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Tyres… also roadside assistance.

Here in Sweden new Porsche owners have been welcome to track training days. There is one famous/infamous 'incident' where one of instructors (who was a racing driver) flipped over a customers 928!
 
I highly recommend the Experience days. I did a couple of Jonathan Palmer days they were great, anything from a single seater, rally car, race spec saloons, hot hatch, Caterhams, 4x4 obstacle course, parking an articulated lorry, and one of my favourite tasks was three timed goes as a pit crew doing a wheel change stop. A very full day with lots to learn and enjoy.

Did the Silverstone Porsche day when I helped my nephew buy his Boxster, I took a Lotus Elise. Driving tuition and skid pad plus a few laps of their small circuit in the latest 911 version. The skid pad is great. I think the shock of sudden rear breakaway in wet conditions was not only instructive but a clear steer to treat wet roads with respect and that can’t be a bad thing.
 
Linnfo, I enjoy reading your posts and am glad you managed through this scary blowout.

Have had my fair share of tire punctures, but never something like that. Have always bought either Pirelli (to match/replace Volvo’s factory choice) or Michelin.
 
i agree - it was very instructive.
It is very instructive, it’s also really enjoyable, something I’ll definitely do again.

I’ve really grown out of driving on the limit on the road, I save it for the track, although I haven’t done that for about three years now… that said, sometimes the limits get moved unexpectedly like my adventure on Monday. My most nervous drive was in a TVR Griff on the way back from Santa Pod, an unforeseen thunderstorm after a blazing day made the roads very treacherous for any car… in a Griff 500HC, it was genuinely unnerving and needed very steady feet. Skid pan training can’t prepare you for that, TVRs play by their own rules.:D
 
i agree - it was very instructive.

Back when I was a student I ran one of the rear engine Skoda's for a year (until it's wet liners went, after which the rest of it ended up being spares for a rally team) and then certainly taught you to be careful when it was slippery as that thing used to want to switch ends at the first hint of water on the road.

I paid about £100 for that car, a Super Estelle 120, at an auction. One owner from new, full MOT, pristine condition as it had barely any mileage on it. My friends laughed at first but we ended up using it more than we did their cars as it had 4 doors and was more comfortable and reliable than the Escorts and Mini's etc. that they were running at the time. Until one of them was given his dad's Mk3 Cortina 1600E that is - that was our preferred transport (until he rolled it).
 
Back when I was a student I ran one of the rear engine Skoda's for a year (until it's wet liners went, after which the rest of it ended up being spares for a rally team) and then certainly taught you to be careful when it was slippery as that thing used to want to switch ends at the first hint of water on the road.

I paid about £100 for that car, a Super Estelle 120, at an auction. One owner from new, full MOT, pristine condition as it had barely any mileage on it. My friends laughed at first but we ended up using it more than we did their cars as it had 4 doors and was more comfortable and reliable than the Escorts and Mini's etc. that they were running at the time. Until one of them was given his dad's Mk3 Cortina 1600E that is - that was our preferred transport (until he rolled it).
One of my mates had a Volvo 340 that we all laughed at at first, but being mechanic, engine swapped it for a 440 turbo lump with some mods… now that car liked to switch ends. It was hilariously fun, especially when challenged by Citroen Saxos and the like that everyone else our age drove at the time (I had a Peugeot 106).
 
are you not one of PFMs driving gods?

I do everything on the limit; driving, drinking, eating, sex you name it I am on the edge
I used to be, I could do all those things at the same time!

I still like driving fast cars, I just keep my sensible head on, I’ve no desire to put myself or anyone else at risk. I do still like to have fun.
 
Linnfo, I enjoy reading your posts and am glad you managed through this scary blowout.

Have had my fair share of tire punctures, but never something like that. Have always bought either Pirelli (to match/replace Volvo’s factory choice) or Michelin.
Cheers buddy, this was a first for me. I lost a front one when I drove over a piece of masonry that had fallen from a truck I was following, it deflated instantly but didn’t break up. I was only doing about 25mph at the time too so it wasn’t particularly dramatic… just annoying that I had to watch the person responsible driving on and there was nothing I could do about it.
 
