I understand where FDNewbie is coming from. He is just learning the technique from the video then applying it on a track... Good way to do it. Conceptualize it, memorize, practice it and get use to it.

For those that say learning from a video is not the same, that is correct. But how many people have learned to do something from a website. Not that much better.

 

There are many ways to learn something. One of them is to see, visualize what is happening, maybe even think for a while why it works, and then attempt to learn how to perform it. There is nothing wrong with it, the only risk is not having adequate opportunity to learn by doing. Just because you learn or teach differently does not mean it's bad. Well, so far you haven't provided any reasoning.

Dave

 

I watched a video on motor building then built a motor

 

I'm glad some of you understand where I'm coming from

Hey kidphc, how'd your 300ZX come out? Hopefully everything worked out alright? I saw you posting, so I gotta wonder if you ever picked up an FD!

 

The Z is on the road somewhat. Running about 10 psi and it hauls like a raped monkey. I have a dyno tune appointment with Altered Atmosphere this Friday. Fingers crossed. The tranny is on its way out, so hopefully she'll hold together for a few more months, so that way I can get a fresh coat of paint and the tranny repaired in the same month. Oh, the joys of owning an older car.

I spoke to the wife and she said go ahead. I am looking now for a project that is in the 8-9k range. Just haven't found one that I think will be a good base for a project,. I am starting to lean towards getting a slick top 300zx as a track car, just because I don't want to blow alot of money anymore.

 

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying videos are useless. I'm saying their value is about 5% compared to the 95% of *doing* it.. Once you get in the moment, video knowledge, which is purely cerebral, goes out the window for priorities of muscle motor memory and instinct.

Videos pointing one in the right direction? Definitely - for sure. But direction can be found in many places - doesn't make either one useless.

 

Wow, thanks for clarifying that for FDNewbie and all the video-defenders...

Would you let me do surgery on your heart if I told you I read 4 books and saw two video's on how to do it? Or would you sooner let me if I told you I've done 6 Heart Surgery's in the past, successfully?

Point being: Watching Video's doesn't make you an expert.

Gee, let me use my 21 year old brain and maturity to best come up with a solution....hmmm...the TRACK. That's right! The Track. By golly miss molly, there IS a way to learn your FD without putting your FD, innocent lives, and your own LIFE at risk! Ain't that a quirk!

FWIW, I'm the exact same age as this kid (4/7/83 BD) yet I'll be damned if I am caught doing 60-100 on a backroad twistie imitating some foolish drift game I saw at the local mall.

Anyways, about your driving:
The braking/acceleration points for the same turn varies depending on your weight ratio, weight period, and power setup. You have a nose heavy FWD crap econobox and a 50/50 RWD just as lightweight Turbo car following behind...you were probably so centered on stayin on his tail you didn't think of the idea of slowing down (losing him) earlier to instead accelerate sooner IN the turn (after the apex) and thereby actually GAINING on him...or something...

Sorry if I sound abrupt but I have little pity for those that take something as beautiful as what I have in my garage and "race" it against a "$hitbox" on something both life threatening and FD-threatening.

Oh well, the more kids my age wreck theirs the more "Valuable" mine becomes. Which is what your subject states...wrecking your FD and treating it like that is making mine more valuable.

 

Hmmm...I'd love for you to find the post where I was trying to say that... I never claimed to be an expert. It's the exact opposite, I said I found it beneficial by WATCHING the experts do it right, internalizing it in my head, THEN trying it on the track.

You're in for a rude awakening in that dept...cuz guess what? I'm a med student, and I'll tell you we read, observe, then try, just like that, ON LIVE PATIENTS. Why? Because when you're still unfamiliar w/ the experience (be it surgery or learning the track for the first time), there are 1001 things you have on your mind and that you gotta learn. That is DEFINITELY NOT the time or place to be learning new techniques. You're trying to get comfortable and situated w/ your new experience. So the best way to integrate the two is to have read about, watched, and learned the new techniques in THEORY, then apply them AS YOU GO ALONG in the real world (be it track or in the operating room). Only after you've become very VERY familiar w/ what you're doing do you learn new techniques on the fly (again, here, after you're an avid tracker, and know your car and the track well, and are now using the entire track to practice a single technique, or after you've performed dozens of surgeries and you're pretty confident in the process, and this time you're gonna use a new procedure).

 

Good to hear you are ok
Have you checked your shock are working wright
I had some bad Bilsteins (LF and RR were gone) and it was difficult to understand why the car handled badly in some occasions

 

im not gonna quote anyone because im not a dick.

i really dont think that story about youngsters dieing in a fd has much to do with this post. i mean sure he is a young shitty driver. but these cars are cheap as hell, your not gonna scare teens into not buying them.

also stating his age and thats it has nothing to do with it. you said his age is this, thats all that matters. how old are you? i am a year younger than this guy and i know my fd is one of the cleaner on these forums.

i agree with everyone when they say he is at fault. but lets not put the fault on him being 21. i am sure there a plenty of people who are 21 and have not crashed their fds. i myself can not say that but i have never totalled mine and know its still in perfect shape. new paint, new motor, single turbo, etc

 

Ok I guess I'll never see the end of this thread so let me make a few things clear...I didn't crash my car drifting around a turn at blinding speeds.
-I hit the rocks on the side of the road while trying to avoid a deer. I had been going about 60, got the car down to about 40 then had to avoid it. And for those of you say, you should have just hit it. It was just reaction, nor did I think I would lose the car at that speed, hence the reason I felt something was wrong.

I don't watch initial D or play NFSU or whatever. Nor have I ever gone "drifting" just to do it.

