aggressive driving
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aggressive driving
Howdy ya'll.
My question in a nutshell is... what is the proper way to drive aggressively?
For example, how should you enter and exit a turn (i.e. braking, accelerating, when, etc). How should you go over small hills that make you feel like you're on a roller coaster, enter uphill/ downhill turns, how fast should you go on straightaways with turns at the end, hairpins, etc.
When I do drive aggressively, I never feel like I'm doing it correctly. Instead of biting into turns, I feel more like I'm going up and out of them. Downhill and uphill turns make me feel like I'm going to lose control. At what point will my rex lose control (I'm not really wanting to find out through first hand experience).
Also, on dirt.. is it okay to drift a bit around turns? Will it screw up the AWD or anything? I've gone around turns fairly slowly before and then floored it to make my back end come out (not in my car now, in my 99 impreza L).
Thanks for everything. BTW, I currently have Kumho Ectsa 215/40/17s. In the late falll, however, I'll be changing back to stock wheels with some other kind of tire.
Thanks~Caleb
My question in a nutshell is... what is the proper way to drive aggressively?
For example, how should you enter and exit a turn (i.e. braking, accelerating, when, etc). How should you go over small hills that make you feel like you're on a roller coaster, enter uphill/ downhill turns, how fast should you go on straightaways with turns at the end, hairpins, etc.
When I do drive aggressively, I never feel like I'm doing it correctly. Instead of biting into turns, I feel more like I'm going up and out of them. Downhill and uphill turns make me feel like I'm going to lose control. At what point will my rex lose control (I'm not really wanting to find out through first hand experience).
Also, on dirt.. is it okay to drift a bit around turns? Will it screw up the AWD or anything? I've gone around turns fairly slowly before and then floored it to make my back end come out (not in my car now, in my 99 impreza L).
Thanks for everything. BTW, I currently have Kumho Ectsa 215/40/17s. In the late falll, however, I'll be changing back to stock wheels with some other kind of tire.
Thanks~Caleb
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all your questions are good questions, but none of them have set answers. Basic rule is to slow down enough BEFORE a turn so that you can turn in without sliding and then power through and out of the turn. Its ok to hear some tire noise comming out of the turn, but if you go in too fast, chances are you will understeer and slow down a lot. If you're going into a turn downhill, remember that when you brake hard, your rear end will want to come out... you can use this by braking a little late to help the car turn in, but be careful. Also pay attention to the camber of the turn... off-camber turns are tricky and potentially dangerous. Speeds in and out of the turns will of course vary greatly depending on the road, turn, your line, and your setup.
In general, if you feel understeer, pretty much the only thing you can do is let off the gas... or hit the e-brake if you're feeling adventurous. When you feel oversteer (rear end comming out), countersteer just a bit and step on the gas! If you let off or hit the brake while oversteering, your rear will continue to come out and you will likely spin. If you give it some gas, you'll fall right back into your line... this is best practiced on dirt.
The best advice I can give you is to advance slowly and find the limits of your car in a manner you can control and stay safe. Do some autox, or find a big parking lot.
As far as dirt... I've done a couple rallyx's and have slid around like a mad man
and my car is fine so far. When you drift in the dirt, its likely that your front and rear have similar traction levels, so your diff should be fine. Crazy drifting like I've done is deffinately not the fast way around the track, but its fun as hell!
I'm sure someone else will have more advice for you.
-- Ed
In general, if you feel understeer, pretty much the only thing you can do is let off the gas... or hit the e-brake if you're feeling adventurous. When you feel oversteer (rear end comming out), countersteer just a bit and step on the gas! If you let off or hit the brake while oversteering, your rear will continue to come out and you will likely spin. If you give it some gas, you'll fall right back into your line... this is best practiced on dirt.
The best advice I can give you is to advance slowly and find the limits of your car in a manner you can control and stay safe. Do some autox, or find a big parking lot.
As far as dirt... I've done a couple rallyx's and have slid around like a mad man
and my car is fine so far. When you drift in the dirt, its likely that your front and rear have similar traction levels, so your diff should be fine. Crazy drifting like I've done is deffinately not the fast way around the track, but its fun as hell!I'm sure someone else will have more advice for you.
-- Ed
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It seems like your problem is that you're not connecting well with your car. Get some driving lessons at your local racetrack or go push your car to the limits at a autocross event. Maybe knowing what your car limits are will make you feel more comforable driving agressively on the road.
