Really shows how far sim racing has come in the last decade or so. Legit, real life techniques can be applied in the same ways in the sim to the same effect.
He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool...shun him. He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is willing...teach him. He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep...awaken him. He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise...follow him.
It just means that you are getting better, now you are in the "humility valley", you just left the "hill of stupidity" because you know more than before so now you are aware of your limits. It is an important step to get better.
I keep telling my mom she's leaving time on the track. But she still doesn't listen and I'm late and in a bad mood by the time she drops me off at school.
When i got asetto corsa competizione, i always instantly lift of the brake and always got some horrible times and after a few hours I "accidentally" trail braked and my eyes where opened to a whole nother world of smoothness
At 2:13, to trailbrake you have to come off the brake a bit before you turn in. In ACC you turn in & after you can come off the brake. Every sim have their learning curve with trail braking, although the important point is at 5:45 where you have to reverse engineering which apply very well to the sim.
In all seriousness, having racing skills in your arsenal is a good thing for everyday driving. You don't need to be racing for a more stable corner to be a good thing.
@@reaganharder1480 in particular in snowy/icey places. In those conditions you dont have to being going fast at all to be at your cars traction limits, in which case using these types of technics can help get you to the mall safely when it opens in the middle of winter
I feel like learning to trail brake will be like when learning to carve while skiing. At first you don't really know how to do it but when you do a good turn you realise how much better it is.
Exactly. Carving and track racing are more similar than one might think. Everything is in the balance and the feel of grip you have. Combining these two, make you excel in either sports.
@@nikolamladenoff3516 While partly true. It's not quite that simple. The best results from carving(In skiing) come from pressurizing up onto the apex. The best results for cornergrip(racing) come from getting the downforce curve to hold into the corner apex. Both have the pressure focussed on the apex of the corner obviously to make the corner as tight as possible. Without overshooting the grip of the medium. in the case of the ski's it's based mainly on the ski-wax and ski material and the density of the snow. with tires on the break and tiregrip value's related to the surface of the circuit. Bit of a longer explanation but think it informs you better of what is involved.
@@alleycatlordoflunes9689 in case of skiing it's the matter of putting enough pressure on the edges of your skis and finding the perfect angle between them and the slope. Tires are the same - the fastest way through a corner is with enough pressure (aero downforce in this case) and perfect angle (camber). So yeah, the ideas behind it are pretty much the same.
@@ActNasty5 because not everyone has or can afford a wheel...but that shouldn't rob someone the enjoyment of playing a sim racer, what a stuck up thing to say..🙄
Keith W. Not really. Ive played racing games my whole life. Finally just got into “sim” since i can finally afford it. Its a simulation of actually driving. My favorite racing “game” is forza horizon 4 with a controller.
Those images can't be from a sim because the car's moving too naturally and realistic. Fan boys can talk all they want but at the limit, most sims are shit and not natural.
sevenbelow1 Me too! Even Jonathan Palmer said every time he goes through Paddock he thinks he could have done it faster 😃 Such a complicated corner with so many oddities: a crest near braking/turn in, a drop away after apex, a compression on the exit, and the possibility of a sneaky bit of extra tarmac on the way in where the access road crosses. Oh, and there are at least two valid approaches too. So much to think about! Plus, are exit gains worth it given how short the run to Druids is, and how much the hill shortens the braking. So complicated!
For a long time I was under the impression that trailbraking was something you only did on gravel to get the rear out. Your videos have helped shave so many seconds off my laptimes and get much more feel for the weight transfer.
Apparently Martin Bundle never does. Whenever he talks the TV viewers through a lap around an F1 circuit he always says: "Get your braking done in a straight line."
@Spyder Steve That's true, of course, but don't you think everyone watching this video knows that? So what Martin Bundle should say is "get your heaviest braking done before you have to turn into a corner, and then trail off on the brake pressure as you add steering lock". But instead he gives the impression that braking should cease completely before turn in. Trail braking may not be appropriate for all corners of a track, but if F1 drivers didn't trail brake Valteri Bottas wouldn't be locking up his inside front wheel so frequently.
@@gort8203 I’m pretty sure because it was slower with their diffs and gearboxes were quite agricultural . Probably more because the manual boxes with clutch and h pattern . Nowadays it’s how you summarised it
As a driving coach myself I don’t think I could’ve put it better, when I was watching your videos as a junior racer I didn’t fully appreciate how well and carefully it’s explained. Top stuff
Every time I watch one of Scott's videos I am always amazed that someone is prepared to freely share such gems and secrets to getting better on track! Priceless! I now realise that I am not braking efficiently going in to corners but I have a question Scott, from your description of the correct technique, am I right in thinking that to trail brake effectively you really need to be able to left foot brake? Something else I need to learn to do well! Thanks for all the great coaching!
Left foot braking is tough to get down at first, because most people go at it with their clutch leg instead of using their ankle. A good way to train your left foot is to use it in a parking lot for both gas and brake. After it feels comfortable, give it a try when you have plenty of space on track.
@SteveRabbits: You don’t need to left-foot brake, but it does help in many situations. It can make it easier to transition back to the throttle. It’s especially good for trail-braking into a fast sweeping turn (like turn 3 at VIR).
@@981porsche3 left footbraking is absolutely essential for economy of motion and for no deadspot in weight transfer. There are also plenty of times where using brakes and gas at the same time is the fastest technique. Using one foot is a tremendous disadvantage
SteveRabbits - trailbreaking hasn't anything to do with left foot breaking. Trailbreaking is about the entry of a corner. Left foot breaking is about having your rigt foot ready to get on the throttle early to get a good exit from the corner. Toe-heel-ing is another technique that is the most efficient when you get the hang of it, allowing you to breake late and often into the corner (a neutral or a slight understeered car is prefered) and then get on the throttle just after apex. Breaking into the corner will give you more time to adjust your driving and to start breaking much.later without locking yor front wheels. This in combination with a good exit will affect your laptime massively. Racing season is on. Let's get out on the tracks!
Trail braking and left foot braking are two totally different things. You can trail brake with your right foot as well as your left foot. But, with left foot braking, your right foot stays on the throttle pedal, allowing you to get on the gas much faster. In series like F1, every millisecond of acceleration counts. Left foot braking is great for series where the clutch is coupled to the shifter paddles and you don't need to use your left foot for a clutch pedal.
I kind of got in touch with trail braking when I would brake very late and pump the brake to find some grip to turn the car into the corner. That pumping got more and more fluent and is now smoothening out to a continuous curve. It allows me to brake later and gain more control while turning into corners. One video that inspired me to trail-brake is Kevin Estre lapping the Nordschleife in a Porsche with Misha Charoudin. He trail-brakes into foxhole very nicely in that video.
This is a very thorough explanation Scott, nice one. I find that this is easier in a vehicle in the real world than in a sim. In sim I'm struggling to get the right point where I release the brake enough to keep the car level. It's easier to sense this in a car in the real world as the concept of weight distribution and balance comes to life more.
