![]() Many amateur drivers are worried about the first time they break traction on track – it’s understandable as if you go too far, it’s easy to have an accident. They will move the car’s mass around – through the suspension – giving either end more, or less, grip. A professional driver can alter the car’s balance – the grip difference between the front and the rear axles – as they corner. This is also the reason weight transfer is relevant. However, this is why cars with downforce can corner so quickly – their tyres are being pushed into the ground with a lot of force, without adding weight to the car. Now, you shouldn’t just go and add as much lead to your car as possible – you’ll also need to decelerate, turn and accelerate that weight, so it certainly wouldn’t be an advantage. The more weight you put through the tyre, the more it’s being pushed into the track and the more grip you’ll have. The final detail that affects a tyres grip is the vertical load on the tyre. If you make this contact patch larger, by fitting wider tyres for example, you will instantly have more grip. The contact patch is the amount of the tyre that is actually touching the track surface – which is ordinarily quite small. The next point that affects a tyres grip is the size of the contact patch. ![]() On the other hand, if there has been a historic meeting, there will likely be lots of fuel and oil on the track surface, causing it to be horribly slippery. For example, if there has been an F1 race the weekend before, it’s likely the circuit will be very grippy, due to the amount of soft rubber that has built up on the surface itself. Other things can influence the grip level too, such as what has been driving at the track in the days before your lapping. Different circuits use different varieties of asphalt which give varying grip levels. The coefficient of friction between the tyre and the track is determined by the track surface and the compound of the tyre. The vertical load on the tyre (weight of vehicle/aero).The coefficient of friction between the tyre and the track.Three things affect a tyres grip when you’re driving on the circuit: Understanding the traction circle – combining lateral and longitudinal forces.How to make sure your car slides progressively. ![]() Our pro-driver, Scott Mansell, takes an in-depth look into understanding grip to help you be faster on track. However, finding the limit of grip and continually driving at it, is not easy to perfect. Grip (or traction) is what keeps us on the track, allowing us to brake, accelerate and turn. Welcome to tutorial number four in our Driver’s University series, Understanding Grip.
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