In several threads we touched on being smooth while driving in any condition, and I have struggled to properly define what smoothness really means. Luckily I am not the only one.
Mark Dalen, who is part of
Racer University and is an automotive engineer with many years of racing experience in various sports racers to include high-downforce cars, took the time to explain it. Here is an excerpt of it:
Quote:
What we really care about is not smooth inputs to the car, we care about smooth outputs. We care about the car being balanced. We care about doing things as quickly as possible, without upsetting the car and losing time on track.
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Why were we taught to use smooth inputs? That is simple. As a beginner, we were not sensitive enough to the balance of the car to pay attention to that. The only tool we could master, at that stage, was smooth inputs.
What are the lessons to take from this?
1. As your skills advance, focus on the balance of the car, not the smoothness of your inputs.
2.
3. (there are more, but cannot post it here directly)
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For the details on the supporting data for his points, you can look for
Course # 317.