Quote:
Originally Posted by osbornsm
I spent 3 hours last weekend installing brake ducts on my '18 Camaro.
- My arms now look as though i've been attacked by a dog.
So it's possible, JUST MAYBE... that I'm not driving correctly on the road course. 
My fellow track rats have mentioned that i "square off" corners. It never hit me until i installed brake ducting on my 3rd vehicle.
Perhaps I should round those corners more and carry more speed!! (duh?)
- My lap times are pretty cool, but my brakes are pretty hot.
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My solution was to buy TI backing plates as well as ducting and add those next time i'm on the road course.
I shall return with results once it's traction season again.
~ Sean
Here's to cooler temps and shorter laps  |
Yeah... it's just you.
But seriously...
You know that quote about straights being for fast cars, corners for fast drivers? It's true!
Not sure what your earlier cars were, but you can learn a lot about managing momentum properly from tracking a low HP vehicle like a Miata. If you over-brake that car, you pay for it on the next straight and ultimately with slower lap times as it simply does not have the grunt to cover up your mistake on corner entry by blasting out of the corner with tire-shredding power. Again, I don't know your experience level (and don't mean this as an insult by any means - we are all just students and event the best track drivers are still learning things or refining them at least), but all drivers would do well to learn on a "momentum car" before graduating to something more powerful. Once you can start enjoying the startled look on the faces of drivers of higher powered cars as you pass them, you are ready for more! And believe me, THAT'S a great feeling.
Find an experienced person at your local track who's driving you admire, and ask him if you can go for a ride-along. Watch his lines and brake points carefully - those might not be the same as for you and your car, but try to understand why he drives them (don't be afraid to ask him). Perhaps he might agree to go out with you and give you some pointers. Better yet, find a proper instructor. Sometimes those are harder to find, but look for local tracking facebook groups or ask around - but don't just trust Bubba because he says he's an "instructor". Go to a proper school like Barber, or one of the Porsche or BMW experience places for really good lessons.
I can recommend Skip Barber's book "Going Faster" as a really good primer, or a way to fill in gaps in your education if you prefer to learn from a text.
This is getting long, so I'll gather my thoughts and post again...