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| The Infamous 4-legged cage! |
At the track I use feedback from Dai and observations to set the car up for the peculiarities of each track. For instance We run more toe in and more low speed compression with less high speed compression in the rear with more rebound damping with a slightly higher ride height for the highly banked Wall Speedway. We run less rebound and less low speed compression in the front and rear for Road Atlanta. Long beach requires a softer setting as its flat and non-technical. High Speed and highly banked tracks like Seattle and Irwindale require a stiffer set up. We also run slightly different settings depending on if we are running against a fast and consistent driver like our Falken Teammates vs some of the slower privateers. Some settings that work well for speed are slightly harder to keep in drift if you have to slow down to compensate for irregular driving or a slower car. We also change settings if the track conditions change. Typically tracks lose grip as it gets hotter and if it gets cold. We can adjust for this and we are observant to try to get the greatest edge over our competitors. The car is very adjustable and we can change just about every aspect of the car’s suspension pretty quickly if we need to.
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| Hey Chris that’s my F—ing pen! |
With a drift car it is important for the car to be able to accelerate. maneuver and brake hard while completely sideways. This is pretty difficult, particularly the part about staying in drift and not over rotating when the throttle is lifted or when the brakes are hit. The suspension has to be very free to avoid tire shock and to make the most use of the spinning rear tire’s limited traction. How we do this is secret but it seems to be working pretty well.
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| J-Rod DeAnda grills Scott on camera as well. J-Rod is the official voice of Formula D and does a damn fine job of it. |
We are a small group, it’s Scott, Myself, Owen Orrego, and Chris Marion of KW when we need him. This means that I do whatever Scott needs me to do, from helping to rebuild an engine to polishing the car and keeping the windows clean. Fortunately Scott builds an exquisitely crafted, solid and reliable car and most of the time it’s very reliable. At Road Atlanta we hardly did a thing except change tires. Not so for the Wall. A failed brand new Bosch relay caused the cooling fans not to turn on with severe overheating damaging the engine. Did I mention a brand new Tilton TO bearing failed as well, how about ignition coil packs? So we were very busy.
