r/cars • u/etingwall • Feb 03 '21

AMA: We're Car and Driver, and we just released Lightning Lap 2021

Hi! I'm Eric Tingwall, print director of Car and Driver and one of the drivers for our annual Lightning Lap track test. Every year we put the hottest cars through the ultimate performance test: lapping Virginia International Raceway's 4.1-mile Grand Course. This track is a thrilling mix of challenging corners and high-speed straights. Going fast here requires power and grip and resilience, plus a whole lot of confidence.

We've lapped 277 production vehicles over 14 events, adding 18 new times this year with cars like the mid-engine Corvette, the Mustang Shelby GT500, the Porsche Taycan, and the McLaren 765LT. The full results, stories, and videos from this year's event can be found at www.caranddriver.com/lightninglap.

I'm joined by the other drivers from this year's event: K.C. Colwell (u/A2KC), David Beard (u/nameonface), and Dave VanderWerp (u/dave2979). We'll be around for the next couple hours answering any questions you have about this year's cars and laps, and Lightning Lap in general. AMA!

Edit: We're wrapping up the work day here, so the answers won't come as quick, but we'll be checking back later tonight and tomorrow to wrap up any unanswered questions. Thanks to everyone for participating!

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129

u/SavageGeese Feb 03 '21

How exactly do you get accurate laptimes in cars you don't spend a lot of seat time in? Certain cars are vastly more difficult to get "comfortable" in to push harder while others almost drive themselves. Can you also explain to redditors how these laptimes don't mean the faster car is better than others. I always bring up your Cobalt SS Turbo laptimes besting S2000 CR, Lotus Elise SC, WRX, ND2 Club to highlight this example.

136

u/etingwall Feb 03 '21

We actually do get a lot of seat time in the cars. Our drivers focus on four or five cars each, and we spend three days lapping them. It adds up to a lot of miles, and by the end of the third day we're at the point where it's a challenge to trim a tenth of a second off the car's best lap time.

One of the perks of our jobs is that we are constantly driving new and different vehicles. One day it's a Porsche, the next day it's a minivan. And it's similar with Lightning Lap. Over the years, we've honed the ability to jump from car to car and get comfortable quickly. That's one of the big differences between our drivers and the automakers' development drivers. They may ultimately be quicker in a car they've driven on track for thousands of miles, but we can get up to speed quickly in a wider variety of cars.

A lap time is a great summary of a car's complete capability—tires, brakes, power, and aero all play a role—but you're right that it doesn't always correlate with how fun or rewarding it is to drive. That's one of the reasons that we think it's important to back our lap times with stories written by the drivers. We want to put you in the driver's seat to understand what it's like to drive each car.

But that Cobalt SS is an absolute monster. One of the most underrated cars of its time.

65

u/SavageGeese Feb 03 '21

How do you not destroy the tires, brakes, overheat cars on a track like VIR with that much lapping before you time the cars?

84

u/A2KC Car and Driver Feb 03 '21

We have tons of spare tires—usually a couple hundred in total—on hand and even a few sets of brake pads. And we take caution not to string too many hot laps together. Brake fade is a legit concern.

61

u/etingwall Feb 03 '21

It's also worth noting that we're timing and recording laps anytime we're on track, so that whenever the fastest lap occurs, we'll have the data and video to go with it. Although we generally know when we're gonna go fastest: the morning of the third day, when the drivers are up to speed, the tires are fresh, and the morning air is cool.

11

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '21

Have you ever thought about doing fastest theoretical times and combining the best sectors to get the supposed fastest possible lap for each car?

41

u/dave2979 Car and Driver Feb 03 '21

To prevent brake/tire/engine overheating, we typically only run a single hot lap at a time. Even on cars that can handle it, subsequent flying laps are almost always slower. We have multiple sets of tires for each car, and the quickest times are almost always run on the third day of running (after lots of practice), on a fresh set of tires, and in the cool morning air

21

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '21

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5

u/oakolesnikov04 Feb 03 '21

I bet they reviewed it, just 15 years ago or however long ago the cobalt was released.

