Thursday 20th December 2012

PH Blog: back in the saddle

Life without a licence is tiresome - time to beg a favour or two

---

As many of you will know I'm currently an editor sans driving licence. Which is a bit of a bummer. For me at least. Alex is loving it and making hay with a parade of press cars as I sit twiddling my thumbs on the subs bench.

Which pedal does what then? Time to RTFM

Especially gutting was the arrival of the Megane 265 Cup I specced earlier in the year and now can't actually drive. Or so I thought...

There are two schools of thought with this non driving thing. One person I spoke with who's been through it said he didn't want to touch a car for the year and made a point of not even sitting in the driving seat, building up to that big moment when he'd be able to drive again. And he said it was a more special experience for it.

Impressive. But I don't have that kind of patience.

So an opportunity to drive something spicy at Blyton Park with a vague Renaultsport link (to be revealed shortly) had me plotting and scheming. A chat with Richard at Blyton had him, given the specific circumstances, willing to let me out. And the owners of the cars were cool with it. Looked like I had myself a drive.

Shall I take it easy to begin with? Nah...

So how was it? Well, you can watch the video if you'd like and judge for yourself! Other than some slow speed manoeuvring around the car park for some photos the other day the footage shows the first time I've been behind the wheel of a car since early September. Which is a bit mad. I expected it to feel a bit odd. And for the first few hundred yards it was.

And then it wasn't and it was like I'd never been away. Sure, I was probably a little timid. Probably no bad thing, all's said. But the Megane's a willing partner and gave me bags of confidence right from the off. What a great car that is too. I didn't muck about with the Renaultsport Monitor throttle maps too much but the diff is super aggressive and proactively finds traction a purely reactive electronic 'eLSD' simply can't replicate. Sure, ESP-based systems do a decent job of taming understeer in powerful FWD cars. But a proper LSD like the Megane's turns a hot hatch into a proper weapon in greasy conditions like we had yesterday, something I experienced a couple of years back with an R26 in torrential conditions at the 'ring. Porsche-owning friends who'd parked up and given up for the day were astonished when I took them round in the Megane, squealing "you shouldn't be able to do THAT!" in wide-eyed amazement at the places it found traction.

Megane awesome at a wintry Blyton Park

There's a lot more to come from this car and I hope I get a chance to experience it before it goes back but that first taste was inspiring and lifted my mood immeasurably.

It still feels weird pacing round to the passenger side for the drive home. And I salute the more purist approach of true abstinence. But it's not for me. And just a brief taste in the Megane has got me hungry for more!

Dan

 

Photos: Prime Exposures

[J-P]

Sounds like a fun day out - I lost my license many years ago for speeding ( I was banned for a week, no points). I remember that even that week was very painful! God knows how you're managing for months! What happened?

Edited by J-P on Thursday 20th December 12:26

[chrisj_abz]

nice to see you are still keeping your hand in Dan, im just limited to driving the MX5 round the yard outside my garage till i get my licence back, though im planning to take a week off work and just hit the west coast of Scotland then!

[KMB]

I thought there were health reasons for your year of driving abstinence, but that reads far more like a licence losing conviction? Spill the beans...

[anonymous-user]

KMB said:

I thought there were health reasons for your year of driving abstinence, but that reads far more like a licence losing conviction? Spill the beans...

The original article says a doctor did tell him, but I guess they take the licence away?

[masermartin]

If a doc says you can't drive, then you are obliged to inform your insurance, and it kinda goes from there I would imagine, even if the docs don't speak directly to the DVLA.

Luckily I've never been in that situation but I think this is what I'd try to do if it happened to me - controlled environment, limited risk but still able to whet your appetite while you're biding away the time.

[Stuart]

KMB said:

I thought there were health reasons for your year of driving abstinence, but that reads far more like a licence losing conviction? Spill the beans...

Absolutely for medical reasons, and nothing whatsoever to do with driving convictions.

[JuniorJet]

Driving a car is my life in almost every aspect. Would really struggle to get on in the world without it.

I feel your pain Dan and hope getting behind the wheel for short bursts helps you to maintain sanity!

[BMWill]

JuniorJet said:

Driving a car is my life in almost every aspect. Would really struggle to get on in the world without it.

I feel your pain Dan and hope getting behind the wheel for short bursts helps you to maintain sanity!

x2

[dukebox9reg]

Bit of a tangent, i'm assuming the car has just arrived with just delivery miles on it. What's you view on bedding in the engine? Do they really need it nowadays really? I've got 900miles left to do plodding till mine is bedded in according to the book.

As a secondary point, I know your pain, I got smashed into a few years back and wasn't able to drive for 8 months mainly due a great big frame on my lower right leg. I ended up buying a car and just sat in it with the engine idling to 'charge the battery' just to try to cheer myself up.

