Driving Setup & Style

[xEJ20x]

This mostly has to do with hand position on the wheel and shifting techniques. But feel free to add anything you feel is necessary information on a driving style.

To being, this idea started after reading an small article in Modified Mag about seat positioning for....ahem "spirited" driving .
I began to give deeper thought into my driving style/technique.

My set up on the WRX.

Seat Position:
Close enough to fully depress the clutch without stretching. But not too close that I'm jammed against the steering wheel. And the seat has a slight recline, nothing too severe that I would be considered a stick shaker*.

Hand Position: Always at 9 and 3 o'clock. Most of the time only the 9 o'clock hand is on the wheel. Other is on center console armrest.

Shifting: Upshifts @ 3000 for around town use, which is most of my daily driving. When coming to stops I rev match for downshifts into 3rd. I sometime rev match for 2nd.

Driving Style: Passive-Aggressive.



*stick shaker:
Automotive "enthusiast" often seen driving fart-can rice cooker with seat in near fully reclined position and steering sweet ride with one outstretched arm on top of the steering wheel. To select the proper gear, driver pulls self upright by yanking on the shift lever, thus "shaking the stick." Real pimps, of course, drive automatics so they never have to lift but are still stick shakers at heart.

[sisforsurfing]

I drive pretty much the same.

My seat is JUST shy of vertical, and I can depress the clutch without stretching.

Hands are at 9 and 3, usually my right hand rests, but sometimes I find my left hand on the top of the wheel (12 o'clock) and immediately feel like a huge tool.

I shift at 3k around town and downshift (rev match/heeltoe practice) always to third, sometimes to second, almost never to first because if you don't get it JUST right it suuuuucks (grindcore).

On and off-ramps are usually taken at 3/4-full throttle though, that's when I have fun. Otherwise I rarely go nuts... except sometimes when around other people driving quickly or I find a really sweet road.

[PaleDSM]

Hand postition for me is usually more like 10 and 2. I try not to let my hand just rest on the shifter when I am not shifting keeping both hands on the wheel.

I am pretty agressive. The cars will see redline atleast once everytime I get back behind the wheel. Even to work I beat them a little rev matching everything but first usually. I find myself letting traffic get ahead of me on good curvy sections so I can pick up speed through them aggressively without anyone slowing me down. Nothing dangerous but faster than Suzy SoccerMom and her Windstar are willing to go.

The AWD sees a practice launch at a light every so often. Studderbox, antilag, and 6k out of a light. The awd is a play car though so it only comes out like once a week.

[272sWrx]

Originally Posted by PaleDSM

Hand postition for me is usually more like 10 and 2. I try not to let my hand just rest on the shifter when I am not shifting keeping both hands on the wheel.

I am pretty agressive. The cars will see redline atleast once everytime I get back behind the wheel. Even to work I beat them a little rev matching everything but first usually. I find myself letting traffic get ahead of me on good curvy sections so I can pick up speed through them aggressively without anyone slowing me down. Nothing dangerous but faster than Suzy SoccerMom and her Windstar are willing to go.

The AWD sees a practice launch at a light every so often. Studderbox, antilag, and 6k out of a light. The awd is a play car though so it only comes out like once a week.

you dirve just like me

[sisforsurfing]

Originally Posted by PaleDSM

The AWD sees a practice launch at a light every so often. Studderbox, antilag, and 6k out of a light. The awd is a play car though so it only comes out like once a week.

I started doing that recently every so often. If there's an empty road and I'm alone at a stoplight sometimes I can't resist. Plus I need to keep practicing how to not bog or eff up my trans. 272s, if you do it a bit how's your tranny holding up?

I don't see redline every day, but full boost daily, definitely.

[2point4DSM]

When I'm driving the DSM:

My seat and steering wheel position is similar to sisforsurfing. My driving style is probably a bit more aggressive than PaleDSM except I don't launch as hard on a regular basis... except when I'm on a mission and trying to take down a Supra or something, lol.

Instead the motor will see 7-8k revs at least a dozen times before I make it back home. 1st and 2nd gear only. I hate going much faster than the speedlimit. It's how I get there that is more fun for me

And just like PaleDSM, I only take it out out once in a while.

