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i'll impart a bit of the Police roadcraft theory Thomas
the old days of braking before a bend and accelerating around it are gone. brake less and take the bend on a trailing throttle meaning you can take the bend about 20% faster. the car settles quicker so you can accelerate earlier hence making faster progress 
2 hands on the wheel, use one to push or pull while you let the wheel run through the other one. that hand is needed only to grip the wheel in the event that your other hand slips or the wheel jolts too far. its a bit boring, but push with hand until it reaches 12 oclock then pull with the other one. the boring push pull steering method really works, but not at low speed. the idea of keeping your hands in the same position on the wheel is really only for race tracks.
another myth busted is that it is perfectly acceptable to brake in a bend, its just the amount of braking you can do thats important, but if you have to brake you've read the road wrong
i've had my 4x4 in for a valet last week so i was driving an Audi. i'd forgotten how nice cars are to drive so if my 4x4 sells i'm looking at buying something cheap, old, but good to enjoy the driving experience again.
i can tell you all the theory of advanced driving and motorcycling. whether i can still do it is a different matter.
best
Graham
"On days like these..."
Well, the road grader is different, the sports car is from the cross region rival, and the time is 40 years later... and hopefully, the drive ends a little differently. This message has been edited by ThomasM on 2009-10-17 21:08:43 This message has been e...
It was a very special experience, AV.
I hope to be able to share a similar experience with you participating sometime in the not too distant future. Cheers, TM
What a ride!!!
Thanks for taking us along! How many watches would I have to trade for that one?
Aw, Allen, you are being too...
modest! As you know, it depends... Glad to "have you along!" TM
The original ....
www.youtube.com Wow Thomas, what a dream-ride ... a 599 in the mountains, what more can a real man wish ??? .... . Be carefull as i noticed the driver needs to be a little bit more practice ... . Cheers !!! Filip
LOL, I couldn't agree more!
Hi, Filip. I'm sure the driver would welcome any specific suggestions or advice on what to work on during practice. He doesn't have any illusions about being a particularly good driver, but he is definitely very open minded on how to improve. Cheers, TM
First of all ....
Never never never .... NEVER .... take a sharp turn "pulling" the steering wheel, and especially not by the inside of the steering wheel (1:45) .... :-( ... if the car goes in a spin you'll lose it for sure !!! Some other things difficult to explain just ...
Ouch! :-)
Hi, Filip, First, thank you for some very good comments/feedback! The driver thanks you too! No arguments from either of us... "Never never never .... NEVER .... take a sharp turn "pulling" the steering wheel, and especially not by the inside of the steer...
Thomas..
Thanks hugely for posting the video, that was thrilling to watch. Also, I can't believe how glossy the paintwork is on that Ferrari. I'm not into lecturing, but I'll share with you how I drive based on knowledge gained from various advanced driving course...
Thanks, JatG
Hi, J, I and the driver thank you, all comments well made, well taken. And absolutely no problem with your comments being taken as "lecturing" - the comments and suggestions are well intended, and sound. Only an egomaniac who thinks he has nothing to impr...
Driving by (page) numbers …
Interesting discussion. It is probably more rewarding to actually partake in performance driving that to read about it, but I enjoyed the comments. Before a few family practicalities overtook me I drove and loved a Porsche (and a Lotus and Cooper S before...
a 599 owner (and sometime track driver) recommended...
"If you're looking for a classic text on the subject, I still think that nothing better has been written than Taruffi's original book on the racing line (The Technique of Motor Racing). Taruffi is often credited with inventing the concept of the "line," a...
Thanks, TM ...
Thanks very much for the Taruffi book recommendation; I will look out for it. My post was related to the written descriptions of driving technique in this sub-thread rather than the brilliant 599 video itself. Good books on this topic are hard to come by....
Right on J !!!
Thanks for doing the explanation because it's not that easy for me in English .... . Filip
So it all boils down to...
the hand position on the steering wheel at 1:45 then? Cheers, TM
Not all ...
Throttle control ... Clean lines ... aha .. and also the right revs (the right gear) ... try to drive on the torque of the engine ... don't overrev the engine ... For instance ... i'm having lots of fun driving the Mini Cooper Diesel between 1800 and 2800...
aha, I see...
thanks for the clarifications; alas, some of your "assumptions" or conclusions from viewing the video (and sounds) are wrong (ie, at no point in the video was the engine revved past 4000 rpm and in fact it was mostly below 3000; I'll show and play for you...
