Just venting some thoughts about how my experience with my FD (few months of ownership) has taught me to gain as much experience and driving skills of a high powered rear wheel driven car like the FD before I push the car in any way.

My previous car was a 1999 Prelude base and having been to the mountain roads quite often in that car I thought I was OKAY at it, even thought I went a little crazy sometimes, but still managed to control that FWD car. If I did anything close in the FD like I did in the Prelude I'd been dead long ago.

Things that I have finally started to get into my head is that the Rex is a RWD car which means I cannot be putting too much throttle into corners. I have had the car snapped out more than I would like because I thought I could control it. I have finally learned to convince myself that I cannot be doing foolish things like that until I have gained more skills and that means going to a driving school, otherwise I wouldn't know what I'd do if I hit somebody or worse. This has probably been the most important learning experience for me moving up from a FWD car. Having the urge not to go crazy with this car is hard because it's much fun either on the straights or turns, but like I mentioned before safety comes first and I cannot imagine how devastated I would be if someone were to get injured. Spinng out is one of the most scary moments of my life in this car and the only thing that goes through my mind when that happens is praying not to damage another vehicle or person.

Another thing is that my FD attracts much more attention than the Prelude ever did. Most sports car lovers will give you a quick look or a stare or sometimes even a compliment when they see your car. Returning with a simple smile or "Thanks" is all that it takes. Many people don't know how much it takes to own an RX-7, to maintain one, to take care of one, to cherish one or to respect one. There no point in going around and thinking that your car is the best car ever made or give others mean looks when they pass by you, it's just not a very good thing to do.

I wanted to say what's on my mind because I spun out today for the 2nd time and that's more than enough for me. I wanted to take a right hand turn a little hard to see how well my car can handle. My location is a 4 lane road towards the side of a mall, not a lot of cars go through here. I overestimated my judgement and lost control, spun out once I think because it all happened so fast and ended up onto a buncha plants and grass. No major damage outside, no leaks, no funny noises, the car runs fine as before, except that I may have a alignment problem with front passenger side wheel. Nobody was close enough to get caught up in my lil spin. I was so pissed at myself for getting out of control. I was running late for work so the whole time at work I just keept thinking about all these things about my car and what happened and that I have finally learned from my mistakes NOT to do stupid **** like that. And also so thankful that I didn't hit nobody or total my car.

I hope that some of you guys can relate to me and understand what I'm trying to say here. Just gotta say it once more to becareful in your car when you're out there. Public streets aren't race tracks.

Thanks for your time.

-Dan

 

I totally understand what you mean. Driving well takes a lot of experience and practice.

I drifted my car on 84 by skyline during the wkend with a girl on board. I came close to hitting traffic head on. It was stupid of me to drive faster than normal when I haven't cruised there for months.

As a rule, I don't drive fast especially when I haven't driven the same roads for a while or if the weather isn't good (foggy, wet).

B safe!

 

You are taking your foot off the gas at the apex of the turn causing weight transfer towards to the front and off the back wheels.

Turbos kicking in don't help either.

Just a guess.

 

what the hell do you have done to your car?
get some new tires man I don't think you should be having such a hard time with the car this isn't a viper with 500lbs of tq to be having oversteer like that.

I think you need to get used to your car a little more. I push mine just enough around turns and I can hear the tires squeeling just about to break loose but I know just how much throttle I can give it before I spin out. BTW you shouldn't accelerate hard while you are going around a sharp turn that will do it ever time duh! If you go to driving school they will teach you about the racing line and how you have to be totally set up going into a turn before you hit it and that you are supposed to be able to accelerate during the turn if you know how to do it.

Otherwise nice post and I like your comments. RX-7s rule. Don't worry I get the same feeling as you. I feel like going crazy in my car and racing it around a track every day almost but I control myself although I'm in a ******* race car.

SNook

 

djantlive - Yeah, come December/January when the water starts to pour I'd (and everyone else) have to be especially careful out there on the pavement.

