BostonDMD

your progress once you are out of the instructed run groups?

How do you know you are improving and not stagnant in the driving abilities?

I guess if you are a racer you compare yourself to others in your class, but if you are just doing non-instructed DEs what is the best way to determine if you are making progress or just burning gas?

Which Data Logger do you reccommend?

Thanks

Crazy Canuck

I have an instructor ride with me once an event to refine what I'm doing.

Professor Helmüt Tester

Sphinctometer, either digital or analog.

The better I get, the more I scare myself.

BostonDMD

I would have to say, the better I get, the more I scare my instructors....

ZBlue996Kam

I would check my RPM at track out after each turn.

You are doing well if you consistently maintain same track out RPM for each corner assumming you are flat on gas between corners.

When your track out RPM is higher for any corner you are doing better.

Just my .02 cents

Veloce Raptor

+1

Sean F

I love those moments when you finish tracking out of a corner and say to yourself "I can't believe I made it"

jsabatini

Check your exit speed when you are coming out of a turn. I am always trying different lines and shifting at turn 17 at Sebring, the way I judge it is by looking at my speed as I exit the turn going under the walk over bridge.

dholling13

Every lap I focus on smoothness and consistency and it shows up in faster lap times...

Sean F

Paolo, it's like anything else you want to improve at. You need to set some goals and then have a plan for every session. They could be large things that come into play in lots of places like "I want to be smoother in my transitions from off the brake and on the throttle" to "I want to go deeper with my braking and trailbrake this particular turn". The measurement of your success will depend on what you're working on. Sometimes exit speed from a corner is the best measure but sometimes you need someone else in the car to help judge. The real key is to always have a plan to be working on specific things or a specific corner. Or, take a session off and just mix it up with your friends

JC in NY

I now it sounds over-simplified, but I have thought about this a great deal and I have come to the conclusion that laptime (compared to your own performance in the same car) is the single most effective way to judge your performance as a driver. Every other factor gets blended into laptime in the end.

BostonDMD

How about finally (since you couldn't do it a few events before) keeping up with the guys on R-compound in your group when you are still on streets? Would that qualify as a personal driving improvement?

RSRRacer

Assuming the equipment is not a variable, compare yourself today with yourself in the past. Do not compare yourself to others because they or their equipment (car/tires) may be getting worse.

Ranger

Get a data logger. Sure lap times are the ultimate measure of improvement, but it's harder to see incremental improvement with a device that takes a measure only 1/lap. You may spend a whole day working on 2 or 3 turns, and not pushing the rest of the course to go easy on the brakes and tires. With a data logger you can analyze what is going on, foot by foot, thru the turn. And video is a fine supplement to the data logger.

VERBOTN

I'm to fiicken busy pointing by GT3's lately to worry about my #$#% exit speed. Hope you and the girls had a great summer, see you in September. BTW I dropped 160lbs so far and still counting