Guest bonomitch Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Hi everyone - this is my first post > I don't own a supra yet but I've been dreaming of it for the past couple of years now tbh - partly thanks to this top site! so cheers to u all! Never even been in one until fri when i test drove a stock auto TT - in the wet! Near kacked myself when the back end stepped out at 60mph . I wasn't about to lose control but it did give me (and my passenger) a bit of a fright. To put it in perspective - i drive a 1.4 fiesta now - it's not exactly a scary drive. is fiesta > dream supe too big a step? My question is then - is it just in the wet that it seems to be this mental? Does it act completely different in the dry? Was it a stupid thing to do in the first place - a test drive in the wet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwayne Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 i tend to drive a bit more gently in the wet. if your last car was a fiesta you should take time to get used to the difference in performance and power delivery. i rarely have a problem in the dry with the tc on unless i just did something stupid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Class One Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 How the car reacts is commensurate with how your right foot behaves. You've got to bare in mind that the TT is a 300bhp+ RWD car, with completely different handling characteristics to a 1.4 Fiesta. Any powerful RWD car can bit back big, and it can easily catch out even the ost experienced of drivers. If you're that concerend, then perhaps some additional driver training or some skid pan experience might help allay any concerns that you may have. BUT the Supra is an extremely good handling car, offering very high levels of grip, you just got to treat it right to get the best from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 it's no video game. It rewards those who drive well and concentrate though and punishes those who don't. I should know; have a look in my garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Don't want to put the wind up anyone but I was doing about 55-60 on the M62 yesterday when the steering just went to pieces. I think I probably hit some standing water as it had been raining heavily beforehand. I have excellent tyres with at least six months life in them. In summary, what I'm trying to say is that, even when you think you are driving safely, the conditions might call for even more care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 I hate driving the supra in the wet really, never had it step out but can feel the difference in grip levels straight away, plus big wide tyres can aquaplane easy. So many supra's have been crashed in the wet, the ones that ive seen posted up on here, so the record goes to show really that they arnt the best in the wet, on the other hand in the dry, the grip levels are fantastic! Just adjust your driving style to the conditions, i never even used to think oh its raining in previous cars but in the supra you should take note of the road conditions. 1.4 to supra is fine on the face of it, depends on your attitude tho more. I went from 1.6 to TT, no probs, all about attitude. If you have a big ego and are easily egged on by other males out on the roads you need to be careful in the early days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 it's no video game. It rewards those who drive well and concentrate though and punishes those who don't. I should know; have a look in my garage. What happened, run it by us again, was it wet then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razza Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 just ease yourself into it, don't rush getting used to the car and the power or you'll lose it all to easily. And yes it does react very differently in the wet, i.e. don't hammer it. When new to it just start using the power on big straights with not much around, it'll help you get used to how it reacts. I took it easy for the first few months, I'm still learning how it reacts a year later.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobEvans Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 I went from a 850cc fiat cinqi to a TT haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 What happened, run it by us again, was it wet then? Dry day, autumn, on a long blind corner with gradient change half way though. What I should have done; Braked more then fed power down progressively through the corner as I felt the grip and conditions allowed. What I did; braked to a speed I know the car would take the corner at at a constant speed. The result; Half way round the corner close to the gradient change a sharp shower had gone through, mixed with mud from the farmers field, so I went from full to no grip, then wore my car as a hat in a field liberally surrounded by my weekly tesco's shopping. Oh and did I mention a dog dived out infront of me as well? Now I have learned.. get your brakes tuned before you do any power tuning and learn to use them... slow in, fast out is the key.. then you can adjust accordingly. Fast in = no safety margin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ghett0Smurf Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 ill put it in simple terms for every1 to understand. you need to treat a supra like you would treat a woman u treat it nice an gental you will get the best out of it if you treat it rough be prepare for it to take you nuts away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Dry day, autumn, on a long blind corner with gradient change half way though. What I should have done; Braked more then fed power down progressively through the corner as I felt the grip and conditions allowed. What I did; braked to a speed I know the car would take the corner at at a constant speed. The result; Half way round the corner close to the gradient change a sharp shower had gone through, mixed with mud from the farmers field, so I went from full to no grip, then wore my car as a hat in a field liberally surrounded by my weekly tesco's shopping. Oh and did I mention a dog dived out infront of me as well? Now I have learned.. get your brakes tuned before you do any power tuning and learn to use them... slow in, fast out is the key.. then you can adjust accordingly. Fast in = no safety margin. Yeh good advice! Looked like the supe held up pretty well then considering you went over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bonomitch Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 If you're that concerend, then perhaps some additional driver training or some skid pan experience might help allay any concerns that you may have. That sounds like a good idea. any body ever done skid pan before? is it expensive? By the way - i really really loved it - it was better than i thought it would be - it just felt so good sitting in her. Cracking car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kranz Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 slow in, fast out is the key.. then you can adjust accordingly. Fast in = no safety margin. Try using the technique of matching your speed to the corner. Its a little difficult to explain, but in essence you look into the corner ahead where the view of the opposite side of the road blocks off the view of your side of the road as it goes around the bend, sort of looking across the apex. As