1999WHITEFRC

I ran 2 Hill Climbs and they are a ton of fun. My car is a 2000 FRC all stock down to the air filter, with just a set of Hoosiers A6's and Ti axle back. It was a lot of fun, but I need a lot more seat time and experience. I wanted to get some auto x events under my belt before I did one but that never happened. So these 2 on my youtube channel are my only events going fast turning haha. Im a drag racer converting! This is way more fun, would like to try some track days also. Im braking way early and not pushing it hard as I could I guess. Just trying to play it safe for a while. Sorry for the long vids.. have to learn how to edit.

Supercharged111

Looks like fun. ALWAYS keep 2 hands on the wheel except to shift, don't shuffle the wheel, and lose the NHRA patch.

1999WHITEFRC

Thanks for the advice...lots to learn for sure. I forgot the NHRA patch was on there haha!

Werks

about the hands. You are going to kill your self lol trying to take corners maced out with just one hand on the wheel. If the car steps out/you start to spin and you need to counter steer your done. Other than that I have to say that it looks like fun!

c5_4_me

Sorry, I can't watch this any more. I watched about 30 seconds of actual driving in the first video and I had to stop. I'm afraid your bad habits will rub off on me.
When you reach up there and grab the wheel with one hand and pull it across to your right, that is just plain dangerous. I'm FAR from any kind of expert, but there are plenty of guys (and maybe some gals too) on this site who could qualify as experts and they would say the same thing. I'm not being mean, I'm just trying to stress that these guys telling you tips are for your best interest, and ultimately, your SAFETY.
You deserve credit for taking on this challenge, and I would love to take part in such hill climbs. But, please be safe and try to take some lessons from experienced drivers so that you can put your bad habits behind you before something bad happens.

Han Solo

Who was the sanctioning body that these events were under? SCCA? NASA? ????

rfn026

I used to run the PHA hillclimb series many decades ago.I had a great time. That was when Kerry Hitt used to run the old Greenwood LeMans Corvette on Pagoda. The announcer would always say "The Hitt man is now on the hill." When he came across the finish line all the trees were shaking.

Richard Newton

1999WHITEFRC

No problem, all deleted.... As I said Ive never done anything like this before, so Im sorry if any habits rubbed off on you. And believe me Im open to all advice and will listen to anyone with experience. I always want to be safe.

Werks

I'm sorry if we came across that negative. I actually enjoyed looking at the video's as it's a neat form of racing that I had never really seen before. Looks like fun and is something that I my self would be interested in trying. In regards to the driving as you mentioned you are a drag racer, so this is new for you. I've personally never been on a drag strip before so I would not even have a clue on what to do and the comments that people would be posting after viewing video's of me would probably be quite negative lol! All in all though one I think that part of the cause for the comments is that looking at the type of "tracks" (road sections) that you are running on there is little to no run off, so any errors are going to have stiff consequences!

Car control starts with basic driver positioning and hand placement. So some basic suggestions to help improve things for you. First your seat position looks to be laid back too far, like a recliner. To find your proper seat position fully compress the clutch and then set your seat so that your leg is not fully extended but your knee still has a slight bend to it. Then for seat back (if yours are adjustable) and telescoping steering wheel adjust them so that you are in a comfortable position and so that while strapped in when you position your arms over the steering wheel with a slight bend in your elbows your wrists (not palm or finger tips) end up sitting on top of the wheel. This is kind of a basic way of getting in the proper seating position for road racing.

Now just put your hands on the wheel at the 3 and 9 o'clock position and keep them both there while driving other that to shift. With the seating position/telescoping wheel set up like that you should now be able to comfortably rotate the wheel 180 degrees in either direction while maintaining your hold with both hands at the 3 & 9 position without having to shuffle your hands or let go with one hand. This way you always have both hands on the wheel at all times and are in a much better position to maintain car control if the car suddenly steps out/starts to spin by being able to quickly and accurately input steering corrections even when going through really tight corners.

Give it a shot and see what you think!

1999WHITEFRC

Not at all, just didn't want this to turn into a bash fest. No harm done at all. And the above is really good information, and I appreciate it. I just thought because there aren't a lot of hill climbers on here it was something different to watch. I do plan on getting a seat as that is still the stock seat which is no good for what I want to do with it. They have a driver school I believe 2 times a year at a local auto x which I wanted to attend with an instructor but couldn't make the first one. I would like to do one because I believe its class room, then in the car with an instructor, which would be great. Thanks for the info!

rfn026

Running hills is much closer to running an autocross than road racing. The biggest difference though is that you can fall off the mountain. You need to find just the right amount of aggression. On a road course you can just drive around. A hill is more like a qualifying lap than a race.

