Institute of Advanced Motorists ?

I've enjoyed reading this thread, thanks Number5 and Paul for reminding me that the best drivers out there are the ones that are always trying to improve. Having the humility to learn from others and accept your own faults has to be the best way to keep safe out there. Bravo to you :thumbsup:
 
Marlon said:
I've enjoyed reading this thread, thanks Number5 and Paul for reminding me that the best drivers out there are the ones that are always trying to improve. Having the humility to learn from others and accept your own faults has to be the best way to keep safe out there. Bravo to you :thumbsup:
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Very true,Marlon.
When people ask what the best mod is they can do to their car,in terms of power/handling improvements, I reckon a good starting point is and advanced driving course,and some professional track day/fast driving training. Never does any harm,imo.
 
craig3.2 said:
Marlon said:
I've enjoyed reading this thread, thanks Number5 and Paul for reminding me that the best drivers out there are the ones that are always trying to improve. Having the humility to learn from others and accept your own faults has to be the best way to keep safe out there. Bravo to you :thumbsup:
Click to expand...


Very true,Marlon.
When people ask what the best mod is they can do to their car,in terms of power/handling improvements, I reckon a good starting point is and advanced driving course,and some professional track day/fast driving training. Never does any harm,imo.
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You have all you need to start here Number 5 - well said both :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
Thanks all.

I did a little job for a fellow Zed owner this weekend (not on the forum though), by relocating his dead roof motor to the boot and getting it back to life, reinstalled and all working fine. Therefore, the money I earned is now sat on the shelf earmarked for the July IAM course.

Looking forward to it, but I think I'll do it in the 5 series !
 
craig3.2 said:
Marlon said:
I've enjoyed reading this thread, thanks Number5 and Paul for reminding me that the best drivers out there are the ones that are always trying to improve. Having the humility to learn from others and accept your own faults has to be the best way to keep safe out there. Bravo to you :thumbsup:
Click to expand...


Very true,Marlon.
When people ask what the best mod is they can do to their car,in terms of power/handling improvements, I reckon a good starting point is and advanced driving course,and some professional track day/fast driving training. Never does any harm,imo.
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undoubtedly in my mind, the driver the most important part of the performance equation.

I've been on driving days with a varying amount of powered cars - the most powerful of which are never guaranteed to be the first at the rest breaks / lunch, end points. It can quite often be the lesser powered cars with the most talented drivers that end up being first. Opens ones eyes completely.

Never underestimate the value of driving training. The High Performance course I linked to above has been invaluable to me :D
 
True gannet,I used to have no problem keeping up with quicker cars in the bends,on meets back when I had my 3.0, as did Woots,keeping up with some m's in the twisties,when he had his 2.0 :driving:

Done some similar courses to you,by the looks of it.

Took a tuned up cavalier I had back in the early 90s,and in bends on track days,it kept right on the heels of far faster cars(on paper),they just lost me on the straighs,lol.

If s always good to learn new skills :thumbsup:
 
Some people just have the ability to feel the car better and thus understand where the limits of grip are. I think that is a skill in itself !
 
ronk said:
Some people just have the ability to feel the car better and thus understand where the limits of grip are. I think that is a skill in itself !
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Couldn't agree more.

Though doing driving courses,track driving tuition,etc is always worthwhile.
I know when I passed my test(25 years ago),I didn't just jump into a racing fiesta and win races right away,it took time,and training from those who were older and wiser than me at that time :thumbsup:
 
I signed up for this, as mentioned earlier, back sometime in April and have now completed the two Classroom sessions and the first practical drive.

The classroom sessions were interesting in a number of ways. Firstly it struck me what diversity of people are on the roads, just by looking and listening to the other dozen or so people on the course ! There are people there who seem quite 'normal' and comfortable with driving and also those who seem to need an explanation for everything and have to write down every instruction or acronym mentioned. i.e. :
Into a bend IPSGA : Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration
Long Journey checks: POWDERY: Petrol, Oil, Water, Damage? , Electrics, Rubber, Yourself !

It brought home to me how naive I may be by assuming everyone knows what they are doing with 1.5 tonnes of metal, the use of common sense and how un-observant people can be to normal everyday hazzards, road-signs and road markings.

They said that everyone should set a test date in mind and try and work to it, SIX Months is the average, which I found worrying, in that most teenagers learn from scratch in 3-4 months, yet its going to take me 6 months to grasp Advanced Driving ??

I took my first drive on Wednesday morning in the Automatic 5 Series and felt that went OK, the Instructor was fairly complimentary and said I should be ready for the test sooner than average. He said he'd like to see me drive a manual, in order that he can satisfy himself that I know my gears properly, so I'm planning to take him out early on Sunday morning in #019 !! - Lets see what he thinks of my drivng after that !

Its a good course, but I'm just not good when it comes to theory. I just want to get on with it, so whilst I found the classroom stuff quite slow, with things like feeding the steering wheel, etc it is a worthwhile course with a rewarding qualification at the end, - I hope. Any bit of advice I can pick up that gives me an extra scond or two to react to the unexpected could be the difference between life and death. .... And my isurance will be cheaper !

Another worthy point to make is that whilst the course is £150, the cost is refundable to any persons between 17-25, by most Town Councils, as they are eager to reduce the accident & fatalities amongst the inexperienced drivers, so perhaps worthwhile encouraging your kids to do it ?

I'll keep posting as it goes on !
 
