How do you judge your driving ability? - Page 4 - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

icemang17 · 07-03-2013, 11:45 PM

Great thread.....of course everyone "thinks" they are better than they actually are....but there are FAR more variables into being a top flight F1 pro than just driving...selling yourself and maintaining personal sponsors ($$$$$$) is the biggest....a close 2nd is being able to describe to the engineers accurately what the car is doing to establish the fastest car possible....a distant 3rd is driving.....trust me everyone that is a "pro" (think earns a living for a significant period of time) can drive....

The single biggest difference between a "pro" level driver and a novice, even a seasoned one is the ability to drive to the absolute limit of a car, ANY car very quickly...think a handful of laps (for cars that are not being adjusted-tweaked to increase speed...just get in and go fast type scenarios).... Pro drivers also adapt extremely quickly to new tracks.... Pro drivers often use advanced techinques that most drivers don't like left foot braking etc, and are masters at heal-toe...

Then you get into breaking down "speed" of drivers.....you might have one guy who is a time trial master and can throw down impressive laps times, but his race craft SUCKS and he doesn't win.....another guy is the opposite....he might qualify 4-5 but once the race starts he just finds another level and wins....

Then you get into what type of driver a person is by how they treat the car....two drivers might be very even in terms of speed (race or qual) but one guy is a HAMMER who is hard on equipment, the other is much smoother and easier on equipment...in a sprint race it probably doesn't matter, but in an endurance race??

Based off your scale in am a 4-4.5 at best....I plan on improving my racecraft by getting into a "spec" race series that is well attended....

robispec · 07-04-2013, 12:54 AM

Yeah about the "PRO" part.
I was at WSIR back in the day on a friday test day before the long beach GP (f1)
I was young and their was this nice man named Nigel, who had this great looking open wheel car. He went out for two laps came back in the mechanices talked to him anf made some adjustments he went back out and on the second lap set a new course record...WHen my dad asked him how he went so fast so soon on a new track he responded with well turn1 is like turn six at silverstone...etc. the variations on a corner "map" a pro has in his head is never to be discounted..!

Draco-REX · 07-04-2013, 04:54 PM

4.5 I guess.. Depends on the surface.

AutoX, I'm often in the upper-middle. But put me on a low traction surface, i.e. RallyX, and I'm competitive at the national level. I've raced against past National champions and gone run-for-run with them at RallyX events. I've just never been able to travel to the championships out west.

However, at AutoX events, while I place reasonably well, I'm consistently outpaced by a guy who co-drives my car so it's not an issue of car prep. I have no illusions about my competitiveness (or lack thereof) on a track.

So it really depends on the driving discipline being asked of me. Apparently my driving style and how I relate to my car favors an environment where I can steer the car from both ends.

carbonBLUE · 07-04-2013, 06:24 PM

i would say 3.5 - 4 i have experience from my previous car but its FWD and those driving styles dont carry over to my FRS

or a better judgement
5.5 in my celica GTS
3.3 in my FRS ive only gone drifting at a track and lots of hooning on the street but no real circuit time though

Anthony · 07-08-2013, 09:32 AM

3

There are some who say The Stig is a 12 and that he can breathe underwater.

CSG Mike · 07-08-2013, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony

3

There are some who say The Stig is a 12 and that he can breathe underwater.

Some say, he's rated a "T" on the scale of 1-10, and that it has gills that process the air around it. All we know is...

Hanakuso · 07-09-2013, 12:55 PM

Since I rarely drive to work, i'm around 0.05 or so.

Anthony · 07-09-2013, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanakuso

Since I rarely drive to work, i'm around 0.05 or so.

Haha I think that would put you in what most consider, "the danger zone."

Hanakuso · 07-09-2013, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony

Haha I think that would put you in what most consider, "the danger zone."

Oh well.

