Back in the saddle....

Well, it only took a year, but the Neon is back together. New body panels hung, horrible rattle can paint job, new rubber (I will never run worn tires again) and we are ready for Mendocino.

I am wondering how the first stage will feel. Will I look down every ravine and picture the car upside down? Will I drive like grandma? Will it just be another day in the woods?

It always took me a stage or two to shake off the bad visions.

It took me 18 months to get back on the road after I tagged that tree in Idaho (thanks again Robert for the help that day!). Things felt great from stage 1 for us, although part of it may have been having a new car. The one I killed had gremlins that I couldn't shake.

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SeanP
Well, it only took a year, but the Neon is back together. New body panels hung, horrible rattle can paint job, new rubber (I will never run worn tires again) and we are ready for Mendocino.

I am wondering how the first stage will feel. Will I look down every ravine and picture the car upside down? Will I drive like grandma? Will it just be another day in the woods?

If you blame the tires you will understeer off again..
Remember the story you told me about the test ride in the BMW?

The tires are what they are.
The gravel is what it is.

They don't "cause' anything. They just are.
When I ran used tires I would say "I'll just pretend I have NEW tires and pretend I have another 100 hp---cause with new tires and another 1000 HP, I would sstill then have to be awake and looking for grip"

For guys at our level, new tires is a bad addiction..
Look at the WRC guys running tires down to the cords and they are still 2x faster...

It ain't the tires that we need to worry about..

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I've gone off on worn out tires and I've gone off and brand new ones...I've gone off primarily when I was looking at where I didn't want to go. Maintaining focus, looking down that part of the terrain that does not have ditches and trees in it, is prolly more important than anything else.
The first rally after I wrapped the GTX round the tree at OT was surprising in its lack of "oh shits". There was more determination to finish, and a noticable effort was made to avoid the red mist, but trepidation there was none. Go for it and DO NOT fucking look down every ravine, srsly. That truly is the best way to end up in one.

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Jay Woodward
Snohomish, WA
'90 Mazdog Frankenprotege
Chronologically, 46...

Skiers are taught to look where you want To be. If you look anywhere else you will end up there

Good stuff. Thanks, guys. There will be a post it note on the dash that reads "look where you want to go"

I wonder if the Hintz bros. have post-it notes on their dash I could crib.... Them boys prettmuch *never* go off! :-D

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Jay Woodward
Snohomish, WA
'90 Mazdog Frankenprotege
Chronologically, 46...

Way to Go, Jinxey!

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Jay
I wonder if the Hintz bros. have post-it notes on their dash I could crib.... Them boys prettmuch *never* go off! :-D

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Owner, Driver, Head Mechanic, and Janitor at Tower City Race Team, headquartered near L'Anse. Michigan.
Driver / CoDriver in Rally America, NASARallySport, ARA, AMS, UPMDA, Champ Off Road

https://www.facebook.com/TowerCityRaceTeam/
https://www.instagram.com/towercityraceteam/

Naw, they be jinxproof. I don't think they've gone off in the time I've been involved in this silly business.

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Jay Woodward
Snohomish, WA
'90 Mazdog Frankenprotege
Chronologically, 46...

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aj_johnson
Skiers are taught to look where you want To be. If you look anywhere else you will end up there

Silly skiers...

I was taught the same thing when I was learning to ride dirt bikes. Look at a rut and that is where you end up. Keep your eyes looking ahead where you want to go not directly in front of the bike/car.

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shiza

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aj_johnson
Skiers are taught to look where you want To be. If you look anywhere else you will end up there

Silly skiers...

I was taught the same thing when I was learning to ride dirt bikes. Look at a rut and that is where you end up. Keep your eyes looking ahead where you want to go not directly in front of the bike/car.

Think of the amount of feet at average speed on a stage--55mph---you go per second 80.6 ft/s...average reaction time for most of youse galoots is .3-.5 seconds once to see something*... and noticing and interpreting what you see is a whole separate discussion. But a crucial one

So at average speed you go 40 feet before you begin to react.

Better be looking 100 ft down the road at least.

Touch 85--and we all touch 85 frequently, better be looking a lot further ahead cause now you do 120 ft/sec




*in the last week at Human Benchmark reaction time test I was just now--3 hours in the heat in traffic, tired and not at all alert:
35. zwdzk 3 days ago 5 198.2
36. bertito1 5 days ago 5 200.8
37. your score
sign up or log in 7 minutes ago 5 201.4 milliseconds

And I know I was sluggish...if half alert it should be in the 181-185 milliseconds.

Try it! Hours of fun
http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2013 08:35PM by john vanlandingham.

I'm somewhere like .230-270 depending... Isn't the average .25???

I should never be allwoed on a race track again... 0.301 average. That's even after a cup of coffee!

0.281 average, after several beers!

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY