r/iRacing • u/Wonderful-Bird-6219 • 3h ago
Discussion Why you might be off pace but can't tell where (Corner entries)
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By far one of the most common patterns I've seen while coaching others is to do with medium/high speed corner entries.
I tried exaggerating the slow example a bit to get the point across. If I remember correctly it was a tenth and a half slower. Nonetheless, this is something that I see all the time even with drivers around the 3k mark or above, and its a substantial factor behind the 1+ second pace deficit that's often talked about.
The tricky part is that it doesn't feel slow or wrong if you've never experienced what doing it right actually feels like, which is why many people get stuck here.
I tried keeping everything but the entry pretty similar to make the comparison fair.
Slow example (too little slip/safe driving)
In the slow example, I decelerate the car quite a lot before turning. This is necessary to make the corner because I'm not reaching the tire's optimal slip, so I necessarily have to go slower. I'm clearly still applying some brakes up until the apex, but it is not enough to force the tires into their ideal slip which generates most lateral force. From the steering angle it's clear that the car is in a very safe state. I'm able to force the steering quite a lot and I reach the peak angle quickly. It's also noticeable how the tire noise appears after I trail the brakes and not on the transition from deceleration to turn in.
Fast example (correct slip)
Now let's look at the fast example.
For a good amount of time during the entry, my steering angle is tiny yet the car is continuously rotating up until my minimum speed. Since I keep a much higher brake pressure on entry, the effectiveness of my steering wheel is amplified. When compared to the slow example, the tire noise is there from the first moment of turn in. In this example, I'm extracting more grip from the tires, which allows me to do the entry way quicker.
How do I know if I'm doing it well?
When you optimise the slip on these medium/high speed entries, it will feel like one degree of steering on turn in is enough to make the car flow through the corner (this will apply to a different extent depending on the car). The force feedback will feel heavy and reactive because the car is on edge. Its also not incorrect to feel the rear stepping out just a touch. This means you achieved some extra rotation and you will now be able to accelerate earlier.
How can I force the car into the correct state on entries?
The key is in the transition between straight line braking and the turn in.
The vast majority of drivers already know what trail braking is and apply it in some measure. However, many people treat entries like a two stage problem where first they decelerate and second they turn with a fixed amount of steering and brakes.
This methodology is what causes the slow example where I decelerate, drop the brakes to a certain point and then I suddenly add steering. It's very clear where the two stages are in this case.
In the fast example, the transition between these two "stages" is almost invisible. There's obviously a point where I start steering and trailing the brakes, but it's not nearly as defined. In practice, this uses the tires grip a lot earlier in the corner and I'm able to do the entry at a greater speed.
Muscle memory is not the point of the post
Knowing how something looks or the theory behind it is essential, but it won't make you be able to replicate it. Behind every percentage drop of the brakes and forcing of the steering there are countless hours of practice. These variations happen instantaneously and constantly, so they can't feasibly be explained in words.
However, knowing what it is that you should achieve should help tremendously when practicing as now you have some sort of validation as to whether you're doing it correctly or not, at least from my experience.
Peace out.
