How do you drive?
 

I know that I am of the younger, more reckless (stupid?) crowd on here. But recently, my new girlfriend tells me that she absolutely abhors my driving.

I drive quite aggressive. I won't race anyone on the straights (we drive Boxsters, after all), and I don't peel off at red lights (unless I'm having a bad day or something)... But I heel-toe at every given opportunity and push the grip of my tires to the limit.

So, amongst my brethren here, how do you drive your vehicles?

You're an accident waiting to happen. Take it to the track!

But my cornering is actually very safe! I daresay it's a safer way of turning than regular driving!

We're all capable of being stupid at any given moment, but pushing your tires to their limit whenever you can is probably going to get you hurt, or worse yet, hurt someone else.

Here's the antidote to your need for speed.
Get on a track and you'll learn whether all that street skill translates into real driving skill.
Track time helps to relieve the impulse to drive hard on the street.
Give it 1 try and I promise you will drive less aggressively on the street.

Yea, track driving is where it's at.

I used to drive like an asshat on the street. Then I started doing legit racing, and you quickly learn that the adrenaline rush that lasts for 30-45 minutes at a time on the track just cannot ever be matched on the street without nearly killing yourself or someone else, and simply isn't even worth trying to do.

So now I drive pretty conservatively, will usually go past the speed limit on the highway, but otherwise a very safe driver. However on the track (or rally stage) I am pushing my race car as hard as it will go.

before driving instruction, probably like you.

After driving insruction, very conservative.

Most cars on the highway pass me as I try to maintain space in front so that I have time to react to nonsense up ahead. If folks are doing parallels on the highway I back off and move over to the slow lanes as well. That's the irony. Those who don't know how to drive (other than in straight line) are usually going 100 mph in the fast lane. Those who are well aware of just how few people know how to drive their high horsepower sedans and SUVS at those speeds back off far away. The greater your skill, the less you limit your escape routes from their antics.

public roads are not the place to test the limits of the car. The tires are there for when others force you to test them. That's why the piston Gods gave us a cheap affordable form of racing called autocross. Cheaper than the track and safe autocrossers make for safer track drivers.

I know this is kind of thread-jacking my own thread. Please continue to answer the poll but...

What kind of preparation do you have to do for your car on the track? New rotors and pads? Different set of wheels with tires? How much does a day at the track cost, approximately?

you should do plenty of autocross before you do your first DE at the track.
Getting out agression isn't really something for a track novice. The worst that happens with misdirected aggression in an autocross is you knock over a few cones, have one of your lap times thrown out and miss out on a $5 made in China trophy. Misdirected aggression at the track can turn your Boxster into a sardine can in two blinks of an eye.
No special preparation to your car necessary for autocross. No special tires recommended when starting out (get novice mistakes done on cheap tires). Total cost for the day? $40-$50. String together 10-12 days of that and you're a 10x's better driver than 98% of the sports car driving public.

Wow. That's not bad at all!!
Yea, I didn't know the difference between Auto-X and track. I will definitely look into it!


You guys need to answer the polls! Lots of comments veering conservative, but so far the votes veer (haha) aggressive.

Never knew about these. Searching Chicago area and I think I should have my car back together by April 28th.

http://pca-chicago.org/downloads/2013/PCACRAutocrossSchool.pdf

I'm looking forward to this.

join your local PCA and SCCA or NASA if there is one. Some join all three and autocross every single weekend. They all have forums about their local autocross events. You'll have all the information you could ask for in less than an hour. Must get hot where you are. Bring a hat, long sleeve dri-fit and SPF 30. I get suburn just out here in NJ. The blacktop in those lots reflect a truckload of UV rays and heat. Makes for nice slippery road tires...
Once you've gotten all the novice mistakes out of the way you can bring your girlfriend and she'll think you are a born natural.

I chose aggressive on the poll but I drive more of a passive aggressive way. I never tail gate because thats just a Dck move and just dangerous, I dont weave through traffic because that scares people and scared people are dangerous, If im going to over take some one then I do it slowly enough so that they have a chance to see me, and I don't drift on public roads. So what do I do? I do find my self speeding often but only if the conditions are right and if I find the situation to be safe. If I know the roads Im on, then I am more confident but still cautious. I love to corner hard.

You can be the best driver in the world but that "girl in that honda texting her ass off" is what you should worry about. And the police, Gotta watch out for them.

I can say its all about the balance. And snow drifting in empty lots, that is all.

By the way Perfectlap what part of jersey are you in? I thing I have seen your car before in the clifton area.

I don't think I'm good enough to get my tires to slide.

And this poll has nothing to do with the stupidity involved in racing/tailgating. It's more of a "how do you treat your boxster on the street" kind of poll.

I won't lie though. If something tries to follow me through a corner, I try my best to lose him. And I've beaten a Corvette on occasion.

I was once instigated by an audi s4 and I didn't want to let up so we went at it for a bit on the road and then when we reached the city entrance we pulled up next to each other and exchanged thumbs up and went our separate ways. Didn't know the guy but we had some fun. It was really controlled I lead then we switched positon and just kept up with each other.

at an Autocross they'll slide all right.

