Learning to drive accurately

[Geist]

While I have had a license for nigh on six years now, I don’t drive regularly as I’ve had no need.

A car is becoming more wanted now though and in my bored web browsing at work, I’ve realised how cheap some performance cars are... to buy.

Looking around it seems easy to get onto track days with clubs and onto a racetrack with your own car albeit rather expensive by the time booking fees, helmets and all the other bits and bobs that are required.

The goal of course would be to become a better driver and have fun along the way. Picking up something like an Evo V might be great fun but the amount for upkeep as a daily driver with a few track dates would make it rather expensive.

Knockhill do a driver training day that covers “On Road, Skid Pan & Emergency avoidance lane” but at £400 odd, it’s something I’d want to really get the most out of. Which I don’t think I would at this time.

I've seen references in Club forums like MLR that they have instructors on hand when they do track days. But I assume they only stay out for a few laps with you to give basics.

I still don't understand where the driver training comes from.

Do people just go out onto tracks, drive, read articles and practice?

Are there any worthwhile books, dvds that I can pick up?

I appreciate any views.

Thanks

[atrull]

evo's drive for you, as too do subarus - and they get stolen.

if you want to learn how to cut apexes with real skill get something simple and rear wheel drive like a gokart.. the lighter the better. there are some brilliant handling front wheelers too but the rear is the better. be prepared to stiffen up the suspension if you want to enjoy an older car since alot of them 'let go' after a hard life.

as for learning to drive them ? skid pan course is OK, I would sooner recommend an actual trackday to learn the limits in a safe environment. As for enjoying driving ? thats what early early mornings are for, with quiet country b roads ...

front engine / rear wheel:

(the best of all worlds)

200sx (need harder suspension, but relatively cheap to modify, but got a bit of a bad name now)
mx5 (not just for hair dressers, these are the best handling car most people ever get to drive before they die, hold their value strangely. even the mk1s are still good)
older sporty beemer (3 series, e3*, people tend to ignore these, might be saggy with age)

mid engine / rear wheel:

(harder to handle on the limit, brilliant if a little impractical)

mr2 mk1 or mk2 (mk1s are cheap and chips and incredible handlers, mk2s got a bit fat)
lotus elise
vauxhaul vx220 (an elise, with a turbo!)


front engine, front wheel drive:

(easier to handle, but these are decent sporty cars in their own right)
clio sport
saxo vtr
fiat coupe
hyundai coupe
honda civic sportier ones (don't get the rover lookalike)
earlier golf GTIs

[Shad]

There's only so much you can pick up from books and watching videos, but certainly if you're an astute kind of person you can learn a lot this way. Learning why a car handles the way it does is valuable to know before you get to a circuit. Once you have a car to play with (an MX5 would be a great place to start) pay for a novice track day with a reputable company and get several sessions with an instructor. They will be able to advise you what you should be doing differently to improve. It's also worthwhile to be a passenger as an instructor drives your car, so you can watch 'how it should be done' and to see what the car is capable of.

That's only one side of the coin though. Although a lot of the skills required to be a good circuit driver do transfer to normal road driving, there are a lot of things that don't. Have you thought about doing a course with a road driving club like the IAM? Conversely something like an IAM course will teach you a lot of things that are bad for circuit driving, so you have to apply skills from both as and when appropriate. But the more knowledge you have, the better driver you are

[Geist]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Everyone talks about the hairdresser’s car. Having a quick look around, they are going for £5k+ around here. Corrado VR6’s, Evo IV and V’s, 182 Trophy’s, there seems a lot for sub £10k these days.

IAM seems a good idea to get into good habits. I had looked into PassPlus before but it really seems designed for people who have just passed the test.

Are techniques like heal, toe shifting (rev matching), left foot braking, all things you’ve all just practiced in normal road driving?

Is it a dumb question if I ask how do you find out what rpm the optimal shift point for gear changes is? Changing up... redline?

I seem to read things online and just have more questions after

[atrull]

Are techniques like heal, toe shifting (rev matching), left foot braking, all things you’ve all just practiced in normal road driving?

there are no serious reasons you'd want to try any of the stuff above unless you were racing competitively. Other than rev matching they all wear out components unnecessarily.

You'd do better just to learn how to take the right line and when to brake, and just what the limits are of your chosen car.

Is it a dumb question if I ask how do you find out what rpm the optimal shift point for gear changes is? Changing up... redline?

I seem to read things online and just have more questions after

Feel and knowing your gearing - All cars are different. Turbos change the torque curve, engine design changes the torque curve. If you've learnt to drive your car hard you will just know when is right.

Basicaly there is a 'sweet spot' in most setups where the power is optimal (lets call it 5.5K RPM as an example) and you want to keep stroking it with you rev counter so you keep the throttle open until it's more efficient to change gear (where the torque starts to drop off, lets call that 6.5K RPM) and when you shift up it drops down to 4.5K RPM, and then you floor it to get past 5.5K RPM again, and so forth.

And then you corner. I think knowing how to judge a corner is a much more difficult than knowing how to accelerate fast in a straight line.