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z12358 · 08-14-2006, 02:43 PM

bmussatti,
Glad to hear from someone sharing similar concerns. My main initiating concern started building up over the last few weekends (after the break-in was over), and after I took some friends for a spin on some country roads. How do I know how safe (to myself and especially others) am I when I play with the abilities of such a powerful and exciting car on public roads? The judgement is very subjective and clouded by adrenaline at the moment. What looks safe to me may not look safe to others (passenger, other drivers, etc) and may actually not be safe at all. So pushing the car, or driving it "spiritedly", always comes at a risk on public roads, even at 8am on Sunday morning in the country. That risk is much smaller at the track, and one can explore the car's abilities much, much more freely.

It seems like I'd be more interested in Driver's Ed than AutoX. Even in skiing, I'm much more excited by high speed, smooth, turns (super-G) rather than fast, sharp and jittery action (slalom, moguls). So I feel that driving in 1 and 2 gear all the time (AutoX) may not be my thing.

Your concern that you may not like the track is valid. I did a little bit of karting as a youngster and I also love driving my Boxster "spiritedly" so it's a valid assumption that I will like the track. Perhaps paying for a day at a high-performance driving school (Skip Barber, $1500 to learn driving BMW M3, 330i, 911, and base Boxster on a track) may not be a bad idea as a test for either of us.

As for the "broomstick" test, I think there are $600 snap-on roll bar extensions that are supposedly very safe and accepted at all PCA events. I am 6' so I may pass it without them if I lower the seat all the way down. Looks like there's plenty of room there.

08-14-2006, 02:43 PM	#3
z12358 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Northeast USA Posts: 910	bmussatti, Glad to hear from someone sharing similar concerns. My main initiating concern started building up over the last few weekends (after the break-in was over), and after I took some friends for a spin on some country roads. How do I know how safe (to myself and especially others) am I when I play with the abilities of such a powerful and exciting car on public roads? The judgement is very subjective and clouded by adrenaline at the moment. What looks safe to me may not look safe to others (passenger, other drivers, etc) and may actually not be safe at all. So pushing the car, or driving it "spiritedly", always comes at a risk on public roads, even at 8am on Sunday morning in the country. That risk is much smaller at the track, and one can explore the car's abilities much, much more freely. It seems like I'd be more interested in Driver's Ed than AutoX. Even in skiing, I'm much more excited by high speed, smooth, turns (super-G) rather than fast, sharp and jittery action (slalom, moguls). So I feel that driving in 1 and 2 gear all the time (AutoX) may not be my thing. Your concern that you may not like the track is valid. I did a little bit of karting as a youngster and I also love driving my Boxster "spiritedly" so it's a valid assumption that I will like the track. Perhaps paying for a day at a high-performance driving school (Skip Barber, $1500 to learn driving BMW M3, 330i, 911, and base Boxster on a track) may not be a bad idea as a test for either of us. As for the "broomstick" test, I think there are $600 snap-on roll bar extensions that are supposedly very safe and accepted at all PCA events. I am 6' so I may pass it without them if I lower the seat all the way down. Looks like there's plenty of room there. __________________ '06 Boxster S, 6sp, triple-black http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...05_IMGcrop.jpg Last edited by z12358; 08-14-2006 at 07:05 PM.