oreo

Ok for all of those savvy on driving techniques: Post your knowledge and share with the world. Please only techniques not experiences/stories. Informative Information:

1. Driving Position
   Most Comfortable and efficient position to drive your car. Usually keeping the seat far enough from the pedals so that your knees are almost stretched but still close enough that you can press all of the pedals all the way to the bottom.
   Test: put you foot under the pedals and see if you can touch the floor with a little bit of pressure from both feet.
   The seatback as straight as possible so that you can comfortably reach the steering wheel with your elbows at least 10-15 degrees bent.
   test: seat with your back firmly planted on your seatback and reach the steering wheel.
2. breaking point
   Point in which the brakes are engaged before entering a curve. In racing at the last possible minute.
3. Turn in point
   Point in which the steering wheel is turned to initiate the curve. Usually after the breaking point.
4. Trail breaking
   Trailing the brakes into the turning point to keep the weight of the car on the front tires while initiating the turn NOT FOR STREET DRIVING/ NOT FOR NOVICES
5. Apex
   Point where your car is closest to the curve. Optimal point for your transition from corner entry to corner exit.
6. Track out
   Point where the curve is finished. Usually on the outside of the track flattening the curve to as straight a line as possible.
7. Threshold Breaking
   Point in which the brakes are working to their maximum potential without loosing traction. (Just before the ABS kicks in in ABS equipped cars)
8. Oversteer
   Having the rear tires turn on a larger arch than the front tires (having the rear slip)
   Usually corrected by counter steering and letting off A LITTLE on the gas.
   NOTE: NEVER slam on the brakes on an oversteer. It will make you spin.
   ADITIONAL NOTE: On the street, in a situation of loosing control, the fastest way to stop a car is Threshold breaking. In a case like oversteer it will cause to loose control but it will be the fastest way to stop the car.
9. Under steer
   Having the front tires turn on a wider arch than the rear. (When the car "pushes").
   The car tries to keep going forward even when the tires are turned.
   NOTE: to correct under steer, let off the gas and give less steering input (yes, you actually have to turn the wheel back in order for the car to start turning again)
10. Drift
    Turning with partial loss of traction, that includes oversteer, under steer and four wheel drifting. IT'S NOT ONLY THE SHOW YOU SEE ON FORMULA D OR WHAT THE CARTOONS DO IN INITIAL D
    Also remember that drift means partial traction, partial traction=partial speed.
    A drift might feel faster around a corner but it is actually robbing you of momentum.
    ADITIONAL NOTE: Remember partial traction also means higher probability of loosing control I.E. accident.
11. Racing Line
    The path which the car takes around a curve

Remember some or most of these techniques are to be practiced on a track. Not on the streets. But knowing them can be useful on certain cases.

Please post additional information :-) and correct me on any inaccurate one.

oreo

spell check me if nessesarry. I got some of them but aparently not all. :-)

Glyphon

its brake, not break

i can't say i've ever heard of understeer drifting. can't really see how it would be applicable to the original usage of drifting...high speed turning on low traction surfaces (just about the only time when drifting is quicker than grip driving)...you'd just continue to go straight. that's not going to help you get around the turn any quicker.

Mikelikes2drive

maybe understeer drifting is pulling the ebrake to compensate for understeer like in FF cars?

just a guess but yah never heard the term understeer drifting, cause wouldnt understeer drifting not be drifting?

Glyphon

i call e-brake drifting FF cars "*** dragging". :D
and nope, understeer "drifting" wouldn't be drifting. it would be sliding in a straightline

Umbra

I think the point is to keep the car pointing in the right direction, not necessarily the direction it would point in if you did not have any loss of traction since accelerating in a straight line is faster than accelerating while turning.