Driving Tips

[KA24DESOneThree]

Here I will be posting a tip per week. (Two tips today, though) Anyone else who would like to post their tips may do so as well.
*Note* Please keep responses tip-related. Make sure your tip is well-written and detailed enough to read. Try to have good grammar and spelling. Thank you.

Inaugural tip: Smoothness is the key to quickness. Be smooth in all your inputs: steering, brake, throttle, and clutch. If one is smooth, the car's balance is hardly disrupted and it will not do anything untoward. Shifts should be made "gently and with finesse." (Ross Bentley, Speed Secrets) The smoother one drives, the easier it is to stay within (or, in the case of drifting, above) the traction limits of a tire. Your transition from braking to acceleration should be done with perfect smoothness. This will give you an edge in cornering speed and will allow you to make full use of the tires.

Smoothness is a technique which can be practiced on the street both easily and safely. You need not put other drivers at risk practicing your smoothness, as it can be done at legal speeds and well within the limits of your car.

Second inaugural tip: Program yourself the right way. Practice being aware. Drive smoothly and try to apex every turn correctly. Please note that apexing a turn correctly does not require you to be going the speed of sound around the corner. Try to get over bad habits, they will just slow you down. (Example: Right now, I am trying to get over a habit of mine where I leave one hand on the shifter every once in a while. I have my passenger alert me to when I do it, and I try to realize when I do it and move that hand from the shifter to the steering wheel. Two hands are better than one at controlling a vehicle.)

Becoming a better street driver will lead to being a better track driver. Try to realize your errors and learn from them. A race driver may make a mistake, but he learns from it.

Try to incorporate these tips into your daily driving. If, or when, you get on the track, you'll notice the difference they make.

[Jeff240sx]

I have all three of his books.
Way to keep responses tip-related.

Here's my tip for the week.
Brake in one steady movement. Practice braking on the street by picking a set ammount of pedal depression, and hold it until the stop sign/stop light. This will give you a feel for your brakes, and how much input is needed to stop in a given distance. This will improve your braking alot, as well as reduce the "scared braking" by increasing your confidence.
-Jeff

[old_s13]

preach on!

[KA24DESOneThree]

I'm going to post a tip just to keep this on the first page.

Sensitivity Training Tip: In order to increase the sensitivity of your hands, thus allowing you to feel the traction limit much better, drive around with heavy gloves on and try to feel what the car is doing. Do not use gloves too heavy to hinder proper operation of the vehicle on the street, though. The use of heavy gloves will condition your brain to receive more information from your hands than normal. Should you then drive without gloves, the improvement in feel should be incredible. I suppose the same could be done by driving in your street shoes, but with gel inserts to help deaden the pedal feel. Drive around like that for a week, then take the inserts out. Your feel should be great.

[nrcooled]

My contribution:

Smooth steering imputs- It is imperative to be very smooth and precise in all steering wheel imputs. When entering a turn of any sorts try to gradually imput steering until you can succsessfully make the apex w/o any yanking or rapid inputs. Do not let the steering wheel slide through your hands on corner exit, instead control the wheel at all times. I like to call this "opening your hands". Gradually decrease the amount of steering initially put into the wheel and shoot for you exit point.

Master this at slow speeds then gradually work up to faster speeds. You will find this most helpfull when initially on a track and carrying high speeds you will want to force the car to do things instead you want to work with you speed and your car to be more smooth and precise

smooth in - smooth out is the key

[theicecreamdan]

calm down : When you are out driving, just calm down, let the information come in, and your outputs go out. Try to "be at one" with the car. When you are calm you notice more, and you can do more.

[nightwalker]

excercise. Make sure you are adequate to handle the car for long durations.

[Rennen]

Look Ahead
The fastest way through your current turn may not be the fastest way through the course. Look ahead and setup the next couple turns.

(I will be focusing on this at my next few autoXs)

-Matt

[nrcooled]

Look Ahead
The fastest way through your current turn may not be the fastest way through the course. Look ahead and setup the next couple turns.

(I will be focusing on this at my next few autoXs)

-Matt

This will be my main focus when I go to VIR in March. Sometimes you have to sacrifice speed on one corner to maximize speed on the next corner or for the up coming straight

[nightwalker]

....the most important corner is the one leading to the longest straight.

