TomBobN20
01-03-2007, 09:43 AM
Editor: Excerpted from Tom Roberts' excellent Western Blip 3, from early 2006:
Last newsletter Grant Ryley wrote an article on smoothness that got rave reviews. Here's the follow up to that great piece:
The General Smoothness Principle
Driving a race car fast has very little to do with courage. Some of the best race car drivers I know wouldn't climb an 8 foot ladder. Granted, courage helps when qualifying an ill handling race car at Nazareth but it wont do a whole lot for you in turn 9 at Laguna Seca. (believe it or not) The race car wants to go fast. We, as drivers, are what gets in the way and keeps it from those elusive track records. In the last article I introduced dynamic brake release, this time I will speak about combining that with, what I call, the "General Smoothness Principle".
I've taken a lot of grief throughout the years for talking to my race cars. A pre qualifying conversation with an inanimate object doesn't always seem normal from the outside looking in. (and in actuality its probably not) The reason I do this is to open a line of communication between the car and myself. When you climb into your race car you are quite literally "strapping" on an extension of your own body. You become the brain of this machine and as the brain, you have to rely on what the different appendages tell you, just as your fingers tell you their getting very hot when you hold your hand above a open flame.
The various techniques of driving, i.e. Braking, line, downshifting, etc are the only things most people think of when they think of their driving. In truth, to take your driving to the next level it is paramount to have solid communication with your car. Your car will tell you exactly what it needs, you just have to listen. This is often referred to as "car feel". Think back to the analogy of the tight rope walker. A race car on the limit is in effect on a tight rope. If you snap off the brake pedal, you upset the cars balance and the car falls off the tight rope. This not only happens with brake release. Everything you do, and sometimes more importantly don't do, in the race car will have a direct effect on what the car does on the track.
Lets look at the steering wheel. The steering wheel is used to turn the car, right? Wrong. The steering wheel is used to apply the load to the contact patches (tires) on the outside of the car which in turn create a slip angle and allow the car to turn. Just as with brake release, how you turn the wheel will determine what the car does as you enter and throughout the corner. If your car is on the tight rope at corner entry and you "shock" the contact patch too quickly, the tire can't handle it and begins to slide. Conversely, if you load the tire gradually, it will be able to provide you with its maximum amount of grip. Simply put, it comes down to semantics. The "turn in point" is a misnomer. A better way to look at a turn in point is by calling it a "turning point" If the 1 board is your "turning point", the car needs to be changing directions at the 1 board. If you wait until the 1to initiate steering, you need to turn the wheel much more to get the car to the apex. This loads the tire too quickly and the tire responds with a slide. (Note: generally, the slide only occurs at the upper edge of the cars performance envelop. You can do whatever you want with the car at 7 tenths.)
Be careful with this technique. We are treading on very thin ice here because there is a fine line between turning early and turning smoothly. Remember, you want the car to begin changing directions at the "turning point" not earlier. Lets use turn 5 as an example again. If the 1 board is your "turning point" your hands need to be moving on the steering wheel somewhere around the 1.5. (this will be different for every corner. What does the car want?) When initiating steering, your hands must move very slowly. Remember, you are not looking to change directions yet, you are just looking to start loading the outside of the car so when the car does change directions, it is happy. Sometimes the amount you turn the wheel in the beginning is almost unperceivable. Sometimes you turn and pause, sometimes you continue turning all the way to the apex. It is dependant on the type of corner and what the car is telling you.
As you begin to master this you find that you are communicating with the car much more than ever before. You will also find that when turning into a corner, you want to turn the steering wheel as little as possible. Lets take a look at turn 2. A trail braking corner. Combining your smooth brake release with slow hands will get you through there as quickly as possible. Imagine you are on the diagonal approach in the brake zone. What is your reference point to start turning? If you've said the first apex, that's too late. If you wait until that first apex to initiate steering and you are at or near the cars limits, one of two things will happen. First, the car will slide abruptly at some point in the first third of the corner and secondly, if it doesn't slide, you won't get to the second apex. Your asking too much from the car.
If you begin to load the car before that first apex and combine that with smooth brake release the inertia and momentum you are carrying will turn the car for you. There is hardly any steering at all. (into the corner. You may have to correct for a progressive trail brake slide) If you get into the corner deep and the car is telling you it can't handle the corner, turn even less. Momentum and inertia will take care of it. The bottom line is this, only turn the wheel as much as you need to. Listen to what the car is telling you, it never lies.
As with brake release, there is a great drill to practice this on the street. It comes with the same warning of "Don't be a Jerk". You can practice this drill anytime you turn the wheel but the best place to start off is on a clover leaf on ramp. Approach the on ramp without doing much coasting. Brake in a straight line and as the road begins to bend, load the car as gradually as you can while trailing off the brakes. Be very aware of what the car is doing underneath you. You should feel the car roll over, take a set, and begin to corner. Three distinctive steps. It is easiest to do this with the steering column high (bus driver style) and your hands at roughly the 4 and 8 positions (shuffle steer). The elbows are supported on the arm rests or the lap allowing you greater sensitivity. This way you can "feed" the steering in slowly and smoothly. If you do this and can get over the initial awkwardness of a new seating position I guarantee you will start to "hear" what the car is telling you. (no this does not mean tire noise!)
Brake release and steering input are key elements to the "General Smoothness Principle", but not the only ones. In essence, smoothness is not just how you influence the car with the controls, its using the information the car is giving you and applying that information to the controls. (I think my head just exploded) As with anything in life worth doing, developing your race driving requires hard work. Once your basic fundamentals are in place its time to open you mind and make the car an extension of your body. Go ahead, have a conversation with your race car. You'll be surprised at what she has to say.
