Mork Racing

Cornering Balance Is Fluid

2011-10-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

This is to all those ladies and gentlemen out there. A paragraph quote from the book,

Going Faster, the go-to "singular improvement on the genre" of race drivng. In it is a paragraph quieting the bizzare urge of driving enthusiasts to think the placement of the engine define's the car's steady state yaw in a turn. Use of throttle and steering adjustments may be different due to different vehicular (and drivers, in karts) weight distributions, but as the Good Book says,

A frequent mistake is to use one of these terms to sum up a car's cornering behavior. Pronouncements like "Porsches oversteer," or "front wheel drive cars understeer," or "mid-engine cars are neutral" are too generalized. The same car can exhibit understeer, oversteer, and neutrality under different conditions, often in the time it takes to drive through one corner. The process is a fluid one where you get a feeling for the right vehicle attitude and manipulate the controls of the car to keep cornering with just the right amount of yaw and slip.

This just needed to be thrown out there, because after reading this its funny to imagine that people still write the opposite in sensationalist mainstream car, driving, and enthusiast magazines. Not only that people write this, but that there are numerous readers who believe it and let it limit their idea of what they "can" and "cannot" drive well.

If you watch the first one,

You will see that their pole laps were similarly distributed:

1:51.802 – Porsche GT2 RS
1:52.937 – Nissan GT-R
1:53.946 – Corvette ZR1
1:54.436 – Ferrari F430
1:55.342 – Lexus LF-A

In the racing video the Porsche was having some gear grinding trouble. It was on Godzilla's fat tail. The Lexus moved in to the front group somehow, and the ZR1, I'm afraid, raced slower, only slightly in front of the pricey F430. This is because we have an automotive culture which may or may not understand that a no fuss normally aspirated Z06 with less money spent on it than the Corvette ZR1's MSRP will give its magnetic suspension and other new tricks a lesson in handling.

But really, lets keep it simple with what we've got (or are willing to afford), which is likely not quite so engineered. A Miata for instance, racks up the miles with good mileage, has good gas mileage, a superbly engineered but not OVER engineered suspension and chassis, ... I could go on, but a short read in a few GRM articles will underscore my enthusiasm.

That said, plans these days are to establish enough income to acquire & install a new windshield, new brake disks, pads, other miscellaneous stopping components, new bushings ( I haven't even looked at them.), and then maybe soon enough after that, a clutch. Probably lastly I will acquire a hard top. Rear windshields on those are much longer and wider, wrapping what seems like 160 degrees behind your head. Great opportunity for higher visibility and lighting inside the cockpit, especially considering the imminent Missouri winter weather.

Read at least 1 page per day. AT LEAST.

Go Ahead: Take the Wheel

2011-09-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

This site:

Is a great resource as an introduction to participating in motor sport and continuing your racing education. Their blog is extremely insightful! Read it! Light will be shed, I insist it!

Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft

2011-09-24T10:59:00.001-07:00

Everyone knows the Youtube fan videos everyone makes of everything from kittens to remote eastern european countries to squid heads driving their Ferrari to 120 MPH on public roads while simultaneously holding a camera in front of the speedometer. These videos tend to have the worst music at the worst time. For auto enthusiasts, these kinds of people will stick music on over the sound of a specific racing video.

In this example there is music, but the music theme is so specific and the cinematographic shots are so pleasing to appreciate that this video is simply a joy to enjoy.

"Maybe I'll just buy a Miata"

2011-09-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Grassroots Motorsports, the official publication of NASA, is my favorite publication and only source of automotive news that I take seriously. I say this because they, like I, believe that a car not used for auto racing is not a car at all, but rather a waste of natural and human resources.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/mazda-miata/

According to the article, the most affordable ones are from 90-91, when production had not learned to meet demand. They can be had for as little as 1000 dollars but an affordable model will go a little over 2000 dollars. The other option is the '92-93 years because they had a better crank design.
Special edition models command a premium and are usually just a special color, unless one is looking for a '93 LE, which had Bilstein shocks, black exterior and red interior.

Upon further inspection, the R version of the Miata would be the best...

"From a racer’s viewpoint, the R edition is the one to have. Available in decreasing numbers from 1994 to 1997, these cars had a functional front air dam, manual steering, minimal options and the Torsen. The suspension was tweaked with slightly stiffer anti-roll bars and Bilstein shocks. Thanks to the stiff ride—called harsh by many—and a lack of options, these cars often sell for less."

