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Topics - MurrayPeterson

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121
Technical Talk / New radios
« on: May 01, 2017, 05:04:33 PM »
I tried an experiment with the new Motorola radios (the small green ones) this weekend, and did not charge them on Saturday night.  I did this because I know that the older Midlands would last 2 days with no problem, and the new ones have a bigger battery (800 mAh for new ones, 700 mAh for old ones).

They lasted fine, but I have to admit that they are a pain in the butt.  They start complaining about a low battery within 30 minutes of being turned on, even after a full charge.  And some of them turn themselves off for the same reason, but if you turn them back on, they then show 50% battery.  Not what I expected from a Motorola product.  The one in the timing trailer did the same thing (turned itself off), and I had replaced the OEM battery pack with a 2300 mAh unit, so it's not a problem with the batteries.

So, what should we do now?  They are functional, and last for 2 days without a charge, but it sure would be nice if we could find something that works without beeping at you constantly.



122
SASC Events / Scores for April 29/30 events at Fort MAcleod
« on: April 30, 2017, 07:26:45 PM »
Practise course scores: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByeFbiNdvLbGYkdPRVlNVTBFQ00

Sunday championship scores: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByeFbiNdvLbGbkNMNUNFWXVNZEU

Sunday was quite exciting.  Multiple people help the lead during the day (Tom G, Richard B, Stephen H), but Cam ignored his cone penalties and drove home for the win.  Congrats to Cam (and everyone else) for some really nice driving!

I also have to give special mention to James C, in an EP Civic that still managed 10th place in PAX.  Impressive!

123
Other Events / 3 day event in Great Falls
« on: April 19, 2017, 09:32:46 PM »
I know it conflicts with one of our championship events, but Great Falls is going to be holding a 3 day event (May 27, 28, 29) at the Montana Expo Park in Great Falls.  That's a serious racing weekend!

http://www.mtscca.com/

124
SASC Events / Scores for April 16 practise event at YYC
« on: April 16, 2017, 06:20:43 PM »
Morning only:
  https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByeFbiNdvLbGWlQ5aXV2YWdPVnM

Afternoon only:
  https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByeFbiNdvLbGMjZnZE43WVVkam8

Best run of morning plus best run of afternoon:
  https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByeFbiNdvLbGVWFiaHhJNElhb0E

Weather turned out much nicer than expected, and we got cars through fast enough to get 9 "official" runs each plus fun runs.

For those that wondered -- the new Miata is amazing at some things (turn-in specifically), but still transitions into some pretty bad understeer in mid corner.  Softer sway bar settings will be the next tuning item.

125
SASC Events / Timing equipment transport for 2017
« on: March 25, 2017, 04:43:21 PM »
Our new Miata is too small to carry the timing gear to events, so we now need volunteers to carry it to/from our out of town events.  For events at YYC, Jo and I are willing to take our Mazda3 as the gear hauler and also serve as a timing vehicle.

So, we need a volunteer for carrying the timing gear to/from Fort Macleod on April 29/30.  If you wish to pick it up from our place (Woodbine in SW Calgary) and drop it back off there, I will continue to keep the equipment charged and maintained.

126
Technical Talk / New project?
« on: March 20, 2017, 10:30:46 PM »
As most of you know, I have quite a technical "bent", and like to apply science to most things.

I just finished reading Neal Tovsen's blog article http://www.conecoach.com/2017/03/17/when-to-put-on-the-cape/, and it brings to mind some deficiencies in the current data logging and analysis tools.  In particular, how close to the limit are you really driving?  Or in other words, are you under-driving or over-driving?  GPS and OBDII sensors just don't come close to answering this question, and I think it is possible (although very difficult) to do better.

So, what I am proposing is to mount an accelerometer and gyroscope on the front or rear of a car, and log some high speed measurements (perhaps 1000 samples per second?).

