|
Post by L Rock on Nov 11, 2007 15:04:25 GMT -5
This is a top 10 of tips from a Multiple National Solo Champion and an Instructor for the Evolution Solo School (Andy Hollis)
Originally posted on Miata.net 1] Position first, then speed. Positioning the car perfectly is more important than trying to attain the highest potential speed. For example, you will drop more time by correctly positioning the car nearer to slalom cones than you will by adding 1 or 2 MPH in speed. Same with sweepers (tight line). Same with 90-degree turns (use all of the track). Also, position is a prerequisite for speed. If you are not in the correct place, you will not be able go faster. Or at least not for very long! 2] Turn earlier...and less. To go faster, the arc you are running must be bigger. A bigger arc requires less steering. To make a bigger arc that is centered in the same place, the arc must start sooner (turn earlier). 3] Brake earlier...and less. Waiting until the last possible second approaching a turn and then dropping anchor at precisely the correct place so that the desired entry speed is reached exactly as you come to the turn-in point is quite difficult to execute consistently. Especially when you consider that you get no practice runs on the course, and the surface changes on every run, and you aren't likely to be in exactly the same position with the same approach speed on every run, etc. Better to start braking a little earlier to give some margin of error. And by braking less you can either add or subtract braking effort as you close in on the turn-in point. This will make you consistent and smooth. 4] Lift early instead of braking later. Continuing with the philosophy of #3, when you need to reduce speed only a moderate amount, try an early lift of the throttle instead of a later push of the brake. This is less upsetting to the car, is easier to do and thus more consistent, and allows for more precise placement entering the maneuver (remember #1 above). 5] Easier to add speed in a turn than to get rid of it. If you are under the limit, a slight push of the right foot will get you more speed with no additional side effects. On the other hand, if you are too fast and the tires have begun slipping, you can only reduce throttle and wait until the tires turn enough of that excess energy into smoke and heat. Don't use your tires as brakes! 6] Use your right foot to modulate car position in constant radius turns, not the steering wheel. In a steady state turn, once you have established the correct steering input to maintain that arc, lifting the throttle slightly will let the car tuck in closer to the inside cones. Conversely, slightly increasing the throttle will push the car out a bit farther to avoid inside cones. It is much easier to make small corrections in position with slight variations in the tires' slip angle (that's what you are doing with the throttle) than with the steering wheel. 7] Unwind the wheel, then add power. If the car is using all of the tire's tractive capacity to corner, there is none left for additional acceleration. At corner exit, as you unwind the wheel, you make some available. If you do not unwind the wheel, the tire will start to slide and the car will push out (see #6 above). 8] Attack the back. For slaloms (also applicable to most offsets), getting close to the cones is critical for quick times (see #1). To get close, we must move the car less, which means bigger arcs. Bigger arcs come from less steering and require earlier turning (see #2). Now for the fun part... When you go by a slalom cone and start turning the steering wheel back the other way, when does the car start to actually change direction? Answer: When the wheel crosses the center point (Not when you first start turning back!) How long does that take? If you are smooth, it takes .25 - .5 seconds. Now, how long is a typical person's reaction time? Answer: about .5 seconds. Finally, how long does it take to go between slalom cones? Answer: Typically on the order of 1 second. Given all of that, your brain must make the decision to begin turning the steering wheel back the other way just *before* you go by the previous cone!! Since this is a mental issue, a good visualization technique to get used to this is to think about trying to run over the back side of each slalom cone with the inside rear tire of the car. To hit it with the rear tire (and not the front), the car must be arcing well before the cone and the arc must be shallow. Attack the back! 9] Hands follow the eyes, car follows the hands. 'Nuf said. 10] Scan ahead, don't stare. Keep the eyes moving. Looking ahead does not mean staring ahead. Your eyes must be constantly moving forward and back, and sometimes left and right. Glance forward, glance back. Your brain can only operate on the information you give it. Bonus Tip: Don't forget the stuff in between the marked maneuvers! Too often we think of a course as series of discrete maneuvers. There is typically more to be gained or lost in the areas that are in between. Pay special attention to the places where there are no cones.
