RE: sequential shift transmission conversion!

["Scott F. Williams" <sfwilliams@home.com>]

> Whoa! Dude. Im not sure exactly what this is in relation to but, as a
> performance oriented driver, you should see the benefit of a few
> additional braking ponies.

Whoa! Dude. You apparently didn't read all of my post. Using your engine is
a poor way to stop your car *unless* you don't have enough stopping power
(or thermal reserve) from the real brakes. I realize that a lot of Showroom
Stock racers do this because they are prohibited from running adequate
binders due to class restrictions. The Mitsubishi Eclipse SS guys were
notorious for doing this because those cars are seriously underbraked from
the factory.

> Even on daily street driving I heel toe downshift (its great practice and
> when your in a racing environment, its second nature and not an effort.)
> for stoplights or whatever the reason to slow, I use the motor and
> brakes.

I do the same thing for the same reasons, mon. Well, except for using the
engine to slow the car most of the time, that is. I rev match and double
clutch. I do maintain a slight positive engine braking force but that is
more to remove the slack in the driveline than to help stop the car. So long
as the brakes are doing the final modulation, the I have no problem with
using the engine's compression to help kick things down a notch.

> So, how do you do it in a rally?

Heh heh. I do *exactly* what you're doing except I don't rely on the engine
as much. Even stock VW 9.4" brakes generate enough torque to slow a rallycar
on loose surfaces. I run 10.1" on the really fast summer events but that is
more for protection against fade than braking power. We also tend to run a
lot more rear bias than you guys. -because there is less weight transfer.
And...then there is that tail out oversteer thang, too!

> Do you brake and then stab the gear you
> want and accelerate off the turns? Seems to me you would want to be in
> the right gear comming out of a corner.

Nah, again we do the same thing that you do and *absolutely* want to be in
the best gear to deliver max torque. This is especially important in
rallying because you constantly control the rear end's grip with the
throttle. Lack of torque was one of the contributing factors to my mishap in
Maine, in fact. (-when I smacked the Supra TT.) I came out of the corner
sideways in too high a gear and was driving a 3.94 R&P versus the Warpig's
trusty 4.25. No torque equaled not rear traction equaled two very dented
rallycars. Oooops. Game over.

So, in a nutshell, we are in complete agreement. Only the difference in
available traction makes the addition of *some* engine braking more or less
practical. I still maintain that relying on the engine as a primary or major
source of stopping force is a sloppy habit for most, though. Nah mean, dawg?
--
Scott F. Williams
NJ Scirocco nut
Golf GTI 16v rallycar
Mazda 323 GTX turbo assault vehicle

Check out our rally team's website!
http://www.usrallyteam.com


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