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Throttle operation

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88
60
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Cantley
I have 25 lapping sessions in so far and still improve my times so things are well. I ran my first two track days with all the nannies on at the instructors' recommendation. I spun twice, learned lots. The next few days I ran AdvanceTrac sport mode. And it felt better. Almost spun twice. Learned more.
The past few days I ran with AdvanceTrac off and everything about the car felt better. I felt more connected and more sensitive to its reactions. Perhaps it is due to the experience I gained. It feels much easier to control.
I noticed one thing I'm doing differently with AdvanceTrac off: coming off the brake in slow corners I will go full throttle and off throttle maybe 10 times over a distance of 50 feet. I do not realize I'm doing this while driving. With the AdvanceTrac in sport mode I was gradually feeding the throttle back to max as I was straightening the wheel but I stopped doing that. My times are faster with this "stabbing" the throttle out of slow corners. Somehow I have the impression it is wrong as it should upset the balance or weight transfer but everything else in my laps is the same. Could it be that the frequency and duration of the throttle stabs is so short that the car does not have the time to upset before the weight is fully transferred back for the straight?
I have no idea why I'm doing this I'm not aware. All I know is that the car feels great and my times have dropped. I noticed it when reviewing my data. Should I make the conscious effort to go back to a progressive throttle coming out of the slow corners, or is it OK to do it the way I described above?
 
296
349
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
20+ Years
NC
When you say advancetrac is off, I assume you are in track mode and have held the toggle for about 8 seconds to turn off traction control? It could be that the nannies were interfering just enough to slow you down, and now that they are off, your lap times are getting better. Is the car losing traction during these throttle modulations or is it something subconscious you are doing? Smooth throttle application is always better than on off. Break that bad habit early
 
88
60
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Cantley
When you say advancetrac is off, I assume you are in track mode and have held the toggle for about 8 seconds to turn off traction control? It could be that the nannies were interfering just enough to slow you down, and now that they are off, your lap times are getting better. Is the car losing traction during these throttle modulations or is it something subconscious you are doing? Smooth throttle application is always better than on off. Break that bad habit early
Yes, 8 seconds to turn off traction control. I paid attention to this modulation thing today at the track (no, I was not doing it consciously) and it seems I am lifting as I feel the rear is just coming loose to stop overseer and back on throttle again, rinse, repeat.
I did make the effort to stop doing this today. I wouldn't have known I was doing that if I had not reviewed data.
It was another super fun track day. I had an instructor driving my car and it is insane how fast these Mustangs can go. I thought I was at 8/10 of whatever grip this car can physically achieve, but after riding with the instructor I'm amazed at how slow and overcautious I am.
In high speed S's, for example. Even though there is ample room to recover from a spin, I am not able to fully commit yet. It is improving though. Same thing with medium speed corners where the wall is close. I know I could go faster. My trace tells me I'm nowhere near the limit. It is hard to overcome. Maybe I will try the trick to go one inch closer or one mph faster. Incrementally get there.
 

Norm Peterson

Corner Barstool Sitter
939
712
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
a few miles east of Philly
A little variation in throttle is one thing. But I think you should try to make these adjustments as small and as smoothly as possible as opposed to your more 'binary' approach. Eventually, you may find that you're hardly ever making them.

Taking in a wet track day could prove beneficial in developing good corner exit throttle modulation. Just pay attention to technique and forget all about things like lap times.


Norm
 
88
60
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Cantley
A little variation in throttle is one thing. But I think you should try to make these adjustments as small and as smoothly as possible as opposed to your more 'binary' approach. Eventually, you may find that you're hardly ever making them.

Taking in a wet track day could prove beneficial in developing good corner exit throttle modulation. Just pay attention to technique and forget all about things like lap times.


Norm
Thanks Norm I will do that. Yesterday was better than the last day. I keep video and data mostly to see if I am improving and to notice mistakes. I understand chasing a time target is not the right way to go about this. Rather, focusing on improving the fundamentals, cleaning up the line and my inputs. Results should follow. If I drive without recording anything it just "feels awesome" and I don't know what to do to improve and eventually I think lapping the track will become a bus route with lap times that are constant, but not improving.
 

Dave_W

Cones - not just for ice cream
986
1,277
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Connecticut
My trace tells me I'm nowhere near the limit.

it seems I am lifting as I feel the rear is just coming loose to stop overseer and back on throttle again, rinse, repeat.

If you're well under the limit, "bad" driving doesn't hurt as much. However, by repetitively stabbing and lifting off the throttle, you're "shocking" the rear contact patches and could be losing traction, even at a g-loading that's well under the car's limit if you were using a smooth throttle application. "Smooth is fast" is one of the mantras you'll hear often. As you smoothly unwind the wheel from apex to exit of a corner, you should be smoothly applying throttle so that you're at full throttle when the wheel is straight.

As Jackie Stewart said when he was tutoring May on Top Gear, if you do it right, you should never have to lift off the throttle once you start applying it out of a corner. Take a look at that video on the 'net - lots of little gems from the master.
 

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