[torqdork]

Originally Posted by ZDan

It is almost impossible to drive a car anywhere near its limits "braking only in a straight line". This type of advice or instruction is totally counterproductive and slows down the learning process. As a newb driver years ago, I didn't get anywhere my first track day until I quit trying to "brake only in a straight line".

It is much much easier to gradually trade braking for cornering than to get totally off the brakes and then try to turn in. The car just wants to push. Very awkward, very unnecessary.

Trail braking is NOT an "advanced technique"! As an instructor, I often have to reteach beginning drivers to get them over the brainwashing they've received about how to enter a corner.
At a ZCar convention a few years back, I was asked to go out on the autoX course with a friend's wife who was having a hard time. At the very first corner, which she entered just fine, she apologized for not "braking in a straight line"! I told her she was doing fine, not to worry about it. I did practically nothing else, and she was 2 seconds faster and had a helluva lot more fun driving the course, vs. being forced to "brake only in a straight line" which her previous two instructors had totally insisted on.

Trail-braking is faster because it is smoother, and it makes it infinitely easier to hit the apex as it takes advantage of the front grip you get from increased load on the fronts under braking, and of course it also allows you to carry more speed a bit deeper into the braking zone.

That's not to say that braking deeper is always better or faster overall, you can go too far. But if you aren't trail-braking some amount at corner entry, you're doing it wrong. You pretty much *have* to trail-brake to execute a proper line into most corners. This business about getting completely off the brakes before turning in is stupid, makes the car much more difficult to drive, and is totally unnecessary. I expect my students to be trail-braking pretty much immediately. It's easier, feels more natural, and is faster.

I applied your tips at a track day today. I wasn't consistent yet, but definitely felt the improvement of front end grip and ability to rotate using trail braking. It also wasn't as difficult as imagined and like you said, felt faster. To satisfy my curiosity, I did A/B comparisons using straight line and trail braking at the same corners during stints and the improvement with TB control was dramatic. It felt like I suddenly had a car with front downforce. More practice needed, but this has shown me a new way to hustle faster and safer, thanks.