FSP 1st Gen Protege Project

[cojsl]

Glad to hear it's getting to where you want it.
How do you like your chances against the updated Jinxmobile?

[XelderX]

Glad to hear it's getting to where you want it.
How do you like your chances against the updated Jinxmobile?

It's going to be a tough road. I've heard there are some more changes coming to Jinx's car soon. There are mixed opinions about whether those changes will make a difference or not. I believe our two cars are competitive with each other, but Jinx has a significant advantage over me in budget and seat time. I'll be lucky to make it to more than 5 local events before the Championships. I'm having a hard time getting weekends off at work, they've frozen our wages and cut way back on overtime availability. It's starting to look like I won't be able to make it to any of the National Tours or Pro Solos. I just don't have the funds this year to cover towing costs and new tires. Right now it's just very hard to compete financially.

[cojsl]

I'll be lucky to make it to more than 5 local events before the Championships.

So you aren't like Fauth- "Couple local events, go to Lincoln, win"?

[XelderX]

So you aren't like Fauth- "Couple local events, go to Lincoln, win"?

It sure doesn't seem like it after yesterday. I had real trouble just processing the course walks correctly. I've been so worried about the car being mechanically sound that I've gotten very rusty at all the other important stuff that needs to be done to stay competitive. We'll have to wait and see how I feel after a few more events. If I don't have any big issues to worry about with the car I can start to concentrate more on the mental stuff I need to do. The driving part comes back pretty easy for me, but the mental concentration and preparation takes some time.

[cojsl]

It sure doesn't seem like it after yesterday. I had real trouble just processing the course walks correctly. We'll have to wait and see how I feel after a few more events. If I don't have any big issues to worry about with the car I can start to concentrate more on the mental stuff I need to do. The driving part comes back pretty easy for me, but the mental concentration and preparation takes some time.

I've gone to- minimal coursewalks/ don't over-think the course beforehand/ look waaaay ahead- and have gone much faster.
The focus/ concentration is a project though.

[XelderX]

I've gone to- minimal coursewalks/ don't over-think the course beforehand/ look waaaay ahead- and have gone much faster.
The focus/ concentration is a project though.

That is usually what I do. I think my problem now is just remembering the dynamics of my car and using them in a course walk. Having not driven the car very much it's really tough to imagine how fast I can drive through certain elements. Right now the car is a lot faster than I think it is.

[wheresthericego]

this thread needs moar pics

[XelderX]

I took the car out for it's second event this year yesterday and got some great results. After cording a front tire last time I had to buy atleast a new set of fronts. I was only able to afford new front tires for this event so I put the old rears on and softened up the rear struts and dropped the rear air pressures expecting to be a little loose. First runs were a little loose, but the changes seemed to settle the car OK. As the tire temps came up and the sun came out after 2nd runs I started loosening the car up. We were running an airport course so there were some offsets and slaloms, but also a nice sweeper. On my 4th run I finally got the car to a point where I figured out what was costing us the 7/10ths we needed to be leading Pro class. I was hoping for an improvement in performance swapping to the Quaiffe LSD and it does help pulling out of the slower corners. In the larger/faster offsets the diff was causing the car to push as I lifted approaching the apexes of the corners. This was a little frustrating as that was what the car really did well on the old setup. We still had a few more lbs of air pressure that we could have safely let out of the front tires but I made the decision not to. By the 5th runs we were fighting a losing battle with grip as the ambient temps got very hot and the tires were giving up on the last half of the course. I'm not too disappointed about where the car is at, but there is still some work to be done to get it back to where it was. We have some strategies to play with the shocks/tire pressures to hopefully reduce the understeer without causing the car to be too loose everywhere else. The good news is that if I can't sort it out all I need to do is swap back to the old style diff and the car should be right back where it was last year.

[SgtRauksauff]

I had that a similar issue after putting the LSD in my wagon. It completely changed my approach to corners, and braking, and pulling out of them, it really threw me for a loop, took me almost a full season to finally get back on top of it. Thing is, i'd had that car daily driving for almost 10 years, so there was SO much 'muscle memory' to re-learn.

I ended up lifting/braking a LOT sooner than I had previously, and getting ON the gas way before I normally would; the LSD actually pulled me through the corner instead of pushing like I was expecting.

I'm getting antsy about getting the wagon back on the road, it's been about 3 years since I drove it, I'm hoping my old bad habits won't be there anymore, lol!

-sarge

[XelderX]

I had that a similar issue after putting the LSD in my wagon. It completely changed my approach to corners, and braking, and pulling out of them, it really threw me for a loop, took me almost a full season to finally get back on top of it. Thing is, i'd had that car daily driving for almost 10 years, so there was SO much 'muscle memory' to re-learn.

I ended up lifting/braking a LOT sooner than I had previously, and getting ON the gas way before I normally would; the LSD actually pulled me through the corner instead of pushing like I was expecting.

I'm getting antsy about getting the wagon back on the road, it's been about 3 years since I drove it, I'm hoping my old bad habits won't be there anymore, lol!

-sarge

Yea. That is my train of thought right now. The first few years of driving the Protege5 taught me how to use a lot of weight transfer to rotate the car. Now I've got something that will need a little different approach. I've always needed to get on the throttle sooner and this might be the best excuse to work on that.

[SgtRauksauff]

I remember the first time I ever drove a FWD car with an LSD... I'd popped the tranny in my wagon, so a buddy let me drive his ITU '95 civic hatch, with an ITR drivetrain. First honda I'd ever driven either, and I loved the 9k redline. I started driving it like I normally drove my own, and it kept taking more and more and more, and just wouldn't give up grip, it was freakin' awesome! Funny thing is, I actually beat him by about 2 seconds. Only guy to beat me was some guy up from the Chicago area in his 280Z, who'd been a multiple-time regional champion. That was my first time ever getting a trophy, actually, lol!

Do you ever run in-car cam? Or have someone film you from outside? I'd love to see/hear you going through a course!

--sarge

[FE3-323]

what was the previous diff you ran???

[XelderX]

Do you ever run in-car cam? Or have someone film you from outside? I'd love to see/hear you going through a course!

--sarge

My co-driver this season has a camera, but we haven't put it in the car yet. I'm hoping to have it in teh car at the next event. I'll definitely post videos if we get any.

what was the previous diff you ran???

I had a Mazdaspeed diff that eventually broke.

[FE3-323]

im surprised the quaife was giving you a headache over the MSP diff. the consistancy of the helical is more absolute & traction is greatly improved.....so @ least it is in my car

[XelderX]

im surprised the quaife was giving you a headache over the MSP diff. the consistancy of the helical is more absolute & traction is greatly improved.....so @ least it is in my car

I think it is just a difference in the way I am used to driving a car fast. I've always been a little late getting to the throttle in turns and this diff just makes that more obvious. The car was still fast enough before to make that error in my driving irrelevant, but a real National level driver in the car could get another .5-1 second out of the car over me. Now I have a valid excuse for driving it the right way.