learning to drive

Over a year ago, I bought an xr4ti and shortly after learned what rally is. Now, I would love to get into the sport, or any sort of respectable (or disrespectable, but official) form of auto racing. Being a mostly logical person, my first concern is not prepping my daily driver for some mythical day "when I finally hit the track," but instead on the building blocks. I'm sure I can find a team to join somewhere, and maybe drive with them before I can prep my own car, but the premise involves driving. And looking at it now, I am absolutely sure that whatever drivers training I went through in high school, what the military taught me about over weighted trucks, or my own street experience has failed to prepare me completely for a real race.

So, short of shelling out the fistfuls of cash requisite to attend race driving schools, what can I do to learn what I need? Or, is the honest-to-goodness best way to learn by attending such an educational establishment?

I want to get my feet wet, but I think there is a good way to not drown in the process.

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Nicholas and his '86 XR4Ti

Well I'd guess many of us old farts learned on the street years ago. That was a different world.

I sent my son to Eklunds rally school, several RallyXs, 3 road racing schools and several track days. You may find a group to try the LeMons stuff with but in reality if you want to learn to drive some kind of foralized training is the reasonable answer in todays world.

And for the cost of any of the North American "schools" and considering their venues and equipment, I'd do as some smrater-er guys have done and go to Wales and do the Higgins school--in real rwd properly built Escorts on real forestry rods, rather than on some field or a parking lot where you "learn" "the indispensability of Left Foot Braking".

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

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Find rallycrosses in your area. You can enter anything that has 4 wheels, although you will have a better time if you bring your XR than, say, a moving truck. Autocross is great too. It lets you go full monty for a reasonable cost, and you get a good taste. A driving school on a track with a teacher yelling at you as you zoom around seems like it would help with car control.

There is space out there in Wi, isnt there? Find a big open field, get some cones and some friends and set up a hairpin and a sweeper.

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Or Colin McRae Rally 2.0, with the help of terrible 1980's rap. NWA helps you get more learnin'.

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Something about something....dirt.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2012 10:37AM by Houdini91.

I think there are two parts to learning to drive fast.

1) Knowing what you should be doing (Theory)
2) Doing what you should be doing (Practice)

The problem I had when I first attempted to learn on a section of dirt road in the way back woods, was a lack of theory. I had no one to show me what we were trying to do or talk to me about how things work. I basically had to discover it all from scratch on my own. This is not easy. I started this when I was 16, drove a real rally at 19, drove a bunch of rallys in my late twenties and early 30's and finally went to driving school around age 32, some 16 years after trying to figure it out on my own.

By the time I made it to driving school I likely had about 70% of the theory down but I still picked up another 20% of what I now know in two days.

Practice, well I got tons of that at school, for the cost of one rally I picked up 4 or 5 times the seat time of a single event and in an environment we could try things, then go back and try them again. With a stop watch and other instant real measured feed back.

The result, after 16 years of messing around I went to rally school. The next event I was 10 seconds a mile faster. I went from the back quarter of the field to the top 5 or 10%. School was worth it for me.

If you are not going to go to school, you need to get someone who is good, to sit with you and show you things, to explain it in person and as I said even better if they can show it, then sit next to you and give you real feed back about your efforts. You can try to learn some of the theory from reading/video etc but being in the car is much better.

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In the long run reality always wins.

So which school did you attend Derek?

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derek
By the time I made it to driving school I likely had about 70% of the theory down but I still picked up another 20% of what I now know in two days.

And that last 10%?

On a side note, I think Derek's method produces the fastest drivers. People focus WAY too much on theory and not enough on driving. Like the Subarus with glowing rotors from all the LFBing that are mid to back of pack. Or the guys who obsess over things like bump steer, roll centers, perfecting alignment settings, etc. but make me want to put away my video camera when they slowly come into view.

So I guess what I am saying, get out there and drive. Rallycross, trailriding on a dual sport, track days, camping trips in middle of nowhere, snow days, etc.

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Grant Hughes

Quote
NoCoast
snow days, etc.

I think snow is the best teaching environment. I learn more the 2 or 3 nights a year we have snow on the ground here each year than any other time. Plus, you can do it all at 30mph or less and after dark.... We often load 3-4 people in my station wagon and burn a tank or more of gas just assing around in the snow when it comes.

I also agree with Derek on sitting with someone who knows what they are doing and can provide instruction & feedback. Even better, if you let them show you first----this way, you can get the theory and a true "feel" for what is happening in real time and then swap seats and repeat.

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____________________________________________________________-

One. Class -- 2WD

www.quantumrallysport.com

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Thanks for the great feedback!

I've started looking at schools today. The tuition is less than I'd expected, so I can deal with that. I guess the next step would be finding a driver nearby who is willing to teach me a few things. If I can get in contact with somebody and get some one on one training prior to next season for rally cross, I may compete in 2013. Then, I can see how things develop and where I end up.

Also, Albert: I'm not sure I get the nuances behind your comparison of xratties to moving trucks. Of course XRs are fun to drive...

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Nicholas and his '86 XR4Ti

Quote
m7stic


Also, Albert: I'm not sure I get the nuances behind your comparison of xratties to moving trucks. Of course XRs are fun to drive...

No comparison! Slight sarcasm. You COULD have a good time rallyxing even a moving truck. An XR would be just about perfect.

The last 10% comes from real rallys or real closed road testing with EMT on hand, no rally school or rally x or simi closed road is going to teach you when you can hold your foot down at 108 MPH through a kink.

I attended the Florida School - picked solely to avoid spending time with in-laws one winter visit to Florida with my spousal unit.

Snow is cool, you get to do everything at 15 MPH, like in slow motion.

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In the long run reality always wins.

I'll make better use of snow this winter than I did last winter. Last couple of snow days I tried to figure out bootlegger turns, but the plow trucks in my area are quick so I didn't quite get it figured out.

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Nicholas and his '86 XR4Ti

Okay some people are going to talk trash I already know, but here goes.

One good way to learn some theory is to get your self the game Dirt3. It is a rally game and it is pretty good. Reason why I say it might help is because of three factors.

1) They try to make the physics in the game as close to reality as possible
2) Playing on advance turns off all assists (realism) and turn on the line assist and it will show you the best lines to take for corners, also acceleration and braking, but most importantly it will show you what line to take to take corners. (Gran Turismo 3 taught me that and I have applied the cornering techniques in real life and they work)
3) You have a co-pilot in the game. She/he navigates either by simple notes (easy left, hard right, etc) or by more technical notes (into left 4 tightens at end, do not cut). If you select in car mode (seeing the steering wheel), turn off course map, and the volume up this should give you some practicing on listing to the copilot for directions and understanding the terms.

Now let me state I am not saying that this is even close to a powerful learning tool as actually getting out there and getting real life practice. However if you are lacking theory, this is not a bad idea and can be done any time of the day/year without a high cost

so the ultimate is then a snow rally? Big White anyone?

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First Rally: 2010 First RallyX: 2004 (a bunch)
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Last Updated, Apr 9, 2023