I wanted to see what the prototypes that ran today at Road America feel like, but I'm not much good with these hypertech, mega-downforce, Buck Rogers space ships; I'm more a seat-of-the-pants kinda guy (think Lister Knobbly, Scarab-Chev), so I had to set the cambers for this Ligier JSP217 (from the coyly-named 'Rollovers'; I don't have anything else closer to today's Acuras and Mazdas, and I've already posted a setup for the Caddy DPi) with a skidpad and a recording g-meter, both of which I found here on RD. I'm still not sure I got it right (it's very sensitive to camber and toe), but I tried. Ten-lap race setup.
Why I test at Elkhart Lake. 1. It doesn't have any stupidly slow hairpins or chicanes, which interfere with repeatability; at least the way I drive. Spa would be ideal if it weren't for that ugly, contorted chicane at the end of the lap. 2. The Carousel. Unlike the Nordschleife's Karusel (tight and lumpy), RA's Carousel is the closest thing you'll find to a high-speed, steady-state skid pad (or 'pan' as they call it in Blighty). It will give you an indication of absolute grip, with numbers you can compare, car-to-car and setup-to-setup (anything below 100 mph = pokey; anything over = speedy). 3. The Kink. The scariest turn in North America. Little cars will barely notice it, but big cars will make or break a lap-time depending on whether or not your setup will allow you to take it flat out.
Why I test at Elkhart Lake. 1. It doesn't have any stupidly slow hairpins or chicanes, which interfere with repeatability; at least the way I drive. Spa would be ideal if it weren't for that ugly, contorted chicane at the end of the lap. 2. The Carousel. Unlike the Nordschleife's Karusel (tight and lumpy), RA's Carousel is the closest thing you'll find to a high-speed, steady-state skid pad (or 'pan' as they call it in Blighty). It will give you an indication of absolute grip, with numbers you can compare, car-to-car and setup-to-setup (anything below 100 mph = pokey; anything over = speedy). 3. The Kink. The scariest turn in North America. Little cars will barely notice it, but big cars will make or break a lap-time depending on whether or not your setup will allow you to take it flat out.
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