LG School/Viper Days at Sebring-What a Blast!!!!
04-30-2006, 11:13 AM
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LG School/Viper Days at Sebring-What a Blast!!!!
Let me start by saying that the classroom is not where the real teaching takes place. It is basically just hanging out with Lou and the other students (mostly Viper drivers) talking about what help is needed and how to get better. Lou explains his concepts of the different types of turns and the key is expanding the staights. Skip Whelan, head of Viper Days was also there and also gave some advice. The real learning was watching Lou's racecar video that he has posted on his site and this forum, and then being a passenger in your own car with LG driving. He takes about 2 laps to determine your car's handling characteristics and then starts pushing it harder and harder. After 5 laps of what Lou calls driving conservatively, I was ready to exit the car. I have never felt on edge in my own car like I did when he was driving, and he never got loose either.
The key is focusing on the turns before straightaways and figuring out the proper speed and turn in to allow the earliest possible maximum acceleration out of the turn to "lengthen the straights". This is concept he harped on over and over. As you see in his video, the lines he takes in 3,4,5 are very different from the preferred lines. He drives as tight and fast in 3 and 4 and then jams on the brake to slow into 5 and takes it tight and then hammers the throttle. This adds about 100 ft to the straight coming out of 5. He said he learned this through data acquisition in his racecar and improved lap times when only changing the line through this series of turns.
Now with 17, he doesn't have a sharp turn in. He sits in the middle of the straight and hugs the inside wall initially, then brakes until the middle of the first half of the turn. He then accelerates like a banshee and goes to the far outside coming out of the turn 100-200feet earlier than I was doing and gets far closer to the wall. He definitely pushes the car harder here than I ever did. Each time we hit the front straight I can't stop thinking of what happened to Johnny O'Connell when his rotor exploded going into 17 really fast and put the C5R into the tire wall sideways in 2004.
Lou says the type 2 turns, ones that lead into another turn, are unimportant. Focus on only those that lead into straights. Focus on 1 or 2 turns in a session and if you find yourself accelerating onto a straight in the middle of the road, you need to turn in sooner and carry more speed. If you find your self having to lift coming out of the turn because you are too fast or turned in early, then apex later. What he tries to do in 3 and 4 is take them really fast and treat them almost like a straight and then brake heavily and turn in early in 5 and run hard out of 5.
This was the Viper Days weekend, and on Friday there were 4 run groups running 25 minute sessions. I ran a total of 6 sessions. They started and ended each session to the minute on time and there were tire vendors, full service repair and prep (mostly for Vipers though although I bought a Viper battery which fit to the 1/4 inch perfectly in the Z06 when mine died) by John Archer performance out of Duluth, Minnesota. It is truly a well run, organized fun event. The relatively stock Vipers all fell prey to the vettes, but the race prepared Viper Comp Coupes were generally the fastest cars on the track. Too bad Chevy doesn't make a factory Z06 Competition Coupe. I asked Lou of his overall impression of the Viper, and he looked around to see if any Viper-owners were in earshot, and then confirmed all our suspicions that they suck.
On sat and Sun, they hand out transponders and they record all your lap times and after each session you can pull your data. Gump's car was working well until his brakes went out and then I headed home. A bunch of his Peach State Posse buddies came down and we hung out Friday night and Saturday. I enjoyed meeting all you guys-Chris x 3, Brian, Glen, and Teddy.
All in all, I had a blast, and Eric aka Red Gump was a great host and a really good guy. I much appreciated crashing at his house and his hospitality. Many thanks to Lou Gigiotti for his expertise, approachability, and availabilty to hang with us and answer all of our questions. I am definitely a better driver after this weekend.
The key is focusing on the turns before straightaways and figuring out the proper speed and turn in to allow the earliest possible maximum acceleration out of the turn to "lengthen the straights". This is concept he harped on over and over. As you see in his video, the lines he takes in 3,4,5 are very different from the preferred lines. He drives as tight and fast in 3 and 4 and then jams on the brake to slow into 5 and takes it tight and then hammers the throttle. This adds about 100 ft to the straight coming out of 5. He said he learned this through data acquisition in his racecar and improved lap times when only changing the line through this series of turns.
Now with 17, he doesn't have a sharp turn in. He sits in the middle of the straight and hugs the inside wall initially, then brakes until the middle of the first half of the turn. He then accelerates like a banshee and goes to the far outside coming out of the turn 100-200feet earlier than I was doing and gets far closer to the wall. He definitely pushes the car harder here than I ever did. Each time we hit the front straight I can't stop thinking of what happened to Johnny O'Connell when his rotor exploded going into 17 really fast and put the C5R into the tire wall sideways in 2004.