Regular street tires, at the limit, break EASILY on the sharp turns of a typical autocross. That's part of the learning curve, anyone can go fast on r-comps. Over-confidence on cheap street tires is one reason why so many sports cars end up in the junk yard crusher.

You must have seen me at the Costco there. I otherwise avoid the traffic of that whole route 3 area.

In city traffic I drive like a little old lady. I don't take chances because all it takes is one idiot at an intersection to really mess you and your car up.

The freeway, however, is a different matter. As long as its clear, I wll go up to around 100 mph and I will use all the lanes of the freeway on the corners. But trafific has gotten so bad here in the last few years, I can rarely go fast, so I go to the track every once in a while for a dose of speed.

I think everyone missed the most obvious point here. You need a new girlfriend, amigo! :D

+1 TRACK

What you are doing on the public roads is not even 2/10's of what we do at the track.

:ah::ah::ah:

Most of us driving to work or going to get groceries have no desire to wreck our cars, or get a ticket, or are even in any mood to compete. What you think might be someone trying to race you, may just be an awesome driver going about his or her business. I get that all the time on on/off ramps, I take the line like I am programmed to (tracking for close to 10 years now), and people automatically think I am trying to race...sorry, no desire, but I will gladly see you at the track.

:( My Vette eats GT3's and everything else on the track. At my level with only race pads and Hoosiers R6's on my Vette (stock suspension, stock motor, etc), only the GT3RS, F430, and some 911 Cup cars can give me a good run for my money.

Go to the track, you will be humbled by someone in a Miata, F-body or Fox body, or even an 80's Honda or Toyota.

^ Everytime I think of guys street racing I think of these two

Two Turkeys on Thanksgiving Wrecking their Corvettes in The Woodlands - YouTube

The thing people don't understand about high performance driving is how much of it involves trusting/depending/knowing/anticipating the people who you are racing with. In a club you get to know the other drivers and their limits. On the street, you don't know if they just pop'd some ecstasy pills, smoked a giant bone and downed a 40 ounce of Colt 45... and that's probably when they do their best thinking/driving.

These guys have a pretty active performance driving program. Check em out.
Arizona Region Porsche Club of America - Event Browse

Get a good instructor in your car and he will show you when to push it, and when to reel it in. Techniques that can make you a much more skilled driver and potentially save your life.

To answer your question directly... how do I drive? That depends:

Around town with drivers texting their girlfriends, on cel phones, kids and dogs nearby- like an old lady, 2/10ths
Highway onramps- 8/10ths
Mountain canyons with no other cars or traffic- 6/10ths-7/10ths
Practice sessions on a racetrack- 8/10ths
Timed runs for the money lap- All in baby! 10/10ths

I don't fit in your categories Not aggressive but always +5 local and +9 highway. I love winding roads but don't go after them anywhere close to what I would on a track.

Anyone can do a DE with a stock car in decent condition. Your first DE has nothing to do with speed or time or max g's so you don't need new tires, special brake pads, new sway bars, or 5-pt harnesses.

All of that will come later as you learn the driving skills unique to pushing your car to the max. Everyone thinks that they know how to go fast until they get on a track and then realize how little they really know.

Understand its not that you aren't willing to push hard (because I am sure that you are!) but its that you've never really been taught how to drive fast. Honestly, how times have you had someone demonstrate and teach you how to drive fast? For most of us, never. All we're ever told is to "slow down"! So we try to pick up what we can and just see what works.

A good HPDE is exactly what it says: HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVER EDUCATION. This is where you will be TAUGHT how to drive fast. Instead of having your girlfriend or wife sitting next to you asking you to slow down, you'll have an instructor sitting next to you telling you HOW to go fast! This alone is worth the price of admission. You'll learn about car control, balance, oversteer, understeer, braking, and cornering techniques - all things that you've never been taught before.

Then you can take your willingness to push hard and combine it with the skilled driving techniques that you have been taught and really go fast. And then you'll realize that the only place to do this is on a racetrack because your driving skills are beyond any edge that could be sanely reached on the street.

Then you'll spend all of your money going to the track like I do. You're welcome.

I went with option 2. I would describe my driving a spirited (though the judge never seems to see it that way). I'm not overly concerned with the posted limit but more focused on having plenty in the way of margins so that I have options when the unexpected happens (riding a motorcycle off and on for years will brand this into your psyche). I belive that there is a time and place for "fun driving on the street" but you must choose your venue wisely and know your personal limitations and those of your vehicle. I'm 38 and have not had an "at fault" accident in 20 years, so I must be doing ok. That being said, I've done a lot of stupid things to gain whatever knowledge I have today. I've been lucky for sure. I taught myself to heal and toe when I was in my teens. I was lucky to not actually own any moderately fast cars until my late 20s.

At the end of the day you have to know your limitations. Driving like you've got a hot poker up your ass will get you in trouble one way or another.

Public roads are full of horrible drivers; ill use any means necessary to avoid them, but I prefer the throttle!

I'll have to agree with others on the forum, once you go on the track, you don't go back. I drive conservatively on the street. The track is a different story, but a whole n'other world.