I couldn't tell if you were, but just in case since everyone makes the same error....don't brake while you turn. Get all your braking and downshifting(if any) done BEFORE you turn. As soon as you start to turn in get off the brake and back onto the throttle with just enough gas to hold your speed, and as you are coming out of the turn roll back into the throttle.

And yeah, get used to operating across a large rpm range, as long as you're not getting under about 2,500rpm you're fine, especially in 2nd.

And since you're in a vert, if you plan on doing this regularly you might want to seriously consider a roll bar.

 

Thanks 67! I tried my best to not brake during turning. Sometimes I just couldn't avoid it as I was learning the proper speed to take turns and such.

 

Yeah, you have to get a feel for your car and find your braking zone. If you brake too late it turns into a big toilet bowl...too fast going into the turn to hold it so you have to brake...which causes you to understeer and have to brake more to avoid going wide, which creates more understeer.....all the while your braking effectiveness if being reduced by trying to turn.

Get a feel for your car in a turn without brakes though. Sometimes you'll find you enter a turn hot and on the brakes, and braking while turning creates a bunch of understeer...and even though it feels like you're going too fast, if you just let off the brakes, you take all that braking traction and immediately shift it to turning, and the car takes the turn better. So sometimes just letting off the brakes causes you to make a turn that you wouldn't if you stay on the brakes.

Cars handle WAAAAYYYY better if you just coast or cruise through a turn.

 

is that why trail braking is so effective then??? you brake till the apex of the corner, then throttle your way out. now i'm not saying stand on the brakes till the apex, i'm saying as you turn in, you slowly start getting off the brakes until the apex, where your foot is clean off the pedal but that's not really a concept anybody should really be trying until they are used to the limits of their car

 

Trail braking is good for passing since it lets you push ahead of the other car....if you're racing someone else. It's also VERY difficult to do properly. Regardless, tires only have limited traction available. It's used either 100% for steering, 100% for braking, or a mix of both. If you do both at the same time then you're neither braking nor steering at maximum ability. Trail braking robs some traction from turning in order to brake.

It works for some drivers with a very aggressive style of driving who dive hard into turns, but it's also really hard on tires and you're a lot more likely to lose control. And they don't corner any harder or faster...but it lets them muscle their way past traffic.

Keep in mind that Formula 1 drivers do not trail brake, they get totally off the brakes during turn in and basically cruise through the turn with minimal throttle to hold their speed. And they're pulling lateral accel upwards of 4.5-5.0g's. When they do trail brake, typically when passing going into a corner or if they get rambunctious, their lap times slow down.

It is an extremely good skill to have when racing against other cars though. Not something I'd recommend a novice driver go out and try though.