Finally someone who explains trail braking properly and is actually correct too. Been hearing so much rubbish on this subject over the years.. Thanks Scott.
Hey man, just want to send ya some appreciation, what you do for us on YT for free in very valueble, Im new to sim racing as growing up in my area racing was never a thought let alone an option. So these strategies and concepts ive heard of and maybe understand WHAT they are, but no clue HOW to perform and execute. You have a skill to explain things in a simple way that i can wrap my head around, considering i have little expirience, thats impressive. Im sure almost everyone can learn something from your videos, vet or beginners. My trail breaking is garbage, but with this, i have a starting point, and ill keep coming back to this video as my technique builds... anyway and i have the feel for it now, but i have a long way to go.... much respect
I start going to work when I was 18 54 miles every day to the city. I lived far and had to drive thru 20 miles of canyons that helped me shape my cornering and I thought I was smart and quick for doing this. Turns out it's a whole art. I still drive those canyons to this day 11 years later. I just like cars so much more now. Nice video. Can't believe there is so much science behind it all.
Great tips Nigel! The biggest jump I made in corner entry speed was once I learned how to keep the car on the limit by using trail braking to balance the car. Getting comfortable putting the car into a tiny bit of oversteer on entry allowed me to learn the proper amount of brake pressure to hold after turn in starts. It really requires a delicate touch on the brakes as you said!
I spun a radical in a harpin on a track in the dry....the trouble is when your learning on slicks for the first time, you have absolutely no idea how much grip the car really has. You have to leave road driving in the car park and start from scratch. Racing radicals taught me a lot about safety on roads that you would never get from a driving instructor. It is worth every cent....
wow what an explanation on trail braking, I always did it in my car on the public road, just not on the limit, I can also do it on my motorcycle, but it is a bit more tricky, because of the lean angle the bike has, but this is exactly how you do it, I seen a lap from max verstappen, with the view from his car with the gas and brake pressure telemetries in his car and this is exactly how you do it, before the corner , you do the hard breaking , also by gently increasing break pressure, then after making the turn, you slowly gently release break pressure on corner entry, then you again gently apply more gas to accelerate out of the corner, you steer out of the corner by accelerating making the circle bigger, you steer into the corner by decelerating making the circle smaller. On a motorcycle, the gas and brake combination is even more subtle, you have 2 fingers on the front brake and 2 fingers on the gas handle, the proces is , adjust gear, slowly gently roll of the gas, while you slowly gently roll of the gas, you slowly gently pull the break lever , and build op break pressure,, when you accelerate out of the corner, you do the same thing in reverse, some say when you accelerate out of the corner on a bike, you still carry 1 % brake Now to do this on the limit it take tremendous amount of skill, so on the public road never do it on the limit, on the public road you can use trail braking technique to go faster through a corner, but you don't wanna be so close to the limit as on the track, so on the public road you can use trail trail braking not to go faster through a corner but safer at the same pace. In stead of engine breaking before the corner you use the breaks, you start breaking with the breaks at about the same time you would normally just release gas, and breke by engine breaking, the you slowly, gently release break pressure as you approach corner entry, and carry just a little break while entering the corner and the gently accelerate out of it. The funny thing is, this public road trail braking that I just described, is how most student drivers would do it, (that can operate the controls of a car) had their instructor not told them, to just release gas before the corner and only use the brake if the deceleration of the engine breaking is insufficient and do all the breaking before the corner, people do that intuitively when nobody tells them that this should not be done and/ or is dangerous, then later on more experienced drivers that are like stubborn people start doing it again, after they had to brake in a corner a bunch of time, they go that just BS that you cant brake in a corner, they just know you can't break really hard in a corner, the only thing these "beginners" usually dont do is accelerating out of the corner
Extremely well explained and demonstrated. About 30 seconds in I was all, "Oh yeah, I've been totally flubbing that, haven't I?" But the follow-up detail was extremely helpful. Many thanks!
Scott, Another great video. Thank you. Lots to digest. I think braking is probably one of the key areas to faster laptimes. As a HPDE instructor, I always have my students focus on brake release. Smooth = control = fast. But this part on trail braking, specifically, is a bit counterintuitive: If you're oversteering (slightly), brake less. If you're understeering, brake a bit more. I get it, but had never really thought of it in this way. It's about weight shift and balance. Brilliant. Can't wait to really give it a try.
The irony of trail breaking, is the fact that most do it, but don't know they are actually already doing it, organically/instinctively...! Good vid brother. 🏁🇬🇧
Scott - this is fantastic! I've been racing for years without a coach and seemed to do well. Watching these videos and learning what I've picked up being thoroughly explained now gives me even greater confidence that I'm on the right track. Especially racing the Jaguar XF... such a heavy car and weight transfer is ridiculous! Less brake pressure and throttle control just before the turn. Can't wait to put it in to more practice! Cheers, Scott!
Because of Driver61 I lose alot of money... so first i bought a Radical SR1 and because of Driver61 tutorials i manage to shave off my time so quickly that im now driving pretty close to people who have been driving for several years in my team. I been doing track driving only for 2.5 months soon 3 months. So since the SR1 became little bit "not so fun" - i know have to purchase SR3 - This is all Driver61's fault to make me so much faster so much earlier than normal.. Damn you... ( for those who did not understand its a sarcasm here) - Great content mr. mansell - i wish you was in Korea and i could get coaching from you. You explain the content so easy so i can actually go back to simulator - practice it, watch - sim, rewind - watch and sim it again until it sits right and than i apply it to my Radical in real track.
Understanding the friction circle for sure, as others have mentioned. But for me, it's more important to get your head around how incremental weight transfer affects this circle of grip throughout the corner...it's all about manipulating the balance of the car as you approach your limit...and how to achieve max grip without sacrificing control. Great channel Scott, subscribed years ago.
Thank you so much for sharing this! Often times I run into so many local "experts" who are so bigheaded and would not talk in details about techniques like this...
This is perfect, I just drive for fun by myself. No coaches so really helps. It it’s a bit harder to find the limit in breaking vs throttle but the idea of there not being a hard point to get on throttle and that we just need to feel the car weight being balanced and adjust accordingly seems like a far better way to find the limit. Thanks
Missing these types of videos Scott! They've helped me a great deal with track driving and karting. Its also nice to re watch now and then and help me assess my recent technique. Hope we will get some more of these at some point! Still liking the new content though, keep it up👍
Jackie Stewart said he won a World Championship because of how he was able to get OFF the brakes better than his competitors. So it's pretty important... It can be tough to figure this stuff out on a sim where you're not getting G cues from actually going around corners or accelerating or braking or any combination thereof. Try doing it on a motorcycle or, better yet, a bicycle. That'll REALLY get you familiar with the concept, because if you get it wrong you're liable to get some road rash. It's sort of like the opposite of avoiding spinning by not getting on the gas while the wheel is cranked over; you don't want to carry too much brake while the wheel is cranked around and you NEVER want to indulge in harsh, abrupt control inputs. When racing, you should be close to the adhesion limits of your tires pretty much all the time, so whacking the throttle open or stomping on the brakes or suddenly yanking the steering wheel can really throw your car into a departure from controlled driving. That's why the old saying says, "Slower [that is, smoother,] is faster."
