At the beginning of this year I stated that one of my goals for 2024 is to “poke” at things (2024, Here We Come!), and ask whether they should be followed, changed, or discarded. So, doing my best imitation of Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from one of my all-time favorite TV shows, MythBusters, I’m going to tackle some of the most common myths in the driving community. Unfortunately, unlike Adam and Jamie, I’m not able to use any explosives! Although, I might just blow up some long-held beliefs as I prove them plausible, confirmed, or busted.
But first, according to the Oxford Dictionary, a myth is “A widely held but false belief or idea.” I would add that many are somewhat controversial, as well, so let me poke at them.
Myth: Never coast. You should either be on the brakes or on the throttle.
Way back in a previous century, in around 1996-97, I wrote and had my first Speed Secrets book published. In it, I stated: “Your right foot should always be either on the throttle (even if it's a light, steady throttle) or the brakes. Don't waste time doing nothing, with your foot in between the two. You should never be coasting.”
At the time, I didn’t fully understand the impact that my written words could have (naive me!). I looked at this statement as a guideline, and not a rule that must be followed at all costs. To me, it was a goal, or a target to aim for, knowing that it didn’t always work out this way.
Over the years, I’ve had to correct myself or clarify what I meant to say, and I’ve apologized if I’ve ever misled a driver. I’m sorry.
Still, I think it’s a good target to aim for, as the less time coasting, the more time decelerating and accelerating. Most of the time. But sometimes, immediately going from braking to accelerating can actually hurt more than it helps. There are times when you’re better off coasting – or as I like to call it, “hesitating” – after easing off the brakes and before you begin applying the throttle.
Why?
To allow your car to continue to change direction, or rotate.
Let’s look at an example: As you turn into a corner while trail braking, more load is on the front tires than the rear. That usually results in the car changing direction, turning, or rotating from straight ahead to the angle you want your car to be pointing, so you can begin accelerating out of the corner.
As you ease your foot off the brakes, there is a point where you’re not longer touching the brake pedal. This is the EoB, or End of Braking. If you immediately switch from the EoB to applying some amount of throttle, you’re going to limit or stop the amount your car is changing direction. If it’s rotating too much, that’s good; if the car has not rotated enough, then picking up the throttle that soon is going to delay when you can fully commit to the throttle, and hurt your acceleration out of the corner.
If, instead of immediately applying some throttle, you hesitate for a brief moment (perhaps milliseconds), your car will still have more load on the front tires than the rears, and continue to rotate towards the angle you want it pointed so you can accelerate strongly out of the corner.
Your takeaway from what I’ve written here – I hope – is that you should be okay with hesitating sometimes before transitioning from braking to acceleration, from the brake to the gas pedal.
Plausible: In some corners, with some cars, the best thing you can do after finishing releasing the brakes is… nothing. Sometimes it’s best to coast for a fraction of a second before applying the throttle to let the car finish rotating, or changing direction. If you want, think of it as hesitating before applying the throttle, not coasting. If you get on the throttle immediately after releasing the brake pedal, but then have to back out of the throttle because the car isn’t pointed in the right direction yet, then you should probably have hesitated going back to throttle.
An old episode of Top Gear had Sir Jackie Stewart coaching James May around a track. One of the things that has stuck with me from the piece was Stewart's admonishment to "never get on the throttle until you know you won't have to get off the throttle." Or words to that effect.
I like to think of it almost musically. There’s a rhythm and tempo thru the corner, and sometimes that means “taking a beat” before accelerating. That beat or breath puts you in a better position to play through the next section.
Or, given the regular references to “car dancing”, it means that slightest of pauses to allow your partner to finish her/his turning before you move together to the next step. Fewer bruised toes that way.