How to drive a R/C car

[Plex]

Practice
You can't "buy" success, you've got to work at it - and the name of the game is PRACTICE. There's no substitute. You can buy "speed", "horsepower", and all the rest, but you can't buy better lap times - those, you've got to earn.

Being Smooth
The most important single thing I can think of, is to be SMOOTH. Never yank on the throttle - gently pull on it. Ditto for the brakes - when you apply them, do it smoothly, both getting ON the brakes, and when you're getting off them. You can spend hundreds of dollars on speed controls and high-tech radios that do this for you, but the truth is that all the control you need is in your trigger finger. The same thing applies to the steering - never twist the wheel violently one way or the other - try your hardest to turn it smoothly, both going into a turn and coming out of the turn. I know this is easier said than done, as everyone in a race is too busy trying to go fast to worry about stupid stuff like being smooth, but believe it or not, the ONLY way to get fast is to get SMOOTH first.

How do you know if you're driving smoothly? Next time you go out to race or practice, have someone time you for four or five minutes, then compare your lap times. If your lap times vary from fast, to slow, to maybe fast again, then slow, then slow, then fast� you need more practice. On the other hand, if your lap times are consistent, lap after lap, you're on the right track. First get smooth and consistent, and only then try to go faster.

Throttle Control
Don't use full throttle all the time. There are two reasons for this. First of all, when you're in a turn, there is an optimum speed for taking the turn. If you give your car more throttle than you should, you will actually be slower going around the turn. "Roll the throttle", going around the turn smoothly. The only way to learn this is by practice. Again, when you're coming out of the turn and you want to apply more power, do it smoothly. The second reason for this is that it's more efficient. Giving your car more throttle than it can use for any given part of the track just wastes batteries (for you electric racers) and tires (especially so for gas racers). Some gas racers go through a couple of sets of tires in a single day - I used to, so I know. If you're racing an electric car, and you haven't yet learned how to do this, all I can say is just keep practicing at it. If you find your car staying on the proper "racing line" (one more thing you have to learn), you're probably doing things pretty well. If you're going faster than you should, or you're giving your car too much throttle, you'll go wide in the turns. Not only is this a longer way around the turn, which means you'll be slower, but you'll be on a part of the track that isn't where everyone wants to be driving, and therefore will be dirtier than the rest of the track. This means your tires will get dirty, so you'll have less traction for a while until the dirt wears off the tires. With dirty tires and less traction, you have to go even slower than usual, until the tires are back to the way they should be.

Starting Your Race
Tip: the start of the race is probably the most critical part. Everyone wants to be first to the first turn, consequently all the cars try to occupy the same piece of real estate at the same time, and voila, there's that famous multi-car pileup that everyone expects. It's great fun for spectators, but much less fun if you're a part of it. When the race starts, drive off smoothly - if you try to accelerate too quickly, you'll just spin out. With practice, you can learn how quickly you can take off at the start. Next, don't drive like you have to be on the right line - if everyone else is bunched up, you might be better off to take a slightly different line keeping you out of the pack of cars. Stay close, but if they start to trash each other, be prepared to go around the wreck, not plow right into it. Remember this: you can NOT win the race in the first few seconds, but you definitely can LOSE it then and there. The name of the game is "defensive driving" as much as anything else - and it's better to come out of that first turn in third or fourth position, chasing after the lead car, than for you and the lead car to crash fighting for the lead, letting everyone else go on by. If you are in the lead, be especially careful that the guy behind you doesn't take you out this way. If it looks like he's going to run into you, try to move a little so he can't hit you. Once you get through the first couple of turns, the race usually sorts itself out and you can get on with trying to do well, but survival should be your instinct for the start of the race.

Nerves
If your heart is beating so hard you think it will bust, your hands are so nervous that they're shaking uncontrollably, and you find it hard to breath, everyone else probably feels the same way. It's hard to relax in a situation like this, but try to remember this is supposed to be fun, and enjoyable. A week from now it won't make any difference how you did. Breath hard before the race, relax, and maybe think of your favorite something-or-other.

Common Sense
When the event starts, some people I've known put all their "common sense" away, and go out and RACE. Naturally, they go as fast as they can. Usually, within a minute or so, they've had at least one crash, if not two or more. You can NEVER make up what you lose in a crash.

Patience
Have patience during a race, and try not to do anything that will put you out of the race in a crash. Backing off and letting someone by is better than both of you crashing. Besides, it's easier to follow another car than it is to lead the other car - chances are, if someone does pass you, if you follow close enough and long enough, the other car will try to go even faster, and either mess up in a turn, or crash.