[KA24DESOneThree]

Dang, I let this slip.
Improve Your Vision: I'm not talking about getting stronger glasses, I'm talking about improving the quality of the input you receive from your eyes. Many drivers have a hard time seeing everything. They may have 20/20 vision, but they just aren't getting the whole picture. Try to make notes of the passing scenery, without looking directly at it. What color are the trees? Are they healthy, do they have a lot of leaves, or a few? What is the composition of the roadside? Is it gravel, or grass, or sporadic flowers? Are there skid marks? If so, where? Is that animal-shaped blotch a squirrel, or a small possum? Remember, you want to try to pick this up while keeping your eyes in the same position as before. Just try to get them to soak in all that extra information. It's very useful for picking braking, turn-in, and apex points. It's also useful in avoiding accidents and noticing that the glint in your side mirror is the leading edge of a Silverado's bumper.

REAL TIPS ONLY!

[nightwalker]

...don't spin out

[DRFT]

what ever you do, dont fall asleep on the wheel

[doriftokouki]

Slow before the turn & accelerate through it, braking during the turn will only slow down your exit speed. If you are on soft suspension, learn how to shift the weight of the car when entering corners, shifting the weight properly can prevent you from losing control and help you take the turn faster.

[holisticbeatz]

Saftey Install euro-style lighting on your vehicle. It will insure that other drivers will see you and avoid you.

Feminine Hygiene Tip Remember ladies, always wipe from front to back. Never the other way around, you don't want to get all that sticky icky up front.

[nightwalker]

Feminine Hygiene Tip[/B] Remember ladies, always wipe from front to back. Never the other way around, you don't want to get all that sticky icky up front.

last thing a guy wants to discover a girl was doing wrong :eek3:

[BiluMaster K's]

Hold the wheel and shifter like its a pretty lady. For some of you, your sister..whatever, A soft, yet controlling grip better allows the wheels to track the road and a light touch on the shifter saves your synchros.

[aznpoopy]

Slow before the turn & accelerate through it, braking during the turn will only slow down your exit speed. If you are on soft suspension, learn how to shift the weight of the car when entering corners, shifting the weight properly can prevent you from losing control and help you take the turn faster.

im no driving expert but im pretty sure proper on-the-limit trail braking is faster. it allows you to partially extend the straight away farther into the corner then the classic method of cornering. hmm...

here's some interesting reading material:

www.mitchellsoftware.com/DriveSim2.htm

&

www.miata.net/sport/Physics/Part23.html

"I was doing it the old-fashioned way: get the braking done in the braking zone and get your foot back on the gas pedal and up to neutral throttle before turn-in. That little tenth of a second or so where I'm coasting and they're still braking is the car-length they were taking out on me."

[Andrew Bohan]

when turning, let the "pushing" hand do more work than the "pulling" hand.

[old_s13]

someone should delete all the bad posts from this thread, it was actually informative at one point...

-mike

[doriftokouki]

im no driving expert but im pretty sure proper on-the-limit trail braking is faster. it allows you to partially extend the straight away farther into the corner then the classic method of cornering. hmm...

here's some interesting reading material:

www.mitchellsoftware.com/DriveSim2.htm

&

www.miata.net/sport/Physics/Part23.html

"I was doing it the old-fashioned way: get the braking done in the braking zone and get your foot back on the gas pedal and up to neutral throttle before turn-in. That little tenth of a second or so where I'm coasting and they're still braking is the car-length they were taking out on me."

Trail off braking looks like what I was trying to say according to that diagram you put up, I guess I should have worded it better.

[KA24DESOneThree]

Could a mod please delete posts 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18? (and after you're done with those, delete this post.)

[240 2NR]

when turning, let the "pushing" hand do more work than the "pulling" hand.

Are you sure you don't have that backwards? I'm pretty sure it's the pulling hand (though driving school was over a year ago) and I feel smoother pulling than pushing.

[nightwalker]

I remember seeing KA24DESonethree on drifting.com, and I remember starting a thread like this on there to help the newbies... hmmm.... :squint: I also remember recommending "SPEED SECRETS" to the kids there too.

oh well, who cares. If you guys really want to improve your driving, or just get pointed in the right direction, look on www.amazon.com and buy "SPEED SECRETS", "INNER SPEED SECRETS", and "SPEED SECRETS 2". A very worthwhile read if you want to improve your "car control" abilities. The books are written by Ross Bentley, pro Cart driver, and lifetime devoted racer. The "Tony Robbins" of racing. He is a very smart man, and his tips and techniques in his books really work. His classes cost in the thousands, and are guaranteed to make you a top class driver. I learned how to "know" the speed of my car without looking at the speedo, and it's entry speeds from practicing one of the excercises from the first book.

here are a couple examples....

