Andy Walsh's Bending The Rules DVD come through the post today.

It was recomended to view before going on his course even though
im not now! Worth a look tonight I think.

Got to be worth the equivalent to 10 bhp by the morning


Russ.

 

I could do with some of this.

Not sure i'm really fully clicking with the Exige (in that I don't fully know how it handles past the grip limit) and i'm sure it's the way i'm driving it.

 

I feel a bit like this with my exige. I decided I can't get it past it's grip limit at speed safely on public roads (who'd have thunk it eh?) as it's just got so much grip.

I've booked onto Lotus On Track at Bedford with tuition to see what it can do. Plenty of run off, and should be able to push a LOT harder than on the road. Can't wait...

 

The thing with the Exige is that if you drive it well, it never exceeds it's limit in 'normal' conditions.

I know that sounds like a daft statement, but bear with me.

The thing with cars like the Exige is that the momentum once the back end steps out is quite marked, but the very act of placing the weight over the rear wheels ensures that grip can be maintained well past that of a more traditional, front or even (true) mid engined car. In this the Exige is more like a 911 than, say a F430, as the weight is directly over the rear wheels.

In for instance an S2000 you'd expect the back end to come out through weight transfer quite easily, on the Exige it doesn't. You have to really chuck the weight forward in the Exige, or lift off at a very silly time for sideways movement to happen, in which case many cars would be difficult to control.

The car will do a nice balanced 4 wheel drift if the surfaces are slippery enough, I've just been up the Dales over lunchtime and on the tops it's still cold enough to have slush on the roads, the car (on Sport Contacts for the winter, not A048 ditchfinders) adopts a very neutral 4 wheel slide if it loses traction altogether in a corner, a little nudge of the throttle getting the weight back over the rear and grip returns on the exits.

On track, it's only through deliberately lifting off on high speed bends I've got the back end round, it happens quickly and is hard to catch. It's been a huge sight easier since I got the geo. done though, a really stable and controllable car - that and a set of winter tyres have been the best mods I've done on the car - it's an all-year hooning car now, not just a summer toy.

Anyway. if you really want to know how and why the car does what it does, I would see Don Palmer - he's not the cheapest, but he is the best.

 

MB, I'm willing to give personal one to one tuition. I bet I can get you going quicker and safer.

 

Lesson 1: How not to avoid tyre walls.

 

Do as I SAY, not as I do. I know how to avoid tyre walls.

 

The DVD was okay, bit short but interesting. Exactly same car as mine
in most of the shots.

Moggy, I cant find any thing worthwhile to attend up north. Looks like
a trip south for me. Elvington is a safe place to practice control etc but
I can only find track days there.

Russ.

 

I'm just thinking that for a first taster it might be better to book a track day & tuition to learn some basics, and then use Don once you're familiar with those? I.e. get familiar with a few of the "feelings" you get from the car and use Don to tune them, tune into them, tweak them etc. etc.

Don is great, and he "fixed" my driving anxiety after that crash a few years ago - without him I might have walked away from cars completely - I just wonder if it's worth playing with the car in a slightly less expensive environment and then working on that knowledge with him?

 

Ed Moore of Motorsport Events www.motorsport-events.com is offering tuition at Keevil -