Anyone else falling out of love with driving a 'fast' car?
Discussion
I have found myself in the same position as the OP. Bought a little mt-125 to commute on and am having way more fun on the roads around me than I have in ages. It's not quick but I'm nearly always moving so it still cuts the commute time in half and allows me to enjoy my z4mc on a weekends only basis. To be honest around London a bike is the way to do things, as long as you are not prone to taking chances...then things might not go well for you. I'm planning to take my full test in the next couple of months but I don't know if I'll bother with the whole big bike thing, the z4m then do the fun stuff.
Just keeping with the bike thing for a mo, its always been very obvious to me that peeps who own fast cars and like to make use of the cars performance (not just in a straight line) are invariably much better at it and much more considerate of other road users if they've got previous (or current) experience with bikes, than those who've never had bikes.....
I remember the first time I came off a bike (motor not pedal), it taught me a huge lesson in recognising (and understanding) my limitations... I think you never forget that and it kind of stays with you even when you're on four wheels.....
I remember the first time I came off a bike (motor not pedal), it taught me a huge lesson in recognising (and understanding) my limitations... I think you never forget that and it kind of stays with you even when you're on four wheels.....
Zod said:
giblet said:
TameRacingDriver said:
I've tried using OHs Corsa for the day to day grind, but it's bloody awful. Much rather be in the Z even if I can't stretch its legs and it costs double to run.
That's my concern. I can't bring myself to drive a snoozebox on a daily basis and keep a fun car for the weekend so a 5.0 V8 saloon is the compromise. Leins said:
RayPike said:
giblet said:
Interesting thread. ... Early Sunday morning drives are the only real time when I can enjoy it, I'm only 30 mins away from some cracking countryside roads which are empty at that time.
You see, it's this bit in bold that is the fly in the ointment here. How do you KNOW they're empty as a matter of stated fact (as you say)? They may have been empty in the past, but the next time may be the time a young family has set off early to get somewhere and you come hooning around a bend, slightly over the line and pow! Your (not only your, of course, but you're the one who's posted it most recently) "pistonheads enthusiast" attitude towards what you perceive as empty roads is potentially lethally dangerous and yet the impression I get from your post would be that if the road wasn't empty that particular day, it somehow wouldn't be your fault if something went wrong because a lesser driver enjoying their piddly 2 litre engine with only 190bhp wasn't able to cope with your driving? If, you know, they were only doing 60mph on a stretch of road where your knowledge, skill and experience means you know it's perfectly safe to do 90mph could lead you to do something impetuous that could put not just you at risk. The roads I chose to head to early on weekend mornings have a 60mph limit, but it is actually quite difficult to drive in excess of this speed due to their very nature. The appeal, when free, is that you can cut lines inbetween bends that you wouldn't be able to do normally, and chose your own braking points for corners. This isn't about reckless endangerment of others, it's about being able to choose how you approach the road, not have it be enforced on you by the dawdling masses that must normally be endured
mwstewart said:
I read back over the post to make sure I hadn’t missed something, but I couldn’t find a post where a user has portrayed themselves as a "PH superdriver". Maybe I missed something.
To me the type of driver who gets up early to drive fast on a quiet road is more likely to take driving seriously & make better judgements than the seemingly disengaged majority who drive slowly and pull out onto A roads in front of oncoming traffic.
It's probably obvious I don't have a problem with fast driving, in fact I love to see others driving fast around me. I also think the speed limits outside of (actual) built up areas are too slow, and I see more bad driving & poor decision making by slow drivers than I see people driving fast, let alone driving fast to a poor standard.
I wish there was more focus on driving skills than slowing down, but given we're on a performance car enthusiast forum I would rather read about cars and enjoyment of them rather than H&S spiel
I think the two chaps above have provided an answer way better than I could. I don't claim to be a driving god, hell I'll readily admit that I'm not one. The roads I mentioned are ones where I usually end being held up by econoboxes trundling along at 20mph without a care in the world at normal hours. When they are empty it is possible to make progress safely without driving at 10/10ths. Hell I don't think I've driven them in nutter mode for a long long time. I did that when I was younger but quickly realised I would either end up killing someone else or killing myself.To me the type of driver who gets up early to drive fast on a quiet road is more likely to take driving seriously & make better judgements than the seemingly disengaged majority who drive slowly and pull out onto A roads in front of oncoming traffic.
It's probably obvious I don't have a problem with fast driving, in fact I love to see others driving fast around me. I also think the speed limits outside of (actual) built up areas are too slow, and I see more bad driving & poor decision making by slow drivers than I see people driving fast, let alone driving fast to a poor standard.
I wish there was more focus on driving skills than slowing down, but given we're on a performance car enthusiast forum I would rather read about cars and enjoyment of them rather than H&S spiel
A lot of the roads have great visibility so you can make progress and still keep an eye out for anything coming the other way. The only thing you are likely to hit is a sheep at those times. Having been out for a few drives with some local PH'ers the rules have always been to behave in built up areas, villages etc but make sensible progress in the open sections. I understand your concerns but at the end of the day I'm not out to drive like a cocksocket without any regards to my own safety or the safety of others.
