Get your car out of control ... in a controlled manner

amf78

Folks,

Is there any facility near Cork (or anywhere in Ireland for that matter) where you can safely practice various driving skills with YOUR OWN car at your own, assumed (!) risk?
Any large and flat area away from pedestrians and other cars will do... race tracks, abandoned airport runways, shooting ranges LOL.
Skid control courses are available and I tried one which shall go unnamed, but IMHO they are a rip-off. They advertise half day courses but you get to practice for 20 min if you're lucky. To add insult to injury the course was shortened due to bad weather, which is ironic because they are supposed to prepare you for it in the first place.
There are also rally driving options, but tend to be expensive and require a rally license. Besides, I don't wish to drive at insane speeds and I don't own a Ferrari. I'm interested how my car behaves in adverse conditions and learn how to control it.
That said, I wouldn't mind paying an hourly fee for using a race track, if such an option would be available at a decent price.

Any ideas?

Drummerboy08

You can do 20 minute sessions at track days in Mondello park for €30 a go.

JBokeh

A silage field after the last cut and a slight drizzle, you won't even need to go that fast so everything happens in slow motion. I used to spend says on end doing it in my teens, only once I blew the tyre off the rim, but it was under inflated, keep it up at 40PSI and you're sorted

It is also serious craic!

punisher5112

JBokeh wrote: »

A silage field after the last cut and a slight drizzle, you won't even need to go that fast so everything happens in slow motion. I used to spend says on end doing it in my teens, only once I blew the tyre off the rim, but it was under inflated, keep it up at 40PSI and you're sorted

It is also serious craic!

I done exactly the same best fun I have ever had.

Had many cars out in the field bought out of auction or garage for a few hundread a pop.

Best car was a Volvo 240 rear wheel drive fully kitted out was a 1owner doctors car and had it a few months till a tree jumped out in front of it.

Oh that brings me back.

kirving

I did a skid control course which sounds similar to the one you describe. Didn't get much time in the car to be honest, but a few weeks after doing it, I slid on ice/snow and managed to get control back which I wouldn't have been able to do before the course. Definitely something I can reccommed despite it being a little dear.

CiniO

Fair play to you OP - not many people think about it here in Ireland and not many people are willing to increase their skills...
And then when they skid and crash they say there was nothing they could do because "car just skid" and blame slippery road or the conditions.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any places in Ireland where you could do it for free and without trouble. I didn't hear about any abandoned old airports or other big flat areas which would be accessible to public.
And even if you find reasonable place to practice, which is completely safe and far from any other traffic or nearby houses, there still will be people who will report you for antisocial behaviour.

I grew up in Poland, where there were much more options like that.
Old airports or old huge abandoned parkings where people could go and practice and no one had problem with it.
Also plenty of forest roads there which are completely empty with good visibility so you can practice.
In my city local supermarket had a big parking, and whenever it was snowing and surface was covered in snow, plenty of fellas coming there at night to practice driving skills. Supermarket management and security didn't mind.

Pity no such places are available in Ireland.

Btw - good training for skid control is to try to keep the car going straight on the road while skidding left and right. This way you will get used to how much contrsteer you have to apply to keep the car in balance. The more you do it, the more likely you will be able to control a accidental skid one should occur during regular driving.
That's me training few years back in the winter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leBC0eV5rlE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAvkRiNBDt4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vO3c3EQZBE

amf78

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

You can do 20 minute sessions at track days in Mondello park for €30 a go.

I'll give them a call tomorrow. They seem to have top notch facilities and decent prices, though I'm not sure they'll be happy with me skidding/ spinning/ drifting, accidentally or not...

CiniO wrote: »

even if you find reasonable place to practice, which is completely safe and far from any other traffic or nearby houses, there still will be people who will report you for antisocial behaviour.

True and quite annoying. There's a difference between being a good citizen and minding more than your own business. When and how did we came to regard snitching as a virtue?! Anyway, that's beside the point.

Worst case, I might decide to go karting

K.Flyer

If you are willing to travel to Mondello, then you could consider Leinster Driving Campus who are based in Maynooth Co.Kildare, they might have what your looking for.

ShadowHearth

Beach... Just saying...

BMJD

ShadowHearth

amf78

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Beach... Just saying...

hehe... Last time I drove on a beach (Inch, Kerry) I got stuck... twice!
Having a heavy, low clearance automatic car doesn't help either. And I wasn't even trying to skid, which I suspect will sink it even deeper.