I'm not some newbie kid driving, Im not saying Im an expert but Im definately not fresh from the pot.

As for racing a shitbox, who cares what I was racing? the fact is the racing didn't cause the accident, I told you about it so you could get an idea of how the car was handling. I wasn't reaching speeds of 100 mph thats just a moronic statement.

Will it be able to be repaired? Im not sure yet, my insurance is dragging their feet. I dearly hope so.

So for those saying oh man another kid crashes his car racing, I say to you, I hope you never break the speed limit, find yourself next to another tuner car, or spin the wheels cuz that would be quite hypocritical of you wouldnt it?

 

Racing is always the cause of the accident.

On public roads, there WILL be things to avoid, sooner or later, and speed limits are there to ensure drivers have enough time to avoid them or stop. When you're racing, you are way far beyond that capacity, and capabilities of the car and driver become irrelevant. Whether you're racing at '8/10s' or '10/10s' is also irrelevant. In fact, if you take a good look at the racers who get seat time on a regular basis, you'll find they don't push it on public roads. Kinda like sex - those who are getting the real thing don't need to talk about tail 24/7.
60-40mph isn't impressive, if that rock was taller you might be dead. For comparison, if you were going 45 you might have come to a complete stop.

You're just very lucky you didn't come up on a logging truck or SUV in your lane. Then you wouldn't be fit to type.

Do I speed? Yes, I do, in moderation. But only in situations where I know I have better visibility than the speed limit assumes. You might find me doing 80 on a 65mph highway. But you won't find me speeding in neighborhoods, or on canyon roads with blind turns. Do I race on public roads? No, I don't. My hormones get released without it.

We could go on like this, but the point is that racing or aggressive driving is always a risk, and puts you the driver a fault if something happens. When that something does happen, the consequences are very severe. No whining. I'm just happy for the good of society you hit an inanimate object.

Dave

 

People give me **** because I'm not "whipping it like I should" driving to and fro. Got one ticket when I was 17, learned my lesson, haven't had a ticket since. For some miraculous reason my insurance premium is low and I can afford an FD. These same people have multiple wrecks and are stuck driving cavaliers paying more for their insurance than I do for my FD. Coincidence?
And I love Initial D, but that doesn't mean I imitate what I see when I get in my car. Maybe if more of these guys paid for their cars themselves they'd appreciate them more.

 

i think someone has been watching too much Initial D..... i too remember when you bought the car and started posting on the forum... tisk tisk....

 

where in NYC are you located?

 

Just curious..

What tires are on the car??

Make brand and size please.

I guessing they are some dry rotted cheappies. Let me take a guess
some Pep boy specials, advanced auto buy 2 get one free's, Vistas, Falkons.

I am not here to flame you. But a lowered civic being able to out handle you
on 40mph-60mph turns??? on probably 195/75/15 tires?? Is totally embarassing.

just a FYI for the future. When you have a faster better handling car with better brakes
and etc.. and you racing a lesser car on the twisties.. Use your car capabliities to
beat/spank the lesser car by: Braking harder, hit the TURN and use your POWER
coming out the TURN. NO sense is risking anything in a turn against a lesser car.

 

FYI, Falkens are pretty damn good tires. Don't let the price fool you. The FK-451s are excellent Z-rated tires, and the Azenis is a fav. for many avid auto-xers. I have Fk-451s all around, and given the grip and tread life I get, plus the incredible price, I simply wouldn't go any other way.

 

Damn dude I'm so sorry for your loss... Hopefully it's salvage-able right? ... **** that sucks dude... Hope everything works out for you.

 

Sounds like you were braking in at least a few turns.

Bottom line is, the accident wouldn't have happened if you were driving the speed limit/not racing, the accident would not have happened. Do I think driver skill played a role in the accident? Yes. I think the biggest contribution was inexperience. I am not much older than you, but I autocross regulalry, and know how to drive my car, as well as others, but I know that if I were in your exact situation, I could have also wrecked (probably would have just hit the deer). The reason that I don't worry about this happening, is that I won't do that on public roads. Do I drive aggresively from time to time? Yes, but only when the risk is very very small.

I'm glad to hear that you are not hurt. Please, learn from this experience. If you get another sports car, auto-x it, take it to track days, whatever. Just get your kicks somewhere safe, so that you won't want to drive like that on public roads.

 

if this was mentioned sorry, unless u can find a fault in the car that caused the accident, such as worn tires, dead brakes,alignment. You are at fault and ur insurance will go up. A friend wrecked a escort from hydroplaining the rain and was not at fault because the tires were worn and couldnt get any grip. Good luck, depending on what u broke. It does look repairable. Just looked like u need stuff for the front end. Or is all the stuff messed up?

 

I find this hard to believe. I mean who put those worn out tires on the car? Who drove it fast enough to hydroplane? That's F'd up.

Dave

 

Anyone who wrecks their car with no other moving objects involved is going to be at fault 99% of the time. That includes weather. If you are driving on shitty tires and wreck, it is your fault......... period!!

 

[QUOTE=ghettostamps]
This is the technique most amature and everyday drivers use when corning. If you want control when going into a corner you break before tha apex and throtle coming out of it. Just make sure to not lock the breaks. How hard you beak depends on the turn and your speed. The reason being is you want to have control of your car. By breaking while coming into the turn the front of the car get the weight transfer and the front tires get more grip. Comming out of the turn the rear gets the weight transfer and the rear tires get more grip. Becareful to not hit the throtle before the apex or you will fish tale the car. You can pratice this on a racetrac and if you auto x. One other thing, read up on proformance driving techniques before you start pushing any vehicle to any degree of high proformance driving.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Just my 2cents