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How did you make out with Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?
Actually here looking for some help.
How “loose” does the drivetrain of your JCW feel when you get on and off the throttle quickly? By “loose” I mean does it normally feel like there is some rocking of the engine going on?
I am not sure if what I am feeling lately is something that I got used to over time and has always been there or it is new. There was another issue* that made me pay attention to the drivetrain more closely than usual so not sure what I am feeling and thought I would check with you. What it feels like is the way the dual mass flywheel feels on the R56, but more so.
There is no banging, tapping or any other noise associated with what I am feeling. Also, I have checked the upper engine mount of the passenger side for failure and there is none; it is still good. I have not yet checked the mount on the transmission nor the stabilizer mount at the bottom. Right now I suspect that stabilizer. I just have to dig into it a bit or take it to the dealer and have them check it out.
So, I am just looking for a sanity check on what I am feeling. It felt pretty normal today.
* the other issue was something that seemed like a split second hesitation when I went over some really harsh expansion joints on a local section of I90 on Saturday. Made me think that the jolt was violent enough to rock the engine and that got me thinking and paying attention to what was going on with and without that jolt. Maybe I just got hyper sensitive to the way the car normally feels.
Cannot help with that sir - too vague to grapple with.
Gilles Villenueve is not my favorite, but we get along alright.
Chewing on Red Bull Ring at present - are those curbs or bloody bollards? A few corners of flow, but also not a favorite. Picky bugger I am but long straights and tight right-angle corners do not make a merry dance...
Cheers,
Charlie
Last edited by cmt52663; Jun 23, 2025 at 06:03 PM.
Not looking for a diagnosis of my car. I was wondering how your car felt to you. That’s ok, as I may have come up with my own diagnosis. The “dog bone”, which minimizes rotation of the engine, may not be in the best shape or may never have been good at doing its job. I am working on a video of the engine under hard acceleration. It shows movement..
Your comment about the Red Bull Ring is one that I have had about most of the F1 circuits just from observation. No flow to them. COTA comes to mind. And a lot of them have a T1 and/or chicane(s) that seem to be meant to pile cars up and destroy them instead of just slowing them down. Monza and Indy road course come to mind. Horrible for road cars running those courses. WGI seems to make theirs work. It seems the others could have done better.
Enough of my whining…
I’d be curious to see how you make out on either of the courses you are working on.
Have you try running Silverstone in the rain? That was a crazy race…
So, SPA is next? That is a pretty track and it seems to have a nice rhythm. However, T1 looks to be designed to make a pile of scrap metal out of some very expensive machinery. Not a fan of tracks that do that (COTA, Indy road course, many European tracks). I guess we’ll see.
You follow any of the Indi car road course racing?
Have you try running Silverstone in the rain? That was a crazy race…
So, SPA is next? That is a pretty track and it seems to have a nice rhythm. However, T1 looks to be designed to make a pile of scrap metal out of some very expensive machinery. Not a fan of tracks that do that (COTA, Indy road course, many European tracks). I guess we’ll see.
You follow any of the Indi car road course racing?
Yes I do - I enjoyed Mid-Ohio.
To continue my auditing of the 2025 F1 Season, I've progressed to SPA.
More than a decade ago, I was using Grand Prix Legends as my simulator and winter entertainment which means that I have driven SPA in 1967 - the year that simulator supports. That means I have tiptoed in a narrow-tired 390 horsepower Ferrari around the terrifying ORIGINAL Spa Francorchamps Grand Prix course - past the stone farmhouses at 150 miles per hour and past the location of Jackie Stewart's near fatal crash that year in his BRM. Gurney won that year in an Eagle...
The original Spa circuit was apocalyptically dangerous and took over fifty lives over all racing categories and including four marshals!
In iRacing we're on the modern circuit which (with the exception of Eau Rouge) is not as frightening as the older public roads version.
These days the F1 cars are FLAT through Eau Rouge all the way down the Kemmel straight (which is the first DRS zone), and fast everywhere else. The throttle is also pinned all the way from Stavelot to the Chicane. There's another DRS zone on the start/finish straight but it matters less.
To me it seems fast, flowing, and fun as all heck! I reckon Lewis has done it in 1:41 - good for him! I'm still figuring out how to run the goldarn MGU-K settings and tire temperatures to my advantage and have over a week to get faster, but at present I'm at 1:50.
I looked up that 1967 SPA race. That race seemed to have been won and lost on mechanical issues. Gurney did have a blisteringly fast car for the day, which clearly helped. I suspect it had to be pretty grueling, being almost 9 miles long.
