The Hothatch Diaries

It’s been a while since the last post. The obvious reason being that there wasn’t much to write about, apart from whining that my Clio still hadn’t been set up the way I wanted, or that I had a little screw in my front left Toyo (luckily, no puncture and the carcass apparantly unharmed). Really nothing to get all chatty about.

As the title suggests, there finally are some news-worthy changes: I got some H&R camber bolts fitted last friday, had the tracking done and the camber set to minus two degrees on the front axle. This is usually regarded as a little too much for daily use and not enough to exploit semi slicks to their full potential. But that’s what I settled for. As most people will know, more negative camber means that the wheels are tilted further inwards at the top, thus keeping a larger part of the tyre in contact with the road under cornering, while slightly reducing the contact patch in a straight line. In theory this should mean less understeer and higher possible cornering speeds.

Even though every-day-life is currently consuming most of my time, I was so eager to put this theory into practice, that I couldn’t resist heading for the Spreewaldring last saturday for a short track outing. The conditions were pretty much the same as the last time with the temperature being around 28°C. So it was a good day for a meaningful comparison. And I’m glad to report that the setup changes indeed seem to make quite a difference.

Just like theory suggests, the car understeered less into and out of the corners. I could turn in at higher speeds and in general put the throttle down earlier. Also, I felt more comfortable working the tyres hard, because I wasn’t afraid of overstressing the sidewalls like previously. And the lap times are testament to that.

You might recall that my previous best on Goodyear Eagles was a 1:46.7, achieved on a rather chilly day at only 5°C. A time I couldn’t quite match on the last track day, even though I was on Toyo semi slicks for the first time, supposedly better springs (Eibach pro-kit) and a little wider track due to different wheels. I would have thought back then that all of that would more than make up for slight power-loss due to the high temperatures. It didn’t.

But saturday was a different story. The first run showed a best of 1:44.9 while the second and last run yielded an even better 1:44.5. I can now run low 1:45s relatively consistently.

Obviously, there’s still a lot of time to be found by improving my driving. When analyzing a few laps with the lap timing software RaceChrono (more about that in a later post), which is more capable than what I used before, I found that my weekest and most inconsistent corner is the Teich-Kurve. It’s a tricky 3rd gear turn, for which you can’t brake in a straight line. Entry speed here is very critical, especially in the Clio. Go in too slow and the rpm’s drop down to 3.800 to 4.000, a rev range where the Clio lacks grunt, it needs at least 4.250rpm. Also, my line through there needs a slight adjustment, as I found out when following Alex in his 100hp Smart Roadster. That car is rather useless in a straight line, but makes up for it through the turns, as this video shows:

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

I let the Smart by after a few laps and was actually expecting him to pull away, but he didn’t. It seems we’re currently running pretty similar lap times, which is great fun. The whole day was really nice actually, especially after being a little disappointed after the last outing, when my times were rather cack. So, for now, it seems, the car is in good shape apart from some issues which need sorting. The important thing is, the base is finally something to build on. Time to improve the driver some more.

All pictures curtesy of www.trackday-racing.de.руководство по эксплуатации турана руководство по эксплуатации starline a9 руководство пользователя nokia e66
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Two seconds is all I had hoped for. A measly two seconds. Given the fact that I changed from standard springs to Eibach pro-lines, from 16″ wheels with an offset of 48.5 to 15″ wheels with an offset of 37 and from Goodyear Eagle F1s (195/45 16) to Toyo Proxes R888 semi slicks (205/50 15), an improvement of two seconds didn’t seem like an overly ambitious goal. Well, I didn’t achieve it. In fact, the best time I recorded on the Spreewaldring last monday was 0.2 seconds slower than my previous best on standard setup.

It was a beautiful day, though. Temperatures in the high twenties celsius, many of the usual suspects there to chat away with and quite some action on the circuit. I didn’t take more than three turns, as my brake pads seem to be a little on the thin side by now and I also didn’t want to wear down the Toyos too much due to still being on standard camber. But those three turns made clear that for now, the new setup did not make me faster. Hopefully that will change, but I’m not overly confident at the moment.

My first turn didn’t feel too good overall. I was mostly going into the turns too fast and I wasn’t as smooth as I usually am. The second and third turn felt better, but the times didn’t reflect that. My fastest time of 1:46.9 was recorded on the first turn. The quick ones of turns two and three were in the 1:47s. So, why is that? On paper, the Eibachs, the wider track and especially the semi slicks should give more grip, less body roll and better turn-in. I didn’t feel any of that. I do seem to suffer a little less from understeer, but not much. Taking into account that it was relatively hot (around 27°C), that I still have to get used to the tyres and the strong possibility that my driving was just cack that day, I doubt that there are more than 0.5 seconds to be had from the setup as it stands.