See you at the track,
Grant Ryley
Last newsletter Grant Ryley wrote an article on smoothness that got rave reviews. Here's the follow up to that great piece:
The General Smoothness Principle
Driving a race car fast has very little to do with courage. Some of the best race car drivers I know wouldn't climb an 8 foot ladder. Granted, courage helps when qualifying an ill handling race car at Nazareth but it wont do a whole lot for you in turn 9 at Laguna Seca. (believe it or not) The race car wants to go fast. We, as drivers, are what gets in the way and keeps it from those elusive track records. In the last article I introduced dynamic brake release, this time I will speak about combining that with, what I call, the "General Smoothness Principle".
I've taken a lot of grief throughout the years for talking to my race cars. A pre qualifying conversation with an inanimate object doesn't always seem normal from the outside looking in. (and in actuality its probably not) The reason I do this is to open a line of communication between the car and myself. When you climb into your race car you are quite literally "strapping" on an extension of your own body. You become the brain of this machine and as the brain, you have to rely on what the different appendages tell you, just as your fingers tell you their getting very hot when you hold your hand above a open flame.
The various techniques of driving, i.e. Braking, line, downshifting, etc are the only things most people think of when they think of their driving. In truth, to take your driving to the next level it is paramount to have solid communication with your car. Your car will tell you exactly what it needs, you just have to listen. This is often referred to as "car feel". Think back to the analogy of the tight rope walker. A race car on the limit is in effect on a tight rope. If you snap off the brake pedal, you upset the cars balance and the car falls off the tight rope. This not only happens with brake release. Everything you do, and sometimes more importantly don't do, in the race car will have a direct effect on what the car does on the track.
Lets look at the steering wheel. The steering wheel is used to turn the car, right? Wrong. The steering wheel is used to apply the load to the contact patches (tires) on the outside of the car which in turn create a slip angle and allow the car to turn. Just as with brake release, how you turn the wheel will determine what the car does as you enter and throughout the corner. If your car is on the tight rope at corner entry and you "shock" the contact patch too quickly, the tire can't handle it and begins to slide. Conversely, if you load the tire gradually, it will be able to provide you with its maximum amount of grip. Simply put, it comes down to semantics. The "turn in point" is a misnomer. A better way to look at a turn in point is by calling it a "turning point" If the 1 board is your "turning point", the car needs to be changing directions at the 1 board. If you wait until the 1to initiate steering, you need to turn the wheel much more to get the car to the apex. This loads the tire too quickly and the tire responds with a slide. (Note: generally, the slide only occurs at the upper edge of the cars performance envelop. You can do whatever you want with the car at 7 tenths.)
Be careful with this technique. We are treading on very thin ice here because there is a fine line between turning early and turning smoothly. Remember, you want the car to begin changing directions at the "turning point" not earlier. Lets use turn 5 as an example again. If the 1 board is your "turning point" your hands need to be moving on the steering wheel somewhere around the 1.5. (this will be different for every corner. What does the car want?) When initiating steering, your hands must move very slowly. Remember, you are not looking to change directions yet, you are just looking to start loading the outside of the car so when the car does change directions, it is happy. Sometimes the amount you turn the wheel in the beginning is almost unperceivable. Sometimes you turn and pause, sometimes you continue turning all the way to the apex. It is dependant on the type of corner and what the car is telling you.
As you begin to master this you find that you are communicating with the car much more than ever before. You will also find that when turning into a corner, you want to turn the steering wheel as little as possible. Lets take a look at turn 2. A trail braking corner. Combining your smooth brake release with slow hands will get you through there as quickly as possible. Imagine you are on the diagonal approach in the brake zone. What is your reference point to start turning? If you've said the first apex, that's too late. If you wait until that first apex to initiate steering and you are at or near the cars limits, one of two things will happen. First, the car will slide abruptly at some point in the first third of the corner and secondly, if it doesn't slide, you won't get to the second apex. Your asking too much from the car.
If you begin to load the car before that first apex and combine that with smooth brake release the inertia and momentum you are carrying will turn the car for you. There is hardly any steering at all. (into the corner. You may have to correct for a progressive trail brake slide) If you get into the corner deep and the car is telling you it can't handle the corner, turn even less. Momentum and inertia will take care of it. The bottom line is this, only turn the wheel as much as you need to. Listen to what the car is telling you, it never lies.
As with brake release, there is a great drill to practice this on the street. It comes with the same warning of "Don't be a Jerk". You can practice this drill anytime you turn the wheel but the best place to start off is on a clover leaf on ramp. Approach the on ramp without doing much coasting. Brake in a straight line and as the road begins to bend, load the car as gradually as you can while trailing off the brakes. Be very aware of what the car is doing underneath you. You should feel the car roll over, take a set, and begin to corner. Three distinctive steps. It is easiest to do this with the steering column high (bus driver style) and your hands at roughly the 4 and 8 positions (shuffle steer). The elbows are supported on the arm rests or the lap allowing you greater sensitivity. This way you can "feed" the steering in slowly and smoothly. If you do this and can get over the initial awkwardness of a new seating position I guarantee you will start to "hear" what the car is telling you. (no this does not mean tire noise!)
Brake release and steering input are key elements to the "General Smoothness Principle", but not the only ones. In essence, smoothness is not just how you influence the car with the controls, its using the information the car is giving you and applying that information to the controls. (I think my head just exploded) As with anything in life worth doing, developing your race driving requires hard work. Once your basic fundamentals are in place its time to open you mind and make the car an extension of your body. Go ahead, have a conversation with your race car. You'll be surprised at what she has to say.
See you at the track,
Grant Ryley