YouTube also has some great in-car videos from the Le Mans 2025 Classic. There is one from a 312 Ferrari that shows the driver pretty well. The car looks terribly uncomfortable, and a lot of work. This from back in the day before nutrition and exercise were a big thing in auto racing. Don’t know how the drivers did it back then for those long races. In comparison we have it pretty easy these days…. Sort of… Now a days a 24hr race is a sprint.
This video isn’t so much about the driving as it is about the track car development tool the person is demonstrating/using and explains. The tool gives predictive lap times for various tracks for various cars and any modifications that one might want to make to a car. There are some good links in the video description that might be helpful
This video isn’t so much about the driving as it is about the track car development tool the person is demonstrating/using and explains. The tool gives predictive lap times for various tracks for various cars and any modifications that one might want to make to a car. There are some good links in the video description that might be helpful
Your line through the esses looked good. I talked to someone at my last LRP event who said VIR was his home track. He said the top of the left hand turn of the esses (hope I got that correct) has a crest to it like LRP’s uphill and if the front wheels are not straight it can send one off the track much like at LRP.
There is a guy who runs a a 992 GT3 who I have been out on the track with. He posted videos last year of him at WGI and VIR (full course), both with data. It is interesting that both tracks have about the same lap times. He posted a 1:58-ish at both tracks. I’ll see if I can match my WGI time at VIR when I am there.
So I just surrendered Gollum to the good auspices of the crew chief (Jeremy) who has been looking after the car for five years now. An award winning mechanic among the cadre of Mini USA, Jeremy shares my passion and sharp eyes, and is the perfect companion for me as I seek to extend the life of this car that I adore.
Jeremy had previously advised me that he found a bit of seep from the covers of the twin balance shafts on the B48, and a bit of rust on the harmonic balancer, and so during this visit I expected to endure the estimate for these repairs (~ $2,700) as a necessary sacrifice.
I asked first however, that all codes be read and a compression check be performed, as Gollum is at 152,800 and I don't wish to invest thousands in a losing proposition.
So!
1. The compression on this high mileage motor is SPOT ON. All four are between 135 and 142 psi. So rings and valves are happy. This finding is reinforced by the mileage Gollum records - still 29.6 with my driving habits.
2. There are NO codes. The computer is happy as a clam (an Ipswich expression) and although the software could use an update, all is well.
3. There is NO OIL LEAK. We pulled the cover and examined it,, and all the shiny bits as well, and those seeps are not progressing. Perhaps next year, perhaps not, but not now. So no $2,700 expense.
4. The salty air around Gloucester has NOT turned the undercarriage into a horrorshow, corrosion is mild and in general Gollum's appearance is clean and pleasing.
5. The ground strap for the starter (braided copper) DOES show corrosion, and so I got an estimate to replace it. Sit down. The estimate was $1,185 dollars!!! ;-)
So Gollum will get loved, new oil, new plugs, new brake fluid, new filter, and a detail. Other than that we'll just keep on trucking!
So I just surrendered Gollum to the good auspices of the crew chief (Jeremy) who has been looking after the car for five years now. An award winning mechanic among the cadre of Mini USA, Jeremy shares my passion and sharp eyes, and is the perfect companion for me as I seek to extend the life of this car that I adore.
Jeremy had previously advised me that he found a bit of seep from the covers of the twin balance shafts on the B48, and a bit of rust on the harmonic balancer, and so during this visit I expected to endure the estimate for these repairs (~ $2,700) as a necessary sacrifice.
I asked first however, that all codes be read and a compression check be performed, as Gollum is at 152,800 and I don't wish to invest thousands in a losing proposition.
So!
1. The compression on this high mileage motor is SPOT ON. All four are between 135 and 142 psi. So rings and valves are happy. This finding is reinforced by the mileage Gollum records - still 29.6 with my driving habits.
2. There are NO codes. The computer is happy as a clam (an Ipswich expression) and although the software could use an update, all is well.
3. There is NO OIL LEAK. We pulled the cover and examined it,, and all the shiny bits as well, and those seeps are not progressing. Perhaps next year, perhaps not, but not now. So no $2,700 expense.
4. The salty air around Gloucester has NOT turned the undercarriage into a horrorshow, corrosion is mild and in general Gollum's appearance is clean and pleasing.
5. The ground strap for the starter (braided copper) DOES show corrosion, and so I got an estimate to replace it. Sit down. The estimate was $1,185 dollars!!! ;-)
So Gollum will get loved, new oil, new plugs, new brake fluid, new filter, and a detail. Other than that we'll just keep on trucking!
nope, ‘Tis this wee bit of copper ‘twixt solenoid and starter.
