driving technique question....

[KU7484]

Hey guys! Well i took my neighbor out for a drive today, showed him the power of the evo... Well anyways he says im driving the car all wrong. He says im dumping the clutch to hard.... He says i should find the catching point when we're driving fast... but i would think if we're trying to find the catch point and match rpms's, it would waste a crap loud of time....

Can someone explain how exactly we're supposed to drive fast. We're always wondering how to "launch" our car, but i don't think all of us know how to properly drive and shift. So please someone tell me the methods of "pretty shifting".

[Absinthe]

for best power on a stock car match your shifting to drop you right into the 4000+/- rpm range dont bother winding out to redline. smooth is best, glide the power on and dont dump the clutch. It seems trivial now but if your really flying or on a wet road rough power engagement can cause you to spin.

BTW with our great clutch set up catch point can be inconsistent

He is right about matching rev's but ONLY when down shifting if he is taking about up shifting punch him in the face and tell him to stop watching F&F

[EvolvedDSM]

if he is taking about up shifting punch him in the face and tell him to stop watching F&F

Best advice out of the whole post :)

[KU7484]

okay so say when we're shifting from 2nd to 3rd to 4th to 5th... basically i should just stick in the clutch, change gears. don't even bother about matching RPMS, and dump the clutch right? Cuz thats basically what i've been doing.... i didn't think that when im shifting going fast i should have some nice technique....

anyways i went out and tried what he told me to do... basically he said "you know when you're normal driving, you try to drive nice and smooth by finding ur catch point in the clutch... well you should try to do the same thing when youre driving fast, find the catch point and make it smooth.." So i tried it, it kinda made sense.. made it smoother... but uhhh... yah..... and wtf, im usually consistent with my launches.. but now im lost... i bogged every time... im so upset, i need a beer

[Absinthe]

Nice might not be the right word, but its close. You want the car to pull when you get into the gas around town and fast for that mater you dont want the car to buck, get a feel for roughly where the engagement is and smoothly let the clutch out.

Is this your first stick?

[Absinthe]

if your still confused come to EOC any one their should be able to help improve you "fast Driving" techniques.

[KU7484]

hahaha yes absinthe this is my first stick... Well i think i got the jidst of it now...

BUT FOR SURE IM GONNA COME TO THE NEXT EOC TO IMPROVE MY DRIVING

[Absinthe]

yeah its just practice

[KU7484]

btw when is the next EOC meet? and whast the cost.. i checked out the website but it was all APRIL stuff

[Absinthe]

I think they are shooting for 45 days out on a weekend, send rich or mark a PM

[Evo-8]

by the way, i noticed that every driver i have ever been in the car with that has been driving stick for many years 9+ yrs drives like SHET! It feels like they are slamming on the brakes every time they shift. WTF. When you shift, wether its normal driving or racing, it MUST BE SMOOTH. Or any jerking should be the car jerking FORWARD not slowing down dramatically then lunging forward again. if your shifting and there is ANY pause in your shift, YOU NEED TO CHANGE UR STYLE. When ur shifting fast there should be NO time bewteen shifts. 0.25 seconds max!

[Ralliartpnoi]

i noticed that sometimes when i shift theres a clunk, usually if i dont put the clutch down all the way to the floor, does this mean im messin up synchros or grinding, it cant be grinding because i heard what that sounds like twice already :cry:

[Blak94GSX]

Yes, make sure you always have the clutch on the floor when you move the stick. If there is one thing you need to be careful with in an EVO, it is the transmission...

Oh, and don't take driving advice from your honduh buddies!

[all stock]

Oh, and don't take driving advice from your honduh buddies!

What's wrong with Honda drivers? :p

I have a new question: As far as cornering goes, AWD cars are typically known for understeer right? Will the rear still come around if say I lift (entering a turn too fast that is :p)?

Running clockwise on SoW in the skidpad, how does everyone typically modulate the accelerator pedal?

On my ex-car, I would modulate between partial gas and lift until the apex.

Another question: How about trailbraking? Still ok right? It seems like all the regular driving rules still apply. So what doesn't?

[GokuSSJ4]

for trail braking there was a thread post it about it awhile ago. Also if you lift , yes the @$$ will come loose , specially if you have RRE alignment w/ the rear sway bar combo. The skid pad at SoW is so much fun once you learn what the car can do with partial Throtle and learning to partial lift , making the rear rotate.

[Blak94GSX]

What typically happens is the car starts to understeer because the driver entered the turn too fast, then the driver adds an excessive amount of steering input but the car still understeers, then the driver lifts off the throttle and the car rotates violently and spins because of the excessive steering input and abrupt throttle change.

It really depends on how the suspension is set up, but if we are talking about stock, the car will understeer before it oversteers. The trick is to find the point at which the car understeers and then back off of the steering a tad while gently breathing the throttle.

Under braking the car will go pretty straight, but the rear will dance around if the turn is off camber or there is too much steering input.

The best advice is if the car does oversteer, stand on the throttle and use the steering wheel to point the car where you want to end up. With AWD the car is much better behaved at full throttle than coasting, and the worst thing you can do is panic and hit the brakes.

[Chris in SD]

The best advice is if the car does oversteer, stand on the throttle and use the steering wheel to point the car where you want to end up. With AWD the car is much better behaved at full throttle than coasting, and the worst thing you can do is panic and hit the brakes.

This is exactly what I did prior to my accident. The guy knocked me sideways, so I was in an equivalent state as a large-angle oversteer. I stood on the throttle and counter-steered like a madman. Unfortunately that drainage curb turned things upside-down... literally.

This is good advice. FWIW, I couldn't get the Evo to "drift" even on a super-damp parking lot in VA. Too much grip. Drifting in the snow was much easier and a lot of fun.

[Blak94GSX]

Yeah those curbs and ditches can really ruin your day...

[Chris in SD]

Yeah those curbs and ditches can really ruin your day...

Even worse are the dipshits driving white Accord wagons who don't pay attention and put you into the curb...

[all stock]

Under braking the car will go pretty straight, but the rear will dance around if the turn is off camber or there is too much steering input.

The best advice is if the car does oversteer, stand on the throttle and use the steering wheel to point the car where you want to end up. With AWD the car is much better behaved at full throttle than coasting, and the worst thing you can do is panic and hit the brakes.

Braking will cause the car to go straight? How is the brake bias setup?

I'd imagine hitting the brakes mid-corner is pretty bad when the suspension is loaded.

[Chris in SD]

He's talking about braking before a turn. Obviously if you brake mid-corner you're in for a wild ride...

[Blak94GSX]

In wet conditions the EVO will understeer more and you have to do some purposely dumb things with the throttle/brake to get the rear unstuck. If however you do manage to get the back end out, it will come out pretty hard.

[GokuSSJ4]

in wet conditions you can even manage the car to slide but braking while doing this can be ugly. partial throtle its your friend

[ovenmit331]

in wet conditions you can even manage the car to slide but braking while doing this can be ugly.

I definately learned this at the track. the third time it started to come around i fonally caught on... haha