Dangerous driving - tips for a newbie to muscle cars

[SdoubleW]

I recently bought a Mach 1 and while I have 20+ years of driving experience, sitting on such much power is a novelty to me.
My teaching was to drive in lower gears rather than higher ones, and particularly ahead of curves to either hit the break or let the motor break by downshifting.

And here is where I seem to get into danger zone with my Mach 1: when I come in 3rd with 60 mph towards a curve, and I shift down into 2nd, the car seems to become "hyper": sensitive to every touch of the pedal, I can feel how the wheels are full of force and ready to burn. And so it happened twice, actually accelerating out of a curve in 2nd, maybe 60-90° turns, when the rear of the car broke loose a bit.

I am not surprised, I am just saying, this is new for me and I can see the dangers of such brute force.
So my first question is: do you have any general driving tips for me and the Mach 1, with the goal to have 'safe fun'? Do I have to unlearn what I learnt and are there some key principles of driving a 500 HP car like the Mach 1?

Also, I can hardly ever use gears 4-6 unless on the highway. I try to shift only as of 6k RPM, so mostly use 2nd and 3rd gears.
The second sometimes sounds weird, a crick-crick like an insect is in the gear shift. Maybe it's the wear of using 2nd and 3rd like 80% of the time - any thoughts on that? The first question above is the more important one, in case you are tight on time.

Really appreciate your suggestions.
SWW

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[Hack]

Since you didn't crash yet, it sounds like you are doing it right.

The nice thing about a small cubic inch V8 like the Coyote is that if you keep the revs down, it's very tame. So, if you want the car to be "crazy", keep it in a lower gear. If you want it to be chill, upshift early. The small engine gives the car a split personality.

And yes, you should be careful whenever you change to a different car. Take your time learning how it behaves in different conditions. Go easy for a while until you are accustomed to it.

I would also encourage you to find a road course or autocross. That will help even more to find the limits of the car over time.

 

[SdoubleW]

Since you didn't crash yet, it sounds like you are doing it right.

The nice thing about a small cubic inch V8 like the Coyote is that if you keep the revs down, it's very tame. So, if you want the car to be "crazy", keep it in a lower gear. If you want it to be chill, upshift early. The small engine gives the car a split personality.

And yes, you should be careful whenever you change to a different car. Take your time learning how it behaves in different conditions. Go easy for a while until you are accustomed to it.

I would also encourage you to find a road course or autocross. That will help even more to find the limits of the car over time.

That’s some great advice, thank you

 

[Trap]

Also, I can hardly ever use gears 4-6 unless on the highway. I try to shift only as of 6k RPM, so mostly use 2nd and 3rd gears.
The second sometimes sounds weird, a crick-crick like an insect is in the gear shift. Maybe it's the wear of using 2nd and 3rd like 80% of the time - any thoughts on that? The first question above is the more important one, in case you are tight on time.

Really appreciate your suggestions.
SWW

Shifting always at 6,000 rpm is fairly aggressive driving. When I'm cruising around town I can easily shift at under 3,000 rpm. Just saying that in the lower gears you may want to keep the RPM a little lower to keep the car from feeling squirrelly as you mentioned. I drive to enjoy the ride, but sifting at 6k all the time is not always fun, and definitely not necessary.

 

[Pistol_91]

There's no way he's waiting until 6k to shift under normal driving conditions. If this is true. What are you doing? I think he may mean under WOT go fast conditions. I hope.

 

[murick]

And here is where I seem to get into danger zone with my Mach 1: when I come in 3rd with 60 mph towards a curve, and I shift down into 2nd, the car seems to become "hyper": sensitive to every touch of the pedal, I can feel how the wheels are full of force and ready to burn. And so it happened twice, actually accelerating out of a curve in 2nd, maybe 60-90° turns, when the rear of the car broke loose a bit.

I am not sure I have ever downshifted to the 2nd on the public road "for fun". And I believe the reason is exactly what you described - the car is very direct in the 2nd.

On the other hand, there is a small track nearby, where I drive almost the whole lap in the 2nd gear as the speed is limited and to stay in high RPM the 2nd gear is just right.

For me the "fun gears" on the road are the 3rd, 4th and 5th. With lower gears more used on the country roads, and the higher gears on the highway (or when cruising in the city in the laid back mode).

 

[BossPapa]

My Mach is an A10, however I learned 2 things in a Z06 Corvette that I used to drive hard. First, when accelerating out of turns treat the gas pedal like a lady…smooth at first while going towards full throttle. Second, always leave traction control on unless you’re on a track. The only time that I almost lost control of the car was while it was off when it hit peak torque and snapped loose while going in a straight line. Be careful with your new toy out there and enjoy the learning curve!

 

[Davesvt2000]

Keep your track settings in normal, this will leave on all the electronic safety nannies until you get better used to the car.

Also as others mentioned, find a local auto cross club or open track event and run in the beginner groups with an instructor. This will be invaluable to learning what you and your car are capable of

 

[SdoubleW]

There's no way he's waiting until 6k to shift under normal driving conditions. If this is true. What are you doing? I think he may mean under WOT go fast conditions. I hope.

There are some decent countryside roads here with good visibility, so umm, yes, I've been flooring the Mach 1 a bit to test it out. Of course I wouldn't drive like this always, but you know, I wanted to get a feel of the horse I am riding ;-).

The beast under the hood really comes alive above 4500 revs, goodness gracious! I was also wondering if there are any long term consequences if you never put the engine in such higher revs. Feels like a race horse would get depressed if it would have to trot around always.

 

[Jaymar]

There's no way he's waiting until 6k to shift under normal driving conditions. If this is true. What are you doing? I think he may mean under WOT go fast conditions. I hope.

I think he just understands the assignment well.

 

[526 HRSE]

How are you at 3rd gear and highway speeds? Driving is all about feel. Nobody can tell you how you feel in your seat.

 

[COYOTE_64S25FEF]

Sign up for some autocross. Cheap way to find the limits safely.

 

[cerbomark]

There are some decent countryside roads here with good visibility, so umm, yes, I've been flooring the Mach 1 a bit to test it out. Of course I wouldn't drive like this always, but you know, I wanted to get a feel of the horse I am riding ;-).

The beast under the hood really comes alive above 4500 revs, goodness gracious! I was also wondering if there are any long term consequences if you never put the engine in such higher revs. Feels like a race horse would get depressed if it would have to trot around always.

as long as you are not lugging the engine (trying to floor it in too high of a gear) you don t have to rev the shi$ out of it all the time. How do you drive it when the engine and temps are COLD. Hopefully not 6500 at that point. That s NOT good. Try taking a ride a keeping it at 3000 or less, it works fine.

 

[SdoubleW]

I will not keep running the revs this high unless it’s to accelerate, and I will be careful with too aggressive down shifts. Testing the limits is fun and I will go to a track to continue pushing the car and myself. This is an experience I’ve never had before, just wow!

Accelerating up to 5-6k is def sth I will continue to do. I have an electric car for the easy cruising. I bought the Mach 1 to work, and it WILL be worked! ;-)

 

[cerbomark]

and be careful and purposeful when going hard from 2-3 or 4-5. If you miss your day could be over.

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