Confidence Lost
 

I'm wondering if anyone else is dealing with this...

When I first got my S, I was an animal. I could not believe how confidence inspiring it was. It cornered like nothing else I had ever driven.

After having the rear brake loose on a few occasions, I've become a complete wussy. I realize that in probably every case it was driver error that caused the oversteer. This has happened in all conditions: on the street, at the AutoX, and at the track. The track event was the worst of all, but fortunatly I, although I was spinning, I did not hit a wall or anything.

In any case, has anyone else been tamed by such experiences? I mean tamed to the point where you will be worried on an exit ramp or a long sweeper on the freeway? :eek3:

Yeah... I've backed it down on public roadways, but my confidence hasn't been dented when it comes to the autocross or track. In my opinion, those are safer because the tracks I run at don't have walls, curbs, etc. Plus, the traffic that is around you is much more predictable because most people on a track have at least some basic driving skills. The same can't be said for 90% of the people on the street.
In my opinion, if you have backed away from the edge on public roadways, that is a good thing... not a bad thing.

Hasn't happened to me yet, knock on wood.

Almost though. There have been plenty of times where I've almost lost the rear-end but was able to gather it up. I have learned not to drive as fast with worn s02s.:)

I wouldn't back off too much. If you do you won't ever learn your cars limits. Sometimes you have to lose control to learn better control. It's just better you learn it in a controled eviroment like auto x.

at least you and your car are still in one piece. Good luck and have fun.

:iagree: I've been asked by a number of folks that know me through these forums, "What happened to you w1ngman? How come you are not as wreckless as you use to be?" Well, while I've yet to lose control of The Bruised Banana, I've nonetheless seen other owners do so during meets/drives. And while no instance caused bodily injury (thank God), in 2 of 3 cases, the cars were flat-bedded to the body shop :(. So where it comes to public roads...yes, I've settled my ass down quite a bit.

I don't care to see anyone lose a $30K sports car into a ditch, or worse. So where *I've* been involved with other drivers directly, yeah, I've settled my driving style down quite a bit. Not sure I'd say its a matter of a loss of confidence in the car...but rather an appreciation that other's driver error is not something I want on my own shoulders.

[Note: This testimonial does NOT include The Dragon :nono:. That is a public road that deserves to be raped over and over again! :p]

- Dave

I only had one incident where I was driving the S and felt my testicles try to claw their way back into my belly...

On the Devil's Highway run, just after we turned onto the northbound leg, and after ditching the cop that was harrassing us, we were tooling along a 15MPH stretch of road a bit faster than 15MPH.

The first hairpin was a doozy, a slight rise that hides the actual turn from you when you approach it. I thought I could make this turn at 20, 25MPH tops. A quick glance at the speedo had me at 35MPH. Hitting the brakes at this time would have easily put the car into the side of the mountain. So I rode it out. Until that time I never knew S02's could squeal so loud. Car did a 4-wheel slide ( :eek3: :rolleyes: *heh* I MEANT to do that! :D ) but tracked through the turn. Scared the piss outta me.

All it did was tell me to pay more attention and stick closer to the leaders so I could use their experience to better judge how I take turns. Still, I drive much more sedately when alone than in group events.

My confidence is still building up after 6+ months of ownership. Next step for me is driving school and some auto-x events to learn where the car's limits are so there are no more "surprises".

[QUOTE]Originally posted by J.T
Hasn't happened to me yet, knock on wood.

This is experience and wisdom not lack of confidence.......

I ride a sport bike and I was "on" all the time when I got it. 8 months into ownership I was taking a turn about 20mph(had a great lean angle) and hit a nice patch of loose sand. Lost the front tire in the sand......After a bit of road rash and some new farings for the bike......I am not longer "on" all the time.

It is stupid to be like that......

That is wisdom guys. The experience has made me a better rider too. The same applies here......and with your experiences.

-Lee

[QUOTE]Originally posted by asu_lee
This is experience and wisdom not lack of confidence.......

I ride a sport bike and I was "on" all the time when I got it.

Ajjra, try this:

Turn your steering wheel all the way to one side. Get out, look at the wheel. The front wheels wear out faster on the insides. My first set of S02s looked fine until I looked at the insides, which had become slicks by that point.

It's harder to see the insides of the rears, but I think they wear out faster on the inside as well.

At 16k, your rears should be about due for replacement (all three sets of rear s02s I've had were replaced at around 15k). But your mileage may vary.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hoof
Ajjra, try this:

Turn your steering wheel all the way to one side.