Red Flags Incident at The Glen

[JIMK]

fasthonda wrote:

hi. i agree with bob t; a student learns more with less 'nannies'. if i had to pick the 'perfect' porsche for a first timer to show up with at a track event, it would probably be an early 944. or a late 70s thru 80s 911. it is so much easier to teach in a car like above; a car that is not mega powerful, yet responds well to driver inputs. these cars are 'good-teachable' because when a driver makes an error, the car responds and shows them that they have done wrong! as an instructor, i can say something along the lines of 'see -- you just did xyz, and the car responded with abc; just as you learned it would in class!'. plus, those older (if left mostly stock) cars are much slower, and tend not to get to the 'warp factor 8' speeds so quickly, thereby making mistakes generally less costly....

that being said, i think it is tough teaching a brand newbie in a car such as a 911 twin turbo; very much can be done wrong, yet the electronics will make it 'ok'; the car will still circulate the track at a very good clip, even when tons of mistakes are being made. its tough as an instructor, partly because i am always saying 'thats wrong; don't do that! -- no, no, no, no', yet the student sees himself/herself passing everything on the track (due to the amazing nature of the newer cars). and then, what can happen is bad, when a big enough mistake is made that the PSM/ESP/etc etc can't save the car, and it goes off in a big big way..... i really try to keep a tight leash on these newer cars, as an instructor, and always really try to impress on the students how important it is to learn to drive 'correctly'. i always try to take the time to take out a student in my car (or theirs) and show them the 'right' way around, so that they can see/feel/hear what the sensation of the 'right' way around is. this drive-around tends to strengthen my position of explaining that they are making mistakes, and that THIS way (smooth, quiet-hands, gentle inputs, smooth shifts, correct car placement and consistency) is the RIGHT way; even with all the electronics, a student can feel the difference quite easily between a car that is being driven correctly, and by-the-book, and one that is being forced to 'save' itself constantly with the nannies..... right after a short ride like that, the student typically really understands, and this in turn helps the learning process.

all the above is instantly notable in an older 911! you do it 'wrong' and the car tells you in no-uncertain terms! you do it 'right' and the car rewards with an amazing feeling! its as simple as that!

todd

PS after a student learns in a 'no frills' car; he/she might then graduate to a modern, super fast car. i would be sure that he/she will be able to extract quite a lot of performance from said new car, and would expect that he/she would most likely be less likely to have an expensive incident.....


PPS my first car ever on track was a 91 miata, no-package car! no abs, no power steering, nothing! a perfect learner car!

By the way, I'm selling my 84 - 944 if anyone is interested in learning on a car without "nannies"