Just remember one thing; licenses only show that you can beat a set time (t) around a portion (d) of a track (x) with car (y) tuned to (s) specs. That involves at least 5 variables!
You need to develop a sense of cornering, braking, and accelerating for
each specific drive-train and and corner type.
For instance, many people claim FF cars corner better. A novice may find this to be true, however, FF cars generally exhibit under-steer which is the tendency to "pull" to the outside of the turn. Without going into too many physics, I will say the primary reason for this is because the front wheels bear the majority of the load as you brake into the corner (due to weight transfer). Then, they are responsible for steering
and accelerating throughout the rest of the corner. This means not all of the traction is devoted to steering since some is used for accelerating. This is even more apparent as you upgrade your car since more power equals more torque which requires greater traction for acceleration. Overall, a FF setup will feel more stable and will be highly predictable. Usually, the best way to drive a FF car through corners is with a modified apex approach. This is different from the usual outside-inside-outside approach because you enter from the outside braking late, slightly overshoot the typical driving line, make a sharp turn back towards the inside of the curve, and slam the pedal to the medal. This effectively equates to a slow entry and a fast exit with very little cornering while accelerating.
Here is a picture showing the typical driving line (dotted) and the modified apex type (solid):
Now, note this is the best cornering method for
all drive-train types since it generally results in a faster exit speed (especially with FF cars as mentioned above). However, when driving a FR car, especially a high powered one, this approach will often fail in tight and/or sharp corners without extreme focus. FR cars generally exhibit over-steer which is the tendency for the car to dart towards the inside of the apex. This is because the front wheels on FR cars do not share traction between steering and accelerating. But this causes some issues since braking transfers the weight of the car to the front wheels resulting in extreme traction for the front wheels while the drive wheels, which are in the rear, receive little traction. Therefore, many people find that the rear tends to slip and spin when they accelerate through the corner. In order to remedy this, it is best to brake early and feather the throttle through the sharpest point of the turn. This works because the weight of the car is not resting on the front wheels as you exit the sharpest point of your cornering (as shown in the picture) which means the weight is more evenly distributed resulting in cleaner acceleration.
Now, of course, this approach is technical and will work for any drive-train, but FF and AWD cars are
typically more forgiving and will allow you to brake later which means you spend more time at speed before the turn. Use this to your advantage when overtaking opponents in a corner.
AWD cars can be either front wheel biased, which is not preferable and caters to economy, or rear wheel biased, which caters to racing and performance. The Golf R32 is a prime example of a front wheel biased AWD car. A Variable Torque Differential will help remedy this, but not by much. The Subaru WRX STi, Lancer Evolution, Nissian Skyline, etc. have typical performance oriented AWD platforms. This AWD aims to improve traction and acceleration by giving some of the power to the front wheels which helps relieve over-steer and rear wheel spinning from a typical FR platform. However, this comes with more weight and more parts for the engine to rotate (inertial mass). Therefore, AWD race cars are not typical while AWD rally cars, where more traction is priority, are very typical.
RR cars are extremely unforgiving. The massive amount of weight in the rear from the engine and transmission often result in slides and spin outs when taking on a corner too aggressively. Driving a RR car is like driving a FR car minus any cornering while braking. Also, losing rear wheel traction while accelerating through the corner is very risky since this opens the door for the weight of the engine to jerk the rear away.
I do apologize for the book, but I feel it is important to understand how different drive-trains call for different racing styles. Of course, equally important is setup and tuning, but that would require a novel! Do a search and find out how to setup a particular drive-train for
your driving style.
For instance, I brake aggressively and am cautious while cornering and accelerating. Therefore, my cars are setup to have more over-steer, no traction control, and no limited slip. However, my brakes are set at 10 and 10, and I even add weight to front depending on the race.
If you have any questions, need a car for a particular race, or would like help setting up a car, feel free to add me on PSN. My S/N is vinkreepo. Just put why you are adding me in the friend request.
