Driving Techniques

[TiG]

Well seeing as Zak spent some considurable effort trying to teach me about driving styles and what suits me i thought i'd ask you how you all drive.

personally it appears i like dealing with understeer at the front, and only accelerating through the corner once i'm 3/4 of the way through it, I'm also much happier using power in the low end of the motors engine which is ultimately why i'm going to by an octavia rs.

However what are the rest of you like?, Are you constantly getting tank slappers going on dipping the power when you've gone too hot into a corner that your not ready for?.

Do you love red lining the car or do you prefer the power low down.

Let me know, i'm interested to see the way this splits and just to query Zak's and the rest of your knowledge even more, how would this affect me if i was ever to drive a rear wheel drive car?

Would this suit my driving style????

Thanks
TiG

[Shad]

Peak power in my Clio is 5.5krpm... it'd be a shame not to use it all

So yes it often sees the red line. Understeer is evil but quite correctable with a bit of a lift off, though the back end gets a bit loose. Quite easy to drift the Clio through roundabouts. Can't really get much in the way of opposite lock unless you brake mid corner.

I tend to drive in the smoothest possible way for the quickest possible route through a corner; brake for corner, steady throttle through corner, nail it on exit

[Tumble]

Bit like you TiG really, use the torque, not the raw power. I try to be as smooth as possible - I only use the brakes if I really have to, ie I'm at the right speed, in the right gear at the right time to get round a corner safely and efficiently. I love driving "fat 'n' smooth" and I also adore diesels.... loadsa torque, and curiously, the smell of diesel exhaust is really, really nice... (plus the sound of my turbo is brill)

[[GSV]Trig]

Looks like I drive like Shad then, be afraid m8, very afraid

[Lowe]

Hmm, I like torque and don't like revving the Clio that much since it's not a revvy car. There's no limiter as such, but pushrod engines don't like anything more than about 5.5k, and my turbo runs out of puff at 5k, so thats when I change up.

Saying that though, I love the opportunity to drive something hard now and then which loves a bootful of revs, something a bit like my mate Marks Clio valver. Can't wait to have a go in that.

As for handling, I'm happy with whatever the car's going to give me. I'm much more used to understeer, though the Clio isn't afraid of wagging the tail if you come off boost midway round a bend. Luckily a new carb has smoothed out the power delivery a lot, so it's not as vicious as it once was, but the other day I found myself correcting the backend a little after coming over an island with a fair amount of camber.

I tend to power out of a corner at halfway, or just after halfway since if I've come in slow I'm not on boost. Nailing it just before halfway gives the turbo a second to really spool up and catapult you out the bend.

[Vimeous]

Corners?
Brake in a straightline and get it over with before you turn anywhere.
Constant throttle through the apex.
Spot the exit, line up and power out.

You can be a little late into the corner with a front-driver and use the throttle to tidy your line through but watch for lift-off oversteer. The exit can be played with too as you can get away with being a touch early on the throttle as long as you're carefull with understeer. It not the fastest way though so keep it neat.

In a rear-driver you need far more care depending on your setup as late braking on the turn-in loads up the front of the car and can send the back end round to meet it. On the exit there are power-slide moments waiting to happen if you jump on the power to early but again apply with care! Whatever happens don't try liftoff oversteer, mid-bend, in a rear driver (so no lifting off, keep it steady) unless there are no other cars nearby and you have lightning reflexes.

TiG knows how I drive. I can attest to the front-drive way of life as I can't afford the Porsche 968 Club Sport I keep dreaming will teach me the mystical arts of sidewaysery. My Civic roams freely between 5600 and 8200rpm and is hugely addictive when doing so. Living in Milton Keynes, all these dual carriage ways, a mixture of surfaces on a multitude of different shaped roundabouts. My fuel bill is well worth it and the run to Gloucester most weekends is great fun.
That said I love smooth, lag-free acceleration and aural pleasure

[Rave]

Originally posted by Vimeous
Whatever happens don't try liftoff oversteer, mid-bend, in a rear driver (so no lifting off, keep it steady) unless there are no other cars nearby and you have lightning reflexes.

