Become a better driver.

i agree with you... and let's not forget, some people even send SMS and MMS thru their cellphones while driving... asia is a texting (thru cellhpones) continent (bcoz it's cheap) and alot of recorded accidents here are due to cellphone users who dunno how to use their hands free kit, they can't concentrate on their driving and they keep texting while driving too...

Ever heard of a racing line? yes, you do want to stay in a particular section of the track most of the time, unless you're trying to pass someone of course. Of course you can't drive all-out on the street, but much of what driving schools teach is transferred directly onto the street. Like I said before, it's about car control.

I disagree that conditions on the street are more dynamic than on the track. You're not driving at your limit on the street (if you have common sense, that is), but you're doing so at the track. Things like slalom, skidpad, etc help a lot with things on the street like emergency lane changes and such.

But what I am talking about is driving at your limit on the street. In the canyons, at the switchbacks, on closed sections. Isolated of course, so that you do not hurt yourself or others. I do not disagree that car control is important. After all, this is what we are talking about believe it or not.

Also that is why I used the qualifier "in this fashion." Definitely on a track there are "lanes" or particular sections of a track that you want to use. They are not marked usually by white or yellow lanes like on a street. Typically they are marked in tire marks and oil lines on the ground.

I really do want to get trained in driving more. I would love to drive those carts that they use in those types of schools.

they use vipers and neons

I wouldn't mind driving a viper. The only neon I would be caught dead in is a SRT-4.

hey, you teach a very affective way to spin out..... you seem to know what youre getting at, but you obviously have a lot to learn. oversteer is not an ideal condition for 90% of people, and especially fwd, seeing as how lateral movement is not forward movement

What I am trying to teach is advanced driver technique. Some applies to beginners, but if you do not know how to handle your car, do not try this at home kiddies.

I would try to stay away from car setup. This can be good for another thread. I like your contribution, though. Thanks.<br />
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Agreed that &quot;tracing the line&quot; or following your lane is good advice. This teaches car control on how you can trace a line fast and safely. Car control is key.<br />
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I have experienced what you talk about shifting the weight to the front and letting the rear rotate around the corner. This was scary and fun at the same time. Truely an experience that would be felt at an amusement park. I would say it is easy to learn, and hard to master.

A lot of rally drivers will use left foot braking. They usually don't know the course ahead of them so they have to be prepared for unexpected turns. They are also pros who get paid a lot of money to brake with their left foot

If you're going canyon carving or something, I'd say make at least one pass at a normal speed to get a feel for the twists and turns. Don't push your car farther than you've pushed it before - save that for a place without 100 foot drops. And always remember that you're on a street, not a track, and need to treat it that way, and always expect a car coming out around the next blind curve.

The one piece of advice for general street driving I'd give is to never assume the guy with his right blinker will make that turn, or that if he enters the left turn lane he will stay there, or even that the large Jeep directly next to you isn't going to try to change to your lane with you in the way (personal experience, fortunately I saw him all the way). Always assume they are going to do the most idiotic, brainless things they can do (i.e. worst case scenario) because oftentimes, they will.

I'll have to try the mirror / curb trick. good idea.

statik

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Number two is something you deffinatley shouldn't do. The one and only reason you dont do that is because in the event of an hard braking drivers who use both feet at like to push down both pedals.

Keyword there is pros, I doubt anyone on this board is a professional driver. Therefore you won't take any advantage to doing it. Your left foot is for a clutch pedal. In an automatic your left foot is for your foot rest.

I am a professional driver. <img src="http://vvti.net/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Smile" />

Hey Montana, I Coulndt Have Said It Any Better!

I agree, oversteer would be bad in a fwd. I think if i ever got my car to oversteer i'd have a heart attack. Anyhoo, is there any situation where you can actually be faster by setting up your FF to oversteer? Can you even control it?

Personally, i'd rather have a car setup to be as neutral as possible trying to minimize understeer but to never oversteer.

Oversteer can be used to the advantage of a driver in certain situations. Most people would prefer a "neutral" setup on a RWD. For a FWD an "oversteer" setup may be the best choice to get around corners faster.

Yeah, but when you're oversteering in a FWD, you have no control. Since the front wheels have both the power and steering, it'd just constantly be wanting to straighten itself out if you're oversteering. You'd just end up fighting the car more than anything.

I can make my car understeer like crazy, but if i shift the weight just right, I can get little to no understeer and make it feel pretty neutral.

I just really don't see the advantage.

Well it is all about rotating around those corners. You can still keep control without making constant adjustments if the car is set up good. If you overdo it like you said this would be a bad way to setup your car unless you are constantly turning because then adjustments would be made when turning as opposed to trying to keep the car straight. The only situation i could think of is an autocross course or something similar to it.

Left Foot Braking is not a bad thing if you know how to do it.

For around town, just keep your eyes open and always be on the alert. Since I have had a lot of incidents where people have either hit me or was not paying attention I look at everyone on the road as a hazard and they want to hit me.

For tossing the car in the corners, first start slow on the corners, learn the the driving line for those corners, and then slowly speed up.

Mind you, I dont drive with 2 hands, my left hand is usually anywhere between, 12 and 6 on the left side of the wheel.

They say you can tell a lot about a driver based on how they position their hand(s) on the steering wheel. The best technique is both hands on the steering wheel except when shifting. After the shift is complete return the hand to the steering wheel.

Although going slow through the corner and learning the turn before you take it is nice, the best approach is to learn to estimate your entry speed for a turn and how to achieve that speed by either accelerating or braking. In other words be actively thinking about everything dealing with the turn. What is the road grip like? What gear should I be in during the entry of the turn and should I upshift/downshift? Is it the best to take the racing line (out-in-out) or to adjust based on the previous or next turn? Should the corner be clipped or traced?

It starts to get more complicated on turns that are increasing radius or decreasing radius like on-ramps and off-ramps like to be designed here in the U.S..

Well when I started to learn this one road, I started driving on that road at that legal limit and then started getting faster and faster till now I sit between 60 to 100 on this road with no problems.

Here is a hopefully good link man.
http://home.tiscali.be/be067749/58/c10/

Reason why I drive with one hand is cause I am once and awhile affected by a uncontrable muscle spam on my right shoulder that affects my hand as well. So its more of a safety thing for me.

Of course if you are limited in one hand I wouldn't expect you to use both of your hands. I also wouldn't expect you to do any possibly dangerous manuevers being limited in being able to respond to.

I really dont let my arm get to my driving, I still have fun on the backroads. Gotarheels and Corollarider19 knows how fast I drive on this twisty backroad. So far I have hit a top speed of 100. I am not totaly screwed with driving with both hands, but I dont do it too often.

But I have learned how to drive fast and stable with one hand.

dont brake while your in a high speed turn.

naw i just trail on the brakes a little when doing high speed corners.

try to look at whats in front of the car in front of you..
i like to drive on the left side of the lane so i can have a clearer view of whats in front

Great post. I try to do this when I want to see what is holding up traffic or to get a better view of the road.