I must say, I grew up karting, Have countless hours behind the wheel, many days of racing schools. And this had never been explained this well as you have in these few minutes. Took me longer than I care to admit to get this concept in the real world. wish you had been on track to explain this to me 20 years ago.
Nice tutorial Dave. Best explanation about trail braking. I knew I had to trail brake, but visually seeing the difference and then also showing us how to practice. Very useful.
Thanks Dave. I've been trying to master this technique for a long time. Its a bit hit and miss but slowly getting there. This has, so far, been the easiest to follow tutorial I've seen and will be a great help to many people I am sure. Top job.
Agreed. Trail braking isn't something one can master immediately. Trial and error with spins galore, and some understeering at corner exit to boot. But even though I've yet to master this technique, I _am_ good enough at it to see the massive benefits of getting it right. Now to get enough practice so that I can do it at will. The visual aid that Dave gives us here is a huge help.
Lifting and coasting really helps improve this technique. Lift off way before the corner, maybe half way or three quarters down the straight and use the exact same brake marker you would at speed but softer on the brakes. Keep your vision locked on the apex and the moment you’ve turned in, move your vision to corner exit and let peripheral vision lead the car to the apex while your focus remains on exit and beyond. This is a great way of working on maximum apex speed and if you can’t nail every corner at a reduced speed with zero mistakes, don’t try and go fast until you can.
Thank you so much. It’s so simple to understand. I’ve always struggled in certain turns/circuits because I let go of the brake too quickly and had horrible under steer
Thanks for posting, Dave. Seeing how both the brake and throttle can affect how much the car steers for a given steering input made complete sense finally!
I have been Sim racing for eight years. The majority of those years has been with the use of anti-lock braking systems. My biggest epiphany was turning off ABS to understand what the car would tolerate, or conversely, what the car needed to achieve better lap times. I regret waiting so long to take away the ABS crutch. It was impeding my understanding of how to be fast. Love the video.
Yup, all assists slow the car down. If you learn throttle and brake control, your lap times will greatly improve. Of course, their are rare exceptions to this rule, but generally you never want to use assists in any sim racer if you desire to be as fast as possible.
I really appreciate this. now I feel like I can actually go and practice this. I've long understood why trail braking is beneficial, but I just had no idea how to do it. This should finally get me closer than 2-3s off of alien pace :)
What helped me A LOT with this is playing MotoGP, if you don't do this you don't turn at all and if you aren't smooth you fall, meanwhile on cars you are only slower and maybe miss where you did wrong, in anycase practice makes perfect. Beautifully explained video!
Thanks Dave. I've watched a few videos on trail braking but you're demonstation gave me a very clear idea of what's going on. I don't know how well I'll be able to do it but at least now I have a clear understanding of the theory.
Thank you! I am still trying to train my muscles and tune my system up (AXC True Brake springs) and didn't know how to practice. This is very informative.
This is actually a great video. Thanks, I'm new to having pedals and wheels and spent a fair dollar on them. I was expecting to have more of a boost just from the pedals and wheel alone but couldn't really understand how trail breaking was supposed to happen. Also the clarity on weight transfer helps a lot.
You can notice this is in real life too. When you’re a passenger in a car pay attention to what happens when the driver brings it to a stop, at a red light for example. When the vehicle stops, does the front of the car lurch up and press you against the seat belt? Does it happen when you’re driving? If so, this braking technique works just as well in real life and will do wonders for your car control. The majority of road users pay little attention their braking technique. When you come to a stop, watch the cars around you. Most of the time you’ll see their bonnet angled down as they are slowing and then spring back up when they stop. My mother in law pretty much throws me against the dash when she stops 😂 One more thing, if you notice any of your friends and family doing this DO NOT, under any circumstances, tell them their braking sucks, your forehead will, from that moment onwards be forever bruised.
Have heard it all before but that was an excellent and clear description. I don't trail brake enough and it's obvious as when I compare Motec with Coach Dave he is trail brakes every turn. Something I really need to work on!
