Left the interstate today, and cut thru the Watchung reservation on the way home. Big park, two OLD roads pass through, with several challenging sequences of turns. Off-camber, decreasing radius, armco on the fog line challenging.

Now i have certain road rules; don't speed unnecessarily, don't endanger other life, and NEVER cross the centerline. But, i do so much enjoy giving lessons to the impolite, the injudicious, and the a**w****.


So here i am entering the increasingly uphill entrance, adding 10 to the 25mph limit, and a WRX slides in behind me like i'm holding up traffic-Funtime! I lock the auto into 3rd with a little goose on the gas to disguise my trap and dig into the throttle.

Now these guys never really pay attention to anything other than your bumper, so i find great sport in gradually increasing speed up to and into a turn- without braking. Typically, the fool will follow you in (over his skill levels) and either lose it or be forced to bail out.

So mister subie follows along, 35, 40, 45, 50- thinking he's HS, but now we reach the toughest sequence of the lot. Two turns, both steeply uphill with decreasing radius and decreasing camber, with the second pretty much a hairpin. First turn yellow marked to 20, second to 15.

Keeping to my plan, i power thru the first turn, throttle-steering to save my life, and the dufus follows me right in. Now there's no time to check the speedo, but there is the briefest straightening in the road that allows me to shoot a glance into the rvm. There's dufus exiting the turn, perpendicular to the double yellows, full opposite lock, almost across the road!

Well, all the glory i needed was in that glance, but then i had to concentrate on not doing the same in the next corner. My point proven, I eased down and waited to see how long it would take him to catch up. Either he did make it off-road, or was ashamed to show his face, because i never saw him again.

BSEGs (actually i was ROTFBLMAO) for me, hopefully lesson learned.

 

I can see racing SDs for fun and stuff but I wouldn't bet my truck against a WRX in the curves. Especially if it is in competent hands. Sounds like that guys was indeed a dufus.

 

good one mike.that park is awsome to begin with

 

Personnally, and not that I suggest this or anything, I have 2 100 watt lights mounted to my receiver in back. They were put there for work stuff, not intended for this purpose, but they work well enough. They're tiny and you can't see them until they are on. But when the little ricers pull up like that and won't back off. Gotta little surprise for ya.

 

The WRX aside, what nisiar is describing is a little secret I found out with my 2001 V10 Platinum.

The balance and weight distribution of these trucks is extraordinarily good. If He had tried that set of maneuvers in an older 460 reg cab long bed he would have been crossed up on the first decreasing radius turn and never fully recovered.

It truly amazes me how a 8000 lb truck (with exceptional power) can be as nimble as 80% of the sport designed cars I ever owned... No it is not in the same class as my twin turbo 300ZX. But the handling characteristics are very similar and that totally blows my mind.

I got into a race (location of my choosing) when a smart *** PSD owner challenged me.

I deliberately made the rules for Park Road 4 in Inks Lake State Park because there is a 16 mile road that has same turns and hills as nisiar describes.

The bet was all the way to one end and return, 32 total miles. My confidence came from KNOWING I could take every turn MUCH faster than his very heavy front end. I set my tire pressures to help me not under-steer as bad as street pressures.

I use that road a LOT with my bikes as it is one of very few twisty roads near me. Point is I know every turn and straight section. Several places to pass and I was confident to let him lead too fast and hot into the first set of turns...after that was easy work to be along side going into next set and predictably he backed out of the throttle early cuz the first experience taught him that his truck pushes a lot.

I of course knew that the first series was down hill and bad off camber and the second set was nice tight apex hard banked up hill and very easy to power drift the entire 120 degree sweep.

Once out front in clean air it was fun to watch his profile get smaller and smaller in the rvm.

On one of my trips to a watering hole I know down there I ran the park road and got in behind a kid on a Vmax Yamaha, eventually he pulled into a turn out and let me pass cuz I was pushing him faster than he wanted to run the road. At the other end he came into the beer joint and we chatted over a cold Corona. Said he had only been riding a few months and asked how the hell I could pull those turns so fast in such a big truck. I told him that throttle and brakes and steering are all coordinated as is the line you enter and plan to exit at. That it is just experience and technique and if he could grasp the physics and mechanics of what was going on then he would be able to triple his speed through any corner safely. Then I spent a few telling him of the evils that can happen if you do that on unknown roads, mostly sand and gravel that can send a vehicle over the edge in a NY second. We reversed the course and I had him try some of my ideas and every couple of miles I had him pull into the turn outs so I could critique the last few turns. The kid had BSEG bigger than mine! And he fully understood why I was grinning.... drifting through a turn fully in control is a LOT of fun.

