How to Safely Find the Limit of Your Muscle Car
Slideshow: Driving cars really fast is an art form that takes patience, understanding, determination and a fined tune sense of where the tires will break loose. So, how do you acquire this sense?
Anticipation
One of the biggest things you need to be doing when you drive your muscle car is to stop reacting and start anticipating. This comes from thousands of hours of seat time and will definitely save your tailpipes more than once. As you go into a corner, be aware that one of the cars is going to give up first. Step 1 is to understand it will happen and that it can happen at either end of the car.
Take Advice From Your Tires
You might not think your car is talking to you, but it is. It’s actually giving you advice about where the limit is and how fast you’re approaching it. This advice is called tire squeal. Everyone knows the sound when they are about to spin because the tire noise is unbearably deafening. If you can hear your tires you are now approaching the limit. Proceed with caution.
Loading Up
Physically speaking, your body will start to feel g-loads as you increase cornering speeds. Learn to use the physically feeling of blood moving around in your body to know what it feels like when the car is about to give up on you. This is why it’s so important to be smooth with your feet and hands: the smoother you are the more progressive the g-loading which makes it easier to predict when it’s going to step out. This is how you look like a hero.
Know your Equipment
Remember how your tires talk to you? Well, not all tires are chatterboxes that want to hear what you have to say. Here’s where things get challenging: racing slicks make very little noise compared to street tires. Finding the limit on a race tire can be much harder as they produce more grip and make almost no noise until it’s too late. This is where “loading up” comes into play. When you can’t hear a tire you have to rely on your other senses to find the invisible point or no return.
Get Instruction
Something funny happens when someone faster drives your car: you usually get faster. How is that possible if you’re not the one driving? Your brain has a little mechanism in it that subconsciously understands the concept of “anything you can do, I can do better.” Watching someone else drive your car can instantaneously ramp up your sensitivity to the limit. Sometimes taking a step back is the best way to move forward and see the big picture. We get caught in our own heads too much at the track. Let a hot shoe drive your car, sit back and take notes. You will get faster and you will find the limit quicker.
Summary
Use every tool at your disposal to find the limit. From your body to your mind and even your physical equipment there isn’t one way to find the limit. It’s a process that takes years and years to master. Dedicate yourself tirelessly to the craft and you will be that guy who can jump in anything and wow the crowd. Ignore these tips and you’ll be another chump in the dust. Study hard and try to keep up until next time.
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