Dwain Dement and CS

[944-Spec#94]

I was looking at some of Dwain's times. Seems to me that On Sunday qualfying he "found something" He had be running mid 2:01's which were already fast then bang. Must have nailed a corner and carried much more speed as all of sudden he was in the 1:59 range. Come race time he ran a bunch of sub 2:00 min laps. Seeing that Top H4 car ran about the same time as Dwain and all the other H4 cars ran the same times all the other 944-spec cars tells me Dwain and Edik found something on track that we have not.

 

This also reminds me of my best time at the now defunct AMP. The entire 2.25 mile AMP track is similar to the infield at CS. Lots of slow/med speed corners. Just like at CS infield you only need 3 & 4 gears. You run from the bottom of third to redline in 4th. Well my point is that I was happily turning 1:54 laps at AMP then one day I simply nailed the turn 8 & complex. This is really a tight entry wide exit 180 corner. Well I always exitied at the bottom of 3rd and now I got my line just right so I carried a bit more speed through there and all of a sudden was runnign 1:52's.

 

Seems to me that if you can nail the turn 5-6 complex or turn 9 at CS then you can gain big time. I know personally I never seemed to get those down just right. I bet Dwain and Edik figured them out and that is why there were running seconds fast then the rest of their class.

 

I for one know that I have not run CS anywhere near as fast as I can run PIR or AMP. At PIR for example I feel like there is not much room left from the low 1:13's I can run. I have been running that track for many years and slowly pushing the limits and working the times down.

 

CS is new to me I know with more practice I can get more time from that track just by working the details in corner complexes. It seems that CS is only run a few time per year by most folks except Dwain. He was also running the Cup car there last weekend and has probalby more test and race time at CS in any type of car. It is that experinece that and allow you to find the very limits in any type car.

 

So Given more track time at CS and favorable weather conditions I believe sub 2:00 laps are very resonable at CS. It just may take time to get there.

[Spec-944#70]

I take it you didn't notice the V8 he stuck in the back!!

Seriuosly it's take time, experience and extra large Huevos. (sp)

He totally out broke Tim, so much so that he had to inspect the brakes.

He is just that good. Remember though that Pete Yusko beat him at Vegas so it can be done!! We'll see what happens this weekend. Besides the rain.

[Tim Comeau]

Yeah. Dwain has lots of track time everywhere. He drives very well. I don't think it takes juevos in our cars. It takes precision driving on a well set up car. Which brings us to my next point. Owning a shop with a dyno, the ability to tune chips, and unlimited funds.

To be clear- that's not an excuse for any of us losing. It's just the way it is. There's 2 parts to our equation, right? Car and driver. Dwain has done both very well obviously! And he taught me some things.

The great thing about that, for me, is that it shows us what the cars are capable of. The bad thing is that Dwain didn't get to race with any of us in the class.....

I saw Stahl headers for the first time on Dwain's car. Expensive, but maybe they work? My lighter straight pipe (3") made lots of noise and it didn't slow the car down one bit. I turned a 2:02 flat. 1.5 seconds faster than last year for me, and 7/10ths faster than Saturday.

I liked the balance of the car under braking last year, so I went with the same pad set up this year. Hawk Blues in the front, Mintex in the rear.

Here's what I think I'll do for next time:

Hawk Blues front and rear (or maybe Pagid oranges). My 400 lb springs in front help reduce the need for an LSD, but they also help keep the nose from diving so bad under hard braking. I'm going to lower the rear of the car by another 1/2 inch or slightly more to get the front/rear braking balance even better. This will also help with weight shift under trail braking and initial turn in.

[944-Spec#94]

Tim

I don't think Dwain's car is really any faster (hp or set-up) than anyone elses. Really I don't. Sunday qualfying he ran mid 2:01's. Dilly and I ran high 2:01 in the race later that day. So we actually were close in times it just took us longer than Dwain to get in the 2:01 range.

 

On Saturday I would have never though we could have pulled a 2:01. I though Dwain was out there by himself. Well come Sunday Dilly and I are the 2:01's and your just a 0.10 back. Hmm I would bet that if we were not racing with each other we could squeeze out a bunch of 2:01's just like Dwain. Of course in Sunday Qual Dwain all of sudden on his last lap found 1.5 seconds. There were no car set-up changes involved and I really don't think he was sand bagging. If he was sandbagging they why go faster? Tim your best lap for second in class was only a 2:02.7. Any 2:01 would have done it. Nope. Seems alot like he went out hard ran his fast laps same as on Saturday and then figured out a corner. Bang 1.5 seconds faster.

 

Race comes along and he just uses that new line and is fast. Dilly, Me, and you Tim are still working the "old" line and have not figured Dwain's little trick. I know for certain I left speed on the table. Hell I ran a 2:01.964 and know that I did not nail every corner. I have run a low 1:13 at PIR and know to do that I must hit everything just right to do it. Hmm scew up and run a 2:01.9 at CS tells me there is much more time out there. Dwain is just the only 944-spec guy that knows where it is. As for being beaten at Las Vegas by Pete Yousko... Well there Pete found it before Dwain.