 

monsta,
Absolutely, equal drivers- wrx no question. However, highway studys show that even the fastest drivers seldom use more than 70% of their cars capabilities on the road. Combine that with the supposition that the vast majority of WRX drivers learned how to drive on the playstation, left me with little doubt of the outcome.

As fred points out, I was comfortable with the playing field- climbing turns allowed me to throttle steer as the curve tightened, negating much of the subie's all-wheel drive input.

However, it all boiled down to experience. The dufus followed me into a turn at a speed well outside his comfort range. So much faster- that lifting or drifting were out of the question, and he was forced to brake-hard. Worst thing to do in a tightening turn, and the only logical explanation for his nose to be perpendicular to his direction of movement.

 

Holy crap! I was ROTFLMBO on that one!

 

mike
you failed to say your s/d is a 2x4.

 

Charlie,
Yes, I ieave out things alot, can't you guys read minds? Some of you know parts of my automotive background, but others hear my stories, and are somewhat sceptical at times.

To help those who need bona fides, I participated in several amateur racing organizations at the instructor level (earned) during the eighties. Ran in rallys, autocrosses, and track events, with road courses being my favorite. I was offered an IMSA ride in '86 with the Ray Hendricks GTU Team (No, not that Ray Hendricks!).

If you haven't ever been at speed, on a race course, with a skilled driver, you have NO idea how incredibly different and difficult it is. No camera, no video game can impart the forces and violence and constant threat of death that is with you at all times.

People relate to speeds in multiples of the yellow speed signs before turns or on-ramps. Some are cocky at doubling those advisory's, but let me assure you, racing speeds would be three to four times those numbers. Please- don't try that at home!, pay for a real driving school, or join a club.

But if you wanna be a s***h*** around me, well a teacher teachs!
(sorry for the rant, I'll blame it on the wine and percocet)

 

Nisiar, I can relate to your story. I grew up racing through the roads of Watchung Res. with a number of different bikes and a Porche 914 (dumpster green), LOVED that car, it was like a magnet to the road. When I was younger a good friend I used to ride with turned me on to a book called "twist of the wrist" and man did that book help me with my flat tracking. Talks in detail about the need to upshift and power into turns to unload the rear shocks (more important for motorcycle riders). I've lost a number of people on the old red and green road at the superhairpin @ the top of the hill. Also have to chuckle at the number of people left in the woods at the tight downhill radius down by suprise lake (suprise it was ) Nothing can replace good teaching and lots of well thought out practice in situations such as these. I'm often amazed at the number of Crotch Rockets that can't keep up with me thru simple turns. And they say a Harley can't hold a light to the new Rockets. (of course my 100 HP RevTech engine still can't push my fat *** as fast on a staight away run)
Though I Do have to mention the time I got bit up there. Lazy day cruizing the old shovelhead when out steps about a dozen or so unsuspecting furry creatures. I clipped two dear and one tree. Not enough time to lay the bike down as it all happened in the blink of an eye. Note: deer are much softer than trees!

Sorry to get off the V10 subject

 

mike and doug. the road racing skills of pro's will always show ,i never got past the old formula v way back at lime rock.
doug i have to back you up on not knocking a old harley .

 

hmmm, maybe this is a way to take down the next subie I meeet. I do know that to try and drag race one isn't the best choice although had I not backed off I may have had a chance to the next light at least. But 3,000 pounds and 250 hp is a pretty good combo, even with a highly seasoned pro-driver such as myself,,,,,,

 

Doug?
Actually, it was Bahia Green, and that was the color of my 74 2.0 914. Still dream of those nightime runs through the reservation with the top in the trunk, listening to the tires working through the turns. It's been a long time since the roads were tinted in the park, but they do keep the blacktop in good condition.

I believe the superhairpin you refer to is the sequence i was refering to in this post, (bear right from the west entrance). Any downhill hairpin is a losing situation in a pickup, so I pick my fights in the other direction.

A few weeks ago, a harley REALLY pushed me going up that challenging ascent of Schooley's mountain from the Hackettstown side. At the hairpin at the top, i peeked back, and i swear to god, i've never seen a bike laid over so far in my life! I waved him by at the top, I don't hold up a faster man.

Good reading for any serious driver;
www.miata.net/sport/Physics/index.html

(Charlie & Doug, small world- i'm sitting under a picture of my 2.0 at speed apexing Big Bend)

 

mike i only did that park one time with a 1970 911s . the 914 i had as a demo was a 914-6.awsome machines

 

Sorry, my bad- ZAMBESI green, bahia RED was my 1.8.