How To Brake?

[FTS]

Originally Posted by beez

I disagree - smoothness of inputs directly translates into smoothness of the car on the track. Often what you're seeing with in-car camera on pro drivers is them being constantly on the knife-edge - they are moving the wheel to make fast corrections that are necessary to keep the car on the road. Emulating this style while not having to make corrections because of understeer or oversteer conditions just wears out your arms and tires.

Let me put it in another way. I define smoothness as getting the weight transfer to any part of the car as fast as possible just at the right time it is needed while staying on the optimum tire slip angles. To achieve this smoothness of inputs are irrelevant, actually abrupt inputs sometimes (or may be even often) are welcome. I am of course only stating opinion here and my understanding on how the theory should be translated into practice.

For example, we see pro drivers with very abrupt steering and throttle inputs, not to mention how they use the brakes. Nothing I see in vids can be classified as "smooth" driving from the input perspective.

So, if you are in a corner with increasing lateral Gs, which increases lateral weight transfer and vertical and lateral loads on tires, the slip angles of the tires will change and that change is constant. To manage to stay at the optimum slip angles that generate the most grip, you have to modulate steering and throttle constantly as well. That is why we see such rapid and abrupt steering inputs.

Similarly, the harder you accelerate, the more abrupt the throttle, when you lift off, the more weight will transfer to the front at a faster speed. If you do execute this at the right moment, the less brake you'll need to use. But again the input is not smooth, but the resultant action creates higher grip when needed and smoother output.

Of course this is all in my very humble interpretation of car dynamics and driving theories.