Great video Dave. This is the kind of info that really does change everything. I have changed how I brake now and You are right -I'm quicker. Good guarantee. thanks.
Thanks for the technique Dave! Although Im using a 20 year old G25 wheel lol, I will try to do what you've said. Im currently one of those who brakes hard then lifts to make the turn proceeding by throttle. Hopefully my laps emprove!
Sound advice there Dave. I know what I should be doing, but I don't always manage to do it. 😭 I'm getting there slowly but surely. Keep the advice coming. 👍
Wow I've literally never thought about the physics behind fully releasing the brakes quickly while racing. I do exactly the first drill to prevent the nose of the car rebounding when driving irl and stopping at lights, never occurred to me how important it would be to apply in racing. Top tier advice
It's funny you mention about doing this at lights irl. I also do the same. I take great pride in coming to a complete stop without any sudden jerk or abrupt halt. It's fun to see how smooth I can come to a stop.
Fantastic Tutorial Dave, it really was 💯 Excellently explained and in a manner for which racers of all levels of expertise and experience will understand and learn from this tutorial without a doubt! Thank you for taking the time to create this video to share with all who want to watch and learn and then eagerly jump straight back into the sim to put the theory into action. Top man! Have a great day Sir, thank you 🙌🏾
@@davecamm I was stuck lapping at 21.6 and started doing exactly what you said, it felt slower but somehow found 0.8 seconds during a race and set the fastest lap 20.8 😃. I pushed too hard the following lap and spun out but that’s not the point here 😅 💪💪💪
I think the best part about this was the telemetry at the end. I really needed to understand the relationship between brake strength and steering angle. I always tend to scrub because I'm braking too hard going into the corner and trying to give steering input at the same time. It was good to see how much more steering input you had to give when coasting vs. trail braking.
Nice video, Dave. I'm definitely guilty of jumping off the brake and unloading the front suspension. I cause the car to understeer, push and increase my lap times and sometimes I'll make contact and start my X collection, as well as help someone else start their collection. Trail braking seems like a simple concept until you try it. But all to often I cut the braking short in order to get back on the gas... I gotta get my mind right before I can get my feet right.
When I first practised smooth braking, steering and accelleration, I always just pretended I was a very fast taxi driver that wants to get my passenger to their destination but still give them a smooth ride. This helped me a lot to get it into my system to not just release the brakes or mash the throttle.
Part of the weight, not all the weight. Nice videos. I learned after learning the essential rules that spending time practicing will be way more useful than watching videos.
Well exsplained although trail bracking works best when braking hard in the fist faze (threshhold) in a straight line and the slowly release (bleadoff) the brake whilst starting the turn and add more steering as the brake is released all the way into the apex.
Nice one. I think this is the main reason why I'm struggling for pace. I use trail braking sometimes without ever fully understanding why. My technique to take turns faster is to jump off the throttle to transfer the weight. Sometimes I do this several times in a corner. Last night I did try to improve the smoothness by introducing some trail braking. My times did improve slightly but need to do more practice to hit those apexes.
i'd definitely recommend trying drill 1 when you're driving irl. it's much easier to gain an intuition w/r/t weight transfer under braking when you have forces acting on your entire body rather than just wheel feedback and visual cues.
Only just got into sim racing and im having a blast with the btcc content in rfactor2. However can you make a track guide video on knockhill cause its an epic track but i just cant seem to setup my corners very well. Loving the channel ❤
Love watching your videos and have a question. I noticed that when you're in 1st gear, your speed is pretty quick, and when I do 1st gear it's very slow also in my mx5. What can cause this issue. I am also using a g29 for beginners
I try to practice the first technique when doing city driving. I think it's called something like "Limo braking" or similar, and means lifting off the brakes just enough when coming to standstill, to avoid the back and forth rocking moment. It can help a lot to develop your precision with the feet.
