Driving as an engineer

So, remember the title of this Blog - "Engineer in Hell". Yeah, I'm an engineer. According to the school I attended, I'm an Electrical Engineer Damnit!

And don't you forget it.

Anyway - all those years of schoolin' has made me a data junkie. The more the better - I mean, how can I be expected to learn and improve if I don't have some metrics to measure by?

So - this transitions nicely back into the car thing...

A couple of entries ago I talked about the hot lap system that I had installed in my car prior to the June 22 DE. This system tracks your lap times and stores them in a head unit ('computer') for later retrieval. It's a VERY simple device, but cleverly implemented and...ahem...nicely packaged. It consists of two units in the car - one, an IR (infa-red for those not so technical) receiver (basically just like what you aim your TV remote at to get the thing to change channels) and a display unit/timer which keeps track of lap number and times. Every time the receiver 'sees' a beam from a transmitter, it increments the lap count and restarts the timer.

Simple. Effective. Reliable... Just like me.

So, I keep track of my session times - and make it a point NOT to try and look at the unit while driving.

Below you will find three of the four sessions that I ran (the second sessions results were seized by the FBI for reasons unknown. Or perhaps it was a bit of operator error on my part...)


Session 1 (with Carl):

1. 1:45.6
2. 1:42.45
3. 1:41.62
4. 1:52.62
5. 1:38.11
6. 1:39.05

Session 3 (Solo):

1. 1:38.32
2. 1:37.20
3. 2:00.09
4. 1:34.87
5. 1:45.14
6. 1:35.50
7. 1:49.26
8. 1:32.46
9. 1:36.61
10. 1:37.91
11. 1:42.86
12. 1:36.17

Session 4 (Solo - long wait on off-track 350Z - they "Orange Balled" the entire field for about 10 minutes):

1. 1:44.35
2. 1:38.48
3. 1:37.62
4. 1:39.62
5. 1:37.69
6. 1:38.12
7. 1:37.61
8. 1:37.59
9. 1:37.34
10. 1:36.66

Wow - aren't those interesting?

But wait a minute - it gets better! If I apply some basic statistical analysis on these numbers, we can start to see something interesting.

Session 1:
Average Lap time : 1:42.18
Median Lap time : 1:42.035
Standard Deviation : 2.7 seconds

Session 3:
Average Lap time : 1:39.58
Median Lap time : 1:38.12
Standard Deviation : 4.7 seconds

Session 4:
Average Lap time : 1:38.01
Median Lap time : 1:37.66
Standard Deviation : 0.74 seconds

Fascinating, huh?

Well (bear with me here), actually it is. What these numbers are telling me (in ascending order of importance) is that:

a) I'm getting progressively faster every session out (as told by average and median numbers)
b) I'm getting much more consistent every session out (as told by standard deviation numbers)

Note to math geeks everywhere (and I mean you, oh brother-of-mine), yes I realize that I don't have a really solid sample size to make blanket statements on my improvement - but I think the trend is obvious - and that's what I'm talking about here, not the actual magnitude of the numbers. Oh - and before you go 'checking my math' and calling me a cheat and liar, I've thrown out the two boundary numbers (slowest and fastest lap times) for each session - just to be fair. With that, I lost my best time of 1:32 - alas.

So, to try and explain this in a bit more 'real-world' terms: my first session I was averaging about a 1:42 lap - but my lap times would vary (on average) by well over 2 seconds. My third session (remember, the FBI stole my second session lap times) my average went down (woohoo!) to about 1:39 per lap (an 'improvement' of about three seconds), but my consistency (lap to lap times) starting varying by over four seconds a lap (Boooooo!). During the final session, my average again improved - this time by about one second, down to 1:38 per lap - but (and here's the exciting part! Wait for it.....wait for it....) My lap-to-lap variance (ok, ok - standard deviation) went down to under a second! 750 milliseconds actually. Stated another way, this means that I'm hitting the lap times consistently each time around to within three quarters of a second!

As an aside - because people tend to ask questions like "how fast did you go?" and don't seem to like answers like "Oh, I was hitting consistent 1:39 lap times," we can quickly determine that my average speeds were (Blackhawk raceway is 1.95 miles in length):

Session 1: 68.7 MPH
Session 2: xx.x MPH
Session 3: 70.5 MPH
Session 4: 71.6 MPH

Keep in mind this isn't a drag race - this course has turns-n-stuff! Take a look.

So, over the course of a day I improved my lap times by over four seconds (on average), course speed by about 3MPH, and my lap time consistency by 2-3 seconds.

Oh, and I didn't make my instructor puke, or drive my car off the track.

