Did my Ride Drive Course yesturday....
Discussion
Well first thing I will say is that it is very tiring!
I did the full day course which started with about 2 hours driving on north weald airfield. This was great because it gave me a really good idea of how the car handled on the edge. What really amazed was the grip the car had, I was able to drive the chicanes at about 5mph faster than any other TVR has been through them - apparently its due to the GAZ suspension, not my driving skills!....so the instructor said!
Also tested the stopping distance, 70-0mph in about 25 meters which I thought was pretty good!
I melted some rubber while flooring it from a standing start - 40 foot set of number 11's! But flooring it from a slight rolling start resulted in no wheel spin.
Other good exercises where going round a corner and flooring it to demonstrate how easily the back end steps out on acceleration. Interestingly the same affect happens when you take your foot off the gas as the engine breaking acts like applying the handbrake.
I learnt a lot from the road driving, things like road positioning, overtaking, judging corners etc etc too much to list here though
I would definately recommend it to anyone whether they think they are experienced with fast cars or not.
I did the full day course which started with about 2 hours driving on north weald airfield. This was great because it gave me a really good idea of how the car handled on the edge. What really amazed was the grip the car had, I was able to drive the chicanes at about 5mph faster than any other TVR has been through them - apparently its due to the GAZ suspension, not my driving skills!....so the instructor said!
Also tested the stopping distance, 70-0mph in about 25 meters which I thought was pretty good!
I melted some rubber while flooring it from a standing start - 40 foot set of number 11's! But flooring it from a slight rolling start resulted in no wheel spin.
Other good exercises where going round a corner and flooring it to demonstrate how easily the back end steps out on acceleration. Interestingly the same affect happens when you take your foot off the gas as the engine breaking acts like applying the handbrake.
I learnt a lot from the road driving, things like road positioning, overtaking, judging corners etc etc too much to list here though
I would definately recommend it to anyone whether they think they are experienced with fast cars or not.
t40ora said:
So how much pocket money will it cost for this to be on the shopping list?
Check their website here: www.ridedrive.co.uk/index2.html
Lots of different options.
Absolutely superb course - did my first full day in Nov 05 and did a refresher last month (half day) which really was valuable. Remember to also consider that if your insurance is due, with a positive Ride Drive certificate/recommendation, you may be entitled to a 25% discount if you go through Adrian Flux. Worked for me on both my cars.
Mustang Baz said:
Absolutely superb course - did my first full day in Nov 05 and did a refresher last month (half day) which really was valuable. Remember to also consider that if your insurance is due, with a positive Ride Drive certificate/recommendation, you may be entitled to a 25% discount if you go through Adrian Flux. Worked for me on both my cars.
i didnt get a certificate when I did my one day Ride Drive, do you mean like a kind of school report?
spartacus said:
i didnt get a certificate when I did my one day Ride Drive, do you mean like a kind of school report?
You could call it that.
It is a 3 page document assessing your driving skillsas to
Vehicle Controls,
Hazard Management,
Cornering,
Overtaking,
Roadcraft,
Vehicle Handling
Grading within these headings 1-4 (1-Exceptional; 2-Above Average; 3-Satisfactory; 4-Weak)
They then use these marks to decide whether your ability is sufficient to be apart of the Adrian Flux insurance scheme.
Personally, as a young(ish) driver of 26 it made a serious impact on my premium. circa. 30% off! - That can't be bad can it.
Well worth it and great exprience. - Was a little uncertain what I had let myself in for beforehand. But it was excelent fun and the knowledge it gives you of how the car performs is priceless.
If anyone is thinking about doing the course, go for it, it is well worth every penny.
Having said that, best get the roof off the car and go for a spin (not literally).
spartacus said:
i didnt get a certificate when I did my one day Ride Drive, do you mean like a kind of school report?
Spartacus - neither did I when I did my original course back in Nov 05, but this is a new scheme twinned with Adrian Flux, and as such, came into play when I did a half day refresher. Excellent company, excellent scheme.
If I can just stick my spoke in here and clarify a few points, the insurance incentive is a new service and the outcome of a deal that has been arranged between Ride Drive and Adrian Flux Insurance. The scheme has only been on line since the beginning of March and at the time we did do a press release, which you can read by clicking here www.ridedrive.co.uk/adrianflux-rd-press-release.htm. From this page there is a download link that will give you a pdf file outlining the details of the scheme.
Whilst you can read through our website, and the insurance stuff can be accessed through the Adrian Flux badges that are dotted about on the various pages, in basic terms the Ride Drive customer can now get 25% off the renewal notice price of their car or bike insurance after completing a Ride Drive programme that has a time span of 8-hours or more. If you remain claim free that level of discount is applied for every renewal thereafter, which can add up to a huge saving overall.
Someone made a comment earlier within this thread about getting a school report. In this climate of having to record and evidence everything we have to make a record of what has happened so as to give the scheme credibility. Driver reports are a sensitive subject, as usually they are perceived to be condescending and patronising. We have made this as painless as possible, and what we provide actually is something that is useful to you as the customer. The document consists of a list of all the various driving disciplines that we look at and all we do is put a numeric score next to each. This is completed in two columns, showing a before and after. On the back page we write down 3 areas that we feel the customer will most benefit from applying particular attention to in terms of self-development and practise, and that is it.
