Advanced driving courses? I want to learn to drive my MPS the way it was meant to

[instink]

Hey guys, forgive me if this has been asked before. I did have a look around and didn't see anything so fingers crossed...

I just got a brand new MPS3. I'm in love. It's everything I always wanted in a car.

Having never owned a proper sports car before, I want to learn to drive it properly. Obviously I've been driving for years but I want to learn to drive it like it was meant to be driven - FAST and AGGRESSIVE. I want to get the most out of it while staying safe and not destroying my new baby at the same time.

I'm in south sydney. Willing to travel to the speedway or anywhere that runs proper advanced driving courses. I did a search but all I came up with was Defensive driving courses. Is this what I'm looking for? Doesn't sound like it... thanks!!

Justin

[lup15]

I would recommend you do some reading before going to an advanced driving course. You would benefit a lot more if you have this knowledge and then put into practise.

As you said you haven't owned a performance car before, driving FAST and AGRESSIVE is a recipe for disaster and by attending an advanced driving course will only inflate your perception of your ability.

I'm not here to discourage you, but just take it easy and learn the fundamentals of performance driving one step at a time.

Areas you should read up on is cornering (entry, mid corner and exit), braking (what effects the performance of braking such as brake fade, optimal brake pad temperatures, brake fluid boiling points), tyre performance, cornering performance and what effects it (camber, caster, toe), oversteer and understeer (and what causes it)

You should also get to know your car, optimal rev range to make use of its torque which will determine shifting points. Skills you can develop on your own are downshift rev matching, left foot braking (thought I'm still yet to figure this one out...) and heel & toe shifting

Driving fast in a straight line is easy, driving fast through corners is where the skill is at.

Any questions, ask. its the best way to learn. and as always, enjoy driving

[SarcasticOne]

you wont find anything like that... most places dont offer it, nor should they, it's not something that should be practised on the road
defensive driving will teach you how to control your car in certain situations, and how to be a better driver over all

if you want to learn how to drive your car quickly and aggressively, i suggest a track day, they're a great learning experience, and give you a safe environment to do it in

[lup15]

they do exist Advanced Driving Course

This is something I want to try and as you can see, it is mandatory to do the defensive training first. However this is still different to full tilt track driving

[instink]

Thanks guys. I'm not really interested in learnign how to race on a track, just get the most out of my MPS in daily road situations. lup15 thank you for your sueggestions, I will look into all of them, and will start with a defensive driving course.

Of course I, like everyone else, THINK I am a good driver (lettuce be real tea, a GREAT driver) but I am also aware there are always areas for improvement and someone who assumes they are good at something without professional instruction rarely is!

[lup15]

here's a useful post on our forum, good reading

Suspension theory basics

there's more to a car than how much power its making and its the handling which will make the car fun in corners

[Yeldarb]

No one will opening teach you to drive aggressively, not for driving on public roads at least. Even driving that way on a track, you will loose, unless your somewhat talented.

But perhaps we misunderstood you.

I did a defensive driving course on the weekend in Brisbane by company DSA (they're national).
Such an eye opening experience. The whole day was based on effective emergency braking and obstacle avoidance on wet tarmac.

We performed this at 60, 70 and 80km/h. You quickly realize how much room you don't have when braking at those speeds. But you find out how effective these cars can stop in these situations. It didn't matter how hard and quickly I got on the brakes, the cars ABS prevented lock up and the ESC enabled the car to turn with limited understeer to avoid the obstacle.

I'd suggest you get a grip on how to stop before you want to go faster. DSA also do Advanced Courses, but like Sam said, only after the Defensive one.

Good Luck!

[lup15]

Here's a mob in Syd (and bris too) that offer advanced driving course and sports driver training Defensive Driving - SAFE DRIVE TRAINING - Defensive and Advanced Driving Courses available across Asia-Pacific region

But once again, I'd get some driving time in your car first to get the feel of your car.

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Thanks Lup, of course I want to get the feel for the car first but I really think some professional instruction will shed some light on how to drive properly, rather than the normal 'assumed' knowledge that everyone has