Tips on how to control yourself when people try to race you?

[Red65]

First thing you need to understand is 95% of these guys (if not more) don’t care about who is actually faster, they just want to hear you get on it.

Next, for the remaining few that actually want to test their mettle against you. There is absolutely nothing to be proven on a public road inside of traffic. Now, if you find someone that wants to take it on an empty country road when it’s late / there’s no traffic, that’s one thing and completely on y’all because all you’re risking is your own vehicles and yourselves. But simple ego trips within traffic have resulted in innocent, uninvolved people getting killed.

My advice is for those that just want to hear the car, its up to you to indulge that and know that it’s not anything serious. I rarely get anyone that actually wants to race myself, but plenty that pull up next to me saying stuff like “get on it man!” “Lemme hear it” etc. And if I choose to do so, they are all smiles at the next light. I could sit here and say that for anyone serious, take it to a legal, regulated track or don’t do it at all, but I know how most of us are and we all enjoy the occasional rip on a back road. But if you’re going to do that, make sure the only people possibly getting hurt are just those involved because at the end of the day, you are accountable for your own actions.

ultimately, I think you need to consider that not everyone that revs next to you or passes you thinks they are faster than you and wants to prove it / punk you. Just have fun.

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[Gnatsum21]

I always tell myself "I am not getting a ticket over a Dodge!", or some punk. Yes, it takes discipline and a cool head. If its safe and the lanes are wide open I am in, but in the city, curvy roads, traffic, no way. Watching those youtube videos about bad driving, road rages every once in a while always helps, "I don't want to be that guy that honks, screams, crashes, etc."

 

[xSouthSyde]

Yes this happens all the time, in my head I decide to go 100% or 0% depending on the mood I’m in or if I am keen to keep my drivers licence or not . It is what it is , it’s not just a Mustang thing, it’s a nice car thing. Imagine owning a Lambo or Ferrari, your problem would be x100.

 

[luca1290]

I find myself in the same situation as you with my Mercedes and I think with the upcoming GT is going to get worse.

Here's my considerations:

1. Nobody is going to prove anything on a public road, either the cars or the drivers. The only thing you are going to prove by "winning" on a public road is who is more of a moron.
2. You are going to injure someone or yourself, or your vehicle.

Because of that, if I recognize an incoming moron, I let him pass at the earliest occurrence (make a turn more at the roundabout, pull out the lane safely...). You gain also in peace of mind of not having a fucked up person tailgating you, for example.

Occasionally, but this is a very very rare occurrence, perhaps one every couple years, if I find a gentleman driver that wants to stretch the legs of his car a bit and is competent enough not to tailgate and recognize that if I'm braking is not a sign of weakness, we become entangled in something that is very fun. This happens only when I assess the traffic situation and road conditions are safe. You can pass and I will give way when needed and I expect the same from the counterpart. No hooligans maneuvering on public roads. No exceptions given.

Also please consider that public road racing is the reason we have speed bumps, speed traps and roads that are not friendly to our cars. Do not feed the morons and the public that use them as scapegoats to criminalize the entirety of the automobile tribe. Give them your best indifference or as Dante said: "Non ragioniam di lor, ma guarda e passa"

 

[Skye]

I do not encounter said negative behaviors too often, but yes, I have witnessed them as well since owning Skye. I do not understand it. I have no idea what satisfaction the other person is getting.

I see myself as something of an ambassador, for Motorsports in general and Mustangs in-particular.

I never want to put my ride, someone else and their ride, in jeopardy.

It's very satisfying to simply be able to own such a car.

Sometimes people are just dicks. I give them every opportunity to prove it.

The car speaks for itself. An opposite, positive effect I have witnessed is a certain amount of received respect. IDK, I can't really describe that. It just happens sometimes.

99% of the time, the above thoughts or mindset prevents anything from progressing. In the 1% of the time I do something, it has to be well under my control and in conditions where no one other than myself is at risk.

 

[_zOmbIE_]

It's been like this with lots of vehicles I've owned.

When I had my Yamaha R1, lancers and civics with fart cans would want to "race" me, meanwhile I knew that unless they had more than the cost of the car in engine work, they would never have a chance. If they revved their engines at a red light, I would rev mine as well, and then watch them f*ck off when the light went green and I would find another way to my destination.

Just let them be idiots, is my motto.,

 

[smokescreens]

I live near Detroit and the street racing here is getting out of hand. I run into it constantly. On my way home from mustang week i had a guy try to race me for like 20 minutes at 2am. Beeping the horn, flashing his lights, hitting the gas ect. It was probably the most aggressive i have ever seen. Almost like he was begging for me to destroy the purple charger he was driving. I almost ended up giving in just to shut him up but what stopped me was all the dummies out here that post everything on social media. That all i need is my plate number to be out there for the police.