Nice video Dave, estaría bueno que además de este consejo agregaras que no debe sobrar pista, ni volante, es algo que la mayoría olvida y es sumamente importante para saber que uno está en el límite del auto.
While I THOUGHT I was trail braking, I was actually not since I am the type that is releasing too early and harshly. Thanks to your detailed and focused explanation on this topic, I was able to realize that I'm doing it incorrectly and how I should be properly doing it. Thank you! 🙂👍 One question, what brake pressure level am I aiming for when braking? If I hit 100%, I lock up, no? Should I be aiming for 96? Is there a particular number or range I want to be hitting? For any relevancy to my question, I'm using the Thrustmaster T-LCM pedals with the bushing mod, I'm trying to adjust my brake force in the Thrustmaster pedals software so I properly hit the right number or range, and I mainly play R3E (RaceRoom Racing Experience). Thanks for any help you can give! I look forward to putting this into practice/racing CORRECTLY, thanks to you! ☺️👍
A great car to practice this on, and one of my favorite cars to drive, is the Porsche RSR (GTE). The GTE is not a car you can stomp the brake, like the GT3 version. It really relies on that perfect balance of initial and trail braking , and slow lift off of the brake. Otherwise, no steery steery, and straight off you go, lol.
Been sim racing a long time. Never had braking explained like this . I learned something I didn't know . Thanks
I must say, I grew up karting, Have countless hours behind the wheel, many days of racing schools. And this had never been explained this well as you have in these few minutes. Took me longer than I care to admit to get this concept in the real world. wish you had been on track to explain this to me 20 years ago.
You forgot big red arrows and a shocked face on the thumbnail
Anytime I see that I downvote said video, report video for spam and block channel.
Nice tutorial Dave. Best explanation about trail braking. I knew I had to trail brake, but visually seeing the difference and then also showing us how to practice. Very useful.
This is a great lesson Dave, really well done.
Excellent explanation, best I’ve heard on how to brake into a corner with trail braking!!
Thanks Dave. I've been trying to master this technique for a long time. Its a bit hit and miss but slowly getting there. This has, so far, been the easiest to follow tutorial I've seen and will be a great help to many people I am sure. Top job.
Agreed. Trail braking isn't something one can master immediately. Trial and error with spins galore, and some understeering at corner exit to boot.
But even though I've yet to master this technique, I _am_ good enough at it to see the massive benefits of getting it right. Now to get enough practice so that I can do it at will.
The visual aid that Dave gives us here is a huge help.
Lifting and coasting really helps improve this technique. Lift off way before the corner, maybe half way or three quarters down the straight and use the exact same brake marker you would at speed but softer on the brakes. Keep your vision locked on the apex and the moment you’ve turned in, move your vision to corner exit and let peripheral vision lead the car to the apex while your focus remains on exit and beyond. This is a great way of working on maximum apex speed and if you can’t nail every corner at a reduced speed with zero mistakes, don’t try and go fast until you can.
Thank you so much. It’s so simple to understand. I’ve always struggled in certain turns/circuits because I let go of the brake too quickly and had horrible under steer
Thanks for posting, Dave. Seeing how both the brake and throttle can affect how much the car steers for a given steering input made complete sense finally!
Great explanation and demonstration. I'd heard it mentioned plenty of times but never quite grasped the concept. This was perfect! Cheers Dave!
Thanks dave! Been practicing my trail braking for a few months now. It really helps the car entering the corner.
First time seeing such detailed explanation of trail braking. Thank you Dave! It would be good to see how much exactly this affects lap times
Ohh well it has no effect at all u can completely ignore it
You're not doing it correctly then 😁
@@davecamm im being sarcastic dave 🙄
@@lovelaugh7299 I'm slow 😁
There is an example in the video towards the end
I have been Sim racing for eight years. The majority of those years has been with the use of anti-lock braking systems. My biggest epiphany was turning off ABS to understand what the car would tolerate, or conversely, what the car needed to achieve better lap times. I regret waiting so long to take away the ABS crutch. It was impeding my understanding of how to be fast. Love the video.
