Recommend me a RWD driving course.

[massive1]

Hi All.

I've been on piston heads for years but only as a lurker LOL

Ive never really had a cause to post but ive recently switched from quick FWD cars to an S2000 so id like to get my skills together before winter really kicks in.

I live in Hampshire so could any of you recommend me a good course covering RWD skills either on road or track.

many thanks

[waremark]

For the road look at Cadence (Hugh Noblett and others), Ridedrive, Andy Morrison, Bernard Aubry or others. A session with thest people will help you avoid any situation which requires limit handling skills.

For limit handling on a proving ground Don Palmer at Bruntingthorpe or Andy Walsh at North Weald.

These guys are all top class. If you search the forum for these names you will find more info (this question has been discussed often before). However, please don't think that a single days training will even begin to make you an expert.

If you have not done it before, the best value in road driver training comes from a course with the Institute of Advanced Motorists or Rospa (ROADAR) - where the on-road 'Roadcraft' training is provided by volunteers.

[massive1]

Great , thats given me plenty to read up on.
I'm not looking to become a drift expert however i would like to feel more comfortable in RWD with no TC should an unexpected slide occur.

thanks again

[vonhosen]

Your car doesn't have TC ?

[massive1]

no,just my right foot.

[davepoth]

Go to the new forest and find an empty gravel carpark with plenty of runoff. Find the limits of your car.

[t11ner]

A drift day at Oulton Park would be the perfect thing for you, we run some club days there, next one on Dec 19th.

They are run on a low grip surface that doesn't muller your tyres, free instruction is included and most importantly you get lots of track time to practice catching a slide and feeling how your car reacts to throttle and steering.

Have a look HERE, this is a day we ran with a bunch of the S2KUK members in attendance. If you fancy a go yourself you'd be welcome to JOIN US.

Steve H
Trackaction-Online

[bazking69]

davepoth said:

Go to the new forest and find an empty gravel carpark with plenty of runoff. Find the limits of your car.

Makes a mess. Find an wet empty car park and find the limits. I learnt so much in just 15 minutes in a snow filled car park about the limits of the car and how to control it/act when I go over the limit.

[davepoth]

snow is by far the best. In a car with skinny tyres you can do insane drifts at about walking pace.

[defblade]

A muddy field is good too, but you will need to wash the car after

[Don]

http://www.skidcontrol.co.uk

They do courses at Goodwood on a skid pan in old BMWs and Sierras. Inexpensive and teaches the basics of skid recovery.

Our local IAM Group uses him/them.

You may also want to buy a copy of "Roadcraft" and read it. It has sections on weight transfer and the effects on vehicles with different driven wheels...

Edited by Don on Thursday 15th October 11:51

[massive1]

cheers guys .
some good ideas to think about

[SVS]

Hi Steve,

Check out the options from RideDrive (most available in your area) e.g. the 'Full-Day Advanced Driving & Skidding Experience' ...

www.ridedrive.co.uk/shop-high-performance.htm

I recommend contacting Julian at RideDrive and asking him about what you want.

Cheers

[tenohfive]

Just to throw my 2p in:

I'd avoid roadcraft if you're looking for something to help you controlling a RWD car. Whilst it does touch on the most likely form of skid for RWD cars (oversteer) and how to correct it, it'd be £10 for something you could learn by other means. In the same way I'd avoid any course thats Roadcraft based, because whilst you may get lucky and find someone with RWD experience, you won't get any practice of correcting skids etc.

(I say the above as an 'advanced' - i.e roadcraft trained - driver.)

[waremark]

Let me be the first to completely disagree with tenohfive. While reading Roadcraft won't teach you to handle your car on the limit, it will give you some idea of what goes on. More importantly, it may help you become a better driver with less likelihood of ever needing limit handling skills. And Roadcraft based advanced training will certainly do that.

[SVS]

waremark said:

Let me be the first to completely disagree with tenohfive. While reading Roadcraft won't teach you to handle your car on the limit, it will give you some idea of what goes on. More importantly, it may help you become a better driver with less likelihood of ever needing limit handling skills. And Roadcraft based advanced training will certainly do that.

+1. Let me be the second!

Also, in my experience, you need to have a lot of limit handling experience to react well to an unexpected RWD skid. When it happens for real, the odd day here and there on track/airfield probably isn't enough for many people to react correctly. Even if you've done lots and lots of limit handling, it can still go wrong in that moment on the road - I speak from experience! Far better to learn a bit of roadcraft too and avoid skidding in the first place ...

Edited by SVS on Monday 19th October 23:15

[Strangely Brown]

Frankly, I am quite surprised that anyone who claims to be Roadcraft trained would tell someone to avoid it.

[bluetone]

Toppa day out, if a little pricey:

http://www.caterham.co.uk/assets/html/experience/d...

They also do (RWD) car control courses and the motto is "drive it like you stole it"

[HereBeMonsters]

Or get on-track instruction with one of the (really good) guys on a Motorsport Events trackday.

[Johnyanorak]

The only way i learned it by trial and error , know all i do in a new car is slowly test the limits , once you know your limits dont push the.. goodluck