What is Reddit's opinion of The Perfect Corner: A Driver's Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Their Own Optimal Line Through the Physics of Racing (The Science of Speed Series Book 1)?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Here is the link for Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Corner-Drivers-Step---Step-ebook/dp/B019WQFEIK/

Looks like the %50 discount is working on that one as well. Still waiting for the US site to update. We sent in a support request so hopefully soon.

>You should go over & read you comment 10 years later.

You should go over & read a book about racing lines. I recommend The Perfect Corner from paradigm shift. You do not understand this subject.

> Pro drivers have good 3d spatial awareness & I see no reason why they would draw that wrong from habits.

Good spatial awareness =/= good drawer. Also it’s not a perfect drawing because it wasn’t meant to be analysed down to the fucking millimetre. It’s a rough schematic showing the different phases of a corner.

Also, I reiterate, the apex of a car’s trajectory is not necessarily the apex of the corner. By definition, the apex of the trajectory is the point where you switch from deceleration to acceleration. To maximize your speed in a given corner, that apex should generally correspond to the turn’s physical apex.

Your “real life” drawing represents a trajectory that is mathematically slower than the one in your “sim racing” drawing which is actually pretty much the ideal way to take a corner regardless of if you’re in a real car or in a sim

The absolute fastest way through a given corner is to:

• follow an Euler spiral trajectory

This is the mathematically proven way to take a corner (change direction in general) as fast as possible. Euler spirals are widely used, especially on railroads. Most highway on and off ramps follow euler spirals as well

• take the widest possible trajectory

The widest possible Euler spiral is the one whose apex (the point where the car switches from decelerating into the corner to accelerating out of it) matches the physical apex of the turn

• brake as late as possible

Because trail braking allows the driver to brake later, it should be used as much as possible. The Euler spiral allows for the best possible transition between longitudinal grip (full braking in a straight line) to lateral grip (full on turning, no brake or throttle) and then back to longitudinal grip (accelerating out of the corner). Ideally, the trail braking should be maximised to the point where the driver is trail braking right up to the apex, because this allows for the latest possible brake point.

The only way to follow all these guidelines is to brake as late as possible, use as much trail braking as possible right up to the apex, and accelerate exactly at the apex. That is the mathematical, exact best possible corner. And that is what that 1:53 time is getting close to.

You need to understand that this is all mathematically proven and works the same way in real life and sim racing. it works the same way for bikes, trains, cars, planes, spaceships, anything. It is the mathematical, irrefutable perfect way to change the direction of a moving object.

The ideal trajectory in a sim or in real life cannot be different, because at its core the goal is to change the direction of a moving object. There is only one way to do so as fast as possible.

>I am never coasting

That's good... In theory

>I'm either buried in the throttle, or applying the brake

That's not so good... Ever

You need to find a middle ground. Technically, every moment you spend coasting is a moment you could have been using to either decelerate your car into the corner or accelerate it out, and therefore you are losing time. Ideally, you want to start braking as hard and late as you can, decrease brake pressure as you turn in (the less you brake the more you can turn) up to the apex which is the point where you switch from braking to accelerating, increasing the throttle gradually as you decrease your turning radius (the more you accelerate, the less you can turn). Your trajectory should follow an Euler spiral in and out of the corner (not a parabola, not the "geometric line"). There is no coasting in that scenario

However... In practice this extremely delicate balance is impossible to attain all the time, even for the best of the pros. Since you can't brake any later than in the ideal scenario (otherwise you'd overshoot the apex), you need to brake earlier, which means if everything goes well you will reach your apex speed before actually hitting the apex, in which case you'll have to coast up to the apex.

Also because again the ideal scenario is nigh on impossible to achieve, your car will probably not be in the perfect, ideal direction and balance at any given moment, and so you need to fine tune that all through the corner. You're probably used to do that with the wheel, but you should actually use very small variations in your brake and throttle use to change the car's balance.

I can recommend a couple good reads/watches:

• This video which will quickly change the way you think about throttle and brake use in a corner. The next sources are more in depth

• This book which is one of the rare actually in-depth resources about how to take a corner and most importantly why it works. A lot of other sources I've found over the years get it wrong on some level.

• This video more concisely explains the main points of the book and demonstrates it all visually.

Others are reporting it's working now

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B019WQFEIK

I've just "bought" it and can access it through the Kindle Cloud Reader thing (read.amazon.co.uk)

ps: UK link http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B019WQFEIK

pps: thanks for free stuff... I like free stuff :)