#YOLO

07-04-2013, 06:24 PM	#46
carbonBLUE Reverse Burnouts Join Date: Oct 2011 Drives: 2013 Argento FRS Location: dallas!!! Posts: 2,894 Thanks: 707 Thanked 1,257 Times in 592 Posts Mentioned: 30 Post(s)	i would say 3.5 - 4 i have experience from my previous car but its FWD and those driving styles dont carry over to my FRS or a better judgement 5.5 in my celica GTS 3.3 in my FRS ive only gone drifting at a track and lots of hooning on the street but no real circuit time though __________________ 2000 Carbon Blue Toyota Celica GTS 152000 miles (wont forget you) 2013 Argento Scion FR-S 2011 Infiniti G37x

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07-03-2013, 11:45 PM	#43
icemang17 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Drives: Scion FR-S/ Subaru BRZ Location: Stockton CA Posts: 182 Thanks: 2 Thanked 107 Times in 55 Posts Mentioned: 13 Post(s)	Great thread.....of course everyone "thinks" they are better than they actually are....but there are FAR more variables into being a top flight F1 pro than just driving...selling yourself and maintaining personal sponsors ($$$$$$) is the biggest....a close 2nd is being able to describe to the engineers accurately what the car is doing to establish the fastest car possible....a distant 3rd is driving.....trust me everyone that is a "pro" (think earns a living for a significant period of time) can drive.... The single biggest difference between a "pro" level driver and a novice, even a seasoned one is the ability to drive to the absolute limit of a car, ANY car very quickly...think a handful of laps (for cars that are not being adjusted-tweaked to increase speed...just get in and go fast type scenarios).... Pro drivers also adapt extremely quickly to new tracks.... Pro drivers often use advanced techinques that most drivers don't like left foot braking etc, and are masters at heal-toe... Then you get into breaking down "speed" of drivers.....you might have one guy who is a time trial master and can throw down impressive laps times, but his race craft SUCKS and he doesn't win.....another guy is the opposite....he might qualify 4-5 but once the race starts he just finds another level and wins.... Then you get into what type of driver a person is by how they treat the car....two drivers might be very even in terms of speed (race or qual) but one guy is a HAMMER who is hard on equipment, the other is much smoother and easier on equipment...in a sprint race it probably doesn't matter, but in an endurance race?? Based off your scale in am a 4-4.5 at best....I plan on improving my racecraft by getting into a "spec" race series that is well attended....

07-04-2013, 12:54 AM	#44
robispec Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Drives: Black frs project Location: Socal Posts: 960 Thanks: 189 Thanked 886 Times in 381 Posts Mentioned: 190 Post(s)	Yeah about the "PRO" part. I was at WSIR back in the day on a friday test day before the long beach GP (f1) I was young and their was this nice man named Nigel, who had this great looking open wheel car. He went out for two laps came back in the mechanices talked to him anf made some adjustments he went back out and on the second lap set a new course record...WHen my dad asked him how he went so fast so soon on a new track he responded with well turn1 is like turn six at silverstone...etc. the variations on a corner "map" a pro has in his head is never to be discounted..!

07-04-2013, 04:54 PM	#45
Draco-REX Corner Junkie Join Date: Feb 2012 Drives: 13 BRZ, 11 STI, 99 RS Location: Ohio Posts: 2,908 Thanks: 129 Thanked 1,521 Times in 702 Posts Mentioned: 11 Post(s)	4.5 I guess.. Depends on the surface. AutoX, I'm often in the upper-middle. But put me on a low traction surface, i.e. RallyX, and I'm competitive at the national level. I've raced against past National champions and gone run-for-run with them at RallyX events. I've just never been able to travel to the championships out west. However, at AutoX events, while I place reasonably well, I'm consistently outpaced by a guy who co-drives my car so it's not an issue of car prep. I have no illusions about my competitiveness (or lack thereof) on a track. So it really depends on the driving discipline being asked of me. Apparently my driving style and how I relate to my car favors an environment where I can steer the car from both ends.

07-08-2013, 09:32 AM	#47
Anthony Weight Nazi Join Date: Aug 2012 Drives: 13 FRS -399lb, 11 335is, 05 Tiburon Location: Biloxi, MS / Gulf Coast 86 Posts: 3,702 Thanks: 5,009 Thanked 3,714 Times in 1,765 Posts Mentioned: 150 Post(s)	3 There are some who say The Stig is a 12 and that he can breathe underwater.

07-09-2013, 12:55 PM	#49
Hanakuso Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Drives: FR-S Location: California Posts: 1,956 Thanks: 294 Thanked 673 Times in 390 Posts Mentioned: 11 Post(s)	Since I rarely drive to work, i'm around 0.05 or so.

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