Advice
 

Hi FT86

Little about my self i am an security and alarm engineer and techinal things as such has always caught my attention i WAS NOT always a car lover, now the girlfriend says i never shut up.

When i was 17 i was in a car accident 3 people were in the car driver, back passenger and front passenger (ME) other 2 guys were ok i was on hospital for seven months major sugary i won't go into the details as such. I started to look into things such as why did my airbag not go of, why my seat belt snapped, why when the driver applied opposite lock did we not straiten up i knew NOTHING about cars.

All this free time and reading got me interested into car's then i started to go to car meets, events EXT. Now i love them such a passion of mine and a huge part of my life ( funny isn't it ). So onto my question.

I have a GT86 coming on the 23 of May and it is my first RWD car i just want some tips so i don't kill myself basically. Please don't start buy saying if your not confident in yourself then you shouldn't of get this car, i am a strong believer that i could get hit by a bus when i walk out of my house so i will do the things in life that make me and the people a care about happy.

Any advice would be helpful.
Thank You.

Keep traction control on

/thread

Leave all the traction control stuff on while you get a feel for the car. Start slow, take your time, and learn how it moves.

Go to an empty parking lot after a heavy rain and slide the car around a little bit. Start with the TC/VSC on, the with the TC/VSC in sport, then turn it off completely (pedal dance). Get a feel for how the system reacts at different levels. Try to sustain the slide instead of just spinning out. Make sure the parking lot has no curbs or pot holes.

Sign up for a track day with intructors. If you can handle the car at the limit of its abilities, then handling the car for daily driving shouldn't be a problem.

For normal driving, drive like normal and you won't kill yourself. This is a very stable car from the get-go and while it's easy to get the rear end out, it's also very easy to recover.

If you're a little nervous, just leave the nannies on.

If you want to find out how not to kill yourself and drive the car at the limit, I suggest you begin attending local HPDE's in your area and have an instructor with you (usually they'll have them for you there) to teach you.

Go to your local track and learn how the car reacts in different situations.

I learned shit ton at my first track day. Best 80 bucks spent ever.

Good advice. I have surprised all my passengers with how good the VSC sport mode is, even in the wet. I had my Dad starting to go "ahhhHHH!" then it kicked in a brought the car straight. He shook his head, "Technology these days!"

With all the nannies on this car is fool proof, granted you don't intentionally do something stupid like gun it around a corner in first gear in the wet.

These videos show a decent demonstration.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj7WIlliwgQ"]Subaru BRZ drift secrets, stability control, VSC and TRC settings - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8qggahGNH0"]Toyota 86 Traction Control Demonstration [SKIDPAD] - YouTube[/ame]

- go to a performance driving course with your car to learn it.
- be careful in the rain, don't make poor decisions.
- obey road signs as best as possible.
- don't endanger others
- keep traction control on until you're comfortable with the car
- don't use the pedal dance (black ice flaw)

I will tell you what will get you first in this car - the blind spot over your right shoulder (being in the UK) - Make sure you get a good long peek before doing any lane shifting. Be super careful in the roundabouts bro.

Otherwise - drive safe and have fun!

One thing I've learned from motorcycles, try to never go the same speed as everyone else on the road. Keeps you out of others' blind spots and keeps them out of yours :iono: I get really uncomfortable when people do the same speed around me. I start to lose track of where all the cars are around me.

I do miss my old car though. Huge windows, virtually no blind spots.

J turns. go.

If you drive like a reasonable responsible citizen you will not notice the difference between RWD and FWD.

The difference comes when you willingly exceed the traction limits of the tires, this should not happen in daily driving conditions.

Go to a local AutoX or Track Day, you'll learn more there in a day than what you can learn from any reading material or video, not to say you shouldn't read up but that hands on experience will easily dwarf academic knowledge with a days worth of seat time and a decent instructor.

Thank you all for the advise.
I have been driving for 3 years and roughly about 90000 miles worth of experience tho that was 25k in a van and 65k in a Vauxhall Vectra, it really is just the RWD aspect that has me worried a little.
Great to see other people sharing the experience with other's less experienced.
Looks like Closed car parks and Driving course's for me!
Thank you again.

Slow down in the rain and get snow tires if you want to drive in the snow. You'll be fine!

I had an accident a year ago (in a couple of days,actually..), but when I test drove this car, I actually felt very, very comfortable in it. Much to my surprise.

This car is VERY predictable. (at least imo) If you're nervous, just take it easy, or put grippier tires on it. Tires can make a whole world of difference.
I definitely agree with maybe some track day practice.

Scion is great for safety. About a year ago got it by some idiot while I was going 40 through an intersection with a green light and this idiot decides it was the perfect time to turn left in my front driver side. Only had bruises due to all the airbags. This was in a 09 tc and wife said you can get whatever you want as long as it was a scion so frs it was :)

And remember, if it's really bad weather, driving in reverse is the same as having front wheel drive.

Never turn traction control off in the rain, or in general for that matter unless you're looking to slide in some open secure environment. I always laugh at idiots who drive around town with traction control off. Next thing they know they're in a guard rail because they had to be cool at the red light intersection or sharp onramp.

Good judgement and safe driving pratices should always go above relying on a car's aid. Having TC off has a ton of advantages if used properly in poor weather conditions. Just because it is off doesn't mean the tires will spin, throttle control goes a long way.

TC isn't going to stop some dumbass flying off a on/off ramp if their speed is simply to great for them to control.

Aside from maybe getting out of parked snow, name one.

I haven't read all the responses, so maybe someone already said this.. I think you made a great choice choosing the 86, it's pretty much the car that'll make you feel most confident on the road. I had never driven anything that provided this level of feedback before... Now I don't know how I could drive anything that doesn't provide that. the car communicates everything it does very clearly to you, and controlling it in all situations is very instinctive.

As others said, keep nannies on, and take tracking classes. It'll make you enjoy the car more AND make you a safer driver.

I just scrolled to the bottom of thread every time i saw someone mention about traction control and trying to slide the car.

NO, just drive the car normally dont mess with any traction stuff in the car until you have a really good feel (months of time) of the car and with enough driving experience.

You have to learn how to drive the car through everyday traffic and everyday situations (parking, slow drivers, people cutting you off, random people not looking for traffic when crossing the street.. etc)

Once you have learned and feel confident enough THEN go to a parking lot with no cars or parking curbs and test out the car.

Edit: assuming you are really new to driving.. if not then tips to not kill yourself is taking off traction control while driving on public roads

Weird theory. Just when you think you understand how the car handles, go nuts in a parking lot and erase everything you thought you knew.

It's like teaching someone to swim.. and putting them in 10ft water with swimmies and going.. "Learn to float first."

The best way is to get them on their tippy toes in shallow water, and let them learn the technique. Then they'll really know their limits. They'll never go in the deep end when they know their limits. Just like they won't spin out their car accidentally because they actually tested how it handles.

But that's just my opinion :bonk:

Keeping momentum up a steep incline.

Lol not really, but I guess. I was just saying like he could explore a bit with the car to learn the sliding experience. Of course its in a open area safe from no one, I didnt tell him to learn the car and then risk his life and try it in public roads. To your swimming example learning to float and then jumping into 10 ft of water risks your life because learning to float vs actual swimming a huge difference compared to sliding in public roads than a open safe parking lot lol. But thats just my opinion. :bonk: