IMProve Driving SKiLLs

[IlIkEmYz]

What do you guys do to improve driving skills??

I'll start first.

I play intial D the arcade.

And practice drifting in empty parking lots

[[s3]]

Go to the track or driving school, no amount of parking lot practice will get that kind of experience.

Don't try GT3/Arcade game techniques on the streets.

[IlIkEmYz]

well i only play arcade game is because it improve hand eye coordination. also it give me an idea of what would happen if i turn this way or that way

[Poatree]

thats scary haha...

I'd LOVE to take my S13 to a track or course but i've never had the oppourtunity... so yes i'm a parkinglot drifter/donutboy

[Bunta240]

I played that Initial D track game and I got to say, I sucked. The physics in that game was weird. Mountain roads are also nice, I got a great mountain road not too far from where I live.

[PhaneSoul]

whats the initial d site?

[Fenvy]

What do you guys do to improve driving skills??

I'll start first.

I play intial D the arcade.

And practice drifting in empty parking lots

you are kidding right?

[Badfish]

well i only play arcade game is because it improve hand eye coordination. also it give me an idea of what would happen if i turn this way or that way

Um, unfortunately playing video games and having good hand eye coordination doesn't automatically make you a better driver. If that was the case I'd probably be a professional driver, since Ive been playing video games since Pong came out for the Atari 2600. That Initial D game is nothing like driving in real life.

The only way to improve driving skills is to get out and actually drive.

Ask friends, relative or parents who have experience for advice. These guys mentioned driving school as well.

Im not sure exactly what answer you want, but video games ain't it.

[Soy]

You'd be surprised how much Gran Turismo 3 can teach you, if you've got a wheel and pedals. It's no substitute for real driving, but it can give you a general idea of what's going to happen if you do something, from standard road racing to drifting to auto-x. I'd have to say I owe some of my best experience "behind the wheel" to GT3.

That being said, don't think you can take your 1337 skillz out to the track and have them work - a real car doesn't behave EXACTLY like it does in the game... so always take it easy at first, and only do what you feel comfortable doing on the track.

James

[Badfish]

My main problem with Gran Turismo 3 and the like is that nothing ever breaks. Crash your car and keep on going. No damage to anything. All mechanical factors, road and traffic conditions, etc. are always ideal. The theories behind the game are sound, but its still a simulation. Of course a simulation will never replace the real thing.

I have yet to mis-shift, grind a gear, or hit a pothole in a video game. They are too damn lenient. I think some people forget the consequences that happen in the real world.

[Kaioshin1982]

as scary as it might sound, i actually learned how to drive and also drive stick by playing video games lol

First time i actually drove a car, i already knew wat to do and stuff. Of course, I dont mean driving like a pro but I never messed up or anything like that. Besides stalling at the light couple of times hehe

[Radian]

Of course nothing can replace the experiance of actual driving, but for some the price may be prohibitive (i would suggest auto X then).But, I think that people can gain a basic understanding of the GENERAL technique used to race a car. Pilots use simulators to train don't they? Granted a PS2 game could never be as realistic as a flight simulator, but it is something 'constructive' to do when your bored.PS, the last video game I played was the original grand turismo, so i'm unbiased.

[[s3]]

You will be surprised how much difference there is between a "video game" and a real life track.

I've tried both, played a lot of GT3, loads of driving in various conditions (snow,rain,sand/salt). When I ran in the Auto-X track, things were nothing like the video game. You are making split second decisions while the car is going pretty fast and throwing you around. Unfortunately, the most that I ever got out of GT3 was my controller vibrating.

I would suggest kids not try anything stupid on the roads, not only will you fubar your ride, you might kill yourself or someone else in the process.

No such thing as 1-UP in real life.

[Zydeco]

If you want to drive good and live in nor cal check this out on may 15 Thunderhill Raceway http://www.sfrscca.org/RallyX/ . Its a rally open to eveyone.

[Bubba1]

Video games? Driving like an idiot in a parking lot? Gimme a break. I imagine some teenagers actually believe it, which is kinda scary. All those things do is create bad habits. The best way is improve your skills is in a real car with a real instructor. Virtually all 1st timers to high performance driving schools are shocked at how little they actually knew before taking the course. And you'll find even seasoned professional drivers have coaches/instructors.

So if you're 17 and think you have amazing skills from playing GT-3 or goofing around a parking lot, you're sadly mistaken. If you want to learn car control skills and can't afford a hi performance driving school, you might look at go-carting as a start.

[marshun]

actually i use some techniques i learned from grand tourismo 3 when i go drifting. it helped me to understand a feint better.

but initial d isnt too realistic. cause if it was then people wouldnt play it. besides it is based on an anime so its marketed towards younger kids i guess.

but i do like to play that intial d game sometimes. haha. its fun when you battle your friends.

[chandler]

what ever works tell my room mate, he cant drive worth a ****

[PhaneSoul]

Video games? Driving like an idiot in a parking lot? Gimme a break. I imagine some teenagers actually believe it, which is kinda scary. All those things do is create bad habits. The best way is improve your skills is in a real car with a real instructor. Virtually all 1st timers to high performance driving schools are shocked at how little they actually knew before taking the course. And you'll find even seasoned professional drivers have coaches/instructors.

So if you're 17 and think you have amazing skills from playing GT-3 or goofing around a parking lot, you're sadly mistaken. If you want to learn car control skills and can't afford a hi performance driving school, you might look at go-carting as a start.

i was planning on getting a go-cart this summer to get the basics of drifting

[thelinja]

How exactly is reckless driving in a parking lot good driving practice? Go to an autocross.

