Q: How can I go full throttle & still have steering in when exiting a corner – I thought that was asking for more than 100% from the tires?

by | Feb 8, 2022 | Ask Ross

Q: “I have been trying to improve my corner exit speed. As I am exiting certain turns, turn 1 at VIR for instance, I am at full throttle pretty much past the apex even before I fully straighten my steering wheel out. So, I am cornering at full throttle. Why am I not sliding or spinning? I am a firm believer in what you said many times in your books that the tires can only do 3 things at 100% – each either accelerate, decelerate or corner and they can do a combination of the above but only up to 100%. So, I am 100% accelerating and still cornering. How can that be? I drive a Cayman GT4 with Hoosier R7 tires. Can it be that these tires can handle more, meaning 100% full throttle in my car is really less than 100% throttle for these particular tires? I hope I am making sense!”

Q: How should I break in new tires on the track to make them last longer?

by | Jan 25, 2022 | Ask Ross

Q: “The question I have is about heat treating to break in new tires and improve tire longevity. I usually heat cycle a set of tires for 20 minutes on a single session, then take the tires off and let them sit for 24 hours. I then put them back on for the remainder of the 2-3 day event. I run a set of tires for about half a season, ~4 events. Is there a better way of getting the tires ready for a season, and is there a normal life of tires that would indicate a replacement point? Could I run tires for a full season without suffering hardening and loss of grip?”

Q: Which reference points are the most important when approaching & driving through race track corners?

by | Jan 18, 2022 | Ask Ross

Q: “I’m doing my yearly brush-up on the basics and realized that I’m thinking more about the start of throttle rather than the End-of-Braking. Pretty close in terms of where and when in the corner, but not quite! I also think about the point of full throttle to make sure I don’t get there too soon (or too late!). How do these three points rate in terms of importance? And if a driver gets one wrong, which one has the highest cost in terms of lap time? Which one can be compromised with the least penalty?”

Q: How can a driver out-brake another on the outside of a corner like Lewis Hamilton tried on Max Verstappen in the Brazilian Grand Prix?

by | Jan 11, 2022 | Ask Ross

Q: “Here’s my conundrum. As a theoretical proposition, how is it possible to make an outside pass (I’m thinking of Lewis’ attempt in Brazil when Max pushed him off track)? In this example, it is assumed that these are perfect drivers who are absolutely at the limit. If Car A is ahead of Car B and takes the correct line through the turn – it seems to me that it should be impossible for Car B to pass Car A. Since Car B will be, by definition, off line, his maximum speed must be less than Car A’s. Thus, he can’t pass Car A. Or is it that outside passes are an attempt to freak out Driver A, and provoke him into a mistake? Or make Car A slow down?”