[amitoj]

Hi guys.

I was wondering if anyone out there knows the tricks and trades about rally driving. I have always been fascinated by the turns made by the rally drivers. How do they do that?

Went to a website, saw a bunch of terms flying around... but couldnt figure out what for the love of god were they talking about! Some terms were, left foot braking (LFB), downshifting without clutch (!!), pendulum turns, e turns, flicks, scandinavian flicks.....

Till now i thought only techies used cryptic terms!!

Cheers
Amitoj

[Team Fiat]

Hey man U should get in touch with Papps hes into rallying and offroading get in touch with him dude cheers

[amitoj]

Aiight, TF. thanks for that.
Calling Papps... papps... u r requested to grace this post pls!!

[Tom]

i dont know if it's possble to shift gears without using the cluutch on our normal road cars.

dude read up on oversteering and understeering

I think ive started some very informative threads on this forum...try to search for them...includes left foot braking, double clutching...etc

[khaadu75]

tom, ill explain these terms tomorrow as I dont have time right now. LFB is basically in front wheel drive cars where in while taking aturn u keep the throttle pressed but u use the left foot to reduce the speed to the one u want into the turn. Pendulum swing is when before takinga right turn u brake facing the car to the left and when u line up for the turn u release the brake and steer right + press gas and car slides beautifully into the right turn . ( Notice rally video flicks carefully and u'll understand wat i mean ) . Double clutching is a very common thing and u can do it even in everydaY driving so when u drop a gear down u donot get a jerk.

cheers

[kakx]

HI....

How about experienced Team Bhpians teach others.....We can have a team-BHp Rally school.

Plz enroll me as the 1st student......

Kakx

[amitoj]

But whats the advantage of LFB over normal braking? You have reduced your speed already! Or is it that when u do LFB, the engine is still revving at a high rpm so when u take ur foot off the brakes, u get back to original speed a lot faster? Boy that must be pretty heavy on the brakes, eh?

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]How about experienced Team Bhpians teach others.....We can have a team-BHp Rally school

Are there any rally driving schools in india? Does Bangalore have one?

[Shan2nu]

Here's an article

<a href="http://www.modernracer.com/tips/leftfootbraking.html" target="_blank">Left Foot Braking : A severe problem affecting most front-drivers is understeer during fast cornering. Understeer generally means that during cornering at a high speed, the car has a tendency to keep moving straight and to the outer edge of the curving road rather than the direction in which you are pointing the car. To cancel out understeer, there should be more grip at the front wheels than at the rear. The left-foot braking technique more or less helps you to do just that.

When approaching a corner, you should start slowing down like you normally do, using your right foot to apply the brake. At this point, you can use the heel-and-toe maneuver and downshift to the proper gear. Now, you should move your right foot over to the accelerator and your left foot to the brake at the same time. You are now ready to perform left-foot braking. Continue slowing the car down to a reasonable - but not too low - speed by applying the brakes with your left foot. As you are about to turn into the corner, hit the gas with your right foot and keep braking with your left foot at the same time. Being a front-wheel-drive, the rear wheels will lock while the front wheels keep moving. The car's weight is transferred to the front, causing the front wheels to have more grip than the rear wheels. The car now starts to oversteer. More.......
</a>

Shan2nu

[amitoj]

Thats an awesome link, Shan2nu!

[drifter]

LFB technique will wear out ur brakes a lot faster...so dont use it on ur hyundais, marutis, tatas, mahindras etc.

Drifter

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]LFB technique will wear out ur brakes a lot faster...so dont use it on ur hyundais, marutis, tatas, mahindras etc.

Drifter

But i guess the heel-and-toe downshifting will make life a lot easier for your car. I just read what it is from the link that Shan2nu gave. Has anyone here mastered it? Can that person teach me??

[Shan2nu]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]But i guess the heel-and-toe downshifting will make life a lot easier for your car. I just read what it is from the link that Shan2nu gave. Has anyone here mastered it? Can that person teach me??

Toe heel braking will make life easier for the engine more than the brakes. Toe heeling involves blipping the throttle, to match the revvs to the lower gear, making your shifts smoother and faster. But, this will elliminate all possibilities of engine braking to a great degree. Your brakes will have to do the deceleration, without much help from the engine.

Shan2nu

[amitoj]

Hmmm.... so one needs to decide what is dearer to him... the brakes or the engine!
Over the long run, will toe heel braking (assuming its done properly) prove beneficial or not?

[Shan2nu]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Hmmm.... so one needs to decide what is dearer to him... the brakes or the engine!

In a race car, it's not a question of which is dearer, question is.......which is faster.

This topic is again, arguable. While some feel toe-heelin is a waste, others find it very useful. Most professional drivers use toe heel braking to good effect.

On a road car, it's alway better to avoid these stunts unless your brakes are made of ceramic. Hehe.

I always use a bit of engine braking, it's safer (especially in cars without ABS).

Shan2nu

[GTO]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]

Left Foot Braking : A severe problem affecting most front-drivers is understeer during fast cornering. Understeer generally means that during cornering at a high speed, the car has a tendency to keep moving straight and to the outer edge of the curving road rather than the direction in which you are pointing the car. To cancel out understeer, there should be more grip at the front wheels than at the rear. The left-foot braking technique more or less helps you to do just that.

Wouldnt left foot braking also save those crucial milliseconds whilst racing i.e. the time you would spend taking your right foot off the accelerator, go to the brake pedal and come back?

GTO