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Messages - Terry Johns
1
« on: May 13, 2019, 11:57:18 AM »
My position's pretty much the same now as it was then. If you really want to rehash this, I'll quote my first response on that year-and-a-half-old thread for some reason, with the key part bolded:
I think you misunderstood what I said. I said (and maintain) that a Miata was the car to have on *that specific course at Fort Macleod*. A course that's heavy on slaloms, and where you're only making relatively small speed adjustments between elements, favors nimble cars over powerful ones. Conversely, courses with lots of heavy braking followed by long, straight acceleration zones favor power cars over nimble ones. I thought this Sunday's courses were pretty well balanced.
Like Ryan, I also suspect that lower-powered cars, especially normally-aspirated ones, are at a disadvantage in general locally -- both because of the altitude, and also because Red Deer courses invariably include multiple pin turns followed by acceleration zones that favor powerful cars. If my goal was to win PAX for the season, then I wouldn't pick a car with less than 200 hp (or ideally 300 hp). But we do have courses at Fort Macleod where a low-power car can not only win, but is the favorite to win.
[...]
fast courses gave an advantage to big power cars, and was then shot down in flames by all the clubs experts, (yourself included)
You were shot down because fast courses don't necessarily give an advantage to big-power cars. The course we were discussing was consistently high-speed throughout, which favors nimble cars that transition well. Courses with acceleration zones, like the one I linked in the post you quoted, are the ones that favor big-power cars. In my opinion, we've had too many of the latter and too few of the former.
Stated differently, big-power cars only have an advantage when they're accelerating.
As an aside, as predicted, Saturday's course was more balanced than most of our local courses -- note that Murray was second overall in PAX in his 155 hp Miata after the morning runs.
save it for someone else.
2
« on: May 13, 2019, 10:50:51 AM »
That spacing's actually pretty representative of a typical national-level course. The example slaloms in the SCCA course design guide are mostly in the 50'-60' range (15-18 m).
On a related note, I think our courses locally have been too biased towards power, particularly at Fort Macleod. At one of our Fort Macleod courses last year, I was literally flat (full throttle) from the start to the turnaround by the clubhouse, then flat again from the turnaround to the turn onto the main runway despite the fact that there was ostensibly a slalom on the way out. That's not a challenge -- it's just a gift to powerful cars.
WOW.....Sounds like you've done a U turn Stephen. I seem to remember saying the same thing at the end of the 2017 season that fast courses gave an advantage to big power cars, and was then shot down in flames by all the clubs experts, (yourself included) and told that PAX sorted it all out. Glad to hear that the lights are coming on for you.
3
« on: September 16, 2018, 08:31:46 PM »
255x50 15 done less than 50 km road use
$190
4
« on: September 19, 2017, 12:56:41 PM »
My suggestion is after the event is over, we get the top 2 guys in PAX, (probably Ryan or Cam) and let them do their thing in my car. If they equal their PAX time in my car I will retract my statements and admit defeat. I will choose the event just in case the top 2 PAX winners are sand bagging.
The issue for me is about course design, HP & PAX not creating a level playing field.
That experiment's doomed to fail, because if PAX works correctly, Ryan and Cam won't be able to match their PAX times in your car.
Why? Because Ryan and Cam are each driving fully prepped, class-leading cars. Conversely, you're in the wrong car (you're in an NC Miata, but the class-leading car in CS is the ND Miata, so the PAX is based on it), the wrong model car (you've got a PRHT Miata, and the PRHT mechanism adds about 75 lbs. to the car, all up high), and your car's not fully prepped (a full prep NC would have fancy shocks, lightweight wheels, a lightweight exhaust). I'd expect these factors to result in times very roughly 0.5-1.0 seconds slower than those of a fully prepped CS ND Miata.
Furthermore, no one, not even Ryan and Cam, can jump into a strange car and immediately drive it to its full potential.
*Furthermore*, no one's saying that we don't sometimes have power-intensive courses. We're just disagreeing with your contention that *all* courses are power-intensive courses. If you cherry-pick a power-intensive course, that will defeat the purpose.
You've basically designed a "test" that's impossible for you to fail. I don't know what that would prove.
Your quite correct about my car not being fully prepped. So maybe Murray would be kind enough to lend his (fully prepped car)
5
« on: September 19, 2017, 12:24:45 PM »
My suggestion is after the event is over, we get the top 2 guys in PAX, (probably Ryan or Cam) and let them do their thing in my car. If they equal their PAX time in my car I will retract my statements and admit defeat. I will choose the event just in case the top 2 PAX winners are sand bagging. The issue for me is about course design, HP & PAX not creating a level playing field. Who wants to play 
6
« on: September 19, 2017, 08:52:18 AM »
This discussion has nothing to do with the laws of physics its to do with PAX & HP. Put Ryan and Cam in the M2 & then move both to a ES Miata and my best guess is on last Sundays course the M2 would be quicker. Which is exactly why Stephen was down in 13th place.
