More Gen3 experience
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 4:08 pm
Well, I got to head down to TWS for the tire testing a few days ago and as part of the deal, I got to drive three different Gen3's.
All I can say is wow.
After my first lengthy stint in the car (I was on a different set of tires from what we are running now, and they were ... challenging... to drive at the edge), I got out, debriefed with the tire guys and walked directly to Mike who, as always, had his head in the engine bay of another Gen3.
I said very simply "congratulations, sir... you have created one amazing beast".
I absolutely love everything about the Gen3. The sound, the feedback, the handling (which I expect will be much, much better once we settle on a tire and baseline set up)... all of it.
Times were *significantly* faster than the 1.9 car which just added to the excitement.
I am sore and have bruises all over me from ill-fitting seats and a lot of laps (at one point I ran 50 laps in about an hour and 15 minutes) but I have nothing but fond memories of the experience.
In one of the cars I ran I couldn't get the data system to show me RPM, only MPH. It had shift lights but seeing as it was someone else's car and I didn't know the shift light settings, I played it conservatively and shifted at the second green light. I ran gears through the corners that felt right for that shift point, and was disappointed in my times. After talking with Brian Schofield who was in a car with a numeric tach, I realized that maybe I was underutilizing the engine. I asked Mike and he informed me that I had been shifting between 5700 and 6000 RPM. D'oh.
So I went out and dropped a gear in three corners, ran the tach to the flashing lights (never hit the rev limiter at 6750) and was instantly 2 seconds a lap faster in two semi-hot laps. Wow.
I came in immediately after that to follow tire protocol and when I went back out I was prepared to gun for a quick time. Unfortunately on the first hot lap the LF wheel bearing decided it was done at that point and it ended my day in that car (and my testing as I had to head home).
I won't speak to any of the tire testing results (that's Enterprises' job ) other than to say that we have some excellent options for 2016 and beyond.
One other anecdotal note: Gary Glanger came down to run Kevin Ferguson's Gen3 for a few laps. Gary is crazy fast and is going to be a major factor at every race he enters. He came in after a few laps (I think he went pretty quickly as well) and was more animated than I have ever seen him. I could see his child-like grin through his helmet eyeport.
The one comment that stuck with me was "Oh man, I don't ever want to drive my 1.9 again!". Too funny.
So in summary, be excited. Be very excited. These couple of days also allowed the Enterprises team to gather a lot more data on the Gen3 as well as work on some of the small pre-release challenges/tweaks that remain (again, I'll leave that conversation to them).
The car I ran the most (Comprent-provided) was nigh on bulletproof other than the wheel bearing and one other minor issue that didn't effect my on-track sessions in any measurable way.
So again, be excited. Mikey and team have provided us with something to be stoked about.
Denny
All I can say is wow.
After my first lengthy stint in the car (I was on a different set of tires from what we are running now, and they were ... challenging... to drive at the edge), I got out, debriefed with the tire guys and walked directly to Mike who, as always, had his head in the engine bay of another Gen3.
I said very simply "congratulations, sir... you have created one amazing beast".
I absolutely love everything about the Gen3. The sound, the feedback, the handling (which I expect will be much, much better once we settle on a tire and baseline set up)... all of it.
Times were *significantly* faster than the 1.9 car which just added to the excitement.
I am sore and have bruises all over me from ill-fitting seats and a lot of laps (at one point I ran 50 laps in about an hour and 15 minutes) but I have nothing but fond memories of the experience.
In one of the cars I ran I couldn't get the data system to show me RPM, only MPH. It had shift lights but seeing as it was someone else's car and I didn't know the shift light settings, I played it conservatively and shifted at the second green light. I ran gears through the corners that felt right for that shift point, and was disappointed in my times. After talking with Brian Schofield who was in a car with a numeric tach, I realized that maybe I was underutilizing the engine. I asked Mike and he informed me that I had been shifting between 5700 and 6000 RPM. D'oh.
So I went out and dropped a gear in three corners, ran the tach to the flashing lights (never hit the rev limiter at 6750) and was instantly 2 seconds a lap faster in two semi-hot laps. Wow.
I came in immediately after that to follow tire protocol and when I went back out I was prepared to gun for a quick time. Unfortunately on the first hot lap the LF wheel bearing decided it was done at that point and it ended my day in that car (and my testing as I had to head home).
I won't speak to any of the tire testing results (that's Enterprises' job ) other than to say that we have some excellent options for 2016 and beyond.
One other anecdotal note: Gary Glanger came down to run Kevin Ferguson's Gen3 for a few laps. Gary is crazy fast and is going to be a major factor at every race he enters. He came in after a few laps (I think he went pretty quickly as well) and was more animated than I have ever seen him. I could see his child-like grin through his helmet eyeport.
The one comment that stuck with me was "Oh man, I don't ever want to drive my 1.9 again!". Too funny.
So in summary, be excited. Be very excited. These couple of days also allowed the Enterprises team to gather a lot more data on the Gen3 as well as work on some of the small pre-release challenges/tweaks that remain (again, I'll leave that conversation to them).
The car I ran the most (Comprent-provided) was nigh on bulletproof other than the wheel bearing and one other minor issue that didn't effect my on-track sessions in any measurable way.
So again, be excited. Mikey and team have provided us with something to be stoked about.
Denny