Getting used to going fast
 

Okay so my buddy wanted a ride today in the 8, so I figured I'd give him one.

Before tonight, I was kinda babying the car since I just got it and all, but with him in the car today, I decided to punch it cause I know the amount of cars and cops on our local bypass is damn near nothing.

I got an AT so she redline (stripes) about from 7k rpms to 8. Anyways, I decided to really push it and holy shit what a ride. We got up to 96 mph easy on a mildly-windy highway near the school we go to. Coming from a 1995 buick front wheel 2 liter v6 engine, this car is freakin insane.

The only thing is, it honestly scares me that I can get up to 96 mph and she's not even breaking a sweat, ready to accelerate more. My older car I'd go somewhat fast (80 tops, 90 maybe down hill). But at these speeds I just keep thinking about a freakin deer popping out or some car pulling out. This could be cause I wrecked my buick over a week ago on tuesday (not my fault) and I'm still a little shaken up from my original accident. Might have lost some of my nerve.

Either way, you guys think I should take it easy and not push my comfort zone? I love to drive fast but I want to feel safe too. Plus I have little to no experience with rear-wheel drive, so thats a little scary too. TCS is a big help but its not a complete license to be a moron.

dear load please go slow for now

Going fast is fun, but being alive is much more enjoyable I would think :P

If I were you, I'd take it slow for the first few weeks/months, stay under 70 on highway, 45 in city, until you really get a feel for how the 8 handles and the way it responds to your driving.

Also.. read the manual.. if it's a new car, it's better to go easy on it for a little while ;)

Though I'll admit, I got mine 3 weeks ago and I took it up to 147mph on week 2 to see how the car handled and stuff. I don't speed otherwise though.

I read it. Its "new" to me. Its a used 2004 rx 8 AT with 20k some miles on it. and YES i know this particular car has a lot of problems. i purchased an extended warranty and plan to check all the recalls the next visit to the dealer

Ahh gotcha.. yea, I'd take it slow personally, I've only done one peak with mine and don't plan to do another anytime soon, I hardly ever stray past 70mph

140+ mph would both thrill scare the living piss out of me.

I think I'll have to dissapoint my friends for the time being, the highway just isn't straight enough around here to mess around. I mean its rated 55 mph.

I might look for some closed racing courses once I move to cali

Just be careful. I couldn't give too much more advice without sounding hypocritical.

I don't care either way, I'm not the highway patrol. Everybody gotta learn on their own.

Rx8 one of the safer cars to "learn on their own the hard way". Features "front bumper designed to minimize pedestrian harm" and lot of other safety feature set.

If doing 90 scares you.. please slow down.

At the expense of all the other law abiding motorists on the road..

A group of guys on crotch rockets went by and I just sorta followed them for a while at 148mph.. till gas gauge started to get too near the E :lol2:
(it was at night.. highway was more or less empty)


But then again.. highways here in Florida are straight, flat, and have 4+ lanes on each side. Plus there's practically always someone going just as fast as you :P

And if a cop sees you.. you're toast ;)

Closed tracks are the best, take it slow the first few times, and gradually speed up as you get more comfy

That is true but I don't think he gonna listen anyway to nobody. Just be glad he's not motorcycle rider otherwise we would already have read about it in rx8club lounge news story.

96 scared me on that road. Its more of a curved highway. Mix that with car accident a week ago, and 100 mph being the fastest i've EVER been in any wheeled vehicle (besides a jetliner).

yea I'll slow down some.

Plus I feel messed up going that fast on a public road. I'm not comfortable putting other ppl at risk.

Oh and.. always keep TCS on ;)

(and seatbelts)

haha

someone should definitely make this their sig

I'd do it but it'd get annoying after awhile
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...le_anim_en.gif

please slow down take it easy until you go to a driving school .

These kinds of threads make me sad when people have never been over 100mph before.

That's good. I don't know why everyone else is beating on you. In my youth, I never figured I was putting other people at risk. Nor did I even think about deer darting in front, etc.

If you're in your teens or early 20s, you've attained wisdom beyond your years.

Ken

rx8= Fast for people who dont know what fast is.
To bad I let myself find that out so long ago.
:banghead:

Slow down be safe lol our rx8s have too much power.. the PoWeR i tell ya' ;)

I get scared, too, when the VTEC kicks in ;)

If I were you, slowly and gradually get used to the car. Since you just got it, going really fast is going to be worrisome, as you don't know what to expect with the car yet. Take it easy, and you'll start to get more and more comfortable.

Don't ever drive beyond your limits, that's when all sorts of really bad things start happening. If you want to even test those limits, try out an HPDE - it'll improve your driving and show you exactly where your limits are.

Ooh I'd forgotten about those.. I might go to one now, thanks

Somebody help out a newbie... what's an HPDE? I need a driving school so I can segue from my front wheel drive background (Integras) to my 8 safely and enjoyably. I would love to push it but I'm not used to RWD or The Power yet. lol plus there are sooooooo many cops everywhere around here.

Something else I'm confused on... I can't find anything that says TSC or DSC on my car, a stock '06 MT. Was that an option that I don't have or something?

Thanks in advance!

hpde is high performance driving event. I think they do track days and they also teach you if you're new.
http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/index.html

TSC/DSC is traction control.