Please Critique my Lines!

[az3579]

He drove my E46 and understeered the living crap out of it.

I'll try the throttle on/off through the slalom though

Have him drive the Z4M.
Also, the xi is more likely to understeer than the RWD version is and you can't throttle steer it as well either being AWD.

[Rovert]

I hope I can chime in on this subject. I've been taking advanced driver training for just over 15 years now and have made great friends with race car drivers who have taught me how to drive. I'm in no way saying I know it all but I can say that I have learned a lot and still have a lot to learn everytime I go out. I've done autoXing but I haven't been to many timed events. More so events that I can practice on and get more input on how to do it with better grace and accuracy.

I'm not sure how long you've been autoxing and how much school time you've had with balancing and handling a car but your goal is to keep the vehicle at the edge of the traction circle at all times while being able to shift to opposite sides of the traction circle with smoothness to create an ideal know how of what the car is going to do with any given "extra" input. I've always been taught in slalom to find a speed and gradually increase as you progress. Don't hammer the throttle as that, while good, gives extra traction for the rear to not slide out, but the negative is that your front tires lift more and provide less steering ability. So you may actually move slower through a slalom just because your vehicle cannot turn as much as it can at a higher speed. Going hard on the brakes while it helps in turn in can lead to loss of traction in the rear. Any type of "scrubbing" on the surface is a loss in time. The louder you are, the slower you are.

As far as coming into corners after a straight away or even a slalom, make sure you come into it quick enough that you can use your brakes to steer through the beginning of the turn. Meaning you can balance the vehicle to turn in and bite the pavement while balancing the rear not to come out. Every turn has it's own attributes that you will have to learn fast. Doing this will for example shift your grip in the traction circle all the way forward because of hard braking, while you trail brake and let off as you corner, keeping the grip at the inside outer edge of the traction circle to transition to full right/left cornering. As you get to apex you will roll on the throttle to keep the grip to the bottom right/left edge and use the throttle to straighten the vehicle as you slowly wind the steering wheel out.

It's all an experience/time thing to get your car moving as quick as it can in any given circumstance. When I ride with instructors who know how to balance a certain car the whole course is very smooth. There is no jarring or sudden shift in movement. It feels like a graceful dance around cones which is the main thing. Getting a high top speed is one thing. But moving smoothly and consistently under a top speed will gain you time even though you feel like it feels too slow. Everything feels slower as a driver because you've got a steering wheel to hold so discipline yourself in that sense.

When you've got that you'll be able to step into any car and nail courses with it! Even if it has more than double the horsepower. I was last in Phoenix at Thunderbird raceway driving a Corvette Z06 for the day on the oval, track, and autoX while using a CTS on training wheels on the skidpad. Before I went to Phoenix I mentioned to my instructors that I didn't think I was ready for something with over 500HP when I only have 200...LOL. They said I'd be fine from all their past teaching so I went to Phoenix with an open mind. At the end of the day I was the quickest overall in the timed AutoX compared to most everyone who already owned a Z06. It was a blast!!

What I learned from watching everyone else on the track....they lost points because of smoothness. They just wanted to use that American muscle and hammer the throttle past the floor board. I watched Z06 chassis upset from the way some did slalom practice. Learn to feel the car and it's speed of suspension shift and work with it. If you fight it, it'll slow you down and even cause a spin out.

All the best with tracking! It's a fun day to just rip on public driving no no's and learn how to make a ballet out of a track. Remember no amount of reading/theory will help without putting it to real live use. So get out there and drive! Don't be afraid to experiment but use your common sense. Then nobody will get hurt....just lots of smiles and laughs and some crying which will cause you to grow and learn!

Next week I have two events with Porsche's to brush up skills! So excited!