Brave or Foolhardy
Discussion
With a couple of hours to spare yesterday afternoon, dryish roads and rain forecast for today I took the Cerbera out for a run for the first time in a while.
How those of you who use a Cerbera as your daily driver avoid a mishap at this time of year is beyond me. At almost every junction the wheels would light up in first and/or second and by the end of my run (as the dew came down) even third gear at more than 3k rpm would spin the wheels.
Before somebody mentions tyres needing replacement I will say they still have 75% of their tread left and they are not track day tyres.
I enjoy a little tail happy driving when I am in the mood but to have to exercise the level of caution needed to keep a Cerbera pointing the right way all winter would quickly cease to be fun.
How those of you who use a Cerbera as your daily driver avoid a mishap at this time of year is beyond me. At almost every junction the wheels would light up in first and/or second and by the end of my run (as the dew came down) even third gear at more than 3k rpm would spin the wheels.
Before somebody mentions tyres needing replacement I will say they still have 75% of their tread left and they are not track day tyres.
I enjoy a little tail happy driving when I am in the mood but to have to exercise the level of caution needed to keep a Cerbera pointing the right way all winter would quickly cease to be fun.
Unfortunately, I think its this time of year when you must use the car regularly.
This is the only time of the year when you can practice the car letting go with relative safety.
The car will break away very easily at this time of year. Think of the roads as your personal skidpan.
The way it 'breaks away' at 30mph is very similar to the way it breaks away at 70 in the dry. Its just that the time you have at 70 is much less than the time you have at 30, but what you do with your hands, feet and rectum are all the same.
You can't think your way through these manouvers because they happen too fast. You have to teach your body what to do rather like learning to juggle. Its a counter natural movement that you have to keep your body trained to do, and leave your mind behind.
Its not best done once or twice a year at a skidpan because that isn't enough. Neither do you have to drive round in a dangerous dukes of hazard style.
But just take the car out at this time of year, provoke it in little steps when you are ready, and do your survival training.
This is the only time of the year when you can practice the car letting go with relative safety.
The car will break away very easily at this time of year. Think of the roads as your personal skidpan.
The way it 'breaks away' at 30mph is very similar to the way it breaks away at 70 in the dry. Its just that the time you have at 70 is much less than the time you have at 30, but what you do with your hands, feet and rectum are all the same.
You can't think your way through these manouvers because they happen too fast. You have to teach your body what to do rather like learning to juggle. Its a counter natural movement that you have to keep your body trained to do, and leave your mind behind.
Its not best done once or twice a year at a skidpan because that isn't enough. Neither do you have to drive round in a dangerous dukes of hazard style.
But just take the car out at this time of year, provoke it in little steps when you are ready, and do your survival training.
I have been driving for over 34 years and I do like to "play" but to have to drive a Cerbera on the daily commute cannot be fun.
In a straight line on dry roads there is very little out there that can best a Cerbera, but on the wet/greasy/cold busy winter roads much more mundane transport can breeze past while you scrabble for grip.
Besides, I would hate to sit in the Cerbera and listen to the salt eating it's way through my chassis!!!!!!!!
In a straight line on dry roads there is very little out there that can best a Cerbera, but on the wet/greasy/cold busy winter roads much more mundane transport can breeze past while you scrabble for grip.
Besides, I would hate to sit in the Cerbera and listen to the salt eating it's way through my chassis!!!!!!!!
I do not drive my cerb in the winter because I feel I cannot enjoy much of its potential with the condition of the roads. The salt and dirt also put me off big time.
I do agree with Julian in that slippery roads give you an experience of it letting go at lower speeds but I prefer to have the tail happy action in my rear wheel drive saloon which is easy to provoke but very predictable. I know its not quite the same as the cerb but the principles are very similar.
I do agree with Julian in that slippery roads give you an experience of it letting go at lower speeds but I prefer to have the tail happy action in my rear wheel drive saloon which is easy to provoke but very predictable. I know its not quite the same as the cerb but the principles are very similar.
julian64 said:
Unfortunately, I think its this time of year when you must use the car regularly.
