Driving styles

[Lee]

Just a bit of discussion about what is fast!!

I generally have a smooth driving style, that i probably picked up running on road.

But is it fast when running off road? i watch people like Mr Lowe and he is very direct but still smooth at the same time.

So can you be fast with smooth lines or do i need to be more direct/aggressive.

Also i was told that i would need to use the brakes in 2wd to get the back end sliding round mid corner, is this true also?

[Southwell]

Lee Martin is as smooth as they come and one of the quickest out there.

[Lee Martin]

cheers ian.....

its always good to be smooth....

and 2wd brakes definatley help alot....

im on the brakes alot of the time....the key is knowing when to break and being smooth when coming off the brakes and onto the throttle.

lee

[Nick Goodall]

Also you need to get your brakes set-up properly so they're not too full on and you've got a good feel for it.

The other thing that helps is to run the car with knackered tyres or on some ground that's got no grip as this will really help your all round car control and importantly the throttle control - that's one of the things to master with 2wd, 4wd you can get away with nailing it a bit more but 2wd can require super smooth throttle control to be really quick. Racing lines will come naturally after a while, and after a bit of watching.

If you watch some of the top heats at Nationals etc, you'll often think someone is cruising round but if they're not crashing can very often be going a lot quicker then you think - smooth is fast

[Lee]

Thats good to know, cheers.

When you say braking, do you mean braking in a straight line then turning in or do you brake mid corner to get the car sliding?

[Hog]

Depends on the shape of the corners before and after........

Sometimes if it's a straight into a hairpin then brake in a straight line. If it's one corner that gradually tightens into another then trail braking may be needed.

Braking is most efficient when the car is going dead straight. As soon as you add steering into the equation, or sliding, then your braking power is compromised.

[tc2k]

I used to drive as smooth as possible, didnt use breaks as a habit and now Im kinda going the opposite and Im pushing it a bit more, maybe too much. going into corners faster but I preffer this way, may not be going as fast but I like it more

[ashleyb4]

I dont use breaks unless i have to. I drive up to the corner i dont break i roll around the corner then accelerate out of the corner. I also like to use alot of track so i can carry more speed through corners.

A

[MK999]

Originally Posted by Hog

Braking is most efficient when the car is going dead straight. As soon as you add steering into the equation, or sliding, then your braking power is compromised.

Tyres are most efficient when producing a small amount of braking force as well as a cornering force and braking later than braking in a straight line, in theory. In reality it's not that easy to accomplish I usually tend to be an aggressive throttle stabbing monkey in my driving, but I can be 'smooth' as long as the rear end is waving around, then I'm happy

[b4rs]

i go smooth n fast, i go fast and drift. i go flatout and dont brake. but still come crap places. i could really do with a tutor. or maybe im just rubbish?

[Richard Lowe]

A tire only has a certain amount of grip to give, the easiest way to think of it is if you load the tire with either acceleration or braking you are taking away sidebite. Likewise in a corner when the tire is giving all it's grip in sidebite to change the direction of the car it loses forward drive/braking ability.
In general a tire has most grip with a little bit of sliding going on, and thats the trick to going quickly. It's very easy to either under drive and have the car on rails or over drive and not use the tires grip efficiently.

Braking to bring the back end round is a bad thing for going quickly in my experience unless you have a really tight corner to get round. A slide initiated by locking the rear wheels up scrubs speed and is slow, a slight four wheel drift out of a corner which was started with the throttle is fast

[Barry Williams]

My personal driving style is as follows:-
Step 1-go flat out at the start
Step 2- crash
Step 3-attack the track to make up lost time caused by the crash
Step 4-crash again
Step 5-attack again
Step 6-crash again
Step 7- swear (sorry if it has been aimed at you in the past) & blame someone else (although its nearly always my fault )
Step 8-Same as step 3
Step 9- as step 4 etc etc
Step 10- retire from racing & let my kids race instead!!

Ok so not all the above are strictly correct (i've not fully retired yet!!) but the main point i am getting at is that i always used to (& still do on my rare outings) attack too much & be far to aggresive. "when you're spinnin you aint winnin" sums it up nicely i think, Calm & smooth is the best i have found although i am rarely able to manage that. A lot of the time at Regional & Nationals the cars that look the fastest are usually spectacular but not under complete control, the smoother looking cars that seem to be more steady are usually the ones with the quickest lap times & end up top of the pile. Rich Lowe at the weekend was the perfect example, his car looked quick but not overly spectacular, the end result? TQ & a win (well done Rich)
Just my thoughts but dont think i am far off the mark.

Barry

[Swiss]

Originally Posted by Nick Goodall

Also you need to get your brakes set-up properly so they're not too full on and you've got a good feel for it.

The other thing that helps is to run the car with knackered tyres or on some ground that's got no grip as this will really help your all round car control and importantly the throttle control - that's one of the things to master with 2wd, 4wd you can get away with nailing it a bit more but 2wd can require super smooth throttle control to be really quick. Racing lines will come naturally after a while, and after a bit of watching.

If you watch some of the top heats at Nationals etc, you'll often think someone is cruising round but if they're not crashing can very often be going a lot quicker then you think - smooth is fast

Nick

You quote "getting the breaks set up correctly" Do you have any suggestions tips regarding this... I know it's a fairly personal thing, (as in levels of breaks) but just a thought?

[LiamD]

I'm always of the opinion that slow is fast, David Spashett is the ultimate example of that.

Maybe that's a few years of 12th circuit showing. I don't really 'rag it' unless i'm bored.

[bigred5765]

theres only one way to be fast around a track, whether you drive fast or slow, no matter clean and buy clean i mean no mistakes is the only way to be fast,thats why i became my sons mechanic, i was cack at it lol