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mid-engine driving experiences????

Joined
11 November 2002
Messages
1,658
Location
St. Louis
Can anyone shed some light on how to really maximize the driving experience and performance of the NSX in turns/corners/bends. What happens, how you overcome it, etc. I know that with rear and mid-engined vehicles you must gas out of a slide in a turn where front engined vehicles must brake out of a slide. So far, I have been too chicken to really test it out, and your natural instinct is to apply the brakes when you start to go. Sorry for the stupid question, but I haven't taken her to the track or really pushed her hard in turns.
 
There's not a whole lot of difference in driving technique for the NSX as a result of its mid-engine design. The principles of driving remain the same - maximum braking while you're in a straight line, trailing off the brakes ("trail braking") as you start to turn, hard on the gas as you approach the apex (the sharpest part of the turn), etc. And the line (the positioning of the car for the fastest way around the track - generally, to maximize the radius of the turns) is the same as for other cars.

About the only significant difference resulting from the mid-engine design is that it's easier to spin (this is the flip side of making the car easier to turn), so it's even more important than in other cars to be smooooth with your control inputs - smooth on the gas, smooth on the wheel, smooth on the brakes. Track novices might generally be better off not trail braking at all, and completing their braking before they turn in... but this is true for other cars as well.

You might want to consider signing up for one of the BMW CCA or PCA drivers schools at Gateway, to try it out. Especially now that there are four such events each year.

And, of course, there's NSXPO 2003 this October in Northern California, and next year's NSXPO 2004 in upstate New York.
 
jlindy said:
So far, I have been too chicken to really test it out

Good for you. If you haven't been to the track, then you haven't been to the right venue to "test it out". I know we all like to exercise our cars on the street, but you run a much greater risk of damage to your car, to property, and mostly, to othe rpeople when you "test it out" on the street. Sign up for the next track event in your area and slowly push your limits. You may never reach the limits of the car's potential, but getting comfortable with what your limits are on your street set-up should be your goal.
 
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