So it’s been 10 months since I last raced, and I’m still very new to this. Just looking for some advice. I started pretty far back in the final because of a crash in the prefinal that I got involved in. Also, my break had tons of play before it actually grabbed, so you might see me break but nothing happens.
Thanks!
That’s a neat track. The swooping downhill part must be fun.
What I noticed in the early part of race is that you seem a bit reactive in traffic. There’s a couple incidents, 1:25 and 2:ish Which make me think you are focused on what’s right in front of you and maybe not looking ahead enough. If that’s the case, look through traffic. Don’t dwell on the guys bumper, look ahead too. Your brain will remember where his bumper is and cover you while you keep your attention moving around.
It’s a really fun track. The shifters take that turn HARD. It’s pretty crazy. I’m not quite sure I get what you said. I saw the guy spin out, and I wasn’t sure if the guy in front was gonna hit them.
It looked to me like you didn’t see it coming into the 1:25 incident. The other one, it looked like you sorta followed the guy whose bumper you were on off into the barrier. Made me think you weren’t looking ahead enough.
Yeah I didn’t realize how close I was. I also locked up the brakes which didn’t help. At the second spot I did see the incident and the guy information of me went sideways so I thought he was gonna spin. Misjudgment I guess. Do my lines look good otherwise?
I’m not familiar with the track but as the race progressed, it looks like your line got smoother. The couple mistakes were significant enough to put you in catch up mode, unfortunately. As you get closer to the others, you’ll pick up their lines as well… Looked pretty good to me, for getting the rust off.
my fastest lap there yet was during the race. so I got the rust off and more. Im .7 off of first (hes a freak and should not be racing club) and .3 off the top guys other than Zoomy man
Go get him then! Nice work.
Is it still like this? Does your brake system require shims to take up the gap or is it self adjusting. If self adjusting, you may want to bleed the system and see if improves. Air bubbles will give a soft pedal/excessive pedal travel right until the point of or nearly locking up. The shim style is relatively self explanatory. You simply add manufacture specific shims between the brake pad backing plate and the caliper piston. This will cut the gap on pedal will pressurize sooner/higher in the pedal travel.
Learn to love firm brakes. Bleed them frequently. There is nothing worse than excessive pedal travel to screw up your driving.
Since I ride rentals these days, I am deeply experienced in crappy brakes. This extra travel associated with un-bled brakes is a killer to speed imho. You really don’t need to be spending the first 5 laps finding how to modulate 1/10th the normal brake pressure.
It’s massively in-exact and totally fixable with 5 mins work. Brakes should be consistent. As an owner-driver, that’s totally in your control.
Also, rotation is important. Braking is often a part of rotation. This is too critical to have to dance around.
One way to think about this is that it takes a tenth of a second for the message to reach your foot from its origin in your brain. Crap brakes make that even longer as your foot has to travel to the end of the throw to initiate bite. That’s another .05-.1. Until you adjust, you will be slightly off every braking zone.
Just needs a shim. wanted to work on later breaking so we tried this as a very crude method.
yeah, I need to work on brake modulation. Im sure i havent reached the potential yet. Especially with rear brakes only
Does it look like im missing anything fundamental? or is it just a combination of things?
Combo. Initially in traffic you are scooting around looking for ways by and you compromise entry into turns, slowing yourself.
When you get clear track, your line gets better, since you aren’t trying to get around a guy constantly.
Your inputs aren’t there just yet. Just drive as much as possible. Consider sim racing and work on braking and earlier throttle.
I also think i need earlier throttle after I watched footage. Does sim racing on a controller count? I definitely need to work on driving in traffic
Dunno. I suppose it counts but I’d be worried that you won’t be training your feet. You’d be braking and accelerating with the bumpers on the controller.
One thing I did was use pedals with the controller. Was fun too!
I think it’s necessary to have the hand experience turning and the feet experience throttle brake. There’s a sensation you get feeding in the throttle that has to be concurrent with your hands turning the wheel. You need to feel the grip or lack thereof. You need to feel the kart pushing wide as you put too much in with your right foot.
That being said, @Muskabeatz was/is freakishly good with a controller so he might have insight as to its value from a training perspective.
No sim set up 
karting took that chance away
I think sim racing has some value, in that the same concepts apply in order to find the fastest way through the corner. Maximize braking, maximize roll speed, maximize corner drive off (especially critical in a shifter). There are some intricacies that makes some sim games a little weird, but the underlying principles are all the same.
I’d also recommend finding a fast driver, and/or reputable driving coach to help you develop your technique, and do some lead/follow sessions at your local track if possible. Bonus would be someone who can help pull and interpret data from you data logger, as this may help make it easier to visualize where you’re losing time.
how/where do i put my data from my mychron 5? The only track That has practice days near me was just put up for sale so Im not sure if I can do lead follows. I get like 5-10 min of practice before quali on race day