Lou says the type 2 turns, ones that lead into another turn, are unimportant. Focus on only those that lead into straights. Focus on 1 or 2 turns in a session and if you find yourself accelerating onto a straight in the middle of the road, you need to turn in sooner and carry more speed. If you find your self having to lift coming out of the turn because you are too fast or turned in early, then apex later. What he tries to do in 3 and 4 is take them really fast and treat them almost like a straight and then brake heavily and turn in early in 5 and run hard out of 5.
This was the Viper Days weekend, and on Friday there were 4 run groups running 25 minute sessions. I ran a total of 6 sessions. They started and ended each session to the minute on time and there were tire vendors, full service repair and prep (mostly for Vipers though although I bought a Viper battery which fit to the 1/4 inch perfectly in the Z06 when mine died) by John Archer performance out of Duluth, Minnesota. It is truly a well run, organized fun event. The relatively stock Vipers all fell prey to the vettes, but the race prepared Viper Comp Coupes were generally the fastest cars on the track. Too bad Chevy doesn't make a factory Z06 Competition Coupe. I asked Lou of his overall impression of the Viper, and he looked around to see if any Viper-owners were in earshot, and then confirmed all our suspicions that they suck.
On sat and Sun, they hand out transponders and they record all your lap times and after each session you can pull your data. Gump's car was working well until his brakes went out and then I headed home. A bunch of his Peach State Posse buddies came down and we hung out Friday night and Saturday. I enjoyed meeting all you guys-Chris x 3, Brian, Glen, and Teddy.
All in all, I had a blast, and Eric aka Red Gump was a great host and a really good guy. I much appreciated crashing at his house and his hospitality. Many thanks to Lou Gigiotti for his expertise, approachability, and availabilty to hang with us and answer all of our questions. I am definitely a better driver after this weekend.
Last edited by Dr Chill; 04-30-2006 at 12:20 PM.
04-30-2006, 12:01 PM
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I agree. His class was worth every penny. Just what I was looking for, an advanced course for those of us that already have the basics down.
The course was not just specific to Sebring. He gave us advice and techniques on how to approach new tracks as well.
If you've been doing this for awhile and are looking to take your skills to the next level, I highly recommend this class.
The course was not just specific to Sebring. He gave us advice and techniques on how to approach new tracks as well.
If you've been doing this for awhile and are looking to take your skills to the next level, I highly recommend this class.
04-30-2006, 08:31 PM
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I ran with them last year at VIR.
You talk about max track time and unlike most schools it's fast other cars so your not dealing with lapping the same person 4 times a session.
Good time!! Just a little pricey though.
You talk about max track time and unlike most schools it's fast other cars so your not dealing with lapping the same person 4 times a session.
Good time!! Just a little pricey though.
05-01-2006, 10:24 AM
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Originally Posted by Dr Chill
I asked Lou of his overall impression of the Viper, and he looked around to see if any Viper-owners were in earshot, and then confirmed all our suspicions that they suck.
GLAD to have you over!!! we did a full bleed with good fluid and I still boiled the brakes so woosch let me borrow a spare set of wheels/tires--no more boil and I ran much better. good enough for 2nd over all in the vette group (which I 100% owe to the peach state posse, but I'm keeping the trophy).excellent write up bill, are you on lou's payroll?
05-01-2006, 11:53 AM
#6
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Great info Bill!! I think you are now the official instructor for our group! 
Man it takes stones to hammer the throttle in 17, bumpy as it is. Everytime I take that turn I think I'm just going to bounce right off the track. It speaks volumes about Lou's ability to ride in other people's cars and hammer it there and trust the car to hold the line.
Knowing your set up, I'm interested to hear what Lou said you should to your car - someday I hope to have a setup similar to yours.
Man it takes stones to hammer the throttle in 17, bumpy as it is. Everytime I take that turn I think I'm just going to bounce right off the track. It speaks volumes about Lou's ability to ride in other people's cars and hammer it there and trust the car to hold the line.
Knowing your set up, I'm interested to hear what Lou said you should to your car - someday I hope to have a setup similar to yours.
05-01-2006, 11:34 PM
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What do you think he said? LG headers, G5x-3, LG coilovers, Stoptech brakes, etc. Just kidding. He said my shocks were slightly more worn on the left and that my front was lifting due to my cut away front spoiler (due to roadkill on the trip to Sebring).