I've been a sim racing gamers, and for some time my own crooked version of trail braking is utilizing that front grip at the end of straight line braking, then drastically turn in, creates understeer in the front tyres, and slide through that corner, some of the time it worked, but it's really not consistent, after I tried your method, it became consistent enough to do it almost on every turn, and it's been great.
I sailed sailboats competitively at club level for many years and It always came home to me just how detailed and refined the winners were. They were setting up their rigs according to weather conditions and they changed their strategies according to weather and tide. I was a decent sailor sailing a very challenging racing dinghy and the same as the best in the club would he would always leave me for dead. A few years earlier sailing a slightly slower racing dinghy similar We turned up at the beach and it blowing a hooly but we decided we could cope so we went out. At the same time A guy in the club turned up and started rigging a boat of the same sort of performance alone. We took notice because we thought he was brave a bit mental taking one of those out in this wind. We had a blast but the wind kept increasing. We had a pretty gnarly capsize due to an equipment failure. My toe strap broke (helm) and our 420 binned it to windward with my crew still fully extended on the trapeze. He took in a lungful of water on that capsize which had horrible effects over the season but he was OK at the time. After that we decided to go back home. We ran back to the slipway but then we became aware we hadn't see the other boat for a while. We elected to sail out into middle of the river and see if we could see him. We eventually saw him about a half mile down the coast with his dinghy banging against the concrete walkway on the promenade. He looked like he was in trouble. We sailed over to him and my crew asked if he could jump out and try and help. I was nervous given the wind strength but he duly did and I sailed up and down reaching where I could balance the boat with just my weight. Next thing the inshore Lifeboat arrived and proceeded to rescue the man and my crew and get them back to shore. The Life boat crew asked me If I could get home safely on my own. It was an Upwind beat in a 2 man Trapeze racing dinghy alone in a storm and I swallowed my pride and said no - I'd like help. The best sailor in the club who also volunteered for RNLI (lifeboat) got on my boat and helmed it up to the slipway with No drama at all. The skill displayed that day to me let me know that although my boat handling was decent it was no where near where it needed to be. The skill graph is your typical steepening parabolic graph. I've seen an example of this in our ownership of an Laser 4000. At first it was an animal to sail. We capsized constantly. After about 4 years we could sail up the estuary in crazy high winds over about an hour against the wind and then hoist the biggest sail in addition to the two others and just blast back to the slipway in about ten minutes . I would not have thought possible for us 4 years back. For clarity we are not in any way competitive in the L4K. We're massively underweight but the fact that we've tamed this thing that was out to kill us from the word go feels like an achievement. The best are so much higher than those even those considered experts; it's unreal. That's why what they do seems impossible for us mere mortals. There's something about these people that raises them above what you'd think is possible. It's a drive for perfection taken to the Nth degree. F1 drivers are just the pinnacle of this phenomenon IMHO. Luv and Peace.
Still not great at trail braking but this has taken off 7 seconds off my time on Mt Akina downhill on AC. (mountain pass with 40ish corners) Thank you!
There are a lot of informations I already knew by instinct/experience, but now I have something to work on to fine-tune my braking depending of the car I drive. Truly, thank you for this video and all others. Cheers!
This is something that I practiced for years on my motorcycle, in the beginning is very hard and counter intuitive because fear and old habits are soooo strongly inserted in brain... After a while it comes naturally, especially because it helped me understand that smooth is fast.
I saved 3 seconds per lap in the Nürburgring in acc just by learning to avoid the second mistake (learned by my self just a few days ago). such a huge difference.
Driving a stock 1993 Formula Firebird with horrific understeer at Nelson Ledges OH, had to apply insane amounts of brake into tight corner exiting onto main straight - the car would not turn in. Charging deeper and deeper into corner, I finally was getting the car balanced with severe braking when the car when into a violent lateral wheel hop. Factory built tremendous understeer into this model obviously for safety concerns. The 1998 Z28 however had none of these problems and was fun to drive on a track day.
I am a PCars player and it is incredible how accurate is the feeling you describe around 2.20, the tail breaking is such a difficult thing to master (at least in sim, Lol) as I can only do it right sometimes it is that moment you feel Gee that was good... Fucking perfect class, Thanks again for the opportunity to access this content this is one of the channels that make me come to UA-cam.
It makes sense that the accelerator and brake pedals are not on/off switches but analog dials that are not mutually exclusive but used together for maximum grip. I've experienced this in sim (fwiw) but not yet accomplished on a physical track, but I will be improving this season.
Getting the hang of trail braking has improved my track day laps substantially, mostly in the slow corners. Although, I sometimes wonder if I’m better getting off the brakes early at faster corners (eg Druids at Oulton). The video I would like to see made is how tyre pressures affect the car and how to set them. It is a dark art that I don’t understand and would be useful for sim, track day and race drivers.
I also had the Problem of "overdoing" trailbraking, and slowed too much down for the corner. Sometimes you can open the brakes earlier than you think, for a faster entry speed, while rolling through the apex. Always depends on the corner.
I taught myself how to did this at 10 years old in a field with an Austin Maxi. I perfected it over about 10 runs and was happily in a nice controled 4 wheel drift at 60 mph when the hydrolastic suspension burst and sent me spinning off. I thought I was the only one doing this until I saw lewis hamilton doing this 12 years later in 2007.
Super interesting to compare trail braking on 4 wheels vs 2. Its cool to see that Time on Throttle is still the name of the game no matter what sort of vehicle you are taking around a track!
Brilliant! Been waiting for a video like that. Great stuff! Will try to convert some of that in my (sim) driving. Also, seeing that Brands Hatch footage: Would love to know how exactly to tackle that darn first corner. ;-)
I've actually never seen a good explanation on trail braking till now. 👍🏼 I've heard about it for year's and didn't have a clue. So in a nut shell you're keeping the suspension loaded going into a turn and slowing down weight transfer.😉
I believe that the best thing to do is practice these at slow speeds. I drive the scenic route in my car (M3) from work with plenty of curves. 80 mile ride. At the speed limit. Trail breaking is fun. I respect and commend all of us watching these videos. Safe drives !
Effectively it's always about the correct application of the brakes that should hopefully feel instinctual, when you figure out the balance of a car. This is where mid engined comes in. Far easier to feel the weight balance of a car through the seat and then correctly apply brakes like a magician's wand. It's measuring this at split seconds at high speed (on a real track) that makes it challenging. You have to bypass fear and focus on how the car's balance is transferring. Karting (on a decent track) is a great place to start learning this type of thing!
its interesting to see this topic for four wheeled vehicles but trail braking is often used by motorcyclists to create the exact effects on both track and street which is to use the brakes to decelerate but also to poise and balance the motorcycle to allow its maximum agility through a turn, shifting weight and allowing progressive change in weight to make the turn with confidence
Scott, your insight and coaching is amazing. I don't even race, but like most, I wish I could afford it. Non the less its fascinating to learn the various techniques of going fast. Thanks for sharing.
