Vision narrowing under "spirited" driving, Normal or not? Options

[Tom Perso]

Hey Guys,

I am a pretty inexperienced auto-x/track driver. In my life, I've done a total of 2 auto-x events and done some ride-arounds at the track.

I don't normally drive "spirited" on the street, but I've found a nice backroads on my way home from work. Quite a few twisties, fall colors on the trees, and sunlight peeking thru. It's quite a relaxing time after a hard day of work.

I'm pretty comfortable with the curves, and most of them are fairly open so I can see around the curve.

So, with that, I've put the BMW 325IS thru it's paces today. (The 914 is on jackstands, sans engine).

So, I've noticed that when I'm really winding the car out and hanging near the limits, my vision narrows - much like that in a "fight or flight" situation. I noticed this when I was at my auto-x's which was very disconcerning when you're trying to look ahead for the next turn, keep an eye on the gauges, and have a general "feel" of where you are on the course, when you have tunnel vision.

Is this a normal occurance, or is this just me and my inexperience? Anything that I can do?

I would assume that having a more open field of view while hanging it out thru a corner would be most benificial - especially in a track situation. Watching the line you're on, checking the car in front of you, and the ones in front of them.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Tom

[lapuwali]

It's a normal consequence of concentration. Your brain is simply blocking out unnecessary detail so you can get the job done. The more you're concentrating, the more tunnel visioned you become.

You'll find, as you get more experienced, a certain speed requires less active concentration, and you can relax more. More experience (and talent) means the bar slowly rises so you can eventually go lots faster while exerting no more effort than you do now to drive slowly. Whereas now you may have to sweat bullets to go a pace X, you'll eventually find your mind will wander, or you can do things like hold a conversation at pace X or even at pace X+10.

The phrase 10/10ths applies as much (really more) to the driver than it does to the car/tires/etc. You now may need to work your brain at 10/10ths to go 2 seconds a lap slower than someone else who's only working their brain at 8/10ths to maintain their speed. Eventually, with practice, you'll be able to hit their 8/10ths speed while working at 10/10ths, and later still, to match that pace at 8/10ths. An experienced endurance driver will usually drive at their own 8/10ths speed, as driving at 10/10ths is exhausting. Even an F1 driver will probably only use 9/10ths most of the time, and only dip into 10/10ths during critical moments (lap before and lap after a pit stop, or while chasing someone just a second or two up the track).

Driving at 8/10ths is also where smoothness comes from. If you can drive at the car's 10/10ths pace while you yourself are only operating at 8/10ths, you have enough brain capacity to think ahead and plan, and thus can be very smooth and controlled in your driving. If you have to push yourself to 10/10ths to fully exploit the car, then you're going to be ragged and less in control, and use up the tires more. This is why driving a "slow" car fast is so enjoyable, and why driving a really fast car fast is actually a lot of work.