According to the article I will need to look for a particular black front air dam, a trunk lid spoiler, and yellow shocks. That's my car car...
=============================================
PS

I wrote the above article in February or March of 2011. I purchased a '94 M edition Mica Blue Miata in April, with intent to beat it to death at the local SCCA Autox.

My Miata was purchased in a hurry. Somehow I felt it was the last Miata I would see for sale before the summer came in. And I REALLY needed a car, so that was a big factor. These things considered, I purchased it for $2300. I instantly purchased new tires and a new radiator.

As of today (9-24-2011), it still needs a new windshield and brake pads & disks before I do any motorsports in the car. This is how useless a job is. Paying very low rent and working like a dog this summer resulted in the bare minimum of maintenance for my car and wasted money spent on Tucker Tire Services. As is usual, when I get these things replaced, I will post it with a reference to the company I acquired it from and a picture of the product.

Miata.net, Redline, and Lucasoil

2011-07-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

So now I drive a 1994 M edition Miata. Its my driver, and I recently replaced the transmission fluid with Redline MTL as recommended by Miata.net:

I also added Lucas Oil additive to my engine for added endurance and performance.

This is awesome!

2011-01-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

Skip to 19 minutes to get to the dramatic part. I've never seen anything like it.

goracingtv on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Stockholm Karting Syndrome

2010-10-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

I spent my evening today doing what I love to do more than anything else.
I drove a torquey 14 HP 4-stroke Intrepid chassis Briggs Stratton powered World Formula kart. I have not driven a real kart for just over a year now and it felt really good. It may not have been a touchy two-stroke, but it was pretty fast and was running on rental-aged MG yellow tires.

Also with me was my friend Brian Williams at Designersconcierge.com

About an hour west of Minneapolis Proper, Stockholm Karting's track is .65 miles with 14 turns. Turns of note are two hairpins and a very interesting double-apex downhill left with changing cambers.

As is usual for my cumulative karting experience, I was too hard on the brakes. This does not mean that I was not willing to go fast through the turns, just that I have not learned to not lock up the brakes and upset the kart's balance upon corner entry. The supervisor of the day warned me that MG yellows cost 200 dollars a set and that I was abusing them. 10 laps cost 30 dollars, so I can see why they were trying to curb costs by giving me advice for my erratic and inefficient driving. This and that I have not mastered when during the turn to get on the throttle (inches before the apex). A lot of this has to do with the interference of braking upon corner entry. Although my Mychron was turned off, the supervisor expected I was running about two to three seconds off of competitive pace in that kart on that track. I reckoned he was right, as that is where I left off the last time I was recorded with competitors.

The facilities were nice, but I don't quite know about the folks running the place. Maybe its just because its rural Minnesota, but more likely its because I told them on the phone that we would be over there before sundown and we were "blood thirsty". Probably a combination. Anyways, they at least sold us our laps, so that was OK. Perhaps they warm up to familiar faces.

FSAE

2010-10-03T21:53:00.000-07:00

In wandering around the U of Minnesota Twin Cities campus where I go to school, I saw a paper on a board describing the school's FSAE team. Of course! Why hadn't I thought of it before? I mean, look at the size of the school's dedicated ME building! Gosh... finally an extracurricular I can get Balls Deep into.

For the uninitiated, FSAE is a student competition governed by the Society of Automotive Engineers.

There are over 100 teams, many are from outside the US, including but not limited to: Austria, Germany, and China.

Its all real serious. I decided to join the marketing department, which involves raising funds for the $30k+ annual budget

of the team. Among other smaller things. I like it, I look forward to learning something that will serve me. That is all.

NASA Midwest region, Autobahn Country Club

2010-07-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

I'm back in town from a weekend trip to the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois. I learned a fair amount about club racing and assessing my goals in racing in general. Firstly, I just want to say that I am impressed at how many classes they race at once per group! They split up the race groups between A and B, or Lightning and Thunder. As you could imagine, Thunder is the group where you will find higher power, more expensive cars ranging from German Touring Series to Super Unlimited classes. Lightning is filled with primarily Spec Miatas, 944 Spec, and variants of the Legends car.

Firstly, congratulations to driver Steve Kolrud for setting the NASA Super Unlimited record at this track's south configuration, a time of 1:31:8 in his home-built Can-Am inspired Corv-am.