I will be totally up-front here and say there is an additional cost implication to you being included on the insurance discount scheme, and this is necessary as there is actually a fair bit of additional work involved for us. Not only to we have to make and file records, but we take time to produce your personalised advanced driving certificate, which is the document you use when claiming your insurance discount. The beauty of the system is that you only pay your 35 quid extra if you are going through onto the scheme, which means that if don’t qualify then you don’t pay the extra. We do not make any extra money out of you having the certificate, as in truth it probably costs us in real terms.
Any Ride Drive customers who did their day before the scheme started, if their session was recent enough, and we can vividly recall details of their performance, we will issue the certificates retrospectively. If, however, their session was too long ago to do this, which most now are, then we can waive the 8-hours or more rule and assess you over a half-day refresher.
Finally, if anyone ever has any difficulty in getting their 25% off, just let me know and I will sort it out at the top level. We have only had one occasion to so this and it was squared up within the day.
For more about the scheme background, click here www.ridedrive.co.uk/adrian-flux-rdopinion.htm
Main information page, click here www.ridedrive.co.uk/adrianflux.htm
I will keep dipping in and out of this page for a while, so if anyone has any questions they wish to put to me, please post them here and I will do my best to answer, or you can contact me direct on 01296 427889 or julian@ridedrive.co.uk
Many thanks
Jules
Whilst you can read through our website, and the insurance stuff can be accessed through the Adrian Flux badges that are dotted about on the various pages, in basic terms the Ride Drive customer can now get 25% off the renewal notice price of their car or bike insurance after completing a Ride Drive programme that has a time span of 8-hours or more. If you remain claim free that level of discount is applied for every renewal thereafter, which can add up to a huge saving overall.
Someone made a comment earlier within this thread about getting a school report. In this climate of having to record and evidence everything we have to make a record of what has happened so as to give the scheme credibility. Driver reports are a sensitive subject, as usually they are perceived to be condescending and patronising. We have made this as painless as possible, and what we provide actually is something that is useful to you as the customer. The document consists of a list of all the various driving disciplines that we look at and all we do is put a numeric score next to each. This is completed in two columns, showing a before and after. On the back page we write down 3 areas that we feel the customer will most benefit from applying particular attention to in terms of self-development and practise, and that is it.
I will be totally up-front here and say there is an additional cost implication to you being included on the insurance discount scheme, and this is necessary as there is actually a fair bit of additional work involved for us. Not only to we have to make and file records, but we take time to produce your personalised advanced driving certificate, which is the document you use when claiming your insurance discount. The beauty of the system is that you only pay your 35 quid extra if you are going through onto the scheme, which means that if don’t qualify then you don’t pay the extra. We do not make any extra money out of you having the certificate, as in truth it probably costs us in real terms.
Any Ride Drive customers who did their day before the scheme started, if their session was recent enough, and we can vividly recall details of their performance, we will issue the certificates retrospectively. If, however, their session was too long ago to do this, which most now are, then we can waive the 8-hours or more rule and assess you over a half-day refresher.
Finally, if anyone ever has any difficulty in getting their 25% off, just let me know and I will sort it out at the top level. We have only had one occasion to so this and it was squared up within the day.
For more about the scheme background, click here www.ridedrive.co.uk/adrian-flux-rdopinion.htm
Main information page, click here www.ridedrive.co.uk/adrianflux.htm
I will keep dipping in and out of this page for a while, so if anyone has any questions they wish to put to me, please post them here and I will do my best to answer, or you can contact me direct on 01296 427889 or julian@ridedrive.co.uk
Many thanks
Jules
Edited by Ride Drive on Friday 20th April 10:59
Edited by Ride Drive on Friday 20th April 11:00
Edited by Ride Drive on Friday 20th April 12:17
jeffsy said:
LordGrover said:
jeffsy said:
Got my first half day this monday coming and another half day booked for early May.
Cant wait
Cant wait
How'd you get on Jeffsy?
Ace - I'll tell you about it on Sunday
Good day, great bloke,great driving...and a nice cup of tea to boot!!
Coolio
I have my first half day 8 May - can't wait. See you Sunday unless you're at CCC tomorrow.
Did my full 8 hours yesterday, with 1 hour on Kemble airfield, very much enjoyed the whole day, although completely knackered at end of it. Surprised to find how much the car will grip before losing it, instructor said it was the best Chim for grip he had seen, a combination of Goodyear F1's and Spax suspension set up well by a previous owner.
Throughly recommend the course to anyone with a high performance car, very helpful with positioning etc etc and finding out the limits on the car.
Brilliant weather helped so had the roof down, which was ok until we got showered with debris on a huge power slide.
Throughly recommend the course to anyone with a high performance car, very helpful with positioning etc etc and finding out the limits on the car.
Brilliant weather helped so had the roof down, which was ok until we got showered with debris on a huge power slide.
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