http://www.sdt.com.au/

Did a course out there at Willowbank that ran through today from about 8:30 through to 3:30 this afternoon.

The course was heaps fun, while half is theory and the other half is out in the cars (the supplied Protons / XR6 aren't too shabby). Course consisted of much rubber burning, learning to simulate ABS without having ABS installed in the car etc. Most fun was the short circuit with chicanes and the instructor showing precision handbrake turns, although we weren't allowed to follow =P

Alot of fun and i found out alot of new and helpfun s***, so i highly recommend to all out there on your Learners (yes you can do this on your L's .. and you dont need anybody in the car with you =O ) or even for you P platers and Opens who think your all that (and I know alot of you f*****s do).

Cost was like $120 or something for all day, bit of a bummer that no food was provided but it was still alot of fun and a great experience.

Quick note, they also offer a drift school and such so i guess that's 'fully sick'

i'm all that

Yeah did this same course in 2002, sounds the same still.

i also did that corse. it should be a part of getting your licence

I thought about doing one of these courses, what's the theory all about? Learning the theory behind doing a handbrake turn or theory behind how to control a skid if one should occur unexpectedly & then you go out & do the practical side of it? Do you get to play with that driving simulator thing while trying to send an SMS I saw on the news a month or so ago? or those beer goggle things?

"look through the corner"

randy is a superior driver to everyone else who has tracked/skidpanned because drifting doesnt teach you anything about car control, and its for those god damn street racers!

twice now I've got accidental drift in my car, maybe it's time I learned how to drive so I can stop doing it accidentally.....

...and start doing it on purpose.

randy is a superior driver to everyone else who has tracked/skidpanned because drifting doesnt teach you anything about car control, and its for those god damn street racers!

that's right maxe, drifting doesn't teach you how to maintain sufficient distance.

randy is a superior driver to everyone else who has tracked/skidpanned because drifting doesnt teach you anything about car control, and its for those god damn street racers!

What you on about? I haven't done the drift course, merely mentioned it because i know there are alot of d*******s in the world with licenses so they may wanna learn how not to rap them and their d******* mates around poles :)

may wanna learn how not to rap them and their d******* mates around poles :)

did someone say RAP?!

damn those eminem wannabes
rappin their mates around a tree
I rice my car I race my ride
if this car could cook I'd make it my bride

BREAK IT DOWN...

sorry, couldn't resist :p

A good quality defensive driving course should be mandatory on ALL new licences.

A good quality defensive driving course should be mandatory on ALL new licences.

Their sentiments exactly.

Also a quick note, as of 2006 all factory standard Ford cars come with headlights always on... you cannot turn them off. This is a recognized safety feature and will be popping up in alot of cars and legislation soonish. Which is weird considering Volvo did it 30 years ago eh?

Courses like that are mandatory in heaps of other countries, we got it easy over here :)

I've also done that course. Was lots of fun. I've also done the next level course they hold out there. Not the drift one. Just more of the safe/defensive driving stuff. This one was heaps of fun. Driving your own car and driving the whole day. It involved similar braking exercises as the first one but at higher speeds. Plus some more advanced braking situations. Then did a circuit type exercise. Focusing on vision through corners etc... Then got to go on the dirt circuit they've got out there. This was awesome fun. Especially watching my brother go hurtling off the end of the main straight into the long grass in our mums pulsar. Finally they did a time trial event with everyone competing in this little circuit practising all the stuff we'd learnt during the day. I'll see if I can find any photos.
Slalom thing
http://img473.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc007204sb.jpg
Dirt Circuit. Can sort of see the path the track takes from the dirt kicked up in the background.
http://img473.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc007339at.jpg

edit: more pics here with some of the other cars that were there. ek civic cxi. This thing was stock except for the wheels but it got the best time at the end. Good driver though aswell. r33 gtst looked pretty good. http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/cameronsemple6/pics/Driving%20Day/


last edited by Eclipsor at 23:54:53 24/Oct/05

about time we got photos

last edited by nF at 22:38:18 24/Oct/05

I've never botherered doing one of these courses since I've been driving since I was just over 8 (grew up on a farm) . Main reason I never botherered is that all the ones I did look at all those years ago wouldn't let you use your own car - which makes more sense to me, learn how to improve the handling of the vehicle your used to driving.

Might be fun to take the AU for a run. Either that or that's the day I take an XR6 MKII Turbo for a test drive I've been thinking about getting >:P

edit for spelling

last edited by HERMITech at 22:50:24 24/Oct/05

^^^ that's what I always thought too. why bother learning to control some car that handles completely different to the one you're driving now? I suppose in theory there shouldn't be much to change in the way you go about it, but in practice there's probably s***loads more to it.

Just a question, what happens if you somehow magically manage to flip, roll, crash or otherwise own their car? Are they insured for that stuff or would you have to pay?

Just a question, what happens if you somehow magically manage to flip, roll,

Well they explain pretty well that it's impossible to flip / roll a car on normal bitumen roads unless tires arent inflated to the correct PSI etc etc.

Also they are insured for you to use their cars =D

Could you please explain how to simulate ABS breaking?

Could you please explain how to simulate ABS breaking?

Do the course!

Do the course!

But I'd rather save $120 and hear it delivered in Randy's sexy baritone.

^^ push the brake bedal flat, once you feel its about to lock up release it the slightest amount just to let the wheel spin intermittedly.

i did the course too, do they still have the AU Falcon ute? that was awesome fun.

Thanks Fade. My dad taught me to do that, I didn't realise it was simulating ABS breaking.

Not quite simulating, it's the same effect. When in skid, sliding across the ground has less friction then when under control and under brakes.

ABS controls brake fluid flow (doesn't take over completely) by releasing pressure on the brake line to get the wheels moving again. (You can see this for yourself, jump in a car with ABS and hit the brakes as hard as you can, you'll feel the pedal shake as the ABS system controls the maximum fluid to the brakes so stop skiding.) When you feel this the first time it can be a little odd, it's actually been the cause of some accidents (People hit the brakes hard, brake pedal shudders, people let go of the brake thinking something is wrong and end up crashing).

Really comes back to one thing, knowledge, know your car, know its limits, know your limits. These courses can be great if you can do them in your own car, while the knowledge is helpful overall, doing these things in their cars only test one thing out of the three above. This can be dangerious as well (to idiots) who do these courses under well maintained vehicles, then get stupid and try and do them in their own cars, which can be less then reliable ;).

i did this..
boring.
really, i didnt learn anything substantial
the thing that stuck out in my mind the most (that i learnt) is if you have a flat tyre just let the car slow down, dont break coz you could go into the traffic.. then i felt really stupid for not realizing it beforehand.

I don't know, i thought it was a bit of a waste really.. but my school was promoting it, so i went.




last edited by Joanna at 15:59:34 25/Oct/05

Could you please explain how to simulate ABS breaking?

warp your rotors to the point that they shake so bad your calipers cant never grip hard enough to lock em

shutup car nerd ^

warp your rotors to the point that they shake so bad your calipers cant never grip hard enough to lock em

Subaru's come with this standard.