7
« on: September 19, 2017, 08:17:43 AM »
So if Ryan is slower than you down the slaloms, where is he taking 4 seconds off you? in the other short sections, sorry, I dont buy. I dont believe for a nano-second that Ryan is a 4 second better driver than you in a sub 40 second lap, but if your convinced then be happy.
I am only faster than him after my car manages to get up to speed in a slalom, which is only the last little bit. He is not slower than me for the entire slalom, so he is gaining time pretty well everywhere.
Why because he has more HP?
8
« on: September 19, 2017, 08:11:03 AM »
As long as your convinced I guess that's all that matters.
Umm, are you trying to deny the laws of physics here? Given equal lateral grip (and equal driving skills), a lighter car can go through a slalom faster than a heavier car and a narrower car can go through a slalom faster than a wider car.
Now, Ryan can certainly drive better than I can, but I don't think his car has more grip than mine. So, in any slalom, I should be able to gain on Ryan in the latter part of any slalom where I am not speed limited by my rev limiter. It's about the only place where I can gain on him, but hey, I'll take what I can get
So if Ryan is slower than you down the slaloms, where is he taking 4 seconds off you? in the other short sections, sorry, I dont by it. I dont believe for a nano-second that Ryan is a 4 second better driver than you in a sub 40 second lap, but if your convinced then be happy.
9
« on: September 19, 2017, 07:48:57 AM »
That's because the Miata wouldn't have been going as fast.
I have to disagree with you here Terry. The Miata may be acceleration limited, but those increasing offsets in the slalom would allow a lighter car to go much faster. The Miata should be the one needing extra braking.
You cant be serious, if the lighter car is going much faster, how do you explain your nearly 4 seconds slower than fastest RAW.
I didn't say faster for the entire course, just at that particular point. Ryan's car will get up to maximum speed in that slalom long before me. However, due to his car's weight and width, that maximum speed will be slower than the Miata's.
As long as your convinced I guess that's all that matters. Standing half way along the 1st slalom which where I marshalled Ryan and Cam where noticeably quicker than anyone else by a country mile.
10
« on: September 19, 2017, 07:34:16 AM »
That's because the Miata wouldn't have been going as fast.
I have to disagree with you here Terry. The Miata may be acceleration limited, but those increasing offsets in the slalom would allow a lighter car to go much faster. The Miata should be the one needing extra braking.
You cant be serious, if the lighter car is going much faster, how do you explain your nearly 4 seconds slower than fastest RAW.
11
« on: September 19, 2017, 05:53:13 AM »
Ryan says
because there is no such thing as a low powered and big and heavy and competitive autocross car. In an NB Miata that is some 1,000 pounds lighter than my M2 I would not have had to slow nearly as much to make the left turn out of the slalom while being on the same line.
That's because the Miata wouldn't have been going as fast.
I wholeheartedly agree with Stephen to win in PAX at YYC a 300 HP car is a real advantage, that must mean that a big HP car has an advantage, and by definition the lowered powered car is disadvantaged. Just take a look at the time difference between the fastest RAW big power Corvette and the low powered CS Miata of Murray, who is one of our very best drivers, 3.992 slower, than the Corvette. I buy 3 tenths, or even 8 tenths difference, but Murray nearly 4 seconds slower, no sorry dont buy it.
My argument all along is that PAX isn't accurate and is dependant on course design.
I am more than happy to let any of our quickest drivers in high powered car, Cam, Ryan, Tom, Stephen borrow my car and see if they can beat or equal their own time in a low powered car.
Who'd like to take the challenge???
12
« on: September 18, 2017, 06:21:49 PM »
Although it was a great course and it was, it was also a HP course.
Would Ryan still have won in Julie's ES Miata. I think not !
Not only is Ryan and extraordinary driver he's a fu..ing genius at picking the right car. When I see Ryan at the top of the PAX scales in an ES Miata I'll retract my previous comments and agree with Stephen that the Miata is the car to have, until then Im not convinced.
13
« on: September 18, 2017, 07:28:09 AM »
Yes, well done to everybody, I CC what Paul said best run event EVER. Lets keep doing.
14
« on: September 17, 2017, 06:42:07 PM »
Thanks Murray
15
« on: September 14, 2017, 07:28:00 PM »
Its great to have you in the club
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