Respect vs Fear

[Tom Wells]

mega-horsepower == dyno queen

It makes no difference whether the grenade pin snags on something and is pulled out, or whether you pull it out yourself.

You're still catapulted into the next world...

[Mike I]

Originally Posted by Tom Wells

mega-horsepower == dyno queen

It makes no difference whether the grenade pin snags on something and is pulled out, or whether you pull it out yourself.

You're still catapulted into the next world...

Says the man with the 517 c.i. big block and the tell-tale sig line...

[Tom Wells]

Originally Posted by Mike I

Says the man with the 517 c.i. big block and the tell-tale sig line...

And 40K miles.

And only one DUD (driving upside down) incident...

[Ron61]

I have never had an accident but I have pushed the limits on some of our backwoods mountain roads in the past. And as one member said the cars get up to speed very quickly. My Coupe will be at 100 MPH in a heartbeat it seems and as I have gotten older I tend to drive more cautiously and stay off the freeways and main roads.

Ron

[Lou1119]

Originally Posted by Ron61

I have never had an accident but I have pushed the limits on some of our backwoods mountain roads in the past. And as one member said the cars get up to speed very quickly. My Coupe will be at 100 MPH in a heartbeat it seems and as I have gotten older I tend to drive more cautiously and stay off the freeways and main roads.

Ron

Ron,
I agree with you. As I become more mature I have also tended to drive more cautiously. Perhaps it is because I have become a little more sensible or I Realize my reflexes aren’t what they used to be. As far as staying off of main roads I am the same—- too many drivers wanting to goad you into street racing. Not for me.

[eschaider]

Increasing years bring increasing awareness of our own mortality — ask me how I know


Ed

[Snake2998]

Care in driving a Cobra (The more power the more care!!) is essential and even after years of ownership (28 Yrs) they still surprise you sometimes. I recall overtaking at low speed in the face of oncoming traffic (still plenty of room) in second gear (gave it a bit of wellie) and as I turned in after overtaking I took my foot off the throttle too suddenly to avoid running into the car ahead and the tail stepped out. Must say it caught my attention and gave me a valuable reminder that any sudden moves on or off throttle will cause problems and also not to become too complacent.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by Snake2998

Care in driving a Cobra (The more power the more care!!) is essential and even after years of ownership (28 Yrs) they still surprise you sometimes. I recall overtaking at low speed in the face of oncoming traffic (still plenty of room) in second gear (gave it a bit of wellie) and as I turned in after overtaking I took my foot off the throttle too suddenly to avoid running into the car ahead and the tail stepped out. Must say it caught my attention and gave me a valuable reminder that any sudden moves on or off throttle will cause problems and also not to become too complacent.

Thats trailing throttle oversteer and why in a racing class you are taught to have foot on throttle or brake but never coast.

I would add that a high performance driving class is almost essential to the safe operation of a Cobra. I went to Bondurant three times (hey, slow learner . Really, though, in the advanced class you got three full days of 8 hours a day of essentially open track with instruction. Well worth the repeat visits.) In the early classes they teach you on a skid pad about the various over- and under-steer conditions and what to do. It's not book learning, but actual skid pad driving. Very helpful to actually do it. They teach you about all of the things to do but you'll never remember them, and in some cases the correct recovery isn't the safest action either. The one you can always remember is "all in": Foot on clutch and full on brakes.

[t walgamuth]

I found when I first started autocrossing my VSE that if I let off the gas for a corner it was pretty easy to break traction with both rear wheels due to the compression braking of the 7 liter v8. In that circumstance if you lost the back there was no stopping it, it just broke loose and came around. This was first demonstrated to me when running it on street tires on a damp day.

I learned to left foot brake and never let off the gas completely in the turns.

It made the times I drove it on the street an exercise in caution.

[eschaider]

I believe this was called Trailing Torque Oversteer (TTO) at one point in time. Very easy to induce in these types of vehicles if you back pedal too much. Pushing in the clutch pedal and effectively disconnecting the engine from the drive tires helps in regaining control once the out of control condition begins.


Ed

[t walgamuth]

Good concept but in reality I suspect things can happen so fast you cannot save yourself.

[SwiftDB4]

Having raced in SCCA and IMSA for 30 years I say keep the 80mph+ speeds on the race track. Way too many unexpected things like inattentive drivers and rough surfaces can happen on public roads. Even full acceleration from a stop can send you into a ditch or tree on narrow roads. Track days are the appropriate and reasonably safe way to experience the full potential of our cars.

[t walgamuth]

Good advice.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by SwiftDB4

Having raced in SCCA and IMSA for 30 years I say keep the 80mph+ speeds on the race track. Way too many unexpected things like inattentive drivers and rough surfaces can happen on public roads. Even full acceleration from a stop can send you into a ditch or tree on narrow roads. Track days are the appropriate and reasonably safe way to experience the full potential of our cars.

But, as they say, s*** happens and any of the events can happen in every day driving with a Cobra. Most happen because the driver doesn't know what a high horsepower, high torque high compression engine behaves in certain circumstances. And those events happen when conditions vary, especially cold tires and cold pavement. Track days don't expose everything unless you deliberately probe the boundary of the envelope and most people aren't there to do that.

[incoming]

I bought a Cobra which was a dedicated mountain racer for 25yrs and a heated garage queen for many more. I'm currently building an engine from scratch to replace the fourth engine in 9k miles. I stacked some bearings I think.

Everything with the suspension is kind of squirrely? Let off quickly in a curve, strange sensation of spinning out but not doing it?

Going into a mountain curve and punching it is almost orgasmicly perfect.

[Chicagowil]

All of this is really about "engaging brain before placing car in motion"! Too many guys (and gals) just point and push the throttle not aware of what can happen next.

When I was 13 and my uncle taught me to ride his BSA, he told me to "never be afraid of the bike. Respect it and always remember that everyone around you is intentionally trying to hit you, If you keep that in mind, you will remain safe".

It applies here with these cars. Respect it, keep it within your and the car's
limitations. And assume everyone around you will run into you.

Thom

[tortuga]

Originally Posted by Chicagowil

All of this is really about "engaging brain before placing car in motion"! Too many guys (and gals) just point and push the throttle not aware of what can happen next.

When I was 13 and my uncle taught me to ride his BSA, he told me to "never be afraid of the bike. Respect it and always remember that everyone around you is intentionally trying to hit you, If you keep that in mind, you will remain safe".

It applies here with these cars. Respect it, keep it within your and the car's
limitations. And assume everyone around you will run into you.

Thom

Well said, i agree. If i am going to cross paths i usually wait for eye contact...