Jumping the Car added: 02.07.2018

Category: Training     Views: 1808     Rating:

While on the ground the vehicle is at it's most stable but in the air is another story.
When the vehicle jumps and is in flight there are ways to control it's attitude for whatever your purpose. I'll cover the methods I know about and why i'd do them:

3 components of jumping the car

Launch:
When approaching a jump, You'll want to know what is coming up next like a turn, another jump or flat ground. Generally, try to square up to the jump before you hit it. What this means is that if you were to draw a line where the jump is and a line where your car's approach is they should be as perpendicular or 90 degrees to each other as possible. This will make the vehicle's flight and landing the most stable, without much driver influence.

Mid-air:
There will be times when the vehicle will be "out of shape" when leaving the jump, despite the driver's best efforts, and course correction will be necessary or purposeful.
On throttle will cause the front end to lift
Off throttle will cause the front end to dive
Steering Left will cause the right side of the vehicle to drop
Steering Right will cause the left side of the vehicle to drop

Doing two of these inputs simultaneously will have a compound effect. Some of the drivers in the know call this combo "whipping" the car. In other words, leaving the jump squarely and doing any two of those above mentioned actions will cause the vehicle to pivot in mid-air. This is usually used to set the vehicle up for the approaching corner (advanced technique) or fix how the car is going to land from an unexpected initial launch.

Landing:
Depending on the circumstance, the idea is to land safely/smoothly and have the most traction after the suspension has settled and is ready for the next input. It's usually a good idea to land on all four wheels at the same time. However, if there is a sharp turn right after the landing then it may be a good idea to drop the outside front tire down first to get the vehicle to start rotating before the other three tires make contact. Try out different ways to land and see if it improves lap times.

Edited by author: 2.7.2018 16:14:47 GMT