Quote:
Originally Posted by Gasoline Fumes
Disconnecting the front bar would be an easy thing to try. Unless the hardware is really rusty!
Less easy would be to shim the rear spindles for less/zero toe-in. But it might not be so great when you don't want the rear end coming around!
With your weight distribution, it might make more sense to try to get more grip from the front tires. Maybe wider front tires at lower pressure? On a smooth surface like ice, maximizing the contact patch might help. More siping (or studs) on the ice.
Maybe modify a pair of tires for ice racing. Lots of sipes. Check out the Team O'Neil Rally School YouTube channel for tire videos.
The LSD probably makes a huge difference coming out of turns. I don't remember if you have one.
Add weight behind the seats?
Have you asked other drivers for advice?
How good are you at driving in reverse?  |
Now that you mention it, I am running nearly 50PSI in 165 width tires.
Not a lot of contact patch there.
For future events I might try disconnecting the front sway bar and see if it helps. No rust here at all, should come apart easily.
I do have an LSD.
Hopefully this summer I can put together a set of super stud tires for these kinds of events.
Quote:
Originally Posted by COcyclist
I would suggest two things. Studded tires, and better technique. First, you have massively increased the power in a lightweight car (generally a good thing for racing).  However, you will be in a constant fight for traction. Set yourself up with some extra tires on rims that you can swap out on the ice.
Second, you have minimal traction on ice and your tires' traction can only be used for one thing at a time- i.e. acceleration or steering or braking. If you expect to be able to brake while steering or steer while accelerating, you will be disappointed, especially in a front wheel drive.
I have been to several ice driving schools and the thing that impressed me most was that the line through corners was different than racing on pavement. On pavement the line is to start wide, clip the apex and accelerate wide out of the corner. On ice we were taught to do all of our braking in a straight line pulsing the pedal more rapidly as the car slows (with no steering inputs to upset things), slowly steer through the corner (using all the traction for steering) and to accelerate when the car was basically pointed in the right direction. Kicking the tail out is kinda fun but may not be the quickest way around the track in a front drive while you are learning. |
If I move to studded, I'll be competing in a different class, but if my goal is to have fun that might be fine. There was a wicked fast supercharged Mini with superstuds out on the lake who I'd be up against. I have maybe 4 sets of nice lightweight Honda rims in the garage I can set up for this kind of stuff.
I think perhaps I just had less grip than those I was competing with, now that I'm adding it all up.