This, this right here, is why you "Take it to the track"

  • Thread starter hawkeye122
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Glad everyone's OK, but the first mistake was made by his parents, giving him such a powerful car. If I had 400hp to play with at 17, I would surely be dead. I begged my parents to get me a sporty car, but they never did. I was a spoiled brat then, but now I am glad I didn't get what I wanted.
 
ZohsixGT5
Glad everyone's OK, but the first mistake was made by his parents, giving him such a powerful car. If I had 400hp to play with at 17, I would surely be dead. I begged my parents to get me a sporty car, but they never did. I was a spoiled brat then, but now I am glad I didn't get what I wanted.
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I had to buy my first car myself, so a 400 hp monster wouldn't have been an option in the first place.
 
Glad you and your friends were OK - that could've turned out so much worse. I didn't realize that Imprezas were that strong - I'd always thought that a car that size would crumple far easier than your buddy's did. Hats off to Subaru.
 
I love how we can blame everything from the road to the car but not the resposible party- the driver.
The kid would have done the same thing in a Honda Accord. :rolleyes:
Irresponsible drivers are irresponsible (duh) and often dangerous.

None the less the car is not to blame.
 
Oh the driver is certainly at fault.

But I have noticed young drivers tend to have a very false sense of security in cars that have limits like these. Same goes for M3s, EVOs, etc - they inspire confidence because there is just so much power and grip. And ABS and some other things in case the driver gets a bit ahead of himself.
 
Glad to hear that everyone's ok from such a frightening incident.

Unfortunately this is already making me think of what could possibly happen to my friend who wants to get an Evo 8 soon... An upgrade from his Camry (Which was in an accident caused by another driver running a red light) to an Evo sounds like quite a bit considering he's getting a loan to buy it. And already wants to modify it as much as possible. :ouch:
 
Azuremen
Oh the driver is certainly at fault.

But I have noticed young drivers tend to have a very false sense of security in cars that have limits like these. Same goes for M3s, EVOs, etc - they inspire confidence because there is just so much power and grip. And ABS and some other things in case the driver gets a bit ahead of himself.
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Agreed, and how are you going to know how to react to oversteer at 80 if you have never experienced it at 30
 
HELLAFLUSH240SX
Evo 8s are pretty old by now, I think he'll be fine.
On the other hand, a loan? How much does a 8 run? Less than 20 I believe..
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However old it may be, a paper-thin aluminum box with nearly 300 horsepower is still a paper-thin aluminum box with nearly 300 horsepower.
 
motortrend
Agreed, and how are you going to know how to react to oversteer at 80 if you have never experienced it at 30
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Indeed. Quite glad I learned RWD on a twitchy old MR2. Damn thing was terrifying anywhere near the limits at first, so I learned to approach things in a cautious manner with any new car. First time you go backwards in a car is quite humbling and eye-opening because it happens so damn fast.

If I had learned on my M3 or something like an STi, I would probably have totaled the car because good lord the confidence and stability is just amazing.
 
MedigoFlame
Glad to hear that everyone's ok from such a frightening incident.

Unfortunately this is already making me think of what could possibly happen to my friend who wants to get an Evo 8 soon... An upgrade from his Camry (Which was in an accident caused by another driver running a red light) to an Evo sounds like quite a bit considering he's getting a loan to buy it. And already wants to modify it as much as possible. :ouch:
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It's down to the individual. If he is a good driver, he should remain one even after changing cars. The accident described in this thread was unfortunate, and younger drivers do tend to be more reckless than older ones, but it's not a guarantee of anything.

I don't care what I'm driving, I won't try to get anywhere near the limit on the road. That's not what it's for. This is pretty much how I've always thought, even back when I only had a permit.
 
Ridox2JZGTE
The young ones tend to drive faster to impress their fellow young passengers. I've been there once :D
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:grumpy: An old friend of mine was trying to impress me; he was an untrained, untalented "average driver," and he had seen/heard the media hype... blah blah blah around me... So, he wanted to try to scare me.


So, he did 160 km/h in a 90 km/h zone, in heavy traffic. I guess the cop we blew by, didn't even think that it was safe to chase us... :crazy: :ouch: We're not friends anymore, and I really wish that cop could've taught him a lesson. When he slowed down, enough that he could hear me again, I said "dude, it's not a race track. You just blew past a cop at almost twice the legal speed limit."


I guess that just fed his jealousy, and he's always trying to prove that he's better than me. :grumpy: Oh, the joys of being a somewhat talented racing driver.


But, otherwise, I too can attest to idiot driving. It was a rainy night, (barely) and I was driving the Accent home from work. On an on-ramp, I was at 20 km/h over the recommended speed (the normal speed for someone who isn't driving a transport truck.) Turns out, it was a bad time to downshift. I put too much weight on the front tires, created too much rotation, and immediately spun.


But, I recovered, safely, put the four-ways on, waited for the traffic to pass, and regained my composure. It could've been a lot worse.


