Ask Ross
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Got questions? I’ve got answers. This is where I post answers to the many questions I receive. You may find the answer to a question you have here (you can use the “Search” tool), but if not, you have two options:
- If you want the answer immediately, sign up for my SpeedSecrets.ai app (think of it as “Google on steroids, focused solely on performance/race driving,” or “ChatGPT trained to only pull from the 5 million+ words and content I’ve personally created”)
- If you can wait until I get to your question, email it to me.
Q: With a PDK-equipped Porsche, am I better to manually shift or let the car do the shifting?
Q: “My first track car was a 2015 (981) Porsche Cayman S with PDK. Now I have a 2021 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 with PDK. I’ve been told that I’d get better results if I’d use the paddle shifters instead of letting the car do the work. Is that true? If so, how do I figure out where I could do a better job than the car? It seems like it’s always in the right gear to me – but I’ve grown accustomed to what it does. While definitely a slow learner, I have around 100 days on track so I’m comfortable enough with what I’m doing to tackle this.”
Q: How should I practice being a smoother driver?
Q: “I keep hearing that “smooth is fast,” and I want to learn to drive smoother, but how? Is there a way to practice to be smoother?”
Q: How can I make my car rotate more into a corner?
Q: “What is the best technique to get the car to rotate more when needed while racing in a series or a race that has a fixed set up in iRacing?”
Q: Can you talk about the differences between slower corners that need me to rotate the car versus faster corners that need very little rotation, and how it differs between low- and high-powered cars?
Q: “I wonder if you would care to dissect: More slowing, shorter time to rotate, and sooner on the throttle, versus less slowing, longer time to rotate, and later on the throttle… and how these trade-offs work for a car with low torque versus high torque.”
Q: Any tips on managing your breathing during a race? Breathe through the nose or mouth?
Q: “Any tips on managing your breathing during a race? Breathe through the nose or mouth?”
Q: How can I shift gears without damaging the gearbox or engine, but still push really hard to be fast?
Q: “When I push hard, I tend to mistreat the gearbox to the extent that I have already damaged it or the engine on two occasions. This always happens when I’m under pressure. When I focus on managing the gearbox and try to preserve it, I’m consistently slower because I can’t reconcile this with driving in “attack” mode. Do you have any tips to help me drive as fast while managing the gearbox properly?”
Q: If I’m about to crash into a wall, am I better to hit it head-on or sideways?
Q: “If you are about to lose control of the vehicle, i.e. at the end of a straightaway due to brake failure and frontal crash is imminent, would you rather try to rotate the vehicle so it might impact sideways or let it go straight to the barrier? What would be the wiser action to take right there?”
Q: When starting with wheel-to-wheel racing, is it best to buy a car, or rent one?
Q: “I have a dumb question for you. I’m older (mid 40’s) and I am really enjoying track day events in my car. I’d like to do W2W (wheel-to-wheel) racing. Would you recommend a budget-built car and racing in local clubs, or gain experience by renting a race car and have the freedom of renting from well-funded teams locally and throughout the nation?”
Q: What’s the best way to practice my high-performance driving?
Q: “Is there a “best” way to practice and improve my high-performance driving?”
Q: What should I expect and how should I prepare for my first HPDE event?
Q: “A friend has convinced me to take my Toyota 86 to what he calls a HPDE event. What can I expect, and how should I prepare?”
Got Questions?
Get Immediate Answers
Skills
Types
Subscriptions
Got questions? I’ve got answers. This is where I post answers to the many questions I’ve received. You may find the answer to a question you have here, but if not, you have two options: If you want the answer immediately, sign up for my SpeedSecrets.ai app (think of it as “Google on steroids, focused solely on performance/race driving”), or email it to me.
Q: With a PDK-equipped Porsche, am I better to manually shift or let the car do the shifting?
Q: “My first track car was a 2015 (981) Porsche Cayman S with PDK. Now I have a 2021 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 with PDK. I’ve been told that I’d get better results if I’d use the paddle shifters instead of letting the car do the work. Is that true? If so, how do I figure out where I could do a better job than the car? It seems like it’s always in the right gear to me – but I’ve grown accustomed to what it does. While definitely a slow learner, I have around 100 days on track so I’m comfortable enough with what I’m doing to tackle this.”
Q: How should I practice being a smoother driver?
Q: “I keep hearing that “smooth is fast,” and I want to learn to drive smoother, but how? Is there a way to practice to be smoother?”
Q: How can I make my car rotate more into a corner?
Q: “What is the best technique to get the car to rotate more when needed while racing in a series or a race that has a fixed set up in iRacing?”
Q: Can you talk about the differences between slower corners that need me to rotate the car versus faster corners that need very little rotation, and how it differs between low- and high-powered cars?
Q: “I wonder if you would care to dissect: More slowing, shorter time to rotate, and sooner on the throttle, versus less slowing, longer time to rotate, and later on the throttle… and how these trade-offs work for a car with low torque versus high torque.”
Q: Any tips on managing your breathing during a race? Breathe through the nose or mouth?
Q: “Any tips on managing your breathing during a race? Breathe through the nose or mouth?”
Q: How can I shift gears without damaging the gearbox or engine, but still push really hard to be fast?
Q: “When I push hard, I tend to mistreat the gearbox to the extent that I have already damaged it or the engine on two occasions. This always happens when I’m under pressure. When I focus on managing the gearbox and try to preserve it, I’m consistently slower because I can’t reconcile this with driving in “attack” mode. Do you have any tips to help me drive as fast while managing the gearbox properly?”
Q: If I’m about to crash into a wall, am I better to hit it head-on or sideways?
Q: “If you are about to lose control of the vehicle, i.e. at the end of a straightaway due to brake failure and frontal crash is imminent, would you rather try to rotate the vehicle so it might impact sideways or let it go straight to the barrier? What would be the wiser action to take right there?”
Q: When starting with wheel-to-wheel racing, is it best to buy a car, or rent one?
Q: “I have a dumb question for you. I’m older (mid 40’s) and I am really enjoying track day events in my car. I’d like to do W2W (wheel-to-wheel) racing. Would you recommend a budget-built car and racing in local clubs, or gain experience by renting a race car and have the freedom of renting from well-funded teams locally and throughout the nation?”
Q: What’s the best way to practice my high-performance driving?
Q: “Is there a “best” way to practice and improve my high-performance driving?”
Q: What should I expect and how should I prepare for my first HPDE event?
Q: “A friend has convinced me to take my Toyota 86 to what he calls a HPDE event. What can I expect, and how should I prepare?”
Got Questions?
Get Immediate Answers