How best to practice whilst away from the track?

[Kelk]

Hi

I see that there is there virtual game that one can play, but I wondered if anyone had any tips for the best way to get some practise in whilst away from the track?

I race 1/10th 2wd off road and an SC at Surrey and Hants and it's a high grip astro surface and the thing I need more in the world than anything else is better skills - an honest confession

I'm at the stage of wondering whetehr a micor (1/14th or smaller) and running that round the garden or obstacles etc would help improve but I am open to absolutely any ideas.

Thanks

[bretts]

I play this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1_fd3xElgs

[Dudders]

Chris,

I think you started racing 6 months ago with us. In that time you've gone from being a complete liability to being a really good club level driver. I think you're coming along just nicely as you are, do not think any other park bashing or PS3 will help.

Main thing is a car that is not to powerful, punchy or fast. Your cars is quick enough so its not speed. Its about crashing.

If you're racing tonight work on having a clean race. a crash can loose you 3 to 6 secounds. So if you crash once every 4 laps, that's about a lap that's lost.

My view is steady and conservative. Look at my lap times from the regional on Sunday. My fast laps will be one of the slower ones in my heats/final BUT I try to drive without mistakes, Jmes Lucas calls me Mr Percentage!!. That's my view anyway.

Yes, different car will help (Losi 22 not the best in the dry and not great in the wet TBH) but it's got you started. Now with the XB4 get Glenn to set it up or Chris E, tone to speedo down and get some cleanly without mistakes.

[SlowOne]

I'm not sure I know a good answer, so I hope some of this might help... and amuse.

Don't bother with computer games for practice as you don't get any sense of what the car is really doing. You end up being great at a track on a computer!

Local spaces are fine, so lay out some cones and drive around them. Each run, change something on the car to make it not just driving practice. If you can have a buddy who can wield a stopwatch, that really helps show what the effect is of changing your line and speed.

Masami Hirosaka used to practice regularly in a dance hall. Two of his regimes are interesting! He would lay out some cones in the form of a basic, simple circuit. He would then turn to the mirror on the wall and drive the car round the track by looking in the mirror!

The second one was to lay out a large, fenced area on the floor. Into that he would put several of those little battery-powered cars that turn around when they hit something - a bit like having a flock of random bees in a pen! With his simple track laid out he would drive the track avoiding all the random little cars!

If you think driving with his feet was clever...

[qatmix]

never under estimate the power of some cones / coke cans etc used as markers to make a track.

you dont have other cars to consider but you can learn the cornering capabilities of the car, and also tune it to take likes better etc.

[2-alex-2]

i have been using vrc pro for a while and getting used to off road as i was always a tc person but with my first club meeting comeing up im wondering if the practice on the pc would give me a good head start but i think it will only realise that once i have started off road but i do find the tc on there very good but only with use of a usb adaptor using my dx3c which make it just like when i race my cyclone. its all worth a try if it helps it helps but then if it doesnt then you havent lost anything realy and i think there is a trial vertion as well

[dodgydiy]

The only thing that games may help with is improving reaction times. I used to try and follow the box lines on a car park years ago, thats quite challenging when you get the speed up a bit

[bigt]

Bmx trails for me