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driving technique


nixy

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Can anyone give me some driving tips? Having had the car since June I'm fairly used to it now and how it handles. However, I used to chuck my Type R into corners and drive it a lot more confidently. The Z feels very weighty in comparison and I feel that I should be able to fly around corners in it with a lot more confidence. At the moment I am slowing right down into a corner, going round the corner fairly slow and then speeding up on the straight but this is slowing me down considerably. I haven't felt the back end so much as twitch yet and the potenzas seem to be fairly grippy contrary to reports on here. So any tips on how to get more out of the car and gain the confidence to be a bit more daring would be welcome.

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I can't possibly go somewhere where people could watch me - I won't even go karting even though I'd love it because I don't want people to watch me! And if I drive it like I stole it won't I crash?

 

Most likely, at least that's how all them crapy tv shows seem to end. :)

 

 

I’d be the opposite. 100% confident in the car 0% out of it.

 

Why not meet up with some of the guys from the club and do a little karting? Book a GP style event so that there’s nobody else involved that you don’t know and go for it. Once you put the helmet on and sit in the car you wont notice anyone around the track watching. You’ll find yourself totally engrossed in the driving. Trying to take the corners better and better with every lap.

 

 

Guy

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Get the car on a big open space, deselect the ESP and give it some!!

 

Preferably when the tyres are on theoir last 500 miles worth of tread so you don't mind cutting them in!!!!

 

Failing that....get some track time at any of the venues around the sountry.

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If y'all get the same Potenzas stock that we get in the States (RE-040), I'd get a better high performance tire. I love my Goodrich g-Force KDWs, and run them on my Zs. It's an outstanding tire wet or dry. It's rated to a sustained 185 mph (295 kph). And is capable of exceeding one lateral G -- definitely holds for high speed cornering. You can spend a whole lot more for a tire and get a whole lot less. It's a lot more difficult to break the back end loose with the KDWs than the Potenzas.

 

Here's what the new tread design tire looks like. The rear is 285/40 on 18 x 9.5" wheels.

 

fn01rc-4.jpg

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To be honest I think just keeping the ESP ON and giving it some stick round a couple of quiet roundabouts, and gradually change the point where you accelerate out of a bend will give you a feel of where the limits are...

 

but my advice is don't stop at the first minor intervention of the ESP, give it a little extra on top of that and just get the "feel" , once you get the feeling of what is going on , play with the amount of throttle you put at what stage of the bend exit.

 

Experiment with a combination of the following

 

Steering angle and amount of throttle you apply out of a bend (alway with some steering angle ... straight wheels is easy)

 

Lot of steer and lot of throttle means a spin..

lot of steer and gradual throttle input could mean an unbelievable cornering experience...

Lot of steer no throttle :yawn:

 

on the other hand

 

Little steer & high throttle, will lead to spin

Little steer ( not enough to get you round the bend you went in....) and gradual throttle will add "steering" into the bend helping you make the corner no problem.

 

It is strange but try these combinations in a nice quiet set of roundabouts and you'll feel it...

 

But try and do all this without involving the steering... I mean once you have gone into the bend, keep the steering fixed at whatever you went into the bend with, and just experiment with trying to steer the car with the throttle pedal... but very gradual input of throttle, NOT steps in throttle input...

 

As some one once told me and it is true (but does sound a bit weird... :blush: ) , in a nice radius bend, keep steady steering input and just "curl your toes" this is the amount of throttle change you need to notice a change in the steering , a few mm more and you will notice the car tighten into the bend ever so slightly... ease off (uncurl the toes) and you'll notice the car going a little bit wider...

after this then it is simply a matter of more or less throttle inputs... (also curling toes helps with circulation.... :p )

 

step by step, get a few ESP interventions and get a feel of where the car is at , then as mentioned , switch off the ESP and go wild and experience a full drift, back end out etc... but this will not show you how to go quicker round corners...

 

It is this "steer with throttle pedal" and getting that feel, smooth and controlled that will give you the biggest rewards on the road...

 

Ahhh i miss my driver trainings, haven't done any in two years... I need more ...

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Havr u owned a Rear wheel drive car before Nixy?

 

Here is something I thought of in another topic:

 

"IMO in a FWD car you have to do the traditional gear down;brake;turn in; accelerate out/through corner. If you want to increase speed through corner then brake later & on way out accelerate to the limit where front wheels are almost losing traction & car is hitting apex nose almost sliding out of control but not. This is good but if you do overdo it can come unstuck by losing front end & skiding out nose first. (into kerb etc!)

