How good are your driving skills?

I went to the AMG driving experience a couple of years ago at Fontana and tried to drive every AMG they had (within reason). then I did hot laps with Derek Bell in an AMG SL65. I learned a few things:

1. I am too old and inexperienced to drive at those speeds +165mph
2. I am out of shape to control a car at those speeds
3. I don't have the reaction time to make corrective measures if necessary
4. I'd need many more pit-stops for "breaks"
5. You really need good eyesight, and mine is 20/20!

but:

my car is clean, polished, and not a spider-web swirl on it (that I CAN see and do!!!) and I can drive it well and also parallel park it too!

that works for me

 

I make Michael Schumacher seem slow.




























Then the @#$%ing alarm goes off.

 

Oh boy...

The ultimate "My Dad can beat up your Dad" question for the aging adult.

Sorry, but that question brings back memories of high school talks when guys first started figuring out how to bracket race at the local 1/8 mile strip. Funny stuff.

I'm an okay driver. I can heel-toe and can hustle a car when I want to, but have never done any proper time on a track and know that I would have lots to learn. No Ferrari to speak of, and I have yet to own a rear wheel drive car, so I'll have lots more to learn when I cross those lines (will hopefully cross them simultaneously!).

 

Knowing your limits and driving below them are the best way to enjoy these cars. Most likely the cars limits are greater than yours and once you go beyond the point where your skill can keep up with the cars performance, you will not have much enjoyment.

In light of that information, taking some driving courses will definitely increase your enjoyment of any high performance car.

 

I have been a chief driving instructor for the FCA, and less skill is necessary with the newer cars. The older cars rewarded, or bit you depending on your abilities, and were allot of fun as a result. Having good skills with any high performance car, as well as being smooth will pay dividends when attacking a road.

 

"80% of all people say they are above average drivers."

 

I think I am an average driver...no false braggadocio here.

 

I know I am above average IF you include those texting, while SUV driving, soccer Moms as average (on the American Highway).


But to D R I V E my 308 with any degree of competance; not even close.


I want and need to attend a few driving courses to get better, but I will NEVER be able to sling my car around the track. Nearing 50 and just too old for that poop, without seriously endangering myself or others.

 

I have done two driving courses with BMW M-cars at Misano (a track in Italy) and the more I do these courses, the more I realize there is so much more to learn.

Having driven the 599 a lot in the past month, I must say that it's very hard to enjoy these cars in safety without some sports driving education.

I feel that I still have tons to learn and will be back for more courses. IMO getting good driver education is very important.

A problem with a lot of people is that they drive beyond their limits. It's better to drive under your abilities than a bit above them....some just don't realize that. Prudence in the most important quality to possess when driving IMHO.

 

During the 2+ years I drove my 430 I was starting to actually believe that Im a very good driver.........Over the last 2 months driving my 997 TT with a manual transmission I have been made VERY aware of how much the 430 made me believe my own bull.....Some track time with an instructor is in my future.

 

That's a complicated question. There are those who buy cars to be seen in.
(Seeing the way Beemers are driven in the DC area, I can see why BMW is dropping out of F1.)

But Italian cars provide a huge amount of feedback to the driver ---- provided you understand the language.

You don't have to be a Schumacher to drive them, but you'll get more out of them if you understand enough about gearboxes to know how a double declutch works, to know friction circles and the use of heel / toe shifts, and understand weight transfer and why you shouldn't take a speed bump under braking.

The key to driving a Ferrari *isn't* driving fast.

The key is *precision*. A heel / toe shift is simply two different actions (braking and rev matching) done at the same time. You can practice each separately (rev matching on shifts in a straight line, brake modulation when slowing), and then combine them *slowly*.

If you drive fast and sloppy, it'll bite you. (If you drive slow and sloppy, it'll bite you, too: just with less momentum.)

If you drive slow and precisely, speed will come with practice and experience.

I'd driven Italian cars for 30 years, and it still took me several months to "sneak up" on where the limits of the Ferrari were. (Or, more precisely, my limits in the Ferrari.)
By now, I'm still comfortable with my "reserve capacity" when driving the 328 .... but most of the other drivers probably think I'm a maniac.

You can get from "A" to "B" without knowing more than the shift pattern. But there's a sense of satisfaction that comes from managing a turn properly. Okay, at city speeds, I could get it all wrong and still get away with it. But getting it right has its own satisfaction. (Maybe that's just me: most drivers in the national bureaucrat zone seem to prefer to get it wrong.)

I notice the difference most when shifting from a few days in the 328 to driving the EVO. The EVO can brute force around a turn as quickly as the Ferrari, but the feedback just isn't the same. The turbo, hydraulic clutch, etc., all muffle the language when the EVO tries to talk to you.

(The only down side to minimum friction cornering is that I have to buy super soft tires --- to keep them at operating temps in city traffic.)

