http://www.esbconsult.com.au/ogden/locost/...ors/phors23.htm

I really need to practice!

 

For me, articles on performance driving that fail to mention weight transfer raise a red flag.

In a corner under trail braking the rear end is relatively light, rear grip is relatively low, and cornering speed MAY BE limited by this low rear grip.

In a corner under neutral or accelerating throttle, more weight will be transfer back, increasing rear grip relative to front. Cornering speed MAY BE higher.

In my experience it depends on car, conditions and the corner as to whether trail braking is faster or not.

It is hard to generalize, maybe lower speed corners tend to trail brake more, where you want low rear grip to get some rotation, for example. Higher speed corners tend to see less or no trail braking, where unbalance and rotation would slow the car.

 

I would say, given the tail happy characteristics of the S2000, that this wouldn't work very well. When I did a track day at Road Atlanta, the instructors had me brake early and slowly get on the gas in the turns. They said that this would transfer weight to the rear...giving it more grip and allowing me to carry more speed through the turn. I'm not sure if it made me go any faster, but it was a lot of fun sliding the rear end around in the corners.

 

Trail braking can be a very useful tool, even on the S2000. If not done properly, however, you CAN induce a spin fairly easily...

I was having some problems with understeer on a few slower track corners. A slight trail-brake through the corners shifted more weight to the front giving lots more grip at the front, lightened the rear and brought the rear end around nicely.

Very exhilarating when done well.

Give it too much and you may find yourself swapping ends, however.