9/18 auto-x boeing everett
09-20-2005, 09:56 AM
#41
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Originally Posted by Optikal,Sep 20 2005, 10:14 AM
I did an autocross school once and had a guy nicknamed "Fast Mike" as an instructor. After riding with me a few times we switched and he decimated my best time by 4 seconds. However, I noticed that we slid through each corner and was not smooth at all. His steering inputs were very erratic and he was constantly giving a little flick of the steering wheel to gather in the back end in each turn.
Actually it more like we began a drift, Fast Mike would get the back end back in line with the turn so the drift didn't become an excersize of losing speed and momentum. So apparently, Fast Mike was able to push the tires to their limit, induce a drift, but had enough skill to not let the drift get out-of-hand, and still use the tires to their max.
Ultimately, I thought his driving style seemed to defy everything I have learned in my limited span of racing.
Actually it more like we began a drift, Fast Mike would get the back end back in line with the turn so the drift didn't become an excersize of losing speed and momentum. So apparently, Fast Mike was able to push the tires to their limit, induce a drift, but had enough skill to not let the drift get out-of-hand, and still use the tires to their max.
Ultimately, I thought his driving style seemed to defy everything I have learned in my limited span of racing.
What the good drivers can do, with which I'm still struggling, is find the very edge, and keep the car there. Since you can't know where the edge is without going over from time to time, the trick becomes being very, very smooth with your throttle inputs, so that you gently cross over, and can recover with a small steering input.
It's much easier to describe than to do.
09-20-2005, 11:01 AM
#42
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[QUOTE=124Spider,Sep 20 2005, 10:56 AM] Yeah, Fast Mike is a very good driver.
What the good drivers can do, with which I'm still struggling, is find the very edge, and keep the car there.
What the good drivers can do, with which I'm still struggling, is find the very edge, and keep the car there.
09-20-2005, 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by WRS2K,Sep 20 2005, 09:23 AM
i'm heading N on 405 and taking the exit to get to 520W. there's a sweeping left and then it sweeps back to the right and then left again...
that first sweeping left is a fun turn because you're going hwy speeds and unless there's a traffic jam up front, you're pretty safe from other cars, cops etc.
that first sweeping left is a fun turn because you're going hwy speeds and unless there's a traffic jam up front, you're pretty safe from other cars, cops etc.
09-20-2005, 12:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Optikal,Sep 20 2005, 11:19 AM
I think that is the ramp Bannie lost her first S2000...
Do NOT test your car in this corner... Not unless you've been some sort of AutoX, HPDE days and have a feel for your car when the tires started losing grip, and you won't panic if it does so... (The surroundings there is not forgiving if accidents occured)
On a side note, my wife's completely stock TL can take that corner with 65mph (you should be able to drive faster with the wide tires you have on the s2000), don't know how fast I went through with my mod. accord and the nsx, (usually wasn't paying as much attention at the moment) But given the nature of the corner and sometime it got some water (possibly from the drainage/springler) at the mid corner... It probably won't be much faster...
09-20-2005, 12:52 PM
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Yeah, it's pretty much a given the S2000 would be able to take this corner better than a TL and say even an NSX. I'm sure the S2000 and NSX would be pretty close, but we'll never know. The 65mph was more guess than anything else as I never bothered to look at the speedo when taking it aggressively. Lovely fun corner though.
It is a pretty fun corner and I don't plan on driving it fast too much anymore. You can never tell if there's traffic ahead of you or not which is a good possibility given traffic on 520 W.
I do love the sensation of the tires starting to lose grip ever so slightly in a sweeping turn.
It is a pretty fun corner and I don't plan on driving it fast too much anymore. You can never tell if there's traffic ahead of you or not which is a good possibility given traffic on 520 W.
I do love the sensation of the tires starting to lose grip ever so slightly in a sweeping turn.
09-20-2005, 01:27 PM
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Originally Posted by WRS2K,Sep 20 2005, 09:23 AM
now the thing is, i'm very green when it comes to knowing the limits of traction on my car. i have wide 285 series tires in the rear, but i swear i can feel the car slide a bit when taking that turn at 65mph or so... but i feel like i should be able to go quite bit faster if i had greater awareness/seat time going thru curves.
if i have throttle applied thruout the turn... is that perhaps a way to carry the greatest speed or is it setting up for speed before the turn, then fully off gas, and then reapplying it as early as possible the "better" racer way to do it?
i won't ever test the limits on that turn just because it is a public road, but would be curious to see how much faster someone with more skills/seat time could take that turn than me
Even though there is a basic way of tackling a corner I think a driver needs to access each corner separately. Sometimes you can just lay down on the throttle through some of the turns, others require setting up for the turn and using the throttle to steer through it.
Some corners are not perfect arcs, so where the car is in the corner will help determine when a person will start applying more throttle in a turn. (I am thinking of the long turn after the straightaway at Bremerton)
but the most basic thing is using the throttle to steer through the corner, of course, assuming that you haven't overcooked it already and careening off into a cement barrier.
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