North Weald Car Limits training day

Strad

Member
Messages
245
That’s proper commitment to the cause, well played Jon!
2013 tyres if I could read the DOT number so time for a change anyway....
Your car is a stunner BTW, cracking photos post the wash.
Mark.
 

Crofty

Member
Messages
317
Looks like great fun....& sure lots learnt too. Any more vids?

They didn’t let you use full throttle then Adam.....LOL!! :)

If any or you fancy another go tomorrow, my slot is going begging, back to hospital for me for more blood tests, rotten timing or what, I was completely fine till Friday :-(

Hope you enjoyed it, I’ll post when I finally get round to booking another day if anyone fancies it.
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
That’s proper commitment to the cause, well played Jon!
2013 tyres if I could read the DOT number so time for a change anyway....
Your car is a stunner BTW, cracking photos post the wash.
Mark.

Thanks Mark...very kind....

One version of events is that I figured the course was called Car Limits, so I decided I really ought to fully explore the limits of my car’s traction.

The other, more honest, version, is I got overconfident and overestimated my ability to brake and turn at the same time!
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,013
It was a cracking day and terrific to see Newton and Dean and meet Jon and Oliver for the first time. If I had any complaint at all, it sits somewhere between:

a) the need for more instruction and practice after lunch rather than a quick demo each and then launching into the cone-avoiding session

b) my inability to be especially capable after lunch. In truth, I should probably just have been slower and more thoughtful.

Regardless, the morning was eye-opening and I certainly made some big improvements with high speed cornering.

Anyhoo, here's our very own Newton not ******* it up. Note that no cones were harmed during the course of today. Which is a first for me.

 

Oliver6796

Member
Messages
497
Looks like great fun....& sure lots learnt too. Any more vids?

They didn’t let you use full throttle then Adam.....LOL!! :)

If any or you fancy another go tomorrow, my slot is going begging, back to hospital for me for more blood tests, rotten timing or what, I was completely fine till Friday :-(

Hope you enjoyed it, I’ll post when I finally get round to booking another day if anyone fancies it.

If I had my car I would. Hope you get sorted soon and keep me posted on a re booking and I’ll hopefully be able to join you.
 

Contigo

Sponsor
Messages
18,376
Great day out these, did one years ago at Prodrive on wet handling, track and also a very tricky course with lots of very tight corners and it's a proper workout. You lucked out on the weather too boys!!!
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,013
Yes, extremely lucky! The challenge now is practice. My afternoon was ****-poor - I just needed more time to absorb what we learned. Encouragement to do things more slowly and get the muscle-memory working rather than assuming that I could be a driving God after 5 minutes of sitting next to some bloke who is. Practice, practice, practice.

Dan! mentioned that we'd all drive home slower than we drove there. Not true. The traffic was terrible on the way there so I was really slow. What I did observe on the way home was that I wasn't holding on to the steering wheel for dear life. I was also willing to let it back off a bit rather than feeling the need to push it. Interesting. Next session I'll setup a GoPro in the back to film what my hands are up to.
 

Dan!

Member
Messages
3,029
Finger tips is the key, Adam, indeed! If ever you're in the car with me and I go from normal grip to one finger on top of the steering wheel, brace yourself as it's about get interesting

Glad you all had a great day
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,033
Finger tips is the key, Adam, indeed! If ever you're in the car with me and I go from normal grip to one finger on top of the steering wheel, brace yourself as it's about get interesting

Glad you all had a great day

Yes indeed and also the turn, then brake heavily while still on the turn at high speed without the temptation to release the braking until you come to a halt.
At first I thought I would simply flip the car over, burn and die a horrible death, but no, you can brake heavily while in a turn and remain in control.
 

rockits

Member
Messages
9,167
Yes indeed and also the turn, then brake heavily while still on the turn at high speed without the temptation to release the braking until you come to a halt.
At first I thought I would simply flip the car over, burn and die a horrible death, but no, you can brake heavily while in a turn and remain in control.
You can in Adam, Jon and Newton's cars. The TVR had even the instructor flummoxed on that one! I think we spun around at least 360 when he tried first time!!
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,013
Yes indeed and also the turn, then brake heavily while still on the turn at high speed without the temptation to release the braking until you come to a halt.
At first I thought I would simply flip the car over, burn and die a horrible death, but no, you can brake heavily while in a turn and remain in control.

Yeah, that was completely bloody hatstand. Yet bizarrely was incredibly controlled. Start at 8/10, ease down as the speed decreases. It's un-learning how to drive.
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
One of the things that Mark said that I’ve been thinking about is how you go through 4 stages of learning

Unconsciously incompetent - you don’t know why what you do is wrong
Consciously incompetent - you know what you do is not right, and know what to do, but don’t
Consciously competent - you know what to do, and when you think about it can do it right
Unconsciously competent - you automatically do what is right without thinking

I felt as though by the end of the day I was teetering on the edge of being consciously incompetent, and if i think really hard, then 3 times out of 5 I can be consciously competent...

I’m trying to find the time to write a list of the things I learnt so that I can remind myself of them every now and then. It’s bizarre how lots of it is completely counter-intuitive, so it is almost learning to forget what you’ve done in the past and start afresh.
 

GeoffCapes

Member
Messages
14,000
Don't they say one of the best ways to learn to drive a car fast is to drive a go-kart in the wet on slicks?

As normal driving rules go out of the window and you have to adjust how you drive because you have no grip unless you are going in a straight line.