What we've learned on the track

[Quickurt]

Brucelee and I discussed this thread in another thread, so here goes.........
There are different techniques learned in and from racing that have translated into major safe driving skills. I have worked hard to pass what I have learned on the track, to my wife and two daughters.
I am hoping all of us who have and do drive competitively can pass some of those
life saving skills on to our good friends on this forum.
It can also be lots of fun for all of us.
We tried this on the RX8 forum and it somewhat turned into an ego/anti-ego thing, if you know what I mean, so I will try to head these attitudes off, from the beginning.
I am not trying to come off as some sort of expert, because I am surely not.
I've won my share of SCCA races and a couple of minor, amatuer championships, but all that fame and fortune......and $2.00, will get me a cup of coffee, anywhere except Starbucks!
I certainly hope some of the other racers and track day guys will come on this thread and add their two cents worth, as almost all of my driving was in purpose built formula cars, so I have basically zero experience racing a street car.

In competitive driving, you either learn fairly rapidly, or you need a very big budget!
I had almost no budget when I first started, so I spent many, many hours devouring books by, among others, Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda - both excellent books on driving.
I then spent the time I had driving on the street to master quite a few of their lessons. Interestingly enough, being in the Air Force, at the time (I was NOT in the military ) they also sent out a monthly flyer on driver safety, and the two sources overlapped on a remarkable basis.
The first thing I learned from Jackie Stewart is to NOT use the standard technique taught for driving! That technique is to let your eyes wander around the scene out your windshield to "see everything." Nonsense. Your brain is much smarter than your eyes. His technique, that I have used ever since, is to focus your eyes as far down the road as you can see and watch that entire "scene" of your full vision picture with your brain. You do this by focusing your attention on different parts of that scene. You will also immediately pick up ANY movement within that scene. Movement you may miss for a critical split second if you are letting your eyes wander around the view out your windshield. You can hit an apex perfectly while looking as far down the track as you can see. That apex is right there in your vision scene. If you are autoXing, you will see entire sections of cones at once, not just the few close to your car or the next few you need to manuever through.
With some practice, you will aslo be able to watch your instruments without looking directly at them! Don't believe me? Try it. If you have ever seen a photo of the dash of a race car with the instruments all turned at strange angles, you've probably been confused at the lack of order. Not so, those instruments are all turned so that the needles are straight up at proper operating range. So the driver only needs to keep them in his awareness and a guage out of operating range sticks out like a sore thumb! HE will also shift when the tach needle becomes vertical. All you "Shift light" guys are so lazy............ and this is a lost art with the advent of full digital dashes.
As you sit low in a Porsche with the guages fairly high in your vision picture, it begins to make sense. Porsche has led the auto industry in ergonomics and placing your guages near the center of your sight picture is key. The farther away from the center of that vision scene you get, the harder it is to see something without moving your eyes to focus on it.
After learning to "see" your guages without actually looking at them, learn to be "aware" of your mirrors, at all times. Once you master it, ANY motion in your mirror scene will immediately draw your attention.
Mirrors on a Boxster are somewhat of a problem, as the roll bars are a huge blockage in your rearward view. The restricted view of your central rear view also bleeds over into restrictiong the width of your view in the two side mirrors.
Maybe someone can come on and talk about how to adjust all three mirrors to get the widest possible panoramic view.
In the meantime, practice the technique and see how well it works!

[944boy]

I totally agree about about looking as far down the track as possible. It is really a good habit!

I do not totally agree about the shift lights.... The Boxster (and 911) has a great tach layout perfect for racing. Try that with a late model 944. Redline is about 4 o'clock on the right. Difficult to see behind the wheel spokes if turned at all. There is however a small built in shift light at the top in the shape of an arrow.

Competitive driving is really a great thing for the whole family and I think helps street driving. Teaches better control and confidence, staying calm instead of panicking.

I bet the Boxster felt really heavy compared to the open-wheeler.

[pbanders]

What I learned on the track was that you have to PAY ATTENTION. The biggest problem I see on the road are drivers who are utterly inattentive and not ready to respond to the situation. Beyond the obvious distractions of the cell phone, the kids, the nav system, the radio, etc., I see drivers whose posture and grip on the wheel tells me they're not really engaged. Leaning on the door, one hand on the wheel, open hand draped on the top of the wheel, so close to the wheel their elbow is at a 90 degree angle, etc.

