Post by GRD 4 3L on Mar 30, 2015 1:57:03 GMT
101 started with an introduction to a light weight race car that responds very quickly to any inputs. A car with quick acceleration such as Formula Ford can get back to speed in no time but not so for production cars. It is imperative to minimize loss of speed by maintaining the momentum. In other words, only lose the speed necessary . . . easier said than done, I know.
Race School 201: Maximum Momentum
Objectives: Weight transfer, steering with throttle, exit speed.
Car/Build/Set-up: STOCK Gen 1 Mazda Miata/MX-5.
Track: Alps Club & Alps Club-R
Driving Aids: None, use manual gearing (clutch is recommended but optional). Gear changes for this exercise are minimal so it is a good exercise for manual shifting.
Lesson 1: Alps Club - No Brake
Once again, this is a NO BRAKE exercise. Using brake can actually hinder in some instances as too much/little could disturb the balance of the car, especially for high speed corner entries. This exercise will reveal how much car control can be accomplished with just the throttle.
First warm up the tires for couple of laps and get used to the speed at each corners. Pick up the speed lap after lap with particular attention to controlled entry and fast exit. "Slow in fast" out is the mantra BUT the term "slow" is relative. One should enter as FAST as the car allows and this frequently takes trial and error. Try early entry, late entry, somewhere in between. The goal is to reduce the entry speed BUT only just enough to have some control. If entering too fast, the car will understeer with a lot of tire noise. If entering too slow, it will feel as though you have complete control of the car. Ideally, the car should be in a slide with the driver controlling the rear end of the car using the throttle and front end of the car using steering.
Lap using no brake will make corner 1 challenging but it is possible. The left turn at the bottom of the 'trough' is the most challenging as the car will be carrying a lot of speed coming down the hill BUT turning in at the correct location by the correct amount will turn the car enough to slow it down AND point it toward the exit. I am reminded of GPL (Grand Prix Legend) guide that stated something like, "use the steering to present the car to the corner then use the throttle to adjust where the car is pointing". i.e.,
Lifting the throttle slows the car down which loads the front tires therefore gaining a little front grip = lift off oversteer. Amount of lift determines the amount of load transfer to the front.
Moderate throttle to get the car to accelerate unloads the front but loads the rear for reduced front grip = understeer
Enough throttle to loosen the rear end gets the rear to 'slide' MORE than the front = oversteer.
One can use these 3 basic throttle modulation techniques to control the car in fast corners. There is, of course, too much of anything. Too much lift or throttle will result in excessive under/oversteer therefore the 'right' amount is needed. Determining this 'right' amount of throttle is the objective of this exercise. How much of this 'right' amount of throttle is used over the course of the lap/race determines the effectiveness of a race driver.
NO BRAKE Lap Target @alps Club = 1:41.000
This will be a challenging target for many and it meant to be challenging. For advanced drivers, target is 1:40.000.
Lesson 2: 140R (Maximum Momentum - Reverse)
Same track but lap it in reverse. Completely different approach to all corners are needed but somehow the laptimes are nearly identical.
NO BRAKE Lap Target @alps Club-L = 1:41.000, again for the advanced drivers the target is 1:40.000
Lessons Learned
1. Slow in fast out is good, but fast in faster out is better.
2. Be aware of the grip of all 4 tires at all times.
3. In mid corner with the car in mild slide, use throttle to adjust where the car is pointing.
4. Cars communicate the level of grip using tire noise - use the tire squeal/scrubbing noise to keep then in traction.
This concludes intermediate, high speed Race Car Controls. If you pass then your time will be recorded on the Pass Scores list below.
The contents of this lesson is subject to change.
1:43.000 (or faster) CLUB (must be both forward and reverse)
RelaxedPRKid, April 24, 2015
plut0nash, May 5, 2015
1:41.000 (or faster) CLUB (must be both forward and reverse)
GRD 4 3L, March 29, 2015
1:40.000 (or faster) CLUB (must be both forward and reverse)
