CVAR Vintage Formula Vee Eagle's Canyon Raceway

[JoshuaJustice]

[BLS]

Very nice!

[Steve Davis]

Joshua,
Listening to your video, It SOUNDS to me like you are not getting your clutch released adequately on downshifts. It might be that ....
1). 3rd Gear synchro is worn out ..
2)... or, more likely, you are just not getting the pedal depressed ENOUGH to fully release the clutch. Assuming you are using the older 3 finger clutch, it takes a LONG throw to disengage. If you can change to the newer type of pressure plate it releases MUCH faster and takes less pedal throw (might not be acceptable for some Vintage groups?). Otherwise, often, it's just a matter of getting the pedal 'right' so you can get ALL the throw you need. It might also be that you have more clearance for the T/O bearing than you really need. For a street car, you always want PLENTY of T/O to pressure plate finger clearance.. because they should last for many thousands of miles. For a race, though, .. at least MY CAR needs only 'just enough' to 'not touch'. If it happens to touch occasionally ... or even often, it's not that much of a deal since the motors generally come out every one or 2 years.. and the engine only gets HOURS of use, instead of THOUSANDS OF MILES/MONTHs.

Also.. if you are using a CABLE instead of hydraulic clutch (also likely), those cables tend to start 'loosing strands' after a few years of service.. and the cable gets LONGER .. and LONGER .. until it finally snaps. SO .. inspect it carefully (pull the cable from the sheath if it's in one) ....especially leading to/from any pulleys you might have in the path.

And SOME TIMES .. it's just that the DRIVER is not fully depressing the pedal ENOUGH!
Put it in reverse in the garage (or paddock) and sit in the car (belted in?) and push the pedal like you would during a lap.. and have someone try to roll the car. If it won't move.. it's not disengaged.

Anyway.. just a couple thoughts for you.
I know that you're somewhat new, but don't know what find of background you might have. Please ignore this if you are all on top of stuff like this....

Nice lines and drive.
Steve, FV80

[JoshuaJustice]

This is a rental car from Bigger Hammer Racing, so I can't speak as to the wear and tear on the parts.

More than likely it is a "driver's not tall enough for the car" problem as this is normally his car for the "big and tall" guys and, well, I'm neither. It was the last of his rental Vees left for the race. We spent a lot of time fiddling with the seat and pedals over the weekend and the pedals got moved basically as close to the driver as it was possible to get them. If I do end up back in the 91 again, we'll have a much more manageable seat/pedal starting point instead of going in completely the wrong direction, so it'll be easier to dial it in from there. That's just part of the deal when you're renting a car. We did exactly the "put it in gear and put the clutch down" test you describe, but it's entirely possible I just wasn't quite getting it as far down on track as I was in the paddock.

Hopefully my performance this weekend has convinced at least one of the taller guys that the car's fast enough that they don't need to scrunch themselves into one of the smaller cockpits (I understand that the car developed an undeserved reputation for being a bit slow), so it's possible I'll be in a different one of the rentals in a couple weeks at Hallett.