Leins said:
I think you're misinterpreting the benefit of an empty road, more specifically that it's not about being able to use it as your own drag strip. It's about not being held to a crawling pace
The roads I chose to head to early on weekend mornings have a 60mph limit, but it is actually quite difficult to drive in excess of this speed due to their very nature. The appeal, when free, is that you can cut lines inbetween bends that you wouldn't be able to do normally, and chose your own braking points for corners. This isn't about reckless endangerment of others, it's about being able to choose how you approach the road, not have it be enforced on you by the dawdling masses that must normally be endured
I think this is probably the most sensible response in 17 pages. +1The roads I chose to head to early on weekend mornings have a 60mph limit, but it is actually quite difficult to drive in excess of this speed due to their very nature. The appeal, when free, is that you can cut lines inbetween bends that you wouldn't be able to do normally, and chose your own braking points for corners. This isn't about reckless endangerment of others, it's about being able to choose how you approach the road, not have it be enforced on you by the dawdling masses that must normally be endured
V8RX7 said:
If I can't see the road is clear when I'm overtaking I assume there could be a car / bike coming into view at 130mph because that is very possible - failing to do so would be bad driving IMO.
I've been speeding for 25+ years without an accident so clearly I'm doing something right.
You must only overtake on some very long straights then.I've been speeding for 25+ years without an accident so clearly I'm doing something right.
The thing with limits is not that they make EVERY situation as safe as any other as per your example, it's more that they give everyone a baseline to work from, an expectation of other road user's speed.
Edited by Centurion07 on Thursday 31st March 22:16
Even when it should have been...it wasn't great!
Yesterday was warm(ish) and sunny. I was at a loose end so decided to take a drive to the mid-Wales coast (Oswestry to Aberdovey) just for fun. This is a 70 mile each way drive. I was in a reasonably 'fast' car (Z4 3.0Si Roadster). The scenery was beautiful both outbound and on the return via a different route.
I wanted to prove to myself that the OP isn't correct and that I shouldn't fall out of love with driving a 'fast' car.
This all sounds great on paper, doesn't it? But it wasn't. There was certainly no need for anything like the performance that even this car theoretically has to offer. Anything more would have just been an even greater waste.
The outward bound journey was spoilt. Firstly, by at least 5 miles of solid traffic jam due to a minor accident on the A5. Next, the majority of the remainder towards Machynlleth was then frustrated variously by: A massive tractor towing some foul smelling trailer of sh$t virtually the entire distance on the A458 from Shrewsbury to Welshpool without yielding to the queue of traffic behind. The duty of spoiling the experience of driving a 'fast' car was then taken over in turn by the slow moving car-transporter following him; who was then, in turn, relieved by the caravan following him! All were helped by at least two sets of temporary traffic lights for road works.
Once free of them, I was quickly held-back by an elderly gentleman driving through what might have been a very interesting twisty stretch of National Speed Limit road...at a maximum of 38 mph...being followed by two other cars who refused to overtake him. It probably wasn't safe to overtake him because of the blind bends so I don't blame them.
Once he and one of the others had turned off, I realised that the remaining car was also being driven by a dawdler! At this point frustration got the better of me and finally on one short stretch of straight I risked a fast overtaking manoeuvre to get past her. I say "risked" because it wasn't completely safe to do it. It was done out of pure frustration and that's one way accidents happen on these roads. They can be bad ones and I shouldn't have done it.
At only one point thereafter, and only for about 5 miles, was I 'free' and being chased by someone in a Transit van, who clearly had intimate local knowledge of the road and was doing a very good job of keeping me honest! This, I think, illustrates that knowledge of the road ahead is very important. More so than the car being driven on roads like this. I'm not a skilled racing driver but I don't think I'm that bad either yet I honestly don't think I could have driven much faster even if I had been in a car of vastly more performance...and cost!
The track environment aside, we're being sold a lie by manufacturers of 'fast' cars. On the public road, anywhere in the UK, they are pretty much pointless.
Anyone who says or thinks they can or do drive a modern 'fast' car at anything like the speeds that they can (theoretically) do, on these public roads, in rural Wales or Scotland, by "popping up there at the weekends", on to roads they don't intimately know, is either delusional, wantonly disregarding of their own and other road user's safety...or just simply a liar.
On the final approach to Aberdovey the SatNav decided to take me off the beaten track on to a completely empty road. Ideal! Yes, a road completely empty of cars...but not of sheep.
The return journey was, for different reasons, similarly frustrating.
There was nothing unusual, unfortunate or unlucky about these journeys. If I did it again today I'm sure that I would encounter a similar set of circumstances but maybe just in a different order.
Sadly, I'm coming to the conclusion that I have to agree with the OP.
