176 replies to this topic

[LazyDonkey]

I actually thought the Walshy Day would be teaching me how to correct a stepping out of the back-end/spin So a skid pan day would do that?

The aim of the Walshy Day is very much road-related - he did explain in some circumstances what relevance tasks you do would have to a real-life scenario (although I would have liked some more of that - to be able to understand why I was doing each task, when I would use what I learnt, and why)

A walshy day will teach you what you wish to learn. If you go to him and say "i want to do this" then he'll try and tailor the day around you. It's not a do once and never return sort of course and as such it's not the same every time. Obviously with a cheaper 4 person day then you are more limited but it is still possible.

The general aim of the course it to make you understand that you can control the course of the car using brakes, steering and throttle. Learning what happens when the back steps out of line is only one element of car control, learning how to prevent it stepping out in the first place would also be beneficial.

Personally i think any track based skills are more than transferrable to the road - and i think the sprints and track days i've done have improved my on road skills immeasurably.

[LazyDonkey]

It IS hard to drive these cars in the wet,

No it's not.

HTH

[styles]

It IS hard to drive these cars in the wet,

No it's not.

HTH

straight to the point

[LazyDonkey]

Oh FFS, diesel doesn't change the laws of physics though, it just makes the road a bit more slippery. it's not like one diesel spill means that you have absolutely no chance of controlling the car - every story of a crash "caused by diesel" has the phrase "i was accelerating....." shortly before diesel was mentioned. If you wheels are straight when you hit diesel, even if you are accelerating it is highly unlikely you are going to end up doing a 360 spin.

Edited by LazyDonkey, 09 December 2009 - 09:31 AM.

[LazyDonkey]

Im saying that it *is* possible to hit fuel on the road on a rounderbout or bend and lose it irrelevant of how you are driving.

Were that the case - why doesn't everyone crash going over diesel?

Why isn't the road littered with corpses of people who were driving like a granny and *boom* diesel strikes and they lose all control?

I've been driving for 17 years and i'm pretty sure i've probably gone over diesel at least once - was it just sheer good fortune i didnt die ?



EDIT : I've crashed 2 cars since i passed my test. In both cases i lost contol cos i was driving like a twat. Both were prior to getting the VX and both were prior to me doing car limit days, trackdays, autotests and sprints.

Edited by LazyDonkey, 09 December 2009 - 09:42 AM.

[LazyDonkey]

I heard the "its possible" bit. I also heard the "lose it irrelevant of how you are driving" bit. Which was the bit i was questioning. HTH

[LazyDonkey]

What does "HTH" mean?

Hope
That
Helps

[Chris C]

Imagine how dangerous it must be working in a petrol station... Diesel all over the floor.

[jonnyboy]

If you're driving along on a corner and genuinley hit a patch of coolant you will be lucky to catch it. Happens all the time at the Nurburgring and to experienced performance car drivers. Even if you did react chances are you will have run out of road before your steering or throttle inputs would actually do anything. Where the confusion lies IMO is that it's incredibly, incredibly rare to come accross an actual coolant/oil/fuel spill and maybe the low limits of adhesion in wet weather take people by surprise when they have been used to very high grips levels through the summer.

[framauro]

From all this driving god diesel conjecture, sounds like the safest thing to do is NEVER, EVER drive the VX - hell, that's what I do!

Tom - sorry to hear of your accident, it's never nice to see a VX damaged, especially a blue one. Good news is that the damage does not sound / look so bad, so hopefully you will be able to get it back on the road in a month or two.

[davep24]

If you're driving along on a corner and genuinley hit a patch of coolant you will be lucky to catch it. Happens all the time at the Nurburgring and to experienced performance car drivers. Even if you did react chances are you will have run out of road before your steering or throttle inputs would actually do anything.

Where the confusion lies IMO is that it's incredibly, incredibly rare to come accross an actual coolant/oil/fuel spill and maybe the low limits of adhesion in wet weather take people by surprise when they have been used to very high grips levels through the summer.

so your saying someone taking a steady bend at 30mph and they hit a patch of diesel/coolant is more than likely going to spin off???

i think the reason it happens at the ring "all the time" is due to the speeds involved and taking the corner too fast.

end off the day most incidents are caused by driver error, if you dont know the road conditions you should not be driving anywhere near the limit.

Edited by davep24, 09 December 2009 - 01:07 PM.

[jonnyboy]

I wouldn't say all ring crashes are high speed. A lot of people still crash after slowing down already if someones flagging a spill. If someone is driving along at 30 with any more than a few degrees of lock and they hit a genuine spill they would be very lucky to catch it yes. Ever been on an oil and water skidpan? The total loss of traction is difficult to comprehend

[davep24]

Ever been on an oil and water skidpan? The total loss of traction is difficult to comprehend

No but i have driven a kart on slicks in the wet, been round oulton park in a single seater when it was pissing down and very slippery

I will even admit to nearly losing the vx on a couple of occasions but that me drivng like a tw@t with a heavy right foot

like i said before, driving on the road with diesel/coolant/other slippery stuff should never pose any problems if you are nowhere near the limit.

[2.2 NA]

driving on the road with diesel/coolant/other slippery stuff should never pose any problems if you are nowhere near the limit.

What kind of rpm / acceleration / braking is being referred to here as near the limit ?