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Jeff Braun and I sit down to answer your questions, and we promise – there are no dumb questions, maybe just some dumb answers.
Q: “At a recent track day, an instructor told me that I was sitting too far from the steering wheel, and yet it feels comfortable to me. I’ve seen other drivers sit closer to the wheel, but that looks cramped to me. Is there a rule of thumb for how far from the steering wheel I should sit?”
Q: “What I was wondering is how to describe the difference between turning the car and car rotation. We talk about car rotation and using the brakes to effect it, but what is the difference from that compared to turning car with the steering?”
Q: “I have a question not about corner entry speed but rather about MID-corner speed (minimum corner speed). A friend of mine and I compare lots of data when we go to DE’s. He drives a nearly stock 987 Cayman S, is a pretty good driver, and runs tires he can get 30 track days out of. I drive a 718 Spyder with quite a bit of negative camber, Michelin Cup 2s, and have to replace tires every 6-10 track days — fronts more frequently than rears. I feel more comfortable with the car moving around than my friend does, and very comfortably trail brake as needed to balance/rotate the car. I have more grip, more power, and I do turn faster laps, BUT… his mid-corner speeds (or minimum speed in the corner) are sometimes equal to mine! That shouldn’t be the case. What am I doing wrong? Am I just being a wimp? Or does it go deeper than that? I generally brake VERY hard and VERY late and do a lot of trail braking (I go through brakes faster than anyone else I know). Is that part of the problem? Am I overworking my front tires? I record and analyze my tire temps after every session and pay attention to which end of the car I’m ‘overworking’ (determined by tire temps). Throughout any given day, I tend to transition from overworking the fronts to overworking the rears — it’s not significant in either direction, but that’s my trend. Can you help figure out if I’m being too cautious, or if I’m doing something else wrong?”
Q: “You must have had this question dozens of times: At Road Atlanta, I struggle with the turns 2 and 3 sequence, which, as you know is blind. What is the technique and thought process when entering that sequence of turns, and what track references do you use?”