Improving my driving "skills"

[Race Grandpa I]

I really suck when I am driving on the track. It is almost as bad as my knowledge of cars. Just ask Bill.

So I got the iracing simulation program from www.iracing.com

After one week I have had some small improvement and by next year I should be able to do well in the Advanced HPDE group. I have only had two lessons on the track.

If you are interested in this program, you ought to see my thread on the subject at M.net

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=347276

[Godless Commie]

I am no expert in racing, but here is my $.02:

Imagine you have a bowl stuck on the dash, and it is filled halfway up with water.

Drive in such a manner that you never spill that water. You can drive as fast or as slow as you like, the rule is the same.

The cool thing is, this exercise makes you smoother at the wheel. If you are constantly mindful of the "water", you start "flowing" with the car.
Speed comes easy after that.

My passengers usually can't tell when I shift. Makes for very smooth, seamless power delivery to the wheels.
Same goes with steering inputs. Downhill skiers know all too well that a relaxed skier is a faster skier. Jerky movements with the steering wheel rob speed just like skis that shoot a rooster tail.

Braking on the track is an exception to the "water bowl" rule. Brake hard, as late as possible, preferably on a straight line on the track.

Also, do not wrestle the car. There is a ton of metal under and around you, and the laws of physics always prevail. If it starts sliding, accept that and go with it to a point where you can regain control at a point of reduced momentum.

Another good thing to do is getting on a flat, wide surface like a gigantic parking lot on a rainy, or better yet, snow day, and intentionally lose control of the car.
You get to discover not only the car's limits, but your's as a driver, as well. Excellent way to perfect evasive maneouvers, and correct for understeer/oversteer conditions.

Like I said, I'm no expert. Just my own driving habits.

[beatle]

I'm not sure what kind of events are availabe in Washington, but I learned a great deal from local autox schools before ever heading to the track. I think the most eye-opening exercise was the figure-8. You go into a box of cones on either end of the parking lot. The goal is to turn in, clip the inside cone, push to the outside, then tuck into the inside cone on the exit. The catch is that you're not supposed to move the wheel beyond the initial turn in. This forces you to steer with the throttle which is a lot of fun in a balanced car like the Miata. :)

[jwalton]

beatle's comment about not turning the wheel beyond the initial turn-in is really the key to getting the highest and most stable cornering speeds. Ideally, if you find yourself having to turn again (or tighter) in a non-tightenning radius corner, you probably turned in too early and are turning again in an attempt to not go off the track. As Godless Commie aptly described, it's all about being smooth. Every time you make an input with the wheel (excluding straightening it out) you are imparting an instability in the car and scrubbing off speed.

As one of my Skip Barber instructors told me during a ride along, "Feel free to drive as fast as you want, as long as you're perfect. If you make any mistakes, you're trying too hard and need to back off to work your technique before you run out of talent."

Most importantly, relax. We've all seen how people drive when they're tense behind the wheel. Every movement is exagerated due to the stiffness in their arms and shoulders.

[Race Grandpa I]

Found out on M.net that Andrew Caddel and Eric Foss use Iracing.

Two years ago Andrew was the national amatuer Spec Miata champion. (He was 18 at that time.) Andrew won a contest between drivers that Mazda put on and his prize was a new Miata with parts to convert to Spec Miata and extra parts and tires/wheels. The next year he drove with the best team in the MX-5 Cup.

Andrew is now competing in the Mustang Cup, which he is leading and is expected to easily win the championship. GRM and other publications have pegged Andrew to go into Rolex Cup, etc.