That's the easy part.  The hard part is going to be doing the math to deal with all of the sensor's readings and then decide what constitutes "at the limit" on any given run.  If I am very lucky, I can discover patterns that indicate tire break-away.  At worst, I guess I will know a lot more about matrix math and Euler angles than I do now :)

Does this sound like a worthwhile endeavour?  Or do the current GPS logging and analysis tools give you everything you need?

127
SASC Events / Scores for Sunday, March 12 Ice Dice
« on: March 12, 2017, 07:14:01 PM »
Scores for the clockwise track:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByeFbiNdvLbGcEtoQXJpdXdqa2c

Scores for anti-clockwise track:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByeFbiNdvLbGdFg4T0NpX0l6Zk0
And a big congrats to David G who managed a spectacular 1st RAW in a FWD car.

Scored as sum of both tracks:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByeFbiNdvLbGdjRFMlU1UUFUa0k


128
Other Events / San Diego match tour
« on: March 05, 2017, 09:18:14 AM »
Super fast course, with lots of 3rd gear.  There wasn't much time difference between BS, CS, STS
(http://sololive.scca.com/SATURDAY/index.php), although the NC that won CS was a good bit faster than everyone else.  Gearing?

CS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqRNsfMDJKE
BS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsIfWgoNtfg


129
Other Stuff For Sale / FS: assorted items
« on: February 21, 2017, 12:25:48 PM »
Box of road triangles (required for TSD rallies) SOLD!
Power Fist air impact gun (never used, still in box)
Booster cables (homemade, using 1/0 welding cables) (not sure about the gauge, but they are *heavy*)

All for free or a small donation.  You must come pick them up.

130
Technical Talk / Suspension tuning advice
« on: February 18, 2017, 10:02:05 AM »
I have my new sway bar and shocks on the car, and the some "spirited" driving around slippery corners show the Miata's suspension is much more neutral than I could ever obtain with the S2000.  This brings up some questions about tuning my sway bar and shocks.

Do I set the sway bar stiffness for neutral balance in mid corner and use the shocks to dial in desired understeer/oversteer on corner entry?

If yes to the above, what do I aim for with shock stiffness?  i.e. Do I aim for the stiffest shock settings possible that remain compliant with the venue's surface?  Or do I go for the softest, most compliant shock settings while still maintaining the desired balance?

I am worried that if I go too stiff with rebound, the car will "jack" down onto the bump stops and stay there for the entire run.  Or is that a good thing, because the bump stops give me a very high effective spring rate?

131
A two day event on the weekend before the nationals would make for a great practise event, and a good stop for people driving out to Pitt Meadows for the nationals.

132
Automotive Marketplace / SOLD: 2002 Honda S2000
« on: January 12, 2017, 01:40:46 AM »
FS: red 2002 Honda S2000 (AP1), with 200375 km
Price: $12000 OBO

Autocrossed all of its life (I bought it from an autocrosser)
Winter driven for the last 5 years (at least)
Trailer hitch with electrical hookup (and matching trailer available as well, really cheap)
Alarm system (worked when I bought the car, but turned off and never used)
Soft top has no tears and does not leak.  Glass rear window
Aftermarket radio
Modifry camera mount with quick connect mount attachment

Fully prepped and legal for B-street:
   Custom front swaybar (Ankeny center section, custom end links by Cam Withell).
              Swaybar is not adjustable.
   Koni sport shocks (rebound adjustment)
   Dual catch can for both air breather and PCV breather
   Aligned for B-street
   PB-ultimate ceramic brake pads (awesome bite even when cold, although they tend to squeal)

Spare parts and things:
   Spare Heim joints for swaybar (current ones clunk a bit, but still solid)
   Spare OEM swaybar mounting bracket
   Many spare brake pads (partly worn, but close to 50% on all of them)
   Spare panels for behind the seats with speakers mounted in them
   OEM swaybar (2001 version)
   Four sets of wheels:
      - one original silver with studded winter tires
      - one silver with usable re-71Rs (perhaps 2 events for one person)
      - one painted black with old 1st gen Rivals (1 or 2 events left in them)
      - one painted black with silver rim, with dead re71-Rs
   Many Honda center caps, most are dented
   Original driver side floor mat is torn but probably repairable
   2001 driver side floor mat currently in car
   Original OEM radio

