Originally Posted by
trilerian
Must have been doing something right when I look at my laptimes. I have always tried to have the majority of my laps within .1 second of my average lap, and Bob you pretty much confirmed I was trying for the right thing. But motors, batteries, setup combined are what gets the fast laps to begin with, sure it is up to the driver to be consistent, but if my motor and battery aren't allowing me to get the time I need it doesn't matter how consistent I am. But what you have posted is a good way of determining whether or not a faster motor or batteries would help. If your "Stormer Consistency Factor" is .500 then a faster motor will not help, but say it is a .150, a faster motor or better batteries may be the ticket.
That's fair enough, and part of why I posted it, so it could scrutinized. I enjoy these kinds of conversations.
I'll contend if you got yourself to a .150 error, rolling out at what is perceived to be the max, only a chassis or tire change is going to find the extra time. That .150 would have to be done with all your best stuff, all pieces of the puzzle, at the same time. You've assumed that a faster motor will possibly guarantee a faster run. I'll agree but only if you've believe the chassis has reached it's potential, and that the car isn't tight. At .150 error, the driver has maximized his part of the equation. We still have chassis, tires, batterys and motors. and I believe that chassis and tires are are more important. Because a perfect car is still perfect with a "slower" motor or soft battery. A bad car or the wrong tires, can be so bad the car is undrivable.
Also to get to a .150 would almost mean you didn't peak your pack. or your car "came in" to late. I've got an opinion that .3 is ideal. If a computer perfectly drove a car, likely it would get a .4, I base this on lap times following the voltage curve. So a .150 kind of points to a potential where something wasn't exactly right at the start, and the car came in, "slightly". That's why I think the formula is absolutely best when using your best qualifier. Probably better luck in traffic, your best driving, best gearing, tire and chassis choices, more of the equation was accurate. The mains with rare exception are just not as fast, not as clean, and people in 5-10th do a lot of courtesy driving, raising their error factor.
Not to give it away, but this thread is actually here to help explain my thoughts on 21.5, Mabuchi and others. Helps to understand one when explaining the other.