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CORNERING techniques
(p3)
The previous sections looked at how to anticipate
the best way to map out a corner, so you can choose the quickest
- and if you're on a public road, the safest - path through it.
This section looks at the full sequence of events that take place
going into, through, and out of a corner.
the four phases of a corner
To learn about all four phases, continue reading.
Move on to braking.
Move on to turn-in.
Move on to apex.
Move on to exit.
#1: braking
Whether you're trying to set a quick lap time,
or hooning along an empty road for thrill of it,
the goal during braking is to achieve the ideal speed and chassis
balance for a smooth, quick line around a corner. Ideal
speed so you corner as quick as you're able without going off
the road, and ideal balance so that the car is relatively stable,
predictable and more controllable going in to the turn.
Most drivers have already found out through experience
that it's best to do all of your braking (and
gearchanges) before you enter a corner. Consciously ensuring
that you've done all your braking before turning in is the best
practice for a less committed driving style, or for drivers whose
cars feel especially unstable or 'loose' under heavy braking.
On many cars (especially front-wheel-drive) without electronic
stability control systems, turning in under
heavy braking can cause unwanted oversteer, due to the
lack of grip in the rear tyres. Also keep in mind that if the
front tyres are almost entirely committed to braking, they won't
have any grip for changing direction, so plan your braking distances
and braking force accordingly.
trail-braking
There are exceptions to braking completely before
turn-in. Trail-braking is a term used
to describe a driving technique where the car is turned into a
corner while still braking reasonably hard. This is sometimes
done to intentionally provoke a small amount
of oversteer which points the front end keenly at the apex,
and allows the driver to actually corner faster.
braking with optimum control
When you begin braking, quickly
but gradually apply more and more pressure until you have
the level of braking you want/need. Suddenly stomping on the brakes
may not give the suspension enough time to properly settle the
shifting weight of the car onto its front tyres, which can cause
the wheels to lock up. More importantly, you may not able to dictate
the body movements of your car, which gives you
greater control and awareness of what your car is doing.
That said, the higher the performance spec of your car, the harder
and faster you'll probably be able to apply the brakes.
As you complete your braking, ease off the pedal,
to allow the car's weight to shift smoothly, and to keep the chassis
stable and controllable. As you gain more and more understanding
of how these weight transfer forces affect your car under braking,
and you can more closely feel what the car is doing, you'll start
to make smoother, quicker transitions between
braking and turning in. It becomes easier to work with
the car, instead of feeling as though you're fighting with it.
Below is an example of how a smooth, stable braking
phase might look for a particular corner
(figure 6):
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#2: turn-in
The point at which you'll actually start to steer
into the corner, usually from the extreme outside of a corner.
This phase is critical to getting a clean, smooth line all the
way through.
'read the corner backwards'
The goal here is to look ahead and scan the entire
corner, in order to figure out the best turn-in point. In fact,
this should ideally be done before you start to brake. This is
especially useful on a road which is unfamiliar, because once
you've scanned ahead and sussed the ideal line for a corner, it's
very easy to determine when you should begin to turn-in.
So reading the corner backwards helps to ultimately
establish where your ideal exit point should be (where you can
start accelerating fully out of the corner). Once you've worked
that out, you can determine the ideal cornering line needed to
get to that exit point. With a suitable cornering line worked
out, choosing the right moment to turn in becomes a lot easier.
commitment
The faster you head into a corner, the more important
a correct turn-in point becomes. There's simply less margin for
error, because you've 'committed' yourself to a higher speed through
the corner. Also, too many 'course corrections' in mid-corner
will make the car less stable and/or slow you down a huge amount.
Always try to read the corner backwards so you can determine an
exact turn-in point for a smooth, stable line through the corner.
Finally, make sure that the transition between braking and turn-in
is as seamless and smooth as possible for maximum stability.
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#3: apex
The point at which you have steered to the innermost
part of a corner. After the turn-in point, your next target should
be the apex, as it helps give you the straightest,
fastest path through the corner, and hitting it is a good
indication of whether or not you're still on the correct line.
Unlike a racetrack, it's usually not safe to
have your apex anywhere on the opposite side of the road (which
would be ideal of course) but even on a somewhat narrow two-lane
road, you can usually find yourself able to pick a distinct line
through any given corner, providing the way is clear and you can
see right the way around it. If nothing else, an
apex is an effective target for keeping you on the safest, smoothest
line possible.
#4: exit
The exit of a corner refers to the phase at which
you are past the apex, then begin to straighten the wheels and
accelerate away. A good exit will have the
car pushing gently toward the extreme outside of the corner as
you accelerate away; by the time you''re pointing straight,
you should be at the outside edge of the road or track.
On a racecourse, or in timed trials, an exit is
usually seen as the most important phase of a corner; everything
you do before then will have been dedicated to ensuring you have
the highest speed possible as you exit. Out on a public road,
a good exit is usually the confirmation of
a well-judged turn-in point and apex, and you should be
able to comfortably travel the last part of the corner under hard
acceleration.
Always try to apply more power, in a smooth and
progressive manner to prevent understeer on a front-wheel-drive
car, or oversteer on very powerful rear-wheel-drive car. On powerful
rear-drive cars with good rear wheel traction, too much power
too early will cause the car to 'push wide' of the corner, and
understeer toward the outside of the road or track to soon.
Finally, always keep in mind
that an important part of fast, fluid cornering is to read the
corners backward in order to determine the ideal turn-in point,
apex and exit point.
Go Back to preparing
to take a corner.
Go Back to cornering
lines.
Move on to handling and balance in a corner.
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