i actually shied away from calling them "bad" habits. this is because
habits are only bad or good in context- for example, for a beginner, the
habit for slowing down for the corners would be a good habit they might not
have naturally. its only later that it get reinterpreted as a "bad" habit,
and then they can become confused- what was good is now bad.
i think my key point is that ANY habits are to be examined or even
categorically avoided, so you go with your skillz and your car to the line
with as few preconceptions as possible. katie is way ahead of us as i think
she manifests this better than anyone i know. apparently effortlessly. i
now often have the sensation of flying through the course with no car around
me, which is what i think im aiming for.
your points deal with car setup, which is a great and important topic for
advanced students. boy, but what a can of worms tho! got me started
though, thanks!
james
ps thanks to darren who was my autocross instructor for the 1998 school! i
still think about the stuff i learned then.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Darren Madams" <darren@madams.com>
To: "James Creasy" <james@thevenom.net>
Cc: "ba-autox" <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 4:30 PM
Subject: Re: Advanced Autocross Topics
>
> 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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