My part as pit crew for the Kolrud sport racer was primarily recording tire temperatures/pressures and helping to pack/unpack the car and equipment.

Otherwise I spent a lot of time wandering around and shooting the shit with a plethora of racing drivers all very different from each other, but I do notice the club racer attitude prevalent at the venues I have driven and hung out at. This attitude is one of tight friendships, friendly social interaction, and the fact that racing is interpreted as a hobby by most the drivers at a club event, though most of them probably would not like it if you told them that its a hobby.

I am convinced that to be a faster driver, one must compete regularly at NATIONAL events, where the competition is brutal. What does this require? It requires driver skill for one thing, the first thing. You have to be able to push it out there, and you have to be able to swim right when you get into a series. I'm not saying you have to be winning, but it is a must to be able to negotiate aggressive traffic and be driving consistently within tenths of one's own laps. Of course, winning is the goal, but lets be lapping consistently first. The reason you want your skills as a driver to be up to par is because you want faith in yourself so that you can have sponsors who will sustain a relationship with you. This is tough! This is what its about though, and I am doing what I can to learn about racing sponsorship and marketing.

This refinement of driving technique requires SEAT TIME and COMPETITION.

Where are we aspiring drivers to find these things at a good rate where we can shed our bad habits? Learning proper racecraft is like learning to hold the tail of a tiger without getting swiped in the face. I don't care if its in karts, spec miatas, or stock cars, we drivers need SEAT TIME, and we need to be competing against several opponents who are under supervision of instructors, to make our time and money well spent.

Its tough, but I will share my goals and lay down my plan of action. Being that I carry out my aspirations, I hope to share what I have learned and serve others with the information that I use.

My assignment for my next post?

1. Research on race driving schools and report to here...

Jim Russell

Skip Barber

Bob Bondurant

Ron Fellows

And others that I may discover on my endeavors.

- which ones give the most seat time?

- the most comp time?

- most innovative driving techniques?

- which racing drivers have gone where?

- Data analysis? (This one is the most important to me)

The next article will be about making use of data acquisition at an event like this.

Coming soon...

2010-07-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

1. An article on Unlimited Class racing and why I plan to promote the ideas that make this series concept fantastic.

2. More news on my experiences with Steve and his Cor-Am adventures

3. News on how I will keep my highly tuned but still-needs-work Dodge Omni GLH-S

NASA Unlimited adventures

2010-07-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

It would appear I have made friends with a very interesting character in the motor racing world, Steve Kolrud. He has a driver profile on the NASA Midwest region website. Right now he drives his brainchild, the 2008 sports racer 'Corv-Am' as seen on his driver profile and the Corv-Am article in Grassroots Motorsports Magazine.

I walked into his garage to find him taking the wheels off the car to eventually get the disks off. He is replacing the used disks with new disks, keeping the used ones as spares. I learned the process of that and got to take off rear disks myself. A simple task, but I was happy to do it. I look forward to learning a lot more about Steve and his car.

Before we did that little bit with his Corv-Am, we went for a ride in my Dodge, being that we dig on things that go fast. I let him drive it to inspect the wheel for any strange vibrations. At one point we jacked up the Dodge to look underneath and inspect the source of a strange wooshing sound/vibration the car gets. We determined the car has oil, transmission, and CV grease leaks. Wonderful. After checking the transmission plug and engine dipstick, the consensus is that the transmission is fine, but the engine is burning and/or leaking oil at a fairly alarming rate. No big deal, just need to find the source/sources of the problem.

Next weekend I will likely be going to pit for Steve and his car at the Autobahn Country Club. I am going to try to document the experience to be able to provide a service to those who read this blog and keep up to date on my experiences. More later this week!

Grassroots

2010-07-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/3779/

I'm going to meet up with Steve today and look at his Corv-Am. I'm not going to buy it, but I may get to help in the pits with it on a track day here and there. Very exciting.

I'm now driving the GLH-S, and I am very excited to get it to an autox event. More on that later.

Fanatec

2010-03-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

My Fanatec racing wheel just arrived in the mail from home down south. Now I've got to get a computer rig working, or see if this thing will play GT5 on Brock's PS3.

