ok i was watching a couple time attack z on you tube and i noticed that there was a major difference in driving techniques i guess you would say between the mod class and the unlimited

In the mod class when watching the drivers there very graceful i guess you would said say they hold the car through the corners without much correction or twitchy and they get around the track just fine

but when watching the unlimited class with the pro drivers those guys look like crack addicts at the steering wheel making last minute adjustments all the way through the corner. when you watch videos of them through the corners there jerking the wheel all the time very twitchy.

im just wondering if this is just there personal driving techniques or because the cars in the unlimited class are pushing 600+ hp vs the lower numbers you see in the mod class. Or is it just the difference in skill the drivers posses between the the mod and unlimited classes.

i don't know if this even makes sense to anybody or if anybody knows what im talking about any track gurus out there??

 

Interesting subject.

For autocross I watch an experienced racer in a Mini Cooper. Quiet, graceful, every move oh so smooth. The run looks slow.

Other the other hand I run twice the horsepower. Hard brakes, spinning rear tires, the motor is screaming.

Mini Cooper beats my time by 5 seconds. Go figure.

 

Links to videos your talking about???

I'd like to compare.

 

With low powered cars, it's all about speed maintenance. That's why it looks so smooth - they maximize cornering speed and don't upset the balance of the car. The car is probably floored most of the time as well.

When you have lots of power, getting to the limits of the car takes more skill since you can break loose the driving tires more frequently. There's also the aspect of having to carry more speed into corners as well -you have to brake harder and be more patient with the gas on exit. Lots of high power cars also have turbos which are more difficult to modulate than a linear torque curve on a NA engine.

 

ill see if i can find the videos fyi there pretty long so.... ud have to watch the whole thing but ill see if i can find them again

 

Watch an in-car video from a Formula 1 race. When you're running high speeds, it takes a lot of input to keep the car pointed where you want it to go.
Hit a bump at 30 mph, then hit it again at 60 mph and see how much different your control is. Basic physics kicking the crap out of you.

 

Yeah, without the videos, it's hard to say definitively what you're seeing.

More than likely, you are seeing different techniques in driving cars with way too much power for anyone's own good (my opinion).

Now... in more general terms, when you see someone wildly sawing at the wheel, or stomping on the pedals, or the car generally seems just out of control... it probably is out of control. Lets concentrate on steering input, which is what most of us see:

Basically, what you're seeing is a driver finding, then losing, then finding steering grip as they navigate a turn. This is fine if someone is learning a new track, or a new car... but it should really not be seen if someone has lots of time in a car and on a track.

That's not to say that the exact same thing doesn't happen, but with experienced and smooth drivers, the physical action of approaching, breaking, then re-acquiring that sweet spot just before the grip threshold... is done in such minute movements as to be imperceptible for the most part. Think of moving ones fingers as opposed to moving ones arms as it relates to steering inputs.

The exact same theories apply to throttle and braking techniques.

 

You really can't draw any conclusions from watching videos. There are so many variables involved (car setup, conditions, driver talent, mechanical problems, etc.) that any one video is a poor sample. Linked below is a video of probably one of the best sedan racing drivers ever racing an evil handling 911, backwards on the 'Ring, with snow on the side of the track. From the video you would assume he's a ham fisted ***-clown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnKARl8HJjY

FYI... if you look at the video from 2:30 to 3:00 you'll see, at two different times, he's got one full turn of steering in to correct oversteer and one full turn of steering in to correct understeer.

 

Better to be smooth and carry more speed through the corner.

That doesn't mean than you aren't always testing the limits, and that means that you're constantly correcting for lack of traction.

 

That happens when you're pushing it to the edge...

 

Yes but...

You shouldn't be that "ham fisted" under normal track conditions. It's a waste of energy and mechanical resources, no matter what kind of car you are driving.