Is it worth it.......

Ok, we havent had a pole for a while, so here goes:

Is it worth knowing how to drive your car, and know where her limits are, or should you not.

Want a good response from you, so I dont want to see a high view count and not many votes.

im prob only one voted last option so far.

Would like to know but in controlled circumstances, i.e professional tips first then u go out there and give it a go wit them in car, giving tips as u go....

i sense group activity...of course with cheering for the people who cock it up

As in riding a Motorbike its very important to know your cars limitations , if for no other reason than to avoid the classic it wont go round the corner moments , the car prob will its you that cant , unfortunatley as i found out on the bike numerous times when you find its limits you are normally sitting on your arse watching the P & J slide down the track !!!

Dude

:flame Dev

Yes it is. Simple as that. Take the car out on a few mornings VERY early, and see what it can do, for safetys sake if nothing else!

YES !! then if the shit hits the fan you have some idea of how to get out of trouble

When I first got the car I booked myself on an airfield day - a safe and controlled environment to really explore the limits of the car.

Firstly it helped me learn how the car reacts to silly driver input and how to correct it but most importantly it taught me how high the limits are on the Supra, I bet a lot of people only extract 50% of the handling out of the car because they their own skill is way behind the cars own ability.

Having said all this if you add diesel and damp to the equation nothing you have learnt on a dry track seems to help

I'd highly recommend a track day or drift day, safe enviroment, normally plenty of run off, so no harm to you or vehicle if it goes Pete Tong.

Dude, do you have front hump, like the back one, for the chest hair??

I think it's one of the most important things you can do in any performance car...

I think it's worth remembering that driver skill is a big part of other cars on the road/track getting the better of you. When I had my Elise I knew drivers who could punch way above there weight and would shame big power cars.

All purely because they are able to drive the car properly....

Being a qualified racing driver I would say that it is essential if you're driving a high powered RWD performance car.

Not only should you know why a car slides as it does in a theoretical sense, you should also know why it does it in practise.

Only by combining these two elements will you be a safe driver in such a car.

99% of the people who buy a Supra buy one because of its performance qualities. Guys & Gals who do not know the limits of their cars are cheating themselves out of one of the main reasons for buying such a car in the first place.

As already mentioned in the above posts.... to know the limits of your Supra makes you a better/safer driver. Not only are we talking about simply sliding a car around under control but it also makes you think ahead more when driving. ie. once you know the limit of grip you can plan much more in advance the speed you want to take a corner... this then gives you prior time to get the car into the right gear at the right speed and also allows you to compensate for certain road conditions to allow you to drive through the corner well under the speed danger area.

If any of you want any performance driving tuition when doing trackdays in the North... such as Croft/Elvington/Teeside/Oulton then feel free to give me a call and I'll sit in with you if you like.

thats a yes for me to

i have done alot of street racing and still do also had alot of fast cars from cossie to the lancer evo4

from 4 wheel drive to rear and front wheel

and they all have different feel and different limits

so yes i do think its a good idea to get used to your car

and know what it can and cannot do

i have seen and raced so many people with high powered cars

that end up in all sorts of trouble where they have pushed there

car or there abilities to far

and this one is for aji

alot of people say that a street racer is a fast driver on the streets but a slow driver on the track and vice verser

so i was wondering if i could maybe race against you on the track just to see if its true

not being a big head and wanting to prove a point just want to know thats all maybe we can teach each other a thing or to.....

p.s. if any one wants to learn how to drift or anything about car control gimme a shout.....................

The question and answers don't make sense.

Yes you should know how to handle your car. I don't, but would like to learn.

I chose number three, but was torn between 1 and 3 obviously.

like i said you wanna learn gimme a shout i will teach ya dude.......

Definitley think it's a good idea to know the limits (of yourself as well of the car).

Slow dog : I'm always up for a challenge but for you to test your theory we would have to be in identical cars to race each other. Otherwise it would just be a case of who's spent most on their road car.

Do you have a racing license (national 'B' or above) ?

If so I will be racing at Silverstone (stowe circuit) at the end of next spring (as this year's season is over and I'm out of cash).

If you'd like to see how you compare from your street racing background to a circuit racing background such as myself then you can enter one of these Formula Ford races (or Formula First for a bit less cash). Let me know if your up for that and I'll PM you closer the time with further details.

I'd also be interested because there are some damn good drivers out there who haven't had the chance to get properly invloved in motor racing. Given the chance us Brits could be much more representative in the world of motorsport.

p.s. When you say street racing are you talking about just straight line stuff as in the USA or proper racing round corners? Be good if it was the latter.