Crashes!
Crashes are almost always your fault, no matter what happened. Every so often you'll get into a wreck where you had no chance, but 99.9% of the time, if you crash it's YOUR fault no matter who did what. Even if the other car did something stupid, it's still your fault for being in a spot where this could happen to you. There are things you can do to minimize the chances of getting into a wreck.

For starters, don't pass on the outside of another car. Always try to pass on the inside. If you're going down the straightaway with another car, try to position yourself so you'll be on the inside for the next turn coming up, which will give you the line and force the other car to back off or go wide.

If you do crash, and your car is sitting in the middle of the track upside down, don't keep it a secret. This is especially so in gas races, where the cars are going so fast they're hard to control. Yell out that your car is dead in the straightaway, or the sweeper, or wherever, and yell it LOUD. The other racers presumably would like to avoid hitting your car, if for no other reason just so their car doesn't get damaged while driving through yours. Don't assume they'll see your car - they won't. Yell out loud, and yell loud enough so everyone on the driver's stand can hear you. Doing this means your car might be marshaled, and you'll be able to continue on with the race. Not doing so means there's a good chance your car will be damaged or destroyed when it's smashed into by an oncoming car.

If you're following another car, don't drive directly behind it, but instead try to be a little off to one side or the other. Don't get into a spot where if the other car messes up and hits a board, you're going to crash right into the other car. If you have enough confidence in your ability not to hit the other car, drive as closely to it as you can. Most of the time, the other driver will get rattled, and do something silly, letting you by. Don't hit the other car � and if you do hit it, causing it to wreck, pull off to the side, let the guy back in front of you, and then do it all over again, but cleanly this time. (We're all doing this because it's fun� nothing will make another driver angrier at you than you taking him out, and nothing will alleviate the situation better than you pulling off to the side, letting him back in front of you, and then doing it right. It's good sportsmanship, and people will respect you for it.)

Pack Rats!
If you find yourself in the middle of a pack of cars, be especially careful not to get taken out in a multi-car wreck. You may lose a few tenths of a second if you back off a little, but you'll lose much more than that if you find yourself in a wreck with all the cars.

To finish First, First you have to Finish!
One of your most important goals during a race should be to avoid crashes. Not only can a crash put you completely out of the race right then and there, but even if you don't break down, chances are your car won't work as well after a crash as it did before. Even if you lose a few tenths of a second slowing down, going wide, or whatever it takes to avoid an "incident", that's nothing compared to what you'll probably lose if you do hit something. Rule #1: don't crash. Rule #2: see rule #1.

Pace Yourself
During a race, pace yourself. This is especially true with gas races, which last much longer than electric races. Only you know how well you can drive. If you try to drive faster than your ability to do so, you'll probably crash. If you drive at your ability, you may crash. If you drive just a bit under your ability, you probably won't crash. Pace yourself, and don't take risks. Also, remember that it's better to finish in third position, than it is to crash while trying to lead the race, and get a DNF. If you can win the event, go for it, but if not, just do your best. Who knows, especially in a long gas race, the guys who are way out front may crash or break, and if you're still running, you'll be in a position to take advantage of it, something you can't do if you're off in the pits patching up a broken car.

Turns
If you're an expert, you can take turns time after time with your car 1/4" away from the turn marker, and get away with it. If you're good enough to do so, that's the fastest way around the track. I've seen some really good racers do this in a 1/8 scale gas car, driving it just the way they do with 1/12 scale electrics. Unfortunately, most of us are nowhere near that good. So, give yourself some room on the track. Don't cut the turns too close - if you cut the corners too close, chances are that one of the times you're going to be too close and hit something, possibly ending your race right then. If you're relatively new to R/C car racing, ignore this advice and always drive in the middle of the track. If you're in the middle of the track, you're as far away from boards as possible, so you're least likely to hit them.

Preparation and Setup
The above information may help you drive better. Driving better is good, but it's only part of the picture. If your car is set up properly, it's easier to drive better. If your car is set up wrong, it's hard, even for a good driver, to drive the car well. The problem for beginners, is they don't know how the car should work, so they have no way of knowing when it's not working. When I was learning this stuff, week after week friends would point out stuff on my car that was "wrong". It seemed amazing how many things there were that could be wrong, any of which made the car really hard to drive. Since I pretty much stank at driving, the car always looked "wrong" on the track, but little by little I learned how to do the things they suggested to make it better. If you're not sure how to set up your car, or if it's working right, let someone who seems to know what they're doing try it out. Find out what changes they think you need to make, and more importantly, WHY they feel that way. The more you learn this, the better you'll be at setting up and adjusting your car for different tracks you race at.

Source
http://www.donegal.flyer.co.uk/driving.htm