Question about driving (sorta professional like :P)

Factual Questions
1

I just got this game on the Xbox and its come to the point where twitch reflex skills no longer cut the mustard. I’ve always been interested in the finer points of driving and no very little. Couple questions:

 1. What is the apex of a turn, how is it used to determine where/when to turn

 2. When a turn is irregular, I would imagine it has multiple apexes (sp). Is there a way to figure out what the best line is through such a turn.

 3. I understand your supposed to break before a turn and accelerate into it. Why is this?

 4. What is the best method for using the parking brake to skid around tight turns.

 Thanks, any other offensive driving insights would be appreciated.

KC

2

I assume you’re playing Project Gotham?
1–isn’t the apex the “mid point” of a curve?
2–just guess the appropriate apexes
3–laws of physics apply here, I’ll leave that answer to high powers
4–when using hand brake the speed depends on when to apply it since you will slide different distances at different speeds and also depends how sharply your wheels are cut

3

The idea is to use inertia to your advantage. Momentum is moving you in a straight line, hence keeping you from turning. Slowing reduces your momoentum, and lets you turn. once you hit the point where you’re about to straighten out, you accelerate to get the most speed coming out of the turn.

4

1. What is the apex of a turn, how is it used to determine where/when to turn

This page explains it fairly well: http://www.seansa4page.com/resource/apex.html

I don’t necessarily always agree with him about mid vs. late apexing. Late apexing has a lot of advantages, especially if you’re not a super-human driver or if you’re on an unfamiliar track. I’ve been taught that in general, late apexing is a “good thing™” - and I tend to agree, usually.

2. When a turn is irregular, I would imagine it has multiple apexes (sp). Is there a way to figure out what the best line is through such a turn.

I’m not sure what you mean by “irregular.” As for finding the best line through a turn, I’ve never heard of a foolproof method or algorithm. You have to guess what might be good, try it, and time yourself. Then tweak things around a little bit and see if it makes you faster. No silver bullet here, as far as I know.

3. I understand your supposed to break before a turn and accelerate into it. Why is this?

Because presumably there was a straight section of track before the turn, and so you’re going really, really fast on that part. Far too fast to take the turn. Similiarly, on the way out, you’re going into a straight-away, and you want to accelerate up to max speed as fast as possible. In short, that’s recommended because it’s the fastest way to get through the turn.

4. What is the best method for using the parking brake to skid around tight turns.

Uh, use it enough to make the tail swing around a little bit, but not too much? Really, there is no best method for all turns. Like taking any kind of turn, you have to run it over and over again and find what works. No silver bullets here.
You appear to have a lot to learn about driving. I suggest getting a copy of the Gran Turismo 1 instruction booklet and reading through it - it has a lot of good stuff about apexes, cornering technique, powersliding, etc, etc. You may also find some useful info in the GT1 FAQs over at Gamefaqs.com. I think BCampell’s GT1 FAQ has some info in section 7: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/gran_turismo_b.txt
-Ben

5

I don’t know anything about this particular racing game, so I will assume that it is pretty realistic. Gran Turismo 2 on the Playstation 2 is an very realistic driving simulator than can help you quite a bit. If you can get your hands on a PS2 for a while, I highly recomend that game as well. Anyway, that’s not really that helpful, I know. I’ll try to give some more helpful info below. . .

The apex has been well covered already. By irregular turns, I assume you mean things like S-curves or multi-radius curves. To get good with these, you really just have to practice. You can try to break the turn into several normal curves to get a start at figuring it out. But in the end there is some trial and error and repetition involved.

Ok, generally speaking, you should brake before the turn starts and possibly into the first part of the turn. Coast through the middle of the turn and then start to accelerate as you come out of the turn. In addition to slowing down so you can make the turn without sliding, you are managing the traction of each individual tire. When you accelerate, the car’s weight transfers backward and it transfers forward when you brake. Weight also transfers side to side in turns. More weight on a tire gives it more traction. So, when you brake at the start of a turn, you are giving more traction to the front wheels, which have the important job of turning the car. By accelerating out of the turn, you are giving the rear wheels more traction. This keeps you from fishtailing and it lets you accelerate down the next straight. The details of your technique will vary depending on the kind of car you’re driving (front/rear/all wheel drive). This can be a major factor in the way a car handles, but your game may not have all those types.
Try looking up some info on the ‘traction circle’, it is a way to visualize and understand the whole weight transfer/traction issue.

As to using the parking brake. I’ve not found it all that helpful in most instances. Again, your game may be different. I generally got the best results by tapping the brake right at the apex of the turn. But this is nost always the fastest way around a corner, by any stretch. You will find as you get better that going slower through turns can result in lower times because you don’t slide so much and can accelerate better. This is a big challenge to overcome on video game racing, in my experience. Most people tend to keep the gas pedla floored all the time, and it costs them overall.

Good Luck!