mikew968

I generally shuffle steer as it seems like my shoulders are too tight to keep hand position at 10/2. Are there stretching and strenthening exercises for the shoulder that are specific for racing?

Thanks,

DanS911

There is nothing wrong with shuffle steering, there is also nothing wrong with keeping your hands at 10 and 2, or 9 and 3 if you will. Those that feel the need to polarize themselves (and you know who you are) are short changing their students. Most of the cars we drive require a combination of all of the above.
Different tracks require a different amount of each of the above skills.

My pet peeve (or at least one of) is when students are told to shuffle steer when it is not necessary. If you can keep your hands at 2 and 10 in any given turn, any counter steering will be back to center whereas if you shuffle you will be countering to a VERY uncomfortable and unnatural position.
As to your question regarding exercising, that's easy!
When grocery shopping use both hands and WORK THAT CART!

mglobe

Maybe look at your driving position and get closer to the wheel?

Veloce Raptor

+1 on seating position.

Shuffle steering is a useful tool in certain circumstances IMO, but everywhere, in every corner? Maybe not the best way to be connected to what the car is doing & exercise graceful car control at advanced-level speeds. But....different strokes for different folks.

KaiB

You have the obvious experience to decide what is best for you.

As mentioned, perhaps move forward a bit (Krause and others have mentioned a 90* angle at the elbow when a hand is at 12).

Get a new pair of gloves and tell yourself they are stuck at a certain position the very moment you put them on.

As far as stretching, good thing! Seek out exercises and stretching swimers use; you might try the US Masters Swimmers forums for a start.

gums

Argh! To my own personal dismay, I was accused of shuffle steering in response to a video I posted. I would never have dreamed of it! So, for my own and everyone's edification, can we have clarification as to exactly what is meant by this term?

J richard

Some very fast/skilled drivers "shuffle". In a purpose built racecar generally the lock to lock is little more than a full turn so watching a pro in a cup can be misleading and power steering in modern cars has shortened up the ratios. Look at The ALMS Bimmers or DTMs you'll see yoke wheels. Sliding a weak grip while maintaing a strong arm at a clocked 3/9 is not shuffling IMO. You always keep a reference that way and have better control as long as you return to a clocked position for the opposite turn. Its the "lap shuffle" that I slap a student for; elbows locked in the lap and wheel gets passed from hand to hand then released and spun to unwind.

Veloce Raptor

To me, this is shuffle steering.

Circuit Motorsports

Your hands moving around on the wheel at any time is shuffle steering in my book.

gums

Ah! Guilty as charged.

ProCoach

Arrgghh! This is the FIRST thing I try to fix by pointing out that ANY time the wheel is not positively controlled (adding or releasing lock) is BAD! As bad as driving with one hand on the wheel and one hand resting on the shifter. This "drifting" release of the wheel, letting it spin to center, is just not a good thing...

jrgordonsenior

Somwhere I have a old video of Pat Long driving a 6-cup around Cal Speedway at 165 with his right hand laying on his lap. We all got a chuckle out of it back then.....

Releasing the wheel when you're into a spin is a GOOD technique which allows the car to straighten itself out. It's saved my sorry *** on more occasions than I care to remember....

2BWise

Really??? That sounds like a horrible idea if you're still on the pavement and don't have the wheels locked. If the front end finds grip on the asphalt during that spin you're along for the ride in whichever way the front tires decide to go.

ProCoach

You know, I was going to include that exception (done it many times myself, despite myself), but...

I guess my concern about letting go of the wheel to "recover" from a spin was that it usually meant that the driver had lost their orientation.

Meant that they were truly disoriented, which is not good.

J richard

Oddly enough because of the way most street based cars are engineered they will track back to neutral and self correct if you let go...what happens after that has a lot to do with which way you're pointed...

True of cars and ironically many airplanes in a spin....