Just one fun-remark ...
Thomas, i forgot ... about 20 years ago i took my granddad's Mercedes 230E (W123) on the road for a slow run (it was raining) and guess what ??? At around 20 kph the rear set out i could almost see the back of the car ...LOL .. i was very lucky NOT to giv...
Wow
Filip - we too used to have a W123 in the family, almost exactly like the one you picture. Same colour (I believe it was called "Thistle Green"), 2.3l 4cyl, 5spd manual transmission, with green cloth interior. Ours had no sunroof though, as it had the opt...
Hi J ...
My grandfather bought the car in 1982 ... that very car was actually standing on the 1982 "Salon de l'automobile de Brussels". It had a 4-speed manual, heated front-seats, electric sunroof ... no aircon, wipers on the headlights and a green interior ! I l...
Nice one, Bim...
...love those photos. Reminds me of playing rally-driver in the gravel about 3 hours from home. And the pasenger side rear door having a rather big argument with a large gum tree I've never owned a front wheel drive car, but we used to get a friend's Golf...
Cool ...
i've never tried that with the McDonald's trays ... hmmm, you give me an idea ... wrecking old cars is always fun ... i remember driving a Peugeot 205 XS at around 40 mph thru a big fire my dad made in the backyard ... he wasn't to happy .... Filip
i'll impart a bit of the Police roadcraft theory Thomas
the old days of braking before a bend and accelerating around it are gone. brake less and take the bend on a trailing throttle meaning you can take the bend about 20% faster. the car settles quicker so you can accelerate earlier hence making faster progre...
Thanks, Graham!
Hi, Graham, I appreciate the shared wisdom! Being "police" roadcraft I am not surprised at how practical it is, rather than dogmatic. ;-) Before commenting further, I want to make it clear - yes, I know there is an accepted "right way" as taught in school...
glad to have been of...
glad to have been of assistance Thomas. you'll have to come to wales quickly as i've got the house on the market and will be moving back to the south of england, but that could of course take a long time to happen. another excellent piece of advice we wer...
That theory...
....sounds much closer to the "Traction Circle" theory that I am a proponent of. Simplified to a great degree: Your car possess longitudinal and lateral grip/traction/whatever that the driver exploits in equal measure in order to maximise effective brakin...
LOL! BDLJ...
You know, you were one of the people that came to mind when this whole sub-thread started... (in a completely respectful, complimentary way...) "This is one of my problems with really powerful cars (that handle ok, not some 500hp 70s Mustang), they flatte...
Ben, i would have thought...
Ben, i would have thought that you'd know that a bike needs power to stop it falling over :) gyroscopic effect and al that techie stuff. i've always found that if you shut the throttle off a bike either stands up and goes straight on or at slower speeds j...
Well Graham,
I defer to your greater knowledge if Roadcraft has changed. I realise with shock that it's been 15 years or so since I did my IAM. And especially with you as an ex-police motorcyclist - a breed apart from us mere mortals! Were you riding professionally in...
give me a break J,...
give me a break J, i'm only 45 :) i was retired early in 2002, was on traffic from about 92. i saw out the last of the BMW K1100's and then went onto Pan Europeans. i did a short stint as a surveillance biker on a GS1100 which was ideal as big trail bikes...
What a cool ride.
I would love to make some room in my garage for one. Thanks for sharing TM. JerryW
I'm waiting...
for the "adoption notice..." We've got a special trip in 2010 cooking...stay tuned... TM
Nice!
Great pics and video! Thanks for sharing your F599 driving experience. Regards, ED-209
Great video!
I felt I was riding shotgun on this jaunt in the mountains. I nearly got hit with a bit of vertigo at one point when the camera was looking out over the edge of the steep roadway! Looks like fun! Pity the weather wasn't better for you, but I suppose the c...
The funny thing is, the weather only made the experience...
even more memorable. Vertigo? Vertigo, you say? Look straight ahead, and focus on the spot 2 feet in front...
That powerful and smooth car needs a clear road to perform
The mountain road drive looks much better than the city drive. Regards Ling
agreed, Ling.
It is so smooth, its other "nature" need not ever be explored to enjoy the car. But if one is an enthusiast, to know such a powerful and extreme "other side" co-exists and is available with a squirt of the gas pedal and a flick of the paddle shifter is a ...