Scottish Elises

Righto armchair critics... Feel free to rip my laps to bits, where am I losing time? My best time on the night according to harry was a 62.1. I expect there is a fair bit of time to be found in the car yet.

Lap times timed from video were:
62.9
62.9
62.9
62.5
62.2
62.3
62.5

Video Here:
https://youtu.be/CogVkY7Nbxg

Lines all look good, and nothing that I can see that's far away, listening to the engine, I think there is time from Duffus to the chicane, but without being in the car, or knowing what the track was like that night, it's hard to say.

Stu

Just to annoy you Ross, I had a look on my Harry's app and best lap recorded from my last session in May last year when I had same car as you was 62.0
But like you, I knew my car could do a lot better if I had bigger kahunas. Clarks was always a corner I never felt I got the best out of and must make a difference if decent speed can be maintained given the railway straight afterwards.

Thanks guys, i think dufus and clarks are my weakest, although I've gained a lot of confidence in the car through dufus I'm still not going into it as fast as I probably should. I've had mixed advice from instructors on how to approach dufus then Leslie's into Macintyre's. One instructor told me to keep right through dufus and take Leslie's fast and don't lift to bring the car over to the left for Macintyre's just be centre left and straight essentially losing time through macintyres entry but gaining more through Leslie's. The other approach is the line I was taking in the video which I reverted to after Kenny took me round (which really helped btw so thanks).

Clarks I'm trying to go deeper to take apex later but I find something unsettles the car maybe not slowing the car enough I don't know, clarks is hard and probably one of, if no the most important.

It's not in the video but I changed my line slightly on the chicane later in the day more left kerb and slightly right on entry that got me faster down to clarks as was just nudging the limiter before which I wasn't with the old line not sure it was saving me time tho.

I also think I should be on the power earlier to get the rear moving a bit more and kill exit understeer, this was from Walshy but it takes balls which I've yet to grow!

Looking at the lap quickly appears to me that you have room to make up and all the breaking zones and a couple of the corners you can carry more speed because you're not actually using all of the track on Exit.

Look at the point you get to full throttle in the corner. You're basically only at full throttle way after the apex. That's far too late if you want to go fast.

When you learn to go into the corner faster the car will understeer, to counter that understeer you need to trail brake a little and control the understeer with the throttle, blending between the yaw the trail braking causes and the oversteer the throttle causes, which will mean you're at a high throttle way before the apex. The car will not understeer, and will be accelerating earlier, and thus going faster through the corner and down the next straight.

Smooth driving, but smooth isn't always fast . . . driving the car through the corner using the throttle is just as smooth but requires larger testicles . . . at the moment you're understeer limited and don't have an understeer management mechanism in your skillset yet . . .

Take a caterham out and learn to do understeer management in a car that is a lot easier than a mid engined lotus . . . then apply it to the lotus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p7LHoHpHjk

Watch this, the first lap is scrappy as the tyres and brakes are cold, but listen and watch where the throttle comes on relative to the apex of the corner, see index 1500 approx, full throttle from entry all the way down the straight while understeer = tyre wall . . . this was early days in my single seater but is shows the principle and it works like a very angry Elise - only more vicious, anyway you need to be on throttle as soon as you are off the brakes, i.e. at the corner entry . . . if you get it you will understand that understeer is what happens when you don't use enough power . . . and oversteer is when you don't get it right

$0.02

Fd

Edited to add, here's another example of manic and fast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hRXjqtYQKQ

index 3800 to 4000, watch the steering angle and listen to the power setting, just on the edge. The great thing about open wheel cars is you can see it all happening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CGXCjRgCEw

Pretty much every corner is brake, set throttle, turn . . . I miss this beastie . . .

Thanks again chaps, fd I think you've nailed what I simplified as getting on the throttle earlier quite well. If I feel I get a corner entry right I can trail brake and rotate the car (consistently in mackintyres but nowhere else really) I'm definitely just waiting for the rotation to stop before applying throttle instead of keeping it moving through transition from braking to throttle so I'll work on that next time. Andy youreright braking is weak I know this as sometimes I fluke it brake well and find the car at corner entry speed way before the corner entry working on that.. Thanks for the guidance.

While i'm no pro (like some of the previous replies) i think you have time for an up and down change between the chicane and Clark's - i was taught to do it years ago and when i mentioned it to someone (may have been Neil - can't rememer his last name) he gained a reasonable amount of time according to the app he was using.

So just to update on progress... managed a 61.4 by basically doing what Fd suggested getting on the throttle MUCH earlier and significantly harder, car was handling great with pressures set at the Avon suggested 30 all round hot. I'm not happy though as it was hot 25c and intercooler was majorly heat soaked so losing loads of time on the straights despite a significant gain in corner exit speed from hairpin I was grabbing 4th well later down main straight and topping out at 105mph instead of the usual 111 so now hoping for a cooler dry day. So thanks for the tips all it helped give me the confidence to push past that little barrier and helped me to get the confidence to dial back the TC to 7% #thumbsup

My mate Neil Broome runs in FF. scottA spanners for him and is on here occaisionally - has an S1 Elise.

I know Neil got a Knockhill old-hand to go out with him and give some advise in his earthly seasons - I believe it helped. Would be worth tracking him down in the pits (Strongbroo racing) and asking him who did this for him? Tell him mik with the Evora sent you.

mik wrote:My mate Neil Broome runs in FF. scottA spanners for him and is on here occaisionally - has an S1 Elise.

I know Neil got a Knockhill old-hand to go out with him and give some advise in his earthly seasons - I believe it helped. Would be worth tracking him down in the pits (Strongbroo racing) and asking him who did this for him? Tell him mik with the Evora sent you.

Have you been around in the Evora yet?

No. Need to change insurer.