A tire’s total traction is called its traction budget because like any other budget portions of it can be used for various activities like acceleration, turning or slowing down. The budget total must add up to 100% so if 40% is used to turn, then only 60% can be used for acceleration.

Part of the reason it is called a traction budget is because you can also “borrow” traction. When you accelerate, weight is shifted to the back of the car. When you turn, weight is shifted to the outside of the car. When you brake, weight is shifted to the front of the car. This additional weight changes the effective weight distribution of the car and thus changes the traction on each tire.

During the design of the 350Z, they decided on a 53/47 distribution because under acceleration, weight shifts to the back changing it to an effective 50/50 distribution

So now we have an imaginary car driving along an imaginary highway. The traction on each of its tires is proportional to the weight on it. When the car accelerates, turns or slows down it uses up to 100% of the traction on its tires. The traction on each of these individual tires changes as weight get shifted around from various actions.

In the next part we will discuss weight shifting and traction in different drivetrains.

Drifting is a general technique used for cornering in Initial D, ranging from the Cappuccino's mad nose-in action to Bunta's Impreza's very slight angle on an all-wheel drift. The weight distribution is directly responsible for this; reducing traction to the rear is what makes the rear wheels slide but the front wheels grip and 'nose in'. Drifting, after all, is mixing oversteer (I imagine will be explained later) and traction loss.

Essentially meaning, you're hard-pressed to 'drift' a corner like Initial D vehicles if you do not shift weight forward by losing speed. Most need some amount of braking, though at times you can luck out gearing down, engine braking then accelarating hard (but carefully) into a corner...a technique that works well with my NA AWD.

In real life and in fictious programs, this is why cars dip the noses down when slowing and dip the rear down when accelarating...

Message in post: Don't forget to slow your character's car before you enter a corner you intend to have them drift. Tapping the brakes is the easiest way to do it.

My sister always swings the car around before using the clutch to break traction and select the right gear.

My brother is probably the only one who brakes before a corner, but of course he's alot cleaner than me while drifting.

Tapping is the operative word, and requirement for braking with a drift or whiplash in mind. Of course in an ABS system you have to press harder than in a non-abs system due to the difference in brake pad settings. The ABS system will not lock up, unlike a non-abs system brake. Both require practice to get it right. Weight is going to be a factor as to when to apply brakes. A heavy car has to set up earlier than a light weight because of overheating brakes which also mess with traction as you go forward. At least, I have found it to be that way in the limited racing I have done.

JIO

Different techniques are used for driving depending on the type of corner. When I autocross we drive on a go-kart track. On hairpins after long straights I often use heavy braking then take advantage of the shifted weight to get a better turn in. On another sweeper after a short straight I simply lift off the gas slightly so engine braking generates a mild weight shift to the front. On another sweeper which loops back into a hairpin I lift off and tap the brakes a little to get a little more angle on the slide then I use the rebound from the springs and heavy braking to snap the back around the hairpin and lineup for the straight. On the chicane come off the straight with heavy braking to slow for the series of corners and use a combination of gas and lifting off with rebound to get around the remaining two corners.

Weight shifting is useful for braking. When you brake weight shifts to the front which in turn increases traction on the front tires. As you brake you can slowly increase your braking pressure as more and more weight shifts to the front which will shorten your braking distance compared to steady pressure. Hakosuka, you may want to find an empty stretch of road and practice first finding the right initial pressure and how to ease on more pressure without locking your tires. Its called threshold braking.

Kurahieiritr, increased braking distance because of overheating brakes is called brake fade and its not really related to traction in the tires. It actually has to do with the decreased traction of the brake pads as they go over their operating temperature. Heavier cars tend to need to begin braking earlier because they have more momentum because they have more mass. Depending on the size of their brakes they might or might not have more brake fade issues then a smaller car. In any case brake fade can be reduced by changing the brake pads to a different material or higher operating temperature. Just be careful because brake pads with higher operating temperatures don't work as well at low temperatures. Some will never reach their operating temperature during street driving and thus will perform worse. Another cheap upgrade is to change to a premium brake fluid with a higher boiling point or to simply change the fluid. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and bonds to moisture in the air which will decrease performance over time. You can also use ducting to bring cooling air to the brake system or larger rotors which have more surface area and heat capacity.

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