Speaking as a one-time Midget racer, running a 948 with open diff (4.55
usually, but I would have run a 4.2 at a big track like RA), I found the
hardest thing to learn, and the thing that rewarded the most with lower lap
times, was learning how to carry more speed into the corner (ie. not
braking). I would tend to drive hard into medium and low speed corners and
would develop understeer on turn-in which would almost instantly change to
oversteer since I would tend to brake almost all the way to the
apex. Higher speed corners I would often just give a confidence lift and
no brake, or just drive in flat, allowing the car to scrub speed thru the
entry part of the corner. Part of dealing with the open diff was trying to
carry as much speed as possible thru the first half of the corner, as I
knew I would be unable to hook-up and accelerate off the corner as early as
would be possible with a locked diff. In fact, I sometimes drove the
Midget a lot like my Cooper-S, using off-throttle oversteer to rotate the
car at the apex of slower corners, to get it straighter faster! (Cooper-S
had open diff, too)
Just to give an example, my best time at Mosport on skinny hard Dunlops and
the 948 was a 1:55. I was flat into one, two, lift and downshift into
three, flat over four, flat at the end of the back straight, lift and
downshift into nine, light brake and downshift into ten. The only hard
brake was into five. (When I say flat into, that doesn't mean I was flat
all the way thru the corner! I would feather the throttle to the apex then
be flat again as soon as possible).
all that said, the Hoosiers are far larger tires that I ran, and far
softer. You may just have too much tire for the power and weight of your
car right now.
Cheers, Brian
At 05:03 PM 11/09/1999 -0500, you wrote:
>Greg,
>
>All good advice but may be easier said than done. I raced my MGA with a
>stock 1500 engine, and open diff, for a few years. I found it very, very
>difficult to maintain a discernable drift, even with the skinny 5.00-15
>hard-compound Dunlops (which are bias ply). Just not enough torque
>available, for a relatively well-balanced chassis. I used to get some
>rubber build-up on the tires, but not as bad as you're experiencing.
>
>I suspect your Hoosiers might be wider than my Dunlops, maybe softer, and
>offer even more grip on a car with even less power, making it that much
>harder to drift.
>
>You might want to take your tires to a local retreading shop, or race tire
>shop, and have them shaved just a tad to remove the gloppy bits.
>
>You'll find it much easier to drift the car once you have a bit more
>horsepower for the chassis, and (especially) a limited slip.
>
>John will now lend me the Lister while I demonstrate ... right?
>
>Regards,
>Mark Palmer
>MGA #185 (but still not as sideways as I wanna be!)
>
>
> >From: "JOHN HARDEN" <JOHN.HARDEN@worldnet.att.net>
> >Reply-To: "JOHN HARDEN" <JOHN.HARDEN@worldnet.att.net>
> >To: <vintage-race@autox.team.net>
> >Subject: Fw: Hoosier characteristics (bias)
> >Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:55:49 -0600
> >
> >Brian is correct. We have the same problem with Dunlops on heavier cars.
> >You
> >must drift the car thru the corners if you want to keep the buildup off the
> >tires. regards, John
> >
> >
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: Brian Evans <brian@uunet.ca>
> >To: <Gregory_Schulz@mil-elect-tool.com>; <vintage-race@autox.team.net>
> >Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 1999 1:33 PM
> >Subject: Re: Hoosier characteristics (bias)
> >
> >
> > > This may or may not be what you want to hear, but...you're probably not
> > > driving fast enough! Racing tires do tend to pick up rubber, but if you
> > > get to where you're cornering consistently with a reasonable slip angle
> >on
> > > the tire, the build up won't build up, so to speak. The tires will
> >start
> > > to show an even graining across the tread instead. The rears are
> >probably
> > > better than the fronts now because you're spinning the inside rear
> >coming
> > > out of corners.
> > >
> > > Another indication is that you've got 7 events on them and still have
> > > "healthy" tread. Many guys will be buying new tires before 7 events
> >have
> > > gone by! So next year, you have a new goal - wear out your tires! Even
> >a
> > > lower powered Spridget can still have quite respectable cornering speeds
> >-
> > > just don't use the brake as much ;)
> > >
> > > Cheers, Brian
> > >
> > >
> > > At 01:42 PM 11/09/1999 -0500, Gregory_Schulz@mil-elect-tool.com wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > >Well, the bugeye is just about ready for winter storage. My first year
> >of
> > > >vintage racing with VSCDA up here in the Midwest was better than
> >expected: 7
> > > >events with no "dnf's" and only one "dns". I wasn't very fast running a
> > > >modestly
> > > >prepped 948, and I kept an open 4.22 rear in the car at every track.
> >But
> > > >we got
> > > >what there was out of the car by season's end, had a blast living out a
> > > >childhood dream, met alot of good folks, and that adds up to a
> >successful
> > > >season
> > > >for me.
> > > >
> > > >But, there's always something a (new) guy just doesn't get.
> > > >
> > > >I ran Hoosier A70-13 Street TD bias tires this year. I was pleased with
> >their
> > > >general on-track performance, but it was the condition of the tires
> >after
> >the
> > > >race sessions that distressed me the most. It never failed that by the
> >time I
> > > >got back to the paddock I had a terrible build-up of rubber on the
> >tread
> > > >surface. At Road America, where there are 3 brutally long straights,
> >vibration
> > > >was a definite problem. Even at shorter tracks with modest straights,
> >similar
> > > >unwelcomed vibration was a problem due to this build-up. It seemed that
> >I
> > > >could
> > > >scuff most of it off the rears during a session, but the fronts never
> >really
> > > >cleaned up very well. In-between sessions a knife worked well for the
> >bigger
> > > >chunks, but that persistent layering...
> > > >
> > > >I looked at them last weekend as I carried them down to the basement:
> >complete
> > > >rings of this stuff go around the entire circumference of the tires in
> >erratic
> > > >thicknesses from 1/16 to over 1/8". I thought to myself 'these suckers
> >aren't
> > > >even round anymore'. They were brand new this spring and have healthy
> >tread. I
> > > >can't imagine anything I could do to them would be worthwhile. Do I
> >need
> >to
> > > >rotate front to rear/rear to front between sessions next year (since
> >the
> >rears
> > > >do clean-up a bit)?
> > > >Any thoughts from experienced Hoosier users?
> > > >
> > > >Thanks,
> > > >Greg
> > > >'58 A-H Bugeye #517
> > > >Cedarburg, WI
> > > >
> > >
> > > Brian Evans
> > > Director, Global Sales
> > > UUNET, An MCI WorldCom Company
> > >
> >
> >
Brian Evans
Director, Global Sales
UUNET, An MCI WorldCom Company
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