RCTalk VRC Race Club (VRCT)

[robmob]

Well I got a run in.

I was doing great until I had to pit. Turned the last corner leading into the pit and an AI car punted me off the track. In a panic swiped at the space bar and a drop down menu popped up. I reached for the mouse to close it and hit space calmly. I was set down right in front of the pit entrance so I pleased. That is until I overshot the pit box and had to hit space again. I expected it to put me down in the pit box, but instead it put me on the track and I had to come around again to enter the pit.

The result was a 41.3 lap which after looking at my finish time cost me 2 laps.

I need a drink now.

I do like the Lux track layout.

 

[Lessen]

I'm in, and I'm done.

I'm with ya Rob. I've always like this track as well. It has a nice flow to it. I don't know about you but that was HARD. Low grip level like that is tough to set up for. I had a decent setup in my practice but it was still horrible in the race. Very Very VERY difficult to drive.

 

[bigjay]

Being not brilliant, you're going to have to explain that procedure in plain English. The units don't come with drivers.

With the adapter plugged in - go to your start menu - control panel - device manager - universal serial bus controller (usb) - your adapter (i don't know what it will be listed as) - driver - uninstall - Unplug adapter - reboot - plug it back in and it will either install drivers on it own or ask you what to do.

 

[Racer 1966]

I've got a run in. I don't think I'll try another, that was only the second time I ran that many laps. At most I'm only good for 1 more but it'll take 3 to beat out Rob . No way I can with the way it plays. There's something goofy in the game and the setup I have still. The sound is still really choppy and sometimes so is the video. I tried a different setup and it played fine, just can't drive it as well. :shrug:

On a good note, I did 23 sec pit stop! Ran out of gas just past the start, marshalled in, filled up and drove past the start again

I do kinda like the track, didn't ever try it on a higher grip setting.

 

[robmob]

I'm in, and I'm done.

I'm with ya Rob. I've always like this track as well. It has a nice flow to it. I don't know about you but that was HARD. Low grip level like that is tough to set up for. I had a decent setup in my practice but it was still horrible in the race. Very Very VERY difficult to drive.

I gave up trying to setup for the grip layout and instead arrived at a neutral setup I was comfortable with.

As long as I braked at the right locations, I was keeping in the 19 to 20 second range. I feel that lap times are made or broken at the chicane before the S/F line. Hit it and you your golden. Miss it and it adds seconds to your lap time.

I studied your final lap count and time and compared it to mine. Had I not booted that one lap, it would be real real close between us.

 

[Racer 1966]

Maybe someday I'll get more competitive for you guys but I swear when you switch to the race online it drives different. The grip is bit different and the AI cars are more aggressive for blocking and tagging you.
In practice I had a few 18's and a lot of 19's but could only get 2 in the race. How the heck you got a 17sec lap Josh is beyond me :surrender

 

[Lessen]

The grip level in the race is certainly different than it is in practice. Every single race so far it seems to be different. I think it was most different this week with the low grip level.

 

[Lessen]

Round 6 - Luxembourg

7/13/2009

After a well deserved break to enjoy family, friends and the celebration of our country's birthday it's back to the grindstone that is the 2009 VRCNT Championship season. The stadium that plays host to Round 6 of this season had quite a challenge for all of the RCNT competitors. Slick track conditions made for a very difficult time finding a proper setup to navigate this usually very flowing circuit well. Every driver in the lineup experience some level of dropoff in consistancy as the ice-like track surface challenged the concentration and patience of our racers. In the end Lessen managed to take yet another win as he again put down only a single attempt in hopes that the time would be good enough to stand. The status quo has not yet changed at the top of the charts. However, just beneath there are major changes brewing. Plagued with technical difficulties again, Candyman did not start the Luxembourg 600 and will take an enormous hit in the points. Robmob takes the runner-up position for the third time this season as Racer does the same with a 3rd place finish. Savagefan04 will come across the line in the final spot but is now only 47 points out of 4th place in the points standings. If Candyman cannot get his technical issues resolved he runs the risk of dropping from 2nd to last in points in only a few races time. We all know the racing ability of Candy so down does not necessarily mean out. The 2009 season has not yet seen the halfway point but it is looming with Australia and Brasil next up on the schedule. Sydney is another nicely flowing track that usually requires a setup very similar to Luxembourg. Anybody comfortable at Lux is sure to race well in Round 7. The conclusion to Round 8 in Sao Paulo will bring to an end to the first half of the 2009 season. Our racers can expect the next two races to be as different as different can be with high grip levels at a flat Australian track and then what will certainly be the slowest race of the year at the ever-treacherous Sao Paulo race.

 

[robmob]

Going from 89% grip to 103% grip is just wrong.

I find myself braking much to soon for the turns.

 

[Lessen]

You'r right about that front chicane Rob. If you just look at the racing line you can see that the perfect line is almost not a chicane at all. It's very nearly just a double apex left hander. There's a slight right turn to it but barely. That combination of corners is absolutely critical. I also find the entry to the infield 180* right hander to be critical. I have a bad habit of throwing the car in much too harder. You want to be waaay up top when you start to enter that corner, making that real wide is fast.

