[Quickurt]

You hit on a major one eslai - smooth.
I always told driver's school students the five most important things to remember:
1-be smooth
2-be smoother
3-be really smooth
4-be smooth as silk
and most importantly,
5-concentrate on being smooth.
You are controlling a 3000 lb car (with a Boxster) that transfers weight with every input you give it. If those inputs are jerky, you throw weight from one tire to another, instead of easing that weight around. Tires do not like to have an extra 500 lb. of vertical weight and 1500 lb. of horizontal load "thrown" on them! They tend to lose traction in really spastic ways, as well as chewing chunks of really expensive rubber out of them.
A good example is the difference between a great launch from a stop as opposed to dropping the clutch.
You also said to listen to your tires - great advice. Also learn to "feel" your tires and the loads (pressure on the springs and tires), as they transfer to the outside tires going into a corner and transfer from front to rear on that side with increased and decreased throttle (while still in the corner).


Someone want to work on all the things ABS will do for you?