[MikeBee]

in a similar boat in mine (although my 3 is probably different as less power and no ayc).

smoothness seems to help as you need to remember it's a rally car. if you upset the attitude of the car it'll loose grip (think pendulum effect on gravel).

also i'm still getting used to the turbo really as i've only ever driven na cars. i find if you leave it in a lower gear and drive it on the boost by opening the throttle early (ie. before apex so boost is coming on through apex) then play with the throttle very slightly you can get awesome grip through the 4wd.

my only problem is major bodyroll - the ARBs seem soooo soft for the car.

 

[MikeBee]

Agreed.

I'm also new to driving Evo's, 4wd and turbos! (I'm from a N/A FF!)

I was also expecting to get blown away by the Evo's grip, but I seem to find myself drifting, rather than really sticking through corners. I think it's becasue I'm not driving it in a way which optimises the Evo's features:

I.e. I believe the AYC works by adding torque to the rear wheel which is on the outside of a turn, helping to push the car round (a bit like the "skid" steering of a tank where the outside track speeds up.)

HOWEVER, since I'm used to driving a N/A FF car (obvisouly without AYC) I tend to drive corners smoothly, trying to carry more speed in and being on the limit of grip while not accelerating throught the turn (else I would go too fast and lose grip) then only accelerate on the way out as the turn opens to a straight.

I think a better way to make the most of AYC would be to brake harder before the turn in, and then (as suggested above) keep the car on boost through the turn. If you think about it, the AYC can't be providing you with any benefit if you're not accelerating.

This could be cobblers, but I have noticed that on a few occasions I've boosted a bit more than I intended when accelerating away from traffic lights on a roundabout and I have noticed that the car feels completely different when cornering under high acceleration than when "coasting" around a corner.

(I'm going to book a trackday to find out what's best as I'd rather learn on a track than on a road.)

Yeah that's very similar to my thoughts. With regards to the harder braking in I think you can probably get away with entering the corner at reasonable speed and then doing the above mid corner boosting to get the grip. This is how to get the most out of the 4wd traction i think.

Trouble is you end up going round corners so quickly in the Evo that if you screw it up you're in major dog poo! Track is definitely the best place to experiment

 

[MikeBee]

if you come from fwd cars it is likely (as i do) that you naturally take less speed into a corner and then power round. personally i find that this induces oversteer on the evo now the geometry is correct and i quite enjoy it. the key is balancing the throttle on boost to get the balance right between traction and oversteer.

my evo understeered horribly before i got the geometry aligned correctly. also the tyres were crap. am now running the potenza re720s which seem to be a reasonably good tyre.

 

[MikeBee]

Come on children no need to fight now.
:group:

 

[MikeBee]

a lot of it is sheer balls to plant that throttle at the entrance to a haipin takes some guts.gentle just doesnt work .

good luck with the rallying then. think we should take bets as to how many events it takes you to have a serious prang!

do you think loeb/schumacher/any top driver got to the top of their game by just being ignorant and not taking any advice or external training and just messing around on some tarmac/gravel?

 

[MikeBee]

We all know where Schumacher got his carving other drivers up off the start line skill from - his first job was as a White Van Driver.

Cool. I've driven a few white vans - maybe I should have a go at F1 and see if I can beat 91 wins?

Anyhow. This thread has gone way way off topic.

 

[MikeBee]

Shumacher started in karting like a lot do .i didnt say i wouldnt take advice on rally driving but not just from a pro driving instructor that knows nothing about it .il probably teach myself and help from mates who already rally .theres only one place to really learn and thats in the driving seat in a rally car in the forrest .Matt Wilson was in a rally car before he even had a driving licience.

fair enough. the mcraes started by ragging cars round their dad's farm

just make sure if colin mcrae becomes a 'pro driving instructor' you don't turn him away because he can't teach you a few tricks

there's no harm in a bit of self confidence, but cocky can get you into some serious trouble in motorsport.

 

[MikeBee]

even to finish in the top 20 of a forrest rally ,wouldnt mean your that fast really .as soon as you get out of the top 10 on national events the times drop a lot .lots of variables like car breaking ,bit of luck ,just one small mistake and your way down the order .ie you could set a top 4 stage time but end up 30th .the biggest variable is the amount of cash to throw at the car .better the car the easier it is to go faster .the top guys are just way above the rest in sheer skill.

i think you'd be suprised. the guys driving in the top 20 are mostly very good drivers or have serious serious cash. props to the guys in the mk2 escorts too who hold their own against expensive machinery! always good to see.

agreed on money though. some of the chaps throw serious cash at the cars and do well but can't drive that well at all.