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If you only learn one skill to improve your driving technique it should be the art of smooth driving. On the track, driving smoothly allows you to minimise weight transfers, make the most of every last bit of grip, and maintain control at higher speeds. On the road it makes the drive more comfortable for your passengers and can even increase fuel economy. Remember, if you're driving at only 50% of the car's potential, you'll be able to get away with changing gear roughly and braking, accelerating and steering aggressively. But when you're driving near your car's limits these actions can lead to loss of traction, poor track times and increased risk of an accident. It's important to get into good habits even if you're not travelling at break-neck speeds. When driving on the track, hold the steering wheel at the ten to three position (Diagram 1) to allow fairly tight radius corners to be tackled without having to take your hands off the wheel. If your car requires a large number of turns from lock to lock you should reposition your hands on the wheel accordingly before taking a tight bend. Shuffling your hands is not a smooth technique. Graph 1 below plots the grip demands on the two front tyres which result from turning a simple corner (ignoring other forces). In this case, the driver does not approach the limits of grip at any point as a result of steering. When turning a corner, there is usually a spike in force as the weight transfers to the outside of the car, and it's at this point loss of traction is most likely to occur. Grip demands then remain relatively constant for the duration of the corner, then reduce as the steering lock is unwound. Once the car is straight, there is usually an additional small spike in force as the weight transfers to the opposite side (this is known as the pendulum effect). The lessons to take from the graph are as follows: - Avoid 'chucking' the car into a corner - ease it in, allowing the weight to shift to the outside of the car in a progressive manner. Spikes in force need to be avoided when driving near the limit. - Do not place additional demands on grip early in the corner (i.e. by braking or accelerating hard), as this is when loss of control is most likely. - Unwinding the steering in an aggressive manner is just as likely to upset the balance of the car ? all steering motions should be smooth.
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