Yup, all assists slow the car down. If you learn throttle and brake control, your lap times will greatly improve. Of course, their are rare exceptions to this rule, but generally you never want to use assists in any sim racer if you desire to be as fast as possible.
I really appreciate this. now I feel like I can actually go and practice this. I've long understood why trail braking is beneficial, but I just had no idea how to do it. This should finally get me closer than 2-3s off of alien pace :)
would love to see a little follow-up video with your best laptime when trailbraking vs when not trailbraking (perhaps in GT3 since it is so popular)
Best explanation I've seen yet for trail braking! I'm still super new, and this explanation makes a lot of sense for how the car feels under breaking
Great instruction and explanation Dave! Stoked to try this out!
What helped me A LOT with this is playing MotoGP, if you don't do this you don't turn at all and if you aren't smooth you fall, meanwhile on cars you are only slower and maybe miss where you did wrong, in anycase practice makes perfect. Beautifully explained video!
I'm a real beginner who is loving iracing and trying to learn. These tips are ideal for me and I thought it was really well explained! Thanks.
I love this so much. A nice explanation about racing I will be back for this channels. Thanks so much for the help!!
Great video dave. Really goes back to basics and a must practice for anyone.
Amazing video, haven't seen anyone explain this so well. It would be awesome to see a video where you go into smooth throttle and steering as well!
Amazing. I am blown away😲thank you
Cheers Dave. Very helpful. Something I really need to work on.
These 11 minutes probably taught me more about smooth driving than any other video or practice has done so far in my 6 months of simracing
Hi Dave, I've been working on this for a while now, helps a lot and also works in real life not just sim racing!
Definitely keen to redo some of my time attack challenges now using this and see how much I can squeeze out of the lap times. Thank you.
Thanks Dave. I've watched a few videos on trail braking but you're demonstation gave me a very clear idea of what's going on. I don't know how well I'll be able to do it but at least now I have a clear understanding of the theory.
A very good explanation of weight transfer and balance with trail-braking. It's tough to to do consistently. Thanks for the content.
This explanation is great, thanks!
These drills/practice techniques are gold!!
Top video Dave. Thank you
this is the best video on trail breaking out there thanks Dave
Thank you! I am still trying to train my muscles and tune my system up (AXC True Brake springs) and didn't know how to practice. This is very informative.
Thanks for your wisdom Dave you explain it really well and I appreciate your videos
really good video on trial break, best i have seen Dave !
Good vid mate. Very detailed
That, was bloody well explained... Subscribed ..:)
This is actually a great video. Thanks, I'm new to having pedals and wheels and spent a fair dollar on them. I was expecting to have more of a boost just from the pedals and wheel alone but couldn't really understand how trail breaking was supposed to happen. Also the clarity on weight transfer helps a lot.
Thx Dave, jetzt habe ich es wirklich verstanden. Super erklärt !
thank you very much. that was actually a really good video
Excellent Dave!
Amazing video, sticking to the basics is so important yet so underestimated
Great short tutorial Dave, just started racing on ACC and used this to great effect and now able to turn up the AI to keep myself honest. Cheers
So much easier said than done but defo a huge help thanx dave
Great vid with solid advice Dave!
Such a good trail braking explanation! I had to watch so many videos to get this idea 💡 I’m still slow but have A lic in iRacing
You can notice this is in real life too. When you’re a passenger in a car pay attention to what happens when the driver brings it to a stop, at a red light for example. When the vehicle stops, does the front of the car lurch up and press you against the seat belt? Does it happen when you’re driving? If so, this braking technique works just as well in real life and will do wonders for your car control.
The majority of road users pay little attention their braking technique. When you come to a stop, watch the cars around you. Most of the time you’ll see their bonnet angled down as they are slowing and then spring back up when they stop. My mother in law pretty much throws me against the dash when she stops 😂 One more thing, if you notice any of your friends and family doing this DO NOT, under any circumstances, tell them their braking sucks, your forehead will, from that moment onwards be forever bruised.
