What skill are you working on next?

[andyk5]

I try to pick a single thing to work on every track day. Not very successful at concentrating, so I might do it for a few laps practicing and then white knuckle behind a supra trying to catch/pass it the rest of the session.


This Saturday I am going to try to work on some trail braking excersizes. Start with not just braking on a straight line but also carry some brake pressure toward the apex and help it keep front traction, technically it should also rotate the car. I also need to move my brake marker a bit deeper. I started to work on this last week but blowing the thread of my tires put a stop to that.


What are you working on next?


Edit: Appreciate the suggestions, I was looking to get a discussion started to find out what others are working on…like show you car picture thread but with words.

[jflogerzi]

Are you in SoCal? If so attend the 86cup days and ask someone to ride along. But the very first thing is to learn the track line. Keep eye's forward looking ahead. Next is to learn where the Apex's are located and hit those. Once you have this down you can build speed. Lap times will melt away.

[EndlessAzure]

I would practice on concentrating first: especially knowing what line you want to drive. This will help you identify when you think you need to finish your primary braking and transition into trail braking. Without having this, you're often going to mess up the braking phase and not be able to have productive, consistent trail braking practice.


And be careful what you practice when you say you're going to "concentrate." If you're overthinking every step, you won't be able to drive effectively. The things you think about are: 1. where you're going to place the car and 2. how you want the car to move, and much less about performing some specific action like "BRAKE," "TURN," "TRAIL BRAKE," "NO SPIN"

[TommyW]

Best to get a coach otherwise you run the risk of continuing to repeat bad habits. Seat time is no guarantee of improving up to a certain point. Even F1 drivers get coaching.best mod you can make.

[Desertnate]

I'm honestly a hot mess in several ways. My time is spent on autocross courses vs a track, but the goals of improvement are no different...just the application.

Earlier this season, I was working on keeping my eyes up and, while not perfect, I'm starting to notice some improvement. The next couple of events (starting this weekend), I'm going to be working on braking. I seem to always brake too late on some tight elements and end carrying too much speed which leads to understeer, loosing time and being out of shape coming out of the turn.

I've done the novice school, but didn't have the best instructor. I'm looking at doing and EVO school next season if there is one close.

[Yetti]

I am going to be working on executing better driving at big events (AutoX here as well) I have looked through the data logger recently and lots of dumb mistakes that don't happen locally, at least much less often. Some examples are coasting before brake zones, not getting on the throttle fast enough corner exit, short shifting into 3rd at end of run, not trusting the car in fast transitions and going through them to slow.

[cmiovino]

I very much need to work on driving at the limit and not being afraid the 'fuck up'. Typically I drive too conservatively. It's quick, but likely not 10/10ths, specifically at autocross. I very rarely hit cones, never spin, and never feel like the car on the absolutely limit.

I watch some other people's videos and they sometimes upload bloopers. Some corners they do overshoot, rear end gets out, etc... but it's because they're pushing. Eventually they get a good run in, just within that limit they found.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by andyk5

I try to pick a single thing to work on every track day. Not very successful at concentrating, so I might do it for a few laps practicing and then white knuckle behind a supra trying to catch/pass it the rest of the session.


This Saturday I am going to try to work on some trail braking excersizes. Start with not just braking on a straight line but also carry some brake pressure toward the apex and help it keep front traction, technically it should also rotate the car. I also need to move my brake marker a bit deeper. I started to work on this last week but blowing the thread of my tires put a stop to that.


What are you working on next?


Edit: Appreciate the suggestions, I was looking to get a discussion started to find out what others are working on…like show you car picture thread but with words.

The bold is very vehicle specific, and may or may not apply to you and your car/setup/pace.

Were you at Buttonwillow Saturday?

[andyk5]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

The bold is very vehicle specific, and may or may not apply to you and your car/setup/pace.

Were you at Buttonwillow Saturday?

Yes, and I think I saw you there but did not come say hi. Gray GR86 number 90 in red letters. Was in black group parked between the garage buildings in front of the main building.

To be fair getting used to SX2s from Falkens took up most of my attention span. They exaggerated my mistakes, felt like I was on ice. Same throttle application over phil hill now causes oversteer, turn 2 I need to brake earlier, can’t stay full throttle exiting S’s towards sunset….its all different now

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by cmiovino

I very much need to work on driving at the limit and not being afraid the 'fuck up'. Typically I drive too conservatively. It's quick, but likely not 10/10ths, specifically at autocross. I very rarely hit cones, never spin, and never feel like the car on the absolutely limit.

Wow, I feel like I could have written those exact words. I rarely hit a cone, have DNF'd a run maybe twice over several years, only a couple of spins and one of those was due to hydroplaning, and despite being smooth I'm fairly slow.

When riding along with some of our great drivers it's a wild ride where the car is on the edge of control the whole time. I'm nowhere near that point and really need to push harder.

[JD001]

I have been soooo tempted to buy a speed cube.. Get my mind and hands to work that bit harder..

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by andyk5

Yes, and I think I saw you there but did not come say hi. Gray GR86 number 90 in red letters. Was in black group parked between the garage buildings in front of the main building.

To be fair getting used to SX2s from Falkens took up most of my attention span. They exaggerated my mistakes, felt like I was on ice. Same throttle application over phil hill now causes oversteer, turn 2 I need to brake earlier, can’t stay full throttle exiting S’s towards sunset….its all different now

That right there is the key. Now that you're not leaning on tires to mask errors, you're seeing the consequences earlier, and creating opportunity for yourself to learn by fixing or preventing the errors.

[RacingredGR86]

Autox: I'm working on being cleaner with technique (e.g. turning in earlier, backsiding cones consistently) as oppose to trying to increase speed to make up for bad technique. I've gotten to the point to where I'm right outside the top 10 PAX wise at local events so goal is to try and crack top 10. It's going to be hard as there are some really fast drivers/ previous national champions here in the PNW.

HPDE: kind of the same theme as autox, slow down hands, be smoother at brake release and throttle application to keep the rear happy, and be consistent with hitting apex.

All sounds simple but the adrenaline doesn't help when I'm behind the wheel

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

Wow, I feel like I could have written those exact words. I rarely hit a cone, have DNF'd a run maybe twice over several years, only a couple of spins and one of those was due to hydroplaning, and despite being smooth I'm fairly slow.

When riding along with some of our great drivers it's a wild ride where the car is on the edge of control the whole time. I'm nowhere near that point and really need to push harder.

You guys need to do a school where they put you on a skidpad. Once you spin the car a few times, learn to control oversteer and save it your whole world will open up.