There's a difference between flat spotting and spinning the tyres.
Flat spotting occurs while braking because the brakes are locked. I
don't remember de Ferrans 360 that well but I recollect it was because
he applied too much throttle and the rear wheels started spinning.
In 1967 they had much harder tyre compounds, and could actually use
the same set for the *whole* weekend. flatspotting was a lot harder to
achieve in those days due to the hardness of the tyres? and continual
hard braking did not present so much of a problem, although most top
drivers try not to lock the wheels anyway?
Nowadays, however, flat spotting is very easily achieved, as the tyres
do not last as long and are very soft, (comparibly) and should be
avoided as it can affect performance considerably? (manifesting itself
as longer braking distances, lower laptimes, loss of control and a
very uncomfortable ride for the driver!)
Heavy braking (eg: the tyres are locked up) is not the ideal technique
to use. (Although I am unable to stop myself doing it, as any replays
of my laps will testify. FX: mental note - I must get around to
practising correct braking more one day!)
If you have locked the brakes, you have lost control of the car (to a
degree?) and are not slowing as fast as is possible. (A rotating
tyre gives more grip, don't ask me how, it just *DOES*) The ideal
method is to brake enough so that you are braking as fast as possible,
but without locking the wheels. That way you remain in control at all
times and shorten the braking distance required.
Some drivers use cadence braking as a method of reducing tyre/wheel
lock-ups. You brake as hard as possible, but quickly release the
brakes and re-apply the brakes several times. This releasing and
re-applying of the brakes stops the wheels from locking up, and is
actually the basis of many modern anti-lock braking systems.
As always, practice makes perfect, and I certainly *haven't* perfected
the technique yet......
8-)
*Peter* #:-)
Exactly! I know the difference between spinning the tire and locking it
under braking. But when a car travels sideways one could assume there would
be flat spots, at least on the fronts.
--
Best regards,
Hena H?kk?nen
Remove NOSPAM to email me!
> > >Did you guys see de Ferran's 360 at the start of the Motegi race last
> > >Saturday? One would think that he flat spotted his tires for good, but
> still
> > >managed to do very competetive lap times after the restart. I realise
> that
> > >at least the rear tires were spinning under power for the entire spin
> thus
> > >minimizing flat spotting but still ... Anyway, I thought it was pretty
> > There's a difference between flat spotting and spinning the tyres.
> > Flat spotting occurs while braking because the brakes are locked. I
> > don't remember de Ferrans 360 that well but I recollect it was because
> > he applied too much throttle and the rear wheels started spinning.
Trey Behan
Dave Ewing
McKafre De La Rosa
>Exactly! I know the difference between spinning the tire and locking it
>under braking. But when a car travels sideways one could assume there would
>be flat spots, at least on the fronts.
>--
>Best regards,
>Hena H?kk?nen
>Remove NOSPAM to email me!
>> > >Did you guys see de Ferran's 360 at the start of the Motegi race last
>> > >Saturday? One would think that he flat spotted his tires for good, but
>> still
>> > >managed to do very competetive lap times after the restart. I realise
>> that
>> > >at least the rear tires were spinning under power for the entire spin
>> thus
>> > >minimizing flat spotting but still ... Anyway, I thought it was pretty
>> > There's a difference between flat spotting and spinning the tyres.
>> > Flat spotting occurs while braking because the brakes are locked. I
>> > don't remember de Ferrans 360 that well but I recollect it was because
>> > he applied too much throttle and the rear wheels started spinning.
>>less than braking cause of weight transfer ...
>>McKafre De La Rosa
>Not to mention the fact that in a slide, the wheels are still
>turning, where in a braking situation, they aren't... :)
McKafre De La Rosa
> >Did you guys see de Ferran's 360 at the start of the Motegi race last
> >Saturday?
> More precisely, two 270's. Much more impressive when he recovered from
that.
> Even Danny Sullivan can 360 :)
You're making me dizzy! :-)
--Dave
> On Wed, 14 Apr 1999 20:14:00 +0300,
> >> >Did you guys see de Ferran's 360 at the start of the Motegi race last
> >> >Saturday?
> >> More precisely, two 270's. Much more impressive when he recovered from
> >that.
> >> Even Danny Sullivan can 360 :)
> >You mean two 180's? Two 270's would put him going backwards :)
> Not if one 270 degree turn was in one direction and
> one 270 degree turn was in the opposite direction.
> --
> // rrevved posts from mindspring dot com
Cheers!
John