Point is, even professionals, semi-professionals, and those who think they're semi-professional, make mistakes.
 
I am very happy to hear you and your friends are okay. I rolled my truck at 75mph a few years ago after I had fallen asleep at the wheel. I thank my lucky stars everyday that I didn't injure or kill someone else. I was a little worse for wear - my hand wasn't really on my arm in any way you could call normal and my head had smashed through the window and hit the ground, so the doctors spent several hours picking glass and gravel out of my skin. My point is, I have definitely been there before and it's good to hear you guys are fine, especially since we both know that someone could have easily died.
 
It's good to hear you guys all got out unharmed and the Suby stood up extremely well to the situation. I hate to think of what we'd be reading if it were a Camry... Same to all the stories told so far in this thread actually. Seriously makes you think... Onto my story than...

As an 18 year old with a pretty average Australian permit driver's car, I too can admit to my share of silly driving. Living where I do, with (for the most part) very straight, rather high quality roads and laid back attitude of people does lend itself to people like myself occasionally taking things too far.

One morning on a gravel road I've driven countless times before and a mate next to me, roughly 50 or so meters out from a rather tight, dead blind and heavily banked right hand turn, a very large kangaroo decided to head back into the scrub after a night of foraging a farmer's paddock. I broke from a couple clicks over the limit the moment I saw it, shouting the words ":censored:ing Skippy" and the front wheels locked (ABS no good on gravel...) and dragged the car toward the inside of the corner where the kangaroo was currently located. Luckily, I slowed enough (from about 130-80 not exactly certain but it pulled up really well) for the big fella to bound out of the way just in time and had I not, my Ford would probably have received a massive roo shaped dent in the front, a terrified pair of teenagers in the middle and a massive headache in my wallet. Luckily of course I hadn't tried to swerve a swell as brake in the heat of the moment... With the bank of the corner, we could definitely have been on the roof.

This near miss may seem like very little to worry about, but the speed in which it happened was a massive eye opener. I do like to think that my countless hours of practice with Gran Turismo and Iracing helped me to keep it safe here, but there's really no way to prove that and I won't argue with anyone who disagrees. I'm no angel but to be completely honest, out of all my friends I'm probably the most tame. With the speed of an entry level car*, South Australian driver training is definitely not up to scratch. The system before I started driving was..

Theory test -> 6 months (50 hours) with a parent -> Practical town drving -> theory test -> 6 months as a "P" plater (100kph speed limit, signs displayed) -> theory test -> 6 months as a "P2" (no signs displayed) and then full license.

Unfortunately, this system resulted in a massive amount of P platers killing themselves, so the government tried to patch it by adding an extra 6 months to each step, disallowing P platers to drive anything with a V8 or turbo (bar diesel) and crossing their fingers. Of course that hasn't worked either, so now they're bringing in a system which is essentially the same but with an extra year of supervised driving and a curfew for P platers after a certain time. This would all be fine but they seem to forget that for people who don't live in a town and don't have access to public transport (as was mentioned elsewhere in this thread) have no other way to get from A to B....

Back to the point though. So, when this new system ultimately fails hopefully the government finally brings in proper defensive driver training. As it stands not a single piece of what to do when things go wrong is taught anywhere, and boys being boys, we'll always be clowns for various, very manly and very "grouse" reasons.

...An extra quick point that's worth noting is the lack of any motorsport outlet (apart from a drag stip open twice a year) within 300k's from where I live.

So as it stands, P platers are always going to show off, are put into cars far faster than their parents learnt to drive in, have no track to take it to and have absoloutly no clue what to do when things go wrong... And the government seriously wonders why so many young people are hurting themselves on the road.

Sorry for the epically long post everybody... Back to bed I go

*I'm not sure what it's like elsewhere in the world, but $1000 got me my rear drive 200+ horsepower Falcon without any trouble

EDIT: There's no blaming of anything in this post, I know exactly whose fault it was and It's a lesson I'll never forget
 
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Don't give teens performance cars?

Why not? we can drive what we please, yes there is a lot of bad press on teenage boys and crashing/speeding but at the end of the day no matter what car they are in they will drive how they want.

I drive a diesel Polo, 80BHP as my first car, is that too much?

It really annoys me that we get tarnished with the same brush and everyone who is older assumes they are superior and can pass judgement on teenage drivers. So everyone who drives over the speed limit who is not a teen is ok because they have 'experience' but if a teen does it then they are a boy racer?

Glad you all walked away from the crash :)
 
No. Anyone who drives like a knob drives like a knob.

But it's a sad statistical fact that teenagers get in more accidents per million miles travelled than any other age group. The only reason they don't get into more fatal accidents than the elderly is because they're a bit harder to kill.

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This is due to a combination of lack of experience, aggression and over-confidence. I know some great young drivers, but in general, most teenaged drivers are just as bad as the rest of the mindless drones out on the street in terms of driving ability and poor situational awareness. Mix that with the aforementioned aggression and over-confidence, and that's a deadly mix.

