How important is to understand the behaviour of ur car?

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Whooops!! Didn't realise I'd be the only one who would vote for "what behaviour of the car are you talking about?"

Im sure the only behaviour that comes to ur mind is that of dink chak playing in the background while the windows frost up .. On a more serious note need to take u out on a drive once .. Something like a long drive with psycho , v1p3r , memo and myself taking turns at the wheel explaining things like they did on that rainy night at ashokas ..

Remember ?? " How will a drift here be ?? Nahee maybe the next turn is better " .. Freaked sam out just with talks and ur face at limelight was worth watching .. Just cant forget the good old days can we ??

Originally Posted by shan2nu

There's a reason why racing cars can't maintain the same lap times throughout the entire duration of a race. It's just not possible.

Everytime an F1 car comes into the pits, the driver has to reset whatever he had been doing for the previous few laps, bcoz the car would now be heavier, the traction levels would have changed, the brakes would have cooled off a bit... the list goes on.

Shan bhaiyya , we are talking about handling charecteristics of OUR STREET CARS not shumis and fernandos ..

[Shan2nu]

Shan bhaiyya , we are talking about handling charecteristics of OUR STREET CARS not shumis and fernandos ..

What diff does it make? Weren't you the one who experienced brake fade during the last track day? So, how'd you cope with that? Did you brake at the same point as before?

You were the one using 165s on the first day and then switched to 185s (on the front) for the next. This caused to the back of the car to slide out under hard cornering. Did you not alter your turn-in points and entry speed?

No matter what car you drive, no matter where you drive, conditions never remain the same.

What applies on racing cars, applies on street cars as well.

Try driving your car (at the limit) on a stretch at 7am and drive on it again at 2pm, you'll see a diff in behavior.

Shan2nu

[shrivz]

@ Shan2nu: Right on target... I agree...

The handling characteristics in Racing cars are different, but that doesnt mean that the handling of a street car remains constant.. Theres a constant change in car behaviour!

[theMAG]

mclaren1885,

Good thread - can you intergrate all responses/feedback/thots and post an amended list ?

[Revvhead]

Oy Sam- Your car never reaches the speeds where handling counts!! Thats why you voted like that!!

And Frosting on Sams Windows, Maclaren, believe me there's not a chance in hell that will happen... I have been riding with this sammy fellow for a decade and all you do in his car is sweat - bloody Ac kunjoos!!!!

[2L8uLoose]

Originally Posted by Revvhead

And Frosting on Sams Windows, Maclaren, believe me there's not a chance in hell that will happen... I have been riding with this sammy fellow for a decade and all you do in his car is sweat - bloody Ac kunjoos!!!!

Revv.. he needs all the engine/battery/stinky sweat power for his ICE... lol

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Revvhead

And Frosting on Sams Windows, Maclaren, believe me there's not a chance in hell that will happen... I have been riding with this sammy fellow for a decade and all you do in his car is sweat - bloody Ac kunjoos!!!!

I guess mclaren1885 was referring to certain physical activities that could lead to the windows frosting - something on the lines of what was seen on the automobile stowed in the hold of the Titanic (in the movie).

[Rtech]

Also there always seems to be a misunderstanding that RACING Lines are DANGEROUS .. What are racing lines ??
Arent they the safest yet the quickest way to get around a corner ?? How ??

Racing lines on the public road ARE dangerous. A racing line is just that - a RACING line! Its the fastest way, need not be the safest.

On a road, the safe but quick way is to stick to the outside of your lane and turn in later than you would if you were to take the ideal line. The late apex lets to look further into the corner, which on a public road (especially in India) has invaluable benefits.

[satish_appasani]

The only racing lane i know on my regular drive is sticking to my lane, more importantly in curves.

[Psycho]

I dunno how many of you realise the best drivers go out and run through a checklist and understand how a car is set up before they even get into it, thereafter they try and understand the pecularities of them by driving them around for a while (warm up laps).

The car is nothing but a piece of moving machinery held together with amillion joints and no 2 joints will ever reproduce a similar beahaviour over a period of time hence what Shan said about each lap remains true. But yes every driver needs to be aware of at least the following before they get into one:

1) How quickly the brakes react - helps in judging braking distance
2) How well the car accelerates - helps you identify if you can overtake or not
3) How well your car handles to steering input: Tells you the limit before you slide out / loose control

However there are a few caution points to all of those who drive normally:

1) Never press the brakes and the clutch together, use the clutch a bit later than the brakes, helps you to stop quicker and in a straight line. PS: do not lock your brakes when you are turning at a high speed.

2) If you get into a spin on a FWD point the front wheels in the direction you want to go and accelerate, never touch the clutch coz if you do you cannot recover. Whereas in a RWD do not brake, just point to the right direction and take your foot offf the accelerator.(thanks to the Chennai boyz for providing on the track training on this)

3) Signal - Please make it a habit while driving, helps not just you but others too.

4) When your steering suddenly needs correction to go in a straight line ... you have a flat, slowly roll out to a stop on the shoulder of the road.

5) Handbrake only as the last option and again only in a straight line

6) Do not drive when high on anything and stop for a break when you are sleepy, chewing gum while driving helps.

PS: Do not think about going sideways into anything as the front end of the car is a crumple zone made to protect the occupants in case of a crash, the side only have impact beams.

[Rtech]

2) If you get into a spin on a FWD point the front wheels in the direction you want to go and accelerate, never touch the clutch coz if you do you cannot recover. Whereas in a RWD do not brake, just point to the right direction and take your foot offf the accelerator.(thanks to the Chennai boyz for providing on the track training on this)

Hey Keshav, that's exactly the opposite of what you should do!

Pressing down on the throttle when a car is already understeering is just going to add to the understeer. Similarly, lifting off when its oversteering is going to add to the oversteer.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by Rtech

Pressing down on the throttle when a car is already understeering is just going to add to the understeer. Similarly, lifting off when its oversteering is going to add to the oversteer.

Hunh ?? I always thought that u oversteer in a FWD while braking or cornering , so effectively powering up would instigate understeer to overcome the oversteer ?? Or am i getting my stuff wrong here ??

[Rtech]

oops, I totally read that one wrong. I missed the "spin" part! Thought he was expalining about over/understeer! My badd. What keshav's said is spot on.

[Psycho]

Originally Posted by Rtech

Hey Keshav, that's exactly the opposite of what you should do!

Pressing down on the throttle when a car is already understeering is just going to add to the understeer. Similarly, lifting off when its oversteering is going to add to the oversteer.

I am 100% sure that I am right on this.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

No matter what car you drive, no matter where you drive, conditions never remain the same.

What applies on racing cars, applies on street cars as well.

Shan2nu

Always agreed to the fact that its not the same each lap .. Who denied it ??

I asked u not to compare racing cars to street cars as street cars dont let u adjust braking bias , traction control etc etc on the move .. Everything is in the hands of the driver here .. Though the basic logic is the same ...


Anyways coming back to topic , does slipstream actually work on our cars too ?? Dont know why but i guess it does from personal experience on the straights at track day ... The effect might not be to the extent shown on TV but good enough to feel the difference ..
Also do the spoilers actually create more downforce for the kind of speeds our cars do ??