Brentis - I think that is my problem, I don't really take my foot off the gas (how easy is that when you're in the mood) and going into the corners resulted in me oversteering like that.

Snook - I have pretty new S0-3s on stock rims, I oversteered because I didn't slow down. I have now learned from that mistake and will be more careful the next time I decide to take corners hard.

-Dan

 

Time to go to the Woolco parking lot on a wet Sunday to do donuts. All it takes is practice.

 

i would imagine going too fast would cause understeer just like in any car....i'm thinking maybe somehow the rear end got loose during the turn

perhaps weight shifting from one side of the car to the other from jerking the wheel?

 

I think it was partly because I had my foot on the throttle thru the apex of the turn which caused the the first turbo to kick in while travelling thru the turn, then the rear kicked out fast.........

-Dan

 

if you spun your rear tires, then i can see how you spun out there

 

I highly suggest the Buttonwillow Performance Driving Clinic (www.buttonwillowraceway for more details) if you want to improve your driving skills for a decent cost. Its only $165 and you get a full day of instruction on the racetrack. The time I went they even brought out a water truck to wet down the skidpad for that added bit of oversteering fun . My experience was yes, under steady state cornering the car does understeer a bit at the limit, but this can quickly turn into snap-oversteer if you're not careful. Power oversteer is available although that is much easier to approach. I love the way the RX-7 feels on the mountain roads, wonderful balance, but the back end can get a little frisky if you're not careful. Slow in, fast out, stay safe out there .

 

You are supposed to have your foot on the gas through the turn. Light throttle through the apex (not accelerating -- just enough to maintain speed) and then you roll on the throttle as you "track out" and straighten the wheel. Driving fast is driving smooth. Don't jerk the wheel or mash the gas. If you let off the gas in the middle of the turn, you will spin out as the rear tires are unloaded by the weight shifting forward. If you mash the throttle in the turn you will spin out and get some wheel spin.

Track events are great for learning car control. You can push it to the limit because there are many fewer things to go wrong (no one is going to pull out in front of you, or jump out in front of your car, hopefully ). That allows you to concentrate on what you are doing and apply the techniques you learn about in the classroom.

But you still have to be careful. I've spun out several times on the track, one time at 90 MPH (mid-turn oil slick). People die at the track, and I have seen a lot of people total their cars (average is probably 1 totalled car per track event). You have to be careful on the track, too. But it is a much better environment to learn. All the other people at the track know what is going on there and made the choice to accept the danger.

-Max

 

Yeah, what max said :-)

http://www.myrx7.com/movies/

 

Thanks for the advice guys. After I get my car re-aligned I'll go make some time for the track school and get my learn on.

I can't stress enough about how scary it is to endanger the lives of people when getting out of control on public roads. Therefore I must and will attend one of those schools to improve my driving abilities. My first spun out experience was on a mountain road, a road pitch black and my first time actually driving on it. One of those roads where there's no guard rails, frequent hairpins and high above. I don't think I want to go back there until I can get over this fear of spinning out.

In my previous FWD Lude, I could mash on the throttle all I want thru the turn and still be able to make it fine. I have found that the FDs stock turbo system reacts very quickly and will overtake you if you aren't careful. This is something that will take some time and skills. Sure going straight is fun and easy, but there's just more action going on the runs....

-Dan

 

Maxcooper is right on the money. Don't focus on trying to be fast, focus on being smooth.

The FD is an extremely responsive vehicle when it comes to steering and throttle input. Driving at speed in the FD or any high performance car is like walking a tightrope...very unforgiving if you make a mistake.

Car control and self control go hand in hand

 

Yes, responsive was the word that I forgot to mention.

-Dan

 

I spun out ours going threw a slalom at an autox. it was the most scary and at the same time fun thing ide ever done. And all my dad did was laugh at me. But this is only because I was in a controlled environment.

