2013 FSAE-A Drive Swap
While it’s about a month late I thought it might be a good idea to finally get this thread going.
Hopefully some of the drivers still have vague recollection of the events? It would be great to hear for guy’s like Pete, Malcom, Travis and Andrew Gun, who had a chance to drive multiple cars, on the differences between them.
We (Curtin) though the drive swap day was an incredibly beneficial experience, and were lucky to have 20 8-lap stints between 16 drivers.(Tim, malcom, trav, drew, pete, scott, mat, christo, Toko denki guy#1, paul, nick, andrew, shay, tom, mitsutakau &chris) A huge thanks to all the drivers for their great feedback, and apologies to Chris, andrew and any other drivers who lost laps due to our lack of fuel/electrons late in the day.
For reference our vehicle was in it’s endurance config- Tyres were our comp set, used from Friday onwards for all comp events a few bonus laps. Aero was set to a medium DF/drag setting, due to the high speed straight on track.
Tyres -- 13x7 R25B : Aero -- Est ClA 4.0, CdA 2.0 :Weight -- 270kg (no driver)
Best times achieved by drivers (hand timed) were:
Pete Marsh (UWAM) 39.8
Tim S (CMT) 39.9 (multiple stints..)
Andrew Gun (MUR) 40.15 (4 laps only)
Travis (MMS) 40.19
Malcom Finch (UoA) 40.26
Chris (MMS) 42.5 (2 laps only)
Shay (CMT) 42.6
I had the opportunity to drive Monash’s car (thanks guys!), and have some comments below.
I should probably preface this by noting that I do not have a particularly strong motorsport background, with all driving experience to date in the CMT vehicle. Most comments are based on performance differences between CMT and MMS only.
Monash:
Ergonomics
I got the impression that the ergonomics are very well suited to perhaps a somewhat differently shaped person to me. Seating position and belts provided a lot of support and excellent rigidity though I felt that the seat shoulders were too narrow and position a bit more upright ; though not enough to notice it much when driving.I found the headrest somewhat uncomfortable and would probably want the headrest moved slightly rearwards as well --it felt like my head was pushed forward too far relative to the seat-back.
The adjustable pedalbox was perfect as usual, can't really comment on pedal weights as I was never braking on the limit; but I assume they had to be good as I didn't really notice them. Shifter (manual) required a lot of weight; but certainly worked. The paddle shift option was awesome too; it allowed easy shifting even on the high speed “twitches” during the straight, compared to ours where it was best to shift and stay in 4th prior to this section. The paddles required very low force to actuate-- not a problem after a few laps, but interesting to get used to straight away.
Driver aids/ displays I think could be improved on this car. While the green lights for “shift now” were effective I definitely missed the CMT dash as it provides a much clearer indication of engine RPM. While I don't imagine the MMS drivers need it, less familiar drivers might benefit from a larger and more obvious tacho so they can get the downshift points etc right.
I also think that the control/ buttons could do with being labeled; it takes 5 minutes if you have a $20 label maker and you’ll get that time back at a single sponsor drive day IMO. From memory there is something in the design event about controls being clearly understood/marked, so some nice labels/decals could even be worth points?
In terms of vehicle dynamics I felt the car performed amazingly in all corners and transients. The vehicle felt much more “crisp” and stiffer than ours, and seemed to handle the bumps around the hairpin quite well. There didn’t appear to be noticeable understeer or oversteer at any point; probably because I was driving way off the limit
Steering weight was moderate to low and the lock-lock required was far lower than CMT. While personally I would have liked a slower rate for the comp track we saw this year, I imagine that for the usual hairpin etc the current MMS steering would be ideal.
Aero was excellent. Available grip in the fast sections was definitely higher in our car (guessing 15-20%?) and I don't think I was getting near the limit at any point there. Can't comment much on DRS as I was putting too much focus into shifting and avoiding cones to really pay attention. It was notable that the vehicle balance was not substantially affected with DRS open as handling still seemed OK on the twitches at the end of the straight with the wing open.
Power-wise it felt OK; though definitely less power than our RR. While the paddle shift certainly helped keep the power on, I wasn't a fan of the short gearing and need for so many shifts.
So, what to change to make it better? Some minor changes to the dash and ergo could make the car nicer for less experienced drivers, and more power output over a broader range could make it faster on such an open track. I’d probably try a thinner headrest and see if the drivers find it more comfortable too. I’m very interested to hear what Pete has to say about VD; unfortunately I don't have enough experience to know what could improve there. Overall a bloody awesome car- it seems to do everything that is important very well.
Short video with best laps from a few drivers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_bb9GFhIiU
Tim
Curtin Motorsport 2009-2013