PShipman wrote:Martin/Jennifer, is this what you mean when talk about constant "little corrections for grip in the corner" ???
I suspect that they are really referring to trying to keep the car "hooked up" with all 4 wheels (or at least a critical few!) in a turn. If you are in a turn at (or near) the limit of adhesion of the tires, you will need to make some small corrections to keep from losing control.
After you have started the rotation, even if you are on steady throttle to exit, the actual torque at the rear wheels is constantly changing (see your engine torque curve) and consequently the acceleration vectors are changing and the weight distribution is changing. Plus, you are changing the slip angle dynamically as you straighten out the exit. Thus, the traction of the tires is changing throughout the turn. If you are starting to understeer (from too much front wheel angle, or from unweighting the front due to acceleration), OR if you are getting some power-on oversteer (something I rarely experience in the Boxster
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
), you need to be straightening the wheels to keep the car under control.
(Ok - highly simplistic, and doesn't address effects of increasing/decreasing radius turns or how torque is transfered to the inside (unweighted)/outside (weighted) wheels with or without a limited-slip differential, but I think you get the picture.)
Also, unless you are driving on a flat skidpad with a clean uniform surface, your car/suspension/tires are having to respond to camber and elevation changes, and friction changes (asphalt vs. concrete vs. paint vs. patches, etc.).
If you try to "lock" the wheel in one position and you are at the limits, you are probably going to lose it. Instead, small (emphasize SMALL) steering inputs will allow you to keep that steady acceleration while maintaining control.
I have found the following exercise on the street to be useful (for those of us who come down and play with our "daily drivers"): On any halfway decent curve, pick a turn-in point and a desired apex point and try to turn the wheel smoothly at the turn-in point, then hold the wheel steady to the apex. If you have to make additional steering corrections to hit the apex, you haven't quite got the "seat of the pants" feeling for how the car reacts to steering inputs. While the actual turning will be different at higher speeds on the track, having that gut feel for the car will help you adjust quicker.
Caveat - try not to scare other drivers, and any following law enforcement personnel may want to stop and ask why you were going from side to side of the road - don't try this after a few drinks.
Finally, at the risk of this becoming my Master's thesis, a note on the physics of understeer and why your tires may have suffered an untimely demise.
When understeer begins (tires transition from grip to slide/scrub), the tires literally begin forming a liquid layer of molten rubber on the surface. This further reduces the grip, increasing understeer and thus further eating up your tires. If you don't straighten the tires (so they begin rolling and gripping again) or increase grip by transferring weight forward (lift or brake), you are literally melting your tires. I suspect frequent and prolonged understeer is the most common cause of shortened front tire life.