[420_240sx]

Being 17, it makes me want to throw up after reading the first post of this thread. It just blows my mind that people actually think video games improve driving. There is very little similar. I played GT3 for over 2 years, along with 500 other racing games, but I am no professional driver. Actually the first time I got behind the wheel of a M/T car I don't think I made half of the shifts I was going for. But wait, what happened to all those years of tapping L2 and R2 to shift??? Please people, don't trust video games to have ANY effect on real life driving....I don't want to die.

[Onizuka]

Driving 110 around a corner in GT3 is no where near as scary as doing it in real life. Your heart will pound, your mind with act like a retarded VCR, it will be scary. A video game cant prepare you for that.

[Anand]

NO MATTER what people say... NO VIDEO GAME will prepare you to be a better driver...

that is unles you have a video game that is worth like in the thousands(millions maybe?)...basically what the military uses to train their pilots and stuff... something that is almost real..

other than that kind of video game.. there is no other that will be even remotley close...

this is one of my biggest irritations when people say, "you can learn drifting/driving/auto-x from xxxxx video game".. ~whatever...

[PhaneSoul]

i dont think u can, sure vid games MIGHT teach u what a car MIGHT act like when doing something, very doubtful that it will, cuz the gme wasnt modeled exactly after a car and it cant act the same cuz in real life EVERYTHING matters. In a game, only 1 or 2 things will matter on what happens to the car, i have yet to be blown off track by winds in a game

[Bubba1]

i was planning on getting a go-cart this summer to get the basics of drifting

Professional instruction is the key. There are some excellent Karting schools out there.

[annunziato39]

I don't understand how anyone can say a video game can help them better understand how a car is going to react in real life... I don't know, maybe that whole gravity thing just effects me. A feint has to do with the weight distribution and speed of the vehicle, you can in no way ever understand that by pressing a driectional pad.

[StrangeLove]

I think video games do help in a way. For example, in the license mode in GT3, there are lines the layout the best route on the track, and have markers for when to brake, etc. I KNOW ITS NOT REAL LIFE, but don't you think it helps to know the proper way to take a 90 degree turn? Every car is different of course, but it doesn't hurt to know basics so you can adjust for your own vehicle and conditions. Consider it as a virtual instructor for those of us who cannot afford to go to a driving school... I think of it as an interactive guide to the basics.

As far as I know, you must learn before you go out and do things in the real world. Pilots don't just jump in a plane with an instructor. They learn before hand in simulated enviroments! They are in a classroom reading books and things like that. Only after they master the knowledge they learn from the classroom do they fly the plane...

Answer this for me, Do think reading books is useless, and will help you in no way when it comes to doing the real thing, as in the case with pilots?

[Bubba1]

In order to obtain a learner's permit/drivers license you have to take both written and driving tests, so you obviously have to do some reading in order to pass the written test. Reading is absolutely important, but you will likely not be able todo a skill like parallel park by simply reading how its done. You actually have to experience and practice it in order to get good at it.

If you take a hi performance driving course, you'll most certinaly do a combination of live practice and classroom discussion. And the good schools will almost always recommend reading to follow up on what you've experience and learned.

Unless they're specific instructional video's I think you're kidding yourself if you think video games like GT3 have any value as a learning tool. And driving schools are not that expensive. A typical 2 day Audi driving school is $300-$400, which is about the same cost a the set of tires that you'll ruin drifting and doing donuts in parking lots with your friends. Food for thought.

[StrangeLove]

I didn't know that a driving school was that cheap, I don't drift so I'll the money I saved and do something useful with it....

I think I've learned something from GT3, even though it does not compare in any way to the real thing.

[masticatingcow]

Videogames are designed to be marketable. GT3 cars don't bottom out or crash or blow gaskets because that'd be no fun at all. (Not to mention Polyphony's license agreements with the manufacturers... gotta keep the cars clean.) Regardless, GT3, Initial D, NFSU, etc etc are NOT designed to educate... they are simply entertainment for car people. But, while I completely agree that no videogame could really be used to improve your driving skills, they do help in a lot of ways.

I like what pills said about having learned a few useful things from GT3... to expand on that idea, GT3 and other like-modeled games serve as an effective platform to start learning about performance cars and driving. And, when you graduate from driving you tricked out Teg or GT-R in Initial D and GT3 to your mom's minivan you'll realize how little you actually knew. For some people, this can be constructive, a motivating factor in one's self-education. For others, mastery of performance driving stays in the videogame. At any rate, all the GTs were fun games and at least more entertaining than Auto Modellista.

And here's my $.02 about improving your driving skills... 1. Learn to use your turn signals BEFORE you begin changing lanes. 2. Check your mirrors for other cars. You may THINK you're the only one driving, but you're not.3. Going 80mph in 65mph traffic doesn't help ANYBODY. You might get there faster, but only a few minutes faster... assuming you don't get nailed for speeding in the meantime.4. Understand what behaviors you might exhibit and how they might be interpretted by others. Cutting someone off and slowing down is typically seen as a hostile movement, and, at least in CA, generally the favor is returned.5. Above all, be considerate of other drivers and be aware of your situation on the road: you are sitting inside more or less a ton's worth of sharp, hard metals and such that are neatly tucked in place around you. Doing stupid stuff can change that.

Why do I post this? Because performance driving has a place, but it's not public roads. You think it's funny, but just wait until some wanker pops out of nowhere and runs you off the road with his (or her) "skills." Keep it real.

[PhaneSoul]

Agrees totally ^^^^^^