Han Solo

VetteDrmr

Josh,

If you introduce yourself as a newbie you'll not be alone more than 30 seconds. Autocross and DEs are some of the friendliest groups you'll meet.

Have fun!
Mike

SouthernSon

I know of a turn where this is not the case, and there may be others. Never downshift T1 Putnam Park. If you can't heel/toe then concentrate on carrying your speed into the turn and then downshift just before T2. There are probably other tracks, also.

05dsom

What RPM are you guys blipping the throttle to?

say for example braking from 100 to 50 mph, 4 to 3 downshift?

Supercharged111

It's more of a feel thing, I doubt anyone looks at their tach when they downshift. For me, it's either a big blip or a little blip.

jtmck

Correct Artie!!

Run braking down into the corner, release the brake, then shift, if you have to.

This is for all corners.

Jim M.

Supercharged111

I've been known to downshift mid-corner, it's part of my routine in those areas where you just lift instead of brake. Get it down quick enough so you can throttle steer in and then back out.

SouthernSon

I know it works very well for you, too. Not being much of a left foot braker I don't know if it would hold true for all. However, as you know, I prefer a different downshift with brake/blip before (heel/toe). I have discovered that left foot braking does require the correct pedal, though; clutch must not be confused for brake.

Joshboody

First HPDE done and I'm beat. I ended up H/T... didn't see another way unless clutch out with no rev match. Only down shifted once though. Pushed it more than I anticipated because of a great instructor.

First instructor was cool, but just gave praise. The second told me exactly what/when to do... learned so much and instilled confidence. He did want me right on front cars ***, which was a little too aggressive for me on day 1.

Awesome time

SouthernSon

Something you do get used to. One has to present themselves to the car in front. I usually recommend a sweep from right to left rear quarter panel within a few feet in order to give the instructor in front car a good view as well as the driver. Then, back off, but not too much, until appropriate place to pass.

jbondfl

Yea, the best way to get confidence here is to ride with an Advanced driver (perhaps your instructor in his/her car). If you don't learn this you'll never get a point by. The front car will always think they're faster because you are slipping back.
Day 1,,, Day 2,,, Day 3,,,, all will seem like EVERYTHING is going really fast. You'll get used to it.

Joshboody

Thought I was pushing hard, but instructor wanted me feet away... I'll get there. It was a beginner group with some people braking at odd times. They say its not racing, but its very close... everyone's out to beat whoever's in front (except the miatas who are trying not to get run over, jk).

I did get ride time with some fast guys... 1 was 500whp c6GS on slicks who was 9sec faster than me (1.2mi track). The Gs were unbelievable.

I could see street tires being more fun than stickier options (slidey factor), but the competition aspect has me already thinking about upgrading after a few more track days. Made a deal on 2nd set of wheels today... oh boy.

VetteDrmr

Well, Josh, now at least you know where you'll invest your retirement money! j/k

Glad you had a great time!

Mike

bb69

Jim
I don't heel and toe. My pedals aren't setup for it and I'm not good at it. In the cars I have driven that don't require a clutch (my original automatic and the ASA cars with clutchless shifts) I did left foot brake. I find left foot braking to be the best if you can do it, but it does take some time to train your left foot so you can modulate the pedal instead of just mashing it.

My normal method is to brake, start to turn, shift, start adding power. At most of the tracks I run, I only have to shift out of 3rd for the long straights, so I am only shifting 2-4 times per lap. Shifting in the middle of the turn can cause the car to get loose if you don't rev match well, but the same can be said about heel/toe under braking so I don't see one being worse than the other.

In one of the books I'm reading, "Think Fast", the author specifically discourages down shifting before getting the car slowed down. This is because all that does it over rev the engine and put undo stress on the drivetrain. Brakes are cheaper than engines, transmissions, and diffs, and brakes do a better job of stopping the car anyway.

Here is one of my videos showing my technique. Sorry, it's a long video for one downshift per lap. However, I start out behind a number of cars, so my pace is lower and I'm not pushing as hard during the shift. As the session goes on and I get faster, you can see the shift and the associated rear end twitch gets more noticable.


Ken