Motorsports

2010-03-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Motorsports, hmm... to call it my hobby belittles it. Unfortunately, circumstances leading up to this point have not passively supported my dreams of professional drivership. So here I am, 21, with a few HPDE events and 5-6 kart races under my belt. Just a scratch on the surface of my driving talent, which is not very apparent yet. I highly desire admission to a few racing schools. I have done nothing to really get there yet, though it is the only real thing I desire. What am I willing to do to get there? Gosh, whatever I must if I must... Even if I hesitate or stutter, it will get done.

Race driving school is just the beginning. A school series is in order. The point of that would be to get the feeling, the groove of being in a prepared car in a series of races. I think nothing could be better than that for me. From there, the feel and preference of what kind of driving I want to do will continually unfold.

Jason Saini responded to an inquiry I sent him on Facebook. I was in college when I sent the message and I told him I want to know from the man in the shoes what it has taken him. The details are not as important as the big picture. A successful career that lends the time required to hone the skills of the driver. You need money, you need lots of money, the older you get the more money you need to support your lack of prodigal talent. Knowing marketing helps a driver to pull together funds. But lets just remember that before you can have marketing skills, you've got to be able to drive. They go hand in hand.

Aside from that, the key to actual driving success in motorsport is to relentlessly compare yourself and model the best. That means racing strictly in national championships. Even if it is humiliating, it is the only way to gauge your talent (or lack thereof)

So the main thing I must do at this point is contemplate a way for money to fall harmlessly into my possession, in exchange for my brilliant insight and genius in a specific or very general context. Oh, thank god for all this free time to think and meditate... its the best.

what kinda racin you like?

2010-02-25T19:33:00.000-08:00

What kind of racing gets me all kinds of amped up? What are the kinds of racing my life would be a dream come true if I could win a race in? Ready?

Multiple class endurance racing:

ALMS, Rolex series, Le Mans, Nordeschleife

Unlimited class racing:

Can-Am

Spec racing:

karts

Porsche 944 cup & Boxer cup

Mustang cup

Jetta TDI cup

Closed-wheel high-downforce:

custom fab cars, D-sport racers, Radicals

School series:

Bondurant, Bertil Roos, Jim Russell

I am committing to being a part of this world, to participate in these kinds of racing.

MVT

2010-02-19T16:55:00.000-08:00

I am looking into and applying to Lanier Technical College. They have a very specific AAS degree in motorsports vehicle technology.

Sabine Schmitz... real women do exist

2010-01-31T17:13:00.001-08:00

Another great racing website... Try to read the names of the turns on this map of the infamous 13 mile Nurburgring circuit. Then click on the pic to read some pretty wet and comical literature.

Slone

2010-01-29T00:22:00.000-08:00

I have found a role model. I can say that one thing I want to do is win school series races, such as the following that Mr. Slone here is participating and dominating in.

I have alot of getting going to do. I have got to get into the 5-day Bertil Roos racing school and hammer down the seat time. The five day school for about 5300 USD is exactly what will get me locked into racing mode. Think of it! Five days of intensive, professional instruction, hours and hours of lap time each day! Its the only thing I want to do.

What am I doing to accomplish this? I am reading Tim Ferris's 4-hour workweek, to join the ranks of the New Rich. I have alot of un-learning to do. A lot...

Its vague right now, but intensive inquiry will lead to accomplishment of the goal: How do I fund my driving education? Universe, drive me to accomplish this goal with minimum heart and headache.

automotive videos you should invest time in

2010-01-21T22:25:00.000-08:00

These are picture links to videos only real enthusiasts can enjoy.

SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

car magazines...

2010-01-21T20:58:00.000-08:00

I want to make something perfectly clear. I am not interested in street-legal cars. My dream street-legal car is Randy Pobst's TDI greasecar...

This does not mean that you should not own a hot street-legal race car if you can afford it. Just make sure that for your own self-worth you keep an extra set of wheels with ultra-soft slicks, because if you don't take your street-legal race car to the track, you are human trash not fit to live.

Just because they look cool and make cool noises and are expensive, does not make them worth your while. You know the difference between a Ferrari and a Lamborgini? Ferrari has a racing history. Buy the Ferrari. Period. No ifs ands or buts!

But wait, you're still not out of the chef's kitchen yet, you tasteless, overpaid tifosi shrimp.

You know the difference between a street-legal Ferrari made before 1973 and a street Ferrari made after 1973? The ones at and before 1973 were good. (pre-oil crisis) And they hold their value. And they have Connelley leather. They make carbeurated sounds that cars today could never impersonate. They required real men to drive them because they didn't have power steering. Like this little number... Never mind the corny music in the first 10 seconds.

