Changing brake bias on the fly? Worth it?

[Sassanid]

How much does it help to change brake bias on the fly, on tracks like Nordschleife or Monza for example? As a rookie to sim racing, this is something that just recently randomly just started popping up in my Youtube feed, sim racing content providers explaining why changing brake bias for different areas of a track can help reduce lap times and take certain corners much easier.

Anyone else do this and how much would you say it helps and is it worth doing overall?

Cheers

[ling.speed]

For hotlapping in modern medium-high downforce cars it might be useful to change BB few times per lap but otherwise you are not gonna get much benefit. In some cases it can be useful for overtaking but you have to have some experiance with it.

That experiance is best learned in practice sessions, where generally as you increase the pace up ideal brake balance moves forward. So if you never felt the need to adjust brake balance while practicing you are most likely using too far forward BB and lean on ABS and strong coast diff to fix the car no matter what BB is at.

That is to say if you are not using loose enough car on entry you won't benefit from tinkering with BB mid lap. In that sense it's definitely worth it to try learning a looser car that will need more focus on brake balance.


When you start practice in new combo, or drive after few days off, you normally drive at reduced pace getting used to everyting. If you start the session by moving brake balance far back the car will drive more closely to how it would with original BB when pushed hard. This means less time needed to get used it and more consistency for tweaking the setup. Just remember to move BB forward as you pace yourself up.

If you incorporate this into your driving routine, you'll find yourself naturally wanting to change brake balance more depending on situation (for example for first lap or when tyres wear out or when you get damage etc).

This also means that if you prepare well for a race (or you can pace yourself skillfuly) you won't need to change BB.
In the end it's really a driver preference, and personally i think its too much work for too little gain after you go through the learning routine, but that learning itself is worth it as you will get faster the process, weather you'll actually use BB change mid lap or not.

[Sassanid]

Originally posted by ling.speed:

For hotlapping in modern medium-high downforce cars it might be useful to change BB few times per lap but otherwise you are not gonna get much benefit. In some cases it can be useful for overtaking but you have to have some experiance with it.

That experiance is best learned in practice sessions, where generally as you increase the pace up ideal brake balance moves forward. So if you never felt the need to adjust brake balance while practicing you are most likely using too far forward BB and lean on ABS and strong coast diff to fix the car no matter what BB is at.

That is to say if you are not using loose enough car on entry you won't benefit from tinkering with BB mid lap. In that sense it's definitely worth it to try learning a looser car that will need more focus on brake balance.


When you start practice in new combo, or drive after few days off, you normally drive at reduced pace getting used to everyting. If you start the session by moving brake balance far back the car will drive more closely to how it would with original BB when pushed hard. This means less time needed to get used it and more consistency for tweaking the setup. Just remember to move BB forward as you pace yourself up.

If you incorporate this into your driving routine, you'll find yourself naturally wanting to change brake balance more depending on situation (for example for first lap or when tyres wear out or when you get damage etc).

This also means that if you prepare well for a race (or you can pace yourself skillfuly) you won't need to change BB.
In the end it's really a driver preference, and personally i think its too much work for too little gain after you go through the learning routine, but that learning itself is worth it as you will get faster the process, weather you'll actually use BB change mid lap or not.

Thanks ling.speed! Just what I wanted to know. Seems like it's not that big of a deal then, at least not for my level. I'm thinking maybe a sim racer who races professionally in paid leagues and races, in that position where you really need to shave off a 10th of a second on certain corners on certain tracks, then changing the BB might be be one of the only tools left in the arsenal. In those situations I can definitely see it paying off if used correctly, but you're right I think for me it's probably not worth it and might even be a distraction

[VisciousFishes]

I have only tried brake bias once or twice in AC even though it's set to a dial on my wheel. I moved it too far and it upset the entire balance of the car. But I did move 20% in a dial spin. So lesson is this - make small changes not big ones if you make changes at all.

Some F1 drivers change their bias as they go around certain sectors of tracks. Not sure about other disciplines but I never feel the need to change it when driving Rallycross. But on track situations it can be helpful but as already mentioned its incremental.

If you are using stability management (ASM) traction control AND ABS you shouldn't need to change the brake bias at all. ASM controls the differential and ABS controls locks. With both on your losing time in corners anyway due to the way ASM works. Higher ASM values reduce your ability to drift but also reduce corner speed whereas lower values increase spin out likelihood while allowing higher cornering speed. For example my ASM value is 15%. 0% made the car far too twitchy for my liking.

[EntreNous]

IMHO, changing brake bias during a lap for particular corners is only going to benefit the top talented aliens. You first need to be able to drive extremely consistent lap after lap on the limit and have your times be within a tenth or two. Only then, when you feel you are getting EVERYTHING out of the car on every single lap, will the brake bias settings give you any advantage.

[VisciousFishes]

Dude here's a video on the benefits and application of brake bias. Just found it after watching something else but remembered this thread.

https://youtu.be/zNw4wQu__Oo

[Sassanid]

Originally posted by jakethebusker:

Dude here's a video on the benefits and application of brake bias. Just found it after watching something else but remembered this thread.

https://youtu.be/zNw4wQu__Oo

Thank you! Will watch later on today

[Sassanid]

Originally posted by EntreNous:

IMHO, changing brake bias during a lap for particular corners is only going to benefit the top talented aliens. You first need to be able to drive extremely consistent lap after lap on the limit and have your times be within a tenth or two. Only then, when you feel you are getting EVERYTHING out of the car on every single lap, will the brake bias settings give you any advantage.

That makes sense

[VisciousFishes]

Originally posted by The18thFret:

Thank you! Will watch later on today

Don't mention it. It's my pleasure. He also had a video on trail braking which I recommend having a look at too. Very clear instructions.

[Sassanid]

Originally posted by jakethebusker:

Originally posted by The18thFret:

Thank you! Will watch later on today

Don't mention it. It's my pleasure. He also had a video on trail braking which I recommend having a look at too. Very clear instructions.

I concur! I've seen his trail braking vid a few months ago and it changed the way I drive in a such a big way. Realyl gave me the confidence to take corners faster, understanding that tyre slip is ok, as long as we know the range we're aiming for then there's no need to panic, and it really does result in faster lap times. Will def check out the BB vid too now seeing it's by Danny