If it goes wrong in that corner its by by car. So I dont like that

So far I have only seen one circuit that I would call perfect for practicing drifting and thats papenburg. BIG, flat, plenty of runout space, nothing to run into except on the outward corners.

*edit* as for mentality. I've driven on the Nurburgring and if there is a wakeup call in this hobby, then its the Nurburgring. I'm out just to have a good time. I dont care about lap times, I dont care if I can drift or not, I just care about having some fun with my car that I cant have on the normal road.
*double-edit* anyone picking up this hobby with the illusion that its safe should change his hobby to origami or something. When you pick up circuit driving you have to accept that at some point, you will damage your car or worse. Its in your own hands and you can keep yourself safe if you keep your head and in that way it can be safer then the public road, but if you plan to push yourself, you have to accept you could be writing off a car or worse.. If you can't accept that, find a new hobby.

[NoHachi]

True, true...but most people won't understand just how correct those words are untill they experience it for themselves..I'm not sure you really could understand it beforehand. Everyone feels mighty in the car and in absolute controll. They think they are good drivers and that might be correct..up to a point.
Accidents are in the little things. You almost never make big mistakes, but its the tiny amount of excess speed that you carry into the corner, or maybe your hand slips of the steering wheel. These are the things that get you and preventing them is impossible..that why they call it accidents.

I would therefor argue that you should spend as much on safety equipment as you should on tuning. You only have one life..sadly I would have to admit that I haven't done much in that department either. I'm hoping to correct that mistake in the volvo me and my brother are building. It won't be all that fast (yet), but its gonna be a nice and safe platform to discover the joys of lower class racing. And if somebody crashes it, another car is just 50E away..

[Mux213]

Yupz, those 360s are perfect for that

The problem for me and my hachi is that it is going to be my daily beater and I dont feel like putting a rollcage and 5 points in such a car. That I leave for my RX7 if I ever get it back together again (having to much fun with the hachi)

[The Doctor]

NoHachi, you race in the "360 No Modena" Cup?

[NoHachi]

I would really push to get the RX7 done then..The volvo cannot exit the place its parked untill next spring. When its out it will become the weapon of choice..despite the MX5 being 2 secs a lap faster then the E30's on (probably old) slicks and a hell of a lot more fun than the volvo. The gap between the volvo and the AE86 isn't as big as you would expect. In racing trim it will weigh about the same, have approximately the same suspension (McPherson front, live axle rear) and a better weight distribution (transaxle). The lack of LSD is a big problem though..

@Doctor. Nope, no 360cup yet although running a couple of races might be fun. The rules of the cup allow very little room for modification..where is the fun in that?
The 360 we are building will have approximately the 360cup suspension but less weight. The cup does laps of zandvoort in 2:15-2:20, thats pretty fast. If we can pickup a B230FT turbo engine and fit it then it should be capable of some serious lap times.

The 360 imho is the trueno of Holland. Seriously underestimated, a understeering pig in stock trim but capable of surprises.

[Mux213]

Hehehehehehe,

We should bring a turbo charged 360 to D1 competition in America

[Ivan141]

Ghehe..the ol swedish brick still needs a lot of work to get it close to cup specs. Last april my personal best (we didnt time all laps, but this is the fastest I was timed at) was around 2:47. Quite a long way to go. I have spoken to one of the cup drivers and he said 2:45 is about the most you can do with a stock 360. Slicks and suspension work are enough to shave 30 sec's of per lap, how about dramatic improvement for you! Next year our 360 will have 15" 195/60 advan slicks and Koni red shocks with competition springs. That should bring us near 2:20 theoretically. Then com ethe mod's not allowed in the cup, such as lexan windows, and fibreglass parts. We'll make it a monster yet.

[Mux213]

2 more pics, this is on the parking lot




LOOK Jesse's uniwiper is gone!