Bodyrollin'
Jul-13th-06, 2:44 pm
in this brief tutorial im going to cover some of the need to knows about driving, and a new street tire update.
Driving: (rated in order of importance in my opinion)
First and foremost in improving your driver skills tragically cannot be something that you can just concentrate on and speed the process of improvment, and that is seat time. there is positively no substitute for familiarity with a car, and how it reacts at its limits. there just isnt, if you have the opportunity, i would highly recommend trying to make a roadtrip to attend the nearest "evolution performance driving school" to you. these are relatively inexpensive as far as driving schools go (about $180/day) and give you LOADS of seat time. i cant recall exactly how much seat time i got when i went to mine but i went both days (most schools are 2 days, but you can attend only 1 if that is all your budget will allow) it seems like i got upwards of 70 runs in 2 days...and that is alot. in addition to seat time they are instructors that either have won, or have seriously contended for a national title.
Second, DO NOT OVERDRIVE YOUR CAR. every car, and tire has an adhesion limit. at a certain point of demand on a tire, it will lose grip and have an adverse effect. the solution to this is not to request too many things of a car at once. if you are turning, be easy with the throttle, if you are hard on the throttle, done expect to be able to turn as well. try to brake in a straight line, and try to shift as little as possible. i have always heard the analogy to imagine that there is a string tied from your gas pedal to the 6:00 on your steering wheel, the more you turn the more it would force you to lift throttle, and vice versa. as far as braking in a straight line goes...that is self explanatory. in most cases cars have ABS, and if you are on the brakes and turning, it will tend to lock up the inside rear tire, thus triggering your ABS, and adversly affecting your ability to slow. as for shifting...dont do it. for the most part (in 3 years of autoxing i have only seen 1 time that i needed to get to the next gear) autoxing is a launch in 1st gear, shift to 2nd, then LEAVE IT THERE. i know every once in a blue moon you may hit the rev limiter, and around some of the sharper turns, you may bog the motor and be out of the peak power band, but trust me it takes more time to shift down into first then back into second then you will make up by being in the powerband, and as for bumping the rev limiter, it is rare that it will ever happen and again you will lose more tim shifting to 3rd then back down than you will gain by that extra MPH or 2 that you would gain by shifting.
third, this is just as important as number 2 but i had to rank them so here it is...but nevertheless very important....look ahead. i cannot stress this enough. this is one of the biggest keys to being faster, most drivers dont look nearly far enough ahead...we've spent so much time looking at the back bumper of the person infront of us that we look there out of instinct. in autox/any form of racing you need to look WAY ahead. it will help you out in many ways, such as...you wont be suprised, or lost on course, if you are looking ahead, because you have already seen whan is coming, and know. it will also by consequense allow you to get closer to the cones, because when you are looking ahead like you should, you wont be worried about weather or not you will hit the one at your front quarter panes, and cone closeness (especially in slaloams) can shave precious tenths off your time. when i say look ahead im not talking 24 feet in front of the car, im talking, if you are entering a 180* hairpin turn you are looking at the exit, if you are at the apex of that same hair pin you are staring at the apex of the next turn. if you are in a slaloam, you are not looking at the next cone to dodge, you are looking at the last cone in the slaloam. if you are at the midpoint of the slaloam, you are looking for the next apex of the turn after the slaloam. etc...etc...if you are looking ahead your body, and car will naturally take the proper line through a turn.
So smooth, try to have as smooth an input as possible, do not jerk the wheel, stab the throttle or brakes, or dump the clutch. the sudden input into anything will cause a loss of traction, where as if you are smooth, you will have more grip. simple as that...you can be smooth, and fast...smooth does not necessarily mean slow input, it just means dont jerk.
Go slow to go fast...this may not make sense, but it is hand in hand with not overdriving your car. basically if you are having trouble in a section with tagging a cone, or getting off line, slow down...simple enough.
OUT OF CONTROL? put both feet in....if you find your self in an unsavable slide, do us all a favor and just put one foot on the clutch and one on the brake and just stand on them until you stop....people that try to save it are always the ones that hit things...from fences to timing equipment to even courseworkers (have seen this firsthand) if you are getting out of control oversteer, you have overdriven your car and exceeded your talent....just swallow your pride and try to do better on the next run. now dont let this scare you from autoxing...it is very safe, and as long as you are not the ass clown that keeps his foot in it trying to save a slide, you WILL NOT hit anything....these courses are set up in specific perameters conserning proximity to barriers, and anything that would hurt anyone/anything. as long as you follow this guideline then you will come out unscathed.
Both hands damnit!!! i know most drivers with a standard transmission keep a hand on the shifter, and one at about noon on the wheel. believe me you will not be able to be quick like this....launch with both hands on the wheel...reach down and shift, then put the hands back on the wheel. try to avoid crossing your hands also, always try to shuffle steer (just passing the wheel from one hand to the other instead of crossing them up, you eventually will not be able to keep up crossing them, and will screw up.)
Finally if you are doing all of this, and jsut not able to get something right...have some ride along that can analyze what is wrong. i will be out at the event in b'ville, and am more than happy to help anyone out. just ask.
STREET TIRE UPDATE:
To add to the list of competitive STS street tires, is the Bridgestone Potenza RE01R. usually that last R stands for race compound. but not this time...it has the proper treadware, and dot approval. i havent driven on these, but they look like they should be a good solid competitive tire. tire rack gave them great reviews, scoring above the Ecsta MX, and the BFG TAKD. so i cant wait to get a car and try these out.