Keep both hands on the wheel (I prefer 3 and 9), adjust your seat for proper distance to the wheel, make sure your mirrors are optimally adjusted (very impt in the Box with the top up), windows clean, and as quickurt said, eyes down the road. It's ok to have the radio on, but not so loud that it's keeping you from hearing what's goiing on around you. If you have nav, set it when stopped and if you're really confused, pull off and check it instead of trying to read the map - or have your passenger manage it and direct you.

You'll find that when you're fully engaged with driving, it's a better experience, anyway!

[renzop]

As it applies to street driving, "look far ahead" is one of the best accident avoidance techniques there is. Let's take it to the next level by saying, "to look far ahead" you need to avoid tailgating or even close following at all costs. You can't look ahead if you can only see the car infront of you. Most drivers do not follow the 2 second following distance rule and that is what causes many, mnay accidents.

Another race technique that we know about that applies to street driving is, "try to brake in a stright line" Sure, we all know about and use trail braking, but we also know that you cannot trail brake with tthe same force applied as straight line braking.

Finally, there is the, "release pressure to reduce understeer" If someone can be trained to recognize terminal understeer and to react unnaturally by unwinding the wheel they can save themselves from disaster.

Good idea for a thread,
Alan

[pbanders]

Another technique I use is one I developed from years of training on the road as a racing cyclist, is to constantly be running "what if" scenarios in my head, in response to traffic situations. In each "what if", I try to plan a way out. Example - I'm approaching an intersection, and I see a car in the oncoming lane getting ready to turn left. "What if the light changes and the guy goes for it?" - by anticipating this, I plan to steer around him, instead of reactively slamming on the brakes.

Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, but you get used to doing it after a while and it's nearly a subconcious process. It's saved my a$$ more than once in the car, and about a million times on the bike.

[Quickurt]

Excellent comments and additions!
I like the "running scenarios" description. Great way to describe the technique.
On the track you know in a short time where you can and can't go to avoid something, because you go around and round, lap after lap, and you've probably had an old hand at the track tell you about that particular track's "bad spots."
On the street, it's another story, unless it's your daily commute route.
So, I constantly watch for "can't go" areas: deep ditch swales next to the road, driveway culverts, walls, deep center medians, etc. In that way, if something does happen you must avoid, you are aware of directions that are off limits, which greatly shortens decision times for taking action. You will also learn to be aware of these danger spots in watching your "vision scene" and you will begin to find yourself glancing at them, to log all of the details of the hazard, and then returning to your "down the road" view.
Also, the street has other hazards the track does not. ANY TIME you break left, in an attempt to avoid a serious situation, you are putting yourself on a path to a possible head-on collision. You may be on a divided highway, but if there is no center wall or guardrail to stop your momentum, you have directed your car toward a head-on situation and you will then have to change directions again to avoid going into the oncoming lane.
Another rule to remember: ANY other type of collision is always better than a head-on collision.

[Surfncpa]

I am glad I took the time to read this thread. There are a lot of good tips in here.

Especially valuable to me are the ways to reduce the blind spot on the driver's side by putting stickons onto the mirrors. The blind spot is something that really troubles me. I have it ingrained to always turn my head and look before changing lanes instead of just relying on the mirrors. When I do that in my Boxster, like others have mentioned, my vision is blocked by part of the car. I end up turning my while leaning forward as far as I can to try to see out.

The other part of the view I am trying to get used to is that most of the time I can not see beyond the car in front of me. I am used to driving a pickup truck or SUV and I could always see over or through the cars in front of me. I have to compensate in the Boxster by being extra vigilant and ready to break. Having good breaks also helps.

We have all heard the driving rule of leaving a 2 second space between you and the car in front. Unfortunately, that just isn't possible most of the time on the freeways I drive. If you had that much space between you and the car in front someone behind you would try to pass you and get in that gap. Slow down again, the next car will do it. Keep doing it and you'll cause traffic to jam behind you and the other drivers will be flipping you off as they pass you.

[mikefocke]

Porsche sells which are an option that have the outer third of the mirror angled slightly outward to cover the blind spot. Aspheric mirrors were what they were initially called. They clip in and plug in in place of the flat ones and you lose nothing in the defrost area, they work just like stock. Not cheap but they keep you from having to use ugly stick ons.

