James Creasy wrote:
>i vote for a steady speed and very smooth steering inputs. it has seemed to
>me that upsetting the suspension with throttle/brake/ or lift just reduces
>the transitioning-speed and grip.
Whatever works best with your car is the "right" way. I can't speak from any
experience with rear drive, live-axel, or front driver cars, but with an IRS
Corvette, once you're in the slalom, I think the quick way is the "lift and
throttle stab" technique. I try and only use the brakes to slow for the
first slalom cone that you need to rotate around (first "turning" cone) and
then (usually) use only the throttle/lift/throttle "game" through the
remaining slalom cones.
>also, drive VERY close to the cones.
Very important point (shortest distance and minimal transition angles)
however, you can easily overdo this one. At the Divisional, on Saturday, I
over-perfected this strategy on my fastest (scratch) run. BTW, wouldn't have
changed the results.
>comments?
You got em :-)
Now, Jesse Wills wrote (in part):
>>I am curious what (successful) methods others use for long slaloms? One
>>fast G Stock driver at the divisional suggested trying one speed that was a
>>bit slower than "max", run most of the slalom at that speed and then
>>accelerate out of the slalom. Sounded reasonable, but I only got to try it
>>on my last Sunday run. Up to that point I had been going "max" for a
>couple
>>of cones and then adjusting (braking, lifting), then back to "max", etc. A
>>true downward spiral... : )
I think THE, or is it "A", most important technique to master when
negotiating slaloms is "discipline". By this I mean, never overdrive the
front end of the slalom as this causes you to get, progressively, "late"
turning on the cones as you proceed through the slalom. This is the most
frequent mistake, independent of other less effective slalom techniques
employed, that we all succumb to at times. Also, unless there are
significant cone spacing differences in a slalom I don't think using brakes,
once you're in the slalom, is effective, as it's both time consuming and
disrupts the car balance. Remember, negotiating a slalom is a delicate
balancing "dance".
As for the advice from the "fast G stock driver", I strongly agree that this
technique has it's place. It increases in importance proportional to the
amount of (full throttle) acceleration distance following the exit from the
slalom. In the case of the first slalom on the Divisional-Sunday course, any
increase in slalom exit speed was caried with you for quite a distance
through the left sweeper before braking was needed entering the hard left
preceeding the "off-sets". To accomplish the objective of increasing exit
speed requires "giving-up" a little speed around the cone BEFORE the last
"turning" slalom cone in order to be able to set up a "late-apex" of that
last "turning" cone. The late apex approach to the last "turning" cone
allows you to get back in the power before you pass that cone which in-turn
increases your slalom exit speed, as well as your average speed through the
following full-throttle stretch.
Explanation: What does "turning" cone mean in the above comments? In a
simplistic straight-line multiple cone slalom the first "turning" cone is
frequently the second cone in the "line" of slalom cones. ( I say "line"
even though some slaloms are not laid out as a straight row of cones) In
this simplistic example we are usually braking as we pass the first cone in
preparation for "turning" around the second cone. At the end of a slalom
the last "turning" cone is frequently the second-to-last slalom cone and,
conversely we are frequently at full throttle for some time before we pass
that last slalom cone.
And, now-now we hear from Kevin Stevens:
>>> I do wish we had more "real" 4 and 5 cone slaloms (rather than ones where
>>> you can ignore the first and last cones), but 8 is too much like a school
>>> exercise.
I agree with the inclusion of "real" slaloms, as Kevin describes, in our
courses. It takes a lot of practice to develop the "discipline", I spoke to
above, while trying to maintain maximum speed (or shortest elapsed time)
through a multiple cone slalom. Although three cone (one turn) slaloms are
also enjoyable, they don't present any-where-near the challenge that a
longer one does. And, for anyone traveling outside the area, or to
National-level events, you're going to have to drive longer slaloms at
times. Good idea to learn how to do it at "home".
Don
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