Taurius

Hello,
Just got back from a big race in Europe and have one question buzzing in my head.
I always thought that you have to control your throtle and squeeze it very gently and only put full throtle when you are sure you won't spin out. Watch most of the real car races - everything is about being as precise as possible, moking the lines as accurate as possible ant not overpushing the throtle.
But in the big event, some known and really fast drivers were using the tap-tap-tap method in almost every corner and mostly in the fast ones, they do that really fast and the rear end looks really stable, despite all the weight shifting. The race was 1:8 nitro buggy.

So, what do you think is faster - constant tapping or gentle squeezing ?
Thank you

PTP Racing

iTrader: (2)

I think that whatever works best for you is what is fastest.

I try being smooth on the throttle but if my car seems over powered I resort back to blipping the throttle sometimes.

R40Victim

iTrader: (1)

Blipping can help rotate the car, I do it when I overshoot a corner. When I get the corner just right, I lay down the HAMMER!

Francis M.

iTrader: (2)

I personally think tapping would be smoother just because two stroke engines do not have a smooth power band. In 1.1 racing the fuel control is a lot more precise and can be driven that way.

I think both methods can be done in electric since they have a smoother power curve.

Cmotif

iTrader: (4)

I drive tap tap tap tap as well. Maybe because squeeze slowly doesn't work with fast driving. It also allows you to make quick corrections in throttle response.

Cmotif

AndyMoore

iTrader: (64)

The fastest guys in gas racing are/were electric racers, who use a smoother throttle modulation. Just a thought.

schmelme

iTrader: (13)

Engine tune and clutching are vastly different for both types of driving. Seems to me i can run a leaner motor while blipping the throttle while maintaining the same temps.

Warhawk 1

I believe the amount of available traction most influences how the better drivers use their throttle. I use one method indoors on carpet and move toward the other method outdoors offroad.

WheelNut

iTrader: (5)

I think some of it has to do with the clutch as well. With nitro cars using a regular clutch it is so grabby that rolling onto the throttle isn't smooth anyways. I use a Werks clutch and it is a lot smoother, I usually use a fairly smooth trigger movement, not as smooth as when I drive electric, but smoother than most guys. I think it is mostly all to do with the car though, since even pro drivers dont really roll onto the throttle, even though they have the skill of course to smooth it out more.

Rysuleod

iTrader: (1)

I'm a nitro noob but I thought the concept behind tapping the throttle was to keep the clutch engaged and the engine turning good RPMs during cornering. This way you avoid the clutch snapping in and possibly breaking the car loose during those lower speed transitions and you have good exit power without having to wait that half second for the engine to spool back up (if you let off the throttle).