Interesting thread & looking forward to seeing if it does reflect in drive style when out with others "exploring" the Z4s capacities :oops:
 
What puts me off the process is the fact I know an "observer" with the IAM and can only describe his driving as diabolical, to have him sitting next to me and criticising or making recommendations regarding my driving would make the fluid in my eyes boil!
 
ronk said:
What puts me off the process is the fact I know an "observer" with the IAM and can only describe his driving as diabolical, to have him sitting next to me and criticising or making recommendations regarding my driving would make the fluid in my eyes boil!
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Yes, I know what you mean.
When you see all of the Observers and their choice of cars, you would wonder if they really are driving enthusiasts, but whist we probably focus on safety at a reasonable pace, they are only concerned with safety at a safe pace !

I just thought its something to do in the evenings and to actually acheive some recognition as a capable or experienced driver, by means of a qualification.
 
If I tell you that on one drive - He went barrelling into a bend in top gear, swerved to avoid a hedgehog, didn't see a red temporary traffic signal, you get some flavour of why I had to smile when he suggested that he came out to do an observation and critique of my driving. He's had a speeding ticket and a ticket for shooting a red light as well. I would say not a good driver nor a good observer !
He said that ir wouldn't take much to give me the polish to sail thro ! I'd just given the fella a nice steady drive from Wakefield to Durham in the old Merc.
It's coloured my judgement of the organisation as the chap honestly thinks he is a talented and safe driver - add to this scenario, he wrote a car off when a lady driver made a mistake - (his insurance coughed up for all damage)
 
I know some of the observers in the Bristol group, and they are true petrol heads.

Can't believe they do 2 classroom sessions though :o Our group does about an hour, then a demo then you're on :driving:
 
Are you sure he's an observer ronk?

I did the course some years ago (2010) when I thought I had better freshen up my driving after a lifetime of habit forming driving. I was an enthusiast, a motorcyclist of many years and loved to read everything I could about driving. I thought it made sense to revisit what I was doing in my 50s as I got older.

I guess it really depends who you get as an observer. Mine was near 70 years old and had a Scoobydoo! I thought I was a good driver but I learnt a lot in the process which has definitely made me a safer and better driver and also made the process of driving far more relaxing yet focussed at the same time. At the time of doing the course I was making a weekly drive to and back from Newcastle to Manchester in a day. I found this tiring and stressful. Going through the course transformed my approach to this necessary journey and made it so much more relaxing and easily manageable. Applying what I learnt from the course has also directly avoided two potential accidents (both with regard to positioning for corners at speed - not for the apex but for vision (late apex)). The overtaking method taught has been a terrific safety aid. Generally the course has given me more time on the road to respond.

Now you might get the impression I had a lot to learn . . . My wife Steph is a good barometer for me. She has been my pillion rider for years on mostly superbikes up to our last which had 140bhp and we survived. She always said she would tell me if she was ever feeling unsafe and concerned (she still says this regarding our runs in the Zed and now M). The thing is I was ready to learn and apply some methods which initially felt wrong, awkward or surprising. But then again one of my homework tasks was to find out where the torque and bhp graph for my then MX5 crossed - this led to me driving for a longer period in lower gears then previously. I loved this technical and practical approach. My driving became far more thoughtful and involved than it had before. A good example is the not indicating automatically but only where needed. Seemed initially strange to me but then you do start to understand how that makes you think about all road conditions layout and other road users before reaching for the indicator - every time.

Where I was driving automatically I was now considering far more and focussed far more. The course for me had direct links with the spirited driving we do on the road during our 'hoons' in that it was obvious that the techniques and advice made it safer - not invincible you understand but definitely able to drive faster safely, where and when appropriate, through applying the techniques learnt.

No doubt in my mind about that and it's still able to be thrilling challenging and enjoyable whilst having an aim of being safe - worth every penny of the £137 I paid.
 
gannet said:
I know some of the observers in the Bristol group, and they are true petrol heads.

Can't believe they do 2 classroom sessions though :o Our group does about an hour, then a demo then you're on :driving:
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TVR has his new car so he is ready for it now ... let me or him know when the next class / session is please 8)
 
paulgs1000 said:
Are you sure he's an observer ronk?
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Most definitely yes - a full blown "tyre and Tarmac - wheel shuffler"
Even has a certificate on his lounge wall.
 
I've had a couple of outings with the observers and I am actually enjoying it. They aren't telling me that I'm doing it all wrong and to do it their way, they are actually quite complimentary about my driving and impressed with lots of it.

I had a run on Sunday with three observers in the the back of my F11 and they were actually egging me on for overtakes, that whilst I thought were possible, I considered a little un-necessary but it was good fun. (I would have taken them all day in the Zed, but with 4 adults in an estate vehicle, without the same explosive power, it's not quite as safe.) I was expecting a load of old boring drivers who just do 30mph A to B rather than people who actually love their cars and enjoying a good drive, so a pleasant surprise really.

There are a few minor things I've learnt, but the difficulty for me is in swapping for speed and performance driving in the Zed, for a more comfortable chauffuer type, smooth ride in the 5 series with three large passengers!

I would totally agree with the things Paulgs1000 has said. There are lots of minor bits of wisdom that all add a few extra percent towards a safer drive and its those few extra milliseconds and anticipation that may make all the difference one day in that nightmare situation.

For now, I'll stick with it and make good use of my evenings rather than sit watching TV !
 
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