Here comes the next big endurance race of the season. It should be far easier for us to schedule this one, as it runs from 0800 EST till 2000 EST.

So who's in? Depending on how they decide to play it, the new GT3 cars should be deployed in the build before this race so I will tentatively add them to the poll above.

Drivers:
Ryan Quinn
Ken Mckay
Trevor Mack
Brian Gay

Schedule (assuming a similar 30 minute warmup):
0800-1130: Ryan Quinn
1130-1430: Ken Mckay
1430-1630: Ryan Quinn
1630-1830: Brian Gay
1830-2030: Trevor Mack

I'm game for just about any of the cars except the McLaren! I hope the new cars get released, they may be fun to try. For that reason I did not vote but if we had to pick from today's cars then I'm ok with either BMW or DP.

_________________
Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports

From http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts ... ge#9598288

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

I've edited the poll to add the proper cars, and to allow people to vote a maximum of 2 cars they would like to drive. Now that everything is set in stone, make your choices now!

I will say that at Sebring the BMW does have a massive power deficit to the Mclaren. The Mclaren is a very aerodynamically slippery (think Williams vs. Toro Rosso) while the BMW has the oomph in the braking zones and grip, but the aero really drags it down.

Knowing that, I don't mind consistency, especially for a 12 Hour so my vote stands but I figured everyone should be informed.

I'll drive any of them. Only have the RUF and MP4 so can't say much about the others. The RUF might be a little harder to stay on top of for 2 hours at a time. PS don't mind buying one of the others so pick what works best. Need to pick up Sebring as well.

So the DP and BMW were tied top honours, so I made the decision for us to run at the sharp end of the field with the DP.

So who wants what stints? I will fill in any gaps since Saturdays are pretty open for me anyway. First come first serve!

Put me down for a slot, time wise it doesn't really matter to me.

_________________
Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports

How does 1030-1230 EST sound to you?

That works!

I did a bit of testing, 1:57's-1:58's I don't think that is all that fast but I could manage fairly consistently. I have played a bit with the setup starting with the high down force one. We need to start sharing setups to find one we can all use. If my calculations are correct we will need around 24.XX gal's of fuel to last 1 hour at the times I was turning.

Does anyone know if we are running daytime or nighttime configuration?

_________________
Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports

The schedule (pdf) says "day". http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts ... 70378.page

Forum wisdom is saying default weather.

BTW isn't there a new build the Tuesday of that week? There's a chance it could throw off the setup a bit if they changed anything on the car.

Sebring can be a bit tricky with setup, because you want to run as little downforce as you can while still letting you hammer it around the three or four fast corners you still have. With the massive straights it has I've generally gone for a lower downforce configuration, but that's because I've been caught rather easily on the back and front straights despite the extra grip in the corners. If you can't get away from them in the easy passing zones, what good is it to get past them in the twisty bits?

I don't imagine much is going to change in terms of mechanics come the new build, however there is always the possibility of something going wrong. I will start toying with setups on Sunday evening once I've completed my BSS/BES races, and we can converge on something good.

FYI, race warm up will be 10 minutes.

I *might* be able to take a stint or two around 15:00. Will know better later in the week.

_________________

1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

Not sure what was the deal with the 24hr of Daytona then, because we were all off by half an hour when it came to stints. Oh well, we'll keep it as is.

I did some practice on the weekend, and the most important thing to remember is that the C7 is really slippery on an out lap, especially in colder weather. I don't believe they use tire warmers in the IMSA series, and that has been carried over to iRacing as well. Take it slow and keep it a gear higher for that first lap.

I am working with a few setups and should have one ready to go by tomorrow evening. If anyone wants to double up on stints to fill the gaps, I don't mind taking an extra as well.

6 days to go!

I did some more testing last weekend with modified med down force and high down force settings. I hear what Ryan is saying about straight away speed but I'll be honest, majority of the course is through twisties and remember you will probably always be off line trying to pass a GT car. With that in mind a had a mod med down force setup that I thought was pretty good, turned 1:57's, had to take it easy on the out lap. The more I drove the car the more I realized that this was not a long haul stable setup, required way too much mental power to hang onto it. So, I went back the high down force setup and continued to modify it some more. Was able to turn 1:56's with much less mental strain and realized that the mod higher down force setup is way more stable for the long haul especially if you happen to make a mistake it doesn't bit as hard as the med setup.

