Driving Styles

[Stacy]

Originally posted by Peter Mallett


here is a type of braking whereby the driver brakes as he/she turns into the corner then rols off the brake onto the throttle as the apex is approached. This has the effect of balancing the car on all four wheels rather than just one corner (the outside front wheel). However it is most successful in front wheel drive because its main effect is to set the back of the car into oversteer. The driver then floors the throttle and pulls the car through the corner. Hence all four wheels are evenly loaded.

Doing it with a rear wheel drive car tends to make the rear too light through the corner and therefore reduces traction at the point when you need to accelerate.

Pete,

Before dismissing it, it's worth mentioning that the following disagree with you and think it's a good thing in certain circumstances: Perhaps they could be reasonably correct too.

Skip Barber
Jeremy Dale
Danny Sullivan
Al Unser Jr
Michael Andretti
Robbie Buhl
Carroll Smith
Calum Lockie

Here is a quote from Going Faster by Skip Barber:

"The whole issue of trail braking or not is bullsh*t because every quick driver trail brakes."

Here is a quote from Carroll Smith:

"Every successful driver trail brakes at some corners, No successful driver trail brakes at every corner".

I don't regularly do it, or particularly well, but then I don't profess to being quick. Maybe your technique could be improved as well.

Stacy

[jamesb]

Hey, if it works for ya?
Interesting thread and everyone seems to know what they are talking about. I would like to add my experiences if they help, not claiming they are definative though.

I drive a Formula Honda which runs a standard motorbike (honda cbr 600) gearbox. This is similar to racing sequential boxes to I think it stil counts for this example.

Double de-clutching. are there actually cars that still need this?

Heel-toe. In the wet this can stop you spinning out in the braking area, and in the case of a friend of mine, can save your engines from destroying themselves. I use it religiously for every downchange, whatever the circumstance. Maybe this is just because I drive a car with a very light, and fragile engine.

Gas changing. never heard the term before, but I must admit to using it. I'm sure my competitors don't, as those with electronic quickshifts built in just pull the gear lever to go up at full throttle, and those without assume you need a quickshifter. I found by accident that I can do it. Approaching 12,500 rpm I preload the lever a bit, and as the car touches the rev limiter it bumps. This bump instantly pops the next gear in, and my foot is still flat. Nobody in Fhonda uses the clutch to change up anyway, we just lift and pull then get back on the throttle, but this flat shifting on the limiter seems to work very well and I've not damaged the engine or gearbox yet. It also seems to find the gears easier than just lifting. (I had a lot of trouble changing up this year for some reason.)

Hope this helps

[Peter Mallett]

Originally posted by stacy
I don't regularly do it, or particularly well, but then I don't profess to being quick. Maybe your technique could be improved as well.

Stacy

Stacy,

There are always two sides to the coin but if you (like I did) took some of the driving courses when I raced front wheel drive, you'd know that the majority of instructors all recommended it. I think it's because its easy. It certainly improved my lap times at places like Snetterton, Cadwell and Silverstone. At other circuits with lots of tight slow corners it was less useful.

Yep my technique can always improve but that takes time of which I (as you know) have precious little at the mo.

There are any number of drivers who agree with the technique, but in the light of this thread we were answering a question from Woody. I believe it was prompted by his recent experience on the road.

So, IMO if you want to set a fwd car up for a fast corner, (Redgate, Copse, The Bombhole, you need to brake as you turn the wheel. (I've never heard it called trail braking until now). Then acccellerate as fast as you can just before the apex.