if the course has more right hand than left hand turns, a passenger may
well be faster. i remember mr davis winning on a third run with a
passenger on such a course (this is after over hearing a competitor say
he had obviously given up trying to win because he took a passenger).
ive not noticed much difference, even in my light car. it still depends
more on how well i drive. in a miata i notice it a lot more.
james
OSP - Other Seat Prepared
PAUL TIBBALS wrote:
>Mike,
>I feel the same way about ride-alongs, fun factor, and teaching, though
>obviously you're going to get more thrill seekers for the Z06. I'll almost
>always grant a ride-along on my first run (except to someone who I think might
>go faster than me - for some reason they've never asked anyway ;-) If I am
>worried about scoring, which is most of the time, I may not do so on 2nd. 3rd
>(or last, depending on run count for that day) I pretty much want to go my
>fastest for my own sake, so not then either. And the folks doing the asking
>seem to understand just fine.
>
>Fun runs, just about whenever.
>
>In fact, I'm betting that my competitors have been sending the would-be riders
>over to me when asked. Not a problem, really.
>
>It's just the other aspects of ride-alongs that detract from the idea.
>
>How much time do you think a passenger costs? I've heard 1/2 sec, 3/4 second.
>Of course it probably varies with the car, and course. Sacramento on Sunday
>was mostly right turns, and the ride-along on my first two fun runs probably
>helped balance the car. Of course, I finally got the course right and picked
>up 1/4 second (on a 32 second course) even with the passenger! With my big
>boat the percentage of performance lost for another +/- 150 pounds is smaller
>than, say, in somebody's Lotus.
>
>Paul T #35 (it's an old joke) Team Grocery Getters
|