Having been the track once in the Evo, I was wondering about the driving line. The one that my instructor taught consisted of a fairly late apex and liberal use of the gas pedal after apex. I had a lot of trouble with this technique because I tended to turn in too early and once I got on the gas, the car would understeer quite heavily (esp once the turbo kicked in). This resulted in frantic steering input to void driving off the track.

So is the correct technique to turn in earlier but faster on the entry? Or turn in later, aim the car and stomp on the gas? I haven't gotten to experiment too much with the line but I am clearly not driving the best one for this car. I'm struggling with a way to deal with the power-on understeer.

 

I believe your instructor was giving you good advice, but many of the Evo drivers I have talked to complain about understeer as well, and seem to favor -3 degrees of camber up front to help alleviate that. Also, as strange as it may seem, you might not experience that understeer if you use a slightly slower entry speed. You will be surprised with these kinds of cars that the less agressive the driving seems to feel, the faster your lap times get.

 

all i know is take the corner as wide as possible... outside, inside, outside...well thats from my GT3 experiences

 

I read in a car and driver (i think it's been awhile)where they were giving track techniques and he mentioned look past the apex and where you're going to end up, take it wide, but not extremely wide, just enough to get you past the apex. Also, push through the turn, you probably knew that though. Surprisingly I can take curves, that are said for 35 at 60 and not have a control problem because I let off the gas right before the turn and then push through it. I also live where there are some nice curvy FM roads, they're wonderful when you want to think.

My .02 cents
~Stephen

 

So this is a silly question, but what's the default camber from the factory?
Won't more negative front camber make the car more likely to spin? Besides this, yes, I think I need more aggressive braking on entry as well, but it's hard to get it dialed in just right. Oh well, more seat time required. Yah!

 

I wish I could tell you factory alignment, but I'm in a Lancer, which had something like 0 in the rear, +.25 on one front an +.5 on the other. Needless to say, I am much happier with the -1.5 front, -.7 rear I have now.

But yes, more neg camber up front will make the car easier to spin, but that's what you want in an AWD or FWD car, as your car currently likes to plow (most likely), which means instead of spin, it just goes forward even when you steer. You want the rear to be able to spin just a little in order to get your car pointed in the right direction at the right time. As you become more aggressive and more comfortable with the car, you will find the edge that will let you feel the car's characteristics and if you need more oversteer (spin) or less.

 

you know that 35 applies to school buses and oversized suvs...if you cant take the turn at least 15 mph higher with any decent car, then you should never drive...

 

Then again, that 35 is so that in case anything goes wrong (road debris, animal, etc) you have a margin of error to adjust. There are turns rated for 45 that an Evo could take at over 80, but at that point, you're near the traction limit and if you simply lift off the throttle, you will induce a terrifying spin.

 

i think hes talking about 35 in the canyon turns

 

Not canyon turns, but the are as canyon as you can get for texas...I'll see if I can find a pic of the roads for ya...doubtful though.

 

I don't think there is one correct line.
There are to many variables involved.
My 2 cents.

 

It's better to be safer than sorry. All I can say is there really is no correct line for cornering. It's what you're comfortable with and what u find the best for you. Practice..Practice...practice... that's all it takes. Take the turn again and again and again maybe going faster each time you take it. Try different apex points on each run. See what works best for the car. There is really no strict guidline on exactly where to brake or where to lift off the throttle or where to apex. Have fun

 

Here's the road, it's the curvy part of 1830 which is right in the middle. Not curvy for Coloradoans (sp?) but curvy for texas folk.

 

That's very true. Different cars like different lines. Sometimes in autocross we have to take the less desirable line just because other types of cars that ran before us took that line and cleared the debris for us. There are also different lines for different turns too. There's decreasing radius, increasing radius, esses, boxes, hills, off camber, and then you combine 2 or more turns and that changes the lines, too. But one thing remains, there is usually one ideal line for every situation and car, but finding it is beyond simple mathematics.

 

Runny Yolk:

You corner early because
1/ you're not used to the track or being on the track
2/ your visual judgement needs to improve
3/ more practice

You need to develope better visual judgement to work on late apex cornering.
Your instructor has given you a very good and simple advice which many drivers will agree.
You just need more practice on the track and improve your judgement and you'll find that your time will be quicker.
If you enter corners early you'll never go faster than turning late because when it comes to cornering... the rules are: In slow... Out fast!
If you enter fast.. you'll have to brake to slow down or your tyres will slow you down before you can hit the throttle fully.
In late as possible gives you less time to reach the corner... quicker on the throttle meaning you'll go alot quicker.