A lap around the Channel Islands Raceway track in Santa Barbara CA.
Posted by Joseph Quagraine on Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Above you see a video of the BLACK Edition doing a lap around the Channel Islands Raceway track in Santa Barbara CA. The surface is very similar to the Fear Farm track in AZ, so hard packed, with a moon-like rough surface. The traction is lower though, and the track didn’t feel very edgy.
Basic Setup
The setup I ran was my starting setup. You can find it here. As you can see if you follow the posted setup sheets here, the main things that change track to track are:
1. Centre diff: Thicker for more drive, when you can get away with it. More bumps, more loose, more technical = thinner. Between 10k-20k.
- On this track 15k was a good compromise, the technical centre section was easier to drive, but you had good drive for the jumps.
2. Downtravel: Front almost always 102, rear 121-123. Less is faster, more is easier.
- On this track, 121 rear would make the car better from the top of the hill all the way down through the sweeper, and then after the next double, the on power left/straight. BUT, from the front of the drivers stand to the top of the hill, the car would be less forgiving, and not as easy to drive.
3. Rear hub position: 1 shim in front standard, 2 shims in front for bumps. Highest hole hub insert standard, dot up or middle insert for better bump handling, or less sidebite for edgy tracks. 1 degree toe in standard, 0 if you can get away with it, for more cornerspeed, like at the onroad with jumps track at fall brawl.
- On this track, the highest hole and the hub with 1 shim in front gave the car more traction, which was needed in the off camber, dusty, rough corners.
4. Swaybars: 2.3 front standard, 2.2 for more steering. 2.6 rear standard, 2.5 for more rear grip, 2.8 for more stable rear on high grip.
- On this track the 2.2 front swaybar would be better in the tight centre section, but worse in the long sweeper and the right hander at the end, as well as the next left hander. the 2.8 swaybar would be better from the top of the hill through the sweeper, but worse in the tight centre section where it would break the rear loose in the bumps and dust.
5. Springs, JQ grey loose to medium traction, and for bumps, HB yellow for high grip.
- On this track the grey springs handle the rough surface better, and are smoother and easier to drive. If the traction had been higher, then the situation may have been different.
Minor changes make a difference, camber, toe, rideheight. Details, details. And then, TYRES. Picking the right tread and compound is key. At this track SS Gridirons were the best.
