Ask Ross
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Speed Secrets Merch
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 to the right, or just scroll through the pages and pages…), but if not, you can email it to me (use the big red button to the right).
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?”
Q: With a Front-Wheel-Drive car, is some rotation a good way to reduce inside wheelspin when exiting a slow corner?
Q: “With FWD in a slow corner is some rotation a good way to solve inside wheelspin on exit?”
Q: How can I improve my night driving in endurance racing?
Q: “How can I improve my night driving? I had my first endurance racing at Spa last year, and I struggled in the traffic. Especially, it was very difficult to see the position and distance of other cars in the mirrors.”
Q: What types of corners should I use trail braking on, and what types should I not?
Q: What types of corners should I use trail braking on, and which ones shouldn’t I?
Q: How do I know when to change the brake bias with my mid-engine GT car?
Q: “With a mid-engine GT car, how do you decide when to give more brake bias to the front versus the rear?”
Got Questions?
Skills
Types
Subscriptions
Speed Secrets Merch
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: 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?”
Q: With a Front-Wheel-Drive car, is some rotation a good way to reduce inside wheelspin when exiting a slow corner?
Q: “With FWD in a slow corner is some rotation a good way to solve inside wheelspin on exit?”
Q: How can I improve my night driving in endurance racing?
Q: “How can I improve my night driving? I had my first endurance racing at Spa last year, and I struggled in the traffic. Especially, it was very difficult to see the position and distance of other cars in the mirrors.”
Q: What types of corners should I use trail braking on, and what types should I not?
Q: What types of corners should I use trail braking on, and which ones shouldn’t I?
Q: How do I know when to change the brake bias with my mid-engine GT car?
Q: “With a mid-engine GT car, how do you decide when to give more brake bias to the front versus the rear?”
Got Questions?
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