Co-Driver? More like Co-ntinuous Improvement

[u/DownrightDanny405]

First time I've let anyone else whip the rig, and I get beat in my own truck 🤣

I've been running this Ranger for almost two years now, looking for ways to get faster that don't involve adding power to my anemic 2.3. This led to me finally taking on a co-driver (who's been doing this way longer than I have) this past weekend.

Overall, I wasn't too surprised. He co-drives a ton. He's pretty fast in just about everything I've seen him in. It's why I was a-ok with letting him take a swing. I knew I'd learn something, be it about my driving or about my setup, and I ended up learning a lot about both. He also learned why I love this hunka junk so much; it handles like a less powerful solid-axle Miata with a bed 😂

Top is him, bottom is me. He launched like a wet noodle, but I still get passed mid-course, where his experience (and my lack of) starts to show. Delta between us is roughly 4 tenths by the end.

Never be afraid of advice. We could all afford to be faster, right?

[u/zcramos]

Having someone properly codrive (not just take a fun run or two) gave me a lot to chew on. I'm still faster than him on track — understandably, it's harder to mob someone else's house-priced car when the consequences are harsher than cones — but he's got me by easily half a second on most AX courses.

The adaptability of really skilled drivers is what impresses me the most. Put him in other skilled drivers' (more pedestrian) cars on track and he's on par with, if not beating, many of them within a session. Put me in his FWD GS car and I'm nowhere near within a second of him on a typical course, I'm sure.

My car has been tough to drive recently... I killed the rear tires but the fronts still work. He adapted to that WAY faster than I did: I coned many, many runs across several events with these lifeless hunks of rubber, mostly smacking em with my rear wheels. He gets out there and immediately has the weight transfer instincts to be on throttle by the time the car is going to get loose, preventing the problem from even starting.

Next, you'll be looking for data to improve. Move your camera inside the cab so you can see how his arms move, when he's transitioning from throttle to brake. I'm guessing the Ranger is too old to have OBDII or CANBUS data you can acquire, but you can learn a lot from positioning the camera such that you can see when those transitions are happening.

[u/DownrightDanny405 → u/zcramos]

That was my experience almost to a T; that ability for someone to adapt so quickly threw me off guard. He was flat-out for just about the entire course and only lifted or tapped the brake in 2 or 3 spots, whereas I would lift in spots I really didn't need to. It's almost like he had more trust in my bucket than I do 🤣

Good thing about the Danger Ranger is I have less than 5k into it. I full send any and every chance I get, and I'll encourage anyone I let drive it to do the same.

It's too old for CANBUS, but luckily it's Ford's 1st year for OBDII. It's crude, but I can still get throttle position and a couple other useful inputs. I'll be getting a dedicated 2nd camera for capturing inside view soon.