I need a driving lesson! - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

sasha055 · 03-31-2011, 09:07 PM

I feel like ****************...
First of all I love my little Boxster, I have a 2000 base stick, but today I feel like I should've got an "S" and a TIP.

I love the way my car looks, the way it feels, I don't track it, it's my daily driver.
There is always something wrong with the car.. but it's small things.. with help from wonderfull ppl on this forum I can DIY it.
I wash and wax my toy often.. keep it over 2.5K RPM.. bring it to 6K from time to time.. I don't do street light racing, I know car is not made for that.. however today I feel like I failed the Porsche ownership name..

I was at traffic light, two lanes become one in a couple of hundred yards.. nearby was a toyota highlander.. normally I let them feel good and don't push it.. but this guy was giving me looks and acting all mighty..
He won.. I feel like ****************.. he was faster to guess when green will be on, it took me a long time to let go of clutch.. there was no space to recover a lost second..

I love driving stick.. but I always have to let go of clutch in two stages (otherwise engine dies) and if I wasn't perfect.. the time is gone.. Today I wish I had an S and a TIP.. that way I will always have same time 0-60

I need a driving lesson.. can anyone point me to where I can get one around Seattle? I heard you can get a lesson on track but I have no ideea where to start looking

Sorry for long rant
Sasha

clickman · 03-31-2011, 09:35 PM

Here's your first lesson, and the only one you really need, and best of all you don't even have to waste any gas learning it:

Don't give a rat's ass about what some guy in a Toyota Highlander is doing.

When you're driving your Boxster, you're above caring about that.

Spinnaker · 04-01-2011, 04:01 AM

Your second lesson should be the same as the first.
Let the lead foot street racers go, you will pass them somewhere else. They might be be pulled over by the Redmond Police, wrapped around a pole, in one of those huge ditches along Avondale Way, or crumpled up in a heap at a intersection they tried to speed through down on Willows Road.
You only have one life, enjoy it. Feel the joy of winding through those twisty roads up around Ames Lake and feel the wind rush through what is left of your hair when is gets warm enough to put the top down.
You don't have to prove anything to anyone, and the street is NO place to be racing anyone. A few seconds of adrenaline thrill is not worth dying for. When you are driving on the streets, you never know what to expect. Cars, pedestrians, kids on skateboards, you never know what will jump out in front of you. You might not kill yourself, but you might kill someone else, could you live with that for the rest of your life?
Three years ago, a 24 year old "kid" was killed driving his Boxster a few blocks from where we used to moor our sailboat on Westlake Ave along Lake Union. I know the spot where he lost control of it well, and I figure he must have been going well over a 100 to lose it in the turn there. He skidded sideways across to the other side of the road and was broadsided right in the drivers door. A life wasted and gone for a couple of seconds of thrills.
If you want some driving lessons, contact the Pacific Northwest Region of the Porsche Club of America. They conduct driving skills and track days where you can get all the adrenaline thrills you want without risking anyone else's life.
http://www.pnwr.org/
Their calender shows quite a few events in April.
I'm not trying to do any preaching here, because I did my share of "street" racing when I was a kid and I have the tickets to prove it. But I was young and ignorant then, and by some miracle, I survived it all. I grew older and wiser, and know that by all accounts, and the testimony of those who knew me then, I could have been just like that unfortunate 24 year old very easily.
You don't need to prove anything to anyone, and you are old enough to know that. You admit that the car isn't a stop light racer so enjoy it for what it is. It is a car that is meant to be driven on the twisty roads of the world for the pure enjoyment of it all. It is a beautiful car meant to be driven on those beautiful roads.
I don't want to be picking parts off of your car in some wrecking yard because you have to prove you can beat a Highlander off of some stoplight. What are you going to do if you come up next to a Nissan GTR somewhere, sometime. Be stupid like I was when I was a kid? There will ALWAYS be a faster car somewhere. Let them be the stupid ones. You can send them flowers when they find out their car was faster than they were capable of driving it. Do you think anyone will care a couple of years down the road, that you beat someone off of a stoplight? I beat plenty of cars racing on the street, do you think anyone cares now? If I told my racing "stories" now, an intelligent person would think I was pretty irresponsible then, and they would be right.
Ever since I got the Boxster, I get a lot of pseudo racers trying to egg me on into a "race", and for some reason, a lot of them are driving Boxsters. I just let them go, because I remember that 24 year old life wasted, and I want to enjoy the roads and the years that I have left on this earth. Life is short and very precious.
Be safe and ENJOY it........

