Q: How can I safely practice trail braking?
Q: “At an HPDE, how do I practice trail braking without being a hazard to the other participants by accidentally going sideways or spinning out of control in the corner?”
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: How can I stop myself from being overly-analytical with my driving?
Q: “What’s your favorite way to stop over-analyzing and just drive? I’ve heard you talk about this on your podcast and webinars, but please tell me again how I can drive faster by not thinking so much.”
Q: How can I tell whether I have my brake bias set correctly?
Q: “How can I tell (while driving and with data) that I have the brake bias set correctly?”
Q: How can I use the anti-roll bar to reduce understeer?
Q: “My question is what effect does stiffening the front sway bar have on a front wheel drive car. My Mini Cooper is a track-only, highly-modified over-sized go-kart and I have the ability to stiffen the aftermarket front bar, however I am curious as to what effect it will on handling. If it will make it understeer more I don’t need that. If, in theory, it will tend to make it rotate better, that would be a good thing. There is not a lot out there on how to make your FWD (front-wheel-drive) work better so I thought I would ask you.”
Q: How can I use tire noise to learn to drive faster, at the limit?
Q: “I had a quick question with regards to tire squeal and using it as a gauge for performance driving. Recently, I took part in a driver training program and was reintroduced to the saying “a squealing tire is a happy tire.” My previous belief was that tire squeal occurred in the frictional region after the point where a tire has peaked in the force vs. slip angle curve, not approaching or at the peak. Obviously, every compound, construction, and even batch of tires act differently, however have you found a general trend in your experience? Also, does the same apply for racing slicks? In my limited experience with driving on slicks, I can’t say that I have ever gotten them to the onset of tire squeal before I’ve had to catch the slide.”