 

Tim... Go ahead at fart around with set-up. I for one know there is alot more time out there at CS with my currnet set-up if I can drive the car better. My PIR and AMP set-up have been same for long time. I knew that you only make changes once you are certain the driver is doing things right or the set-up is forcing the driver to compensate. Otherwise you are masking the real problem.

 

[Tim Comeau]

Yes, I'll "fart around" with the set up. It's 50% of the equation.

I believe Dwain turned a 1:59 on Sat. and a 1:58 on Sunday. I know he was being bumped from behind on Sunday by Lord Phil in his SE-R. That helped his straightaway speed!

[Spec-944#70]

Joe is the only one who seems to get it. Vision MS maintains about 8 cars for Steve B and the Spec 944 is lowest on the punch list. It is not making more HP than some of the other cars. Also he was on unshaved tires. I don't know how many heat cycles they had but they were fairly new. It's seat time and experience. Remember he has done tons of driving, Cup Car, Twin Turbo, 944 Turbo, 968 Turbo, 911's and the slowest of all our Spec cars!! Give him credit where credit is due. There are NO hidden HP secrets to be had. Dwain has put the stake in the ground and now it's up to us to catch him!! Plain and simple. Besides if you want to know what he's doing on the track ask him or follow him. That's what I'll be doing this weekend!! If you doubt his driving maybe I'll swap cars with him this weekend and we'll see my little 944 on the top of the podium!! (It may be the only way it gets there!! )

[944-Spec#94]

Yes, I'll "fart around" with the set up. It's 50% of the equation.

I believe Dwain turned a 1:59 on Sat. and a 1:58 on Sunday. I know he was being bumped from behind on Sunday by Lord Phil in his SE-R. That helped his straightaway speed!

 

 

Set-up is 10% of the equation unless it is WAY WAY off. Tim you are too fast to be way way off on set-up. Believe all the fine tuning in the world won't get you a 1:59 at CS. Won't happen.

 

 

Dwain did not turna 1:59 on starurday. Best race times were 2:01's.

I know this since I turned a faster time in saturday warm-up by a tenth or so. 2:03.xxx. Dwain then broke into the mids 2:01's for qualfying and also for the race.

 

 

Eric is right about track time. Around here Glenn Gormley is fast. When he started backa few years ago he was slow. Very slow I would frequently blow by him on the track. Well after very little (read no) car development he as progress from being very slow to top driver in Arizona. Yep I figure he is really faster than me. If I work really hard and "set-up" the car just I can gain maybe a 1/2 second on him. How did he get this way? Well rides with a few others to get him to realize how slow he was and ho much faster the car could go. That was the start. Then it was alot seat time in his 944-spec and in stock 66 911 and a 320 WHP 951. Yep he has 3 track cars. (the 911 is DE only) There were some weekends where he drove all 3 cars and many where he will drive one car in the race group and another in DE. Seems just like Dwain. Glenn has also picked-up alot. He was the first to take Turn 1 at PIR without braking and probably still the only one. Heck I still need to "security" brake there to keep my shorts clean.

 

Now I am not saying that if Glenn came to CS he would be turning 1L58's right off, but given enough time to learn the track I say yes he could. Just like I think Dilly and I can run 1:58's if we spend enough time to learn the track more. I hope Dwain brings he spec car out to PIR for the POC event. Sure May is hot and will cost you some time, but lest see if he can turn a low 1:14. Given the temps 1:14's are strong time any a 1:13 is flying. I doubt the 944-spec track record of 1:13.2 will fall due to the heat, but I'd love to see Dwain try.

[uberklasse]

It all takes time....seat time. Following Dylan and Jim on Saturday was vital, as I have never been on the track. Without getting at least some idea of a track from them, I am sure I would have been even more off the pace. That is what is great about this group, it's competitive, but everyone helps each other. It makes for fun racing!

 

I think everyone was able to rip off some pretty good times, but times don't win races.

 

As I said in earlier post, I got the 2nd fastest time in Saturday's race but drove like crap. We all had the adrenaline flowing on overdrive, but the guys that are steady, consistent and have experience...Dwain, Dennis and Dylan all were on the podium.

 

With all those cars on the grid 60+, starts make a BIG difference. Look at mylaps.com and you will see that EVERYBODY had a quick lap that was considerably faster than the average. Drafting, following someone or even being pushed contributes to it. Timing, luck and strategy all come into play and that's why we are not time trialing...we are racing.

 

Look at the new guys from the weekend. Jim, Bill and Michael were all able to rip off times that would have been close to or set track records last year. It's like the 4 minute mile story we all know...a year from now we will probably all be under 2:00 at CS

[Tim Comeau]

I hope we're all under 2:00. That'll keep those pesky H4 Hondas away.

Hey, whatever happened to all those pesky Miaz-das?

[944-Spec#94]

We simply drove past them cause were faster now.

 

He those wreck me otters used to get in our way. Now we got faster and they are non issues. Not it is the "used to be faster" H4 guys. Hey after a couple years of this it will be those slow pokes in the GT3 cup's

[PeanutinCA]

What do you mean "will be those slow GT3's"? They are slowing me up now!!! They have a special device that sucks all the power out of my car for their own! DOH!

 

P.D.

[Tim Comeau]

Oh, I can see that happening!