Effective Cornering: Making Each Turn Work For You.

I've developed something I like to call Effective Cornering. It's basically a maneuver in which you round a corner at the highest comfortable speed in order to reduce braking while entering the corner, maintain momentum, and reduce acceleration after exiting the corner. It typically only works with right-hand turns and requires being familiar enough with your vehicle's handling characteristics along with traffic and road conditions. Race-car drivers employ this technique to maintain high speeds. But you can use it to save fuel and improve brake life.
Here's how it works:
When entering a traffic free corner there are five things your brain needs to asses.

• Pavement & traffic condition: This will give you an immediate feeling of how safe a high speed approach will be for you, your vehicle, and everything around you. Therefore how much you should brake to achieve that speed.
  

• Angle of corner: The sharpness of the corner will tell you how fast you should approach and how wide you will want to sweep before entering. Most traffic lanes are wider than you think, and if the vehicle's tires kiss that yellow line you're doing great. Most other motorists wont even notice.

• Approach: Becoming comfortable with the angle of the corner will tell you where you should position your car when you begin the turn. Swing wide and visualize the widest possible curved line that will position you for the next part of the turn. This is also where you should have your speed set, letting off the brake.
  

• Apex: The apex is a term used is astrology, geometry, dentistry and a million other areas of study. But it is commonly used to mean "the outermost tip." The apex is the outermost point of the traffic corner, but it will be the point of your turn closest to the inside of the corner. After making your approach try to position your right rear tire just to the outside of this point, and prepare for your grand exit.

• Exit: Visualize the point on the road that you would like to end up at, and while swinging your vehicle wide, create a graceful curve to that point. It's best to think of your exit as a mirror image of your approach with the pivot being the apex.

Done properly, this maneuver will seem like one seamless, graceful turn and shouldn't look like a careless driving violation. Practice your approach, apex positioning and exit at low speeds first, then slowly increase speed until it's a comfortable maneuver. if you hear your tires chirping you've gone too far. Lower your speed and try again.
I will in no way assume responsibility for traffic fines, or damage to property.

~abC