 

Hence I prefer RWD as there is firstly more fun to be had with tail out slides etc but IMO more importantly there is more margin for error. By taking corners with slight oversteer turn in & you can get out of trouble with a bit extra opposite lock turn out. But more importantly on a tight circuit (private road) where you may have barriers/kerbs, if you dont do above & take a gradual smoother line through the corner while accelerating out (almost like FWD car), you could overdo it & end up sliding/sliping into kerb etc, by losing traction at front. With extra turn in, & car is pointing at more of a sharper angle into corner & waiting till weight is shifted on back of car mid corner, powering down (with slight opp lock)will only cause car to straighten up for corner & will not be sliding towards kerb nose first.

 

However saying all that you could get the opp lock wrong, too much power & end up fishtailing into the kerb if your unlucky!! "

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And to summarise all this good advice Nixy, its a matter of what the car cant do, once you know that you will be fine. Until you have seen how far you have to go to get it wrong you will still be wondering.

 

In the early days I accidentally knocked off the ESP and tried a simple right turn onto a town road. Took a few seconds and a bit of rubber to work out why I wasnt moving.

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Good advice from Zzzz - but will you remember it on the road? In my experience there is nothing better than having an 'expert' alongside to give the confidence and its well worth the money. Although I gained some self-taught car control skills from years of competitive autotesting, maxing the road potential of a performance car is another dimension altogther and doing it on your own on the road might be risky. Yeah, by all means have some fun in a quiet private area (we all do that I'm sure :teeth: ) but that won't give you skills for the road.

 

In the latest EVO page 061 this training outfit http://www.catdrivertraining.co.uk put in a plug directed at Z drivers - might be worth a try? Perhaps others will know their form or somthing better? :)

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Good advice from Zzzz - but will you remember it on the road? In my experience there is nothing better than having an 'expert' alongside to give the confidence and its well worth the money. Although I gained some self-taught car control skills from years of competitive autotesting, maxing the road potential of a performance car is another dimension altogther and doing it on your own on the road might be risky. Yeah, by all means have some fun in a quiet private area (we all do that I'm sure :teeth: ) but that won't give you skills for the road.

 

In the latest EVO page 061 this training outfit http://www.catdrivertraining.co.uk put in a plug directed at Z drivers - might be worth a try? Perhaps others will know their form or somthing better? :)

 

Deleted two of your post's EBIZED because you posted the same thing three times. :wacko:

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Yeah, sorry about that Beavis - an issue I have been discussing with Chris - when I use the 'go back' button I am being dumped off the site and using the refresh is causing the problem - the penny has dropped this morning seeing what happened on this thread. :blush:

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In the latest EVO page 061 this training outfit http://www.catdrivertraining.co.uk put in a plug directed at Z drivers

 

From what I hear the CAT guys are pretty good, apparently they did some of the dynamics testing of the Zed and if you are a member of "another forum" :cough: :dry: you can get a discount on their course.

 

A day with Andy Walsh is money well spent too www.carlimits.com, he even does female only days if you prefer.

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Thanks for all your replies - even the ones that say take traction control off and give it some welly (no thanks)! I think Zzzzz's advice is probably what I'll do - the old roundabout trick. I'm too shy to do track driving and what I really need is more confidence on country roads. Don't get me wrong I'm not at all nervous of the car, I love it, just want to get the best out of it without ending up in a ditch. I've had 2 rear wheel drive cars before - a BMW 3 series compact and a jag X type automatic - neither of which compare except maybe on ice!

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I don't think the X type is RWD Nixy. I'm pretty sure it's FWD for the base model and 4WD for the bigger engines.

 

Leave the ESP on when road driving. I have found with the Zed that if you take your normal corner speed and double it it'll still get round! I'm not Lewis Hamilton and I don't try to be either.

 

It's fun in a big space taking off the ESP and then booting it and doing some donuts and drifts. If you don't feel comfortable then don't do it. Go somewhere alone and have a play about late at night.

 

Maybe try to drive a road you drive a lot and have a glance at the speedo when you are entering and exiting a corner. Maybe the next time you drive it try to enter and exit a few MPH quicker?

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Its all about drifting Nixy ;)

 

On a serious note, i was still getting used to the car 7 months from owning it and just getting the feel for the car. I wish i had it longer to fully take advantage of it, however soon i may be able to.

 

Get yourself on a track day and just enjoy/feel the car

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I have found with the Zed that if you take your normal corner speed and double it it'll still get round! I'm not Lewis Hamilton and I don't try to be either.
That works for me! If the curve warning sign says 30mph then 60mph is just peachy. :thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:
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I tend to find that the exits of motorways and their tight bends the best test. You can normally get through at double the speed that they warn you is maximum. I'd start with trying at 10 mph under then build up. You'll soon touch the limit not realising how much speed you were carrying through the corner.

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I guess I've been doing the opposite - going twice a slow as I usually would round a corner because of all the scare mongering that goes on about losing the back end. I'll put my foot down on the country roads on the way home tonight if it stays dry! :thumbs:

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