Q: “How do you decide when, if, and how much curb to take when going for the qualifying or time trials lap? I have always thought in terms of time versus distance. Shortest distance is best. If the car seems stable, use the curbs. Does that make sense?”

A: You got it: Shortest distance, if the car isn’t upset too much by the curbs, and in a way that results in the least amount of time. And experimenting/testing them is the only way to know for sure. Having a tool to give immediate feedback when you try different approaches makes it a lot easier to figure it out (data tools, such as the Garmin Catalyst, makes this much easier).

If the shortest distance results in your car losing traction, that probably means you should use less (or no) curbing.

There really is no way of knowing for sure how much curbing to use other than experimenting with it. Yes, that can be risky, so you have to decide how much experimenting you’re comfortable with.

Also, you have to consider whether running over the curbs is worth the extra wear and tear on your car. Only you can decide that.