you drive towards it it will appear that your side of the corner will be either rushing towards you, staying still, or rushing away. If its rushing towards you that means that the bend is tightening and your speed is too high. If its standing still then your speed is about right If its rushing away then the bend is opening out and you can accelerate. As you approach any corner take a look and you'll see what I mean, and the bonus is you don't have to take your eyes off the road to judge the correct speed. In the wet this still works, just go more gentle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 is fiesta > dream supe too big a step? If you're not use to driving a rear wheel drive car, then IMO yes an auto TT it is way too big a step. Once you learn your Supra they are very predictable, but as a first RWD car I would say look for something a bit more forgiving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Class One Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Try using the technique of matching your speed to the corner. Its a little difficult to explain, but in essence you look into the corner ahead where the view of the opposite side of the road blocks off the view of your side of the road as it goes around the bend, sort of looking across the apex. As you drive towards it it will appear that your side of the corner will be either rushing towards you, staying still, or rushing away. If its rushing towards you that means that the bend is tightening and your speed is too high. If its standing still then your speed is about right If its rushing away then the bend is opening out and you can accelerate. As you approach any corner take a look and you'll see what I mean, and the bonus is you don't have to take your eyes off the road to judge the correct speed. In the wet this still works, just go more gentle The vanishing/limit point. Just for info chaps and chapesses, Steve & I will (time allowing) try and get our heads together to give you some tips for safer driving, try and organise some skid pan training, and defensive driving techniques. I know some members like Ark havae arranged this in the past, but we can't empahsise enough that just doing that little bit of extra training or getting an insight into safer driving will help you enjoy your car more, be safer etc. This isn;t going to be done in some sort of condescending "we're Police drivers therefore we know better" type way, but in a way to try and help you get more from your car in a safer way, and if that means that we help save one person from crashing and getting hurt or worse, then we've done our bit to help. Work in progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyP Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 The vanishing/limit point. Just for info chaps and chapesses, Steve & I will (time allowing) try and get our heads together to give you some tips for safer driving, try and organise some skid pan training, and defensive driving techniques. I know some members like Ark havae arranged this in the past, but we can't empahsise enough that just doing that little bit of extra training or getting an insight into safer driving will help you enjoy your car more, be safer etc. This isn;t going to be done in some sort of condescending "we're Police drivers therefore we know better" type way, but in a way to try and help you get more from your car in a safer way, and if that means that we help save one person from crashing and getting hurt or worse, then we've done our bit to help. Work in progress Any advice/help welcome. I nearly lost it the other day. All I was doing was changing lanes on a dual carriage way. Ended up fishtailing down the road. Luckily there weren't any other cars around. Must have been some grease on the road or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Try using the technique of matching your speed to the corner. The vanishing/limit point. Very interesting. I will have a look at that, thanks...somewhere nice and safe! Since I have done a few track days in the sup I just can't get excited about pushing grip round corners anymore on public roads. I still feed power in where it's safe and there is lots of runoff, but compared to a track, spirited driving on a public road is a poor and dangerous substitute. Aside from a quick blast to see how she measures up agaist other cars I would NEVER engage in a race on a public road. I think it's really selfish and wreckless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul mac Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 i would advise any new supra driver to make sure they have good tyres on the car and splash out and fit RLTC it could well save the car and more importantly YOUR bacon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 RLTC won't save you if you go into a corner too fast. It cannot overcome a lack of mechanical grip. It will, however, allow you to get the power down out of the corner earlier. Although, if it cuts in then you are already too heavy with the gas pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daston Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 The problem I find is that my Eagle F1's create loads of grip in the wet meaning I am going that little bit quicker and it would make it nigh impossible to correct. I also dislike RLTC its just another thing to rely on and anothing to go wrong. What do you do when it asks for Ctrl, Alt & Del? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_blackman Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 I'd be well up for some driver training on the skid pads etc Sounds like an ace idea! You can never get enough training in any form! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 RLTC doesn't really 'go wrong'. Any failure is usually caused by the user ie. driving too hard, forgetting to switch it to the correct setting etc etc. If you know how, when and why it works then you'll know how, when and why it'll work and how, when and why it won't. See? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 The vanishing/limit point. Just for info chaps and chapesses, Steve & I will (time allowing) try and get our heads together to give you some tips for safer driving, ......... .......we've done our bit to help. Work in progress Can't we get you onto the handling course next weekend in one of the competing cars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 The problem I find is that my Eagle F1's create loads of grip in the wet meaning I am going that little bit quicker and it would make it nigh impossible to correct. I also dislike RLTC its just another thing to rely on and anothing to go wrong. What do you do when it asks for Ctrl, Alt & Del? I'd have to agree with you.... I'm not a fan of ABS and TC as such, as they provide a little too much confidence to the driver since they take care of things to a point, it is at this point that they give up that is most dangerous. The driver would not be used to it going wrong at a lower speed as such might not know what to do at the limit of this computer aids. We always used to disable ABS and TC at BMW on the track and skidpans so that the students didn't get too cocky when the car was doing all the work for them. It was amazing how many so-called hardned M3 drivers bottled it when they had to do the thinking instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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