Kirk Coughlin Ultra Moderator Location: Saint Paul, MN Join Date: 01/08/2006 Age: Possibly Wise Posts: 493 Rally Car: Dreaming of escorts and xrats |
Tyler Estes Professional Moderator Location: Blackwater, Missouri Join Date: 01/12/2013 Age: Settling Down Posts: 75 Rally Car: E30 325E "practice girl" |
I was going to go, but the weather sucked and I drive like Tyler Estes. Which means that I spent almost 6 hours in my car in a ditch. And also, puked 11 times in 6 hours today. Hopefully life won't get in the way by the time the Perryville rally is held.  Why do you even need brakes? Are you some sort of pansy or something? |
Mike Lindenfelser Junior Moderator Location: Minnesnowta Join Date: 10/17/2012 Age: Midlife Crisis Posts: 154 Rally Car: 1995 Impreza L |
John Vanlandingham Ultra Moderator Location: Ford Asylum, Sleezattle, WA Join Date: 12/20/2005 Age: Fossilized Posts: 14,152 Rally Car: Saab 96 V4 |
John Reed Super Moderator Location: Portland, Oregon Join Date: 06/09/2012 Age: Possibly Wise Posts: 176 Rally Car: Toyota AE86 |
Anders Green Professional Moderator Location: Raleigh, NC Join Date: 03/30/2006 Age: Possibly Wise Posts: 1,478 Rally Car: Parked |
Oh, I fully understand the desire. It's cool! I want one too! 
I don't $2000 want one, though. (or whatever they cost) Anders Grassroots rally. It's what I think about. |
John Reed Super Moderator Location: Portland, Oregon Join Date: 06/09/2012 Age: Possibly Wise Posts: 176 Rally Car: Toyota AE86 |
Anders Green Professional Moderator Location: Raleigh, NC Join Date: 03/30/2006 Age: Possibly Wise Posts: 1,478 Rally Car: Parked |
John Vanlandingham Ultra Moderator Location: Ford Asylum, Sleezattle, WA Join Date: 12/20/2005 Age: Fossilized Posts: 14,152 Rally Car: Saab 96 V4 |
Banned Godlike Moderator Location: Calgary, AB Join Date: 03/27/2009 Age: Ancient Posts: 1,798 Rally Car: (ex)86 RX-7(built), (ex)2.5RS (bought) |
I don't think it would make the car quicker, but with the right sensors and with the right testing and with the right analysis it could help make the driver faster. A friend, and engineer, sensored the shit out of his car and identified more than a couple of bad habits that were slowing him down. (Specifically I recall braking too early and too hard, leading into back on the gas then braking again going into corners.) Could the same have been learned by simply watching in-car with extreme attention or taking a faster - and sharing type - driver for a ride? Almost certainly, for most. Some, on the other hand, see great things in graphs and numbers better than they do in the 'real' world. Thinkig about it though, depending on the car, it could make the car quicker. Well thought out custom alarms and shift lights could help you get the max performance out of the car. An example would be setting shift lights based on peak torque on the bottom of the gear split. Depending on the dash, I think you can set shift points differently based on the selected gear. That's all money, of course, since you'll need to dyno the car and have a good understanding of where the power and torque really are.
Again, setting alarms to custom values may not make something more reliable but could help prevent catastrophic failure, making repairs potentially cheaper. Again, you could also set minimum values on sensors so you know if you've hit minimum temps for beating on the car. (not generally a problem in rally I wouldn't think)
There are certainly better ways to spend money on rally that will make you faster. (A driving school as an example) Sometimes boys just want toys. (and for the vast majority here what are rally cars if not toys.) First Rally: 2001 Driver (7), Co-Driver (44) Drivers (16) Clerk (10), Official (7), Volunteer (4) Cars Built (1), Engines Built (0) Cages Built (0) Last Updated, January 4, 2015 
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2013 05:00PM by Morison. |
John Vanlandingham Ultra Moderator Location: Ford Asylum, Sleezattle, WA Join Date: 12/20/2005 Age: Fossilized Posts: 14,152 Rally Car: Saab 96 V4 |
Banned Godlike Moderator Location: Calgary, AB Join Date: 03/27/2009 Age: Ancient Posts: 1,798 Rally Car: (ex)86 RX-7(built), (ex)2.5RS (bought) |
I guess you missed it, but I essentially said that. Here it is again:
Looking at SS times can only tell you so much - the general pace gap - and doesn't really tell you where you're losing time. Besides, people tend not to be honest with themselves about their own mistakes and tend to remember things in the absolute most favorable light.
