Engine braking

[GreenV8S]

quote:
I'm no expert either, but the last time at Zolder circuit I experienced the difference between heel and toe and not-heel and toe.

So did that unfortunate chap in the rather nice 520 Chimaera. Engine braking reduces the stability significantly, and it's a bad habit to get into. There are other factors that can also reduce the stability, such as too much rear brake balance (the factory keep doing this for some reason), lack of anti-lift geometry on the back and lots of low speed bleed on the dampers (yup you guessed it) or the driver unbalancing the car.

The less grip there is, and the closer you are to the limit of grip, the more important it is to keep the car balanced. This means it may be OK to sweep gently into a corner on trailing throttle on a dry day, but don't do hooning along on a wet day. It may be OK to pull the engine revs up on the clutch pottering gently up to a roundabout, but don't do it if you're braking hard into a corner.

All these things are OK in moderation in the right circumstances, but the more factors you add in the less safety margin you have and the greater your chances of coming a cropper.

[simpo one]

'There's a good book and video called roadcraft, it's produced by the police and is used to train their pursuit drivers. In this book they have a thing called the system. Basically there are 4 things you can do to a car....'

Funny how they do that themsleves, then turn round and tell eveyone else that speed kills and we all have to drive at 29mph because we're not capable of judging an appropriate speed. It's effectively calling me - and every other driver - an idiot, which I resent greatly.