Otherwise, I'm driving a Honda Pilot at or under the speedlimit and the Saturn at nights when I go hang out on the BLVD. Not sure I can actually break any speedlimits with the Saturn, lol... j/k.

Listening to NPR most of the time and just enjoying the ride....

And I never use gears to slow the car down. Brakes are much cheaper than having to replace syncros.

[SpendOne]

Originally Posted by 2point4DSM

And I never use gears to slow the car down. Brakes are much cheaper than having to replace syncros.

I concur.

[xEJ20x]

Originally Posted by SpendOne

I concur.

64k on the original tranny. It would give me a reason to do a complete tranny upgrade.

[99SL2_Modder]

Seat is pretty much as far back as I can go so I can get in and out of the car and still touch the pedals to tha flo', fo sho.

Pretty much 75* or so on the seat. Almost verticle.

I can NOT drive with 2 hands. Period. My car will start swerving on the road. My hands do not work properly on opposing sides of the steering wheel because of the nerve loss in my left hand. As such, my left hand is usually out the window with my right hand on 12 (Detroit Lean, baby), sometimes my left hand is bent out the window and steering with fingers at 3 and my right hand on the shiftah (autotragic, baby...and yes, I do manually shift my auto a good amount of the time). Most of my turns are right hand grabs and palms. There are times when I can to a HOH turn, and I do that easily. It's just using both hands to go straight.

Driving style? Pistons to head. My car frequently sees 6k in first and second. If I hit 6k in 3rd, chances are that I'm over 105, so it doesn't tend to go that high often. I also allow traffic to get ahead of me in turns so I can take my left hand out, put it on the roof, put my right hand at 12, and slam on the gas through the turn and never lose my line. (my left hand is holding on to the roof, because my regular seat belt doesn't help much with 4pt ready seats in keeping me in spot =( )

[Twin_Cam]

When driving the daily driver: Pretty far away from the wheel, because there's no clutch pedal. Seat slightly reclined. Very relaxed driving style, because the car rides so smooth and has so much torque you don't have to floor it to move anywhere.

When driving race car or dad's Miata: Close to steering wheel, so close some people poke fun at me. Seat almost completely vertical. Shift around 4K rpm, or at redline if I'm merging onto a highway or want to have fun. I heel-toe downshift a lot, but if I'm not on the brakes, I always rev-match anyway. Always.

[Raven18940]

I don't redline my car all that often, even when I'm having fun I usually only go to 4K. Around town I shift around 2K-2.5K and try to keep it at or slightly under 2K when cruising to save gas. On the highway I only go 65 mph cause I get 35 mpg when I do.

[Smokescreen]

Seat is always vertical, wheel is down low, but not low enough to squash my legs or block the dash, hands are almost always at 10 and 2 or 9 and 3.

I am guilty of having one hand at 12 or 9 with my arm resting on the console armrest, but most of the times my hands are on the wheel. After a shift, the hand goes right back up. I don't keep my hand near the stick unless I am in traffic and even then, it is hovering just above it.

I usually stay out of the boost around town, shifting at 2000-2500. I heel-toe rev match 4-2, never 1st. I'm no expert on heel-toe, but I can do it in work boots now. I never use gearing to slow the car. That is what brakes are for. Sometimes I miss 3rd...so it is kinda good I hardly see redline. Full boost only once or twice per week, more often on completely empty roads. I will allow traffic to get ahead of me so I can take turns at speed (nothing extremely dangerous, but faster than those aggressive minivans).

[2point0T]

around town i shift at at 2500-3000k, my car will guzzle gas if i shift any higher than that, i occassionally redline through second, sometimes first, just to accellerate fast without going too much over the speed limit.

On highways I cruise at around 65-70 (used to do 80 constantly, but got a speeding ticket recently) and that gets me around 30mpg depending on temperature etc.

I usually have a hand at 10 and 2, if not my right hand is on the shifter or resting on the console. I used to have one at 12, but ha thats over with, that was during my "I'm a tough guy I just got my license" stage.

That reminds me, what is up with tough guys leaning forward all the time, I usually see this in mustangs and camaros, what is the point of leaning forward, i just dont get it?