Nice broadcast. Easy to understand. Riding motorcycles and having vehicles without anti-lock systems may help with the sensitivity to weight transfer and brake 'feel'.
Interesting stuff! Jackie Stewart always used to say how you come off the brakes is more important than how you get on them, and he was right. Of course with left foot braking, trail braking can take all kinds of different dimensions. You can make a car understeer quite easily with throttle overlap on left foot braking (assuming it’s a RWD car). Depending on the rear lower wishbone inclination too you can make the rear of a car squat with trail braking, because the reactive torque through the suspension upright forces the lower wishbone into bump, not droop. And of course a lot of these effects you can tune out with damper bump and rebound settings too. I think the key is a consistent style that you can fine tune. An inconsistent technique is very hard to work with. The other thing that’s interesting to watch is the GT3 cars - look at their technique into tight hairpins and it tears the rule book up completely and is totally different to a single seater technique. They turn in very early, brake very hard and late, deliberately overshoot the first apex and let the front end wash out, then rotate the car and accelerate hard. The effectively lengthen the straight before and after it, but make more of a corner out of it. Look at their technique at Druids at Brands Hatch and it’s unlike anything you’ll see in a single seater...
You should also do a video about how important throttle control is directly after trail braking too...NO COASTING ALLOWED... I see so many people trail brake, then wait wait and wait to hit the gas; yet, if they just went from brake directly to even 10% throttle and hold, then they would increase cornering speed dramatically.
Good to see a new video like this. I've learned I can't feel this in a sim aswell as real life. The Sim shows the time gained but harder to repeat cause every turn is slightly different. On the track in a real car I'm better we at trail braking when needed. Cause every corner at least for me is not a trail braking corner. At least to as much
I just got my sim racing rig set up and getting it dialed in. My lap times aren't too far off of the number 1 qualifying in my race, and are very consistent, so I'm excited to learn trail braking because I'm guilty of hard straight line braking and then just up and letting off of the brakes. Never thought about the balance of the car and simply thought the car sucked because it would understeer off of the track :). I'm excited to see how much time I can pick up.
Wow, to think some kind gentlemen would actually devolve so many golden nuggets for free. Unfortunately, I need to properly multitask clutch and left foot multitasking before I can get into trail braking. Once I learn this, I can't wait to surprise my friends!
applying these while playing driveclub on hardcore mode. probably the absolute best driving experience, its not full sim but god damn that game is special. the apex hybrid of simcade.
no ABS on a controller pad is already dangerous, yet I'm masochist enough to try trail braking whenever I'm motivated.. gonna have to write some stuff down to perfect it, but I like the challenge thanks for the tips
This was so helpful. I sim race and VRS was showing my braking and acceleration points and my drive-lines are super close to a "perfect lap" but my times are seconds off. The discrepancy is that I'm having to turn the wheel so much more than their ideal examples and I couldn't figure out why. It makes since that I'm not shifting the weight with my brake pressure correctly, even if I'm stepping on and off it at the right time.
thanks for the amazing video's and tips I'm slowly going through them and learning stuff as I go. But I appreciate all the time and effort you have put into this. Cheers
This is really helpful!! Now I finally realised what Lewis was doing in the GTSPORT time trial. Tried a lot of ways to catch his pace but just simply can’t. Gonna try this technique tomorrow. Thx for the video. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I think the biggest two points here are learning a car's balance and adjusting lap by lap. I get up to speed pretty quick on new tracks by adjusting and finding my marks my first few laps, feeling out the balance of the car, then finding the limit. It's not an exact science, everyone has, essentially, they're own "fingerprint" on their driving style, but it's all in learning how to feel all 4 corners of the car.
Interesting, this is how I instinctively drove my NA Miata back in the 90s. I thought it felt good and turned in really well under braking but just thought it was the benefit of being smooth with my inputs like when I rode my street bike.
I think is absolutely amazing that some people are watching this for sim racing and some for real life.
Really shows how far sim racing has come in the last decade or so. Legit, real life techniques can be applied in the same ways in the sim to the same effect.
Andrew Branson yeah thats so cool
@@andrewbranson8539 GPL came out in 1998!
exactly. Or even for both, but racing a plain Clio diesel is just part of my imagination :D
Watching this becauce I have nothing else to do
I'm finally reaching the point that I know enough about racing to know that I know nothing about racing. Man this is hard.
dude this was exactly what i was thinking lmao
He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool...shun him.
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is willing...teach him.
He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep...awaken him.
He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise...follow him.
It just means that you are getting better, now you are in the "humility valley", you just left the "hill of stupidity" because you know more than before so now you are aware of your limits. It is an important step to get better.
Same bro 😭😂
Same😂
I keep telling my mom she's leaving time on the track. But she still doesn't listen and I'm late and in a bad mood by the time she drops me off at school.
I don't why she just can't use the whole street and follow the race lines. Bummer man
@@eric6rock Exactly, maybe she will listen to you.
who doesnt hate driving with his momma lol
“Why don’t you hit the apex mom! You destroyed the line!”
@AnchorBait Hilarious! Thanks for this :D
When i got asetto corsa competizione, i always instantly lift of the brake and always got some horrible times and after a few hours I "accidentally" trail braked and my eyes where opened to a whole nother world of smoothness
There's actually a separate channel for simracing. Don't use this method in ACC. The maneuver for Brake/steering input for trail braking is reversed.
@@MrDeapGamingMedia ?
At 2:13, to trailbrake you have to come off the brake a bit before you turn in. In ACC you turn in & after you can come off the brake. Every sim have their learning curve with trail braking, although the important point is at 5:45 where you have to reverse engineering which apply very well to the sim.
@@MrDeapGamingMedia So basically you have to brake hard and then slowly come off or the other way. In F1 its like i told you but i dont know about gt3
@@MrDeapGamingMedia mate you get around everywhere whether it's on steam or any simracing page your name is there lol do you work??
Ill remember this when driving my corolla to the mall
Gotta get there when Cinnabon opens
Trail breaking is literally something you should be doing on a motorbike regardless of speed lol
I'll do the same with my twingo. Gotta keep that nose down
In all seriousness, having racing skills in your arsenal is a good thing for everyday driving. You don't need to be racing for a more stable corner to be a good thing.
@@reaganharder1480 in particular in snowy/icey places. In those conditions you dont have to being going fast at all to be at your cars traction limits, in which case using these types of technics can help get you to the mall safely when it opens in the middle of winter
I feel like learning to trail brake will be like when learning to carve while skiing. At first you don't really know how to do it but when you do a good turn you realise how much better it is.
Exactly. Carving and track racing are more similar than one might think. Everything is in the balance and the feel of grip you have. Combining these two, make you excel in either sports.
