Smooth Steering Excellence - Weird Techniques that Produce Extraordinary Smoothness

Two strange techniques that work wonders for taking steering smoothness to the next level.

This weeks article (and videos) is about two weird techniques that can get you into smoothness Nirvana.

Elliot Harvey, a very subtle shoulder dropper! You can sense from his head position and steering angle how engaged he is with a perfect apex, he won’t need to correct his steering at all (photo Stu Stretton)

If you want to really sharpen up your steering smoothness in a natural way, without having to think about every little input, then these tricks can make it flow beautifully.

There may be very good science reasons these work, which I'll take a stab at, but really, all that matters is that if you get these techniques right you can get into a real groove using minimal steering inputs that the kart absolutely loves.

Speed just comes out of your driving. It can feel really good to perform too.

The Two Game-Changing Techniques are:

1. The Pointy Fingers Technique

2. The Shoulder Drop

I’ll go through the easy one first (video follows)

Pointy Fingers Technique: Softer Grip, Earlier Feedback

This works on two levels:

1. Superior feel from your steering

2. Visual combining with physiological - getting your visual info directly working with your hands in harmony

Softer Grip, More Sensitivity

The pointy finger technique creates a softer grip on the wheel, preventing you from death gripping. This softer grip makes you more sensitive, able to feel small, early signs of something happening with the kart. Your whole index finger is feeling along the rim of the wheel, providing early subtle and early steering feedback.

When you feel these early signals, you make small, pre-emptive adjustments with the steering, preventing things from going wrong further down the road. It's like an early warning system that makes you faster.

In contrast, gripping the wheel too tightly with a death grip causes you to lose steering feedback. You won't pick up on small signals, so the kart will begin to misbehave more before you get the signal and make a correction. This leads to big, ugly corrections rather than tiny, pre-emptive ones.

The pointy finger technique keeps you sensitive and responsive, making faster, smoother, and more precise steering adjustments.

Find out What Magic Happens when you Lighten Your Grip on the Wheel

Point where You Want to Go - Hate Understeer and Oversteer

With the pointy finger technique, you point your fingers where you want to go. Pointing is something we all instinctively understand, and for me it certainly directs how I engage with a corner.

As you approach a corner, you look to your apex well ahead. Then, you point your fingers toward the apex and gently ease the steering into the corner. Your eyes pick the target, and pointing your fingers immediately gets your hands working in harmony with your eyes.

This is how it feels when your fingers are pointing down the road

Once you've hit the apex, you point your fingers early towards the exit. This keeps your eyes and hands locked on the exit point, guiding the kart out of the corner smoothly and precisely.

It's a cool feeling, almost like you're aiming a weapon and riding it at the same time. This pointing method keeps you super focused on guiding the kart perfectly. Any big, strong steering movements feel very uncomfortable because you'd be pointing away from your target.

So the pointy finger technique keeps you laser-focused and locked in on your racing line. It makes you hate understeer and oversteer, because they take you away from where you're pointing. You naturally make smaller, more precise inputs to keep the kart going exactly where your fingers are guiding it.

So it keeps you on target, locked in. Really locked in.

Built-In Feedback and Punishment for Excess Steering

Another big benefit: if you use too much steering with this pointy finger technique, it hurts. You feel tension in your tendons, especially in your forearms and wrists because you're bending your fingers in an uncomfortable way. Not the hand on the outside of the wheel, but the one on the inside. It's like, "Ah, I don't like that."

You get very immediate feedback of discomfort. You don't have to think, "Am I steering too much?" You feel it. It's like a punishment for using too much steering angle’

So it's like an immediate feedback mechanism for smoothness. The smoother you are, the more right you feel, physically, without having to think about it.

Here’s a video where I talk though how it feels: