Track video

fleadh said:

Damn Eric, can tell by watching that vid you have alot of laps at thill... would be fun to run the same day you are. Any idea when you are heading out there again?

-mike

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Mike,

I'm not sure at this point. I'm waiting for the rain to let up and for a group that I do most of my events with to figure out their 2002 schedule. I'm not going to do as many events this year and will probably do most of my events with them since they limit entries to a small number of experienced drivers, and you get a lot of unobstructed laps as you can see on the video. I'd like to get a group of mkivs together and go to the track though. Donutz Racing www.donutzracing.com is having an event at Thunderhill on 3/22. Their events are a little pricey, but they also limit entries to a reasonable number, and you get loads of track time. Rain should be less likely by then too. Anybody interested?

Also, I watched the digitized version of the video, and the sound gets out of synch with the video at some point and lags behind it. The sound of me shifting happens after I've got my right hand back on the steering wheel and it sounds like I'm not back on the gas until about the track out point. Just in case anybody was wondering if I had paddle shifters.....

Eric

Hey Andi,
Yeah, you are correct on the link. That is the belt. A nice cheap solution that allows you to relax better and feel what the car is doing. As to the camera tripod, I played with one for a few days before the event and pretty much lucked up the first time on getting a good solid set up. When I can figure out how to download my video you can see the camera didn't wiggle at all (OK it vibrated with the rest of the car going over the rumble strips). I mounted a tripod as follows:
One leg goes to the floor while the back two legs (at a shorter height of course) go into the back seat. The lucky part was that the middle pole in the tripod comes down right where the female ends of the seat belt system is (the buckle). I ran zip ties through the webbing where the buckles are and then through the tripod expanding struts that connect the tripod legs to the main post via attachement to a sliding ring(the ring or sleeve that slides up and down when you open and close the tripod). Make sense? Turns out that made for a nice tight mount directly at the tripod base. Then did two zip tie "loops" up near where the camera mounts. I used those loops to hook up three bungee cords. One going straight back from the tripod to the little back seat release "knob" (like an old door lock looking thing in the middle of the back seat). The seats in the car have in the back a nice thick steel bar that runs about where it hinges forward. I ran a bungee from the zip tie loop to the bar on the driver and passenger side. Drove the hell out of the car on a twisty road and it worked. I had just a touch of wiggle with the camera but that was due to the actual mount on the tripod so I put a cloth across the top the camera and duct taped that sucker down even harder to the tripod. My other thing was in looking at a lot of videos the wind noise is horrible. Can't hear a thing. I just cut up a polar fleece sock, put a double section of that over the mike with some good ole duct tape and it worked great. In my vid you can hear the conversations, the wind noise is to a minimum (in spite of both windows down at 125mph) and you can hear the motor. I can take a pic of it if someone wants to see the tripod set up. For that matter I did a different brake duct system than the one on MKIV that worked great with utilizes a 4in duct down to a 2 1/2 duct (the duct swivels!) and runs very sweetly to the front rotors. Worked great. Pedal never went soft. Did finally boil my brake fluid AFTER I pulled into the paddock (will take two cool down laps with no braking next time).
Barry H.

bwill said:

Hey Eric,
Have you tried the "clubman's" strap at Racer Wholesale? It is a simple 2 1/2in strap with a plastic buckle that you run behind the seat and your chest. I used it at Road Atlanta last weekend and IMHO, it worked wonders for keeping me restrained. Hey I didn't get the sore left knee bone thing like I have at other track events. It is only $15. You can focus more on driving feel and less on bracing with the thing.

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I've got one, but I don't use it very often. I haven't really found it to be that helpful for me on track. I did like using it in my Talon when I autocrossed a lot though. Most if not all of that video was taken before I discovered the trick with locking the seat belt on tightly, which does a pretty good job of holding me in place.

In viewing your vid which was great by the way (quiet hands makes fast lap times) I concluded you weren't strapped in by the way you came into view of the camera. I have only seen your thill footage. I also noticed your camera moved around a good bit at times. I got lucky on a good set up in my car using a tripod. Would be happy to share how I strapped mine down. It didn't shake, rattle, or roll.I will watch more of your vids. Keep them coming.
Barry H.
Barry H.

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My video mount is definitely on the bouncy side. I setup a tripod with the two front legs on the floor, and one on the rear seat and secure it with two tie-down straps. I actually don't mind the bounciness though because it helps give a sensation of speed. In-car videos never seem as fast as the real thing. Having a wide angle lens and mike setup that captures engine sound seems to help too. I haven't found a good location for an external mike yet. A friend of mine with a Cobra gets some really nice in-car video with a very wide angle lens and good engine sound pickup: http://teamvenomracing.com/pages/video.htm (It also helps that he's really fast)

No. I don't believe you've seen Darryl's Z because it was in the shop still for it's ~1yr transformation.

Darryl was driving this when his Z was at the track.


Lee