How good of a driver do you honestly feel you are

[Cookie Monster]

I have an incredibly difficult time believing that.

Sure, some of the game "physics" apply in the real world, but, without ever having stepped into a car and having to deal with the real life variables such as yaw/pitch/G-force, etc. while navigating multiple turns and curves?  It would be incredibly difficult to deal with these issues for a beginning race driver who has only experienced two dimentional "racing." 

We had tons of police officers who have been through basic precision driving in their academies, drive police cars for years and then one day are sent to the MSP Advanced Precision Driving School.  Usually, a few put their cars in the grass, others drop a wheel off the track and have to requalify all while having several days of driving instruction prior to running at high speed.

Jump in a car after only playing video games and kill everyone on the track?  Probably not.

I've read stories of people losing control of their car and being able to hold it together due to their Gran Turismo experience.

[hounddog]

Like I said, some of the game "physics" will apply.  

Hitting apexes, probably basic vehicle control, etc.  Most likely, their own driving experience is more of what comes into play in those stories. 

But, that is a far cry from being able to do the magical things some stories suggest?  One would have to see it to believe it.

[Cookie Monster]

Like I said, some of the game "physics" will apply. 

Hitting apexes, probably basic vehicle control, etc.  Most likely, their own driving experience is more of what comes into play in those stories. 

But, that is a far cry from being able to do the magical things some stories suggest?  One would have to see it to believe it.

Yeah, I don't believe the people who say they destroyed a track simply by playing GT4/5. It's a completely different experience for sure. I do believe that playing a lot of video games can maybe shave 1-2 seconds off of your times around a decently sized track, but not much more than that.

[Northlands]

I think the video game thing is ludicrous. Getting a feel for a car in person vs. in game are completely different things. The only really tiny advantage to playing the game is gaining a familiarity of the track itself. It still can't replicate how the turns feel, or the conditions you'd drive in that particular day, but I guess you'd have an idea of what turns came at what time.

[Byteme]

I've read stories of people losing control of their car and being able to hold it together due to their Gran Turismo experience.

I'm sure that's true.  It's been shown that using Microsoft Fllight Simulator can and does help student pilots master some tasks more quickly.

[hotrodalex]

Video games can help with the knowledge aspect of driving, but the reflexes have to come from real life. You might know to turn the wheel into the direction of the skid, but you have to learn the timing and precision in a real car. Knowing exactly when you are on the limit can't be taught in a video game.

[MrH]

well, I don't really understand the scale in this thread. I'm in the top 1% of average joes for sure. But compared to professional racers? A zero.

Just finished my second trip at the ring. Pretty solid on there. I was better the first time (better prepared, better passenger directing me what was coming up and who wanted to pass, and a car I felt more comfortable with), I can power slide the miata easily, no wrecks, etc.

As for the video game thing: absolutely helps. Hit an entire bridge of black ice in the protege. Tail whipped around. definitely had a Gran turismo instinct kick in. Ended up sliding the tail back and forth the whole length of the bridge. 45 degree slip angles easily. Had it not.been for Gran turismo would have lost it for sure.

[SVT666]

Just finished my second trip at the ring. Pretty solid on there. I was better the first time (better prepared, better passenger directing me what was coming up and who wanted to pass, and a car I felt more comfortable with)

What were you driving and what was your time?  Driving the Ring is a dream of mine, and I would love to be sub 10 minutes, but that's pretty difficult to do.

[Onslaught]

Video games do not help. No fucking racing wheel has the feedback of a real car and I know because I have one of the best ones money can buy. I'm sure theta playing games can't hurt. But it's not the same at all.
I learned all about driving on go-carts and on the tracks I had on my land as a kid. You want your kid to know how to drive well then give him one. He'll learn more from that then any PS3 game.
If not that then an R/C car. Not that cheap shit ones at Target. I'm talking about the ones that are like real cars shrunk down. You'll learn stuff from them too.

[Eye of the Tiger]

This is why the 7s and 8s are surprising to me. 7-8 is like a midlevel professional race car driver... I don't think anyone here could hop in something like an F1 car and do a race-worthy lap time

If Ayrton Senna was a 9... how can anyone here be an 8?