t2-bxtrs · 04-01-2011, 04:55 AM

Very Well said Spinnaker ! We all go through life's experiences differently i guess.
but with all those words of wisdom and care... we hope that we realize more how lucky we are to have what we have. with my day to day experience driving my 04S 6spd during the summer on the streets of Toronto , i come across all kinds of kid racers on their honda's/integra's etc, and older folks driving their vette's and such, and i try my best in most of the time to just ignore them.
although i am senior, there are times that i do race my Box in spurts just to position myself out of danger or traffic (defensive driving is much better that learning how to quick shift and sprint !) ... don't forget our little Box does'nt have much defense when it comes to accidents.
I used to drive motorcycles in my younger days and i've had my share of racing !
Track or Spirited driving in the twisties is what our cars strenghts are.... So enjoy and be safe !
Happy Boxstering !
t2

johnsimion · 04-01-2011, 05:29 AM

+1 also for Spinnaker.
When I am at stoplights in traffic, I have a new habit of deliberately going slow, certainly no faster than surrounding traffic. That makes it obvious to the idiots who want to race that I am not racing and not using my car's abilities, and hence they have no idea how fast my car is or whether I have a base 2.5 or a turbocharged 3.2. I am driving the Porsche to enjoy the ride, not to show off or put down other people. Now, my driving style on a deserted country road by myself or as part of a PCA fun run may be an entirely different matter.

Topless · 04-01-2011, 06:02 AM

+1 Spinn
I lost a couple of friends to street racing in my youth. If I want to go fast, I go to the track.

laphan · 04-01-2011, 06:16 AM

Agreed with Spinnaker.
I found that I'm actually driving slower with the Boxster. I don't have to proof anything other than I'm just enjoying my life.
I used to floor my car when I was younger (teenage years) and though that it was cool.
There are too many teenagers with mustangs in my area (teenagers + mustangs = weapon of mass destruction).
They love to rev their engines if both of us stops at the front row waiting for traffic light. They took off like a bat out of a cave and I took off slowly.

They also love to harass me when I'm driving my beater car (mercury grand marquis) by screaming "Grampa, move aside...". I'm not that old (turning 30 this year) and I love my couch on the wheel (grand marquis

)

sasha055 · 04-01-2011, 07:36 AM

Spinnaker, very well put. Wise words at the right time. Thank you!

I do love those Ames lake roads, I live not too far away from there.

Thanks
Sasha

BYprodriver · 04-01-2011, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sasha055

I feel like ****************...
First of all I love my little Boxster, I have a 2000 base stick, but today I feel like I should've got an "S" and a TIP.

I love the way my car looks, the way it feels, I don't track it, it's my daily driver.
There is always something wrong with the car.. but it's small things.. with help from wonderfull ppl on this forum I can DIY it.
I wash and wax my toy often.. keep it over 2.5K RPM.. bring it to 6K from time to time.. I don't do street light racing, I know car is not made for that.. however today I feel like I failed the Porsche ownership name..

I was at traffic light, two lanes become one in a couple of hundred yards.. nearby was a toyota highlander.. normally I let them feel good and don't push it.. but this guy was giving me looks and acting all mighty..
He won.. I feel like ****************.. he was faster to guess when green will be on, it took me a long time to let go of clutch.. there was no space to recover a lost second..

I love driving stick.. but I always have to let go of clutch in two stages (otherwise engine dies) and if I wasn't perfect.. the time is gone.. Today I wish I had an S and a TIP.. that way I will always have same time 0-60

I need a driving lesson.. can anyone point me to where I can get one around Seattle? I heard you can get a lesson on track but I have no ideea where to start looking

Sorry for long rant
Sasha

I recommend contacting your local Porsche Club of America & attending a Drivers Education course. The 986 clutch is difficult to modulate, try more gas.

thstone · 04-01-2011, 08:00 AM

Agree with everyone else. Don't worry about an idiot in a Toyota and go to a track day somewhere.

But since you asked, the secret to a quick start is high RPM's and let out the clutch quick. Boxster's don't have much torque in the low RPM range so you have to get into the power curve right off the line or you're toast.

Beware, this isn't good for your clutch and at $2K for a clutch replacement, its better to just let the other guy go.

blue2000s · 04-01-2011, 08:01 AM

From this and your past posts, it's clear that you don't have confidence in your ability to control your car. I strongly suggest joining the pacific nw region pca and taking a driver's skills lesson for a day in Bremerton. This is not a track day, it's a lession on the cars handling to understand how it behaves in different situations. You need to know your car's handling charactoristics to be able to stay safe in unexpected situations. Unfortunately, they're booked up for April.

If your intent was to race the truck, I agree with the above post. However, sometimes it's useful to move around a slow moving vehicle before the road becomes a single lane, in which case I don't see a problem. I don't like following behind SUVs and trucks. No matter how far back you are, you can't see traffic in front of them limiting your ability to anticipate situations. They're also a hazard when trying to see around them to make a turn.

blue2000s · 04-01-2011, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thstone

Agree with everyone else. Don't worry about an idiot in a Toyota and go to a track day somewhere.

