Driver training..... help
Discussion
Just on a short 5 minute journey from West wickham to Shortlands tonight in the torrential rain just my car was very twitchy and liked to wheel spin in the wet....
So much so that it decided to face the opposite direction on a wide bend, luckily no one was behind me or coming towards me though there was a gentleman who couldn't stop pissing himself laughing.
So, where is good to do driver training in Bromley area or kent? As it made me think my skills need some improvement.
So much so that it decided to face the opposite direction on a wide bend, luckily no one was behind me or coming towards me though there was a gentleman who couldn't stop pissing himself laughing.
So, where is good to do driver training in Bromley area or kent? As it made me think my skills need some improvement.
you could try Car Limits - at North weald just up the m11.
small area of an old airfield, Andy Walsh runs 2 types of days - fun days where you can join a group for a meagre £40 or so. You get to find the limits of the car around a high speed bend and later in the day slalom.....OR they do more personal training with no more than 4 drivers, think a 4 person day is about £230 pp. again you just join whoever else has booked.
FWIW - a bunch of us from SKCC - Southern kit cars have booked nrth weald for a private day later in Sept, we may have a couple of free slots, this week is the cut off for those that had their names down to stump up - there'll only be about 18-19 cars versus the 30 or so that can attend a public day, so the cost is slightly higher at approx £70.
not sure if that's what you want or whether you want a skid pan/wet type tuition, last time i looked i think the Police very occasionally ran one out of Maidstone area or privately there was one somewhere near Chicester.
simple rule for the wet is tip toe a bit until you feel a bit confident in how predictable the car is, and then take off 5% so as not to get too cocky. Smooth and gentle and short shifting can still be very quick in the wet/damp. and tyre choice is also key.......( sorry if you're not new to these cars i can't recall what you had written )
small area of an old airfield, Andy Walsh runs 2 types of days - fun days where you can join a group for a meagre £40 or so. You get to find the limits of the car around a high speed bend and later in the day slalom.....OR they do more personal training with no more than 4 drivers, think a 4 person day is about £230 pp. again you just join whoever else has booked.
FWIW - a bunch of us from SKCC - Southern kit cars have booked nrth weald for a private day later in Sept, we may have a couple of free slots, this week is the cut off for those that had their names down to stump up - there'll only be about 18-19 cars versus the 30 or so that can attend a public day, so the cost is slightly higher at approx £70.
not sure if that's what you want or whether you want a skid pan/wet type tuition, last time i looked i think the Police very occasionally ran one out of Maidstone area or privately there was one somewhere near Chicester.
simple rule for the wet is tip toe a bit until you feel a bit confident in how predictable the car is, and then take off 5% so as not to get too cocky. Smooth and gentle and short shifting can still be very quick in the wet/damp. and tyre choice is also key.......( sorry if you're not new to these cars i can't recall what you had written )
No that sounds pretty good to be honest, very useful information I might join one that £70 one with SKK if possible.
I have had a caterham for a few years but only changed to this one about 3 months ago and not really driven in the wet and I am not a big fan of the tyres I have on it to be honest.
Thanks for the information its very helpful.
I have had a caterham for a few years but only changed to this one about 3 months ago and not really driven in the wet and I am not a big fan of the tyres I have on it to be honest.
Thanks for the information its very helpful.
if you drop me a mail through here i can let you know if we have a space for you. if you hadnt heard of skcc - we're an intermarque kit car club, so you'll have to slum it with some 'lookalikees' - but we're all petrolheads where banter is as much of the fun as the driving. i'm not far from you - just 2 miles up the road from where the North Kent Cat Club meets at Eynsford....
chrs
mark
chrs
mark
While driver training is probably an excellent idea, can I ask first what tyres you're running? I've never had issues with my 7 in the wet. So long as you keep the speed down and don't bounce the car off the limiter it's always been very compliant - that's on CR500 tyres. If your tyres are old and worn then that's probably causing your lack of grip more than anything else!
) who swear by them.yep i'd junk the tr1's and try r1r's, they're cheap as chips - can be had for about 65 a corner and the difference between them and the tr1's is light and day. Lots of us that run 15inch wheels use them. Personally have also tried Federal 595rs and the Yoko ado8advan when the r1r's were out of stock following the tsunami, and neither felt as good.
BTW - not sure if you were interested in a space on that C/Limits Day that was mentioned in an earlier post, if you do shout - because we have 1 slot open. You'd need to drop me a mail. cheers.
BTW - not sure if you were interested in a space on that C/Limits Day that was mentioned in an earlier post, if you do shout - because we have 1 slot open. You'd need to drop me a mail. cheers.
sjmmarsh said:
28psi??!! That will give you almost half the contact patch you would have at 16psi.... No wonder it is a handful in the wet..
Steve
Whilst I'm not gonna argue that 28psi is way too high for a cat, are you sure about your calls there...?Steve
http://www.performancesimulations.com/fact-or-fict...
Tyre contact patches are a highly complex area and I agree that the comment I made was based on a gross simplification.
It would be true if the car had baloons for wheels, but in the real world the stiffness of the sidewall and tread ans smoothness of the road surface all have an effect and that is before you start to worry about how a moving tyre behaves on a wet surface!
The general point is true though - the contact patch will reduce as the pressure increases, increasing the likelihood of the tyre breaking traction, leading to a car swapping ends.
Some of the complexity is covered in this thread, but even this is a simplification.
Steve
It would be true if the car had baloons for wheels, but in the real world the stiffness of the sidewall and tread ans smoothness of the road surface all have an effect and that is before you start to worry about how a moving tyre behaves on a wet surface!
The general point is true though - the contact patch will reduce as the pressure increases, increasing the likelihood of the tyre breaking traction, leading to a car swapping ends.
Some of the complexity is covered in this thread, but even this is a simplification.
Steve
Sort your tyre pressures out for a start, surely you didn't think a 10psi front/rear disparity was right? While you're at it, check the age of the tyres- on a lightly used, lightweight car like the Caterham, T1Rs will probably harden and turn into plastic long before the tread ever wears out.
The only problem with CR500 on 15" wheels is that they get sidewall cracks all the time.
Apparently it's just cosmetic, but it's still not encouraging! It's a shame since they work really well in the wet and dry.
I'm looking forward to the release of the new ZZS tyre, it's said to replace the CR500 eventually.
Apparently it's just cosmetic, but it's still not encouraging! It's a shame since they work really well in the wet and dry.
I'm looking forward to the release of the new ZZS tyre, it's said to replace the CR500 eventually.
Edited by framerateuk on Monday 18th August 09:30
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