Now, there are a few exceptions, and those are the supercars. The problem with these supercars is that they are produced in small numbers, so they rarely have a chance to prove themselves in homoligated racing. The other problem with them is that they hold their value and they are fucking expensive. But hey, thats why they're SUPER. The biggest problem is that collectors don't race these things, they cherish them.

I am into cars that take abuse. Cars do not beg to be cherished, they beg for abuse. The cars that can't take punishment ought to be recycled for cars that can. Cars like Jason Saini's Saferacer Miata.

How do I have this information? How am I, a young, poor student who can hardly afford to get to class in the morning be the go-to guy for getting your expensive car knowledge on?

I read. I read books, and I read magazines. I don't read Motor Trend. I don't read Car and Driver, or brand-specific magazines, I don't read tuner magazines. I read GRM and market letters. As a die-hard enthusiast who cares about nothing else, GIVE ME THE TORCH, let me be your spokesman for all that is good and great in cars that can handle track abuse, created by enthusiasts for enthusiasts.

Basically, what I am saying is that racing is a huge world out there, and very few know what exactly is the good stuff.

SafeRacer

2010-01-19T22:42:00.000-08:00

I hope I make the cut, I can't wait to cover my vehicle with sponsor stickers.

It is very likely I will be trading the Benz for a Dodge Omni GLH-S. It is not the exact car in the picture, but this is a depiction of the model.

And I might add, a more well-taken care of example than the one I may drive in the spring. It would be my distinct pleasure to put SafeRacer stickers all over it.

The main difference between this and the car I'll be driving is that the car I'll be driving will have around 350 HP, while the stock car has 175. Its alot of power, especially for a FWD car that I would intend only to autocross, not necessarily drag.

Things get weirder. The guy who worked on my dad's Omni (the he is considering trading with me) left the car in a kind of strange condition.

For stopping, its got Dodge Caravan front brakes, with Dodge Shadow rear brakes.

The springs in this car are stock, but the shocks are Konis.

soooo, somewhere in this car's small 40,000 mile life, someone stole the springs, and the brakes were replaced. I don't know if the current brakes are stronger than stock brakes or not, or whether or not they can withhold autocross stress. Oh well, trial and error I suppose.... I also gotta see the extent of the rust on the car, cause I don't wanna deal with rust. It may not be the right choice for me, so I don't know yet. .. .

The Ultimatum

2010-01-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

It all started the second semester of my freshman year of college. My dad offered me a seat in his Corvette for a Chin high performance driving event. That was the beginning of a new life and my fatal attraction to auto racing. From then on I felt that there is only one skill worthy for me to pursue. This skill is driving. College has taken up most of my time for the past three years, but I have found the opportunity to get a little bit of kart racing under my belt, as well as a couple HPDE events in my dad's corvette.

I realize now that the best way for me to learn to drive how I want to is with the curriculum and diversity of multiple driving schools. These schools are listed below with links to the specific class I want to take. I have found it is very important to have someone coaching you. Otherwise you can spend years being your own mechanic and race team and race coach, but you won't learn anything because you are not taking it from those who know.

So here it is, the curriculum for my degree in racing which I salivate to find the means to afford.

3 day MX-5 driving experience

3 day school of racing, advanced school of racing

4 day Grand Prix Racing course

Level 2 Corvette driving school

School is important to me. At this point I am pursuing my bachelors degree in communication. Its not exactly a skill set I find to be directly relevant to my only real interest.

Every minute of every day I spend thinking of how I am going to attend these driving schools. The career skills I truly desire are the ones that involve staying in control of a vehicle beyond the limits of adhesion. I have no other desires. No film directing, no product design, advertising, serving in the military, dangerous and lucrative jobs, only driving. Everything I do is with the intent to support my racing endeavors. It's not for fun, its a ritualistic obsession to be better at it than the day before.

So this blog will be about pursuing this short-term goal for my auto racing career. The short term goal is to attend the advanced driving schools in each of these schools.

The ultimate goal? To be consumed by the fires of the auto racing world, to know nothing other than auto racing. Singularity of purpose in my action.

This blog is for racing

2010-01-16T19:40:00.000-08:00

And that's just what I'm going to do. This is a place for me to solidify my ideas and present my plans for all the world to see. Think of it as a journal that feels time forward and backwards, plans, reflects, but most of all it will act as a platform for action.