Good topic. I would add a couple more bad habits:
o "The car is as good as it gets". Sometimes even when you think you've got
the setup, there might still be more to be found. Sometimes you have to know
when to give in on a certain setup direction and try something completely
different even if it's contrary to common opinion and/or logic.
o "The car needs changing". Sometimes you can tend to focus on fixing problems
with your driving by changing the way the car works. At some point you'll
start getting better by just driving the damn car. Sometimes going back to
what used to work might be a better option.
A couple of other tricks I've learnt along the years:
o To prove if you're really looking ahead or not, try arriving late and missing
the course walkthrough. Don't even preview the course, just go out there and
drive it!
o Drive different cars. Even drive different peoples same model cars to see
what is good and/or bad about yours.
--Darren
p.s. Of course, with my miserable performance at Atwater, why listen me? Oh,
because I'm # 48 of 14,283 at MazdaRevItUp :)
"James Creasy" <james@thevenom.net> wrote ..
> hi guys/gals,
>
> im putting together a few topics for the school, and here is a draft for
> discussion. I am basing it on what to UNlearn. people get a ton of things
> to
> "learn", but not enough effort is taken on how to unlearn.
>
> You all have noticed that there is a sea of autocrossers of various levels.
> But there are a few drivers that transcend that level and are freakishly
> faster. Is it magic? Hardly. But to study advanced autocrossing is to
> try
> to figure out how to transform yourself into one of those people. I like
> to
> think that those people haven't learned things we can't learn, but rather
> that
> they are better at UNlearning the things that hold them back.
>
> james
> OSP #74
>
>
>
> Advanced Autocross Topics
>
> 1. Break the Ruts of Your Driving. Recognize that learning to drive fast
> is
> as much about unlearning old habits as it is learning new ones, and the
> more
> experience you have, the more ruts there are to break. I often ride with
> people that have good car control skills, drive a good line, but arent
> all
> that speedy. Why? Because they are handicapped by habits they can't see
> or
> can't break. I cover some of the Common Habits below.
>
> 2. Habit #1: Slowing Down for the Corner. The most common one I see is
> people
> braking roughly the same amount for every corner. The habit is "I see
> a
> corner, must slow down". They keep hearing people parrot: "slow-in/fast-out"
> so they slow down when they see a corner, or what they think is a corner.
> All
> these little turns we make are all a little different, and you need to
> unlearn
> what you think you see as a corner, which will let you see what is actually
> there, and perhaps you will see it isn't a corner after all but a straight
> :)
> Telling them simply to "look ahead" doesnt always work, because that habit
> kicks in to slow down for the corner anyway.
>
> 3. Habit #2: I'm Out of Control, So This Must Be the Limit of the Car.
> Then
> people use that gauge to decide how hard they can push the car. This is
> one
> of the most damaging habits, because they *think* they are being smart
> and not
> overdriving, but instead they might be at the limit of the car in one or
> two
> places and way off the limit everywhere else. To unlearn this habit, consider
> you were out of control not because you were too fast, but because you
> used a
> bad habit (jerking the wheel, locking the brakes, slamming on the brakes,
> etc). Then look for all the places you SHOULD feel a little of control
> and
> weren't (like EVERYWHERE- see Habit #3).
>
> 4. Habit #3: The Car Feels Unstable, Better Slow Down. The magic happens
> when
> the car is just barely in control and feels light and scary. The car will
> react differently when it gets that light feeling. To unlearn this fear,
> decide you will not slow down, but instead feel how the car reacts in this
> state. Note to corner workers: be careful around this guy!
>
> 5. Habit #4: This is as Fast as the Car Will Go. This is simply NEVER
> true
> (If you need proof see Ben Martinez). Put this out of your mind forever,
> and
> instead concentrate on what habits you are having that are holding the
> car
> back from going faster.
>
> 6. Habit #5: This happened because my car is
> (FWD/RWD/heavy/light/powerful/red/old/ugly/etc). Gotta stop thinking about
> your car when you drive. It's all the same thing. I had this experience
> after driving my RWD ultra twitchy car for a few years, I tried out my
> dull
> FWD daily driver at the last school. I hadn't autocrossed a FWD car in
> years,
> but I did stuff in that car that I had never done before AND would be sudden
> death in my usual car. Why? Because I was feeling how the car reacted
> and
> not stuck in habits and preconceptions on what it was going to do. E-brake,
> left foot braking, it all just worked because I just needed a way to make
> the
> car turn in better. Drive the course, not the car.
>
> 7. Habit #6: My Competition Is Light, So I Can Slack Off. Did you know
> you
> can go buy trophies at the trophy store and put anything on there you want?
> Make your competition with yourself to find your habits, and you will get
> faster and faster no matter how slow Kirk is. (sorry Kirk, hee hee :)).
>
> 8. Finale: Never relax your guard. You are learning habits everytime
> you do
> anything, and it is just as easy to learn bad habits as good ones. Be
> very
> suspicious if you ever think you know how to drive anything optimally.
> I
> assure you there is always is a faster way, and if you aren't seeking it,
> your
> competition might be busy finding it.
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