-drive at the lowest possible slip angle that maintains maximum traction
-smooth is fast
-if the car feels like it is on rails, you are driving too slow
-focus on your own performance rather than on the competition
-you have to be close to take advantage of luck
-practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect
-you will never win a race without understanding how tires work
-keep steering movement to a minimum
-build up the tires cornering force slowly

trust me, for the price, the books are so worth it.

[aznpoopy]

Slow before the turn & accelerate through it, braking during the turn will only slow down your exit speed.

trail braking is not what you are describing. trail braking is steady braking before the corner and then gradually rolling off the brakes as you enter into the corner - i.e. you brake before and during the corner as you 'wind in' the steering wheel and 'roll off' the brakes. you coast through the apex and 'roll-on' the gas as you 'wind off' the wheel. this way you brake later and go into the corner with a higher speed then the classic cornering method that you described - which was formerly the norm taught in driving schools. in this way you brake later and enter faster, but at much higher risk. it is not 'ideal' for every corner but it is a legitimate technique. the articles discuss how the fastest line is often not the quickest line. ur often considering time in a corner, speed in a corner, and exit speed; they are all different things and often times in conflict with one another.

Could a mod please delete posts 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18? (and after you're done with those, delete this post.)

i posted two articles... one is the technical aspect of trail braking (and classic cornering) in computer simulation which is the one with the diagrams. the other is an article of a road courser's experiences at sebring international raceway considering the technique of trail braking. personally i don't think this is useless info, but if you want my post deleted, fine. :squint:

[BiluMaster K's]

No dimantle Johnny 5! How can the man who started this thread hate on the man who explained the end reslut of his tips, which he failed to do? I'm here to inform

tip- always attempt to straighten your front wheels out (even if slightly) when traveling over a bump or rises at sporting-speed through a corner. I mean as the car's weight is unloaded from the springs....then right back to the previous position as it settles, if not less turned. This is super important on the pre-apex. Not only will this increase mid-turn stability, not only will this preserve the placement of you front and rear wheels in relation to your line(less spinouts!)...but you just go faster that way(by cutting resistance)!!..less chassis stress, less death!
-if u don't do this, you'll notice that your car changes lines as it reacts to bumps(duh?), this is a more advanced part included in the loose grip style. If you over-emphasize this, use a jerking motion, or not return to your turn point, this could be disaterous, but not compensating for this is equally dangerous! The line you want to follow and the line you input to the steering wheel will vary, but by recognizing this, you will take the first step for top-level car control.

speed follows safety, which is a tip noone should overlook!

[KA24DESOneThree]

Mods, note: By delete post 18, I meant delete post 22. My bad, aznpoopy. Your post was informative and tip-related.

Nightwalker, I am GRiDRaceTech on drifting.com. I made a thread similar to this on another forum... but I forgot which forum and, thus, to update it.

Traction Sensing Exercises are Your Friend- If possible, head to a large, open, unused parking lot and set up a skid pad. (Or head to your nearest true skid pad, such as at a racetrack) A skid pad is essentially just a circle of cones (or some kind of markers) set up in at least a 50-foot diameter. Practice holding the car in steady-state understeer or oversteer for four or five laps. You may have to mess with the car's settings to do so, but it will help your traction sensing capabilities greatly. If you can, do this in both the rain and in the dry. You will notice a world of difference in your driving.

Delete post 29 also. MAKE YOUR TIPS MEAN SOMETHING. I will request your post be deleted if you post a meaningless post.

[Doriftomodachi]

Draw the straightest line that will fit into a curve. This is your line

[brokenben]

live yer life a quarter of a mile at a time

[theicecreamdan]

It doesn't matter if you win by an inch, or a mile, winning is winning.

onto a more serious tip, along the safety lines, dont be one of the jackasses I saw on the freeway today that fly by doin 80 through areas where people just crashed their cars on the side of the road, when you see spun/flipped/mangled cars, slow down a little and don't end up like them,
when it rains, cool down, slow down a little.

[matlock]

Know your own limits, just because someone else is capable of it don't think you automatically are equall matched. Just because you see something can be done doesn't mean you can instantly do it, just know your limits and practice practice practice.