NASA racer

;-P

jons355

Definite rookie................

RSTPerformanceRacing

Hummmm... I read lots of different very different ideas... Here is my response to a few and a few other of my pointers

# 1: Listen to all advice whether about your car, or your driving. You will most likely be doing this for several years, which in turn will equal several laps and several opportunities to try something new. Everyone I feel has at least 1 good point, whether you want to admit it or not, thus try their idea (safely) and see if all or any part of it helped. If it made it better you learned something, if it made it worse you learned something even better.

# 2: Very important words of wisdom... If you feel like it is a video game, slow down, you are way over your head.

# 3: My take on following other drivers... YES but remember the video game thing, if you don't feel comfortable DON'T DO IT. The things you will gain by following someone is not the line, (you should already know your own line as every driver and every car has its own optimal line) What you should learn is where you MIGHT be able to push it a little harder, brake a little later, get on the power a little sooner etc.

# 4: Watch in car video with someone else that is more experienced. This goes back to # 1, not all advice will be correct for you but it will teach you something, oh and also don't get defensive if they say you did something wrong.

# 5: Someone mentioned on street tires you could tell when the wheels start squealing/howling... I disagree to a point.

The tires don't need to squeal to let you know they have broken loose (a race tire wont do that) you can feel it in the wheel, sorta feels like driving on dirt, snow, or ice. When the tires "break loose" in the turn the steering wheel feels like it has broken loose also. You can continue turning the wheel more and more; you will not gain any traction or turn any better. All you will do is scrub more and more speed. (Unless you are slowing down, if you are slowing down and you have turned the wheel a lot it will probably catch and send you on a ride from hell)

Here is a real life example of my point: After my first race we analyzed the video... The Audi Coupes had basically stock suspension no coil-overs, no camber plates, just a set of 14" used race tires. The cars under-steered horribly and as a result I turned the wheel more and more as the exit (edge) of the track came closer and closer. The wheels had broken loose so I must have been going as fast as I could right? NO I was scrubbing more and more speed at the exit as I turned the wheel more and more. The car actually turned worse and worse the more you turned the wheel. You "should" turn the wheel about 1/2 turn only no further to complete most turns, and then let the car drift (the whole car, not just the front) to the exit as you unwind the wheel. I tried this and gained 2 seconds a lap at NHIS with the same lousy car. There went my ego from the start

# 6: Someone mentioned that they do not focus on looking through the turn, but rather at what is right in front of them (IE the Apex)... If you plan on racing I do not suggest this, however I also don't suggest on only looking at where you are going or want to go. If you are racing I suggest looking at everything probably most importantly the other cars in front of you. If an obstacle lies at the exit of the turn you will need to determine the safest (for everyone, including those volunteer workers) and fastest way around the obstacle. You will not only need to be watching what is in front of you but also what lies behind you. Accident avoidance is just as important as anything else you can possible learn, always have a "the best way out" in your mind.

# 7: Let an experienced driver drive your car, and/or ride with an experienced driver. This can be a real eye opener but does also go back the advice #1. Take it for what it is worth.

# 8: Approach the turn you are working on slow and work at maximizing exit speed. Then approach the turn quicker and quicker without reducing your exit speed.

Real Life experience: At Lime Rock I was instructing a fellow (I was in passenger seat) who was afraid of "the downhill." Everyone told him to "do it flat." He would approach the turn with great speed, then freak out and slam on the brakes... I taught him for this turn to lift very early instead of braking, then hit the gas at the turn in and accelerate through the turn. As he progressed he lifted less and less. I think at the end of the session he ran to the bathroom, but you could see the smile from ear to ear...

# 9: hummm lets talk about Pocono... I haven't watched your video, however I have run their several times and it is by far my favorite track. It is not dangerous at all unless you mess up!!! It is a blast once you get comfortable. The infields flow smoothly (probably better than any track I have ever been on) and the nascar turn 1 is just a blast with the foot buried through the fire wall wishing for a little more speed... oh and did I mention bump drafting at top speed!!! This is not a place to learn your boundaries, as the speeds are too high. Dropping a wheel either means a dangerously bumpy ride on the infield or a concrete wall on the nascar course. I will say that in the coupes we run the turns into the infield in 3rd gear 6,300 RPM's and could be a little faster, but I don't think 4th gear would gain much other than a much larger risk. Also you should only have the outside wheels on the pavement as cutting off a lot of the turns really straightens some of them out.

# 10: just some more words of wisdom... If it isn't fun anymore then you know it is time to retire

Raymond Blethen
RST Performance Racing

330iGuy

1. Ross Bentley suggests entering turns with a slight induced drift because it's easier to control a drift that you initiate rather than a drift that happens unexpectedly because your tires suddenly lose grip.

2. Anticipate and correct early so that you won't be constantly catching the car after the fact. You will be sawing at your wheel if you're at the limit, but you should be sawing BEFORE your rear end is wagging garishly and scrubbing speed excessively.

3. Don't mistake getting "loose" and tire noise for driving through a corner at the limit. To drive through a corner at the limit means to be at the limit (and not under or excessively over it) through EVERY phase of the corner: braking, entry, middle-corner, and exit. Some people enter a corner too slowly but induce power oversteer by getting on the gas too early and too hard, so they think they're at the limit of the corner. But they're not because they left speed on the table at entry. Other drivers enter too fast and think they're at the limit because they're sliding through the entire turn, but they're not because they're not exiting as fast as they could be.

4. Keep your foot in it and learn to deal with the consequences. It's amazing how much speed you can carry through a corner if you practice carrying "too much" speed through a corner.

5. Finally, avoid driving 10/10ths if you're not in a race car and don't have all of the proper safety equipment (extinguisher, harness, rollcage, et al).

330iGuy

Car control is THE single most important skill to have if you want to push the envelope. Work on that and the speed will come naturally. The fastest drivers I know are not necessarily the smoothest or drive the best lines, but they all have one thing in common...they have no fear of the limit because they can control their cars at the gaudiest slip angles imaginable.

WYSIWYG

LOL i have that in all my in car vids

RSTPerformanceRacing

Great tips!!! you can learn car control in Autocrosses, even better at Rallycross and Ice Racing

TRM

thanks to everyone who replied! good stuff.