corvettedreamin

. . . should be DRIVING LESSONS!

This is often overlooked. Everyone wants to take their 400+ HP car out and mod the cr@p out of it so they can have 420+ HP. It the mean time, their skills are still on par with a 150 HP car (or less.)

This is yet another reason why I opted for the 305 HP V6. I had 400 ponies in my CTS-V and always felt like it was perfectly capable of running away from me. I couldn't rein it in. I lack the skills.

I'm not talking about the DMV mandated driver improvement. But serious high-speed track-based driver training.

Just my opinion. There are already too many high performance cars carrying around low performance drivers.

As you were.

RedCandy5.0

Great post and you are 100% correct.

fdjizm

I agree, that's when this happens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GfS3M3UZr0

IT_Guru

Yep, I hope to be able to get up to Gingerman Raceway in South Haven Mi for a road track course. $225 sounds worth it to me.

m4reapr

i'll make sure not to go to this driving school

t-ray

I think perhaps the best overall option is to do a bit of autox'ing. Overall, not as much risk as a proper roadcourse(even with instruction), and yet one can explore the limits of braking and traction easily enough.

assasinator

if you dont already have a 400+ hp car, and know how to drive it, you are right. for those of us who have been driving 400+hp stangs for years. im good. this car is about 130rwhp less than my daily driver. i do recommend learning how to feather a clutch at 4000 off the line and powershifting. 400hp is really not very much power.

Automagically

This is true! I hope to take a track day at the Fort Worth Motorspeedway for a "drive your own car" run and classes. Thus I also feel the Brembo brakes are a great way to reel in that 412 Hp beer can.

Our 335i has (roughly) 300hp and it's plenty fast for daily driving, more so actually. It's too easy to go fast in a small car with that much umph, thank god for the sports package handling and super sticky brakes!

MTAS

I couldn't agree more. This car comes out of the box with a HP figure that some of the 05-10 S197 people aspire to reach, through many mods (Forced Induction doesn't count). If people aren't patient when it comes to learning the quirks of the thing, they'll be sorry.

Tony Alonso

Ditto!

It also costs less. The general driving techniques apply to a higher-speed venue, plus, you can practice a lot more by attending several events for the cost of a single higher speed performance driving class.

Taking a one-time class is good for the introduction, but low-speed practice is important for it to become second nature.

I am not speaking of straight-line acceleration driving here, of course.

Lancel

True. I'm probably going to be taking it easy on this car. I mean after six years I feel like the 190 HP Mustang I've been driving is actually holding me back, but there's not much to go wrong with that car either, unlike my future car. Right now mostly all I can do is mentally prepare. Though I have been asking people plenty about their experiences with manuals and 400 horsepower.

corvettedreamin

Leave the electronic nannies on unless you're on a track or in a wide open space. The few times I turned them off in the CTS-V I knew things were going to be a handful. With them on, I just drove it like any other car. Especially on wet pavement!

assasinator

heres a good example of what a 435hp stang will do with and inexperienced driver.

we have a 2009 roush 427r in the club. the driver enjoys it, and decided to run it at the track. they drive it around for a while before racing it and felt like they knew that car good. well on night on test and tune she decided to run it hard. when she hit second gear the car turned HARD left and slid toward the wall. it didnt hit, but missed by very little. it was sudden and without warning. 350 hp can get a person in trouble, 400+ will wreck you quickly.

many of you will loop it with traction control off.

IT_Guru

On wet pavement the GT is good with all the electronic aides on. On dry pavement sportmode lets you break loose just enough to have fun, But still better to play on a deserted road or even better the track.

Norberd

My first mod will be tinted windows.

Riding bikes has taught me a few things about keeping yourself in check, and respecting the power that you have on tap. Slip up on a bike or go beyond your limits and you'll turn in to a road crayon pretty quick. Albeit a bike is not the same as a car - I still know how to repsect the power.

The most dangerous Mod on anything is the Nut connecting the gas pedal to the drivers seat.

todd03blown

LMFAO, that is just classic!!! Just think how stupid he or she felt coming back to the pits....hahahahahaha

todd03blown

Exhaust system and tune for me...Then maybe some new wheels or get the factory ones widened.