I learned that with motorcycling. The brake in a straight line saying while true is also misleading
@@nikolamladenoff3516 While partly true. It's not quite that simple. The best results from carving(In skiing) come from pressurizing up onto the apex. The best results for cornergrip(racing) come from getting the downforce curve to hold into the corner apex. Both have the pressure focussed on the apex of the corner obviously to make the corner as tight as possible. Without overshooting the grip of the medium. in the case of the ski's it's based mainly on the ski-wax and ski material and the density of the snow. with tires on the break and tiregrip value's related to the surface of the circuit.
Bit of a longer explanation but think it informs you better of what is involved.
@@alleycatlordoflunes9689 in case of skiing it's the matter of putting enough pressure on the edges of your skis and finding the perfect angle between them and the slope. Tires are the same - the fastest way through a corner is with enough pressure (aero downforce in this case) and perfect angle (camber).
So yeah, the ideas behind it are pretty much the same.
@@mikoajpiatek6716 That's the partly true part yes ;)
It's difficult to do this on a PlayStation 4 controller.
Not really, especially if ure using the triggers. Just keep practicing and you're fingers with become more sensitive to the trigger travel
Just feel for the vibration in the triggers. It's way easier to feel lock up there.
Curse_Z34 why do you guys play sims if you dont have a wheel?
@@ActNasty5 because not everyone has or can afford a wheel...but that shouldn't rob someone the enjoyment of playing a sim racer, what a stuck up thing to say..🙄
Keith W. Not really. Ive played racing games my whole life. Finally just got into “sim” since i can finally afford it. Its a simulation of actually driving. My favorite racing “game” is forza horizon 4 with a controller.
Started watching from sim driver perspective and thought which sim was the image from, Lol...
LOL! Same here
Andre Rajkovic hahaha me too
@slam zamillion yeah the repair car option is behind a big paywall.
Those images can't be from a sim because the car's moving too naturally and realistic. Fan boys can talk all they want but at the limit, most sims are shit and not natural.
@@vincer9960 Everyone is joking around AND HERE COMES THE PARTY CRASHER!
Nearly 100k subs. There's a reason for that. Easily the best sim racing 'help' channel on youtube!
sevenbelow1 Me too! Even Jonathan Palmer said every time he goes through Paddock he thinks he could have done it faster 😃 Such a complicated corner with so many oddities: a crest near braking/turn in, a drop away after apex, a compression on the exit, and the possibility of a sneaky bit of extra tarmac on the way in where the access road crosses. Oh, and there are at least two valid approaches too. So much to think about! Plus, are exit gains worth it given how short the run to Druids is, and how much the hill shortens the braking. So complicated!
@@RobManser77 I'd like to second that, superb content,
Both here, and the sim channel
In case you weren't aware, he has a dedicated sim racing channel now too. This one will keep to real-world racing.
Whisky Canuck yeah thanks buddy in subscribed to both. I take them as one now.
sevenbelow1: Same without the word “sim” in there.
For a long time I was under the impression that trailbraking was something you only did on gravel to get the rear out. Your videos have helped shave so many seconds off my laptimes and get much more feel for the weight transfer.
So, the most common trail braking mistake is that people don't do it...?
Apparently Martin Bundle never does. Whenever he talks the TV viewers through a lap around an F1 circuit he always says: "Get your braking done in a straight line."
@Spyder Steve That's true, of course, but don't you think everyone watching this video knows that? So what Martin Bundle should say is "get your heaviest braking done before you have to turn into a corner, and then trail off on the brake pressure as you add steering lock". But instead he gives the impression that braking should cease completely before turn in. Trail braking may not be appropriate for all corners of a track, but if F1 drivers didn't trail brake Valteri Bottas wouldn't be locking up his inside front wheel so frequently.
That is so true... I was one of those :)
@@gort8203 I’m pretty sure because it was slower with their diffs and gearboxes were quite agricultural . Probably more because the manual boxes with clutch and h pattern . Nowadays it’s how you summarised it
As a driving coach myself I don’t think I could’ve put it better, when I was watching your videos as a junior racer I didn’t fully appreciate how well and carefully it’s explained. Top stuff
Every time I watch one of Scott's videos I am always amazed that someone is prepared to freely share such gems and secrets to getting better on track! Priceless!
I now realise that I am not braking efficiently going in to corners but I have a question Scott, from your description of the correct technique, am I right in thinking that to trail brake effectively you really need to be able to left foot brake? Something else I need to learn to do well! Thanks for all the great coaching!
Left foot braking is tough to get down at first, because most people go at it with their clutch leg instead of using their ankle.
A good way to train your left foot is to use it in a parking lot for both gas and brake. After it feels comfortable, give it a try when you have plenty of space on track.
@SteveRabbits: You don’t need to left-foot brake, but it does help in many situations. It can make it easier to transition back to the throttle. It’s especially good for trail-braking into a fast sweeping turn (like turn 3 at VIR).
@@981porsche3 left footbraking is absolutely essential for economy of motion and for no deadspot in weight transfer. There are also plenty of times where using brakes and gas at the same time is the fastest technique. Using one foot is a tremendous disadvantage
SteveRabbits - trailbreaking hasn't anything to do with left foot breaking.
Trailbreaking is about the entry of a corner. Left foot breaking is about having your rigt foot ready to get on the throttle early to get a good exit from the corner.
Toe-heel-ing is another technique that is the most efficient when you get the hang of it, allowing you to breake late and often into the corner (a neutral or a slight understeered car is prefered) and then get on the throttle just after apex.
Breaking into the corner will give you more time to adjust your driving and to start breaking much.later without locking yor front wheels. This in combination with a good exit will affect your laptime massively.
Racing season is on. Let's get out on the tracks!
Trail braking and left foot braking are two totally different things. You can trail brake with your right foot as well as your left foot. But, with left foot braking, your right foot stays on the throttle pedal, allowing you to get on the gas much faster.
In series like F1, every millisecond of acceleration counts. Left foot braking is great for series where the clutch is coupled to the shifter paddles and you don't need to use your left foot for a clutch pedal.
Stop telling them all the secrets! I like being faster than these people! Great video regardless
I kind of got in touch with trail braking when I would brake very late and pump the brake to find some grip to turn the car into the corner. That pumping got more and more fluent and is now smoothening out to a continuous curve. It allows me to brake later and gain more control while turning into corners. One video that inspired me to trail-brake is Kevin Estre lapping the Nordschleife in a Porsche with Misha Charoudin. He trail-brakes into foxhole very nicely in that video.
This is a very thorough explanation Scott, nice one. I find that this is easier in a vehicle in the real world than in a sim. In sim I'm struggling to get the right point where I release the brake enough to keep the car level. It's easier to sense this in a car in the real world as the concept of weight distribution and balance comes to life more.
In a sim, you sit in a room in front of a monitor so you miss all the g forces. You can just rely on what you see. That’s why is so different.
late comment but you need a load cell brake pedal, sim brakes operate on an accelerometer
Finally someone who explains trail braking properly and is actually correct too. Been hearing so much rubbish on this subject over the years.. Thanks Scott.