This is the only time of the year when you can practice the car letting go with relative safety.
The car will break away very easily at this time of year. Think of the roads as your personal skidpan.
The way it 'breaks away' at 30mph is very similar to the way it breaks away at 70 in the dry. Its just that the time you have at 70 is much less than the time you have at 30, but what you do with your hands, feet and rectum are all the same.
You can't think your way through these manouvers because they happen too fast. You have to teach your body what to do rather like learning to juggle. Its a counter natural movement that you have to keep your body trained to do, and leave your mind behind.
Its not best done once or twice a year at a skidpan because that isn't enough. Neither do you have to drive round in a dangerous dukes of hazard style.
But just take the car out at this time of year, provoke it in little steps when you are ready, and do your survival training.
i couldn't agree with this more. i also try and use mine a much as possible - i was out in -3 on the weekend. had some great fun!This is the only time of the year when you can practice the car letting go with relative safety.
The car will break away very easily at this time of year. Think of the roads as your personal skidpan.
The way it 'breaks away' at 30mph is very similar to the way it breaks away at 70 in the dry. Its just that the time you have at 70 is much less than the time you have at 30, but what you do with your hands, feet and rectum are all the same.
You can't think your way through these manouvers because they happen too fast. You have to teach your body what to do rather like learning to juggle. Its a counter natural movement that you have to keep your body trained to do, and leave your mind behind.
Its not best done once or twice a year at a skidpan because that isn't enough. Neither do you have to drive round in a dangerous dukes of hazard style.
But just take the car out at this time of year, provoke it in little steps when you are ready, and do your survival training.
sonnylad said:
storer what tyres are you running on ? mine had very poor grip in damp and wet conditions, but since fitting falkens its been transformed.
I'm on Toyo's with about 75% tread left. They are fine in the dry and not too bad when warm and wet but they don't like the cold.I am fortunate enough to own a large 4x4 as my every day transport and at this time of the year it is probably faster on twisty, wet, muddy B roads than the Cerbera. The Cerbera is fun when I want some fun but that moment of fun can turn very sour if the road conditions catch you out and you stuff it into a hedge or some armco.
Why do you think Douglas Valley have so many Cerberas in stock for breaking at the moment.
hoppo4.2 said:
i run toyos on mine and have on all my cars for a while. took the cerb out in the snow the other day bit sideways but prity easy to control. never had a problem with the toyos where i could not control the back end so long as you drive with the road conditions in mind.
Proxes T1R, T1S, R888 or 4?Storer said:
sonnylad said:
storer what tyres are you running on ? mine had very poor grip in damp and wet conditions, but since fitting falkens its been transformed.
I'm on Toyo's with about 75% tread left. They are fine in the dry and not too bad when warm and wet but they don't like the cold.I am fortunate enough to own a large 4x4 as my every day transport and at this time of the year it is probably faster on twisty, wet, muddy B roads than the Cerbera. The Cerbera is fun when I want some fun but that moment of fun can turn very sour if the road conditions catch you out and you stuff it into a hedge or some armco.
Why do you think Douglas Valley have so many Cerberas in stock for breaking at the moment.
southendpier said:
just take it easy. 25% pedal more or less, lots of clutch.
Perhaps my right foot is not fully calibrated, but I swear I rarely use more than that in the dry. In these conditions if I use more than 10% I'd be surprised, also less than 2k5. Twice in the last couple of weeks I've used very light throttle but more than 2k5rpm and I've had moments. Using Falkens 452's at present whilst they are pretty OK in the dry I'm not convinced they like the cold, but then again what tyre does 
.Edited by HarryW on Monday 12th January 18:04
I think most of our tyres are normally referred to as summer tyres.
This web site only comes up with a very limited number of winter tyres.
http://www.mytyres.co.uk/#
It don't need a lot of thinking about, or does it???
This web site only comes up with a very limited number of winter tyres.
http://www.mytyres.co.uk/#
It don't need a lot of thinking about, or does it???
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