Amen to that. I once smacked into the central reservation of a dual carriageway going sideways, facing the wrong way! I'd turned left at a roundabout and given it a bootfull deliberately hoping to get the tail out, but when it came round I bottled it and lifted off while countersteering. The car gripped, then flung me round the other way through 180 degrees. I hit the kerb hard and assumed that the wheels would be sitting at a 45 degree angle to the car, but amazingly the only damage was a few big dents in the rim. Apparently one of the rear track rods is bent, but that could have been something else. I'm going to learn to slide the car in a nice empty carpark before I try that on the road again.

TiG knows how I drive. I can attest to the front-drive way of life as I can't afford the Porsche 968 Club Sport I keep dreaming will teach me the mystical arts of sidewaysery. My Civic roams freely between 5600 and 8200rpm

You can pick up an old BMW 325 E30 for next to nothing now (like £200), that'd give you the education you seek I reckon. 8200RPM!! What engine is that?

Rich :¬)

[TiG]

Its the 1.8VTI.

And if anyone is a real car freak i'd appreciate it if you anyone knows the peak HP of the engine.

I reckon its somewhere up near 6-7K rpm.

just trying to compare that to my octavia's peak power at 5400rpm.

TiG

[Zak33]

TiG...I was afraid that this thread would deteriorate into a big pile of lies.....

but it is really quite good. No Bull **** at all, good driving advice and some reall accounts. The blokes are all on it!

It really scared me to start with....Forums all round the world are discussing cars and driving and some of the advice is mortifying!

But this lot all talk (mainly) the truth

[Vimeous]

Amen to that Zak.

Rave as TiG says it's a Civic 1.8VTi. The VTEC switches cam settings at about 5600rpm and runs through to an 8000rpm red line. It'll nip to 8200rpm if you're careless, or carefull, but I only do that to make sure I'm landing back in the meat of the power when I change up. TBH 7800rpm will probably be enough if I'm in a rush through the gears.
It kicks out a handy 169bhp but as TiG says we're not sure how far round the dial that is, our suspicion being in the 7000rpm region. If anyone can enlighten us please do!

One thing I do have to deal with is clipping the inside rear wheel when I'm not pushing on. Mine's a 5dr Civic and the wheelbase is actually quite long. In the damp it's a joy to cut inside the apex and drift to the kerb. However going a little slower in the dry it just grips and it just catches occasionally. Need to pay a little more attention sometimes....or maybe just keep pushing on

[Jiff Lemon]

FWD suits the majority of people, as its nice and safe.

Too much power in and the front will understeer - most peoples reaction is to lift off, which in the majority of cars, is what's required to stop the car from understeering.

In the sportier of FWD hot hatches, you can actually induce lift off oversteer, which can catch out the inexperienced. In the right hands it can prove deadly effecient - Witness my mates clio doing it's "dog against a lampost" stuff!

RWD? Muhahahahahahahahahahah......

Retraining of the brain is what's required. Everything gets reversed. Do not lift off and steer the otherway.

Good advice from Zak though - you find a style that suits and stick with it.

[Moby-Dick]

I had my 1st experience of the rear end breaking away yesterday, but it wasnt as bad as Id thought. Coming out of a wet(ish) roundabout with a slightly enthusiastic right foot let the back flick out like a bullwhip. I have a nasty feeling I lifted off too soon though , but it was at relativly low speed so I was able to get the 200 back on the straight and narrow without too many issues

I'm looking forward to finding a nice big , wet airfield to learn to do it porperly

[Maldonado]

i just keep the throttle steady, know the limits of the car and have fun - seems to get me to the destination faster than anyone else, but couldn't break it down into my technical driving techinique...

[J4MES]

this week, i have mostly been driving sideways