Well, it made me feel happy.

Stupid web logs

So much for anonymity - damn! Ya know, it's the simplest things that get you in trouble...

Now Carl has found me - tracked down this 'blog by way of the Chicago PCA website which he admins - all because I linked in a picture of his ride. Meh. Now I have to check my facts, cross my I's and dot my T's. Oh wait, strike that - reverse those. (ode to Willy Wonka).

Anyway - no, I don't really care that Carl might be watching at this point. He seems like good people, and can correct me if my stories get wildly out of line. The more eyes the better...

Anyway - we're going for a ride in his car. His car which, I don't think even he would qualify as a full-on race machine, still manages to accelerate like a bat-out-of-hell, and stop even faster. Full roll cage. Racing seat for him - factory for the passenger. Full race harness for both. Slicks (Hoosiers) on the wheels...

Did I mention that I will be installing better seats and full harnesses in my car? They rock - really. You can ride around as a passenger without holding onto anything - they are THAT tight. It's cool - and I can easily see the benefit for the driver - as it is now, I spend a fair amount of energy holding onto the steering wheel while going around the turns.

• Seats - purchased.
• Harness bar - borrowed.
• Six point harness - ordered.

I should be all set for the next DE.

So, we're off - first lap (under yellow - first lap is designated a yellow lap to allow the drivers time to warm up the tires - there isn't any passing under yellow. Right?). Into turn 1 and things feel fine - accelerating through 2 up to the carousel. BRAKE. Holy shit - this car can STOP. ACCELERATE. Wow - this car can go!. Eaassssee into the carousel - gas, gas, gas - through 3, up to 3A. BRAKE. Clutch. BLIP (heel toe) into second, off the brake, Right turn and GAS. Still in second (?) up to turn four. BRAKE (quickly) set the car, left turn into 4. Apex. Track out...Shift to third. Wait...Wait... DIVE left into 5 - late apex - track out. Wait - no. Track.. IN? WTF, why is he on the....VRROOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM - 350Z passes up on the right. To the right in this section is the racing line. Typically, passing is done "off line" meaning the passer is responsible for:

1. Making sure the person being passed knows you are passing by acknowledging the pass by pointing.
2. Executing the pass - off line - in a safe way and in full control. This implies the person being passed doesn't have to do much except (possibly) ease off the throttle to allow the pass.
   

Remember - this isn't a race. Oh, and remember, we're still on the first (yellow flag) lap.

"I had to let that!@#@! pass. Even though it's a yellow, and even though we're stuck behind this 911, he was right up my ass".

The "etiquette" in this group (the more experienced drivers) is a bit.... different... than that of my group. Yet another reason to remain a 'novice' for a while!

Anyway - coming up on Turn 6 - back on the brake. Clutch in - blip throttle - clutch out, off the brake - turn in (right hander), accelerate, apex, track out - WAY out - shift into fourth - ease out on the throttle, track in (for the second part of turn six) - back on the throttle, apex (kiss the curbing) and track out. Accelerate. Long straight with a minor kink (turn 6A). BRAKE. Clutch in. Blip Blip. Clutch out. Turn in. Off the Brake and gas- GAS! Down the front straight for the (typically) fastest part of the track past the start/finish line (about one minute and twenty seconds has elapsed since leaving the starting grid) and we're coming up to the brake markers for turn one fast and loud. Here come those markers... Four, Three, BRAKE, Two, Clutch in - Blip - Down to second, One, Clutch out, Turn in, off the brake (are we doing a bit of trail braking here?) on the gas, apex, track out coming up to turn two.

EDIT: The turn-in to turn 1 was probably done in third - not a downshift into second. -sjs

Whew.

Take a breath while sweeping around 2, getting ready for 3 and the carousel.

Repeat the above for about 30 minutes - probably around 20 laps.

It's a fucking BLAST.

DE Continued

So Carl (my instructor) hops into the driver's seat of my car to take'r out for a couple of laps to talk me through the course and show me his 'line'. No big deal. He never takes my car above third gear and doesn't do anything real aggressive. I AM impressed with his heel-toe technique. Two times around and he pulls over to swap seats. Obligatory safety talk, make sure I pay attention to the other students, don't worry about going fast - try and be consistent, etc. I'm nervous. Like, REAL nervous. I don't know why exactly, but I think it's the Skip Barber driving suit - and the death grip this dude has on the dashboard.

My first two or three laps were sloppy as hell. Carl is busy saying "brake, brake BRAKE" and "turn, turn, APEX, gas, GAS" while holding on to both the dash and the door handle. ("I really like when my students have race harnesses" he tells me after the first session). Four or five more laps and he's not saying much - just watching me and my technique. We finish up and he bails out quick to get in his car for his 30 minutes on the track.

