Team W116 at Sandown

[oscar]

Pics are in from today's meet at Sandown Park Raceway (Melbourne) where 13B and selfor50's 450's graced/tore up the circuit .  Just a shame they were in different groups. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzjA-S1CelI

[John Hubertz]

Wonderful and fun!

I especially like the necessary addition of the rear wing on the white beast - must have been dicey losing control due to lift   

Perhaps you might eventually need to add weight to keep the cars firmly on the track   

[oscar]

More weight, or bigger wing.   that's a USpic but I got no idea where I pinched it from.




It was a fun day and the w116's get some looks.  Who knows, with current cheap w116's so cheap, this may be the start of a new group of racing. 

[SELfor50]

Thanks for posting the pics Oscar!!  It was a great day out, and good to catch up.
Was really nice seeing the 2 beasts next to each other, each with their own individuality. 

Can't wait to see povo in the lineup!

[oscar]

Got another vid up.  This is the DV stuff though it's better than the SD card youtube still massacres it but it's good to watch. Plus better sound.  Turn up da volume and sub

Just wish I took more DV and from down the bottom of the ramp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv2dTnGL1Ic

[WGB]

Thanks for the video - lovely to see a 116 and hear the sound.

Now about that 6.9 version......

Bill

[craigb]

Have to wait until I get home to watch this.

Just got news this week that we have another couple of people going to take the plunge and sprint. They haven't picked a car yet, so I reckon a white (traditional German racing colour!) W116 would make a great addition to mine and Andreas. The great part about this is that we then will have enough for the 6 hour team event next year (Minimum of 3 cars and 4 drivers). With your 3 interstate cars we could have 2 teams..... but it is a long way to come. Make a holiday out of it? We would have room at our place to keep accomodation costs down too. Anyway, will keep you posted and let you know as soon as the date for next years event is decided (as a guide, this year was June 1).

The other thing that was agreed to at this weeks MSCA committee meeting (in response to me looking for ways to get more club members involved) was to have a 'come and try' entry at our September 13 event. Cost will be just $25 for the one day cams licence and drivers will have an experienced instructor next to them offering advice on driving lines, braking points etc. Only 4 cars on track at a time and well spaced so very safe. How can they refuse such an offer and i am just hoping that at least some will get bitten by the bug. The more the merrier! Andreas reckons he will be there in his 6.9 and expect to be hassled Bandolero! Any other Adelaide forum readers, let me know if you are interested. Entry for this part of the day is limited to 20 people. Also your car for this event only needs to be roadworthy and with no special preparation. You will need a helmet but you can pick up an open face Australian standards helmet for about $50, or you or a mate may already have one you can borrow.

Also at some stage I should get advice on recording my fun in August. I have seen people with DV cameras strapped to the head rest I think for in car camera action. Is it easy to transfer Oscar and do you need somewhere to host it? I am a bit of a computer dummy!

[oscar]

Another two! Fantastic!

I'd love to come to Adelaide.  Every track's a hike for me although Adelaide's up there at around 800km away, but still doable with enough time to plan.  When the time comes closer I'll see if I can get holidays, save up the $ and make it a reality.

Agreed WGB, I'd love to see a 6.9 regularly on the track or even just a one off.  Ideally I'd love to see footage of all the variants or most of them head to head just to view the performance differences.

Craig, regarding transferring video, anything I've used has been available for download on the net.  For that last video, I used Windows Movie Maker (WMM).   That's if you're running a WindowsPC, don't know about other platforms.  Google it and it wont be hard to find.  You've got to have an AV connection from a DV camera to computer which if you haven't got one with your camera, easiest thing would be to visit a camera shop and buy the correct lead (or go online if you know what exact cord you need).  Under WMM there's a link to "acquire video" and you simply start the capture after pressing play on the camera.  When finished you click "stop capture" then File, Save Movie, and nominate how big the file should be.  Once saved on to your computer, you get on to youtube.com , join, then follow instructions to upload. 

There's probably too much info there for now even though that's a basic how-to on what to do.  It's just another one of those programs or tasks you'll get quicker at with practice.

[SELfor50]

Craigb - here is a 1st grade demo of the 'Headrest-Cam'. 

These are the in-car vid's from Sandown.

1.  Link
2.  Link
3.  Link

1st one has an 'incident' at about the 4min mark.  That cause me to miss the next sprint while repairs took place.
2nd one got back out there and bettered my times.
3rd one is the final sprint of the day, where my PB was set and on the last lap of the day too.

Turn your speakers up really loud...enjoy the V8 sound!

Cam. 

[oscar]

The third one looks so much smoother and more control around corners.  I'm not talking about the "off" either, there sounds to be more grip with less of the inside wheel lifting and sapping speed.  Awsome stuff Cam.  At all the regular tracks it's going to good to see how familiarity brings the times down.   Also noticed how bumpy the track can get.  Again, not talking about the "off" just the undulations leading upto and between corners.  From a distance on the day, the track looked flat as.

[SELfor50]

Thanks oscar.. By the end of the day i'd realised that if i use the full width of the track (including the ripple strips) that when the outside wheel is up on the ripple strip it pushes down the inside wheel giving it grip.  I also started to get the feel of not braking as much and relying on the firm suspensino a little more.. eg not braking too much then having to use the throttle through the corner, but instead, braking less and rolling through the corner with pace using the firm suspension.... Though I wasn't ballsy enough to really push this theory too much.

My next test for the hill-climb this weekend will be a theory taken from the top gear episode where richard hammond drives the F1 car.  They tell him to decrease the time it takes to apply the brake after getting off the throttle.. Thinking about it, I take AGES to get on the brakes after releasing the throttle.. if I minimize that time i can brake a little later and squeeze a few more 10ths on my time..... that's the theory anyway.. see if my testicles can pass the test.   

The undulations at the end of the straights are definitely noticeable, and took some getting used to.

[13B]

Shouldn't need to apply the brakes on a hillclimb...

:-)

I.

[SELfor50]

Shouldn't need to apply the brakes on a hillclimb...

:-)

I.

Hahahah.. true my friend.. 

I been thinking more and more about the turn at the top of the hill and realised that if i just let off the throttle at the right time, it'll slow it's self enough with the incline of the hill before the bend.  You'll hear the commentary anyway..

[oscar]

  it'll slow it's self enough with the incline of the hill before the bend.  You'll hear the commentary anyway..

Is that Gambon corner

Yes a Top Gear commentary please with reference to not only Gambon but you've got your own Cam's corner too, plus Cam's tyre wall... That's enough!  Save the trees for me

[SELfor50]

  it'll slow it's self enough with the incline of the hill before the bend.  You'll hear the commentary anyway..

Is that Gambon corner

Yes a Top Gear commentary please with reference to not only Gambon but you've got your own Cam's corner too, plus Cam's tyre wall... That's enough!  Save the trees for me

Hahahah.. I'll try remember to name the corners as i'm approaching..