Emergency Breaking

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TwinTurbo

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Recently I started hitting the handbreak to induce slides for tight corners. I'll come into a corner, start breaking turn my wheel into my line, and tap the e break, this seems to pull my rear end further out leaving me in better position to com out of tight turns. While it seems my turns are tighter It seems my times aren't any better.

Does anybody else do this? Does it help your times?
 
Wouldn't that mean your traction would be compromised exiting the corner?

You're sliding already, so it's practically impossible to put power down (in a rear drive car) effectively - this would compromise your speed down the following straight.
 
I adjust the brake balance so the rear is 1 or 2 more than the front - it gives a similar effect to using the handbrake, but much more progressive and easy to control.
 
Yeah - matters heaps.

If you're sliding at the rear and you apply power to the rear wheels, you're only going to make it worse, because the wheels are already outside their 'circle of grip' (see below). The natural tendency for a FR car accelerating while turning is to oversteer, because while the front wheels are only turning, the rears are turning and driving.

Weight transfer muddies this a bit, but this is basically right.

With a FF, the natural attitude under power is understeer, because the front wheels are turning and under power. This means that it naturally counteracts the oversteer induced by the handbrake turn.

It also means that you can actually correct oversteer in a front drive car by accelerating (who remembers the glory days of the BTCC?!?) - although I would recommend trying it in a controlled environment before trying it on the road (I have tried it and it does work, but it's a bit tricky).

For those wondering about the circle of grip, check the following - the series of diagrams explains what I talking about:

http://www.gamespot.co.uk/stories/screens/0,2160,2095117,00.html
 
interesting stuff about the 'circle of grip' (sounds wierd).

personally I love tapping the handbrake for a bit of slide into corners - that moment of lost control and then recovery is so much fun! Its just the same as when you're rippin around in your viper and you have to dab the power because the back is stepping out mid-corner.

Probably doesn't do too much for your lap times, but then its not all about lap times, its about having a laugh.
 
If you check the link it makes more sense - people who've done advanced driver training will recognise it from the theory class.

The concept is basically that the potential grip of a tyre can be described in a circle, up representing acceleration, down braking, left left and right right. The edges of the circle represent the limit of adhesion.

At standstill you start in the middle of the circle,but when you accelerate, you move up toward the top the circle.

If you try to turn left as you accelerate, your position on the circle moves left. Because you're accelerating at the same time as turning, potential grip for both actions is compromised.

If you exceed the limit of grip and the circle is for;
- the front wheel - understeer
- the back wheel - oversteer

I'm actually watching the French Rally highlights on TV right now and there were a couple of text-book examples of braking compromising steering.

God I love tarmac rallies - those WRC boys are insane. Good to watch though...
 
Originally posted by vat_man
Yeah - matters heaps....
It also means that you can actually correct oversteer in a front drive car by accelerating (who remembers the glory days of the BTCC?!?) - although I would recommend trying it in a controlled environment before trying it on the road (I have tried it and it does work, but it's a bit tricky).
Click to expand...


Any recommendations for us screwballs who, through tricky foot/wheel coordination, plant the outside front tire of our front-driver and pivot from there? Psychoanalysis, perhaps? :p
 
Originally posted by TwinTurbo
Recently I started hitting the handbreak to induce slides for tight corners. I'll come into a corner, start breaking turn my wheel into my line, and tap the e break, this seems to pull my rear end further out leaving me in better position to com out of tight turns. While it seems my turns are tighter It seems my times aren't any better.

Does anybody else do this? Does it help your times?
Click to expand...

That is correct. Those tight corners on Monaco, is where I tried implimenting this technique. The overall result was slower times. I was just better off, slowing down enough to make to turn.

Sometimes you can loosen up the anti skid systems in the rear, put more torque in the rear (on awd cars), to get the backend to power around, without slowing down.
 
In a fast car, e-braking just makes me skid out. I think the key is braking while going relativley straight, so that you don't skid.

Break on the straight bit right before the turn, coast through half the turn, then hit the gas exiting it. It works every time, especially in tough courses like Laguna Seca (corkscrew, ahhh!).

Peace.
 
Originally posted by TwinTurbo
Recently I started hitting the handbreak to induce slides for tight corners. I'll come into a corner, start breaking turn my wheel into my line, and tap the e break, this seems to pull my rear end further out leaving me in better position to com out of tight turns. While it seems my turns are tighter It seems my times aren't any better.

Does anybody else do this? Does it help your times?
Click to expand...

yeah i do it sometimes....unlike in real life the braking signs in GT3 mean nothing....so your best bet is to just estimate when to brake and do it!!!! btw....e-braking ruins tires or so i heard...
 
Originally posted by jervinator



Any recommendations for us screwballs who, through tricky foot/wheel coordination, plant the outside front tire of our front-driver and pivot from there? Psychoanalysis, perhaps? :p
Click to expand...

Nah - just find a place that sells cheap drive shafts and CV joints!

:D
 

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