We used to get 4 runs up the mountain each day. My technique was to go flat out and then back off where necessary. Others would build up speed on each run. Either way works.

In between events run as many autocross events as you can. Learn how to be aggressive. The old saying was "You can teach an autocrosser how to be a road racer but not all road racers can win at an autocross." I think that's still true.

You've gotten a lot of advice from road racers here and most of it should be helpful. Just remember most have never run a hill. If you really want to see how to attack the mountain watch George Bowland.
Richard Newton

sleeperstyle

jim- nice talking today. get that shoulder healed and we are gonna have some fun on the track!

as far as hand positioning, seat positioning, driver technique- i HIGHLY recommend reading this book- hell if anybody hasn't read it they should if they roadrace/de/tt. written by Ross Bentley

https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...ed=0CFYQ8wIwAg

watch for the R888 groove of death!

c5_4_me

I honestly did not mean it as a "bash" and I did not intend for you to pull your videos down.

If I was to post video of my own "performance", or rather the lack thereof, on the autocross courses that I have run (if I had such video), I am sure it would be FULL of errors and bad habits and I would deserve to be bashed. When I tried to get an experienced and highly skilled driver to ride along with me in my Vette at an autocross a few years ago, she had seen me spin-out and such in previous runs and she said:
"I don't ride with people who don't know what they're doing."
So talk about an ego check right there.

Lately, I have been watching videos posted on this forum and they have nearly all been of drivers with more experience, skill, and proper technique than I possess. I try to take as much from them as I can. So, when I saw your video, your lack of experience was a big change from the norm. You will improve quickly if you are willing to try different techniques.

Anyway, it's awesome that you are taking your Vette to these hillclimbs and pushing it and yourself and that you are willing to "put yourself out there" for people on the internet to view your stuff. I commend you and wish you nothing but the best.

opel

1999WHITEFRC There's not many of us hillclimbers on here so welcome. Please repost the video links I have not seen them and would like to. I use to run a C4 with the pha group and now run a 99 FRC with them but I've missed most of the last two years. What hills did you run? Below are links to some of my runs, and the last link is what can and most likely will happen at some time if you keep running hills. I say that to every one that wants to hillclimb so they understand that hillclimbing is dangers. You have to be willing to except that it can happen.

opel

Sorry tried to post just the links but could only post videos.

Han Solo

I am not trying to bash anyone.

I am curious what club and region allowed a novice to sign up for and run a hill climb. This usually requires working your way up through he ranks until you have proven ability and have been signed off to graduate to this level.

Axelrod

"Usually" ?? You need to stop right there. The hillclimb races are "Solo" events and any novice can participate. In fact, it is encouraged. There is a strong novice recruitment process for Solo events.

Now, it's your turn to read the GCR and determine the rollbar requirements. What is "usually" the norm?

Han Solo

Hill climbs and Track Trials have not been under the "SOLO" designation for YEARS!


This is what I based my comments on. I have never run a hill climb personally so I concede I am not qualified to make such an assessment other than what I've read.

http://www.scca.com/clubracing/content.cfm?cid=44465
So novices are allowed but they require a novice permit and some sort of training and supervision. At least for SCCA requirements.

http://scca.cdn.racersites.com/prod/...ulesv03131.pdf

el es tu

sleeperstyle

working your way through the ranks, some people take that a little too seriously. it can ruin the sport for some people, it has made me consider quitting because of the hypocrisy that comes with it. i have consistently ran in slower run groups because of my lack of experience (12 track days now)... i get held up, my car is COVERED with rubber from being behind people all day. i have to fight to get moved up, it is frustrating to say the least..

but some "higher ranking" friking de guy says i am not advanced, ok maybe i am not, but i am faster than everybody in my run group, so what do i do?

i realize i might get flamed for that and it was not meant as an attack on anybody- just something i had to post after i read about "working up through the ranks".

thats right, the CAR is faster than everybody.. that is what i am told.. i don't disagree, guess i better slow it down then? ridiculous, i was also told it would benefit me to drive a slower car.. sounds good!.. now ill just sell both vettes and buy something slower, because joe schmoe's e36m3 taught him to be a pro driver . good stuff, i'll tell you! drive it like a momentum car, you don't need any gears but 5th, that thing has soo much torque. the t1 guys run XX, if you can't run that in your vette then you are not getting everything out of it...

ok im done now, i feel a little better