In a front wheel drive car, you can get away with that because every time you press the gas the weight (and traction) goes to the back and the car pushes (understeers). The opposite happens when you lift. It is not the right way to take a corner.



[QUOTE=whiteflash,Mar 7 2010, 08:01 PM]Also about a week after having it, I lost traction on some wet roads.

 

Yes, all braking before initial turn-in.

 

I'm sorry, I was a little vague in what I was saying.

As far as the braking apex thing, I know better. That's why I said unless your intentionally trying to break traction (i.e. drift).

As far as my comment on guaging the turn and punching it. I suppose I meant yea, braking as much as you need to and throttle out. I was a little undescriptive there.

I appreciate the tips though! Any little input to make my driving skills more complete is well appreciated!

Thanks I appreciate the imagery, that's going to really help. A long time ago when I first learned to drive a clutch it wasn't smooth as butter. After about 15 minutes my dad visualized it with his hands. Instantly I figured it out, this is going to help alot

 

Well, you are a lucky young driver. I learned that trick 18 years after I started driving.

 

trail braking?

 

I would say that is an advanced and somewhat tricky technique. For the sake of the thread MOST of the people should heed the advice to have your braking done before you start your turn-in.

Just my.02

Kevin

 

Only very experienced racers do that at the track, on their own and at their own risk. It is mostly used for passing situations. It is not a something that the average S2000 owner should be performing anywhere, even at HPDE events.

 

We were thinking and typing the same thing at the same time.

 

Arg, yes. Sorry.

 

I'm a track instructor, and I don't consider trail-braking an "advanced technique" on the track or on the street. In fact, everyone should be able to do this, and most people even naturally tend to do it reasonably OK enough if they find themselves entering a corner with too much speed.

It is when people are already *in* a corner with too much speed that they usually screw up by lifting off the gas or going for the brake.

Trail-braking is not "mostly used in passing situations" at the track, it is used at practically every corner that you have to brake for. To get around the track efficiently *without* trail-braking is what would be tricky.

My very first track day, *every*one was preaching "brake in a straight line only" to me, but the car just doesn't want to turn in when you drive like that, and it is quite a bitch to go from full braking to no braking in a straight line, and only *then* turning in after getting off the brakes. After half a day of trying it, I gave up and went by instinct, braking hard, then easing off the brakes as I turned in, trading braking force for steering angle. WAY easier and more natural. It no longer felt like I was fighting the car, trying to make it do stuff it didn't want to.

At the Zcar convention autoX a few years back, I went around the course with a friend's wife in their 350Z to help her get the hang of it. She'd already been out with her husband and another club member, and they thought I might be able to help her. After the very first corner (which she trail-braked for) she apologized for not braking in a straight line. I was a bit taken aback, as she'd executed the corner quite well as far as I could tell. Basically, the other guys were forcing her to only brake in a straight line, thinking they would save her from the "advanced technique" of trail-braking. What they'd done though was to prevent her from driving the course in the easiest most efficient way! I did next to nothing in coaching her beyond allowing her to trail-brake, and she felt WAY more comfortable with the car and went around the course a lot quicker at the same time.

So, I *never* preach "brake in a straight line", and I hate hearing it preached, even to first-timers.