 

[Skye]

all the dummies out here that post everything on social media. That all i need is my plate number to be out there for the police.

This, +1.

 

[Cory S]

If they want to straight up race. Count me in. I insist on it. Yet, it has to be setup correctly, safely with little to no traffic, and plenty of up ahead stopping distance. I don't chase flyby ricers. Both cars side by side and both go on 3....... and in Mexico obviously. My roll races don't go longer than 5 seconds and I refuse to exceed 135mph. By then, you know who's going to keep pulling away within the first 2-3 seconds.

 

[5doorsoffury]

You had me at "Tips on how to control yourself". I have a short fuse and that isn't helped my driving in the slightest. I think this thread should be titled why does every one f**k with my mustang.

Here's my opinion coming from the non mustangs owners POV...

First off A non sports car will want a trophy or wants to say yea i beat a " insert popular car here" with my crap box i built myself!!!!!

Secondly and most importantly, My last car was a sleeper and as a sleeper you NEVER get raced unless you pass someone and there like how the f**k is that so fast and they bite or there a sleeper themselves and know whats up (looking at you s4 owners). I looked like a standard mazda 3 and when i saw a mustang/camaro/dodge boat i would want to race them but to the other guy It's quite literally the opposite.

Just think back to when you got your first "quicker than the norm" car and think about how fast you felt in that even though it was dog shit slow. That's because it's the fastest thing you have driven up to that point in your life. That guy has NO idea how fast your mustang is and thinks he can beat it due to the above confidence. its really a lot of different reasons for a lot of different people that causes the same issue on the road.

Last but not least, It's hard to take a cruise when you have a car KNOWN for racing or asshattery. It's hard to take a stock girls car and expect those same cars to race you so its a battle of misunderstood intentions both in our cars and other drivers.

 

[stungjoe]

I always wanted to get some sort of fake police badge and slyly hold it up. You know, like that video of the snotty daddy's Porsche driving punk at the redlight and the Camaro dude is LEO. I like the way the brat's gal just winks at the Camaro dude.

Porsche kid wants to street race against Camaro on traffic light - undercover police man - YouTube

 

[gadgtfreek]

When I got my 2019 6spd PP2 in 2020, it was pretty much on if someone messed with me no matter what they drove. I had all kinds of stuff on the interstate try me and smoked em, including faster cars. It was my first Mustang GT and once I got comfortable with the power, I didn't much care.

Fast forward to now, I've had the 2021 GT 10spd for 2 months. I have a heavy foot still, but I look at all cars now as "worth it" or "not worth it". So I will flat ignore the Raptors, or the GTI's, the Subaru's, unless it's an ideal situation and pretty safe, whereas before I was a whenever wherever. I get a Raptor or Subaru is a worth opponent, but I've beaten em all more than once. The 10spd is so damn fast I'm not wasting my time or engine/tranny life on slower cars or trucks.

As a 3rd scenario, when my wife AND stepdaughter are in the car, I rarely take it out of Normal mode, where I drive in S+ much of the other time. If it's just me, fine, not the 14yr old. The wife is almost as aggressive as me and grew up driving a 90's cobra that her mom had, so she doesn't sweat a little fun.

 

[natepcbfl]

I hardly ever get anybody that wants to run em, so I guess I dont have to restrain myself.

 

[thirdoptik]

People pull up beside me all of the time wanting to race or have me rev the engine. The one's I've experienced doing stuff like that will usually tell me that my car is one that they've always wanted or liked. So it's an attainability thing for many who bother us. Many don't realize that we work hard to play hard until they talk with us and approach with some sense

 

[Cobra Jet]

I'm sure there's a bunch of reasons, from people wanting to hear your car, to them wanting to see how their vehicle compares (everyone thinks their vehicle is so fast these days), to them just wanting to goad you into doing something stupid and getting in trouble.

Ultimately it's always going to happen, you just have to decide if you can safely play it back on them, or if you're better off just ignoring them. 90% of the time it's the latter.

And ignoring it could possibly save you a ticket for wreckless/speeding, possible court/lawyer costs and lastly, the possibility of increased insurance premiums.... Then ask yourself, was it really worth it?

Anymore in some States the ticket and penalties associated with an "exhibition of speed" violation can be very costly too...

Risk it, and be ready to "pay to play" is how it goes...

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