Just don't advise them to do IAM! Many of the worst/most dangerous drivers I've been in a car with have had IAM qualifications.

We were driving back to Edinburgh from Tomintoul last night and came up behind a couple of motorcyclists who were riding very oddly and very poorly. We couldn't work out what they were up to until it dawned on both of us at the same time that it must have been an IAM instructor and his pupil. The pupil wasn't riding quite as badly as the instructor (who was riding just about as badly as I've seen anyone ride in a long while), so we reckoned he must still be new to IAM.

Nothing wrong with the IAM as a concept, all they do is teach the police Roadcraft method. They are all volunteers but vary as to the type. I had a very enthusiastic female instructor who drove a Honda Civic VTi making very good "progress" with excellent skill and observation. I had a work colleague who got the mr cautious instructor who got a case of the vapours within 2mph of the limit and proudly held up his Nissan Micra as the perfect IAM tool. The examiners are often serving police class 1 advanced drivers (mine was) and the debrief was astonishing how much detail of a one hour test he remembered without taking notes. One of the best and most terrifying experiences I have had.

I really enjoyed the training and highly recommend the principles of observation and anticipation.
 
When I was about 18 and running around on a GP100 Suzuki motorbike I got stopped by the plod and given a warning about an illegally worn (just) back tyre and told that if I show that I've had a new tyre fitted within a week then no further action would be taken... The worn original was a decent Dunlop and in fact still gripped perfectly OK but being a skint young un all I could afford immediately was one of the first of the unknown brand Chinese tyres to become available back then (something like "Chang-Seng" or similar sounding name IIRC). Plod were then happy but I was riding a bloody death trap! Grip and general handling were way worse in the dry but in the wet you took your life in your hands every time you rode it! Evan normal non-panic braking in the wet risked locking the wheel as it had the wet weather grip of teflon...
 
When I was about 18 and running around on a GP100 Suzuki motorbike I got stopped by the plod and given a warning about an illegally worn (just) back tyre and told that if I show that I've had a new tyre fitted within a week then no further action would be taken... The worn original was a decent Dunlop and in fact still gripped perfectly OK but being a skint young un all I could afford immediately was one of the first of the unknown brand Chinese tyres to become available back then (something like "Chang-Seng" or similar sounding name IIRC). Plod were then happy but I was riding a bloody death trap! Grip and general handling were way worse in the dry but in the wet you took your life in your hands every time you rode it! Evan normal non-panic braking in the wet risked locking the wheel as it had the wet weather grip of teflon...

My first bike was a GP100 as well, forgot to top up the oil tank and siezed it solid at around 50mph on a downhill urban dual carriageway. Took weeks to get the stains out of my underware.
 
My first bike was a GP100 as well, forgot to top up the oil tank and siezed it solid at around 50mph on a downhill urban dual carriageway. Took weeks to get the stains out of my underware.

Mine seized the back wheel whilst doing about 50 on a straight road in the early hours of the morning... a return spring for the rear drum brake had snapped and a piece of it jammed between the drum and brake lining!
 
In the tyre tests link I posted upthread it was a little sobering to see the 'float speed' of even the best tyres in the aquaplaning test.....
 
Im surprised people plump for Eastern rock hard widow makers, when we actually have a really good UK brand, AVON, and the prices are very reasonable.

I have used Avons for years now, both in my track car and normal road car, using ZV7's now and the wet weather grip is immense, and they are very quiet and comfortable.

Overall, i have preferred them over Pirelli's, Bridgestone, Conti's, and aside from Michelin Pilot Sports (if I had the money and essentially wanted to waste it on a road car), I'd choose Avons all day every day. Designed in the UK in UK weather conditions.

https://www.avontyres.com/en-gb/tyres/avon-zv7
 
... aside from Michelin Pilot Sports (if I had the money and essentially wanted to waste it on a road car)
I don't see the performance reserve a waste of money, especially when you need to slam on the anchors or swerve sharply. Cars driven by my immediate family members all wear Michelin Pilot Sport 4 or 4S tyres.
 


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