smash123

This question is for experience and pro drivers.

I race in SOCAL raceway almost every Sat and usually can get into sportsman A main (TQed and won one time). Now, I feel my skill is not improving anymore. Can't figure out the trick to go any faster.
What can I do to have very fast corner speed for XXX-S like those pro drivers? What do they do on their cars? How do their car feel like? Any more advise? Thanks in advance.

Trips

iTrader: (16)

Most pro drivers will share their setups, but there really aren't any big secrets. What it really comes down to is if you want to be as fast as the fastest guys, you'll have to put the time in and learn to drive as well as they do.

One thing that may qualify as a "speed secret"... in over twenty years of racing, I've rarely had a car really working well that felt "good" to drive. When my cars "felt" dialed, the lap times were off. When I had the car working well enough to be doing really good lap times, it almost always didn't "feel" right.

The moral is to practice and evaluate setups with a stopwatch, never by how the car feels. Kind of a pain in the butt, but it really pays off.

Trips

onaMISSION

I race at socal and just moved up to sportsman. I think the pro guys do have good setups but it also have to do with the killer batterys and motors. Trips is right about the keeping track of lap times it helps out alot. would you want to buy a xxx-s? I will list all the things it has if you want it. Its loaded.

smash123

Thanks for you guys reply.

That is for sure to learn how to drive fast is the most important element to be fast. Sometimes I just follow those pro driver's driving path and I really see their cars have much faster corner speed. I already know how to control the throttle to make a turn but there is a point you can't pumb anymore throttle, otherwise car will push.
Last time, I pay very close attention on one of the pro stock driver's throttle control. I saw he let off throttle before turn -> FULL throttle getting into turn -> FULL throttle getting out of turn. WOW! His car must have so much steering and no break lose or push!! No wonder he can be so fast as a pro. I think that is really the speed secret to improve my lap time. But how can I make my car to do that magic??

I'm running XXX-S now and drove Tc3 before. I'm thinking to go back to Tc3 because I feel Tc3 runs faster for me.

diesel31

i've been racing socal in the sportsman class for over a year now, and i can tell you that it is a very tough class. last summer i was on a streak of over 13 a-mains, and i was thinking i was going to move up to pro-stock within a couple of months. well, my streak came to an end, and i was struggling to be competitive. my equipment is top-notch (about as best as any privateer can get their hands on), so i knew that wasn't the issue. i really don't think my skills had faded. what had happened was the competition caught up, and i think that's great. this means that the hobby is growing, and the newbies are getting more competive.

now, i'm trying 19 turn (so that i can be acclimated for the reedy race) and i got my a$$ kicked, but i had a blast! i was racing against the integy boys, tyree, steve weiss, and blah, blah, blah. i didn't have ghost of chance, but i had fun, and i'm gaining good experience.

as for trying to improve corner speed, tires and set-up will play major factors. the other night (i got the hat trick couple weeks ago - i tq'd, beat my own tq, and won the main) my cars didn't seem all that fast, but i was able to turn one of my fastest laps in the last 30 seconds of the race. it's obvious that after a couple of minutes, your batteries are going to settle and lose some of your initial punch. well, how was able to throw out a competive lap towards the end of the race? driving. i was able to maintain my speed because the tires were just as consistent towards the end. another example, i was running 36r's and my best lap time was atleast 3/10 of a second from my average lap times with 32r's.

anyway, thats my two bits. just remeber, we started racing cars because it's fun. by the way, will you guys be racing this saturday? we can put our heads together, and see if we can exchange some ideas.

Mad_Cats

Not to come off as an expert here, but I have worked long and hard to achieve corner speed on my XXX-S.

1º Front One way Diff, though I am told you can still be fast with a normal Diff, the One way IS the essence of corner speed
2º Turn up you trottle trim, just to the point you wheels roll (basicly this makes the car in the always foward mode)
3º Clean the drive train, a clean free drive trian will shave secounds off your time
4º Low roll center blocks, this allows higher speed in the corners with out traction rolling
5º Lossen up the rear end of the car, it will make the car a bit squirrely but it will also allow the car to swing faster through the corner
6º Remember, a tight clean corner is faster then a corner over shot. Don't drive into the corner, but set up to drive fast out of the corner.