 

[Candyman]

OK, got it all sorted out. There's a major design flaw in the VRC-3 adapter. Two actually. First, the case that it's in has a collar around the USB plug. Well, that collar makes the plug shorter than all my other USB devices. So it doesn't push as far into the USB port. Second, pins 2 and 3 inside the plug are shorter than pins 1 and 4. Couple that with the collar issue and pins 2 and 3 weren't making contact in the USB port. So the unit was getting power, but wasn't providing signal to the computer. I removed the adapter from the case and it works just fine. I'm sending a mail off to VRC to let them know the flaws and will be modifying the case so it fits properly.

 

[Lessen]

Nice job Jeff, though got your work cut out for ya now buddy.

 

[Candyman]

I know I'm in an uphill points battle. I have no expectation of any significant gains. I'm pretty much prepared just to ride out the rest of the season, give a bit of competition and have some fun.

 

[Lessen]

Well, I just blew my lead. Completely forgot VRC this week. I've been pretty caught up in paint projects lately trying to get my rigs ready for the bash.

 

[robmob]

I figured you were just making it challenging for yourself the rest of the season. :green-grin:

I actually find myself forgetting about VRC on the weekends. The busier the weekend, the more likely I forget.

This weekend I will be out of town and have a big note to get my run in before Friday.

Going from 103% grip to 86% grip should be fun.

 

[Racer 1966]

I figured you were going to make it more of challenge foryourself too.


I figured this week would be really bad for me. I've been very busy(but I didn't forget ) getting ready for VBS and only practiced a coupe of times for 10 min or so. I was fortunate in that my setup from last week worked well this week too.

I came in late last night to make a run before going to bed. I knew about what I would run and was surprised to see Jeff in the same area. OOOh, that lit the fuse. My first run is never my best so when I ran the same no. of laps as Jeff in just a little more time,I got excited and said to myself "sorry jeff, I'm gonna take your position!"
I started the a second run. I was running decent I thought. I made it to where I wanted to pit and was able to get in clean. Woohooo, that's usually the hardest thing.
Then disaster! I pulled out of the pits and headed up the left side to first hairpin. I turned in and then Oh NOOOOOO!!!! I re-broke the steering wheel where I had broken and repaired it last week. I was then forced to limp around and finish the race, 1 lap+ behind. :\
That made me mad and the thrill of competition was burning so even though it was late, I went to the garage and pulled the wheel off of every transmitter I had hoping to find one that would fit. The only thing that fit was a Traxxas wheel but it is larger diameter and the foam was not very comfortable feeling. The steering was working though so I figured I would be allright.
It didn't take long in my 3rd run to find out the larger wheel and uncomfortable feel was hurting my driving. I ran it out the best I could but in the end I couldn't catch Jeff.
Sorry Jeff but you dodged a bullit this time!

 

[Candyman]

I didn't figure I'd really have any stellar run. I couldn't get a good setup down. 103% is tough. I kinda like a loose slippery car. And at that traction, the front end just kept really hooking. I was overturning everything. Hard to be smooth when your car is so ultra responsive. That lack of traction this week may be a bit more comforting.

 

[robmob]

Yikes!

I don't remember ever running on San Paulo. The elevation change and vantage point are throwing me off big time.

 

[Lessen]

I didn't figure I'd really have any stellar run. I couldn't get a good setup down. 103% is tough. I kinda like a loose slippery car. And at that traction, the front end just kept really hooking. I was overturning everything. Hard to be smooth when your car is so ultra responsive. That lack of traction this week may be a bit more comforting.

Put a less grippy tire on the front for that situation. I know it seems counter-intuitive to look for less grip but in all actuality that what you need. It's all about finding the balance. Less caster will slow down your turn-in as well

Yikes!

I don't remember ever running on San Paulo. The elevation change and vantage point are throwing me off big time.

Sao Paulo is a SOAB. It demands the ultimate in patience and is rather run once you get comfortable. It is hands down the best "slower is faster" track we see. Even the wide uphill left-hander coming to the line is slow.

 

[Lessen]

Round 7 - Sydney

7/20/2009

New leader! That's right, our previously points leader Lessen failed to make the race in Australia. That's the first points race he has failed to make since the beginning of the VRCNT championship season. With Lessen out of the way and the learning curve not quite so much of a curve (more like a neverending cliff), Robmob steals the show with a 3 lap advantage over 2nd place Candyman. Obviously Robmob found something special in his setup this week and took full advantage of the bubble gum-like track surface. Candyman admittedly was a bit off and barely squeezed out a runner-up finish over a hard charging Racer_1966. Racer really seem to be finding himself as we get closer to the halfway point of this season. SF04 stays in the game as well to take 4th place in points. Hey, that's 59 more than Lessen got! We can be sure after this weeks blunder that Lessen will be back at it in Brazil to chip away at Robmob's points. Chip away is exactly what he'll be doing too. With a 30 point deficit it will take more than a couple races to get back to the top. That might not be too easy either considering the new company Lessen is keeping. Our only full time rookie, Racer_1966 is a scant 15 point back of Lessen with Candyman trailer still considerably further back in 3rd. Sao Paulo is next on the list. Lessen picked one hell of a week to be off as the hot and slick Brazilian track will surely test his patience and focus as he attempts to claw his way back to the top.