Hey man, just want to send ya some appreciation, what you do for us on YT for free in very valueble, Im new to sim racing as growing up in my area racing was never a thought let alone an option. So these strategies and concepts ive heard of and maybe understand WHAT they are, but no clue HOW to perform and execute. You have a skill to explain things in a simple way that i can wrap my head around, considering i have little expirience, thats impressive. Im sure almost everyone can learn something from your videos, vet or beginners. My trail breaking is garbage, but with this, i have a starting point, and ill keep coming back to this video as my technique builds... anyway and i have the feel for it now, but i have a long way to go.... much respect
I start going to work when I was 18 54 miles every day to the city. I lived far and had to drive thru 20 miles of canyons that helped me shape my cornering and I thought I was smart and quick for doing this. Turns out it's a whole art. I still drive those canyons to this day 11 years later. I just like cars so much more now. Nice video. Can't believe there is so much science behind it all.
This channel is making me want to get into racing. I've never seen any explanations of the techniques as in depth as this channel
Great tips Nigel! The biggest jump I made in corner entry speed was once I learned how to keep the car on the limit by using trail braking to balance the car. Getting comfortable putting the car into a tiny bit of oversteer on entry allowed me to learn the proper amount of brake pressure to hold after turn in starts. It really requires a delicate touch on the brakes as you said!
I spun a radical in a harpin on a track in the dry....the trouble is when your learning on slicks for the first time, you have absolutely no idea how much grip the car really has. You have to leave road driving in the car park and start from scratch. Racing radicals taught me a lot about safety on roads that you would never get from a driving instructor. It is worth every cent....
Want to like this video again - its such a good description of the basics
wow what an explanation on trail braking, I always did it in my car on the public road, just not on the limit, I can also do it on my motorcycle, but it is a bit more tricky, because of the lean angle the bike has, but this is exactly how you do it, I seen a lap from max verstappen, with the view from his car with the gas and brake pressure telemetries in his car and this is exactly how you do it,
before the corner , you do the hard breaking , also by gently increasing break pressure, then after making the turn, you slowly gently release break pressure on corner entry, then you again gently apply more gas to accelerate out of the corner, you steer out of the corner by accelerating making the circle bigger, you steer into the corner by decelerating making the circle smaller.
On a motorcycle, the gas and brake combination is even more subtle, you have 2 fingers on the front brake and 2 fingers on the gas handle, the proces is , adjust gear, slowly gently roll of the gas, while you slowly gently roll of the gas, you slowly gently pull the break lever , and build op break pressure,, when you accelerate out of the corner, you do the same thing in reverse, some say when you accelerate out of the corner on a bike, you still carry 1 % brake
Now to do this on the limit it take tremendous amount of skill, so on the public road never do it on the limit, on the public road you can use trail braking technique to go faster through a corner, but you don't wanna be so close to the limit as on the track, so on the public road you can use trail trail braking not to go faster through a corner but safer at the same pace. In stead of engine breaking before the corner you use the breaks, you start breaking with the breaks at about the same time you would normally just release gas, and breke by engine breaking, the you slowly, gently release break pressure as you approach corner entry, and carry just a little break while entering the corner and the gently accelerate out of it.
The funny thing is, this public road trail braking that I just described, is how most student drivers would do it, (that can operate the controls of a car) had their instructor not told them, to just release gas before the corner and only use the brake if the deceleration of the engine breaking is insufficient and do all the breaking before the corner, people do that intuitively when nobody tells them that this should not be done and/ or is dangerous, then later on more experienced drivers that are like stubborn people start doing it again, after they had to brake in a corner a bunch of time, they go that just BS that you cant brake in a corner, they just know you can't break really hard in a corner, the only thing these "beginners" usually dont do is accelerating out of the corner
Extremely well explained and demonstrated. About 30 seconds in I was all, "Oh yeah, I've been totally flubbing that, haven't I?" But the follow-up detail was extremely helpful. Many thanks!
Scott, Another great video. Thank you. Lots to digest. I think braking is probably one of the key areas to faster laptimes. As a HPDE instructor, I always have my students focus on brake release. Smooth = control = fast. But this part on trail braking, specifically, is a bit counterintuitive: If you're oversteering (slightly), brake less. If you're understeering, brake a bit more. I get it, but had never really thought of it in this way. It's about weight shift and balance. Brilliant. Can't wait to really give it a try.
Perfect advice for me, I've been battling with cornering when driving Porsches in Forza - I'll give this a go
The irony of trail breaking, is the fact that most do it, but don't know they are actually already doing it, organically/instinctively...!
Good vid brother. 🏁🇬🇧
Everybody : oh that's sound great, imma try it later on pedal box
Me : *cries over my keyboard
rip same
Controller gang
UA-cam how to make your own sim pedals. There's even one on how to make a cheap set better.
Scott - this is fantastic! I've been racing for years without a coach and seemed to do well. Watching these videos and learning what I've picked up being thoroughly explained now gives me even greater confidence that I'm on the right track. Especially racing the Jaguar XF... such a heavy car and weight transfer is ridiculous! Less brake pressure and throttle control just before the turn. Can't wait to put it in to more practice! Cheers, Scott!
Because of Driver61 I lose alot of money... so first i bought a Radical SR1 and because of Driver61 tutorials i manage to shave off my time so quickly that im now driving pretty close to people who have been driving for several years in my team. I been doing track driving only for 2.5 months soon 3 months.
So since the SR1 became little bit "not so fun" - i know have to purchase SR3 - This is all Driver61's fault to make me so much faster so much earlier than normal.. Damn you... ( for those who did not understand its a sarcasm here) - Great content mr. mansell - i wish you was in Korea and i could get coaching from you.
You explain the content so easy so i can actually go back to simulator - practice it, watch - sim, rewind - watch and sim it again until it sits right and than i apply it to my Radical in real track.
I was wondering why my car was oversteering during breaking, i've improved my lap times now, thanks man!
Sorry to hear about your breaking car.
Understanding the friction circle for sure, as others have mentioned. But for me, it's more important to get your head around how incremental weight transfer affects this circle of grip throughout the corner...it's all about manipulating the balance of the car as you approach your limit...and how to achieve max grip without sacrificing control. Great channel Scott, subscribed years ago.
Thank you so much for sharing this! Often times I run into so many local "experts" who are so bigheaded and would not talk in details about techniques like this...
Great video. My first time on track I was trail braking and the instructor told me not to do that, but I kept doing it as it's some kind of habit.
Thanks Scott. Spent the afternoon putting this into practice on a sim and it made a huge difference.
Best video I have watch on YT regarding trail braking. Thanks 🙏
This is perfect, I just drive for fun by myself. No coaches so really helps. It it’s a bit harder to find the limit in breaking vs throttle but the idea of there not being a hard point to get on throttle and that we just need to feel the car weight being balanced and adjust accordingly seems like a far better way to find the limit. Thanks
Missing these types of videos Scott! They've helped me a great deal with track driving and karting. Its also nice to re watch now and then and help me assess my recent technique. Hope we will get some more of these at some point! Still liking the new content though, keep it up👍
This is amazing learned a lot from this short video
Congratulations on 100,000+ Subscribers!
