Paul
Simply don't CONSIDER the set-up at THIS stage! Yes, it WILL make a difference....... but ahardly noticeable amount until they are MUCH nearer to the '37 seconds'! They simply WON'T notice the differences...... TRUST me! Keep you money IN your pocket at THIS stage.
There is no knowing how long until your lads 'make the jump' and often it really IS that they seem to make a JUMP! It's when the stop concentrating on the corner that they are IN and are starting to look at the corner that comes NEXT!
Basically, at high speeds, the 'shape' of their line through the corner is all but FIXED once they6 arrive in it. Thus, they can't cahnge it a HUGE amount once they are already THERE. What they SHOULD be doing, is planning the arruval at the NEXT corner!
YES.... that IS an over simplification....... but it WORKS!
Get them MUCH more 'bum-in-seat' time! That's the BESTR thing by MILES at this stage!
There IS something they can be 'working on'. Here's an answer I gave to someone else when they complained that with an IDENTICAL kart, a 'good driver' was going FASTER at the end of the straight than THEY were........ and here's WHY:-
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Faster down the straight?
Posted by 'itpro' on 09 Feb 2007 @ 17:02
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Ahhhhh..... now that's the part where SKILL comes in!
Think about a 'concept' here. Your lap record holder will STILL go faster down the straight than you will if he used YOUR kart!
Assuming that the above statement is true, he must be using YOUR kart better than YOU do. Ok, let's look at it.
The speed at the very end of the straight can only be controlled (if he's using your kart) by how fast he ENTERED the straight and how late he leaves his BRAKING! The latter one is obvious and skill does come into play there but you can probably see how to improve you lateness of braking.
What's NOT so obvious is how he can exit the previous corner FASTER than you and THAT is the key to this point. Think it through, if he can leave the corner 1mph faster than you and he has identical acceleration, and you are both still accelerating into the braking point (most of us are), then he will have had the use of that additional 1mph for the WHOLE length of the straight. In general, that 1mph will equate to about 1 kart's length in a long straight, like Kimbolton, and thus that piddling 1mph improvement on the exit will be enough to THRASH you!
So, how does he GET that 1mph? First, he is making sure that he applies FULL throttle EARLIER than YOU do! If you are applying it as you leave the corner, he is applying it mid WAY through the corner it's THAT is enough to do the job. Secondly, he will be ensuring that he is maintaining as MUCH of the speed (called 'carrying speed') from the previous straight THROUGH the corner by not braking as much as you do and by ensuring he is on the LIMIT of what the kart can deliver THROUGH the corner.
Next, he will be using EVERY INCH of the corner and kerbs to make sure that he can go as qucikly as possible through that last curve so that he does not have to start that next straight as slowly as you do.
Finally he will be making sure that the REAR wheels are pointing in EXACTLY the same direction as the front wheels as he is exiting the corner and there is N*O opposite lock or understeer which 'sap' loads of power/speed.
Watch him closely, and you'll notice 3 things at least:-
1) He moves the steering wheel LESS than you do, there will be an economy of movement and he will be aiming to set the steering ONCE into the corner, correct it to 'neutral' (dead ahead) once entered and he'll HOLD that position all the way to the braking zone of the NEXT corner. Each time you move the wheel on a kart, it slows you! You should notice that, for the vast majority of the corner, he has NO lock AT ALL and the steering is pointing DEAD-AHEAD!
2) He floors the throttle ONCE and it will STAY floored until the braking zone.
3) He floors the throttle on every corner a LONG way before where YOU do!
So, to simplify. To drive down the straight faster, you need to LEAVE the PREVIOUS corner faster! It really IS that simple!
Finally (really), on braking.......
You need a friend to help you. Go to the track, warm up, get a friend to go to the longest straight followed by a 'braked' corner. Get him to stand EXACTLY where you apply the brakes. Next lap, get him to move 1 metre nearer the corner. Now..... you MUST NOT hit the brakes until you get alongside him! Amazingly, you'll get round the corner; if you do, he moves 1 metre closer AGAIN and you come round again and STILL leave your braking until you get to him! You continue doing this until you CANNOT make the corner! Now, tell him to stay where he IS and YOU do it AGAIN (and again and again......) until you CAN do it....... you will! Once you have, get him to move ANOTHER metre...... and so on. You will be STARTLED how much later you can leave your braking than you EVER imagined. The first thing that will have occurred is that you have learned to take the corner FASTER than you have been as that will be ONE of the ways that you have managed to brake later!
Any gain from the above 'regime' will improve your speed down that main straight at BOTH ends!!
Ian
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getting beginners up to speed by 'PaulClarke' (28 Oct 2008 @ 14:47)
