Safe and Smart Package on the Track

[RocketGuy3]

Do people with a manual transmission who track their cars still think the package is worth it? I'm wondering how valuable adaptive cruise control is when you have a manual, and also wondering whether the automatic emergency braking can be intrusive (and maybe even downright dangerous) on a road course...

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

EDIT: Just found some information that seems to indicate the active braking feature can be turned off... Guess that would be the thing to do at the track if I got this package.

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[TeeLew]

I find these nannies annoying as hell.

 

[RocketGuy3]

I find these nannies annoying as hell.

Do you have them in your Mustang? I've heard great things about ACC in the Mustang, and rain-sensing wipers are nice, too. The other stuff I don't much care for, but would turn it off if it got annoying, or when on the track.

 

[TeeLew]

Do you have them in your Mustang? I've heard great things about ACC in the Mustang, and rain-sensing wipers are nice, too. The other stuff I don't much care for, but would turn it off if it got annoying, or when on the track.

I've only driven them in rental cars. No Fords if memory serves.

 

[Ewheels]

Maybe I'm old school, but I always thought simply paying attention while driving was a very effective way to avoid accidents. I enjoy driving, I don't want the car to do it for me.

 

[TeeLew]

Maybe I'm old school, but I always thought simply paying attention while driving was a very effective way to avoid accidents. I enjoy driving, I don't want the car to do it for me.

I think there's just a huge chunk of people who think of driving in the same way I think of taking out the trash. It's just kind of a necessary evil. God forbid you actually enjoy it.

 

[Abby]

Do you have them in your Mustang? I've heard great things about ACC in the Mustang, and rain-sensing wipers are nice, too. The other stuff I don't much care for, but would turn it off if it got annoying, or when on the track.

I didn’t get it on the the Mustang, but I’m not a fan of AAC even on the highway. My wife has it on her Escape and when someone pulls in to your lane in front of you it hits the brakes so hard it takes me by surprise. Besides, why would you need it in a Mustang when everyone else is way behind you.

 

[ZX3ST]

Many organizations require the auto braking to be disabled while on track.

PCA is very clear:

Important Note from PCA National regarding vehicles equipped with "automatic braking systems":
Because it is presently not known how “Automatic Emergency Braking Systems” will react at speed in a High Performance Driver Education environment, PCA will NOT allow affected vehicles to run with our group at HPDE events UNLESS the system can be and is turned off whenever such a vehicle is on the track. While this feature is beneficial for street driving, we cannot risk endangering drivers, instructors and their vehicles at our on-track driving schools.

 

[triox]

ACC works in a manual car within a certain speed range but takes the fun out of driving so what's the point. If you want to commute at constant speed then you're in a wrong car.

The anti-collision system is super annoying. The alarm engages all the time under heavy driving especially when coming fast to a roundabout with another car on it.
I often forgot to disable it before a track day session and the alarm was constantly going off when I had a car taking a corner in front.
I noticed that it gives a false sense of security in city stop-and-go traffic, when I would often fiddle around with entertainment system instead of focusing on the cars in front.

The system stopped working after I swapped the lower grille, and I never bothered to have it fixed. I believe I now drive more safely with the knowledge there's nothing there to save my ass.

 

[RocketGuy3]

ACC works in a manual car within a certain speed range but takes the fun out of driving so what's the point. If you want to commute at constant speed then you're in a wrong car.

The anti-collision system is super annoying. The alarm engages all the time under heavy driving especially when coming fast to a roundabout with another car on it.
I often forgot to disable it before a track day session and the alarm was constantly going off when I had a car taking a corner in front.
I noticed that it gives a false sense of security in city stop-and-go traffic, when I would often fiddle around with entertainment system instead of focusing on the cars in front.

The system stopped working after I swapped the lower grille, and I never bothered to have it fixed. I believe I now drive more safely with the knowledge there's nothing there to save my ass.

I never use CC on my commute or on any drive less than maybe ~45 mins. But I take the fairly regular 2.5-4 hour road trip, and in those situations, cruise control is quite handy. I love driving, but long road trips sometimes get boring and tiresome to me no matter what car I'm in, so some help to make it less tiresome is always welcome.

False sense of security or not, these systems are proven to save lives and prevent accidents, but I can certainly see them being annoying in spirited driving situations, especially on track. Thanks for the input.

 

[RocketGuy3]

I think there's just a huge chunk of people who think of driving in the same way I think of taking out the trash. It's just kind of a necessary evil. God forbid you actually enjoy it.

Lol, I had a feeling this might turn into a discussion about how technology is bad and driving enthusiasts should just drive. That's not what this thread is about. I'm not a luddite, and I'm not interested in hearing about the good ol days when people had to drive their cars. I know it's a little sad seeing this tech take over, but as I said above, this technology is proven, and it is [for better or worse] the direction we're going. I love spirited driving with minimal nannies when the situation calls for it, but I also don't mind having my car keep me (and herself) safe when possible.

I'm just wondering whether people have optioned this on a car for track use, and if so, what issues they've had. From the sounds of things, everything can be disabled on the track, though, so that's good.

 

[m3incorp]

I don't think I have ever turned mine on.

 

[RocketGuy3]

I don't think I have ever turned mine on.

You've never turned on which feature? ACC? Any of them?

 

[m3incorp]

Only the Adaptive Cruise Control. I have the rest on.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Lol, I had a feeling this might turn into a discussion about how technology is bad and driving enthusiasts should just drive. That's not what this thread is about. I'm not a luddite, and I'm not interested in hearing about the good ol days when people had to drive their cars. I know it's a little sad seeing this tech take over, but as I said above, this technology is proven, and it is [for better or worse] the direction we're going. I love spirited driving with minimal nannies when the situation calls for it, but I also don't mind having my car keep me (and herself) safe when possible.

I'm just wondering whether people have optioned this on a car for track use, and if so, what issues they've had. From the sounds of things, everything can be disabled on the track, though, so that's good.

I think you have to consider exactly what all this technology is supposed to be accomplishing. Which is not to make the better/more skilled drivers among us any better than we already are.

Personally, I think that frequent use of ACC has the potential for slowing or otherwise getting in the way of a driver's use of the brakes in a track environment even if he does shut it off there. The unintended lesson being taught in the street driving can and probably will sneak through from time to time, maybe a little like diffusion of a gas through a membrane. Or you could just call it "muscle memory".

PCA has the right idea here.


Norm

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