Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2021 5:23 pm
Race 14 was at VIR North in the Jetta. With 3 races to go and the last FWD race, kinda figured this could be a strong result.
The practice race confirmed this. Qualified P5 of 18, was a bit wobbly at the start, but recovered to finish P4.
Between the practice and the race I was comparing telemetry with my friend Mark and saw I was putting in too much brake. I kinda wanted to firm up the pedal feel, and started working on the adjustments to achieve this. Well this uncovered a problem - my new pedals had twitchy input, and pressing the pedal to say 50% and holding it, the input from the pedal would slowly drop.
Quick research uncover there are other people having problems with their load cell in the Fanatec Clubsport V3 like mine. Grrr. This thing is only two months old. Switched back to the old pedals and did some practicing. Single lap times were the same I think I actually improved just a tiny bit.
Then the race came. I ripped off a good qualifying time and earned P7 starting grid spot. From there it went straight down hill and while I didn't crash I had an off and several slowdowns, along with inconsistent lap times and finished P17. Worst performance since race 4, and breaking a streak of five top 10 finishes. This also erased my points lead over the guy behind and we are now tied for P8 overall.
Worst part is that the parts I need are still not here and I have another race next Wednesday. I have a replacement load cell coming and a brake performance kit. The kit allows some adjustment on pedal firmness and reviews pretty much say you have to get it for these to work right. I have tracking numbers that say they will be here before Wednesday - we'll see.
Last Wednesday I did the practice race at Barber with the NC MX5. I qualified P3 out of 16. With limited practice my consistency was not good and I spun out three times including one with avoidable contact, ending up 11th. Last night I pulled out my old bag of tricks and made some adjustments which will hopefully help with consistency. I need to do better than 17th - mostly need to stay ahead of Charles K, and reasonably close to Mark K and Alex K if I want to stay in the top 10.
One last note: Fanatec won't sell me a spare load cell. Like only if it's broken. Well that is bad customer service. I'm in the endurance racing business and that requires spares. Can't see myself buying any more of their products.
The practice race confirmed this. Qualified P5 of 18, was a bit wobbly at the start, but recovered to finish P4.
Between the practice and the race I was comparing telemetry with my friend Mark and saw I was putting in too much brake. I kinda wanted to firm up the pedal feel, and started working on the adjustments to achieve this. Well this uncovered a problem - my new pedals had twitchy input, and pressing the pedal to say 50% and holding it, the input from the pedal would slowly drop.
Quick research uncover there are other people having problems with their load cell in the Fanatec Clubsport V3 like mine. Grrr. This thing is only two months old. Switched back to the old pedals and did some practicing. Single lap times were the same I think I actually improved just a tiny bit.
Then the race came. I ripped off a good qualifying time and earned P7 starting grid spot. From there it went straight down hill and while I didn't crash I had an off and several slowdowns, along with inconsistent lap times and finished P17. Worst performance since race 4, and breaking a streak of five top 10 finishes. This also erased my points lead over the guy behind and we are now tied for P8 overall.
Worst part is that the parts I need are still not here and I have another race next Wednesday. I have a replacement load cell coming and a brake performance kit. The kit allows some adjustment on pedal firmness and reviews pretty much say you have to get it for these to work right. I have tracking numbers that say they will be here before Wednesday - we'll see.
Last Wednesday I did the practice race at Barber with the NC MX5. I qualified P3 out of 16. With limited practice my consistency was not good and I spun out three times including one with avoidable contact, ending up 11th. Last night I pulled out my old bag of tricks and made some adjustments which will hopefully help with consistency. I need to do better than 17th - mostly need to stay ahead of Charles K, and reasonably close to Mark K and Alex K if I want to stay in the top 10.
One last note: Fanatec won't sell me a spare load cell. Like only if it's broken. Well that is bad customer service. I'm in the endurance racing business and that requires spares. Can't see myself buying any more of their products.