This last weekend racing, I had the guy that ended up 4th in the A-main drive my car (he drives a TC3 normally), and he admitted to me that my car held much better corner speed then his. Although I have great respect for the TC3, the A-main broke down to...
1st XXX-S
2nd TC3
3rd XXX-S (me)
4th TC3.

The XXX-s was my first and only car, and its taken me 8 months of learning to get the car as fast as it is, but by all rights I am still a novice.
If I had me set up written down, I would share it....
But I don't.

big al

iTrader: (10)

I don't run down at SoCal,but I run up north in Ripon. Which isa very competitive track. I just started using a TC3 and have found that the "loose is fast" mentality does have some merit. I find that if the car has enough slide I am forced to "pump" the throttle to get through the turns easier and quicker. I checked my lap times and found that notm only did I post my fastest laps ever,but that I had taken TQ. It isn't universal,but seems to work for me. I've seen Joel Johnson drive before (unreal precision) and noticed he "pumped" the throttle as well. Hope this helps--Al

STLNLST

iTrader: (32)

big Al- I guess I'll see you tomorrow.

Joe

big al, when you say "pump" the throttle, do you mean on-off-on-off throttle very quickly?

big al

iTrader: (10)

Yeah. 1 or 2 times depending on the size of the turn. It really helps keep momentum and steering. I had kept the throttle around 1/4 throughout the turn before trying this and found that no matter what I did, my car always pushed.--Al

Trips

iTrader: (16)

Throttle control is very important, but try and watch the way the real fast drivers steer as well. How you steer is VERY important to cornerspeed.

Most of us started out steering by just turning the wheel fully in the direction of the turn, and going as fast as we can through the turn that way. The real fast drivers are moving the wheel slower, and using less steering. What you're trying to do is transfer the weight onto the outside wheels gradually to get the most cornerspeed. If you just come up to the corner and crank the wheel over, you'll break traction and never really generate the grip you need to get around fast. Try starting to turn the wheel earlier, but slower, to ease the weight of the car onto the outside wheels... you'll find you need less steering and the car will tend to rail around the corner.

Trigger control is very important too, anything you do to transfer weight smoothly will get you better lap times.

Trips

Iso Octane

Yes, but careful steering and throttle balancing, is really only necessary for cars which oversteer as they break traction.

In understeer-upon-entering situations you might as well crank the wheel fully, the car isn't going to rotate any sharper into the turn regardless.

IMPACTPLAYR

iTrader: (7)

Also watch the fast guys driving line, and try to figure out exactly why the use that line. For example sometimes you will have to take a turn wide to set yourself up to be on the inside of the next turn or vice versa. Try to replicate these lines, but also try using other lines to make sure your car can drive them too. I have seen a few guys that had really fast cars that ran really great lines, but when they had to change their lines to pass someone the car handled awefully.

When I goto the track I try to practice at different times due to which class of cars is practicing. The local track has several classes including TL01, GT1, GT2, MINI, and 4wd stock (I won't practice with the micros...LOL). Practicing with a few TL01 drivers helps to get passing down because they are mainly newbes and the cars are a good bit slower, so you get to pass them at least once per lap unsually at different points. Practicing with GT1 and GT2 helps you also learn to pass, but they are more of a challenge, especially GT1 as they are modified. Of coarse practicing with 4wd stock guys is more or less like racing, and kinda earns you your bragging rights....LOL.....

linger

iTrader: (1)

Trips is right on the money. I am fortunate to race in the pro-mod class at so-cal. I always dial in as little steering throw as possible while still being able to make all the corners. If you watch the fast guys go, you will notice it takes very little steering throw to generate a lot of steering in the car.


smash123 - give me a yell at so-cal next time you are there.

-ling

linger

iTrader: (1)

Iso Octane - everyone has a different driving style and I tend to disagree with yours. If your car is understeering and you crank the steering even more, all you do is wear down the front tires faster. That in turn will give you less and less steering over time as the front tires get prematurely worn.