I've had my new car for a few days now and I'm still blown away by the performance and handling but having pushed it harder and harder and still not found it's limit ( I know, I'm not driving it hard enough ) I'm starting to come to the conclusion that when I do find it's limits I'm going to be driving at a carelessly stupid rate of knots and the consequences could be disastrous, so I've drawn a line.

The car is a 2003 STi with TSL 333 upgrade and Prodive springs, it's fitted with 18" wheels and has also had TSL laser wheel aligment and revised geometry etc.. I was wondering how many of you really have found your cars limits and was it on the road or a trackday?

 

MY05 sti,,,i found its limit a few mnths back on the m6 at three in the morn,,,,heres me thinking they were limited to 156,,,how wrong was i, downhill with the wind behind me!!

 

Was wondering the exact same thing myself. Have had my 2003 STI PPP for 10 days and would like to know when i'm getting near the limit, so I don't over cook it. Is there any track you can go to that has big run off areas so that you don't trash your pride and joy?

 

What about when you get it in the lanes or on the B roads in the wet

 

in the cntry roads, ive went a bit mad a few times and had a few scary experiences,, but how do i know where the limit is if ive never been further..

 

You haven't found the limit until you go over it!

 

well i mean how do you know where the limit is if you havent gone past the limit and thought,,**** i went too far,,,

 

That's what I mean, but I think that limit is at a point where you could kill yourself and/or some innocent person driving sensibly. The car begs to be driven hard and keeps rewarding you but everything has a limit and I don't think I want to find it on a public road, trouble is like I say the thing keeps goading you to push it harder and harder.

 

you know when you gone past its limits you will be wrapped round a tree
do you self a favour and get some high performance driving lessons
ffs 3 days

by the way you will probably never be able to take a car like that to its limits

 

I'm too old and sensible these days to try and find it's limits but when I was twenty-five it might have been a different story and that's the scary thing for me, there's young lads who think they're Petter Solberg driving these things!

Don't flame me for saying this but it begs the question, whether a car like this should be legal for the road because it's a lethal weapon in the wrong hands.

 

ditto the above, ffs, get some driver training, then you'll realise you don't have to get anywhere near the limit to drive quickly and safely

chris.

 

Forget about finding the cars limit, drive within your limits and that should be enough. If you drive over your limits it will be dangerous and for most of us that will not be within a whisker of a scoobys limit. As I have found out before, thankfully on a track, when they let do go its at warp speed, so try to find yours/the cars limit on a track and not on the road.

Enjoy

Alan

 

I'm driving well within myself so worry not, I'm not coming around the next corner out of control. I'm a father of two and old enough to know my limits and when to wind my kneck in. I asked the question to guage how many have been bitten and what gave.

 

The only safe way to find the limits of your car is on a race track. First time I had my Octy vRS on a track (Knockhill) I very quickly discovered that the cars limits were a lot higher than mine!

Mind you, I'm going back next month with an extra 35 bhp and upgraded brakes

 

Took mine ot an airfield trackday to find limits, didn't take long at all!! And no danger!

 

In 99.9% of cases the limits of the car are far beyond the skill of the driver, and even when the driver is exceptional, the unexpected can still happen, as seen in the WRC, very, very recently.

You will never find the limits of an Impreza on the road unless you are driving like a complete t it; take it to an organised track or airfield and revel in it's ability and its a lot less likely to end in tears.

I appreciate this is slightly off title of thread, and that you are a mature driver, but as you quite rightly say there are many 'younger' drivers who think they're WRC pilots.

 

I perhaps should have phrased the question differently. Having owned the car for less than a week, I'm blown away by it's performance and I recognise what a dangerous thing it could be in the wrong hands. It seems like most people are sensible on here but there's plenty of, I raced "x" car to 1** mph type stories as well. It's human nature to push ourselves further and further, I used to drive home from work down a cracking A road, smooth and flowing with a few really testing corners thrown in for good measure and everynight I would push harder and harder, the car I was driving at the time wasn't nearly as powerful as the Impreza and luckily I never found it's limits but as I say I still pushed and would see if I could beat my time etc.. Doing something like that in this car would end in tears.

 

Found the limit in mine a few weeks back. Going round an island not fast but it had just rained after a sunny period, front end began to understeer so natural reaction-back off.

Woooooooh back end came right round and for a split second I thought it was going to spin but I just caught the slide and it straightned up nicely (i,ve got a 205 GTi and I thought these oversteered easily).

Remeber 4WD only provides more grip under acceleration, it does not allow you to generate more cornering speed just a quicker exit from the corner.

My lesson/limit learnt already, Owned since March, UK Turbo 2000 MY01

 

You are the limit mate

coming from a 24 year old, that may sound boring, but its when people go beyond there limit on the roads that people die. Once you loose control of that car, your luck, and possible life in these cars is in the hands of the gods.

3 days ago, my mate lost control of his car, fully track prepared, he made the mistake of going beyond his limit, the end result of this was that 2 others in a seperate vehicle are now in a bad way in hospital, he had a cun on his face off some glass.

Im as guilty as the next for driving fast, but i would like to think i know my limits.

Country twisties.... nearly killed myself in my white UK classic, came round a corner, hit a rather large deer. cant remember much after that, but got told i had wiped out a wall and 2 trees

Me personly, i would take it to the track, i think PALMER MOTORSPORT offer driver training in your own car, i believe LOTUS do it as well.

John

 

nurburgring?

 

........is the easiest place to get out of your depth very quickly - apparently.

 

Not a good place to go and try to find the limits of an Impreza.

UNLESS YOU WANT TO KILL YOURSELF!!!!!

Dave

 

daft to find the cars limits on the roads as if you spin or understeer, you will most likely end up off the road with major damage

personally i go on an airfield course everyyear
not cheap but fun and educational
www.carlimits.com

allows you to spin in safety

 

as long as you are not stupid same as knockhill etc if you slowly build up your speed and act on feedback car gives you you should be ok but if you act like a boyracer from start you will go off
martin

 

I had my car for about 4 months.

got tein springs fitted to the car.

came wide on a 90^ left hander, road clear, power on................................................ .................................................. .............................................BANG

It went !!! that was the limit. through a fencs into a field at about 70mph..

not funny. the cars are not bulletproof afterall

 

found the limit of my old MY99 within a few weeks of owning it, easy to drive sideways if you know what you're doing, even done 2 road rallies in it which push the car to the limit and entertain the spectators, 300bhp cars are not as hard to drive as most people on here make out.

 

^^^^^^^ accident waiting to happen

 

Will never be the place to explore the cars limits or your own....

 

who's making out that 300 bhp cars are hard to drive ??