Car Control Clinic at the Golden Gate Chapter. 2000 June 10, Marina Airfield, Marina (Monterey, CA) update: I ran another Car Control clinic, this time at 3com Park in San Francisco. Generally, it was quite similar to the previous event in Marina (Monterey, CA). Noteworthy differences: * more older models participating -- more E36, fewer E46. * a bigger space allowed for more room between cars running a particular drill and cars queuing up for it, and more room for the skidpad runoff. * the pavement was more irregular, as it's sloped for parking lot drainage, not for airplane taxiing. Also more litter and broken glass, though some early morning setup workers were out there with brooms. Thanks, guys! * the northeast skidpad in particular was over a crest, so there were distinctive up and down sides. I ran a 1997 Jetta /// GL (stock). The Jetta's soft suspension makes the exercises interesting, and really shows the effect of pre-loading during the entrance to turns. Throwing this car into a turn prompts a sharp roll, then a rebound off the springs and transient weight re-distribution. Smooth turn-in, corning, then exit builds, holds, and releases corning loads and weight transfer to the outside wheels without the unsettling rebound. The soft suspension was surprisingly compliant and maintained traction to keep pulling the car over the crest as I circled the skidpad. Torque steer was noticeable, and made the exercise much easier to run CCFA (counter-clockwise from above). At the end of the slalom, there's a 210 degree hairpin, and tapping the brakes after turning in lightened the rear end and rotated the car effectively. It also startled the instructor when done on the first student-driven lap. Thanks to the instructors (esp. Marco) and volunteers who made this event possible. Original review: Here are my impressions: About 60 cars and drivers present on an old military airfield 2 hours south of San Jose, CA. This area features active small aircraft (Piper Cub, Cessna, etc) helicopters, sky divers, and go cart racing. And no amenities. No drivers' clubhouse like at Silverstone, but we enjoyed Monterey weather of sun with occasional cloud and moderate breeze, and it wasn't too hot to wear a helmet. (Think two miles inland from Pebble Beach). The drive down from 6am to 8am went easily, as weekend traffic starts at about three hours later than the weekday rush. The cars: Audi A4, M-B 420 SEL, A2 VW Golf GTI, Toyota Tundra TRD 4WD pickup, an old Porsche 911 (Lily & Aaron) and the usual bevy of M3, a 7er, various 5er, and a surprisingly large number of e46 coupes and sedans, and two old 2002. The E36 was the most represented body type, with Squid and Earl '160,000 miles' Webster bringing the only TI. There was an M Coupe or two, a 3er convertable, and an M roadster. At 8am a simple tech inspection: somebody with greasy gloves man handles the wheels to see that they're attached well to the car, checks that the battery is secured, the brake pedal is firm, and complains about any loose stuff likely to rattle or slide around in the car. Hint: bring a tarp and a big tupperwear hamper to put all knicknacks in before you start driving the exercises. The road: An old concrete airfield with a little sand on top and a few weeds poking through, and a few missing chunks towards the outskirts. Fortunately I found no unusual settling or sinking[*], and thus there are smooth joints between slabs and not much worry about catching an edge when sliding about. Also, there was a large paddock area out of harm's way where it's safe to rest, read, chat, and tune your auto with the tools from the hamper. [See hint, above]. The airfield is set out with cones into five sections: one braking, two skidpad, and two slalom. The braking/moose exercise: Drive straight, change lanes and change back to the original lane. In detail: Drive straight ahead, get up to speed, approach a rectangle one lane wide and two car lengths long. Watch the lights, and pass to the left or the right of this rectangle as indicated by the lights which were illuminated at the latest moment. Having passed the rectangle, return to the original center lane and stop in three car lenghts. Easy at 45 mph, really difficult at 60 mph. The intent of the exercise is to train students to turn then brake then turn again then brake again, and to not turn and brake at the same time. I suspect that to run quickly and get on and off the brakes smoothly, you would have to blend turning with braking. I was coasting in anticipation of braking as I approached in second gear and affecting some engine braking when I should have held a steady throttle. Another exercise is the slalom. This is an around the block design, with the first side offering narrower and tighter turns and the back side faster more generously spaced turns. Begin: about 8 cones, an easy 20 mph slalom, a wide u-turn, then back through a faster 6 cone slalom at 30 mph, then another wide u-turn and you've completed a lap. Keep going until you knock over a cone or complete three laps. If you really known where your tires are, say because you've been paying attention