Autocrossing the FFE ! ! !

[jachady]

So I took my FFE autocrossing with the local Porsche Club. The track was 35 miles away and didn't have a outlet to plug into so I knew I wouldn't have alot of energy for multiple runs. They wanted me to run first so they could all watch and hear. I have to say, it's difficult to drive because you can't guage how fast you are going. Usually you have engine noise and you are shifting gears to help you guage your speed. In this it was perfectly quiet. As such, I entered a couple of the gates to fast and pushed too far into the corners. I was only able to make one run as it used 5 miles of electricity for the half mile run. Not that I was surprised, I was full throttle most of the time and the rest of the time I was hammering on the brakes - not much regen going on. I ended up beating two of the Porsches. Next year I'll haul the FFE there so I can make multiple runs.

Here's some pics, I have a video as well that I'll post if I can get it to upload.

Waiting to head to the track, notice the borrowed Focus ST wheels. Sticky tires are good for autocross, not for mileage.


On track.

 

[jeffand]

In the picture it looks like the car stayed very flat in the turns.

 

[EVA]

So envious of that. What a great story and pictures. Can't wait to see the video. I want to see cones flying!!!

Dang it, too bad you couldn't make more runs. That would be so darn hard to judge speed into the corners.

 

[georgek]

jachady,

Very cool!

 

[jachady]

In the picture it looks like the car stayed very flat in the turns.

It wasn't bad, until I plowed into a corner carrying too much speed.



It actually handles fairly well. Of course the ST rims and tires helped alot with that. Another issue I'll need to overcome next year is getting a better feel for the brakes. The car stops exceptionally well as it is using the motor as well as the actual brakes. In a couple of instances I actually had to reaccellerate going INTO the turn because the car slowed faster than I was expecting. The computer also had an issue trying to figure out was I was doing to the car. You are so fast going from 100% throttle to 100% brakes and then back to the throttle that there were times the car just sort of sat there and went HMMMM what should I do now. It's like I need to anticipate what it is going to do and get on the throttle sooner.

Accelerating hard out of a corner - notice front lift



Pic coming into a hard braking zone - notice the front end drop.



Pushing hard in the slalom section

 

[jachady]

Video here -

http://youtu.be/OQIEvfqebRI

 

[jmueller065]

Thats really cool!

Question: Did you happen to leave the ST wheels/tires on and drive it around normally to see what impact on range they cause?

 

[jachady]

I didn't have to leave them on. On the trip there (35 miles), I ended up a negative 10 surplus. Thats why I was only able to do one run. When I put them on, I noticed they felt around 8-10 lbs heavier than the EV wheels. The tires are also ALOT stickier, they pick up all the gravel on the road.

 

[WattsUp]

On the trip there (35 miles), I ended up a negative 10 surplus.

You arrived with a negative surplus?! That would mean the navigation system didn't think you had enough energy (by 10 miles) to reach your destination. So, how did you reach it?

Or, did you mean you have a negative status? That would make more sense, and would simply mean that you used up 10 more miles that was budgeted for (when you last turned the car on).

(The distinction between a "status number" and a "surplus number" is important, and depends on whether you're using the navigation system or not; see discussion here.)

 

[EVA]

Video here -

http://youtu.be/OQIEvfqebRI

Oh how I wanted to hear those tires squeal and the cones flying!!!

Sweet video. Thanks so much for sharing.

I loved the exit from the track - some fun cars in line.

 

[jachady]

On the trip there (35 miles), I ended up a negative 10 surplus.

You arrived with a negative surplus?! That would mean the navigation system didn't think you had enough energy (by 10 miles) to reach your destination. So, how did you reach it?

Or, did you mean you have a negative status? That would make more sense, and would simply mean that you used up 10 more miles that was budgeted for (when you last turned the car on).

(The distinction between a "status number" and a "surplus number" is important, and depends on whether you're using the navigation system or not; see discussion here.)

Sorry, negative status. Not surplus. It said I used 45 miles of power to go the 35 miles. The one lap around the track took 5 miles so I wasn't able to run again because I needed power to get home. Next year the car will get hauled so I can make 15-20 runs.