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[aaronjb]

I suppose power induced oversteer to counteract the tendency to understeer would be the way to have fun with it.

Not something you want to do on a light car though realy....and certainly not somehting to do on the road 

I know some people who enjoy driving Caterfields and the like on track purely for their power induced oversteer fun.. surely much better in a light car than a heavy one, anyway? 

[Marks DTM Calib]

I suppose power induced oversteer to counteract the tendency to understeer would be the way to have fun with it.

Not something you want to do on a light car though realy....and certainly not somehting to do on the road 

I know some people who enjoy driving Caterfields and the like on track purely for their power induced oversteer fun.. surely much better in a light car than a heavy one, anyway? 

Not much finess though is it.

For me its the pleasure and skil of getting it cleanly round a corner whilst balanced on the edge and using tiny blips only when realy needed (e.g. when you screw it up).

The neanderthal approach of taking car which has been made superlight and giving it large round a corner is just so wrong. 

[aaronjb]

It's a lot of fun, though especially as you can't time on track days, so it's always hard to know whether you're really making the 'right lines' through the corners..

Not that I ever got the MR2 that sideways - with the engine at the back and a short wheelbase it's a touch snappy for that. Plus it's mine, therefore costly to repair.. The BAT Caterhams, on the other hand..

[tunnie]

don't really know the story behind it, someone could have bought a written off M3 dead cheap and decided to pop it in

[aaronjb]

It's Dax's new demonstrator - actually still in development. Previously the Rush used (IIRC) Jag donor parts (e.g. the rear diff).. they're getting harder to get hold of and the Jag diff weighs about as much as a small family hatchback..

So they decided to move to BMW donor parts as they're more readily available and of a much more modern design - I imagine the diff weighs about 1/4 of the Jag part (seriously, I've picked up gearboxes that are lighter than an XJ40 diff!).

I would think that ultimately it'll accept all the same engines as the current Rush, though - they're just putting this in to show that you could "if you wanted" use 'all' the parts from one donor (cheapest way to build is to buy a crashed donor, etc) rather than sourcing an expensive bike engine or alternative..

As I say, their bike based Rush is quite, quite nutty. It's also as fast around the TG track as the Koeniggseggeggegg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBVY-MFgWZo

[aaronjb]

Er, that all sounds like a massive plug for Dax.. it's not really though that may well be where the chassis for my next project comes from (hence I found out about the new BMW Rush when I was there last )

[Marks DTM Calib]

I ahve to say that the Dax chassis is very nice, way ahead of the Westfield and the Caterham ones which dont appear to have been developed a great deal

[aaronjb]

I ahve to say that the Dax chassis is very nice, way ahead of the Westfield and the Caterham ones which dont appear to have been developed a great deal

It's a lot nicer than their 427 chassis (the one I'm looking at) - there is a chassis out there I'd much prefer.. but the rest of the car doesn't fit my aims, not to mention a 18 month lead time is a bit hard to swallow

I wouldn't say no to a go in a Rush, though.. I might even fit in one (unlike a Caterfield, which I don't!  )

[albitz]

I suppose power induced oversteer to counteract the tendency to understeer would be the way to have fun with it.

Not something you want to do on a light car though realy....and certainly not somehting to do on the road 

I used to drive my HS in such a fashion as a matter of course.I was very young and stupid though.It got to the point where the local parish council held an extraordinary meeting with the local police to see if they could have me banned from driving within the confines of the village I lived in.

[aaronjb]

I used to drive my HS in such a fashion as a matter of course.I was very young and stupid though.It got to the point where the local parish council held an extraordinary meeting with the local police to see if they could have me banned from driving within the confines of the village I lived in.

I'd say that's an achievement to be proud of, Albs!

[albitz]

I suppose power induced oversteer to counteract the tendency to understeer would be the way to have fun with it.

Not something you want to do on a light car though realy....and certainly not somehting to do on the road 

I know some people who enjoy driving Caterfields and the like on track purely for their power induced oversteer fun.. surely much better in a light car than a heavy one, anyway? 

Not much finess though is it.

For me its the pleasure and skil of getting it cleanly round a corner whilst balanced on the edge and using tiny blips only when realy needed (e.g. when you screw it up).

The neanderthal approach of taking car which has been made superlight and giving it large round a corner is just so wrong. 

I agree up to a point.To do it Clarkson fashion is hamfisted childishness,but get it to that point where you are steering on the throttle and  applying just the right amount of opposite lock to unwind the lock and give it full bore at the exit point is poetry in motion.

[albitz]

I used to drive my HS in such a fashion as a matter of course.I was very young and stupid though.It got to the point where the local parish council held an extraordinary meeting with the local police to see if they could have me banned from driving within the confines of the village I lived in.

I'd say that's an achievement to be proud of, Albs!

Local copper was a cool dude.He came and had a chat, words to the effect "I couldnt give a toss if you want to kill yourself,but do it out on the little country lanes in the wee small hours where you wont kill someone else as well. Please do it outside of my patch as I get pissed off if I get called out of bed in the middle of the night to clear up the aftermath".
Fair enough, I thought.

[aaronjb]

Local copper was a cool dude.He came and had a chat, words to the effect "I couldnt give a toss if you want to kill yourself,but do it out on the little country lanes in the wee small hours where you wont kill someone else as well. Please do it outside of my patch as I get pissed off if I get called out of bed in the middle of the night to clear up the aftermath".
Fair enough, I thought.

Fair enough, indeed! I'm guessing this was 'a few years ago' when that sort of thing was 'allowable', rather than today, where you would be considered more dangerous than a pedophile


Oh and I agree with you on the art of drifting a car out of a corner.. much maligned though it may be, I quite enjoy watching drifting. People say it takes no skill, yet I know I couldn't do it if you paid me (not without significant amounts of practice and someone else paying to repeatedly panel beat the car back into shape, anyway!)

[albitz]

Twas in the early 80,s Aaron.Learned by watching many masters of rallying at work in Ireland in the late 70,s and then practising in old Avengers and the like around Irish country roads. Didnt appreciate the fact that it was much more frowned on in rural England when I first came off the boat.

[albitz]

Can well remember watching Russell Brookes,Tony Pond, and most of the big foreign names on the circuit of Ireland. Mostly in Escorts,Chevettes etc. although also saw the works Stratos,TR7V8,Fiat 131 etc.
They would approach a tightish bend on a narrow road at say 75mph,give it lots of left/right on the steering wheel (scandinavian flick) to unsettle the suspension/tyres, so it was going very sideways into the bend,keep the right foot buried and then unwind the lock at the apex, so the tyres would find grip again,and the car would torpedo off onto the straight like a rat with a rocket up its arse.
Not quite the same these days imo.Faster yes,but that combination of RWD and enough horses to overpower the tyres required a driving style which needed a combination of large gonads and a fair degree of finesse at the same time,and it was very exciting for spectators to watch close up.
Tony Pond was a very special talent indeed imo.