rec.autos.simulators

< I *must* be at my limits now - when I try to go faster, I crash. >

Eldred,

Don't try to be faster,  try to be smoother.

Recently a teammate of mine posted a lap at Schubi's which I downloaded and
watched.  It was eye opening because previously I had only downloaded laps
of the usual suspects, (Greger, Roland, Wolfgang, etc.) hoping to learn
something.  Now, while watching a lap of a "slower" driver, I was amazed at
how much he was weaving all over the track.  So I merged his lap with mine
with SpyGirl and watched using the overhead camera view.  Sure enough, I
looked relatively smooth and he was all over the place.  So this got me to
thinking, if Greger watched one of my laps would he wonder why this jerk is
all over the track?  So I merged Gregers lap and my lap with SpyGirl and get
the same results as before only this time Greger is smooth and flowing and
I'm the one throwing the car all over the place.  Smoother is generally
faster.  I don't know if you can try to be faster but you can definately
try, and learn,  to be smoother.

Left foot braking would definately smooth you out, but I'm sure you've got
that down by now.  ;-)

Rick

Now, does he mean you should know where the limit is, and never go over it?
How do you know you're over the limit UNTIL the car starts spinning?  I guess
I'm missing the point...<g>  I've had many times where I *thought* I hit the
brakes in time, but for whatever reason, I ended up in the kitty litter...

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

Jan.
=---

I've been GPL'ing for a year and a half, and I think I'm still improving.
It's a verrrry gradual process.

-A

Marc.

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

Jan.
=---

Andre

The limit is defined by the limit of *maximum* adhesion. The optimum slip
angle.

You can drive like Starsky and Hutch, WAY over the optimum slip angle, all
day without spinning, but you'll be slow.

That's what's at issue here. Since all we, as racers, are interested in is
getting around the course in the least time. So, one can approach the limit,
*** the tail further and further out or coming closer and closer to the
wall until we hit that point where we've exceded the optimum slip angle and
have started to actually go slower, even though we may not have even come
close to spinning.

The fact of the matter is that long before you've spun you were already in
over your head and going slower, whether you realized it or not. The smart
driver, the pro, realizes all this and rarely spins, he dosn't need to.

A couple of things you ought to do.

 First, find some old footage of Fangio. There is a popular conception that
in the "good old days" you could tell how fast a driver was and how good he
was by how far he hung the tail out and how much opposite lock he used to
hold it there. EHHHHHHH! Wrong answer Sparky, Even during his famous drive
at the Ring in '57 Fangio almost always looks like he's just taking a Sunday
drive in the park, rear wheels tracking nicely behind the fronts, no more
yaw angle that 5 degrees or so, smooth as silk. Watching him you get the
feeling that  you could sit next to him in the car and drink a cuppa tea
without worrying about spilling a drop.

Second, spend the price of a cheap game and pick up a copy fo Skip Barber
Racing School's "Going Faster." The quote from Nunnini's page sounds like it
was taken right out of it. The book, of course, goes into this in greater
depth, complete with photos and actual data graphs and supporting commentary
by a dozen or so pro drivers. You need this book if you're serious about,
well, "Going Faster."

You already own Carroll Smith's "Drive to Win" don't you? Don't you??

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

Just keep putting in the laps Eldred. Pretty soon you'll notice a recurrent
problem, maybe you're not able to nail fast sweepers consistently or you
find it hard to stop the car over-rotating into a slow corner... regardless,
you'll make a change to correct that and find you've gained a little
everywhere. But maybe now some other section isn't optimal so you work
around that and so on and so forth in a continuous feedback loop, while your
laptimes creep down. After a while you'll find you're now consistently
lapping faster than your old PB. Simple as that really.

Somewhere along the line you'll take a big step. Like using the 45/85 diff
at some tracks or left foot braking (I still don't, hardly even trailbrake
for that matter), which, at first, will be a setback and will force you to
adjust both your driving and other parameters in your setup to compensate.
The reward comes as more opportunity for improvement and before you know it
you're the one ducking mobile chicanes on WVROC.

Keep at it Eldred, if a non-talent like me can learn enough to occasionally
challenge the fast people, so can you. And while you're at it: enjoy your
driving!

Jan.
=---

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.