I aggree with your posts guys. I raced this guy before, but only on a short off the lights grand prix and left him then also - but he did have 2 passengers and i had only 1. He stopped at the next traffic lights and asked me what id done to my car (at this time i was running the group N ecu so wasnt really a fair test) and i told him about the ECU. I thought to myself surely the chip couldnt have made my car into a rocket(!!). Now the chip is sitting in my cupboard and had nothing to do with the victories.
I am very brutal with my gear changes, definately to the unfortunate demise of my gearbox and now the second one is on the way out
- thats what warranties are for!! Full throttle gear changes are a definate must when youre racing -but- only if you can get them right. This means if you screw it up you get a very very loud CRUNCH that lasts for ages. Every time i change gear quickly it crunches into gear (only in my car by the way). If i drive in the same fashion in my dads golf 1.8T it NEVER crunches, ever. I dont think ive ever made it crunch once. I really really hate the gear box in my car actually, but only by luck do i get a successful gear change and this is what counts when you are in the midst of adrenaline and nearing the rev limiter. A lot of people wait for the limiter to cut in before changing gear when racing and this is another factor that loses you time (lots of time actually) because you are all in a fluster about winning or whatever and forget to change - ive done it so many times and lost a few races because of that.
One thing i am impressed with on my car is the clutch. Its also taken a fair old beating for 24,000+ miles and has never slipped on me - even during 3rd to 4th gear full throttle gear changes.
I do also admit that my car can have off days or moments when it just feels really sluggish. Possibly due to engine bay heat or ECU operating status(?) My car seems to "go" best when the fuel tank level is reading just above half full as was the case last night. After the race it was reading 1/4 of a tank!!
On this occaision i think id put my reasons for toasting into his poor driving. Judging by the way he took the exit to roundabouts and tight corners demonstrated that he possibly wasnt totally used to the car - or on the other hand it was an example of desperation in trying everything and anything to keep up? one of the vids (i think i mentioned it above?) shows him understeering into the wrong side of the road where a simple lift-off oversteer would have tucked the rear around and kept the front wheels in shape. Im not a good/experienced driver (only 22 driving since 17) but i think it helps to be totally used to the limits of your car, when i say this I mean every time i drive my car it gets a good thrashing and i always try to get it sideways or something similar. Its so nice to realise that when the car goes sideways or the back starts to overtake that your natural instinct is to steer slowly into it, even when youre not concentrating. A lot of crashes must be caused by people who are not used to their cars characteristics and therefore can not predict what their car will do. Of course no one can predict what would happen in a blow out at over 100 till its happened to you, but as they say experience is everything. Im not too sure about experience as in years and years, as i wouldnt want to see my dad giving it the toe around some tight twists for example. I think experience in your car, learning its every feature is the only way to be fully able to use its potential.