[SpudLink]

KMB said:

I thought there were health reasons for your year of driving abstinence, but that reads far more like a licence losing conviction? Spill the beans...

I knew a chap who had his license taken away after an epileptic fit while driving. He had never had one before or since, but he was deemed unsafe. If any of us were in that position, but had the opportunity for a bit of track time, I expect most of us would take it.

[pthelazyjourno]

masermartin said:

If a doc says you can't drive, then you are obliged to inform your insurance, and it kinda goes from there I would imagine, even if the docs don't speak directly to the DVLA.

Luckily I've never been in that situation but I think this is what I'd try to do if it happened to me - controlled environment, limited risk but still able to whet your appetite while you're biding away the time.

You're obliged to tell the DVLA, let alone the insurance!!

I just stopped driving completely for 12 months when it happened to me. Dull.

[chrisj_abz]

im 10 months into a 24 month absence due to a Brain tumour and i'd love to do a bit of track time, unfortunately most track places need a licence. i'll just have to make do with making broom broom noises!

[KMB]

Stuart said:

Absolutely for medical reasons, and nothing whatsoever to do with driving convictions.

Thanks for the clarification and glad to hear there are no infringements of the law - Hope Dan is back to health soon!

[framerateuk]

dukebox9reg said:

Bit of a tangent, i'm assuming the car has just arrived with just delivery miles on it. What's you view on bedding in the engine? Do they really need it nowadays really? I've got 900miles left to do plodding till mine is bedded in according to the book.

I did a trackday in mine after 1000 miles. The engine still felt pretty tight at that time. 2000 miles later I tracked it again and it felt a lot more free-revving. That said, the first trackday probably helped to loosen it up a bit!

[dukebox9reg]

framerateuk said:

I did a trackday in mine after 1000 miles. The engine still felt pretty tight at that time. 2000 miles later I tracked it again and it felt a lot more free-revving. That said, the first trackday probably helped to loosen it up a bit!

My car only has 300miles on the clock and I've had a few people say bedding in is a load of rubbish, you need to boot it from new to 'condition' the engine. I'm so tempted to open it up.

[framerateuk]

dukebox9reg said:

My car only has 300miles on the clock and I've had a few people say bedding in is a load of rubbish, you need to boot it from new to 'condition' the engine. I'm so tempted to open it up.

To be honest, I've always taken the attitude of, so long as you warm it up before booting it, it's going to be fine.

I wouldn't go bouncing it off the limiter on delivery miles, but I certainly didn't keep it below 4k for 1000 miles....

[Dan Trent]

chrisj_abz said:

nice to see you are still keeping your hand in Dan, im just limited to driving the MX5 round the yard outside my garage till i get my licence back, though im planning to take a week off work and just hit the west coast of Scotland then!

I'll see you there - strangely enough your plans for when you get your licence back are pretty much identical to mine!

Here's to a speedy recovery for you.

Dan

[scholesy]

In your position I think I would have to abstain, to have a drive in something would only renew the agony. I find it infuriating that so many people drive around without tax, insurance or a licence and law abiding decent citizens get penalised for their honesty.

[ant leigh]

dukebox9reg said:

framerateuk said:

I did a trackday in mine after 1000 miles. The engine still felt pretty tight at that time. 2000 miles later I tracked it again and it felt a lot more free-revving. That said, the first trackday probably helped to loosen it up a bit!

My car only has 300miles on the clock and I've had a few people say bedding in is a load of rubbish, you need to boot it from new to 'condition' the engine. I'm so tempted to open it up.

I was told the 'Megane engines are factory run in and are designed for performance.
You dont need to drive like an angel but dont just go out and screw the nuts off of it for the first 1000 miles or so.'

[Hoppelemine]

ant leigh said:

dukebox9reg said:

framerateuk said:

I did a trackday in mine after 1000 miles. The engine still felt pretty tight at that time. 2000 miles later I tracked it again and it felt a lot more free-revving. That said, the first trackday probably helped to loosen it up a bit!

My car only has 300miles on the clock and I've had a few people say bedding in is a load of rubbish, you need to boot it from new to 'condition' the engine. I'm so tempted to open it up.

I was told the 'Megane engines are factory run in and are designed for performance.
You dont need to drive like an angel but dont just go out and screw the nuts off of it for the first 1000 miles or so.'

Way off topic here, but traditional 'running in' on modern engines is not required. Clearly bouncing off the rev limiter leaving the showroom is not recomended, but I know from experience that it's more that likely that between them the dock worker, transporter driver, PDI technician, saleperson or valeter have already done that. Many owners handbooks now recommend that you shouldn't drive a significant distance at a constant speed, revs and gear for the first 1000 miles or so. Varying you speed is better to bed the engine (and gearbox) in evenly. Also remember that new tyres with tyre black all over the sidewalls have less grip than you might expect when on the limit.