The one piece of advice that made the biggest difference

[Frimley111R]

What one piece advice have you received that made the biggest difference to the speed you could drive on track?

[E-bmw]

Easy.

Job #1 get instruction.

[Steve H]

Aside from the answer above , that's a really tricky one. I'm trying to think what single snippet makes the most difference.

How about; the slower your hands and feet move, the faster the car can go.

[StreetDragster]

I agree with get instruction, however in my experience the 20mins on each track day was useful.

"Position here, brake by this marshals box etc"

But when I went for longer instruction sessions, they actually told me how to look for the right stuff, so you could start working it out myself.

Thanks

[CaterhamBalders]

The best bit of advice I was given was about smoothness.

So often you feel like an absolute hero ragging the car, but all the time you're going sideways you're not going forwards...and you're scrubbing speed off. The smoother you are the faster and more in control you will be.

[tertius]

Look where you want to go.

[V8 FOU]

Don't give it the beans until you know you won't have to lift off.

Be ultra smooth with the throttle as "pumping" as many do will destabalise the car

[wellground]

Carrying speed through corners, but this is not something to learn until you are very confident and familiar with your car. It’s the change that can lead to a Big Bang if you become over confident.

[V8mate]

Brake, hard, in a straight line. And then turn.

[CABC]

more of an exercise: N Weald's high speed bend - gentle steering input, let the car do the work, do not use muscle!
"tipping the car" took on a meaning.

[Porsche911R]

V8mate said:

Brake, hard, in a straight line. And then turn.

Nope, most cars need a bit of trail braking.

it’s very hard to give the correct answer here as some people are clueless on track.

For a beginner , the basic racing line is key.

If you can drive ok, and under stand racing lines, they set up of the car is key, road cars don’t have enough camber etc.

Going out with a pro is the biggest of course, and I really mean a real racing driver. Not a basic instructor, imo there is a big void between the 2.

Every thing adds to a faster lap in no order below, But one would have to say real instruction then racing lines. The 1st will tell you the 2nd.

Balls to push 100%
Tyre pressures
Brake pads and fluid
Tyres brands
Racing lines
Instruction
Geo
Track time.

Some people cannot drive full stop and should take up Golf.

[V8mate]

Porsche911R said:

V8mate said:

Brake, hard, in a straight line. And then turn.

Nope, most cars need a bit of trail braking.

I didn't say that trail braking wasn't a track skill. But the thread is asking for a single piece of advice. And keeping braking as short and hard as possible, in a straight line, was certainly a game changer for someone coming from road driving. Which is what track days are all about.

[smiles1]

Relax!

[isaldiri]

tertius said:

Look where you want to go.

^ this.

[FWIW]

CABC said:

more of an exercise: N Weald's high speed bend - gentle steering input, let the car do the work, do not use muscle!
"tipping the car" took on a meaning.

^Carlimits. The best upgrade money I ever spent.

So many things have stuck with me since doing a ‘Walshy’ day; how to steer, understand balance, braking etc. 80% of trackdayers don’t properly understand these basics.

20min instructor sessions are overrated IMO...unless you’ve done nothing else to prepare yourself.

Oh, and use all of the track (generally).

[HustleRussell]

V8mate said:

Brake, hard, in a straight line. And then turn.

On the contrary I think the biggest difference I ever made was unlearning this fallacy. It was the most difficult change too after being beaten over the head with the ‘brake as hard as possible in a straight line’ stick for ages.

[james_gt3rs]

Biggest breakthrough for me was the fact that the brake and throttle make as much difference to the line as the steering and you need to link all 3 together to drive properly. Then the second breakthrough was to grip the wheel very lightly, so that when the car gets out of shape you let the steering correct itself and focus on teh pedals instead.

[jabbalad]

A bit of advice i usually give... Traction circles!

A lot of the time Stamping on the brakes with both feet isn't going to help at all, you need to load the front tyres and try and keep that a constant until the point you pick up the throttle. so if your seeing 1g longitudinal on the brakes, try and make it follow the 1g into Lateral without dropping down massively. (obviously this depends on car setup, but the principle remains the same whatever your driving)

Most tdo Instructor sessions arnt to get most from you, there more to keep you safe and give you reassurance if your new to the track. if you want to learn properly book a private instructor is what i would say.

[Steve H]

Might be worth remembering how appropriate 20 minute instruction sessions are to this thread. A good short session leaves you with one or two new ideas to try to develop as a part of your driving which is pretty much what the OP is asking for.

For sure you're going to learn more in a full day or a series of full days but it's almost guaranteed to be much less productive per minute or per £.

Not every short session would leave you with that light-bulb moment but for what they cost it's the cheapest way to get get the next level of improvement and keep progressing.

[/butIwouldsaythat ]

[CABC]

Steve H said:

Might be worth remembering how appropriate 20 minute instruction sessions are to this thread. A good short session leaves you with one or two new ideas to try to develop as a part of your driving which is pretty much what the OP is asking for.

For sure you're going to learn more in a full day or a series of full days but it's almost guaranteed to be much less productive per minute or per £.

Not every short session would leave you with that light-bulb moment but for what they cost it's the cheapest way to get get the next level of improvement and keep progressing.

[/butIwouldsaythat ]

I believe this could be the case.
a veteran of 50+ TDs I was thinking of approaching this year by getting lots of cheaper/free 20 min sessions.
My car is noisy! I'm going to say "let's forget talking during the session, maybe basic hand signals. but can we come in couple of mins early and you give me some real insight on what I can work on"

I still take serious coaching as well, but to get a few nuggets from different people could be enlightening. I'm not sure all the instructors at this level give the best advice, but caveat emptor and all that. Be open to many inputs and judge for oneself what works.