Excellent description of what trail braking is and how to apply it to your race pace. Two thumbs up.
This channel is a gem, the explanations are clear and detailed, and it's really helping me to improve my race craft. Keep up the great work!
Jackie Stewart said he won a World Championship because of how he was able to get OFF the brakes better than his competitors. So it's pretty important...
It can be tough to figure this stuff out on a sim where you're not getting G cues from actually going around corners or accelerating or braking or any combination thereof. Try doing it on a motorcycle or, better yet, a bicycle. That'll REALLY get you familiar with the concept, because if you get it wrong you're liable to get some road rash.
It's sort of like the opposite of avoiding spinning by not getting on the gas while the wheel is cranked over; you don't want to carry too much brake while the wheel is cranked around and you NEVER want to indulge in harsh, abrupt control inputs. When racing, you should be close to the adhesion limits of your tires pretty much all the time, so whacking the throttle open or stomping on the brakes or suddenly yanking the steering wheel can really throw your car into a departure from controlled driving.
That's why the old saying says, "Slower [that is, smoother,] is faster."
I've been a sim racing gamers, and for some time my own crooked version of trail braking is utilizing that front grip at the end of straight line braking, then drastically turn in, creates understeer in the front tyres, and slide through that corner, some of the time it worked, but it's really not consistent, after I tried your method, it became consistent enough to do it almost on every turn, and it's been great.
I sailed sailboats competitively at club level for many years and It always came home to me just how detailed and refined the winners were. They were setting up their rigs according to weather conditions and they changed their strategies according to weather and tide.
I was a decent sailor sailing a very challenging racing dinghy and the same as the best in the club would he would always leave me for dead.
A few years earlier sailing a slightly slower racing dinghy similar
We turned up at the beach and it blowing a hooly but we decided we could cope so we went out.
At the same time A guy in the club turned up and started rigging a boat of the same sort of performance alone.
We took notice because we thought he was brave a bit mental taking one of those out in this wind.
We had a blast but the wind kept increasing. We had a pretty gnarly capsize due to an equipment failure. My toe strap broke (helm) and our 420 binned it to windward with my crew still fully extended on the trapeze.
He took in a lungful of water on that capsize which had horrible effects over the season but he was OK at the time.
After that we decided to go back home.
We ran back to the slipway but then we became aware we hadn't see the other boat for a while. We elected to sail out into middle of the river and see if we could see him.
We eventually saw him about a half mile down the coast with his dinghy banging against the concrete walkway on the promenade. He looked like he was in trouble.
We sailed over to him and my crew asked if he could jump out and try and help.
I was nervous given the wind strength but he duly did and I sailed up and down reaching where I could balance the boat with just my weight.
Next thing the inshore Lifeboat arrived and proceeded to rescue the man and my crew and get them back to shore.
The Life boat crew asked me If I could get home safely on my own.
It was an Upwind beat in a 2 man Trapeze racing dinghy alone in a storm and I swallowed my pride and said no - I'd like help.
The best sailor in the club who also volunteered for RNLI (lifeboat) got on my boat and helmed it up to the slipway with No drama at all.
The skill displayed that day to me let me know that although my boat handling was decent it was no where near where it needed to be.
The skill graph is your typical steepening parabolic graph.
I've seen an example of this in our ownership of an Laser 4000. At first it was an animal to sail. We capsized constantly. After about 4 years we could sail up the estuary in crazy high winds over about an hour against the wind and then hoist the biggest sail in addition to the two others and just blast back to the slipway in about ten minutes . I would not have thought possible for us 4 years back.
For clarity we are not in any way competitive in the L4K. We're massively underweight but the fact that we've tamed this thing that was out to kill us from the word go feels like an achievement.
The best are so much higher than those even those considered experts; it's unreal.
That's why what they do seems impossible for us mere mortals. There's something about these people that raises them above what you'd think is possible.
It's a drive for perfection taken to the Nth degree.
F1 drivers are just the pinnacle of this phenomenon IMHO.
Luv and Peace.
Still not great at trail braking but this has taken off 7 seconds off my time on Mt Akina downhill on AC. (mountain pass with 40ish corners) Thank you!
i love yamaha champions riding school’s way of describing the same thing. it’s so good
I absolutely love what you are doing for the sim racing community. Thank you for your wisdom and passion.
There are a lot of informations I already knew by instinct/experience, but now I have something to work on to fine-tune my braking depending of the car I drive. Truly, thank you for this video and all others. Cheers!
This is something that I practiced for years on my motorcycle, in the beginning is very hard and counter intuitive because fear and old habits are soooo strongly inserted in brain... After a while it comes naturally, especially because it helped me understand that smooth is fast.
I saved 3 seconds per lap in the Nürburgring in acc just by learning to avoid the second mistake (learned by my self just a few days ago).
such a huge difference.
It’s amazing how sim racing stimulates weight shift so well. I actually understood everything he mentioned because of virtual experience
Driving a stock 1993 Formula Firebird with horrific understeer at Nelson Ledges OH, had to apply insane amounts of brake into tight corner exiting onto main straight - the car would not turn in. Charging deeper and deeper into corner, I finally was getting the car balanced with severe braking when the car when into a violent lateral wheel hop. Factory built tremendous understeer into this model obviously for safety concerns. The 1998 Z28 however had none of these problems and was fun to drive on a track day.
Great videos and helping me out with my sim racing for sure! Not sure why anyone would dislike this!
I personally haven't been in a racecar or seen one as a matter of fact , and my sim racing setup is just a keyboard but I love all this content ❤️❤️
I am a PCars player and it is incredible how accurate is the feeling you describe around 2.20, the tail breaking is such a difficult thing to master (at least in sim, Lol) as I can only do it right sometimes it is that moment you feel Gee that was good... Fucking perfect class, Thanks again for the opportunity to access this content this is one of the channels that make me come to UA-cam.
Thank you so much!! I learned a great deal about trail braking and keeping the balance of the car through the corner.
It makes sense that the accelerator and brake pedals are not on/off switches but analog dials that are not mutually exclusive but used together for maximum grip. I've experienced this in sim (fwiw) but not yet accomplished on a physical track, but I will be improving this season.
Getting the hang of trail braking has improved my track day laps substantially, mostly in the slow corners. Although, I sometimes wonder if I’m better getting off the brakes early at faster corners (eg Druids at Oulton). The video I would like to see made is how tyre pressures affect the car and how to set them. It is a dark art that I don’t understand and would be useful for sim, track day and race drivers.
I also had the Problem of "overdoing" trailbraking, and slowed too much down for the corner. Sometimes you can open the brakes earlier than you think, for a faster entry speed, while rolling through the apex. Always depends on the corner.
Team o neil rally school have a video whom explain this, you should take a look and see how it goes
I taught myself how to did this at 10 years old in a field with an Austin Maxi.
I perfected it over about 10 runs and was happily in a nice controled 4 wheel drift at 60 mph when the hydrolastic suspension burst and sent me spinning off.
