Brake Yourself Fool!

MotorTrend

10/4/2023

It creates the most G’s on a race track

Transcript

00:00 It generates the most G's on a racetrack.

00:03 What am I talking about?

00:04 Braking, of course.

00:12 And that's what we're talking about today

00:15 on The Racing Line.

00:29 But where do you brake?

00:31 Well, right here in the brake zone.

00:34 These braking markers give you a reference

00:37 so you'll know just when to slam them on.

00:40 But when is that exactly?

00:42 When you start to see the bright white of the pearly gates.

00:46 Brake markers leading into the corner

00:49 give you a reliable reference to hit the same exact brake

00:51 point every time, every lap.

00:54 Without markers, it can be difficult to find

00:57 an exact braking point.

00:58 So you need to find your own.

01:00 A skid mark, a crack in the pavement, a crime scene.

01:06 Rough neighborhood.

01:08 So how late is too late when it hurts your exit speed?

01:12 Exit speed is king.

01:14 Or to state the obvious, if you end up in the wall.

01:17 The wall is not your friend.

01:24 Now we need to talk about anti-lock brakes.

01:27 ABS has been around for the last couple of decades

01:30 and in every new road car for years.

01:33 But there's somewhere where it isn't always allowed.

01:36 That's racing.

01:38 Some series emphasize human driver control

01:41 over the computers.

01:43 So if you're going to be a racer,

01:45 you need to learn the ins and outs of racing

01:47 with ABS and without.

01:49 First, I'm going to do a foot to the floor panic stop with ABS.

01:53 Then I'm going to do the same without ABS,

01:56 and we'll see what happens.

01:58 With ABS, ABS is easy.

02:05 You just jam those brakes on.

02:06 The computers do all the work.

02:11 You can hear them working as they quickly

02:14 turn the brakes on and off.

02:15 Without ABS.

02:25 As you can see from the results, ABS

02:27 stopped the car much faster than the car without ABS.

02:31 But using ABS still isn't the best way to stop,

02:34 and we'll get into that later.

02:37 Let's do that again.

02:39 But this time, I'll try to steer with my brake to the floor,

02:43 avoiding this wall of cones.

02:46 Cone navigation with ABS.

02:49 The great thing about ABS is that you maintain

02:51 steering control like this.

02:55 The car will still turn even under heavy braking.

02:58 Cone navigation without ABS.

03:01 Without ABS, no matter what we do with the wheel,

03:04 it'll still go straight.

03:06 As you can see, the non-ABS car locks the tires,

03:09 and it continues straight on no matter how much steering input

03:12 you give.

03:13 On the other hand, with ABS engaged,

03:16 the car's computer adjusts braking

03:18 so the wheels keep rotating, and steering

03:21 can still happen.

03:23 And this leads us to the tire rack minute.

03:26 Tires grab best with just a little bit of slide.

03:29 Too much, and they'll lock, instantly losing bite,

03:33 losing steering response, and possibly

03:35 ruining the tire with a flat spot, like we've done here.

03:39 I mean, just look at this flat spot.

03:42 Throughout a race, this is only going to get worse, too.

03:45 The tire will tend to lock up right there in that same place.

03:49 Flat spots will hurt your lap times.

03:51 They'll ruin a tire.

03:53 And if you haven't figured this out, tires win races.

03:58 So what have we learned so far?

04:00 The first rule of brake club is to not lock up your tires.

04:06 So what is the best way to brake?

04:09 Well, there is no one best way.

04:11 It depends on the situation, and there are different types.

04:15 Let's start at the max.

04:18 Threshold braking.

04:20 A threshold brake is right on the edge of the ABS.

04:23 It's the strongest way to stop a car on track.

04:26 It's when tires develop their ultimate bite

04:29 with just a bit of slip.

04:31 This type of braking is the most common and reserved for braking

04:34 when straight and balanced.

04:36 As you can see, threshold braking

04:38 stops just a bit faster than full ABS,

04:42 and way faster than locking up the wheels without ABS.

04:46 So if threshold braking can stop in a shorter distance,

04:49 what's the point of ABS on track?

04:51 Well, if you go just over the point of threshold,

04:54 the ABS is there to make sure you don't flat spot the tires

04:57 and lose steering.

04:59 Even for professionals, it can be

05:01 difficult to brake perfectly at the threshold every time.

05:05 Brushing the brake.

05:07 What's the problem with threshold braking?

05:10 A hard brake transfers a ton of weight forward,

05:12 unbalancing the car.

05:14 Sometimes a brush brake is all that's needed

05:17 to balance the car for the turn.

05:19 A brush brake can be good mid-corner.

05:21 A very light brake to point the nose in,

05:24 it transfers weight to the steering tires

05:27 and improves their grip.

05:28 Trail braking.

05:30 In a trail brake, you brake hard and straight.

05:34 And then as you turn the wheel, you trail off the pedal.

05:38 This is a racer's best friend, because it

05:40 loads the front tires, helping the car steer.

05:44 The tighter the turn, the longer the trail brake,

05:47 because as soon as you go to the gas, the fronts get light

05:51 and the car straightens out.

05:53 Left foot braking.

05:55 In an automatic like this, say, GSV,

05:58 you can brake with your left foot,

06:00 and it quickens the time to get to the brake pedal.

06:02 It may only be milliseconds, but that's what wins races.

06:07 Emergency braking.

06:08 And finally, say you've lost control, spun out.

06:12 You've got no idea where the car is going next.

06:15 What's the best thing to do?

06:17 Take your hands off the wheels and sing Jesus Take the Wheel?

06:21 Jesus take the wheel.

06:22 No.

06:28 This is the time to lock them and lock them hard.

06:32 And get that clutch in too.

06:34 Make sure you remain predictable and don't roll back

06:36 onto the track with the rest of the field barreling down

06:39 upon you.

06:42 On that note, brake late, brake hard,

06:46 and don't break yourselves, driving enthusiasts.

06:49 And we'll see you next time on The Racing Line.

06:52 [MUSIC PLAYING]

06:57 I'm in Road Atlanta racing a sports car at 152 miles an hour

07:01 down the back straightaway.

07:02 I go to the brakes and I get a hard pedal, but no brakes.

07:06 Or not very much.

07:08 And I thought, what?

07:09 And I throw the car sideways, catch the dirt

07:12 underneath the bridge, come out from under the bridge,

07:15 upside down in the air.

07:17 And I'm thinking to myself, I could end up

07:19 in the hospital on this one.

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