Why when i am going into a curve I get hard on the brakes and the front lock up pretty easy is that a symptom of bad tires old brakes or both. Also would a Brake bias dial be a good thing for Auto cross?

 

Brake hard before the curve and gradually reduce braking while entering. Its called Trail Braking.

 

True I do have some bad driver habbits to break but it seems to lock up real easy not much stopping power at all

 

How are the shocks (age)?

 

If your turning at all your asking for max braking grip plus corning grip which goes over what the tire can handle. Use better tires or mod your driving style. Also don't stab the brakes and cause a skid, squeeze into them. If you can lock up the wheels how could the brakes be bad?

 

far as i know 23

They are on the list to be replaced

 

I am sure it is my style of driving I am going in way to deep, I dont think they are bad just not as good as they could be I also think my tires have seen better days I have smaller ones on the front 245 45 17 than the back 275 40 17 I think i get all 4 to match it will improve.

and BTW the tires came with the rims

 

About time for the baby then I guess. (not saying that you don´t take care off stuff, you didn´t have it that long I guess).

 

Regardless of your tires, brakes or whatever else, once you are on the track you have to adjust your driving to fit both the conditions of the track and the equipment that you have available at the time.

Remember the old saying..... slow down and go faster. Start out with slower lap times and work your way up to find your limits of adhesion. This works much better and you will learn faster than the other way around.

With corners it's slow in and fast out for better lap times.

 

Fix the driver before you fix the car!

 

how are you able to "lock them up" ? have you disabled you ABS ? (If so, I'd get them back working again. For road-racing some theories say to use ABS other don't - however for Autocross, IT IS very beneficial.)
Atcually locking up the brakes is not beneficial to your time or your tires.

On most autocross courses if you are to approaching a corner that would require "that much" (wheel locking) breaking force to slow the car down be sure that you are on the driving line that will give you the most "open" corner you can get out of the gates an do 95% of your breaking before you need to turn the wheel... Here's how it will help you...

This "more open corner" will allow you to :
1) elongate the straightaway you've used to get up to speed,
2) use your decelerating traction more efficiectly,
3) be able to go through the corner faster.
4) have a higher exit speed & a faster straight streach until the next corner,
5) Repeat.

So: Because of #1 you'll be going faster when it's time to hit the breaks.

Because of #2 you'll be able to break harder and slow the car faster. (Squeeze the breaks - Don't stab them - But squeeze them hard and fast enough to get blood out of that stone)

Because of #3 you'll be able to accelerate through the corner (getting better traction from the rearward weight transfer) and you're exit speed will be much greater than before.

Upon acceleration through and out of the corner, think of there being a rope tied around your ateering wheel and then tied to you gas pedal. The more you unwind the steeringwheel, the more gas pedal you can have. (50% steering: 50% pedal, Steering wheels straight ahead: pedal on the floor)

Now I know that some of you reading this will be thinking that you'll have to give up this theory for some corners... and yes, you're right, but you're only partially right.

For those corners that are so accute that all you can do is to stop, turn & go again, APPLY THIS SAME THEORY. Only first - do this little exercise on your own behore you hit the track.

We all know that our cars won't trun as sharply as a Miata at "slow" or "no speed", but we also know that our cars will out handle most Miata's at medium speed, and well there's no competition at high speed.
Therefore - Increase your corner speed!!! Yes I know, even for 360* corners, INCREASE YOUR CORNER SPEED!!!

Just how much you ask? It'll be up to your car's geometry and tire traction. Drive yourself in circles in first gear and see just how tightly you can get the car to turn... Keep going until you've found it...

You may be dizy by the time you're done, but figure out how fast your car can handle the tightest radius turn on it's own. (I'm not talking about donuts here) Yu'll find that the car turns like a ship just as you start moving (usual parking issues) but as you increase your speed you should find that the car starts to turn tighter and tighter.

Listen to your tires and they'll tell you what's going on. If they're warm, and start working they'll should be Squeeling. If not, you're not turning hard / fast enough. Once they stop "Squeeling" and start "Squalling" (you'll know the difference when it happens) you should be able to feel the difference in your front wheels too. They'll no longer keep the traction they had and instead will start slidding out and hopping. This is where you'll know you've got too fast. Slow down again until you get it back and you should be able to feel where the tightest corner is. When you do - not the speed / rpm.

Now, when your on track and you get to that "no speed corner" apply the same tight turn practice to the open corner theory I spoke of early. Try to keep your car close to that speed / rpm you experience in your test session and on the exit, unwind the steering wheel and put down the power !!!!

Good Luck & Have Fun!!!

 

I can't believe it took that long for someone to ask about the ABS!

 

Sorry for the long post - not much easier way to write it - didn't seem that long when I was instructing it

 

I wasn't referring to your post. I followed this thread waiting for someone to ask the ABS question.

 

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Awesome advice and i do not think I have ABS. IF i do it does not work and i have no warning light

 

keep a VERY sharp eye on your oil pressure while playing this game or you may learn what "oil pan failure" (when the stuff fron inside the pan starts falling out) means.

btw, your decell rate will be higher with pads/rotors converting kinetic energy to heat than when the brakes lock/tires slide and friction is reduced.

 

I agree, be mindful of the loss while skidding. You lose 30% of braking force while skidding so brake right at the limit of skidding, called threshold braking. The ABS on mine will still skid the tires. I keep it because it can still help me in the rain since I have few rain events I stay out of practice. Without the ABS it may be faster to learn and feel the threshold. I took off the rear storage lids and carpet (extra weight), now I can hear the ABS pump with a helmet on. On a heavily used and rippled braking zone I find it challenging to feel the ABS so hearing it can help.

 

VERY VALID POINTS !!!! THANKS - & SORRY NEGLECTED TO MENTION THE OIL - If you've got a full pan of oil, you should be okay for at least few test circles at a time...

 

I appologize - I should have looked at your profile (showing an '85) before I asked about the ABS. By your picture I assumed that your car was a mid '90's... You are correct that your car doesn't have ABS as it wasn't an option until 1986. In my previous I didn't say anything about Threashold Breaking as it's not necessary (actually counter-active) if you have ABS. But since you don't ... Try this instead of skidding and waiting for the thing to finally stop.

"Threashold Breaking" it's going to be a feel thing for your speed, your car's breaking ability, and the available traction on that given day given the tire condition, temperature & road surface & temperature.

The easy explination is to "Hit the Brakes Hard" (like I discribed above "Squeeze the Stone") and just before you "feel" that they are going to lock, ease-up on your pedal by lifting your toes. Then again just before you "feel" that stage of your breaking is going to lock up, ease up on your pedal by bending your knee a little.

Don't feel bad if you don't get this the first time - you'll probably be in the -Break -Screach -Break -Screach category until you get the feel for your car.

Once you feel that you have become fairly well adapted to this sort of technique in your car - start doing it with your left foot. This will free up your right foot for the other pedal so when you begin to accelerate, it'll be a much smoother transition from "Full Breaking" through "Maximum Cornering Necessary" and on to "Full Accelertation"

Andrew - As for your wet technique - Keep the abs active (for now) however try the "lifting the toes" technique to see if you can keep the abs from coming on - as you know abs elongates your breaking zone (unless you really need it to save you ) - if you can drive smoothly enough that it doesn't need to come on and your laps are the same time then you know where you can / may be smoother in the dry.