Yesterday was warm(ish) and sunny. I was at a loose end so decided to take a drive to the mid-Wales coast (Oswestry to Aberdovey) just for fun. This is a 70 mile each way drive. I was in a reasonably 'fast' car (Z4 3.0Si Roadster). The scenery was beautiful both outbound and on the return via a different route.
I wanted to prove to myself that the OP isn't correct and that I shouldn't fall out of love with driving a 'fast' car.
This all sounds great on paper, doesn't it? But it wasn't. There was certainly no need for anything like the performance that even this car theoretically has to offer. Anything more would have just been an even greater waste.
The outward bound journey was spoilt. Firstly, by at least 5 miles of solid traffic jam due to a minor accident on the A5. Next, the majority of the remainder towards Machynlleth was then frustrated variously by: A massive tractor towing some foul smelling trailer of sh$t virtually the entire distance on the A458 from Shrewsbury to Welshpool without yielding to the queue of traffic behind. The duty of spoiling the experience of driving a 'fast' car was then taken over in turn by the slow moving car-transporter following him; who was then, in turn, relieved by the caravan following him! All were helped by at least two sets of temporary traffic lights for road works.
Once free of them, I was quickly held-back by an elderly gentleman driving through what might have been a very interesting twisty stretch of National Speed Limit road...at a maximum of 38 mph...being followed by two other cars who refused to overtake him. It probably wasn't safe to overtake him because of the blind bends so I don't blame them.
Once he and one of the others had turned off, I realised that the remaining car was also being driven by a dawdler! At this point frustration got the better of me and finally on one short stretch of straight I risked a fast overtaking manoeuvre to get past her. I say "risked" because it wasn't completely safe to do it. It was done out of pure frustration and that's one way accidents happen on these roads. They can be bad ones and I shouldn't have done it.
At only one point thereafter, and only for about 5 miles, was I 'free' and being chased by someone in a Transit van, who clearly had intimate local knowledge of the road and was doing a very good job of keeping me honest! This, I think, illustrates that knowledge of the road ahead is very important. More so than the car being driven on roads like this. I'm not a skilled racing driver but I don't think I'm that bad either yet I honestly don't think I could have driven much faster even if I had been in a car of vastly more performance...and cost!
The track environment aside, we're being sold a lie by manufacturers of 'fast' cars. On the public road, anywhere in the UK, they are pretty much pointless.
Anyone who says or thinks they can or do drive a modern 'fast' car at anything like the speeds that they can (theoretically) do, on these public roads, in rural Wales or Scotland, by "popping up there at the weekends", on to roads they don't intimately know, is either delusional, wantonly disregarding of their own and other road user's safety...or just simply a liar.
On the final approach to Aberdovey the SatNav decided to take me off the beaten track on to a completely empty road. Ideal! Yes, a road completely empty of cars...but not of sheep.
The return journey was, for different reasons, similarly frustrating.
There was nothing unusual, unfortunate or unlucky about these journeys. If I did it again today I'm sure that I would encounter a similar set of circumstances but maybe just in a different order.
Sadly, I'm coming to the conclusion that I have to agree with the OP.
Edited by derin100 on Friday 1st April 11:56
stef1808 said:
Still worth having a fast car until EU can get license details from dvla 
France have increased their mobile traps with pursuit m/cyclists. get the cash, avoid paperwork and they enjoy a chase!Notable around Geneva and Mont Blanc tunnel where there are lots of foreign plates.
derin100 said:
The track environment aside, we're being sold a lie by manufacturers of 'fast' cars. On the public road, anywhere in the UK, they are pretty much pointless.
Anyone who says or thinks they can or do drive a modern 'fast' car at anything like the speeds that they can (theoretically) do, on these public roads, in rural Wales or Scotland, by "popping up there at the weekends", on to roads they don't intimately know, is either delusional, wantonly disregarding of their own and other road user's safety...or just a liar.
Try North Yorkshire next time..............Anyone who says or thinks they can or do drive a modern 'fast' car at anything like the speeds that they can (theoretically) do, on these public roads, in rural Wales or Scotland, by "popping up there at the weekends", on to roads they don't intimately know, is either delusional, wantonly disregarding of their own and other road user's safety...or just a liar.
Edited by derin100 on Friday 1st April 11:56
av185 said:
derin100 said:
The track environment aside, we're being sold a lie by manufacturers of 'fast' cars. On the public road, anywhere in the UK, they are pretty much pointless.
Anyone who says or thinks they can or do drive a modern 'fast' car at anything like the speeds that they can (theoretically) do, on these public roads, in rural Wales or Scotland, by "popping up there at the weekends", on to roads they don't intimately know, is either delusional, wantonly disregarding of their own and other road user's safety...or just a liar.
Try North Yorkshire next time..............Anyone who says or thinks they can or do drive a modern 'fast' car at anything like the speeds that they can (theoretically) do, on these public roads, in rural Wales or Scotland, by "popping up there at the weekends", on to roads they don't intimately know, is either delusional, wantonly disregarding of their own and other road user's safety...or just a liar.
Edited by derin100 on Friday 1st April 11:56
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