Originally Posted by Nathan1234
Wrong and wrong.
This is the point at which the contact patch is just barely sliding a little. It's not sliding much, so you still have control. This represents maximum traction for most tires and is the reason Bob Bondurant says "a squealing tire is a happy tire."
And many cars drop the AC clutch solenoid at WOT (so it won't really do anything when you want to go fast). And even if the car doesn't, you wont lose 10% of your power, and peak power doesn't matter in a real curve anyway.
i'm sure bob wasn't referring to street tires or even r compounds. race slicks are different.
also if your tires are sliding then you have less control. the advice however probably holds true for seasoned autoxers. however, we are talking about a beginner where squeeling tires = wayyy over driving the car which results in very slow times.
also the AC advice still stands. why? because in an autox rarely are you at full throttle for more than a second or two. Even in a relatively long course you wont be full throttle for more than say 3-4 seconds and that would be a very long straight.