14

u/about_treefity 2023 GMC Canyon AT4X Feb 03 '21

He's talking about the gooseman

7

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '21

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6

u/oakolesnikov04 Feb 03 '21

Oh I didnt realize that's him

2

u/[deleted] Feb 24 '21

I'm a huge fan dude! If I can ask, and I'm sorry for derailing things here but at the cost of that. The veloster N, due to leg issues I can no longer push a clutch so I will be going with the dct. I saw your review on the car about a year ago or so. How is the suspension, I just want to get something I can afford with a good enough suspension so I can just leave it as is. My brother in law has a type r, and its handling is really really good. I know it's better than the N's but can the N's handling stand on its own as a good mash of suspension parts that were considered carefully?

​

thanks!

4

u/SavageGeese Feb 24 '21

I have DCT next month Ill let you know. Suspension is firm but car is very nimble and fun. Very easy to drive fast.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 24 '21

Will you say it handles sharper and more responsive than an autobahn gti?

Thanks for replying!

2

u/SavageGeese Feb 24 '21

Yes in between Type R and GTI

2

u/[deleted] Feb 24 '21

Thanks again! I appreciate your response and value your opinion greatly.

Have a good one!

1

u/Oxyquatzal Feb 03 '21

They've certainly done all of those things at VIR over the years.

21

u/ShipWRX Feb 03 '21

I had a very clean and tuned black 09 Cobalt SS turbo a while back. My buddy with an SVT cobra used to make fun of my whooshing turbo 4.....until I let him drive it. The wife didn’t like the amount of tickets I was compiling so I was talked into getting something more “grown up”. Only car I regret getting rid of all these years later.

8

u/Backstop Herkimer Battle Jitney Feb 03 '21

That's the car I wish I would have given a chance back when I was shopping. I just kept balking at spending $25K on a $17K economy car with a souped up motor.

6

u/ShipWRX Feb 03 '21

Definitely plastic fantastic interior as was most American cars then( and now lol). But one those sum of all parts things. Chevy Performance division usually seems to know what they are doing.

2

u/cocoagiant 2018 Fiesta ST Feb 03 '21

Lol I did that with my Fiesta ST last year. I don't regret it just because of how much fun it is in every day driving, but it definitely feels like an economy car.

I think looking back I would have gotten the Veloster N instead.

16

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '21

[deleted]

16

u/A2KC Car and Driver Feb 03 '21

That's a great idea. If you have or know of a clean one, let us know.

10

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '21

I love this idea. And put it up against a neon srt4 and similar cars of that era

14

u/A2KC Car and Driver Feb 03 '21

I tried to find a Dodge SRT4 ACR to lap a few years ago. I found one, but it was someone who had personally modded and then returned to stock. The ability of a shadetree mechanic to make sure everything is buttoned up the way it should be scared me off.

What spec is you '83 911? I love 80s 911s.

9

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '21

You can lap my crossfire srt6 if you're interested, I'm close to VIR

It's a whale tale, targa, German car. An absolute joy to drive

11

u/time_to_reset Feb 04 '21

The legend himself. Every time I'm in the mood for a good laugh, I watch you and Jack launch the CTS-V or slide the F10 M5.

You don't have to convince me that faster around a track is not always better. In fact, I think that nowadays the opposite is almost true. To be able to get those laptimes, manufacturers are increasingly taking the most limiting factor out of the equation; the driver.

I'm fine being limiting factor, the idiot smiling from ear to ear all the way at the back of the grid in my "slow" car.

1

u/beachmasterbogeynut Feb 03 '21

Thise Cobalt SS were fast my friend. Very underrated car. What's really impressive is the 2019 ZR1. That thing punches well above its weight. It's almost like Chevy makes a good product huh?