Don't feel put upon. We can comment about teenaged drivers because we used to be teenagers ourselves.

And whether they're ADHD basketcases or model citizens, the first cars my teenagers will get to drive will be slow, predictable front-wheel drive five-doors with good visibility, proper suspensions and the best brakes money can buy. In other words, they're getting secondhand Mazdas with the smallest engines available. :lol:
 
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MrMelancholy15
Point is, even professionals, semi-professionals, and those who think they're semi-professional, make mistakes.
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And which branch do you fall under? I'm guessing #3 since you seem to believe you're a talented racing driver because your friend tried to impress you.
 
My mate has an Evo, bit tuned, I guess around 300bhp. I always tell him I will kick his ass if he crashes (if I'm not dead). Although I probably wouldn't, but just to let him think about what he is doing. When I have passengers, I sometimes speed but mostly on the highway (in a straight line). I don't see the need to prove myself against my friends I'm a better driver, I believe to think I am but no need to show.

If you're alone, do what ever you want, but the thing is on public roads, you're never alone..

Glad you guys escaped unharmed. 👍 But I have to agree with others, it's not only the drivers responsibility to keep it safe.
 
McLaren
And which branch do you fall under? I'm guessing #3 since you seem to believe you're a talented racing driver because your friend tried to impress you.
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No, I'm actually semi-professional racing driver. :) Not paid, but, I do take it seriously.
 
If you get paid, you're a pro. If you don't, you're just an enthusiast. :lol:

I actually get paid to drive on the track, but I'd never consider myself a pro.
 
Wow... I'm glad to hear you and your friends walked away from that. Good to know that those cars are that safe!
 
Another aspect of the "roads are not race tracks" argument is that, well...roads are not race tracks. The surface of most streets is rough, bumpy, and uneven. You don't notice this at normal speeds, and maybe not even at higher speeds. It's only at dangerous speeds does that little bump cause your heart to miss a couple beats. Cars become unpredictibly less-balanced on the street the faster you go. The corner which is fun at 55 mph might be terrifying at 65. If you start to slide, that little dip, lip, bump, or pit might make it impossible to recover, no matter how "good" you are. What's impressed me most about the handful of racetracks that I've driven on is how wide and smooth they are--even the Nurburgring. They provide a predictable surface, which provides predictable car dynamics. The pavement on public roads most certainly does not...
 
I would love to hit over 300 km/h on Tokyo wangan with 700hp R32 GTR :D One of the rare roads where cars can go over 300 and this happens quite often ;) another one comes to mind - the Autobahn :)
 
I've always thought the Wangan culture was irresponsibly reckless. Curves, dips, expansion joints and traffic... and high speed portions that narrow down to just two lanes. Imagine coming around a curve in the tunnel and finding yourself facing a van doing just 60 km/h while you're going 260, or worse, one that's broken down.

As opposed to the autobahn, which is more open and gives you a better view. And, better yet, where high speed runs aren't illegal (in some areas), allowing you to run in warmer and better lit conditions.

Sure, it's fun to peg the limiter on your typical road cars, but over 160 km/h, cars can become terribly unsettled by poorly surfaced roads.

And corners are even worse. Come to an asphalt patch or rough spot coming up to a corner and a car that can stop from 100 km/h in just 35 meters will take significantly longer to shed speed. Not to mention the nasty effects said patches and bumps have on the car's cornering attitude.
 
MrMelancholy15
:grumpy: An old friend of mine was trying to impress me; he was an untrained, untalented "average driver," and he had seen/heard the media hype... blah blah blah around me... So, he wanted to try to scare me.
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My father who was a truck driver for 38 years and used to autocross tough me how to drive. He is an amazing driver. I have honestly never seen him make a mistake while on the road. Naturally, he instilled his driving habits into me while I was learning. Every so often we got to NJMP in miller Jersey for a track day in his car. I brought a close friend of mine with us one time and I took him round. Now I am not an amazing driver but I do well enough that it impressed him.

About a month after, my friend and I go to a park to play basketball. I was 18 and he was 17 when this happened. It got dark so we left. The park is next to a beach and also has a marina alongside. There are gravel roads around the marina that are right on the edge of the water and have no illumination during later hours. He had borrowed his mom's Subaru Legacy wagon and he starts drifting in on the gravel rads. We were having a few chuckles for a bit. Then I told him to stop since I did not want him messing up his mom's car. She dislikes me enough as it is. He says okay and we start heading back. On our way out of the dirt road, my friend starts to pick up speed again and goes way too fast into a blind corner. The rear starts to slide and he over corrects. By the time he caught the car, it was too late and we are on the edge of the road. The left rear quarter panel smacks onto a tree stump and spins us into the tall grass on the opposite end of the road. If it was not for that stump, we surely would have drowned in the marina water.

After we exit the car and see that we are alright, I say to him , "What the 🤬 did you do that for?" He replies, "I though you would like it since you love racing so much!"

I am still good friends with the guy but what a stupid thing to do. His mother hates me even more now. :lol:
 

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