Major maintenance in the last 2-3 years:
   Front rotors
   Front swaybar mounts
   Spark plugs
   Spark coils
   Windshield
   Rear hubs and bearings (both sides)
   Front right fender liner (including strake)
   Clutch and flywheel (grabs like steel now)
   Catalytic converter (used replacement)
   O2 sensor (new OEM)
   Catback OEM exhaust system (used replacement)
   Differential (used replacement)
   Driver's side half-shaft (new OEM)

Broken things:
   Mode button on left side of dash is broken and epoxied into place (that way when I got it)
   Left door speaker does not work
   Front bumper has a split (parking lot divider or snow banks)
   Replacement windshield was mounted a bit too high,
            causing interference with the rear view mirror.  Workable for me, but a bit of a pain.
   Rattles when going over packed snow (high frequency small bumps).
       Never able to find the cause, but is quiet in the summer.

This is not a garage queen, but a daily driver and racer.  No accidents and no rust, but it has 15 years worth of parking lot dings and rock chips.  Just last June I removed most of the 3M film from the front, since it had gotten impossibly black from all the cone rubber over the years.  In other words, if you want something to just look pretty, then this isn't the car for you.  I am sure a full detail will make it look awesome, but only from 10 feet away.  I can get it cleaned and detailed for the buyer, but that is going to add $1000 to the cost :)

On the good side, you are getting a car that has been mechanically maintained to the highest level.
Oil changes every 4000 km or 2 weekends of racing, whichever comes first.  Oil consumption is variable, with racing days using up the most oil.  About a total of 1 liter every oil change, about half of it going into the catch can.  Drivetrain maintenance has been meticulous as can be seen from the replacement
parts list above.

And perhaps best of all, you get a car that is amazingly fun and capable on an autocross course.  It is well behaved at all times, with no bad habits whatsoever.  Many people on this forum have driven this car in anger; I am sure that they are willing to give their opinions about the car's driveability.  It is competitive locally, usually placing in the top 3 (PAX).

Jo and I are going to miss this car very much, but it is time for us to move onto something different.

133
Automotive Marketplace / FS: Utility (or tire) trailer
« on: January 07, 2017, 11:22:28 PM »
Still for sale:

Trailer is a 40"x48" utility trailer that we purchased from HarborFreight.com and (painfully) imported through RIV.  The trailer has a legal VIN, and is registered and licensed in Alberta (permanent registration, no renewal required).

Bearings and tires have been replaced.

Looks like this one currently available from HarborFreight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/870-lb-capacity-40-in-x-49-in-utility-trailer-62646.html

The wooden box we had built for it is currently disassembled and in a pile, but is included.
The license plate and light is mounted on the back of of the wooden box, since the OEM mount always ended up dragged on the ground and folded the plate into a pretzel.  The OEM plate mount is gone and lost.

New Price: $300 OBO

134
General Discussion / Autocross -- the "cheap" motorsport
« on: December 22, 2016, 02:03:16 PM »
I added up our costs for autox for the last year -- you *really* don't wan't to know how much Jo and I spent in 2016.  However, one interesting item was that we spent just over $2200 in Motorsportreg fees this year.  Cheap sport -- yeah, right :)

135
SASC Events / Autox scores over the years
« on: December 10, 2016, 02:45:41 PM »
Shaw is removing all of their user's web spaces in the near future, so my hosted scores must be moved elsewhere.

Here is a link to Google Drive where I have scores from 2010 through to the present:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0ByeFbiNdvLbGNlZjajRjQ0t3V1k?resourcekey=0-OXel17g0nBfUNByn4PWBXw&usp=sharing

Future year's scores will be placed here as well.

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