Donuts in Tesco

[grahamdance]

cptsideways said:

I for one would rather youngsters & oldens alike had some knowledge of what happens when it all goes pete tong & more importantly what makes it go wrong in the first place. I think I'd prefer to watch someone learing car control in car park then finding out what the local scenery is made of.............

See my post on the first page of this topic, join your local motor club, and do an autotest. Learn car control at your own pace and have fun while doing so.

[The DJ 27]

No Discretion said:

The DJ 27 said: Spent about two hours on Tesco's car park yesterday. Had everything going, from 180 degree handbrake turns to perfect four wheel drifts. I've never had so much fun at such low speeds. Awesome Very sad... I think you will probably be better with a cruising forum or Maxpower/Fast Car types..... If pistonheaders think that spending 2 hours on Tesco's car park is acceptable...there is something seriously wrong here...

I feel I should point out at this point that I have had skid training and made sure there was no-one else about while I was doing it. The supermarket was closed so it wasn't exactly like I was doing it between rows of parked cars. I never went above 20mph, so I wasn't in danger of killing myself really was I?

[cptsideways]

grahamdance said:

See my post on the first page of this topic, join your local motor club, and do an autotest. Learn car control at your own pace and have fun while doing so.

I could not agree more, except that "most" drivers are not motorsport minded to take up the challenge & it clearly shows over here in the UK. Now take some of the Scandanavian countries as an example & you'll see mums in Volvo's drifting into the Supermarket cars parks with autotest precision.

[hertsbiker]

I had a fantastic tear around the company carpark last time it snowed: loved it. No danger to others, and learnt that my tyres were over-pressure before it was dangerous on the mainroad. BTW it was in the 4x4, and I couldn't make it do donuts except in 2wd mode which was annoying 'cos the lsd tried stopping it. Net benefit was terrific - made me appreciate what it would do, and gave me confidence to drive home safely.

How is that bad, ND ?

C

[Flat in Fifth]

grahamdance said:

See my post on the first page of this topic, join your local motor club, and do an autotest. Learn car control at your own pace and have fun while doing so.

Absolutely correct, as I've said before on here in relation to other topics. Driving really really quickly is why God allowed competition licences to be invented.

Autotesting is certainly where I learnt a lot of skills. Also a humbling experience against the likes of Dick Squires et al.

The other thing is that hooning alone on an otherwise empty car park might teach you what a car feels like going sideways and what happens when you do this or that but it does not apply sufficient constraint.

What I mean is that you get over confident in your abilities because you've just done a fantastic drift, in reality on a road though could you have kept it on the island?

We've all seen the lairy sideways stuff on Top Gear etc, and you just know that if they had done that anywhere else than a expanse of airstrip tarmac they'd have been well off into the boondocks.

Autotesting applies that constraint and precision which you really need plus gives a dose of realism, in that most people are nowhere near as good as they think they are. Yes and I do include myself in that comment.

[alicrozier]

I agree totally Flat in Fifth, after a few mins in a snowy car park recently I felt the need for more constraints. Some small cones or markers may be in order next time.

www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?t=144652&f=15&h=0

I also did my first autotest (all forwards) a few weeks ago and I'd recommend it to everyone, a great learning experience. It was wet which was more sympathetic on the car and probably easier to slide around. It's one thing hooning around on an airfield or to a lesser extent a trackday but another matter the disciplined control required to keep it tight around the markers and maintain momentum against the clock. Great fun.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v286/scottish_elises/Autotest%20%204th%20Dec%202004/?action=view¤t=DSC01252.jpg

Flat in Fifth said:

grahamdance said: See my post on the first page of this topic, join your local motor club, and do an autotest. Learn car control at your own pace and have fun while doing so. Absolutely correct, as I've said before on here in relation to other topics. Driving really really quickly is why God allowed competition licences to be invented. Autotesting is certainly where I learnt a lot of skills. Also a humbling experience against the likes of Dick Squires et al. The other thing is that hooning alone on an otherwise empty car park might teach you what a car feels like going sideways and what happens when you do this or that but it does not apply sufficient constraint. What I mean is that you get over confident in your abilities because you've just done a fantastic drift, in reality on a road though could you have kept it on the island? We've all seen the lairy sideways stuff on Top Gear etc, and you just know that if they had done that anywhere else than a expanse of airstrip tarmac they'd have been well off into the boondocks. Autotesting applies that constraint and precision which you really need plus gives a dose of realism, in that most people are nowhere near as good as they think they are. Yes and I do include myself in that comment.