Driving Tips...

[Nobby Sideways]

I've looked through the forum and other than a few piecemeal pieces of advice I've not actually seen a thread with driving tips from experienced, race winning drivers.

Obviously different drivers will have different opinions on driving techniques but as a novice I would be very interested in reading tips (how to apply power through corners for maximum cornering pace for example) if you have any to share, including common mistakes or things you believe will help a novice getting competent on track.

Thanks,

Jon.

[RC10th]

Consistency is key, a second or two slower in a corner is faster then the time it takes a marshal to retrieve your car. Same with jumps, if for example you can only make the tripple 3 out of 10 times it's not worth attempting, double single is better. Be smooth and consistant, not fast and erratic.

Don't hit jumps flat out, always back off before hitting them (unless your still accelerating) and give it a little squirt just as you hit the face.


I'm a slow(ish) in fast out kind of driver, making sure the car is set up where I want it and feeding the power on through and out of the corner.


I can say that when your car is truely dialed it's an out of this world feeling, where no matter what you do it's like the car is driving by itself.


Tires and shocks are the most important things in my opinion.

[MOmo]

I'm usually pretty good about being able to help and spot for OTHER people, but I still seem to struggle.


I just try and be smooth. I tend to not push hard, or drive overly aggressive. I also find this is the case with my Yokomo vs my B5M. I tend to Check up, or get scared with my Yoke, and thus Im slower.

I posed this similar question about Driving styles over on RCT. http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-off-road/852433-driving-style-type-you.html

I think a lot comes down to practice. How much time you get on the track and the more comfortable you get with the car and the track makes all the difference.
I know if I devoted more time at the track, I could be faster, but I know there are guys who are naturally fast, and those who live at the track also, thus they are significantly quicker.

I try and watch the faster and more consistent guys who can turn the same or similar lap times each race and not just Hero laps. See where other drivers brake or go fast and the line they take. Agreed that consistency is key, so if tackling a big jump causes you to wreck the majority of the time, it might be best to take a more conservative line and go the double single route rather than push it.


Good luck, I too am curious on the responses you get.


MOmo

[yellowdatsun]

Slower is faster. If you find yourself crashing, slow down. I can adjust the throttle drive on my Airtronics controller, and dialed it back to 90%. This kept me from crashing nearly as much, and even though the car was now slower, I was getting faster lap times.

[tamiyadan]

.

[RC104ever]

I tried a local track last year (or maybe it was the year before) with my RC10, my B44 and my T4. Without question, the T4 was the easiest to drive on this particular track because its setup the best overall.

The challenge I have is that I don't really know HOW to setup the car(s) properly. Is it a softer spring or harder? Front or back or both? Shock oil? Tires? The other problem I found is throttle control. When you are used to bashing around, you can just mash the throttle as hard as you want whenever you want. On the track, I was using MAYBE 15% of the total throttle that I had available just to get around the track. It was very challenging for me.

I found out from another person at the track that the tires I was using were too hard of a compound and that was why I kept sliding in the corners.

Honestly, that's one of the other tips that I was told - talk to other racers at a practice and they will all give you tips to help you get your car setup properly.

[tamiyadan]

.

[green510]

Im a super novice,
Running a 17.5t motor has improved my skills more than anything else.
Im turning more consistant laps, concentrating more on racing lines and most of all,
having more fun.

It sure was a hoot with the 9t motor, but all I did was rely on the power to make up for my crappy driving.

[Nobby Sideways]

Some great tips there. The most common theme being "it's better to be a little slower and keep it on the track/the right way up than to be balls out and constantly having to be retrieved by a marshal"

Thanks to everyone who replied; interesting stuff.

[RC10th]

In 2wd I tend to use a little drag brake to help turn the car, somewhere between 10-18%. It's also easy to modulate steering in the corner with the throttle/brake, best way I can describe it is "floating" the car into the corner, ie the car is headed into the apex a little early, with a little bit of throttle it widens the arc the car is traveling thus hitting the apex perfect. The same applies if the car is too wide, a bit of brakes brings it back in.

If your track has jumps, landings, kickers, step ups or drop downs leading right into corners hit them at a slight angle insead of straight on. The idea is to drop the outside front tire so it touches the ground before the rest of the car. This lets you start turning the car even before it lands. If you land evenly on both front tires more than likely the car will just go straight or push into the corner before it settles.

Most of the fast guys really push in the qualifiers (learning the track) if one person starts consistantly making the tripple or quad, or able to accelerate through a tricky section or makes a risky jump you have to make it as well or your nowhere.

Once you get the right tires your pretty well on the right track, next is shocks followed by the rest of the adjustments. Proline Holeshots on the back are always a good tire if you don't know what the hot tire is.

All Associated cars I've driven have always worked well with 25wt - 40wt. With shocks you want the car to plant or pack on landing off a jump without bouncing or unsettling. A skittery car is too stiff while a wallowing car is too soft. A car that suffers severe understeer or oversteer (with good tires) suffers from an inbalance between front and rear shocks. The rest of the adjustments on the car are just for the final 5-7%

In stock classes corner speed is key while in mod it isn't as important.

Good quality electronics make a big difference, cheap electronics are cheap for a reason.




My 2 cents

[slotcarrod]

Often overlooked, walk the track and pick best lines. Visualize driving it!

Use the correct tires and set up. Copy what the top guys are using.

Learn from your crashes, don't do it again the next lap. Slow down and pace yourself. Slow is fast! Watch the fast drivers out there! They will look slow and super smooth!

Track time! More track time = Better driver!

[RCveteran]

I don't get to track much these days and took a break from the track from 1992 to 2010. Things sure did change . Tires is all I can say now for an average racer at best. Get those right first, I don't recall back in the 90's it mattering quite so much but maybe I am wrong. Shock oil, I am one of those 30wt covers 99% of my life guys.

I don't get out to track much and the first time I called to ask what a good starting point in 2010 was and the guy said some guys are running slicks, I was like, wow, but it's offroad. At that point I sold my eight track player, Atari 2600 and got with the times and bought some Barcodes or some other super soft bald tire that wears out if you look at it wrong.