Funny enough in real cars I do release gradually at the stop simply because making the car bounce irritates me :D
Have heard it all before but that was an excellent and clear description. I don't trail brake enough and it's obvious as when I compare Motec with Coach Dave he is trail brakes every turn. Something I really need to work on!
Very good explanation! Kudos.
Thankyou sir. An excellent explanation, will try and follow your wise words. 😍
great video! I'd love to see a similar demonstration with rear wheel drive cars accelerating out of a corner and it's effect on rotating the car.
Thank you so much for this video. Oh my god, this has been one of the best and most beginner friendly videos I've seen on the topic!!
Hope it helps 😁
This is why imo a good set of pedals is best before a good wheel base.
I knew most of it but still taught me a few things. Thanks Dave
Subscribed , amazing explanation 👏🏽
Thank you 🙏
Cor that was so interesting, thanks Dave! I'm going to give this a go tomorrow :)
Great video Dave. This is the kind of info that really does change everything. I have changed how I brake now and You are right -I'm quicker. Good guarantee. thanks.
Brilliant video!
I’ve watched dozens of videos on trailbraking and this is BY FAR the best explanation. Liked and subscribed, good job!
Thank you, appreciate the feedback. 😁
Thank you Dave I we'll practice faster the better.🚀
Nicely done. Good to have simple practical exercises to hone the technique away from racing.
Thanks for the technique Dave! Although Im using a 20 year old G25 wheel lol, I will try to do what you've said. Im currently one of those who brakes hard then lifts to make the turn proceeding by throttle. Hopefully my laps emprove!
Great video Dave 👍🏼
Yes, Dave! This is how you use the curiosity gap to get more views. 👏👏
Amazing video! Verstappens road Atlanta f3 video comes perfect to mind
Sound advice there Dave.
I know what I should be doing, but I don't always manage to do it. 😭
I'm getting there slowly but surely.
Keep the advice coming. 👍
Wow I've literally never thought about the physics behind fully releasing the brakes quickly while racing. I do exactly the first drill to prevent the nose of the car rebounding when driving irl and stopping at lights, never occurred to me how important it would be to apply in racing. Top tier advice
It's funny you mention about doing this at lights irl. I also do the same. I take great pride in coming to a complete stop without any sudden jerk or abrupt halt. It's fun to see how smooth I can come to a stop.
Way to keep it simple! Any other suggestions on preparing for a race? Thanks!
That's a cracking video is that, luv. Nowt new to me, but to anyone who I need a great tutorial for, this is the one I'll send them to, thanks!
Hi Dave, good explanation mate well done 👍🏻
Fantastic Tutorial Dave, it really was 💯 Excellently explained and in a manner for which racers of all levels of expertise and experience will understand and learn from this tutorial without a doubt! Thank you for taking the time to create this video to share with all who want to watch and learn and then eagerly jump straight back into the sim to put the theory into action. Top man! Have a great day Sir, thank you 🙌🏾
Thank you, appreciate the feedback 😁
Great video really want to gwt faster def think applying some of these tools will help.
I don't have the time to jump on right now however I can tell this is going to help my cornering
Thanks for the video, I’m struggling with this exact corner so looking forward to trying this out
Let me know if it does 😁
@@davecamm I was stuck lapping at 21.6 and started doing exactly what you said, it felt slower but somehow found 0.8 seconds during a race and set the fastest lap 20.8 😃. I pushed too hard the following lap and spun out but that’s not the point here 😅 💪💪💪
Dave I will love you forever for 'Damping' which is what Dampers do, not 'Dampening' which is what rain does. There are no 'Dampeners' on a car.
I think the best part about this was the telemetry at the end. I really needed to understand the relationship between brake strength and steering angle. I always tend to scrub because I'm braking too hard going into the corner and trying to give steering input at the same time. It was good to see how much more steering input you had to give when coasting vs. trail braking.
