The main difference is hitting the brakes before the turn. I take an overpass every night coming home from work going from one freeway to the other. It's a tall, left turn that goes up and then swoops down, 2 lanes wide merging into one lane. I can approach it at over 80, and will see the speed limit sign for it that says 45! I have to drop down to 60 before hitting the top of the turn. I don't want to be braking or accelerating until I'm on my way out of the turn and then can get back on the throttle.

 

I say, when it rains, go out and play. Find an empty lot or deserted stretch of road or just cruise around for awhile and see where the car grips and where the point of traction loss is. Especially in the snow. You will be a much better driver even in a panic situaution.

 

Gearshift time comparisonHere lists the minimum shift time of the most popular automated manual gearbox:




Gearbox (car)

Min. shift time

BMW SMG II (M3 E46)

80 ms

Ferrari F1 (Maserati 4200GT)

80 ms

Ferrari F1 (360 F1)

150 ms

Ferrari F1 (Enzo)

150 ms

Bugatti Veyron (proposed)

200 ms

Ferrari F1 (575M)

220 ms

BMW SMG (M3 E36)

220 ms

Aston Martin Vanquish

250 ms

BMW SSG (3-series)

250ms (150ms for 1st to 2nd)

Alfa Selespeed (156 Selespeed) (old)

700 ms

The average manual car driver: 500 ms - 1 s

So, I think we can put that to rest about us shifting faster then these new gear boxes. If we were as good as these devices why would F1 cars have done away with stick shifts.
Jon

 

 

Oops.....hit the button too soon. The ebrake can be a very useful tool in kicking the *** end out without using the accel. It's also the way to do a bootleg turn. With ABS you can still steer in severe braking conditions (unlike the old days), but, if you have an extreme situation where you might need to kick the *** end out and around you have one of two choices......the gas pedal or the ebrake.

One note on kicking the *** end out using acceleration (the fun way), don't forget that the rear end may not quit sliding just because you ease up on the gas. This is especially true in wet, snow, ice, gravel etc. where traction isn't as good. You need to learn to "play the slide" under controlled situations before you get into emergency situations and don't have a clue. Every car you buy, you should find out its, and your limitations in places where you don't endanger yourself or others.

 

Best recommendation i can give you is to either get some drag radials and a rainy day, or use the stock rubber with a thin coat of snow on the ground. Find a large empty parking lot, like on a Sunday in an industrial lot.

Get some friends and set up a bunch of cones in a slalom or autocross like setting and practice there. If you can master the car in those conditions, you'll be a better driver than most people out there.

 

My thoughts exactly- the same rules apply when you ridea motorcycle, you have to do that in order to stay properly in control. Applys to driving a Mustang as well. And if you do start drifting in a turn-small movements of the wheel is all it takes to correct. Overcorrecting is what gets most people in trouble.

 

I learned a lot about driving RWD from beating the **** out of a lot of RWD cars when I was a kid. Driving like a moron isn't usually advisable, but it did teach me a lot about handling a slide, knowing how (and how much) to react, etc. You don't need a nice car to get the basics down.
If you don't want to chance it with your Mustang, get yourself a $500 beater and go have some fun.
Personally, I have a harder time controlling a FWD car than I do a RWD. And I'm from WI, so driving in the snow helps. In the warmer areas, rain will work.

 

hang on, if i rip my ebrake up, slow, fast, accelerating, anything, nothing happens in terms of lateral movement, i just slowly come to a stop, could there be something wrong with mine?

 

Exactly. My first car was a 89 Mazda B2000 pickup (2wd). Drove it in the snow, ice, and mud. Drove the hell out of that thing.. but I can tell you one thing.. it was an extension of myself. I could drive that thing sideways.