Poor Guy

so would I.
boot to the floor on some nice flat twisty hair pinny roads.

loverly. peak district aint far from me! woohoo

carl

I think I recall from a previous discussion Poor Guy's GT6 is a Mk2, which means it has a modified lower-wishbone rear suspension rather than the transverse leaf springs of its predecessor and all Spitfires.

Duck_Pond

Poor Guy - you seem intent on ignoring people on here, who are trying to stop you killing yourself in your car... so please, do us a favour, make sure no-one is either a passenger in your car when you attempt to prove to yourself that you can drive, and also that no pedestrians are nearby either.

Hopefully only your ego will be bruised when things go wrong, if you're lucky... if you're not, some other poor guy might end up in hospital or worse.

Poor Guy

insurance is a tiny £950
weird no?

dont worry. i wont kill anyone. not going to be putting foot flat to the floor constantly trying to write off my little beauty.
If i want to prove i can drive I'd have to beat my dad. thats like putting an SAS bloke vs a TA bloke in a knife fight.

Just cant wait to hit the roads (not as in dead). There is fun to be had.

Poor Guy

yes

its a mk3 actually, got all that "modern" jobby suspension.

j.r-xrs

Poor Guy, I'd listen to what people have said!

I'd guess I'm of a similar age to you, when I passed my test of course I went out and drove like a bit of a nutter, but I was really careful, only drove on roads I knew really well if I was going to push it.

I did an advanced driving course this weekend which I would thoroughly recommend. The instructor said I drove like a driver with more experience than just a few months, a nice comment to have, but I can’t let it go to my head.

At the end of the day nothing beats experience, I know I have years of driving ahead of me yet and still loads more experience to gain, so I'm not in a hurry to put myself in situations that could mess me up for good.

Already some of my personal friends have been banned for drink driving and 3 others have written their cars off. Sounds like you've got a really nice car to start in, don't finish it prematurely!

Good luck with you driving test!

Cheers

j.r-xrs


[Edited by j.r-xrs - 11/18/2003 11:24:39 PM]

imlach

Sorry to have to say it, but Poor Guy's attitude is typical of a 17 year old learner (assume you're 17). We were all the same.

Nothing will change his attitude no matter what we say on here. You just have to learn by experience - EVERY lad is the same - thinks they are the greatest driver until their first "scare". Being a learner with a bit of extra knowledge and interest is probably even worse!! You then think you've READ all about it as well....ie, you are very proficient.

Let's just all hope his first "scare" is a scary slide or similar with no 3rd party damage. We have ALL had our first "scare", however some are no longer with us to share their views on it.....luckily mine was "only" losing it on a snowy downhill stretch trying to avoid another car....thought I knew it all I did, until then.

Driving your dad's car home with a damaged front end is pretty embarassing.....luckily, metal can be replaced.

Point being, my attitude was the same as PoorGuy's. ie,
- I am invincible
- I passed my test a few weeks after my 17th birthday as one would expect, as I am a VERY good driver and how would I fail? Easy Peasy. Passing so quickly reinforces the fact that I am proficient.
- I have an interest in cars and their mechanical function therefore I can handle the car
- I am NOT a boy racer (I am above that which makes me a good driver)
- I am going to be sensible, because I know everything there is to know (but admit I have maybe a wee bit to learn but not much)
- FINALLY & MOST IMPORTANTLY, all these people are giving me advice and telling me to be careful, but I'll be fine - I know what I am doing, and I can control a car - what did they know anyway....I've observed them driving and they don't do everything the way I would do it....so I know best.
etc etc...

...then CRUNCH


[Edited by imlach - 11/19/2003 1:08:52 AM]

Poor Guy

woah woah woah


who said im the greatest driver?!
Im no where near that.
And I know experience is every thing! Stop telling me im going to crash, be careful etc etc

Just tell me where i can enjoy my car.

scooby-tc

iTrader: (2)

with an attitude like that u wont be driving for a long time so i wouldnt worry too much abt it over confidence is the first step to failure.I rekon they should raise the legal age to drive to 21 or leave it as it is but bring in a law that states u cant have anything bigger than a 1.4 till the age of 21.BAH HUMBUG

UFO

Simple...the track

Although not sure what they'd say about a 17 year old on their track

Dream Weaver

Good luck, but be careful.

A timely reminder - http://members.aol.com/learnanliv/victims.html

imlach

As I said earlier, you can show PoorGuy as many horrific pages like that as you want - it WILL NOT change his attitude one jot. At 17, one thinks they are invincible, and one has a "it won't happen to me" attitude....PERIOD!

I wish there was something we could do/say, but there is not. I can only think that a good dressing down from someone like Tiff Needell may help - ie, you show him what you can do, and then he shows you what You can do is really pretty duff - ie, embarassing a 17 yr old in front of his peers is perhaps one way.....

j.r-xrs

Just an idea, one that Poor Guy probably will not like, is a rule that my parents enforced on me in turn for paying my insurance.

I was banned form taking any of my friends in the car with me for 6 months after passing my test.

This gave to time to learn on my own without feeling peer pressure to show off.

A good idea that I didn’t appreciate at first, but do now!

NotoriousREV

I remember the day I passed my test. My Dad was between company cars so had bought a 1.1 Fiesta for getting to work and back and I was on his insurance.

Backed car off drive, wheelspan through 1st (145 section tyres), drove down to the bottom of my road and performed a neat handbrake turn.

Six months later, I'd landed my MkII Escort in a bus stop. Both it and the car were very flat. Me and my passenger walked away unharmed. The wreckage was that bad that the police didn't beleive we were in the vehicle and were covering up for someone.

This all came about because, despite the fact that this was my first RWD car and I'd owned it for 1 day, I "knew" I could drive in a tail out stylee. Lasted for 3 hours before it went horribly wrong.

Funnily enough, 12 years later, I still prefer understeer to oversteer...

Mcbrun555

It happened to me,

Just 3 months after passing test took my mums motor up on the "twisties", it came on the back of a lorry, complete scrap. How the hell I still on this planet I have no idea.

If you want to learn your cars handling, head to a large car park late at night, plenty of run off space, find the limits of your steed.

DO NOT try and find the limit on the "twisties", you WILL stack it, the fun of driving these roads is driving at 6-7/10ths and get you and you car back home in one piece.

Mcbrun555

Poor Guy

it doesnt really.
only thing that changes my attitude is the fact a friend was killed 3 months ago.
thats silly driving.
cant really afford to go on track. thats why im asking where can i have fun in my car.

so someone hasnt been driving the exact correct way then!?
If I crashed my dads car I wouldnt be very liked. thats why he wont let me drive it

Anyway. I have these experiences to come. So dont tell me Im bad for wanting to be having fun on the road @ 17. Its better than learning at 40 because im going to gain more EXPERIENCE and at least i can be arsed to get a lisence.
And if i smash your car up i have insurance.

Leslie

Its great fun most of the time poor guy, especially the first feeling of freedom. Most want to be a Tiff Needell when they start but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.

We all hope that you don't learn the really hard way, such as killing someone else or injuring yourself badly. That is all down to you of course and whether you apply some common sense to learning how to keep out of trouble.

You might find that it becomes very difficult to get insurance under the wrong circumstances. That's something beyond your ability to change.

It is worth accepting the advice that a GT6 like all swing axle rear suspension cars can be absolutely lethal, especially in the wet!

Les

[Edited by Leslie - 11/19/2003 12:09:00 PM]