5. Cornering (1)

[Cardinal]

you mean like the title of a certain Radiohead song?

 

"Don't leave me hiiiiiiiiiigh......."

[Seansene]

I think I see a couple o yellow cards coming up!

[Cardinal]

but but... im innocent...

[Seansene]

Yeah right! The thread was fine until you came in

[Presea]

Hi Darkroad...

 

I didn't mean that you can't change gears when slowing down....but the gears should not be USED to slow the car down primarily, but by heel and toe (blipping the throttle while braking to match the correct rpm) with the lower gear selected.

Effective braking is late braking with maximum stopping power (before lock up of wheels occur)

 

Lets say a corner has a optimal speed of 80kmh, and along the straight before the corner, the vehicle has a velocity of 160kmh. The driver needs to utilise the shortest possible distance to slow the car from 160 to 80, while maintaining the correct angle of approach. And by the time the vehicle has reached the "entry point" the driver should have already selected the correct gear while maintaining the optimal point of torque for that gear (for me, that would be 3rd gear at 4000rpm)...steering to stay on the racing line, and waiting for the apex to come and FLOOR the accelerator once I'm there.

 

Remember the turning to Tuas along the NS highway (to Senai)... when we entered the corner, you came up behind me, and needed to slow down....

I was utilising the increasing radius method, where I cut the apex on the 1/3 portion of the curve...and floored it just as you were still braking....

FWD cars have that added safety control where the most trouble we get is a correctable understeer.

[Presea]

Before I tied down my bass tube, everytime I take a hard corner, it would bounce from one side of my boot to the other .....the velcro on it was not enough. Now I use a belt fastener...

[Gadgeter]

For those stuff in my nboot. I dun care., But its the holder I have on the dash that I'm worried.

[Cardinal]

OK, time for me to post something that is within the topic

 

You know, when I was at PG, there was this time when I was about to enter turn 3, which is basically a late apex decreasing radius corner that I was going to enter at no more than 80kmh. I slowed from 160 from the previous turn, shifted to 2nd, and was about to clutch in, when I saw at the corner of my eye that the speed was still 100kmh, but still slowing down. had I clutched in, I would have run the engine dangerously close to blowing. that was when I messed up the corner. I usually make the gear change halfway through the corner cos that's when I'm slow enough to downshift.

 

I guess in a place like PG where the corners are around 90-100, you can't just blindly downshift early before entering the turn.

 

Another thing, I feel that with an FF, you can't power out of a turn as well as an FR or MR, so sometimes you need to brake a little later to compensate with more speed at the start of the turn, and brake slightly during the turn to give some extra weight on the front wheels for them to grip. What do you all think?

[Presea]

...I would actually "feather the clutch" in that situation to drop my speed to my desired entry speed. It wouldn't cause the rpms to rise that much, but it will wear out the clutch if you do it too often.

 

FF problems in corners can be resolved with wider tyres.

I have taken many corners at much higher speeds than most people would ever ever imagine.

 

(E.g. Havelock Road exit at CTE....I went one on one with an EG Civic, running up the ramp at about 140-150, and I was on the inside (left lane). Braked to 100 (3rd gear), and continued through the first corner (like a chicane by the time you exit) and could accelerate throughout both corners...Exited onto the mainroad at about 130!.)

[Presea]

hi Cardinal

 

When will you be going back to PG.... I want to take my car there for a couple of laps... to see if on track racing is as fun as in real life.

Edited October 29, 2002 by Presea

[Cardinal]

Well, I think even feathering the clutch is taking away that one foot that will help stabilise your body while you are trying to apply delicate pressure on the brakes. Besides, it's kinda hard to control both feet separately unless you are a natural born drummer

 

Basically, I'd just remember to take a look at the speedometer before changing gears.

 

not going back there so soon. don't think there is a track day coming up soon anyway... As for thrills, well, you don't feel the speed when there is a wide track with grass patches at the sides. Tracks are relatively safe to make mistakes, and refine your cornering techniques. Then again, if your thrills comes from narrowly managing to avoid other cars and road barriers, I guess track's not your cup of tea

[Super7]

Foo, I used the Non-slip Dash map... But I guess they didn't create the stuff for people like us.. should have ask us for user acceptance test before they launch the product..

 

Ooiii?? ..... how come you put your little "thingy" on the dashboard???... wait car parked under hot sun the "thingy" kenna burnt till chow-dar, how????....i mean your "thingy" .... not the other gadgets in your car leh...??!!

 

you funny lah.......

 

cheers

[Super7]

Non slip dash mat... interesting... As they say, a little friction aids pleasure, but this much friction?

 

i think Gadie purposedly acted blur and tried to talk about other gadgets in his car and not his precious 'thingy'

 

cheers

Edited October 29, 2002 by Super7

[Super7]

you mean like the title of a certain Radiohead song? "Don't leave me hiiiiiiiiiigh......."

 

are you another Layliao Head fan???..... boy, my sons keep playing their songs at home and make oldman like me buaytahan..... not that their muzic is no good, but abit hard to understand leh..... ...... well, at least this is better than the Greenday stuff they fed me few years back....

 

cheers

[Seansene]

I think to "get" Radiohead (esp their later albums) you should listen to the whole thing in one go - unlike throwaway pop, the whole pacing and swing of the album cannot be seen just by looking at one song in isolation - sort of missing the forest for the trees. In fact, they nearly borke up over the song order of Kid A, crazy Oxford perfectionists that they are...

[Super7]

i do respect them for their delication and non-commercial muzic.... i guess it will take me awhile to really appreciate them.... good artists i muz say.......

 

cheers

[Hitman]

<< it's kinda hard to control both feet separately unless you are a natural born drummer >>

 

Corrections ; I am a trained drummer (those Yamaha days) and still have trouble balancing both feets in the car. Play Mettalica music on the drums is easier ..... hahahaha

[Mondeo]

This morning the MPV did it exactly the same, only different is my car next to him.