There hasn't been a vote in a while???

aji:

cool my kinda guy

no class b licence her mate

never needed one to race on my tarmac. but point the way and i will see what i can do.

and i have raced in reading london at ace cafe basingstoke guilford slough windsor

and proper street racing as in courners roundabouts straights

kinda of a get away in stockholm theme.

i have raced for many years and learnt to drive the hard way in

carparks and on the street were as you have learnt on the track

so after the track race how about on one of my tracks my after that..............

anyway looks like the the race is on what you wanna race for......

I've seen slo-dog drive ... and I can say that he can certainly fling a Supe's ass round corners and still make it look piss easy.

Paul - remember you're teaching me how to donut - next we meet up.

Originally posted by slow dog

aji:

 

cool my kinda guy

no class b licence her mate

never needed one to race on my tarmac. but point the way and i will see what i can do.

and i have raced in reading london at ace cafe basingstoke guilford slough windsor

and proper street racing as in courners roundabouts straights

kinda of a get away in stockholm theme.

i have raced for many years and learnt to drive the hard way in

carparks and on the street were as you have learnt on the track

so after the track race how about on one of my tracks my after that..............

anyway looks like the the race is on what you wanna race for......

sounds like a scene out of fast and the furious

thanks dude and yeh its all good man you will be making hoops

in no time..........

It does sound like a bit of Fast&Furious going on.

What to race for ? I thought it was to test your theory... nothing more?

When you street race do you close the road or something? I'm not really the type of person to race on a random road at full speed unless I know exactly what lies ahead and that I am confident that I'm not going to put others at risk.

On road racing unless the road is closed you can only travel at a speed dictated by your stopping distance otherwise its an accident waiting to happen.

I also do a bit of road rallying so I do know how to push to the limits on 'U', 'C', 'B', 'A' class roads etc. But this is usually at night and you can see well ahead with oncoming headlights etc. And to help there is a navigator calling out what lies ahead.

I think the safest way to test your theory is to do it on track, as there isn't a viable way to do it on the road. (How do we ensure equal cars etc? Level of safety etc.)

The way I started my track driving was to do the Silverstone 5-day race intensive course. Although it is a bit pricey the amount of driving and track expereince you get is abosolutely amazing. If you want to get a national 'B' license then this is the way to do it. It comes part of the package with the course where you get top notch instruction throughout the week with your ARDS at the end followed by a couple of official races.

I you realy want to do the road thing then are you willing to travel upto Cumbira? There is a good quite road which leads up the side of the Pennines..... some of the North-eastern guys have been up it (who can vouch for the challenge it presents) and there is some footage of it on the recent Lake District meet-up video (near the end). - Will have to be next year as my Supra is being prepared for being off road for the winter.

Just had a thought... better still to come along to next year's Lake District Convoy... there will be numerous cars for you to have a go against aswell as me It is planned that the route will be similar to the previous event and will encorporate the road that I am on about.

Check out this year's event on this link....

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ajiwebsite/

(supra movies section)

I chose option 3 on the voting scheme. I'd prefer a trackday myself ... even if there were other people on the track - I wouldn't race them - just let them pass. The experience would be a learning curve for me.

I've never done a trackday ... how much is it ?

i did a trackday at castle combe recently, it was actually suprising just how good the handling really is on a supra:D i started off fairly slowly and built up my speed (and Confidence) by the end of the day i was perfectly happy to really push the car to its limits and let it all hang out

it cost me £150 for the day and i paid £95 for track insurance incase i stacked it:)

tbh i think every supra owner should have a go at track driving because it really is so much fun and im sure an awfull lot of people would be very suprised at just how good their car is:D

The only reason option 3 is there in the voting is because we wanted to be able to split the "No" replies into those that genuinally think that this sort of knowledge should not be held by gneral public road users, to those that dont know but would like to.......So far then there is 2 people that genuinally dont think this knowledge should be known by people like us......Wonder if they would care to step forward and explain their reasoning to this conclusion........

Originally posted by Ashley Willis

there is 2 people that genuinally dont think this knowledge should be known by people like us......Wonder if they would care to step forward and explain their reasoning to this conclusion........

Where's this leading anyway?

Originally posted by attilauk

it cost me £150 for the day and i paid £95 for track insurance incase i stacked it:)

£245 Inclusive ? That's pretty good. So, you just went around the track at your own pace. How many other cars were on the track at the same time ?