when driving over bots dots in your civilian life, you can place your car close to the cones and need not turn too much. What I learned in this exercise is how to visualize the turn and apexes created by the series of cones. A strategy of "look at the next cone and go there, then turn and look at the next cone ..." will be slow, and likely lead to running over cones or missing turns altogether. The 2002 and GTI were really good at the slalom. The other interesting point is that I could see cars getting out of shape at least 2 or 3 cones before they went of course; this observation again emphasizes the merit of the driver looking ahead more than one cone at a time. If you are using this exercise to prepare for autocross, rather than just an exercise in seat of the pants vehicle dynamics and defensive driving, another important lesson is the moment to moment objective is not just to get to the next cone ASAP, but to place the car at cone so as to be optimal for getting to the *following* cone ASAP. Looking several cones ahead, and keeping a rhythm are the techniques attained. The last exercise was the skidpad. This is the hooligan exercise, where we drive around in a small circle, and make a little smoke and a lot of noise. But actually, the course is not a circle, it's a an oval -- think of a clock face about 300 feet from 9 to 3 and 200 feet from 6 to 12, and the objective is set the helm once, and then subsequently to steer with only the right foot, tightening and loosening the line for a total of ideally only four movements in every orbit. The M3 E36 orbits in 5 seconds, the 911 in 6.5 seconds, the Toyota pickup about 8 seconds in this untimed non-competitive event. It's taught not as a power oversteer course, but rather as a lift-throttle oversteer course. Starting at 3 o'clock on the clock face, apply full power and moderate left steering lock, and accelerate to 12 o'clock as understeer builds. At 12 o'clock, lift off the power and the tail steps out and the line tightens, and you pass by the 9 o'clock cone, get back on the throttle, speed up and straighten out the line *without adjusting the steering wheel*. At the 6'oclock cone, lift once again, feel the right front tire increase its grip, and turn you sharply into the 3 o'clock cone. To keep speeds down and people in control of their cars, there's also an outside cone at the three o'clock corner, which keeps the course tight and prevents drivers from perverting this exercise into a 100 mph 600 foot oval powerslide. Judging that most of the tire smoke I saw was from the front tires as people scrubbed off speed, I'd summarize this exercise as power on understeer, power off neutral, though an abrupt lift of the throttle really got the rear end out, in everything from the 911 (of course) to the computer damped e46. The people: The instructors were a kind group. I rode with Dean a few times and some olher gentleman with a bushy gray moustache. I'm generally nervous with somebody else driving especially in my car, and I've never used valet parking, but the first time through the slalom, I rode shotgun and Dean took my TI through the slalom quickly and very smoothly, and also had the courtesy to not adjust the driver's seat. (TI lacks seat adjustment markings, power adjustments presets or memory). Dean also observed me driving, and caught me not looking beyong the next cone, and turning after the cone rather than before it. "Hit the cone with the back wheel !" is the tactic. I've spent too much time in other environments where the "instructors" behave more like chaperones or wardens, or pr flacks, so these helpful volunteer instructors were really appreciated. I was worried about fogging up my new full face vented Arai Quantum/f because it would fog up in the Road Rider showroom, but with the visor open and the car windows down, my glasses would mist up only slightly and clear quickly. I was also worried about headroom, as it's awkward to get my XXL lid into the car and under the closed sunroof, but actually it was quite effective to just wedge myself in place as I stiffened my neck, thinking of the sunroof as just another dead pedal. Memo to self: get a neck brace before track school. Misc. Cost: $45 registration, $5 gas, 9 hours, slight furring of the outside tread block of my new Yoko 520A tires. I knocked out one foglight hitting cones on the moose exercise, but it clips back in; nothing broke. Recommendation: marshalls should flag cars with dangling bits. Maybe we should tape up under the bumper lights before heading out on the course. I noticed an older 5er with some loose front brake ducting. Idea for improvement: The queue of cars should be a bit further away from and off the line of the exercises. It's quite exciting to watch at M3 in second gear and 6000 rpm point straight at me only 200 feet away, but if the driver panicked, stepping on the gas instead of the brake, or tried to save a spin with a heroic power on powerslide and went off course, there could be a serious accident.Here's a second opinion. And another. And another.
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