31 replies to this topic

[jonnyboy]

I have come from a similar background car wise to you m8 having had a 172 and a megane 225. I can only echo what others have said re going steady when you first get it, just gradually build up your speed as your confidence grows. TBH in dry weather the NA isnt that much trouble but in the wet it obviously needs extra caution. Some people might not approve of thise but what I did was just wait till it rained and then went up to a local industrial estate one sunday while it was quiet and just practised getting the back end out (making sure there was plenty of run off!) I've also found an old carpark hidden away behind some trees that I can practice on too, really good fun. I've had my VX about a month now (only driving weekends though) I think I'm still only driving it at 60-70% of what its capable of but I'm confident enough in it to start "using" the RWD and getting little raer end kicks coming out of bends and stuff. One strange thing I did notice (luckily in an off road situation) is the way the car behaves when you induce understeer. If you lift off to fast or keep your foot planted it will go into oversteer REALLY quickly. Once your prepared for that and you know where the limits of that sort of behaviour from the car are your confidence will grow. Stay safe!

Edited by jonnyboy, 15 September 2006 - 04:30 PM.

[djegiant]

There is only one way,
Opposite lock and thats why the car has side windows

Yeah, just go for it guys!

Cant believe I was giving "drive safely" advice!


Craig- an "off" to myself and many others would suggest either leaving the track or crashing! Hence my amazement when you said you'd had 3!

You dont come across very well (often btw)

Thats me spending too much time hanging around with the other tw@ts on seloc I think!

[dw1]

1. Driver training is well worth it and great fun! Every time I have some, the more I realise I have even more to learn and how I have a long, long way to go. 2. The 'only accellerate when the wheel is straight' is brilliant advice. When you do accellerate ease the accellerator on rather than punch it. Similarly ease it off. Think of it as an accordian breathing in and out. Someone once told me to imagine an eggshell under your right foot. 3. Feel what the tyres are telling you through the steering wheel, when they feel lighter you are getting closer to the limit, take care then, stay neutral or gently lighter on your inputs and dont push hard until they feel heavier and gripier. 4. Watch out for the ABS. Read the road surface ahead and if it's bumpy or rippled allow a longer gentler braking time. It scares the crap out of you the first time you experience the rubbish ABS cutting in!!! As I'm sure other owners will attest to. The words 'sh*t, my cars not stopping' sprang to my mind accompanied by a wide eyed look of fear. 5. The mid engine nature of this car means that when it does decide to spin it just lets rip, I'm not 100% tuned into all the signals it gives in the build up which explains an airfield pirouette I performed that took me totally by suprise at speed. In hindsight I realise I didn't have the car settled and applied the brakes whilst the wheel was not totally straight - and at 100mph this gives an interesting result!! That's the beauty of airfields, it was a totally safe place to experience this although it did shake my confidence and I never managed to take that bend at the same speed compared to prior the spin. 6. Take it very easy in the wet. It's fun as it challenges you to drive really smoothly. You have to really moderate it compared to the dry as this car really magnifies bad habits that are masked in the dry or in most other types of car. I'd love to have a go in a 172/197 etc as ever since I drove a race spec Clio Cup Racer with sequential gearbox on a circuit I've been deeply impressed with the Clio. The handling of it was phenominal it just stuck to the track and was so neutral. I couldn't have driven the VX like I did that. It sounds like you have the right attitude. Hope you get a great car and really enjoy it safely.

[vx220na]

Great advice folks.!! Now just need the VX to try it all with! STILL waiting for the garage to phone me back to confirm the back tyres have been replaced and that the engine mounts have been replaced... God this is dragging out. I want my new toy now!!! *and relax. Good forum this.

[jonnyboy]

4. Watch out for the ABS. Read the road surface ahead and if it's bumpy or rippled allow a longer gentler braking time. It scares the crap out of you the first time you experience the rubbish ABS cutting in!!! As I'm sure other owners will attest to. The words 'sh*t, my cars not stopping' sprang to my mind accompanied by a wide eyed look of fear.

crikey I had this one of the first times I drove the car. The suspension is so rigid that you do loose grip on rutted surfaces. I was coming up to a junction in the peak district and had to use my handbrake!

[NOBLE]

The ribbed surface on the approach to major round abouts can cause this when braking harder I noticed. To VX220NA you might get it when braking harder on stretches of the A19 - I have but you can avoid it most of the time.

[vx220na]

With the winter /new owners coming.. should this not be a sticky? Moderation of course. (Deletion of non esential info.)

[Richy]

I must admit ive never found the cross over from FWD to RWD a problem

[walkes]

Have you never tried lift off oversteer in a front wheel drive car? Same applies to a rear wheel drive car, just in reverse .... Do you get it? do you, do you really Sir

[LazyDonkey]

Frankly, you're a step ahead of a lot of new owners by just realising that you need to adjust your driving style. I suspect you'll be fine

Ding ding ding

[rabidh]

As others have said you're a step ahead by knowing RWD is different... I've had mine over a year, I've had a RWD before, but i'm still learning I know the general consensus is 'take it easy' - but I think most people that buy the VX buy it to take advantage of its performance, so I'm not going to say 'slow down'. Eventually you will be tempted to push it and you need to know how to do it safely. A track would probably really help for this (I haven't personally, but I imagine it would have helped me). I'm sure i'll be in for a but the following are all things that I personally learnt when I first got the vx, and things I wish i'd known. Its probably different for other people, but I figure any information is useful... Probably the number 1 for me is reading road conditions. The VX is very sensitive to them. Be ultra-aware of different road surfaces (fallen leaves, standing water, dips in the road on corners, and *definitely* roundabouts/corners by fuel stations) - its something you may not learn at a track day but it is vital in the wet. The VX's steering provides loads of feedback and should give you some idea of how good the surface is. As others have said braking on a rough road *can* confuse the ABS - if you're not braking as hard as you expect and the pedal is hard you need to lift off fully and re-apply before it'll reset. Some people (including me) decided this was stupid and disabled it, but you'll want to drive the car enough to make an informed decision before you contemplate this (it depends on your local road conditions i think). Don't let it put you off the VX though - it'll only happen rarely. Never put your foot to the floor in the wet except on the straight (you can still get almost full acceleration with your foot half down at lower revs, but if the rear starts to slip the engine won't just rev up and stick you in the ditch). Try very hard not to understeer - it can lead to snap oversteer so its a lot more dangerous than it would be in a FWD car. I found changing my tyre pressures to 24(f)/26® helped, and some people use 22/24. Don't change down into corners (so the engine revs end up above 4000rpm) in the wet - unless you do it slow, or can blip the throttle on a downchange. It can unstick the rear tyres and make you fishtail - its only happened to me once or twice but I think its a good thing to be aware of and avoid... hth.

[paulk]

Driver training definately - having had a vxt for just over a year I recently did a day with andy walsh (carlimits.com) and can't rate it highly enough. Being honest having owned rwd and fwd cars I thought I knew something about car control - well actually I did know soemthing about the theory just not the practise ( you don't often get to practise opp lock in an 80mph spin without killing yourself or someone else). With a bit of luck I've maybe absorbed 30% of what Andy taought me and I'll definatley be back in the not-too-distance future. Just my tuppence worth P