Better at driving

[zee]

Hey guys,

Not sure if this is the right section to post but it seems to be the most relevant.
I've been driving manual for about 6 months now and I think is time to improve my driving skills before I get a more powerful car. I was wondering is there any schools or websites that have tutorial on how to become a better driver like doing heel toe and such, I would really want to learn the basic before I get my S2000, no point having a nice car but crappy driver.

Hope you guys can help me out here, a noob has to start somewhere.

Thanks

[bennjamin]

location ?

IF in NSW - look at the ian Luff driving school

http://www.ianluff.com.au/

[Lukey]

I wanna know how people twist there foot around enough to do heel toe.

[vinnY]

^ gotta have pretty small feet if you can't hit both pedals with your foot

just head out to your car and give it a shot while the car is off
if you really need to practice it don't do it while theres traffic on the road, uber dangerous

[rayb3na_]

wow this guys smart!! i always just practised in my car.. ahaha never thought about actually taking courses to learn that stuff! woah!

[PNS 001_EG3]

lol anyone who wants to do heel toe action can only really do it on a track, contact (cams) and ask them about driver training. they should be able to lead you in the best direction! if ya just a crappy driver look up sum driving schools jks, but if its defensive driving courses your looking for just look in the yellow pages. good luck!

[aimre]

lol anyone who wants to do heel toe action can only really do it on a track

You obviously havent been pizza delivering with me


On that note, i got pulled over by an undercover magna for taking lines round a round-a-bout. "Round-a-bouts are to go AROUND" -Cop

[vincikwan]

U should have joined us at winton for the beginner track day with AKmotorworks. Andy's a great teacher too!

[aaronng]

Yup, look for the driver training courses held at the tracks. I learnt heel toe on the street and I totally agree with the suggestions to do it at the track or when there are no other cars and people around. Because there are 3 possible outcomes if you get it wrong. 1) You jam the brakes and get rear ended. 2) You don't press enough brakes and overspeed into the corner, taking out a few cars/people parked on the side of the road. 3) Your foot gets stuck on the accelerator and you ram into the car in front of you, or run a red light.

[zee]

Thanks for the reply guys! Yup I do live in Sydney, will try to save up for the training course. Im currently trying to just heel toe downshift on a quiet straight road, dont want to ram into a pole if I dont stop on time lol

Also is there any other driving techniques to be a better driver? How can I shift smoother while driving aggressively?

[rayb3na_]

heel toe in a straight line first less to think about and then do it before a corner.. like everything start off slow and gradually build yourself up.. i always heel toe/rev match when im slowing down for the lights as well its less jerky.. i do it ALL the time even with cops there, only been pulled over once for it and he just askd me what i was doing i just said rev matching and he looked at me stumped lol.. then i explained to him and his like o.. i've never thought of that! lolage good luck anyways i got a bit off topic!

[migoreng]

take it easy on the throttle. you don't need anything special to drive a car like an s2000.

don't you see mums on the road driving holden/ford V8s??
lol

be sensible and you will be fine.

what car have you been driving?

[bennjamin]

he is asking for driving schools ~ that know how to drive.
Not opinions from everyday drivers :)

Anyone know any other driving schools/courses ?

IMO you need a DEFENSIVE driving course , such as i mentioned above (ian luff). Since you are in NSW , Start with this course -
http://www.ianluff.com.au/drive_to_survive

It gives you a step up in knowledge of how to avoid situations and how to get out of them. Doing a CAMS course or doing a track day etc just makes you want to drive faster , not necessarily better or safer.

[Lukey]

Thanks for the reply guys! Yup I do live in Sydney, will try to save up for the training course. Im currently trying to just heel toe downshift on a quiet straight road, dont want to ram into a pole if I dont stop on time lol

Also is there any other driving techniques to be a better driver? How can I shift smoother while driving aggressively?

I just let clutch out slowly and make sure when i downshifting that when i release clutch im over 3k revs.

[Limbo]

practice makes perfect.
Just need more practice shifting & driving. Since you've only been at it for 6mths just drive more and get use to trying to drive better

BTW that driving school sounds pretty cool. Ben reckon you could organise a ozhonda driving day?

[TheSaint]

heel toe in a straight line first less to think about and then do it before a corner.. like everything start off slow and gradually build yourself up.. i always heel toe/rev match when im slowing down for the lights as well its less jerky.. i do it ALL the time even with cops there, only been pulled over once for it and he just askd me what i was doing i just said rev matching and he looked at me stumped lol.. then i explained to him and his like o.. i've never thought of that! lolage good luck anyways i got a bit off topic!

just say that you are a truck driver

went for a drive around the country with one of my mum friends in the EG the other day, he started rev matching and i was like... wow you actually know how to drive properly and he was like... i drive trucks all day, this is how i normally drive - nothing special about it =/

=)

[CER-15E]

hey, you should try the H.A.R.T school at St Ives on 9144 5725. I know lots of people that learnt to drive manual there. They have heaps of courses for different levels and abilities and they are all done on private roads and tracks.

[string]

A good driver is in control. If you don't know how your vehicle does what it does, there's no way you'll be able to control it. If you don't know when, how and why the weight of the car moves around as your turn, you won't be able to control it well. You NEED to know under a given set of conditions, what tyres are doing what work and how to change the loads on them.

Shifting is just one part of vehicle control. I'd much rather be in the car with someone who can't rev-match but knows how the sprung weight behaves, rather than Johny Ricer who's been practicing his heal-toe yet hasn't the slightest as to how his car sticks to the road.

Ignorance is NOT bliss when it comes to being a good driver. So start learning all you can.

[e240]

and sometimes the mistake we make is that we think we know when we don't. LOL.

[migoreng]

i started heel toeing in a van with no tacho 2-3 years ago..!

then i got my gen 5 vtir and heel and toe was no problem at all after 1-2 weeks.
just practice!
:D

[absolutR]

my foot has cramped from too much heel n toe. hurt

[aaronng]

my foot has cramped from too much heel n toe. hurt

Relax your foot more. Don't tense up.

[krogoth]

chuck on some massive rice pedals, so u can rev match without having to heel toe, lol

[rawr]

heel and toe isn't everything

how about throttle and brake application in corners + high speed?

but then again i guess Heel and toe does fall into that category but theres alot more.

[Gio]

http://www.modernracer.com/tips/heelandtoeshifting.html

[T-onedc2]

heel and toe isn't everything

how about throttle and brake application in corners + high speed?

but then again i guess Heel and toe does fall into that category but theres alot more.
Heel-toe is about changing down gears without upsetting the cars' balance at that particular moment by jolting the drivetrain which may invoke locking under brakes and mess up your turn in and miss the apex.

Simply put, reducing speed quickly and smoothly, being in the right gear to power out of the corner and shifting weight in a measured fashion.

[zee]

Thanks for all the advise guys! Went out for a little drive last night and I can sure say that I'm more confident that before :)

[aaronng]

heel and toe isn't everything

how about throttle and brake application in corners + high speed?

but then again i guess Heel and toe does fall into that category but theres alot more.

Yes, but if you do need to downshift and brake at the same time before entering the corner, then heel toe is everything (in that 1 second that is). :)