Luckily, change is around the corner. If all goes well, I will have at least minus 1.5 degrees of camber on the front by the beginning of next week. Camber bolts are waiting to be put on (and I will have my knackered drive shaft sleeve fixed while we’re at it). That should (hopefully) make a big difference, as semi slicks are said to need a rather huge amount of camber to work well. 1.5 degrees is actually not nearly enough, but since my track car is also my daily driver, I can’t really go to recommended settings of -3 degrees or more. That would screw up my tyres in no time under everyday conditions. Whether more camber will actually help much remains to be seen. To properly exploit the potential of semi slicks, I would probably need a decent set of coilovers, as the current suspension is still much too soft, even on pro-lines, I reckon. But you never know. So, here’s hoping.

As you can see, I have quite a few pictures of myself on the track this time, thanks to a mate who recently got himself a decent camera. More pictures, mainly from the STC, can be seen at trackday-racing.de.

The sun had barely risen above the Ardennes mountains and the Uniroyal tower was drawing a long shadow. At it’s foot the sun was touching the entry to one of the most famous corner complexes on any race track of the world: Eau Rouge of Spa Francorchamps, home of the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix. It was this famous circuit that was to host a track day organized by Renault Sport. And I would be taking part. I was one of the first to arrive there last monday on 6.30 in the morning, thrilled with anticipation. The track and especially Eau Rouge is legendary and I don’t think anyone with a passion for motorsports can help but being fascinated by it.

Technically speaking Eau Rouge is only the very first part of the corner complex, the left-hander at the very bottom, named after the river Eau Rouge (Red Water) cutting through underneath the track. It is followed by Raidillon, a right-hander that leads steeply uphill to another left-hander with a blind crest. Seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher once described the complex like this: “Eau Rouge is really the most tremendous corner. It is like flying downhill and seeing a big mountain in front of you. You get the feeling that you are driving into the road and then you go up and it is a sensation which is probably the best you can experience and the most satisfaction you can have as a racing driver.”

I’m no racing driver, but flooring it in fourth gear through Eau Rouge, feeling the car getting heavy with g-forces when driving into the compression and feeling it (and your stomach) getting light again when you come over the blind crest, all while turning left, right and left again, was the most exhilarating experience I ever had driving a car – and I was not even going half the speed a modern Formula 1 car can carry through there! The sheer physical sensation is probably best compared with a rollercoaster ride. But psychologically, the fact that you are the one in charge of where the car is going makes a world of a difference. And Eau Rouge/Raidillon is by no means the only great corner at Spa Francorchamps. The whole section from Malmedy through Rivage, Pouhon (this one especially), Fagnes and Stavelot is pure excitement.

The whole day was perfect. Renault Sport who organize several track days (Journées Passions) throughout the year, mainly in France and in Great Britain through Renault Sport UK, did a great job. The athmosphere was very friendly and relaxed and the weather was perfect with the sun shining all day. After the welcome formalities and a quick briefing the first group of cars headed out for their first 20-minute turn at 9.00 am. We started in three groups of approximately 30 to 40 cars, blue for beginners, yellow for intermediate and red for advanced. I had signed up for the yellow group and my first turn was to start at 9.30. Needless to say that my heart rate went up by quite a bit before heading out to the track for the first time.

The first lap was driven behind a pace car, so the idea was to stay close to the car in front to learn the line. It didn’t work that way, though, as the red Clio that was in front of me had left a huge gap. I didn’t mind, because I basically knew the line rather well from a racing sim called rFactor. Real life is quite different, of course. Most noticeably, the slopes seem much steeper than on a computer display. Going through Malmedy, down to Rivage and on all the way through Pouhon (an awesome double left-hander) I was actually a surprised how steep that downhill section was – pleasantly surprised. I took it easy the first turn and just as I was starting to get into the flow, our session was red-flagged early because of a Clio Williams that broke down on the start/finish straight. No big deal, though, we lost only five minutes of track time and it wasn’t due to an accident, so nobody was hurt.

On subsequent turns (one more before the lunch break and four more afterwards) I consistently picked up the pace bit by bit as I got more and more comfortable with the track. With my Toyo R888 semi-slicks I could carry a lot of speed through corners and was faster than quite a few cars in my group. At least through right-handers. In left-handers I couldn’t really go as fast as I would have liked to, due to the hopping and juddering I wrote about earlier. My car still suffered from that but I tried to ignore it as much as possible. After the first turn I actually rarely had to let people pass. Especially the more powerful Méganes and V6 Clios seemed to take it rather easy. I was held up here and there, but most of the time not to an extent that got annoying. There was the odd exception, though. Especially one white Mégane F1 Team R26 which was painfully slow through corners didn’t want to let me by for almost a full lap. But just when I really started to get a little impatient, he let me pass on the long straight after Raidillon.