: Good having you down and look forward to it again. 
05-03-2006, 09:32 PM
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St. Jude Vendor Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11
Hi guys,
I just got back from not only Sebring, but testing Monday and Tuesday at Salt Lake City's new 4.5 mile race track. It is Miller Motorsport Park where we race in July. Great track with 23 corners and a loooooong straight.
At any rate, It was a great day at Sebring. I am always amazed when I get to see the face that goes with the names on the forum.
Dr Chill's car was a great Corvette. Like he said, the front splitter/spoiler got broken off by some road kill, so his car had a severe high speed push. In fact, the car had "Lift" in the back section and turn one.
No problem, we just went slower but it was still a great car.
Yup, it needed the LG headers and Cam to be perfect
It is a bit hard to jump into some of these cars and go fast. I usually don't push the limits because I never know how sound the car's set up and maintanence is.
For example, I took a Viper out and the brake pedal went to the FLOOR on turn 10 on the first lap out. Then it came back up and did it again in 17
So I parked the car in the pits, before I parked it in the tire wall. He had bad wheel bearings so the pedal would go down after a hard corner.
We only have 3 more of the LG clinics left this year.
Putnam Park Road Course - Mt. Meridian, IN - August 11
Hallett Raceway - Tulsa, OK - September 8
Heartland Park - Topeka, KS - October 27
We hope to see some of you there.
Thanks to all who have run with us. I hope that you got faster as a result.
LG
I just got back from not only Sebring, but testing Monday and Tuesday at Salt Lake City's new 4.5 mile race track. It is Miller Motorsport Park where we race in July. Great track with 23 corners and a loooooong straight.
At any rate, It was a great day at Sebring. I am always amazed when I get to see the face that goes with the names on the forum.
Dr Chill's car was a great Corvette. Like he said, the front splitter/spoiler got broken off by some road kill, so his car had a severe high speed push. In fact, the car had "Lift" in the back section and turn one.
No problem, we just went slower but it was still a great car.
Yup, it needed the LG headers and Cam to be perfect
It is a bit hard to jump into some of these cars and go fast. I usually don't push the limits because I never know how sound the car's set up and maintanence is.
For example, I took a Viper out and the brake pedal went to the FLOOR on turn 10 on the first lap out. Then it came back up and did it again in 17
So I parked the car in the pits, before I parked it in the tire wall. He had bad wheel bearings so the pedal would go down after a hard corner. We only have 3 more of the LG clinics left this year.
Putnam Park Road Course - Mt. Meridian, IN - August 11
Hallett Raceway - Tulsa, OK - September 8
Heartland Park - Topeka, KS - October 27
We hope to see some of you there.
Thanks to all who have run with us. I hope that you got faster as a result.
LG
__________________
LG Pro LT Headers, MOST HP, MOST TORQUE
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LGM http://www.LGMotorsports.com
Winner Daytona 250
22 WC Wins
"Most powerful Corvette headers on the planet"
LG Pro LT Headers, MOST HP, MOST TORQUE
http://lgmotorsports.com/gallery/alb...no_compare.jpg
LGM http://www.LGMotorsports.com
Winner Daytona 250
22 WC Wins
"Most powerful Corvette headers on the planet"
Last edited by LG Motorsports; 05-03-2006 at 09:35 PM.
05-03-2006, 10:40 PM
#10
sorry I couldnt make it. Hopefully I will get another opportunity. Lou, Ill be in Carrolton at 21CMC from June 5th till June 9th. Would like to come by if you are going to be at your shop. Doesnt look like you are 2 far away. Looks like you are about 20 miles due east of the 21CMC shop. (JP's about 2 miles west of the Dallas parkway)
Last edited by GR8-LIFE; 05-03-2006 at 10:55 PM.
05-04-2006, 10:31 AM
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Great write-up Bill!
I'm also glad to hear Gump's car is back on!
Sounds like just the kind of event I'd really want to do. Too bad my high school reunion fell on the same weekend and was announced a few weeks before LG's Sebring event. Athough part of the consolation was that it took place at a really nice resort south of Cancun.
I'm also glad to hear Gump's car is back on!
Sounds like just the kind of event I'd really want to do. Too bad my high school reunion fell on the same weekend and was announced a few weeks before LG's Sebring event. Athough part of the consolation was that it took place at a really nice resort south of Cancun.