Oh THAT thing. Yeah, I stare at it every time I get under the car (getting ready to roll 139K miles). I actually did a clean and protect job on that at 101K miles because I noticed the "greening" and Did Not Like It. Cleaned it up as best I could with electronic component/contact cleaner and careful scraping; then coated it and the visible contacts up in Super Lube-21030 Synthetic Multi-Purpose Grease. I ruled out using a conductive grease for... long reasons I don't remember after doing a lot of digging around. But you get the idea.
Given how easy to reach that strap is, I suspect that the ka-ching is: (1) strap integral to starter, so replace starter? (2) various bits of disconnection labor; and (3) defeat the freakout of whatever modules in the car will freak out when you do all that...
Oh THAT thing. Yeah, I stare at it every time I get under the car (getting ready to roll 139K miles). I actually did a clean and protect job on that at 101K miles because I noticed the "greening" and Did Not Like It. Cleaned it up as best I could with electronic component/contact cleaner and careful scraping; then coated it and the visible contacts up in Super Lube-21030 Synthetic Multi-Purpose Grease. I ruled out using a conductive grease for... long reasons I don't remember after doing a lot of digging around. But you get the idea.
Given how easy to reach that strap is, I suspect that the ka-ching is: (1) strap integral to starter, so replace starter? (2) various bits of disconnection labor; and (3) defeat the freakout of whatever modules in the car will freak out when you do all that...
Bloody starter is about $600 - go figgrer! Yep, I asked Jeremy (he'da dunnit ennyway) to do what YOU did, and call it good! ;-)
The Glen ain't safe for F1. It took deaths to discern that.
It is however one of my favorite tracks to drive.
As documented elsewhere I've had the pleasure of visiting in person, and also attending as a guest of Jon Skalwold (Eddie07) during a great HPDE event.
So I've been chauffered around in a Hyundai "N" car at a VERY brisk 2:15 - which was great fun, and plenty of stress on my old carcass. Jon, Albert can run that pace, right?
And during said HPDEs, there's usually some hairy Porsches around with GOOD rubber and some of them dip under 2:00 which is serious!
And I just watched the Ferrari 296 entries in the Copa Shell Pro/Am touring the course in competition at about a 1:50 pace - RACE car territory now...
FastLaps.com claims Mario Andretti has gone around in a Lola T332 at around 1:40 - I wonder was the chicane in use then? I think so...
The same source has Bourdais in the Cadillac DP1-V.R turning a blazing fast 1:29...
Just for sh*ts and giggles, here's one of those unsafe F1 cars (badly driven) turning a 1:20.
10 years ago, Tony Stewart in Louis Hamilton’s 3 year old (at that time) F1 car, on a damp track, with wet tires turned about a 1:37 at WGI, driving the full track with the bus stop and having never driven the track before, except on a simulator.
As for Albert, he’s got a ways to go in the way of upgrades in order to play tag with that Hyundai “N” car and Albert’s driver has a ways to go in order to match the skill of that Hyundai’s driver. However, even wtih those two limitations he is really fun to drive…. Max (of F1) has a great quote from his recent interview with Chris Harris… “Drive what you have”. I subscribe to that. I do have fun with that.
The following image is offered utterly without any editorial slant, spin, sound effects, or other hint of just how soul destroying the rampant use of tech in motorcars can make our elder drivers...........
My mother would be proud.
This is the loaner F56 (B38) saying bye bye as I get the heck out of it, having eventually figured out how to put it in park.
Have you try running Silverstone in the rain? That was a crazy race…
However, T1 looks to be designed to make a pile of scrap metal out of some very expensive machinery. Not a fan of tracks that do that (COTA, Indy road course, many European tracks).
yep, actually quite good on standard road tyres in the wet…on the national circuit in 2018 before the modifications got serious…id like to go back soon also with the f56 it just needs a diff adding before that gets on any Track Garage space It likes the rain
Hey Charlie - in iRacing, do you have the choice of which direction you run any tracks you are on? There are some tracks, such as the Indy road course and Portland where the Indy cars just finished a race at, that seem to be designed to pile up cars at T1. But looking at the track layouts, it looks like either track could be run in the counterclockwise and it seems like that direction would make for better racing. I thought that, maybe, you could run them backwards in your F1 car and give a opinion of doing that from a drivers perspective.
Now a days a 24hr race is a sprint. 
