turning momentum

[Mustang Dave]

Originally Posted by talldudenumber5

i was thinking the other day that that we talk about pulse and glide but what about carrying momentum through turns. nascar uses the slingshot technique to throw the car through the turn to carry speed out. so would it be conducive to add parts to the car to increase handling so you could carry more speed through a sharper turn so that you do not have to accelerate as much once you turn. i added a strut bar and tightened the suspension and i am considering stiffer shock. is this a lagit idea or do i just miss my fast drive teen years

Your idea is the EXACT reason (or excuse) that I used for installing the front and rear stabilizer bars from a Mustang GT on my V6 Mustang. It makes it more fun in the turns, anyway.

[Bicycle Bob]

Fast cornering develops a slip angle, which is analogous to driving uphill, except the energy goes into heating the road and tires. For maximum economy, let this finish the braking you need to get through, and then accelerate. Unfortunately, this is counter to safety if there might be any surprises around the bend, and not nearly as much fun as steering with the throttle.
In general, a stickier tire will cost far more in rolling resistance and wind resistance than it can save you in momentum. A LRR tire with a gentle break-away would be my 1st choice, since it lets me practise finding the edge of grip at lower speeds and without surprises. Being able to confidently and instantly use all the available traction is far better than taking a chance on something unfamiliar with more grip. The wide gumballs are good for short panic stops, which is more than most drivers manage to do. Anticipation and sharp skills are far safer and a better use of the grey matter.

[Christ]

I seem to remember a quote from somewhere:

Originally Posted by Somewhere

Most drivers, when given the ultimatum between a .4G turn or a tree, choose the latter.

The average driver can't handle the stock suspension. Upgrading is normally a giganti-mongo-super-duper-silly-googolplexical waste of money.

Frankly, my F150 with me behind the wheel (and bad front wheel bearings, I'm finding out...) handles better than the average entry-level sport sedan on the road today with it's driver.

On a skid pad, this is obviously not the case... but on real roads, under real driving conditions, I can stick-to-it at speeds that most people can't even begin to feel comfortable at. In fact, I often find it amusing that people will get right up on my tail on straights, but the second we get into the twisties, I start pulling away from them quickly.

Also, I treat the road as though the entire lane had the straightest possible route painted in it, and follow that line. I'm sure I appear drunk to most unsuspecting drivers, but I've also proven on a couple occasions that distance traveled is shorter (and slightly faster at the same speeds) using my method. Compared to driving the same route (following the speed limit and slowing through curves like normal) versus my driving style, there's no contest. I drive a shorter line between two points, and I do it faster, while still retaining legality.

Learning skills such as this will yield a much faster ROI than investing in suspension mods that just raise a bar you don't have the skill to reach.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Christ

I often find it amusing that people will get right up on my tail on straights, but the second we get into the twisties, I start pulling away from them quickly.

Yeah, though I usually get it the other way around. I get stuck behind some bunch of idiots in the twisty part, having to pay close attention because of their tendency towards sudden, irrational braking, only to have them pull away (at well over the posted limit) on a straight.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Yeah, though I usually get it the other way around. I get stuck behind some bunch of idiots in the twisty part, having to pay close attention because of their tendency towards sudden, irrational braking, only to have them pull away (at well over the posted limit) on a straight.

I try to drive at times when those people either aren't on the road, or in such a way that I don't meet up to them.

I have had to adjust my driving style slightly at times to deal with obnoxious or inexperienced drivers.

[gascort]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Yeah, though I usually get it the other way around. I get stuck behind some bunch of idiots in the twisty part, having to pay close attention because of their tendency towards sudden, irrational braking, only to have them pull away (at well over the posted limit) on a straight.

I hear you there too - My escort is much lower than my Mustang, and I corner as hard (or harder) in it as I do in the 'stang. I have a couple of onramps where I get people behind me in sports cars going in, but they don't trust their car in outhandling the eco-mobile in front of them. Funny.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by gascort

I hear you there too - My escort is much lower than my Mustang, and I corner as hard (or harder) in it as I do in the 'stang. I have a couple of onramps where I get people behind me in sports cars going in, but they don't trust their car in outhandling the eco-mobile in front of them. Funny.

Here's the thing about that - once again, most drivers don't know how to properly approach a curve. Everyone knows that the inside of a curve is the shortest path, but they don't understand that just staying inside the curve is almost never the best path.

This is part of the reason that I'd prefer legislation which requires new drivers to partake in both a defensive driving course (I think NYS does this?) as well as a control/avoidance course, to teach things such as high(er) speed curve management. You never really realize how handy that type of training can be until you get into a situation where if you'd only known how to properly counter-steer (the action isn't as clean-cut as the title implies), you'd have been safe from harm, and maybe could have saved the life of the other person involved in the accident (regardless of fault).

If nothing else, high-speed training does give you a different type of appreciation for exactly what's happening while you're driving. The series of thoughts and events that are processed while operating a motor vehicle are much more complex than people tend to understand.

Of course, I also firmly believe that one should be able to at least perform basic maintenance before even being able to get an operator's license. I made my wife learn to change a tire, change oil, and check her brakes/fluids, at the minimum.

[ShadeTreeMech]

Originally Posted by Christ

Of course, I also firmly believe that one should be able to at least perform basic maintenance before even being able to get an operator's license. I made my wife learn to change a tire, change oil, and check her brakes/fluids, at the minimum.

AMEN BRO!!! I have 5 daughters, and before they are allowed to get their learning permit, they will know all that you mentioned. i refuse to allow my daughters to perpetuate the myth that women don't know much about cars. My wife even knows how to change the oil and spark plugs! She also has the sense to jiggle the battery cables when the car doesn't start.

There are too few people who haven't attempted to drive fast on a low traction surface (dirt, ice, snow.) If you can learn to drive on low traction, driving on pavement is a cinch.

[Christ]

My wife came home the other day crying because her lights were flickering and the car was acting like it wanted to stall... her battery cable was loose, but she's not familiar with things like that, so I didn't say anything. Had she had enough knowledge to determine that on her own, I'd probably have just told her to solve the problem on her own. (I'm not very nice about things like that.)

My Son's first car will be whatever he gets his hands on, can afford mostly on his own, and/or has built/fixed mostly on his own. If he wants to get a bike (hopefully he will, but I won't force it), it'll more than likely be a $200 beater that he'll have to fix up before he can ride it.

If our next (last) child is a Daughter, the same rules apply. No preferential treatment based on sex - these are life skills for EVERYONE to know.

[ShadeTreeMech]

I'm big on teaching my children how to act as adults, and it pays off. I also agree a child who wants a behicle needs to earn the money to get it and maintain it. And for heavens sake, get a junker at first that they can wreck without it costing a fortune. My first car didn't even have a floorboard on the passengers side, and I had to fix it or pay to fix it several times. It makes me appreciate the nicer cars I've had all the more.