Driving: (rated in order of importance in my opinion)
First and foremost in improving your driver skills tragically cannot be something that you can just concentrate on and speed the process of improvment, and that is seat time. there is positively no substitute for familiarity with a car, and how it reacts at its limits. there just isnt, if you have the opportunity, i would highly recommend trying to make a roadtrip to attend the nearest "evolution performance driving school" to you. these are relatively inexpensive as far as driving schools go (about $180/day) and give you LOADS of seat time. i cant recall exactly how much seat time i got when i went to mine but i went both days (most schools are 2 days, but you can attend only 1 if that is all your budget will allow) it seems like i got upwards of 70 runs in 2 days...and that is alot. in addition to seat time they are instructors that either have won, or have seriously contended for a national title.
Second, DO NOT OVERDRIVE YOUR CAR. every car, and tire has an adhesion limit. at a certain point of demand on a tire, it will lose grip and have an adverse effect. the solution to this is not to request too many things of a car at once. if you are turning, be easy with the throttle, if you are hard on the throttle, done expect to be able to turn as well. try to brake in a straight line, and try to shift as little as possible. i have always heard the analogy to imagine that there is a string tied from your gas pedal to the 6:00 on your steering wheel, the more you turn the more it would force you to lift throttle, and vice versa. as far as braking in a straight line goes...that is self explanatory. in most cases cars have ABS, and if you are on the brakes and turning, it will tend to lock up the inside rear tire, thus triggering your ABS, and adversly affecting your ability to slow. as for shifting...dont do it. for the most part (in 3 years of autoxing i have only seen 1 time that i needed to get to the next gear) autoxing is a launch in 1st gear, shift to 2nd, then LEAVE IT THERE. i know every once in a blue moon you may hit the rev limiter, and around some of the sharper turns, you may bog the motor and be out of the peak power band, but trust me it takes more time to shift down into first then back into second then you will make up by being in the powerband, and as for bumping the rev limiter, it is rare that it will ever happen and again you will lose more tim shifting to 3rd then back down than you will gain by that extra MPH or 2 that you would gain by shifting.
third, this is just as important as number 2 but i had to rank them so here it is...but nevertheless very important....look ahead. i cannot stress this enough. this is one of the biggest keys to being faster, most drivers dont look nearly far enough ahead...we've spent so much time looking at the back bumper of the person infront of us that we look there out of instinct. in autox/any form of racing you need to look WAY ahead. it will help you out in many ways, such as...you wont be suprised, or lost on course, if you are looking ahead, because you have already seen whan is coming, and know. it will also by consequense allow you to get closer to the cones, because when you are looking ahead like you should, you wont be worried about weather or not you will hit the one at your front quarter panes, and cone closeness (especially in slaloams) can shave precious tenths off your time. when i say look ahead im not talking 24 feet in front of the car, im talking, if you are entering a 180* hairpin turn you are looking at the exit, if you are at the apex of that same hair pin you are staring at the apex of the next turn. if you are in a slaloam, you are not looking at the next cone to dodge, you are looking at the last cone in the slaloam. if you are at the midpoint of the slaloam, you are looking for the next apex of the turn after the slaloam. etc...etc...if you are looking ahead your body, and car will naturally take the proper line through a turn.
So smooth, try to have as smooth an input as possible, do not jerk the wheel, stab the throttle or brakes, or dump the clutch. the sudden input into anything will cause a loss of traction, where as if you are smooth, you will have more grip. simple as that...you can be smooth, and fast...smooth does not necessarily mean slow input, it just means dont jerk.
Go slow to go fast...this may not make sense, but it is hand in hand with not overdriving your car. basically if you are having trouble in a section with tagging a cone, or getting off line, slow down...simple enough.
OUT OF CONTROL? put both feet in....if you find your self in an unsavable slide, do us all a favor and just put one foot on the clutch and one on the brake and just stand on them until you stop....people that try to save it are always the ones that hit things...from fences to timing equipment to even courseworkers (have seen this firsthand) if you are getting out of control oversteer, you have overdriven your car and exceeded your talent....just swallow your pride and try to do better on the next run. now dont let this scare you from autoxing...it is very safe, and as long as you are not the ass clown that keeps his foot in it trying to save a slide, you WILL NOT hit anything....these courses are set up in specific perameters conserning proximity to barriers, and anything that would hurt anyone/anything. as long as you follow this guideline then you will come out unscathed.
Both hands damnit!!! i know most drivers with a standard transmission keep a hand on the shifter, and one at about noon on the wheel. believe me you will not be able to be quick like this....launch with both hands on the wheel...reach down and shift, then put the hands back on the wheel. try to avoid crossing your hands also, always try to shuffle steer (just passing the wheel from one hand to the other instead of crossing them up, you eventually will not be able to keep up crossing them, and will screw up.)
Finally if you are doing all of this, and jsut not able to get something right...have some ride along that can analyze what is wrong. i will be out at the event in b'ville, and am more than happy to help anyone out. just ask.
STREET TIRE UPDATE:
To add to the list of competitive STS street tires, is the Bridgestone Potenza RE01R. usually that last R stands for race compound. but not this time...it has the proper treadware, and dot approval. i havent driven on these, but they look like they should be a good solid competitive tire. tire rack gave them great reviews, scoring above the Ecsta MX, and the BFG TAKD. so i cant wait to get a car and try these out.