I liked them so much on my first Boxster I got another pair for my second Boxster.

[Mikelove]

Ive seen so many accidents happen due to people Driving too close.
Picture a broken down car, the driver infront of you isnt paying attention, they swerve around it without signalling , bang game over for you. Keep your distance from the driver infront. So what if some idiot steals a place infront of you because you left a gap. Let it be them that learn the hard way.

We have all heard the driving rule of leaving a 2 second space between you and the car in front. Unfortunately, that just isn't possible most of the time on the freeways I drive. If you had that much space between you and the car in front someone behind you would try to pass you and get in that gap. Slow down again, the next car will do it. Keep doing it and you'll cause traffic to jam behind you and the other drivers will be flipping you off as they pass you.[/QUOTE]

[imsawidebody]

Hi friends.
Will be running my 986 stock Boxster at Mid Ohio on a few open track days.
Would like to have a set of dedicated track slicks and wheels, suggestions appreciated.
I am fairly experienced and competition licensed, just not that good

[yale02]

Originally Posted by imsawidebody

Hi friends.
Will be running my 986 stock Boxster at Mid Ohio on a few open track days.
Would like to have a set of dedicated track slicks and wheels, suggestions appreciated.
I am fairly experienced and competition licensed, just not that good

If you are going to do track days I would highly recommend Nitto NT01's. Perfect for DE weekends and Time Trials. I even do some wheel to wheel action on them sometimes.

I'm way too new here to comment on wheels other than to say that Enkei make some fantastic wheels for the track. I have several sets of RPF1's and NT03+M for my track only RX8. They would probably look good on a Boxster too but have not yet looked into size availability.

[Lordblood]

There is a lot of truth to all that, the farther down you look the more your brain can take in. You can't take in what you can't see.

About the blind spot issue, I got two convex mirrors for my Box. They are for big trucks, I know. But the nice thing about convex mirrors is that you see everything around you, including a big chunk of your blind spot, and you dont need to look around the entire mirror to catch what you need to see.

Cost me about 4 dollars total for 2 convex mirrors.

[Quickurt]

Mirrors, mirrors, I want to really have time for this one, so I'll work on it in a word doc. and paste it in.
Your convex, or spot, mirrors reminded me of a mirror I wanted to make for the formula car. We had a choice of a flat mirror or a fully convex mirror. If you look at my avatar pic, you'll see how tiny the mirrors are, for aero reasons.
What I wanted are now made, I'll have to go see if I can find them. I remember they were a german company and I gasped at the price.
What I wanted are mirrors that are flat on the inner two thirds (inner being the part closest the car, on both sides) and the outer one third curving toward the front to make the outer part convex in only one direction. If you can visualize it from my poor description, the inner part would give you the standard rearward view, but the outer third would drastically increase the wide angle view, even if a bit distorted, so that you had a panoramic view up to the point your periferial (I must learn to spell that) vision takes over.
The more I think about it, I may have seen them on Suncoast's site.
Okay, they are called aspheric mirrors. I'm not sure I like the sound of that.........
in any case, they don't seem to be available in the us, but this link lists euro Porsche part numbers for the Boxster:
http://www.toolworks.com/bilofsky/boxster/mirrors.html

[Hops]

Lordblood,
Could you describe the parts you are using (and where they are available) and how you are mounting them?

I find the stock mirrors to be nearly worthless. If I am 90+% sure there is no one in my blind spot I usually rock my head left and right a few inches to scan more and less angle off the mirror. If I am not 90% sure the blind spot is open I actually turn around and look, which of course can cause an entirely different safety issue. Top down seems to be the only way to get a really good rear view.

Originally Posted by Lordblood

About the blind spot issue, I got two convex mirrors for my Box. They are for big trucks, I know. But the nice thing about convex mirrors is that you see everything around you, including a big chunk of your blind spot, and you dont need to look around the entire mirror to catch what you need to see.

Cost me about 4 dollars total for 2 convex mirrors.

[Hops]

And, just to keep this discussion on track...

On the track, you leave some amount of buffer to avoid hitting the wall. On the street you leave some buffer not to cross the center line or go off the shoulder. I can't even count how many times this has kept me out of trouble over the years. If you lose traction for an instant due to ice, water, oil, gravel, etc., you need a buffer to avoid going into the danger zone. The best way I've heard it put for public roads is:

When turning right, hug the right side of your lane. When turning left, hold the middle of the lane.

