NASA racer

This guy tells it like it is...HIGHLY recommended reading.

http://www.bimmer.org/e46m3/messages/messages/22646.html<p><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/carssmall4.jpg">
00 S4 tip
Silver/Onyx
GIAC ECU/tip “race” chip (14.2 in 88 degrees)
V1

matthewk

is that the people that are really fast, never seem to go through tires and or brakes as fast as those that are out there not going so fast. I have tried to explain this many times to people and they just don't seem to get it. just because you burned off more of your brake pads or warped your rotors or corded your tires does not mean that you were faster than someone that didn't do any of these things.<p>matthew(most moderated)k
00 Porsche Boxster S
(Previous S4 Owner)
Grand PooBah of the HIG World Wide Consortium

"When you shift the gear and that little needle on the tach goes into the red and reads 9000RPM. That's Bad!!!"

NASA racer

S4's not withstanding (because they are heavy and fast and really not designed with track events in mind) if a driver goes through brakes/tires at an appaling rate, he is wasting alot of speed OBVIOUSLY...why is it obvious? Friction!

Without going too deep into the traction circle, suffice to say that the tire only has so much grip...this is used to brake, corner and accelerate. A perfectly balanced car will have some combination of these but a driver who is constantly throwing a car around will exceed the traction coefficient of his tires and not only wear things out but actually be going slower.
Even a 300hp street car is "underpowered" on a race track...every twitch of the wheel or touch of the brake or lift off the throttle is momentum lost which can never be regained. The key to going fast is enter corners controlled and poised and exit as fast as possible. If you are right on the limit of the threshold of brakes and tires entering a turn, chances are that you are having to back off and are exiting MUCH slower than a smoothly driven car. The reason someone like a F1 driver is so amazing is that he can drive 10/10ths...he can get everything out of the car both entering AND exiting. For the rest of us mere mortals, we should concentrate on EXIT speed.

That having been said, if you are constantly exiting corners sideways (exciting but slow) you are scrubbing speed (and tires) off by the fact your tires are too busy sliding and not doing the important work of giving you maximum acceleration.

The reason it feels "slow" when you're driving fast is that the car is not as dynamic...it is smoothly transitioning from one state to another (braking to turning in to cornering to exit). Once you have reached a point where you can lap consistently (at least within the same second every lap) THAT is when it's time to try braking a little later or using a little more throttle through the corner.

One of the reasons Karts are such a good starting point is that the 100cc karts require the utmost finesse because even a couple of hundred of lost revs (out of 14000) can never be regained and can be the difference at the end of the straight between leading and being second.

Smooth...controlled...balanced...that is the secret to speed.<p><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/carssmall4.jpg">
00 S4 tip
Silver/Onyx
GIAC ECU/tip “race” chip (14.2 in 88 degrees)
V1

NASA racer

it's the one thing that the majority of adults do every day where they can kill themselves and others and do appaling property and bodily damage. The easy solution is to make speed limits low enough for people to not need to know how to drive, but this doesn't work (obviously).<p><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/carssmall4.jpg">
00 S4 tip
Silver/Onyx
GIAC ECU/tip “race” chip (14.2 in 88 degrees)
V1

jace

I remember years ago watching F1 and seeing Senna throw his car around the track at an amazing rate. He had the thing at 11/10ths... Car was twitching coming out of the corners as he put down as much (well, actually more) power as possible. He just looked FAST!

Then Prost would get out there. He looked like he was running a cool down lap after cool down lap. All the way to pole position.

.

NASA racer

because ultimately he's more likely to finish races.<p><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/carssmall4.jpg">
00 S4 tip
Silver/Onyx
GIAC ECU/tip “race” chip (14.2 in 88 degrees)
V1

Chris T

you've been watching that movie too much!:-)

jace

But as they say, I'd rather be lucky than good. =-P

NASA racer

<p><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/carssmall4.jpg">
00 S4 tip
Silver/Onyx
GIAC ECU/tip “race” chip (14.2 in 88 degrees)
V1

BM3car

Yup, he is one of the ones who knows how it is... eom