Jaguar F-Type @ Road America
There seems to be more than one F-Type Jag out there; I got mine at Assetto Ga*age. Never having driven a race-prepped F-Type IRL, I can't say how it compares, but this one is a piece of cake: not fussy, not fiddly, not tricky. Easy to tune. Feels a tad heavy; brakes a bit wobbly (BB moved forward a notch to prevent lock-up going into T14), but goes fast enough. Ten-lap race setup.
Why I test at Elkhart Lake. 1. It doesn't have any stupidly slow hairpins or chicanes, which interfere with repeatability...at least the way I drive. Spa would be ideal for testing if it weren't for that ugly, contorted chicane at the end of the lap. 2. The Carousel. Unlike the Nordschleife's Karusel (tight and lumpy), RA's Carousel is the closest thing you'll find to a high-speed, steady-state skid pad (or 'pan' as they call it in Blighty). It will give you an indication of absolute grip, with numbers you can compare, car-to-car and setup-to-setup (anything under 100 mph = pokey; anything over = speedy). 3. The Kink. The scariest turn in North America. Little cars will barely notice it, but big cars will make or break a decent lap-time depending on if your setup will allow you to take it flat out. Or not.
There seems to be more than one F-Type Jag out there; I got mine at Assetto Ga*age. Never having driven a race-prepped F-Type IRL, I can't say how it compares, but this one is a piece of cake: not fussy, not fiddly, not tricky. Easy to tune. Feels a tad heavy; brakes a bit wobbly (BB moved forward a notch to prevent lock-up going into T14), but goes fast enough. Ten-lap race setup.
Why I test at Elkhart Lake. 1. It doesn't have any stupidly slow hairpins or chicanes, which interfere with repeatability...at least the way I drive. Spa would be ideal for testing if it weren't for that ugly, contorted chicane at the end of the lap. 2. The Carousel. Unlike the Nordschleife's Karusel (tight and lumpy), RA's Carousel is the closest thing you'll find to a high-speed, steady-state skid pad (or 'pan' as they call it in Blighty). It will give you an indication of absolute grip, with numbers you can compare, car-to-car and setup-to-setup (anything under 100 mph = pokey; anything over = speedy). 3. The Kink. The scariest turn in North America. Little cars will barely notice it, but big cars will make or break a decent lap-time depending on if your setup will allow you to take it flat out. Or not.