The rationale for the middle on the left turn is to give the car coming the other way some extra buffer too. Hopefully that driver is following the rule too (watch the other car's line), and you can then slide a little closer to center.

[Lil bastard]

All Good Stuff guys ! :dance:

[Kirk]

>The more I think about it, I may have seen them on Suncoast's site.
>Okay, they are called aspheric mirrors.

Yes, I've seen aspheric mirrors for sale in the US. I can't recall which website they're on, but they are available and I think an individual was even selling a set on this forum before. They're actually pretty cheap from one source if I recall right.


>Could you describe the parts you are using (and where they are available) and >how you are mounting them?

I've got blind spot mirrors on my daily driver and they're WONDERFUL. It really helps when you detect a little movement in them to tell if someone is sneaking up on your left on a highway. I got another set for my SUV. I bought them at NAPA for about $1 each. They stick on with double sided tape. Unfortunately the NAPA units didn't stay though and came off when washing the car. I plan on re-sticking them with some fresh tape. Easy install and well worth the $2 total.


>So, I constantly watch for "can't go" areas: deep ditch swales next to the road, >driveway culverts, walls, deep center medians, etc. In that way, if something >does happen you must avoid, you are aware of directions that are off limits,
>which greatly shortens decision times for taking action.

I do the same thing with other cars. I scan my mirrors and I want to know (when there are multiple lanes) exactly where all of the other cars are located around me. That way if I have to react very quickly to an impeding situation I KNOW whether the other lanes are clear to move into. Sometimes you just don't have time to look in your mirrors and clear your blind spot before making an extreme evasive maneuver. Knowing where the other cars are around you lets you know what your options are. You'd hate to swerve into another lane of traffic to avoid an accident just to hit a car that was sitting in your blind spot! Again, this is where the blind spot mirrors are a big help as you can scan them pretty quickly.

The Boxster has a HUGE blind spot when the top's up and you're merging onto a highway. I literally have to look behind me and lean over a bit to clear that blind spot, but no problem with the top down... Just something to always be aware of.

Kirk

[Lordblood]

Originally Posted by Hops

Lordblood,
Could you describe the parts you are using (and where they are available) and how you are mounting them?

I find the stock mirrors to be nearly worthless. If I am 90+% sure there is no one in my blind spot I usually rock my head left and right a few inches to scan more and less angle off the mirror. If I am not 90% sure the blind spot is open I actually turn around and look, which of course can cause an entirely different safety issue. Top down seems to be the only way to get a really good rear view.

If you walk into any car store (Auto Zone, Checkers, etc) and walk up to the wall near the register, there are usually little things you can get under 5 dollars.

I found stick on convex mirrors, about 2 dollars a pop. They simply have an adhesive side on the back, which you stick on the ends of your regular rear view mirrors.

It increased visibility greatly, much more then the useless stock mirrors that come with.

[mikefocke]

at least the 986 versions. I've had 2 of them on each of my Boxsters.

The first set I found was actually convex in shape. The second set had two panels, the outboard one slanted more to cover the blind spot.

They mount by you just pulling the current mirror out of the socket where it mounts and then unclipping the heater cord, then clipping to the new mirror and pressing it in to the socket.

I wouldn't drive a Boxster without this blind spot coverage. And the nice thing about the Porsche asymmetric mirrors are they are completely stock looking and acting plus you get the wide angle coverage you need..

[chaudanova]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

at least the 986 versions. I've had 2 of them on each of my Boxsters.

The first set I found was actually convex in shape. The second set had two panels, the outboard one slanted more to cover the blind spot.

They mount by you just pulling the current mirror out of the socket where it mounts and then unclipping the heater cord, then clipping to the new mirror and pressing it in to the socket.

I wouldn't drive a Boxster without this blind spot coverage. And the nice thing about the Porsche asymmetric mirrors are they are completely stock looking and acting plus you get the wide angle coverage you need..

Mike, which set did you like better, between the set that was convex in shape, and the set that had two panels? Are both still offered?

Also, did you run the mirrors on both driver and passenger side? I've read that some people like them better on only the driver side and not so much for the passenger side. How do you feel about this?

Thanks in advance!