|
|
|
Post by L Rock on Nov 11, 2007 15:04:59 GMT -5
cut and paste!
assorted tips from Sportscar magazine
#1 Read the rule book.. knowing what you're allowed to do and not allowed is a huge advantage over your competitor
#2 When trying to find a sponsor, it is important to realize that you're trying to sell that person and/or solve that person's problems. most sponsor proposals goes on and on about the racer's abilities and achievements, and while htat's good, it doesn't really help the sponsor. if you can present the sponsor an opportunity to sell more widgets and make more money, the guy is going to be interested if you can help him. fif you can propose a solution to his problem that includes your racing efforts, then you have his attention with a win/win situation.
#3 Remember that when you're on the track, or your car is visible, you are representing your sponsors. you gotta keep in mind your sponsor's customer and how that customer perceives your car and the driver. neatness counts. consider your car a signboard for the businesses, get it out to that potential market for your sponsor. Take a few pictures of your car while on the track or something and blow it up and present it to your sponsor on a regular business. it helps reassure them that their investment is doing something and you're actively trying to advertise their business. having a clean and nice looking race car also makes it more appealing for newletter and magazine editors as well.
#4 in the beginning, dedicate your "sponsorship energies" to networking compared to presentations. early on you will be racing at levels that don't offer a positive return on investment for sponsors, so get to know people and keep them updated on your achievements as you get better. later on when you get to a higher level of racing and increase your exposure, you will start attracting money from your old friends.
#5 have business cards made up with your name, car, car number, email address, and etc. it helps in your sponsorship search and its useful for simply exchanging information with someone. you can also print a schedule of events and races that you're planning on attending on the back, very cheap advertising.
#6 bring a doormat to the track. its a good idea to get into the habit of wiping your damp, dirty feet before climbing into the race car and having your foot slip off the brake pedal at a crucial moment.
#7 store a smal 12v to 120v AC inverter in your tool box and plug it into the cigarette lighter. its cheap and takes up little room while it can power light power tools, charge cordless tools, and power lights for those late night emergancy repair situations
#8 If you're running in a near stock class, for the love of the Almighty, bring a spare ignition key!
#9 to make it easier to use jackstands on the dirt or grass, weld light metal sheets to the bottom of the stands
#10 label your common toold (like the 10, 12, 13, 14, 16 mm wrenches and sockets) tools and tool box to help people who scramble to fix your car so you can make to the grid on time.
#11 drivers focus too much sometimes on championships and racing experience. go for laps and coaching to get fast, not testing and trial and error in products. don't worry about trophies but worry about beating your own devils
#12 regardless of your talent, driving by the seat of your pants will only make you a midpacker. become a student of driving on the track to learn how to determine your braking and turning reference points, trail braking, the when where and why of driving, etc. always make a plan, and always work your plan, every corner, each lap.
DT Tip. ALWAYS hit your determined apex. even if its slowing down or recovering from a mistake, hit the apex to make practice COUNT
#13 practice heel toe on a daily basis in city driving to make it second nature on the track. this will help make you a lot more comfortable on and off the track and improve overall smoothness.
#14 road racing requires substantial endurance and huge amount of mental strength. most drivers fail to realize how a physical training regime not only provides the muscle stamina and strength that you needs to compete but it hugely affects your resolve and determination. only your mind can take advantage of every ounce of strength that you have.
#15 if ou had all the money you spent on go fast parts and you gained one second per lap, you could gain two seconds with a decent incar video system. its nover the car, its the person controlling teh car who wins- video and data acquitision all plays large roles in winning. (i have an incar video cam set btw.)
#16 develop and use a consistent method for analyszing data that you've retrieved.
#17 prepare, not repair (we do this already with tech tuesday)
#18 radio shack has a "cheap" sound meter. haha
#19 paint your race car in a color for which you can easily find bandaids for. "Ed Newberg- My next paint job will likely be duct tape gray"
#20 check all fasteners for condition and tightness, especially for safety equipment
#21 the guy who just pissed you off at the track is going to be the guy who gives you a ride home next year after you crash your car. everybody is giving their all on the track and everybody makes mistakes sometimes. only a few are truly irresponsible.