 

It takes a fright to teach you to respect the roads. 2 should be more than enough! I spun my bone stock FD when doing a hard 3-4 shift (about 100MPH there). Obviously a stock FD can't fishtail 4th so I must have picked something up on the tires I didn't see. The car fishtailed instantly and even though I lifted off the throttle gently I couldnt stop it from swinging from side to side. After about 4 or 5 armloads of opposite lock I finally stopped the car perpendicular to the highway. OK so it wasn't a 'spin' per se but I learnt my lesson that day!

Moral of your story - Learn to control a slide. Only try stunts when there is nobody else around and you can only hurt yourself. Certainly NOT in an urban area.

-pete

 

You'll begin feel exactly 'how' your car will accelerate with more time behind the wheel (obviously). That knowledge saved my FD from hitting a telephone pole when I told my friend (that I let drive) to go ahead and punch after the coming right turn it if he wanted to..."AFTER THE WHEEL IS PERFECTLY STRAIGHT!" I screamed like a little girl at the exact moment the car hinted oversteer.

 

Interesting story.... Seriously is a good thing that you didn't hurt yourself and/or others...

I just saw a posting the last time i was on.. that an 18 year old kid lost his life while driving his FD... so it's a good thing you didn't meet that fate...

I drift on my way back from work... b4 i have to store my FD but we are talking about 4:30am on streets that even on rush hour no one uses ... but i NEVER EVER do it if i have someone with me in the car... UNLESS they Request

well that's all i had to say...

SAM_

 

I don't mean to sound like a party pooper, but I am a little older with a wife and kids. I don't think the public streets are the best place to push our amazing wonderful FDs to their handling limits. Please take it to the track. There is nothing wrong with spirited driving on some nice winding roads, but you can do it and stay well within safety limits of the car. A driving school would be a great idea. I think everyone should go to a performance driving school even if you don't race. It's a lot of fun and you learn a lot.

OK.... sorry! Carry on.

 

Dan,

You will get the hang of it, just drive the car for a bit and get used to it. Its an amazing car that you need to respect.

 

ive done my share of getting side ways just from rolling stops in 2nd gear. lucky i was fortunate noone else was there. also i learned never to do 0-60 runs when theres sprinklers on the side of the street. those wet spots are killer when you shift. i think driving school is a great idea, i think i will have to join you when you attend. well keep ya head up and the boosts down bro. laaates

 

Dan,

I'm going to be pretty much dealing with what you are right now pretty soon. I have a FWD background and have autocrossed and went for test and tunes at a local track and have pretty much become rather comfortable with them. I have a 99 Prelude SH right now too...
But, my FD is on its way and I know its a whole different story with the RWD set up and the abundance of power it has. Should be interesting to see how it all turns out next spring once Gingerman opens up again... Anyway thanks for sharing your story...

 

I once heard a very good quote from a local track guru about taking your car out to the track. He said, "if you're can't roll your car into a big ball of sheetmetal and not think twice about it, then you don't belong on the track." Taking the meat of that statement, I think most of us who do track our cars are very realistic about the dangers of high-speed driving. The amount of money that it takes to upkeep these amazing vehicles sometimes hardly justifies the risk. But, I do know the excitement of pushing the car through a set of s-curves at WOT ... when you do it right, it's one of the best feelings in the world.

While I agree that a driving school would be very educational, some of us can't afford to drop a couple G's on instruction. Auto-x is a great way to learn in a fairly safe environment. I've only seen two "wrecks" in my auto-x career ... and both of them because the drivers were far too eager to try and power their way out of a spin. It's far easier to learn how to add speed while manuevering than it is to learn how to subtract it. If you're in need of an outlet to better your driving skills, IMO, it should start with auto-x.

 

Dan,

I agree stepping up to drive an FD from a FWD car is a huge difference! It can scare the crap out of you when the back end suddenly breaks loose. In my old Integra I used to floor it through tight turns and the sucker stuck pretty well, if I was going too fast, it would just understeer a little.

I don't know if you upgraded your suspension yet, but it makes a huge difference. With adjustable shocks you can soften the rear enough to make the tail stay in line more. Also, if you go non-seq, your power band will be much smoother and predictable, eliminating the surge of power when the secondaries kick in.