Most effective single vehicle mod to reduce lap times

blacky · Post by **blacky** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:55 pm

Assuming you can drive a bit (ie have a feel for what the car is doing, know what an apex is!! etc), and the car isn't rubbish then the biggest thing ever ever ever is decent tyres, and the right one for the given application.

Ie put a car with more power, fancy suspension and Wanglong Ditchfinder 5000's v's the same car model with standard power, standard struts and springs with Carlos Fangdango Uber Sticky's then I know which I'd put my cash on

jap.slapper · Post by **jap.slapper** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 10:12 pm

What tyres/sizes/widths are most of you guys running at the moment (wet and dry)?

am I right in thinking a lot of guys are going for R888 as a decent default tyre?

Monster · Post by **Monster** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 10:54 pm

Agree with all of the above in terms of seat time and the benfits of tuition where you are able to maximise what you have before looking at mods.

Tyres I also agree with but assuming you aren't running nankang ditchfinders then I do rate brakes very highly having finally driven some proper stoppers.

Easy weight reduction of course is cheap and worth doing.

Knowing what your plan is bud I'd go:

1: Seat time
2: Cadwell & get a time
3: work out from there where to find the time you need and thus the mods that will best help get you there

Either that or put your money on the fairly safe bet that his 700bhp will last even less time than mine, then cruise past the smoking wreck on your remoulds, chocolate brakes and full weight set up while reclined and smokin a fag

jap.slapper · Post by **jap.slapper** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 10:59 pm

Monster wrote:
Either that or put your money on the fairly safe bet that his 700bhp will last even less time than mine, then cruise past the smoking wreck on your remoulds, chocolate brakes and full weight set up while reclined and smokin a fag

Bugger, I've already binned the ash tray and fitted buckets as the total amount of my weight saving.....should I put the ashtray back in then.....that'll cost me at least a 10bhp defecit though, but worth it I suppose

Monster · Post by **Monster** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 11:26 pm

flick the ash out the window bud, best of both worlds

Pike · Post by **Pike** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 8:57 am

I'd go further than seat time and say 20mins with an instructor is the most cost effective way to drop your lap times.

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 2:50 pm

Monster wrote:flick the ash out the window bud, best of both worlds

But what about the drag (no not on the fag) the other drag

Maxx · Post by **Maxx** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:51 pm

[quote="Stuart"]...

It's a dangerous game comparing other people's lap times as there are so many variables. An honest before and after with tuition will help you enormously and in terms of value for money a day with someone like Malcolm Edeson will be amongst the best

jap.slapper · Post by **jap.slapper** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 6:56 pm

Maxx wrote:
Taking weight out does work but perhaps not as much as people think. I use a rule of thumb (that is quite common but conservative) of +10kgs ADDS 0.10 per minute to a laptime, so just reverse that.

Maxx

I understood all of what you were saying apart from that last bit mate

+10kg adds 0.10 (what?) per minute to a laptime?

Do you mean for example that by adding 100kg (ie. ten times the above) then you add 1 second to your lap time?

Surely you don't mean 0.1 of a minute (ie. 6 secs)....

and I assume this is on the basis that all things are equal with a driver/vehicle/track/conditions etc

Could you just clarify please mate

*and I think I've seen your threads/posts on DW, something about an MR2/MX5 rings a bell

Maxx · Post by **Maxx** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:38 pm

jap.slapper wrote:I understood all of what you were saying apart from that last bit mate

+10kg adds 0.10 (what?) per minute to a laptime?

Sorry, should have added a "sec" to the end of that to show 0.10 sec (tenth of a second)

I use it to estimate to cost of me as a passenger. So i'm about 70kgs wet through, so if a driver does a 2min lap of Snetterton 300 with me in the car i'd estimate I add 1.4 secs so his best "theoretical" lap without me would be 1:58.6.

If you take that analogy, if you did a 2:00 lap in your car solo and you removed 70kgs you should go about 1.4 secs a lap FASTER with the less weight.

If you removed 10kgs that should = 0.20 sec a lap.

It does vary massively though and that is a) a generalisation and b) quite conservative. It genererally hurts more on hard braking and accelerating from slow corners so would tend to be more noticable at Snett. It shouldn't effect cornering speed that much as although you have more weight to corner you also have more weight pressing down on the tyres, giving more grip. It does hurt though if you have a car with lots of roll or a high centre of gravity.

It also varies with the power of the car BUT it is always there (as you hear in F1).

From memory my 70kgs costs nearer 2.5 secs at Snett so a 10kg weight saving SHOULD save 0.35 sec a lap.

*and I think I've seen your threads/posts on DW, something about an MR2/MX5 rings a bell

Yes, MX5s and MR2s get mentioned, it's just an intro thread which has expanded a bit.

Maxx