#22 you drive with your hands, eyes, feet, and your rear end. your back and butt will give you feedback from the car that will translate to your other inputs on the wheel and pedal. a safe, quality FIA-approved seat and belts will not only increase your safety, but performance as well.
#23 its a common sight, and error, to see racers setting tire pressures to the static, cold tire pressure before each session. always check your tire pressure and wear when the tire is hot and adjust accordingly. any adjustments therein are purely relative to the desired optimum settings. as the tire cools to ambient at the end of the day, take another pressure reading as this will give you a starting cold -baseline for that tire, on that track, for next time.
#24 E. Paul Dickinson at the 1987 solo nationals once suggested to matt murray something: weight and wait. let the weight of the car settle and wait to go into a turn (this creates a late apex).
#25 to secure yourself in a seat when you only have stock, threepoint seatbelts 1 Grab the handle/button that disengages the seat slider and slide back two positions 2 with the same hand tighten the upper belt across your chest and hold 3 with your other hand, place your thumber under the belt in the middle of your chest and snap your hand forward and keep pressure on the belt once it locks 4 grab the handle to slide the seat forward and using your legs, slide the seat forward until you are in contact with your thumb and belt.
#26 position first, then speed. positioning the car perfectly is more important than trying to attain the highest potential speed. for example you will drop more time by correctly positioning the car nearer to the slalom cones than you will by adding 1 or 2 mph in speed. also position is a prerequisite for speed.
#27 turn earlier, and less. (not very applicable for drifting) to go faster, the arc you are running must be bigger. a bigger arc requires less steering. to make a bigger arc that is centered in the same place (apex) the arc must start sooner.
#28 brake earlier and less. waiting for the last possible second approaching a turn and then dropping anchor at precisely the correct place so that the desired entry speed is reached exactly as you come to the turn-in point is quite difficult to execute consistently. its better to start braking earlier to give some margin for error. and by braking less, you can either add or subtract braking effort as you close in on the turn-in point. this will make you more consistent and smoother.
#29 when you need to reduce speed only a moderate ammount, try an early lift of the throttle instead of a later push of the brake. this is less upsetting to the car, easier to do, and thus more consistent, allowing for more precise maneuvering.
#30 its easier to add speed in a turn than to get rid of it. if you are under the limit, a slight push of the right foot will get you more speed with no additional side effect. on the other hand, if you are too tast and the tires have begun sliping, you can only reduce throttle and wait for the tures to turn enough that excess energy into smoke and heat. don't use your tires as brakes!
#31 use your right foot to modulate car position in constant radius turns, not the steering wheel. in a steady-state turn, once you have established the correct steering input to maintain that arc, lifting the throttle slightly will let the car tuck in closer to the inside. conversely slightly increasing the throttle will push the car out a bit further away from the inside. its musch easier to make small corrections in position with slight variations in the tires slip angle than with the steering wheel.
#32 attack the back. for slaloms, getting cloe to the cones is critical for quick times. to get close, we must move the car less, which means bigger arcs. because the car doesn't start changing direction until the wheels cross the center and because of the raction times involved, your brain must make the decision to begin turning the steering wheel back the other way just before you go by the previous cone! since this is a mental issue, a good visualization technique is to think about trying to run over the backside of each slalom cone with the inside rear tire of the car. to hit with the rear tire (and not the front) the car must be arcing well before the cone and the arc must be shallow. attack the back!
#33, hands follows the eyes, car follows the hands.
#34 scan ahead, don't stare
#35 don't forget the stuff between the cones! there is typically more to be gained or lost in the areas that are in between the turns.
and for the final tip, given to me by a D1 driver: Remember to counter steer, you have to turn the wheel TWICE the amount of the initial turn in inorder to get the front wheels to be going toward the turn exit.
|
|