Driving instruction for seasoned hillclimbers

Hey, do you have a problem with something on your vehicle? Post the problem here someone may just have the answer for you.

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mrevilracing
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Driving instruction for seasoned hillclimbers

Post by mrevilracing »

This is instruction from a GTI driver posting on the Mach board. Grammar was optional.
This is NOT for novice drivers! If you are a novice, pass by this post. You have been warned.

Hav u tried snap-off braking while turning to try to bringthe rear end around at all?

Another trick ive heard is using the handbrake just a tad while cornerin or just b4 turn in the get the rear end aroun

I drive now an 07 Volkswagen GTI(am looking for a mach currenty!!) and it is a FWD car so it is hard to get the rear end around. I have put on a stiffer rear sway bar which dramatically changed the handling and was easier to rotate the car in corners. Now I know this is a bit different w/ RWD more powerful cars, however, the best technique ive used was to lift off the brake very quickly after braking heavily into the corner, to get the end around. also a bit of handbrake helped as well.

Tires can only handle a certain amount of cornering and either braking or acceleration. When u try to brake harder while cornering u will most likely overload the tire's grip capacity and push/plow. If u can balance cornering and braking close to the tire's grip capacity then u'll be able to control the car better. When u lift off the brakes very quickly while cornering u then create all this ability for the tire to corner better and have more grip for cornering instead of cornering and braking, but since u lifted off of the brake very quickly this excess grip comes too quickly for the tires and then causes u to overload their grip capacity momentarilly causing them to slip and break loose. When done correctly you can control how fast the tires gain this extra grip and how much they will break loose. Too fast u get more rotation than u want but too slow u dont get enough and hav to wait longer b4 getting on the throttle again therefore slower times.

Tire pressures r also important u want it soft enough to ghav enought contact patch to grip but not too soft but hard enough so itll be easier to control. I do not hav a mach so I cant comment on tire pressures for this car seeing that it is a bit heavier than my car(100lbs. or so). But the one thing I like when autocrossing or doing track events is to feel as if the car is balanced from front to back and that the tire pressures r so that i feel like the slightest lift off the throttle or brake in a corner i can feel it in my *** of the seat and that the car is light and nimble, like on its toes, but not so strong of that feeling that I feel like I am going to get too much rotation and loose the rear end.

It's a balancing act and the more times u mess with it the easier it is to feel the difference and to feel which set up works for what type of course or track and the speeds that u can take corners at. Mess with it more and see what feels good and works.

Remember, it may not always feel good to u but if ur times r faster than u kno it is. Times is all that matters at autocrosses and i feel like what I do sometimes is not right and not fast but when I look at my times and see it is, I try to imitate that run again but make it feel worse.

As for tires I'de say stay with what u got save that money and do more event and mess with the set-ups and see how they feel. Who knows they may be fine and its the wrong set-up or just could be the wrong tire for autocrosses.
RIP Joe, my friend.

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Zee
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Re: Driving instruction for seasoned hillclimbers

Post by Zee »

Reading his comment about letting off the brake while braking into a corner and the car then rotates seems contrary to my understanding of FWD physics (and my experiences). He'd be shifting weight to the rear again, thus gaining grip there....not likely the rear would break loose and rotate. More likely he'd induce understeer at mid-corner with that move.

I kept reading this and wondering if he was trying to say he was popping off the THROTTLE into a turn. Yes, this does break the rear because weight suddenly shifts to the front. I use this technique successfully at NJMP/Thunderbolt in that sharp right following a fast, but decreasing radius into it.

He'd be better off, I believe, using left-foot braking while still on throttle, to slow for the turn while keeping the revs in his power range.

In the wet of loose traction conditions (gravel) he could also employ the 'Scandinavian Pendulum" (Flick) to achieve unbalancing the rear to rotate. this worked well for me at Spring Weatherly in turns 2 & 4, where I also applied left-foot braking. Instead of taking my usual outside line and exiting way right, I late apex'ed and cut accross the steeper inside line at an angle. My exits were now 2/3 from the left, or, left wheel just across center line. And this with better momentum. Yes, it was dry, but I was running skinnier, street tires with 6-8 pounds higher pressure then the competition tires on my front end.

Can't try the handbrake. Don't have one.
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