As part of the day each participant got a chance to test-drive a Mégane R26, a Clio 197 Cup (both in white) and to ride shotgun in a Clio Cup race car. I was a little underwhelmed by the Mégane to be honest. With it’s 230 hp turbo engine, cup chassis and limited slip differential it is a seriously quick car, but it doesn’t feel quick. It’s just so much more refined than my Clio and thus the drive is much less involving. The Clio 197 Cup felt better, it’s high revving N/A engine is just much more to my taste, I guess. However, the instructor that rode along was very hesitant to let me go fast. He made me brake several hundred feet before Eau Rouge for example and the fact that he constantly grabbed my steering wheel when traffic was approaching from behind made the test drive a rather awkward experience. The fact that I have the (natural?) tendency to try and turn away from the direction the “intruder” wants to turn was of no help as far as safety goes.

When I rode as a passenger in the Cup racer, I was so looking forward to going through Eau Rouge. A proper race car on slicks with a race driver on the steering wheel can carry pretty high speeds through there. And higher speeds mean higher g-forces, of course. First time through Eau Rouge, on the out lap, the car was not really up to speed, thoug. So my anticipation was postponed to the second lap (which is also the last lap). However, in the last third of the circuit, we got stuck in traffic. Some twat in a black Mégane didn’t let us pass. I don’t know if he was blind, just stupid or too involved with his own driving. When we did finally pass him (we actually had to force our way through), we got stuck in traffic again – right before Eau Rouge this time. And as a consequence, we were going much slower than I did in my own Clio. Bugger.

Those were the only downsides of that day, though. I’m really complaining on a very high level. Overall it was just sheer fun. Driving on one of the most beautiful and legendary race tracks of the world with like-minded enthusiasts in similar cars is a gift. A gift, I will treat myself to again next year.

I put up two videos on youtube for now, but more will follow, as soon as I’ve sorted Windows MovieMaker out. That thing keeps crashing on me: Part 1 (sessions one and two), Part 2 (session three).

Update: Well, here are two more videos from the day: Part 3 (sessions four and five) and Part 4 (one turn-by-turn lap). And here’s Part 3 in a little better than youtube-quality. Enjoy:

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Admittedly, it was almost a year ago when Mika Häkkinen won the DTM race at the Eurospeedway Lausitz. The rubber he and his competitors layed down there in May 2007 has probably long been washed away by the heavy rain that often frequents the region of Lausitz. But you never know, there just might be a few ounces of Häkkinen’s slicks left somewhere in the pores of the tarmac. If so, I had them underneath my Toyos last weekend – and, frankly, I didn’t give a toss. I was more concerned with other things.

The Lausitzring is a full-blown FIA approved race track with several different configurations. At certain dates throughout the year there are Speeddays and it is open for the public in the evenings. And a couple of times per year the Speeddays run from morning till evening, as was the case last saturday and sunday. Anybody with a drivers licence and a street-legal car (or motorbike) can just show up there and take fifteen-minute turns around the 4.5 kilometer Grand Prix circuit.

I went there on saturday and sunday, which was not what I had planned, as it’s a one and a half hour drive from home. I was initially only going to go there on saturday, but when I arrived, the weather had turned grim and it was about to start raining. No big deal, usually, but I was on semi slicks and felt it was not such a great idea to have my first outing on unknown suspension and unknown tyres on an unknown track in the wet. Still, I got in line for one turn before the rain would pick up and made it back to the paddock safely, if not exactly fast. The rain had just started when I was waiting in the pit lane and the track was still dry when the light turned green. By the end of the turn, the track was damp and slowly got wetter. The uniform greyness of the sky left no doubt that it was only going to get worse. So that was pretty much it for the day. I hung out there a little longer with some Honda drivers one of which and his Integra Type R I knew from the Spreewaldring forum but had never met in real life. It was a nice bunch but after a while the cold and the rain got to us and I went home rather dissatisfied.

I returned on sunday to make up for it. This time it stayed dry and apart from the ITR driver there were also a couple of other guys from the STC, namely the driver of the green Celica previously mentioned and the driver of a black Opel Speedster. It was a fun day and although I only took two turns driving and one as a passenger in the Celica, I had a good chance to evaluate my new setup.

