SAD – Sunday Afternoon Drivers
Yep, that’s right. We drive around in circles on Sundays and we all wear a hat. However, as per out there on the road, if we come across a SAD, we don’t have the right to break the rules of the road in our frustration to get past, nor can we legally inflict road rage on them, they have the same right to be on the road as we have. And as a SAD, the annoyance you find with people tailgating you and trying to get past does not give you the right to brake test them or deliberately block them. The same rules apply on the racetrack! Whether you are leading the race, being lapped, dicing for … [Read More...]
Rolling Resistance
Have you ever put 30lbs in your Vee tyres and noticed how easy it has suddenly become to push? In short, it’s rolling resistance. The contact patch of the tyre to the ground has shrunk in relation to your normal pressures, giving you less resistance or effort required to move the vehicle. It may be impractical to use 30lb pressure in your tyres in a racing situation as that lack of contact patch to the track becomes a disadvantage, but other parts of the car can give you a similar resultant gain. The most basic of resistance in our cars come through the brakes. Be it either drums or … [Read More...]
Wheel Alignment
Hi, this time I’ll cover a basic Formula Vee wheel alignment. This will use the string method which is the only practical method you can use at a race track. Firstly you need to get something that you can tie string to that has a height roughly at the axle height of the car. Two bars with pins the same distance apart set up on car stands will do. The idea here is to set two parallel strings either side of the car and have the car set up with its centerline parallel to the strings. When you measure from the string to the car you won’t have the same measurement front to rear, but side to … [Read More...]
Change For Change’s Sake
I have noticed recently a lot of drivers wasting precious lap time and making their car unstable through careless gear changing. Some might wonder how you could possibly make your car handle worse with the gears? Let me tell you, it happens! There is also much to be gained from an efficient up change, and understanding when is the correct moment to change gear. Let me start with the 4th to 3rd gear change, the “down change”. We have all heard it, I cringe when I do, that screaming engine noise at the end of the straight where a driver has thrown it to 3rd before slowing down… ouch. … [Read More...]
Follow Us!