Once again, you're ascribing ideas and comments to me that I didn't, and wouldn't, make. I never advocated buying data logging equipment nor would I for the average person. BUT, my mind is open enough to not only see that some people would see some value in it but also that technology can bring advantages to the table that can result in real, measurable, improvements. Do I advocate people use in-car cameras tied to the intercom and review their in-car videos? Absolutely. For (well) under $500 you can get a camera that will record what you actually do on stage and will let you listen to the notes and their delivery. It's probably the best tool out there for reviewing performance and having an honest look at what you've done and seeing where you can improve. Example: I had a driver give me shit for not calling a note in the middle of a stage. Reality was that I not only called it but had also repeated it. Reviewing the in-car footage not only got me an apology, it also helped us figure out why he missed hearing the calls in the first place. Another example: Another co-driver was able to make a side-by-side stage video between his car and the car that won the stage by a few seconds. By watching it they saw where they were losing time to the other team and where they needed to focus their attention. Um... My vehicle tracking idea? I don't even know where to start with this one. - Not my idea, for one, although I was one of MANY people who wanted to see what was out there for vehicle tracking and car-to- car communications. - If it were MY idea, why are there at least four different systems in use globally? Tracking is clearly something that is important to rally organizers world wide. - The push to look into systems was driven by several competitors as well as organisers and the CARS board. - Competitors have proven that they can't handle simple triangle rules on their own, so automating it to a certain degree needs to be looked at. (I'm still STUNNED that we had nine cars drive past a car on its side, in the middle of the road, with no triangles or OK sign at one event and a dozen cars drive past a triangle at the edge of a significant exposure with no crew and no OK sign at another) - If you don't look at what's available and if you don't ask questions then you're just left to your own ignorant assumptions. We (several of us) looked for tracking solutions, asked the competitors what price point THEY think is reasonable and have a much better idea of what is - or isn't - possible. - The cost of using the RallySafe system is about the same as half the cost of a single new rally tire per event. Yes, it's death by a thousand cuts as each cost is added on but Martin and Ferd spent 4 minutes in a snowbank that could have been avoided - the other choice would have meant body work on two cars well in excess of the $120 for a system that WOULD have made a difference. - As someone who has run rally events and who has had to deal with near fatal accidents and with cars that have been confirmed as 'missing' - as in unseen by following cars - I can tell you that tracking systems would make my life, as an organiser, much MUCH better. - If you think tracking, and car to car status communication, is absurd then you clearly have a very narrow perspective of the sport. Interestingly, when I talked to drivers at Big White, the vast majority thought tracking and car-to-car coms were a good idea. Many would gladly pay and only a couple thought it was a waste of time/effort. 100% agreed. People tend to spend too much time thinking about improving 'the car' without paying attention to what really makes the car fast... the driver. But, blindly ignoring simple, easy technology to help you better self evaluate performance and behavior is also faulty thinking. First Rally: 2001 Driver (7), Co-Driver (44) Drivers (16) Clerk (10), Official (7), Volunteer (4) Cars Built (1), Engines Built (0) Cages Built (0) Last Updated, January 4, 2015
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2013 07:11PM by Morison. |
Corey Kline Mod Moderator Location: Lancaster, PA Join Date: 11/22/2011 Age: Settling Down Posts: 103 Rally Car: Used and abused Mk2 GTI |
Josh Wimpey Godlike Moderator Location: VA Join Date: 12/27/2006 Age: Midlife Crisis Posts: 649 Rally Car: Sneak the Golf |
Banned Elite Moderator Location: La la land Join Date: 01/25/2006 Age: Fossilized Posts: 3,740 Rally Car: Not a Volvo |
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