But since you asked, the secret to a quick start is high RPM's and let out the clutch quick. Boxster's don't have much torque in the low RPM range so you have to get into the power curve right off the line or you're toast.

Beware, this isn't good for your clutch and at $2K for a clutch replacement, its better to just let the other guy go.

The clutch wouldn't be what I'd worry about if I used the method your suggesting. It's the axle tramp that breaks gears that would concern me.

thstone · 04-01-2011, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue2000s

The clutch wouldn't be what I'd worry about if I used the method your suggesting. It's the axle tramp that breaks gears that would concern me.

Agree! This is very hard on everything in the drivetrain.

Beelzy · 04-01-2011, 12:53 PM

Practice, practice, practice......Dumping the clutch that is.

stateofidleness · 04-01-2011, 08:21 PM

who can afford the gas to be street racing??

i'm relatively young (25) so other cars seem to expect the "redlight showdown" when they're next to me...

truth is, there's a lot of cars out there now that can spank the boxster (subies, turbo'ed 4bangers, hell even some of these 29Liter trucks (exaggeration for effect) can beat my car.. if beating someone in a straight line is your goal, the box will always leave you disappointed I think..

to be more on-topic, what if you WERE to stay neck and neck with the highlander? then what? one of you is gonna cause an accident where the the merge actually takes place because you'll both be too stubborn to back off and let the other pass. and if you were in front of me when this happened, boxster owner or not, i'd be pissed

(of course i'd side with the box driver first, let's not get crazy here)

to quote the greatest movie of all time: "there's a lot of bad drivers out there" (come on, name the movie!). Don't be one of them!

Jake D · 04-03-2011, 08:08 AM

We used to race on some country road after school. Road was really skinny but straight. There was a house about a mile down, we'd race past that. Problem was once you past the house the road dipped down a good amount. I have no idea how nobody got killed on that road. Running 120+ and then bottoming out the suspension next to another car... Now when I drive that road it makes be nervous when other cars are coming toward me because how skinny it is.

Anyways, I have always been a believer in not racing anything that's not worth beating. A Highlander would not be a vehicle I would enjoy adding to my kill list.

But, bring the revs up and dump the clutch/ let it out quick and floor the **************** out of it.

Mike_Yi · 04-03-2011, 03:27 PM

I didn't read the whole thread, so I hope this hasn't already been said.

I drive in a "spirited" manner all the damn time. However, when somebody wants to race, I won't. They want to race because they perceive your car as being a fast car. Let them take off. It will bug them that you though they were beneath your notice. Your car might not be faster than theirs, or it might be. What's important is how fast they think your car is. In the case of my '99 Boxster, it's not very fast from 0-60 or even for a 1/4 mile. People think it's much faster than it is though. I let them continue to think that. Why show them that they're wrong? And if your car is faster, let them wonder.

Stiletto Pat · 04-03-2011, 05:46 PM

Guys,

I've had my 03 Boxster S for about 8 months, and have avoided the urge to street race. Loved the car, but always concerned about tickets or accidents. Comes with growing up. Anyway, I just went and drove my first Driver Education course at Sebring Raceway yesterday - driving fast on a closed track, with a dedicated instructor -

What a complete and total rush... You will learn to corner, brake, and how to hit the corners properly. I passed or held off almost everything except for 911 4S's and other hot 911s, along with a few newer Caymen S'. This was a fairly short 1.7 mile course (1.2 the racetrack), but I was hitting over 100 on the straights...

Bottom line, if you guys want to drive your cars fast, please go to a track, at a sanctioned event (Porsche Club put this on) and be safe. Be safe to innocent bystanders and kids. I guarantee you it will be a blast and change your view of Boxsters as a pretty darn hot car.

Pat

Lordblood · 04-04-2011, 09:54 PM

I've had a base 2.5 Boxster for 2 years before I totaled it (bad day) and bought a 2002 S to replace it. I've driven the S for roughly 4 months now and I can sit here and tell you, hand on my heart, I don't really care much for the extra power of the S. The truth is, below 4k RPM's there is such a small difference in torque between base and S that you'd hardly notice it(at least to me). All the power is up at the top end, and for city dwellers like me that top end is not reached all too often.

Enjoy what you have, Boxsters may not be faster than many cars on the road these days but remember that those cars are nowhere near as special as your Box.

thstone · 04-05-2011, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stiletto Pat

Bottom line, if you guys want to drive your cars fast, please go to a track, at a sanctioned event (Porsche Club put this on) and be safe. Be safe to innocent bystanders and kids.

+1 for track driving instead of street racing. Gets the need for speed out of your blood in a safe manner - which is why track driving is so addicting!