You think you know a road....

There's always that one road you call "yours", the one you've been up and down so much you feel like you could drive it in your sleep. Even after a few years of driving it, you may feel like you've 'mastered' it.

This is kinda how I felt about me favorite road. I usually make a trip down there 3-4 times a week (off and on for the past 7-8 years) to drive up and down it. Sometimes really slow to map out all the small distinctions, and sometimes very fast to figure out the fastest line and feel the limits of the car. I thought I had the road pretty much figured out...So I thought.

The best thing I did this weekend was to be esp. playful on the road (usually a time when no one was on it) and was trying a couple of 'what if' scenarios. I would try different lines, sit and watch the headlights bounce off the trees from the on coming traffic to try and figure out the best timing for each turn, etc. Quite honestly, in my own way, I had fun and learned a lot more about the road than I thought.

Now I need to go back and practice! (if only I could find anyone around here interested in "touge driving" to share what I've learned) But I guess the whole point to all this is: Keep at it, mix it up, even if you're by yourself.



Insane Skill Tip: try and squeal your tires in tune with the music in the car!

What made me own "My Road" is riding my bike up and down many times on a road bike. When you do you notice every bump crack, grade change and camber.

I also feel if you really want to get to know a road well, it would be a good idea to walk it a few times. You get a completely different perspective of the road on foot then when you are in the car.
Road familiarity is very important and it scares me when I see some people go balls out down a road that they don't even know. What I usually do is drive down the road slowly first, even if I know it really well, to make sure conditions are safe at that time, before running it. Even if you know that road really well, conditions can change at any time as its an uncontrolled environment.

-Jacob

Walking/Biking the road seem like really good ideas to get a different perspective on it, unfortunately there aren't any roads anywhere that I know that well due to moving and not consistently having a car or trying to do mountain runs. I'm taking "course knowledge" much more seriously going forward though. I've spent a bunch of time perusing google maps and planning for roads in my area that I would like to get to know once my build is done and I can start practicing.

Be careful with an evo, they give you all the confidence in the world, until they don't. Plus if you up the power over 300 the computer has a hard time distributing power correctly unless you tune that computer (no one to my knowledge has yet). You could go mechanical Diffs if you have the budget.

Yea mine will be making well over 300 even on the 91 map . I'll be taking it very easy to start, learning the car and my own limits. Trust me with as much $ as I've got into the car and as long as I've been waiting for the rebuild; plus my life etc on the line I'm being as cautious as one who wants to go from complete rookie to touge master can be. I'm reading the ultimate speed secrets book and I'll be doing auto-x and track days with instructors too.

as cheesy as it may be try driving with a full cup of water, it will help you be sensitive to weight transfer.

MidnightblueMR2 wrote:

Be careful with an evo, they give you all the confidence in the world, until they don't. Plus if you up the power over 300 the computer has a hard time distributing power correctly unless you tune that computer (no one to my knowledge has yet). You could go mechanical Diffs if you have the budget.

MidnightblueMR2 wrote:

as cheesy as it may be try driving with a full cup of water, it will help you be sensitive to weight transfer.

There are no issues with the stock ecu distributing power, the S-AWC, AYC & ACD all work together as one of the most advanced computer systems for distributing power so I'm not really sure where you got your info from. True that a few of the gurus are still developing a traction control unit for the Evo X and new tables within the ecu particularly for the MR SST transmission are still being unlocked but there are now several MR's that are making upwards of 500awhp reliably and GSR's with upwards of 700.


I'll stick to taking advise from instructors and save myself from having a wet lap unless my next job happens to be delivering tofu.

I know on the previous evos you can reflash the differential computer. Not sure the exact part terminology but basically reflash how the diffs act and distribute power. I thought that was pretty cool but im not sure the X's have that capability yet.

mindovaanything wrote:

I'll stick to taking advise from instructors and save myself from having a wet lap unless my next job happens to be delivering tofu.

As for us tofu delivery boys, I practice driving skills nearly every day. Though I can't afford trips to the track, a fancy car with electronic this or that, and a personal instructor, I have yet to be touched by a 'track guy' on the touge (well, most of them don't ever push it on the street anyways ). Can't wait to test my skill on the track one day (when the $ allows) and see what's what!

^I'm in that boat.. what a life : )

Track and touge, while they do have similarities, they don't necessarily go hand in hand.

Minnoe07 wrote:

Track and touge, while they do have similarities, they don't necessarily go hand in hand.

I agree with this statement 100%.

Same goes for car setup, just because your car is "setup for track" does not necessarily mean it will do so well on the Touge (mainley due to being too low and too stiff.)