Just my thoughts. How do I share the file so others can try it out?

_________________
Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports

After doing more testing, I agree with you Brian. The DP is not as weighed down with its downforce as the HPD was, so the straight line speed is far better than I expected.

If you want to just attach the setup here on the forum I can add it to my Google Drive and then share it. Of everyone who is racing, Trevor is the only one who isn't a member of this forum. You could also share it through Google Drive or Dropbox or any other of those cloud-based FTP services. EDIT: You can attach files on the Yahoo group as well, though realistically Trevor will just get in and go on his merry way.

I also ditched the setup I had been working on all weekend, since the baseline (which I grabbed from SetupSync) was inherently crap, so no matter what I did there were still niggling issues. That being said, the boys at TNT Racing (thanks Scott!) have a track guide and a very solid setup that I've been testing at the link below. I put that setup forward as one to test out as well.

https://youtu.be/S6FMrQhGf5o

Note: You don't have to register for Dropbox to download, just keep clicking the "No Thanks I just want to (view/download)" until you can download it.

I may need a different time slot. I just got called to an "must" attend AMP meeting this Saturday @ 1pm AST.

_________________
Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports

If someone wants the 12:30 slot I can switch to the 10:30 or 2:30.

I can share put Brian's setup on google drive if he wants to email it to me.

I will send it to you tonight when I get home.

_________________
Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports

I'll be running with TNT @ 1030-1230, and I'll be out of the house @ 1430-1630, so I'm pretty useless.

_________________

1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

The setup Brian has been working on can be found at:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6P2K- ... VINnM/view

Tried the C7 for the first time last night and was surprised how easy it was to drive with Brian's setup. A lot more stable than the RUF GT3 and the MP4. If anyone was on the fence because the car was unfamiliar, I don't think it would be an issue.

Agreed, very solid setup Brian, even in hot temperatures.

Does anyone mind if I unload the diff some? I don't really like a strong diff so I eased off some of the preload and ramp angles. It's not so bad that I can't put them back, I just found it more comfortable.

@Ryan, just let us know what you did and I will test probably tonight. The big thing with the diff (and this can be largely dependent on driving style) is the diff is used as a tuning tool. If you remove too much preload or coast for example, all of a sudden the car is less stable under trail braking (if that happens to be your style) or even braking not in a straight line. Everything is worth a try for sure!

_________________
Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports

Ryan is almost done with his stint. I'm about to join. Running in 16th after two stops to buff out some minor scrapes with the wall.

First stint is done, and Ken is now in the car.

Despite my mistakes, attrition and clean running have gotten up back up to 13th. With 8.75 hours remaining, who knows what will happen.

3 Hours down, and in 3 more I will free Ken of his burden for a bit before Brian takes over.

So far so good for Team Regulars (Irregulars)!

Ryan is back in. Up to 12th now. Track is hot (108F) and slippery.

I didn't hit anything but something hit me (repeatedly in fact after he turned me). There are a few drivers to watch out for. Car was still turning the same lap times despite a few knocks.

Over halfway there. Good luck with the second half.

Just in case anyone was wondering, the report from the last driver:

Congrats guys! Great finish.

I ran 149 laps during the 13 GMT race with my team (TNT Racing) in the broadcast. We started 18th and finished 14th. The competition was fierce in the top split with a fastest lap of 1:53.610 and very little in the way of attrition. We got through the whole 12 hours without damage and only gained 4 spots. Very clean and respectful driving all around.

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

I promise that the next time I will do more to avoid hammering the front end of the car into the barriers. That said, I am glad for how quickly and completely repairs are completed on the Corvette DP. As long as you smash it on the nose end it will be completely repaired with no residual side effects.

Of course the next time we're racing we're on the Green Hell with GT3 cars. While Sebring was generally attrition free, I don't see the same happening over 24 hours of the Nurburgring.