It’s a little hard to draw a comparison to the standard setup, because I had never been to this track on it, but first impressions are good overall. Body roll seems indeed reduced by a fair bit and the Toyos certainly do seem to give a lot more grip under power on track-out. How much more grip there really is, especially on turn-in and through the turns, I can’t say just yet. The Lausitzring is just so different to the Spreewaldring. Most corners are much faster (which is great, of course) and the track is a lot wider overall with large run-off zones and thus gives a totally different feel. What I can say for sure, though, is that the sidewalls of the Toyo R888 is much, much stiffer than the one of the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 I was using previously. I didn’t fully explore the limits of the Toyo, but considering that I have virtually no negative camber on the front, I see it as a good sign that the sidewall remained unscathed. Still, I will need camber bolts or dampers that give some negative camber by design to evenly wear the Toyos and to maximize grip in the turns.

I feel there’s no need for any analysis of my driving this weekend, as I see all three turns basically as shake-down laps to get to know the track and the new setup a little. I still had a blast – despite the fact that there were some numb nuts around who were obviously suffering from impulse control disorder. Here’s a video with a couple of laps from saturday and sunday:

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Only on the last run did I start to push a little harder (there’s no video footage available as I again screwed up when trying to turn on the camera). But my attempts were hampered by a disconcerting hopping and juddering under hard left cornering. I’ve always had this and attributed it first to the tyres. When it didn’t change with different tyres, I figured it might be due to the soft suspension. But now, with the Eibach springs and the stiffer Toyos it’s still there, so it must be something else. What exactly, I have no idea, I just know that it keeps me from cornering hard. I basically can’t get any kind of slip angle in left turns. As soon as I exceed a certain speed and a certain steering angle, the car starts to judder and I have to let off. It doesn’t feel healthy at all.

Next Speeddays on the Lausitzring are scheduled for May 20th, and from the 3rd of June on the track will be open to the public almost every tuesday evening. Which means I’ll have several chances to run over Ralf Schumacher’s DTM-rubber this year. I’m really looking forward to that.

As mentioned before, I had gotten the Eibach Pro System for my Clio. And it’s not that I didn’t have doubts when I ordered the Eibach Pro System if it would really fit. In fact, I knew the system consisting of dampers and springs was not listed for the Clio 172 on the Eibach website. Unlike at the shop I bought them from. Being the pessimist that I am, I tried to make sure beforehand which information was correct by asking the supplier. They were quick to answer and promised to ask Eibach directly about it. Sure enough Eibach supposedly informed them that the pro system would fit my car no problem. So I went ahead and ordered. Big mistake.

The dampers do not fit. They’re obviously fine for all Clios except the Sport version. The lower spring cup is somehow shaped differently on the Eibach and is missing the stop lug for the spring. We ignored this minor problem at first and tried to fit it anyway. Only to find out that the bolt holes in the damper bracket are only 12 mm while the bolts are 14 mm. That was a slightly unpleasent hit. Bummer.

I called my supplier, and after discussing the option of widening the holes with a drill, I decided that it would be best to just fit the springs for now and send back the dampers. The idea of losing material on the brackets and the risk of not drilling precise enough didn’t really appeal to me. So it’s only pro springs for now and the promise of getting a good deal on different dampers later on.

After that was sorted, getting the springs on the car was a quick job. We also put the track wheels on and although it was getting rather late, headed off to the TÜV (sort of like the German equivalent to the british MOT but with way tighter regulations) to get the springs, the rims and the new tyre size registered (yes, all those things have to be TÜV-approved to be road legal). It was too late however, and there were four cars waiting in front of us. So no luck there. On the way back from the TÜV, we already noticed, that the tyres were rubbing slightly on the rear arches. No big deal, really, but an assidious TÜV-Inspector – which most are – would probably not have passed us. I drove home with the new wheels on the car anyway. And got everything TÜVed on tuesday thanks to a not so assidious inspector.

I can’t really say how the changes affect the handling, yet. But the ride does seem firmer while not being harsh at all. So that is a good sign. Especially considering that the Toyo R888 is a semi slick and thus should be less forgiving due to the stiffer sidewall. There also seems to be less body roll and the steering is more responsive around the middle. The latter will be mostly due to the semis, while the former can be attributed in large part to the springs and a little to the wider track provided by the offset of 37 on the OZ F1s as opposed to 48.5 on stock rims. So that’s plus 23 mm front and rear. A final verdict will have to wait till after the next outing on the track, but things are looking promising. Except for the rubbing. But that will hopefully mostly sort itself out once the tyre has shaved off the plastic bits it catches. If not, it shouldn’t be hard to rectify.