I spend a couple of minutes watching his car go fast. And brake hard. And make LOTS of noise (I find out later that the thing basically has straight pipes - sounds nice and fast - it's real easy to hear shifting technique with a car this loud!). I'm not sure what to expect from him when he returns as he seems pretty ingrained in the PCA 'scene' so might just ignore me to socialize with the other instructors.

Boy was I wrong.

So he parks his loud-n-fast-911 and strolls on over to my car. Proceeds to talk to me about our first session and gives me a few pointers. We verbally 'walk' around the course, talking about braking points and turn-in points. He, again, stressed to NOT obsess about the laptimes being fast or slow, but try and make them consistent. And, he says, I REALLY should be doing the heel-toe thing. It's better for the car, and makes the weight transfer on the down-shifts much smoother. I'm drinking tons of Gatorade (did I mention how fucking HOT it was?) and he's eating one of my custom peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It's a good time.

So, the next session I'm in the left seat for the entire time. I spend about 10 minutes in third - concentrating on the line, and eventually driving Carl a bit batty ("ok, ok - shift already!"). So, I start to be more aggressive and up the speed, delay the brake and shift into fourth on the longer straights. Not a word. No real feedback from Carl - well, except that left hand is gripping the dash again. About 20 minutes into this session and a rare event occurred - I got a compliment. Something to effect of "That was a good lap - now, just keep doing that". And I did. And it connected. I now understand what it means to hit the line the right way. Everything just kind of falls into place, and instead of being white-knuckled on the steering wheel - DIVING the car into the corners - you are just helping the car hit the corners easily and with a minimum amount of physical input. It's quite amazing. *-Back to earth-* "Now, where is the heel-toe?" he asks. Arrrrgh - shit, there goes my line. I spend a few more laps floundering with this concept and it's time to head into the paddock.

"Well, my job is basically done" he states. "Basically, I'm convinced that you're not a dumbshit and can maintain control of your car. You're hitting the lines well and not driving over your head, so I'm happy to let you do the next two sessions on your own. Work on the heel-toe. If you want, I'll ride along and answer questions, but there's not much else I can say for today. Oh, hey - do you want to sit in the passenger seat while I take my car out?"

Booyah.

Here's what I got to ride in - twice. More later...

Drive baby, drive!

So, I've got the car that my wife bought me. I didn't deserve it - but she did it anyway. It's an old Porsche 911 that she picked up from a friend who had bought it himself from a guy on the west coast. Had it trucked to Illinois. After a few months with this thing came to the conclusion that it wasn't the most practical of machines to drive everyday to-and-from work, school, etc. - especially during the winter.

Anyway - he wants to sell. I am wishy-washy. My wife buys it for me and surprises (the absolute hell out of) me!

So, now I have another hobby. And this one is a doosey. Perhaps some other time I'll talk about all the work I've already had to do (most myself) to this machine to make it acceptable to me. But this post is about a "Drivers Education" (DE) event I attended June 10th.

For those who don't know, "Drivers Education" is an excuse to take your car out on a race track and go fast. Hopefully while under control. Hopefully with your fellow students (who are out on the track at the same time) also under control. This particular event was sponsored by the Chicago region of the PCA (Porsche Club of America). It was hosted at the Blackhawk Farms Raceway in Beliot Illinois (right outside of Rockford). This was my third time up there, and second DE. The PCA guys run a tight ship. Before you are allowed out on the track with your car, you must:

a) Pass a tech inspection - of both your car and yourself
b) Attend a driver's meeting to go over the rules, flags, etc.
c) Have an instructor ride with you until they are confident that you can handle the track alone.

Most people have an instructor ride with them for at least their whole first DE and most of a second.

This being my second time out, I figure I'll have a guy with me for the first (out of four sessions) and then boot him so I can do the next three on my own. Well, this guy is into this in a serious way. He's a bit disturbed I installed a "Hot Lap" system in my car so I can track my lap times. He's a bit disturbed I don't have a harness system in my car. Before we get in the car he tells me how nerve wracking it is to be an instructor. He's wearing a full-on racing suit. Oh - and he's attended "many" Skip Barber Racing School and became bored with them. He's the shit.

His first question to me is :

"How is your heel-toe?"

and without a chance to answer follows that with

"Do you double clutch on the down shifts?"

Uhoh.

WTF?

BLOG.

B
L
O
G

Stupid word. Why can't we just describe this new 'net based stuff with one of the eighty thousand words that already exist in the English language?

Eh - whatever. So it begins.