And ending up going straight on most of the time (rofl)
Nice video, Dave. I'm definitely guilty of jumping off the brake and unloading the front suspension. I cause the car to understeer, push and increase my lap times and sometimes I'll make contact and start my X collection, as well as help someone else start their collection. Trail braking seems like a simple concept until you try it. But all to often I cut the braking short in order to get back on the gas... I gotta get my mind right before I can get my feet right.
Cheers Dave!
When I first practised smooth braking, steering and accelleration, I always just pretended I was a very fast taxi driver that wants to get my passenger to their destination but still give them a smooth ride. This helped me a lot to get it into my system to not just release the brakes or mash the throttle.
Very good video, thank you Dave. If you keep making vids like this ill put a poster of you hanging on the wall in my simroom. So helpfull
😂
Part of the weight, not all the weight. Nice videos. I learned after learning the essential rules that spending time practicing will be way more useful than watching videos.
Well exsplained although trail bracking works best when braking hard in the fist faze (threshhold) in a straight line and the slowly release (bleadoff) the brake whilst starting the turn and add more steering as the brake is released all the way into the apex.
Nice one. I think this is the main reason why I'm struggling for pace. I use trail braking sometimes without ever fully understanding why. My technique to take turns faster is to jump off the throttle to transfer the weight. Sometimes I do this several times in a corner. Last night I did try to improve the smoothness by introducing some trail braking. My times did improve slightly but need to do more practice to hit those apexes.
100% learned from this!
i'd definitely recommend trying drill 1 when you're driving irl. it's much easier to gain an intuition w/r/t weight transfer under braking when you have forces acting on your entire body rather than just wheel feedback and visual cues.
Only just got into sim racing and im having a blast with the btcc content in rfactor2. However can you make a track guide video on knockhill cause its an epic track but i just cant seem to setup my corners very well. Loving the channel ❤
Love watching your videos and have a question. I noticed that when you're in 1st gear, your speed is pretty quick, and when I do 1st gear it's very slow also in my mx5. What can cause this issue. I am also using a g29 for beginners
I try to practice the first technique when doing city driving.
I think it's called something like "Limo braking" or similar, and means lifting off the brakes just enough when coming to standstill, to avoid the back and forth rocking moment.
It can help a lot to develop your precision with the feet.
Awesome Dave
Nice video Dave, estaría bueno que además de este consejo agregaras que no debe sobrar pista, ni volante, es algo que la mayoría olvida y es sumamente importante para saber que uno está en el límite del auto.
SHOCKING. God bless you.
The ultimate trail-braking guide / drill
I’m amazed at the amount of people that seem to have never looked at your pedal inputs during a race all these years.
This is the best video for understanding how breaking works in the sim thank you so much Dave!
While I THOUGHT I was trail braking, I was actually not since I am the type that is releasing too early and harshly. Thanks to your detailed and focused explanation on this topic, I was able to realize that I'm doing it incorrectly and how I should be properly doing it. Thank you! 🙂👍
One question, what brake pressure level am I aiming for when braking? If I hit 100%, I lock up, no? Should I be aiming for 96? Is there a particular number or range I want to be hitting?
For any relevancy to my question, I'm using the Thrustmaster T-LCM pedals with the bushing mod, I'm trying to adjust my brake force in the Thrustmaster pedals software so I properly hit the right number or range, and I mainly play R3E (RaceRoom Racing Experience). Thanks for any help you can give! I look forward to putting this into practice/racing CORRECTLY, thanks to you! ☺️👍
Finally a video I can share to the people that look at me like I’m nuts when I say you steer a racing car with your feet and not your hands.
thx, great
Just re watched this and noticed on the thumbnail - the Cheering Tree!!!
A great car to practice this on, and one of my favorite cars to drive, is the Porsche RSR (GTE). The GTE is not a car you can stomp the brake, like the GT3 version. It really relies on that perfect balance of initial and trail braking , and slow lift off of the brake. Otherwise, no steery steery, and straight off you go, lol.
Brilliant