Zu_langsam

Mark, I beleive that I saw your car this past weekend (I was there but not driving, as I was on the waiting list) I have a car with an almost identical setup to yours and I have only had it on track briefly at VIR. I can tell you that during that short period of time on track I was not at all satisfied with the car. my E36 deffinatly had more grip on worse tires with a lower spring rate. I will be at thscc's april south course event hopefully you will be there and we can get together and compare notes on whats working and whats not.

a4944

I'll be at VIR South. I'll look for you. I have the burgandy 951.

Mark

RedlineMan

Hey Mitch;

Yours is indeed a good strategy for the process of elimination and finding boundaries. I get very used to hearing racers preach racing technique to EVERYONE, so I perhaps was a bit off base. I would offer that one needs the basics down first, of course. No sense trying to do any of this when you don't have a clue yet, eh?
----------------------------------------------------
I use LFB extensively. I use it in turns where a downshift is not necessary or to keep the car stable in the turn in transitional moments where it might want to get jumpy. It also smoothes out your driving a lot in situations where you would otherwise have a hard time not jumping on the gas and upsetting the car. I often slip the throttle in when still on the brake a tad, as this REALLY smoothes the transition nicely.

It is something that DEFINITELY needs to be practiced to the point of it being subconscious. It is pretty easy to get your feet tangled otherwise.

APKhaos

John is right on both points:

- LFB makes it possible to set the front end solid as a rock, and to make the transition from braking to on the gas almost imperceptible

- LFB ranks up there with unnatural acts, and takes a while to become automatic. Its really a bummer when the pedal goes to the floor and the car hurtles forward because you have left foot clutched when you meant to left foot brake. Don't ask how I know. In fact, I needed a quick glance down to be SURE I hit the brake pedal for the first few events.

That said, LFB is golden for turn 3, turn 4, and South Bend at VIR. Everyone overbrakes South Bend, and LFB helps make the mental transition from braking [killing speed] to setting the front for turn in [South Bend is faster than you think!]

Sorry I missed meeting you guys at VIR this weekend. It was the first time I had my new 944T on the track - pic below. Had two students, so things were busy. THSCC run a great event! I've already started spreading the word to the track-starved guys around NOVA.

Mark in Baltimore

I've been left foot braking on the street off and on for the past couple of years and have only recently started doing it almost 100% on the street since the purchase of my first automatic vehicle. At Sebring a few days ago, I tried this technique and found it to be a wonderful skill to help the car through Turns 1, 3 and 17 at Sebring. I'm anxious to try it through the chute at Summit, as well as Turns 9 and 10.

Chris Prack

White Carrera Potomac Tony Kelly?? Congrats on the new ride. Very nice. Welcome to the dark side of Porsche ownership!

Mark you don't want to be anywhere near track out coming out of T1 at VIR. IMO the faster line is to the right on the exit. It also makes the kink between 1 and the entry to NASCAR almost a straight shot. I can catch faster cars this way. Tony is correct in that you can carry a lot more speed though Southbend than you initially think. The track opens up in front of you past the apex and you can really go honking through there. I am flat on the gas most of the way out of the Snake up the climbing esses. I quickly stab the brakes going into Southbend to set the front end and jump on the gas. That is a great section of track and I have scared more than one rider (including myself) though there!

Your best bet is to find someone with some seat time at VIR in a 951 to ride with you or you with them and see what others are doing. You can most likely find a bunch of time without trying to left foot brake or do anything else that's going to distract you in the car. Ride with someone and concentrate on you line, time will get you there. Then when you are more comfortable in the car you can LFB and see if it works for you.

RedlineMan

Hey Mark;

Good stuff here. Do this. Next event, find the chief instructor. Ask him to suggest who his top 944 pilot is. Someone who is not only a fast driver, but more importantly an excellent teacher.

Find them and ride with them. Tell them you are an early advanced driver who is looking for the stairway to the next level. They will drive at a pace that helps you learn, not scares you s@#%less! Most of the time I've found students need their s@#% in place to learn effectively!!

Pay attention not only to where the car is on track, but what the driver is doing to get it there, and ask why if you can't figure it out. Ask about the cars setup, and get a debrief on questions you might have.

Take what you have seen, digest it, think about it, then try and incorporate a few things at a time into your driving, first mentally, then physically on track. Don't try anything major, just little things. Keep the larger things in the back of your mind only. Let them sink in slowly. Taking big bites of the high speed pie is likely to get you bit somewhere else!

DAR951

Where is GhettoRacer when he's needed???

Rick

"Can I droves your car?"

mitch236

Brian, you are absolutely right about switching the order. I was assuming that entry speed was already known well. I think that the "proceedure" should be used by all drivers. The problems happen when a driver changes too many variables at once. The proceedure (not my term, I read it in the Skip Barber book, "Going Faster") attempts to keep me orderly and focused.

John, I couldn't agree more with your suggestion. Even though I am an instructor, I frequently go out with other instructors to critique my technique. It always amazes me how easy it is to develop bad habbits.

The reason I reserve LFB teaching to the end is that the possiblity of loosing it due to mental overload is very real and can be disasterous. I imagine the driver going strong into the corner only to over overaccelerate and come on boost, spinning the rear tires while the fronts lock up! WOAH!!! With every new technique, I request that my students practice off the track first until it is second nature. How many of us have witnessed the first heal-toe attempt in a student to our horror!!

Z-man

Two excellent quotes I will be using from now on regarding my 'DE career:'

"I am looking for the stairway to the next level."

"Don't scare me s$%$less! I need my sh@#t in place to learn effectively!"

Thanks John,
-Z.

PS: South Bend @ VIR: A instructor-friend of mine showed me that if you apex that corner a little earlier, it really opens the corner up quite a bit. By earlier I mean about a meter after the curbing/rumble strip for the corner begins!

APKhaos

Chris,
The same! The Carrera #999 has gone to a new Potomac owner, and the new FEWC had its first test last weekend. What a blast these cars are! Lets hope the rest of the 911 guys don't ever get to drive one!

dgz924s

Give this a try........Drive the entire track in 3rd gear no brake use. Scrub the speed with the tires and throttle control. This will give you the feel of the RPM's running higher and reducing lag. As you practice you will notice when you start to lag and where you are in the corner then keep incresing the RPM's at that same point till you feel the car want to break loose. Knowing what RPM is needed at specific points on the track will reduce the lag, keep the car spooled. Then once you get a feel for the RPM needed you then can work on the braking zone and where and how much to apply to reach the desired RPM's.

I hope I am making sense here!! I am a firm believer in throttle control vs. braking. Control the gas you will have less braking issues. Dal

DAR951

Learn English will ya? That should be "drove"...

RedlineMan

Mitch & Dal... Good stuff boys!

The 3rd gear/no brake thing is great. I have never done it myself. I have not forced myself to give up a run session, and come to think of it... it is kinda hard to do in the RED group when you only have 147HP! I have a hard enough time not getting run over by the Cuppies and 962s and such already!!



Then again, somtimes they slow me down. Slow turn = NA's Revenge!

I never teach LFB or H&T at the track. If a student has tried it and feels semi-comfortable, we'll try it in a corner of MY choosing. If it is about 70-80% then we might stick with it. If it is shakey, forget it! My dossier seems to state, "is GREAT with novice students.", so I don't have to worry about it often.

I usually tell them to leave it in third and just drive. We may dog in some places, but its about learning technique, not going fast. Once they learn good technique, speed happens on its own anyway!