Quote:
Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox
Are you serious? I guess I find that line of logic interesting considering I've never been on a race track in a vehicle that had TC/ABS/VSC/etc. (Motorcycles and Miata's on RComps, some with aero and such)
And the sport bikes were the first thing I ever did a track day on. No aids, no instructors, nothing. Best you got was an experienced friend doing lead/follow at 6/10ths to figure out the line.
I understand a true novice driver may not have the skills to catch/recover from a slide, but that's the instructors job to keep the pace within the students skill set.
I was with WRL for their Momentum School last month. A guy in a new Cayman and newer Miata, wheeling the cars around pretty decently........except they had all the aids on, even after it dried it out.
You aren't learning anything about finding grip, smooth inputs, etc, with all the nannies on.
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Sometimes it's a legal aspect as well as safety. If something goes horribly wrong you never want to hear, 'My instructor told me to turn the safety aids off.' Most clubs will let the aids be turned off at the student's request if the instructor feels comfortable and confident in the student's level/ability/competence/etc. AND there is a discussion about it before hand. Generally, in lower run groups, it's really not necessary to turn the systems off in most cars as the system limits are much higher than the student aptitude.
Also, you actually can use them as tools to help the student learn. It's additional feedback that their inputs aren't smooth, they're not being consistent, they're overdriving the car or worse the car is driving for them. While working with a student you can make progress on consistency with tasks like, 'I want to see how many laps you can hit all your marks at speed without engaging the system.' Off is not always better it's just another tool.