Over the past couple of months I have gone to the Redline Events at the Streets of Willow in Southern California. What a great experience. It has allowed me to push my car in a safe environment. Like many members I was concerned about the rear stepping out and causing me problems. In Feb., I rode in my car while Jeremy, a 23 year old instructor, pushed it at an amazing speed while it was raining. Not once did he lose it. This Friday I watched as Chris, the organizer, drive his S at incredible speeds and never lose it. I watched another guy in a Silverstone whip around the course lapping me easily and he never lost it. My son went with Chris and saw him enter areas of the track at 96 mph and go through a serious of soft and hard turns, and handle it without losing control. I find that I an able to only go at 70 mph in the same area of the track. So, if shows you how much faster an experience driver can go and keep control.

Also the breaks on the S are amazing. I was able to repeatedly stomp on them and not once did they fade. The SO2's are interesting. They sort of melt from the heat and then re-harden.

My 17 year old son took my car instead of his '02 Mustang on a few laps and lost it everytime. The people who know how to drive this car seem to correct the rear end problems with a combination of throttle and steering. I discovered that if I take the curves at a slower speed than I may think I am capable of going, I can then increase the throttle if the rear swings. This allows me to shift weight to the rear instead of the front. I also found that my steering into the swing and trying to find a straight line on the curve, I can catch it. Since this is a track environment with no oncoming traffic and no passing allowed on the turns, I can use the entire track to correct the problem. It is amazing to me how fast I can take a turn and still not lose control of the car.

The S is not the only car that loses it at the track. Many Evo 8's, Rsx's, WRX's and other are spinning out on a regular basis.

The street is definitely not the place to push this car to it's limits. If you have a chance to go to a track event or auto cross, (Which I have not done yet) it would really be worth your while. Stay safe, and drive carefully on the streets. Save your hard driving for the track.

 

 

Where can I find more info on the track? I've never been on a track before.

Also, do you see big differences when the good drivers drive the S200s that have some sort of suspension upgrade?

 

Track driving is good stuff. I think I would really enjoy a good track day.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Reflexx
Where can I find more info on the track?

 

It's unfortunate that you don't get much rain down there. One of the quickest ways to understand the dynamics of any vehicle is to drive it on a track in the wet.

If you can go fast in the wet; you can go very fast in the dry.

 

I do want to try it at least once. Though I know if I try it once, I'll probably want to do it again... and again... and again.

 

woow! i wish i had a track at my country...i would be there every weekend
im very SLOWLY learning the basics of rear wheel drive
still you cant maximize this in the streets....too dangerous

 

Do they ever let the public drive at the new track in Bahrain?

I remember reading that they built it with several different possible configurations and a separate drag strip, and they intended to use it to promote motorsports as a whole in the Middle East. The article also mentioned that drag racing was already very popular in your part of the world.

Here's the article:
http://www.sportsvenue-technology.com/projects/sakhir/

It was written before the track was complete, so the info might be a bit out of date.

If you do end up going to a track, let us know!

-geekd

 

Actually, the Streets of Willow is much more of a technical map than the Big Track. You would have just as much fun on that one as the Streets. In fact, you will get to use the V-tec more often since it is more high speed with some more sweeping turns, like turn 8 & 9. Have driven both and Streets is much more challenging in my opinion.