Weekend fun.

One of my buds and I went to Hallett to see if we could conquer the beast.

Two solid days of lapping. 20 minutes every hour. 9a to 5p.

Easy power wheelies over the top of the hill at T2. Top speeds of 125 in heavy traffic at 3 places on the track. Monsterous power slides in "The Bitch" (I'm hoping I'm quoting the right turn numbers and names for you carphiles.)

No action pics yet, but it was sorta fun.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...race/R1006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...race/R1005.jpg

Your tires look like mine after a day at the Mineral Ring this past Saturday!

I never saw any smoke coming off your tires, sammm... Or were you driving this car?

http://www.erikandersondesigns.com/i...s/DSC_6782.JPG

I had two "interesting moments" during my 2nd and 3rd laps after lunch yesterday.

1) I spooled the rear tire up while fully leaned over exiting the bitch. (T9)
2) I spooled the rear tire up in T4 as I made the transition from T3.

I had no further problems once the tires had fully heated, but both of them reminded me that 155 bhp demands respect.

Damn, that R1 is a fun toy, but it's a huge amount of work. You only get about 3 seconds of "relax time" per lap where you're not on a bull ride. Most of the time it's trying to wheelie, wiggle, shake or spit you off. The rest of the time is spent trying to keep the ass end from passing you in the air on the brakes.

Sounds like fun, were y'all running it clock wise or counter clock wise?

Chris

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Miatamaniac92

Sounds like fun, were y'all running it clock wise or counter clock wise?

Chris

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Counter. The "regular" direction. That track has a high fatality potential for MCs in the clockwise direction.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OUTRACE

Damn, that R1 is a fun toy, but it's a huge amount of work. You only get about 3 seconds of "relax time" per lap where you're not on a bull ride. Most of the time it's trying to wheelie, wiggle, shake or spit you off. The rest of the time is spent trying to keep the ass end from passing you in the air on the brakes.

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Stop it, you're going to talk me out of a literbike! For my needs, I know I could be happy with a 600, but a 929 can be had for not much more than an F4i. Hmm...

It's all about throttle modulation, right?

Yup, it's all about throttle modulation........ and a fast guy can make a 600 wiggle pretty damned well too.

Most of the track records aroud here were set on 600s. The literbikes own the big tracks, but only by a few hundredths of a second.

In street use, the only advantage the literbikes have is that you don't have to stir the shifter quite as often. As an example, Hallett is a 1st and 2nd gear track for the R1 --- 25 mph at the apex of the bus-stop and 125 down the front straight. 600's use 4 gears for the same lap.

The really scary part about the literbike is pretty simple. Make a mistake on the literbike, and they bite HARD.

In car-parlance, I can only draw a parallel between a Turbo 911 and a Miata. The Miata is easier than the 911 to reel back in once you've crossed the line. The Miata costs less to buy, maintain, repair and insure than the 911.

Literbikes produce 1 hp per kilo. That's 1 hp for each 2.2 pounds. We handle them on a contact patch that's 1/6 the size of a Miata's. You guys can do the math about how powerful a Miata would have to be to achieve 1hp/kilo (I don't know how much one weighs). Then try to imagine what a handful it would be at the track and on daily drives. Now think about rain! :shock:

In all honesty, I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't step down to a 600. I might be a lot faster if I wasn't wrestling an octopus. :nutkick:

On the other hand....... NAH! The octopus is fun if you can keep track of all the arms. :lol:

But ultimately, you have to make the decision. Face it, most vehicular decisions are led by ego, not logic. We're all that way, so buy what you want. I did.