If you're really interested in learning vehicle control at the limits, I wouldn't recommend putting a Ferrari on asphalt. Instead, get an old, cheap RWD clunker, and run it in mud or snow. (Check the web for local performance rallye events.)
(Okay: I *am* biased about the skills of rallye drivers. )

 

On the roads and highways, I am much more experienced and drive better than most people on the road....

 

Buuufffff,,,pfffff,,,a very variable answers for that question,I mean it depends A LOT of the kind of vehicule...
At past I usually raced with a 125cc (2 stroke motor, 1st manual - rest secuencial gears) competition Kart,i`m from the same place than Fernando Alonso,and sometimes I was at track same time than him,never race against him(never talked with him jeje) but I was eating his dust very very close sometimes at practices,with a "worst and older" kart.Mean this I`m better??? NO,of course not,no way.
If we refer a 125cc Race Kart,is faster in acceleration than ANY stock Ferrari,Lambo,Porsche,or ANY car brand,is another history,the reactions of this "things" are really crazy,craziest on a 250 cc 2 stroke race Kart.But with a little time of practice you can run very very fast per lap with this,the reasons: NO weight(lightweight like no other 4 wheels objet on earth),NO suspensions,LOW diamenter of wheel inches,2 stroke motor,impressive secuential gearbox,etc,etc,etc....so if we compare this with a car,is totally different,the massive forces generated by car`s weight and suspensions geometry is another history.

I was no so bad in karting,but when I start to race with cars,I crashed my honda in a very short time,and this:

was and is the principal problem of that when you want to go really fast.No matter how good you are driving,you need to know your car first than this,or the time reaction is not to be correct,becasue with every car is quite different. One person must start in serious karting to control that a little bit more before to pass to drive cars in "race mode" or "rally mode" or as we wanted to say.

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This was talking about be fast at race or rental circuit seasons,because really the people who better drive are all those people respecting the speed limits on public roads,those people who always put the indicators when they are going to make a turn or pass another vehicule,those people who are patient with the rest of drivers,etc,etc,etc,,,in general those people who RESPECT the RULES RUNNING in PUBLIC ROADS.

All outside that is not driving,,,,is racing,and it is completly different.

 

I consider myself a pretty good driver. I thank my dad for constantly telling me different things I should do and look out for before I was old enough to drive. I also think working for him in high school/college, which had me spending most of a work day on the road added to my experience.

I have done one "track" event when the BMW 335 was released. My first lap the "professional driver" commented that my hand placement, especially around turns was great. Overall I was told I did exceptional my first time out. Unfortunately this made me a little nervous the second time out as my actions was not as fluid and much more tense.

 

Could not agree more. The biggest problem is most drivers think there limits are much higher than what they truly are. They find out the hard way when one poor choice bites them in the A$$ big time.

 

Good driver?

Heck yeah!

By good, of course, I mean extremely defensive honed by years of motorcycle riding.

 

Gee! I wonder why that is? (LOL!)

I would like to take a good driving course not for competitive driving, but just good basic and advanced skills driving.

Really understanding how to properly execute heel/toe, braking techniques, etc. I drive my Ferrari like an old guy (cause I am!) and will continue to do so.
I just think I would enjoy the experience more on the twisty drives if I better understood my car and how to get the most from it with better driving skills.

 

I like to think that I am a good driver, driving at 80%. Old enough to have experience, young enough to be physically fit.
My objective is to safely have fun driving. Braking a bit early does not reduce the fun if coming out of the turn you have a bit of understeer.
Another thing is not to accept the challenge from other drivers. Then I just slow down and don't worry about what they think of me. Safer for me and them.
Like others said, being a good driver is not about driving fast (recklessly), but about anticipating situations, being smooth, correcting without panicking.

 

I don't pretend to be anything other than adequate.

On the other hand, I always focus on the driving. No texts, DVDs etc. when on the road. That's got to increase my quality vs most I see around here.

I have taken the Evolution autocross class, and a performance handling class put on by a local police academy. Both were very interesting and no doubt helped my skill levels.

 

I'm really terrible. I've gotten into four accidents in the last year just backing out of my driveway...

 

On a track, probably. On public roads, you just need to be paying attention. By the time the 328 rolled off the line, these were 150+ mph cars and multiples of what you'd need for normal driving.

Amen.

 

Don't know about "skills"...that's relative. I'm still around, with about as clean a record as can be reasonably expected in 43+ yrs of driving.

Good enough judgment to know that a 308 or 60's 2+2 are my speed; a 550 or Boxer would get me in lots of trouble.

 

I would sure hope so, officer.

I have taken a bunch of EVOC and other high performance emergency driving courses. Have only taken two "race" classes, each a weekend long. I would say that I am a better driver than most, as long as the wife does not call when the ritalin has worn off, or there is not a good VanHalen song on the radio.

 

Great attitude I wish more Ferrari owners felt this way, as they would actually ebjoy the experience more. Other than most of the Ferrari owners I know, refusing to ever go to the track, the other group feels that their driving skills are waaay above average.... until they get lapped by a well driven VW golf in their 599! ..... and then they complain to the dealer that there is something wrong with the car!