I don't think that taking your car sideways in dirt will hurt it. Thats what its made for. I try to bring my WRX back to the dirt now and then.
I don't think that taking your car sideways in dirt will hurt it. Thats what its made for. I try to bring my WRX back to the dirt now and then.
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I'm sure some will slam me for this... before you go to the track get good at Gran Turismo... no joke. It doesn't teach you physical skills or muscle memory, but at least you get a visual idea about understeer, oversteer, good apex, braking, slow-in-fast-out, etc without just reading it in a book.
The one real piece of advise I can give that has rung true on the street, on the track or even in GT3 is always squeeze. Squeeze off the throttle, on the throttle, off the brake, on the brake and even when turning the wheels. Let everything be smooth, even changes. Never jerk the car in any direction thereby unbalacining it and losing precious traction.
The best F1 drivers in the world could have you reading a book and eating brusslesprouts and vegimite while facing backwards out the car and keep you from getting sick to your stomach because everything they do when driving is smooth. It doesn't feel fast, but if you try it out at the track you will found out at it is fast (psssst, this works on GT3 too heh
)
jason
The one real piece of advise I can give that has rung true on the street, on the track or even in GT3 is always squeeze. Squeeze off the throttle, on the throttle, off the brake, on the brake and even when turning the wheels. Let everything be smooth, even changes. Never jerk the car in any direction thereby unbalacining it and losing precious traction.
The best F1 drivers in the world could have you reading a book and eating brusslesprouts and vegimite while facing backwards out the car and keep you from getting sick to your stomach because everything they do when driving is smooth. It doesn't feel fast, but if you try it out at the track you will found out at it is fast (psssst, this works on GT3 too heh
)jason
Last edited by mmboost; Oct 5, 2004 at 08:45 PM.
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Whoa, thanks guys. LOL local racetrack?? I live in the boonies, no racetracks here. Once in a while the mall near here does an "auto x" in their parking lot, but that is very rare (and very small). Theres also a hill climb once a year, but I didn't have my car when they had it this year. I have had my wrx for about a month, maybe a little less, so I am still getting used to it. BTW, I don't drve like a maniac, I always watch out for others, and whenever I do drive aggressively, it's on remote roads (we have a lot out here), usually many many hours after dark. GT3, btw, is an awesome game. I have a souped up 22b STi that is my favorite car in the game (with no traction control of course!).
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Moved this thread from the Impreza EJ20 Powerplant forum to a less specific forum.
Look what I found with a quick search:
http://www.beaverun.com/track.asp
This has been covered before in various threads but two good ways to get to know your car well enough to drive aggressively within your limits is to go to a driving school or a track day at a road course, or start trying your hand at autocross. Both of these suggestions will give you experience in a relatively safe environment with knowledgable people on hand.
If you really don't want to take the time to learn from a school or track day, then there are several books about high-performance driving by people like Bob Bondurant and former F1 World Champion Jackie Stewart. I think that these books are just very good technical supplements for real life driving instruction, not a substitute.
--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush
Origami posted by cabe
LOL local racetrack?? I live in the boonies, no racetracks here.
LOL local racetrack?? I live in the boonies, no racetracks here.
http://www.beaverun.com/track.asp
This has been covered before in various threads but two good ways to get to know your car well enough to drive aggressively within your limits is to go to a driving school or a track day at a road course, or start trying your hand at autocross. Both of these suggestions will give you experience in a relatively safe environment with knowledgable people on hand.
If you really don't want to take the time to learn from a school or track day, then there are several books about high-performance driving by people like Bob Bondurant and former F1 World Champion Jackie Stewart. I think that these books are just very good technical supplements for real life driving instruction, not a substitute.
--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush
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Buy the tape by Jackie Stewart. Really old, but very detailed. I have been using this tape before taking people out on the road and start driving. Shows you high performance driving as well as everyday driving techniques (dry and wet). You pick one thing up from this tape and you would be farther ahead of everyone else.
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From: Longing for my ol' white '02 WRX :(
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Originally Posted by cabe
Dang, I can do that with the FO90s. LOL.
Just yesterday with the F094/S I hit 0:54.432 on Midfield. I'm pretty convinced that the the 94 is the best car in the whole game. I thought the F686/M would be the king (more power, similar weight), but after playing with both of them, the F094/S just seems to handle better. I'm sure I can get to 0:53.x on a "perfect" run.
jason.