5 Drills to Improve Your Lap Times Without Spending a Penny

If you’ve ever watched your rivals pull away on the gaming track and thought, “I need a better wheel or rig,” here’s some good news: you can shave seconds off your lap times without spending a single penny.

In this guide, we’ll share 5 Drills to Improve Your Lap Times Without Spending a Penny - proven sim racing exercises that focus purely on skill. No upgrades, no new software, just you, your setup, and consistent practice. Perfect if you’re chasing personal bests or trying to climb the online leader boards.

Drill 1: The “No Brakes” Cornering Challenge – Part of 5 Drills to Improve Your Lap Times Without Spending a Penny

Goal: Improve your racing line and corner entry speed.

How to do it: Pick a safe track with plenty of run-off (like Silverstone or Monza) and drive several laps without touching the brakes - lift off the throttle early instead. This forces you to carry momentum, read corners better, and avoid over driving.

Benefit: You’ll learn the true grip limits of your tyres and build smoother cornering habits.

2. Ghost Racing Against Yourself

Goal: Consistency and incremental improvement.

How to do it: Run a clean lap, then race against your own ghost. The trick is to only focus on beating it by small margins each time — 0.1 seconds here, 0.2 seconds there.

Benefit: You’ll spot exactly where you’re losing time and build muscle memory for faster sections.

3. The Late Apex Drill

Goal: Master controlled corner exits for better lap times.

How to do it: In practice mode, aim to hit the apex of every corner slightly later than usual. This often means sacrificing entry speed to maximise your acceleration on the exit.

Benefit: More speed on the straights, which is where most overtakes happen.

4. Brake Point Discipline

Goal: Perfect braking consistency.

How to do it: Choose a braking marker (trackside board, marshal post, shadow) and brake at that exact point every lap. If you can, gradually move the braking point forward until you find your limit.

Benefit: Eliminates panic braking and gives you predictable corner entries.

5. One-Gear Lap

Goal: Smooth throttle control and improved cornering speed.

How to do it: Pick a middle gear (3rd or 4th) and complete a lap without changing gears. This forces you to modulate throttle perfectly and carry speed through corners instead of relying on power.

Benefit: Builds smoother driving style and better car control under low torque.

Pro Tip: Track Your Progress

Use the same track, same weather, and same car each time you run these drills. Keep a log of your lap times, and you’ll see your improvements stack up - often faster than if you’d just bolted on a new mod.

Final Thoughts

Improving lap times isn’t always about spending more money on your sim rig - it’s about refining your skills behind the wheel. These five drills cost nothing but time, and the payoff can be huge in both confidence and results.

If you want to combine skill with setup performance, check out our range of Logitech wheel mods designed and tested here at GMOD UK. Better skills + better gear = the ultimate lap time advantage.