I thought I was the only one doing this until I saw lewis hamilton doing this 12 years later in 2007.
Damn I found 0.8 where I tough I couldn´t get more. That´s impressive. Thumbs up!
Super interesting to compare trail braking on 4 wheels vs 2. Its cool to see that Time on Throttle is still the name of the game no matter what sort of vehicle you are taking around a track!
One of the many things I love about bikes is that you have independent braking front to rear.
Brilliant! Been waiting for a video like that. Great stuff! Will try to convert some of that in my (sim) driving.
Also, seeing that Brands Hatch footage: Would love to know how exactly to tackle that darn first corner. ;-)
I've actually never seen a good explanation on trail braking till now. 👍🏼 I've heard about it for year's and didn't have a clue. So in a nut shell you're keeping the suspension loaded going into a turn and slowing down weight transfer.😉
I believe that the best thing to do is practice these at slow speeds. I drive the scenic route in my car (M3) from work with plenty of curves. 80 mile ride. At the speed limit. Trail breaking is fun. I respect and commend all of us watching these videos. Safe drives !
Effectively it's always about the correct application of the brakes that should hopefully feel instinctual, when you figure out the balance of a car. This is where mid engined comes in. Far easier to feel the weight balance of a car through the seat and then correctly apply brakes like a magician's wand. It's measuring this at split seconds at high speed (on a real track) that makes it challenging. You have to bypass fear and focus on how the car's balance is transferring. Karting (on a decent track) is a great place to start learning this type of thing!
its interesting to see this topic for four wheeled vehicles but trail braking is often used by motorcyclists to create the exact effects on both track and street which is to use the brakes to decelerate but also to poise and balance the motorcycle to allow its maximum agility through a turn, shifting weight and allowing progressive change in weight to make the turn with confidence
great advice , simply explained and well brought
Thats an awesome explanation and i finally understand the real purpose of trail braking :)
Scott, your insight and coaching is amazing. I don't even race, but like most, I wish I could afford it. Non the less its fascinating to learn the various techniques of going fast. Thanks for sharing.
Those are really awesome tips!! Thank you so much
I was watching this for sim racing blown away but how realistic the graphics we're on the clips before I realized...
These videos are a fantastic resource for improved technique!
Nice broadcast. Easy to understand.
Riding motorcycles and having vehicles without anti-lock systems may help with the sensitivity to weight transfer and brake 'feel'.
Jesus this one video just shifted my understanding of what trail braking is really about. Sorry for the pun, but I'm being honest.
You're describing what trail braking was I realized that is exactly how I went fast on corners on my motorcycle
I feel I should pay you for this pro tip, gonna help so much, thanks man!!
This is a must watch for sim racers. I found an extra 8/10ths at the redbull ring after watching this.
Interesting stuff! Jackie Stewart always used to say how you come off the brakes is more important than how you get on them, and he was right. Of course with left foot braking, trail braking can take all kinds of different dimensions. You can make a car understeer quite easily with throttle overlap on left foot braking (assuming it’s a RWD car). Depending on the rear lower wishbone inclination too you can make the rear of a car squat with trail braking, because the reactive torque through the suspension upright forces the lower wishbone into bump, not droop. And of course a lot of these effects you can tune out with damper bump and rebound settings too. I think the key is a consistent style that you can fine tune. An inconsistent technique is very hard to work with.
The other thing that’s interesting to watch is the GT3 cars - look at their technique into tight hairpins and it tears the rule book up completely and is totally different to a single seater technique. They turn in very early, brake very hard and late, deliberately overshoot the first apex and let the front end wash out, then rotate the car and accelerate hard. The effectively lengthen the straight before and after it, but make more of a corner out of it. Look at their technique at Druids at Brands Hatch and it’s unlike anything you’ll see in a single seater...
Ah, that is one of the biggest mistakes I'm making with my sim racing. Thank you for this valuable information.
You should also do a video about how important throttle control is directly after trail braking too...NO COASTING ALLOWED...
I see so many people trail brake, then wait wait and wait to hit the gas; yet, if they just went from brake directly to even 10% throttle and hold, then they would increase cornering speed dramatically.
Good to see a new video like this. I've learned I can't feel this in a sim aswell as real life. The Sim shows the time gained but harder to repeat cause every turn is slightly different. On the track in a real car I'm better we at trail braking when needed. Cause every corner at least for me is not a trail braking corner. At least to as much
I just got my sim racing rig set up and getting it dialed in. My lap times aren't too far off of the number 1 qualifying in my race, and are very consistent, so I'm excited to learn trail braking because I'm guilty of hard straight line braking and then just up and letting off of the brakes. Never thought about the balance of the car and simply thought the car sucked because it would understeer off of the track :). I'm excited to see how much time I can pick up.
Wow, to think some kind gentlemen would actually devolve so many golden nuggets for free. Unfortunately, I need to properly multitask clutch and left foot multitasking before I can get into trail braking. Once I learn this, I can't wait to surprise my friends!
applying these while playing driveclub on hardcore mode.
probably the absolute best driving experience, its not full sim but god damn that game is special. the apex hybrid of simcade.
no ABS on a controller pad is already dangerous, yet I'm masochist enough to try trail braking whenever I'm motivated.. gonna have to write some stuff down to perfect it, but I like the challenge
thanks for the tips
This was so helpful. I sim race and VRS was showing my braking and acceleration points and my drive-lines are super close to a "perfect lap" but my times are seconds off. The discrepancy is that I'm having to turn the wheel so much more than their ideal examples and I couldn't figure out why. It makes since that I'm not shifting the weight with my brake pressure correctly, even if I'm stepping on and off it at the right time.
Thanks for this! These tips made my 2 nightmares - Paddock Hill and Clark in Brands Hatch - much less scary.
thanks for the amazing video's and tips I'm slowly going through them and learning stuff as I go. But I appreciate all the time and effort you have put into this. Cheers
Excellent video! This is perfect advice, delivered clearly and concisely.
Very illustrative! Thank you for your guide!
Incredible how it helps in iRacing. Cheers mate!
This is really helpful!!
Now I finally realised what Lewis was doing in the GTSPORT time trial. Tried a lot of ways to catch his pace but just simply can’t. Gonna try this technique tomorrow.
Thx for the video. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
This is utterly fantastic. Thanks!
I think the biggest two points here are learning a car's balance and adjusting lap by lap. I get up to speed pretty quick on new tracks by adjusting and finding my marks my first few laps, feeling out the balance of the car, then finding the limit. It's not an exact science, everyone has, essentially, they're own "fingerprint" on their driving style, but it's all in learning how to feel all 4 corners of the car.
One of the best and shortest guides to understanding trailbraking.
Thank you is not enough for that.
The Divine Creator loves you very much. Thanks.
Interesting, this is how I instinctively drove my NA Miata back in the 90s. I thought it felt good and turned in really well under braking but just thought it was the benefit of being smooth with my inputs like when I rode my street bike.
Wish I had learned trail-braking earlier in my racing (both real life karting and sim racing)... this video is extremely informative!