They only reason I can't hop into an F1 car is because I am too fat to literally hop into an F1 car. I suck at a lot of things, but I am not shy about saying that I can drive.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

As a regular Joe I'd say I'm a solid 7 in a car and a 6 (i gotta learn how to drag a knee) on the bikes.

[dazzleman]

They only reason I can't hop into an F1 car is because I am too fat to literally hop into an F1 car. I suck at a lot of things, but I am not shy about saying that I can drive.

WTF...you drove the F1 cars the time we went to the indoor track.

[Soup DeVille]

well, I don't really understand the scale in this thread. I'm in the top 1% of average joes for sure. But compared to professional racers? A zero.

I was thinking of it as a sort of composite scaled as a percentile, not really a linear scale.

[saxonyron]

If MexicoCityM3 claims he's a 7-8 and he tracks his cars on a regular basis, I'm going to say I'm a 6.  If he hadn't posted that, I would have said I was a 7.  I have great car control and I can drive very fast very safely.  But, I've got nothing on people who track their cars all the time.

When you compare someone to Schumacher or Senna, they're in the top .00000000001%, so they wouldn't be a "9", more like a 9.99999, give or take a decimal.  By that scale, I'd say Mexico is being too humble and he's easily an 8.  I guess I'm 6-7.  I fully enjoy driving and pretty much whenever I'm behind the wheel I'm looking to clip apexes, get ahead of the pack of slugs, or consciously enjoy the G's on an exit ramp.  Basically a driving enthusiast.  If you're an enthusiast and been driving 30 years, you'd better be a decent driver or you'd likely have killed yourself by now.

[Rupert]

I don't think an 0 or 1 is unreasonable. And the intention was to compare one's self to professional race car drivers. A full span absolute scale. Just to kind of put complaints about driver isolation + electronics in context

Also don't sleep on video game experience. There have been many stories about dudes who had no experience but shit like Gran Turismo and went and decimated a real track like Laguna Seca. That might be good for 1/2 a point.

If you're gonna get this picky, you should just set out some very specific requirements for each point.

[Rupert]

WTF...you drove the F1 cars the time we went to the indoor track.

F1 car:



What you're thinking of:

[Raza]

17 or 18 on a 10 point scale. 

[2o6]

Not sure what the purpose of this thread is.

[Byteme]

Not sure what the purpose of this thread is.

Opportunity to debate arcane points for unearned bragging rights.   

[Morris Minor]

I'm sure that's true.  It's been shown that using Microsoft Fllight Simulator can and does help student pilots master some tasks more quickly.

Years ago, my wife gave me a flying lesson. About a 1/4 of the way in, the instructor asked if I'd done this before. "No, but I've put some hours in on Flight Simulator."

"It shows, you're the only first timer I've had who reads the instruments. All the others stare out of the window."

[Raza]

Not sure what the purpose of this thread is.

Might by my narcissism kicking in, but I imagine it has something to do with the discussions Sporty has been having regarding stickshifts in high powered cars with certain individuals. 

I think it's ridiculous to think that anyone here isn't an 8 or 9 on a 10 point scale, just by the very fact that we like and care about cars.  Say that you say you're in the 95th percentile.  Let's say that half the world's population is considered a driver--3.4 billion.  That means that 5% of drivers are better than you, roughly 170 million.  The entire driving population of the United States is better than you worldwide.  That's entirely bullshit.  Judging by the fact that we're all here, I'd say that we're all 97th or better, top race car drivers are a very, very, very, very insignificant number.  Drivers at that level number in the thousands, not the millions, not even in tens of thousands. 

[Onslaught]

Raza has changed my way of thinking. I'm a 69.

[Byteme]

Years ago, my wife gave me a flying lesson. About a 1/4 of the way in, the instructor asked if I'd done this before. "No, but I've put some hours in on Flight Simulator."

"It shows, you're the only first timer I've had who reads the instruments. All the others stare out of the window."

If you are flying VFR, which you were, your eyes are suppose to be outside the cockpit.  You'll never see that other airplane, that radio tower, by staring at your instruments.  That said you are suppose to monitor the instruments to ensure the airplane is doing what you intend it to do and that the engine is doing what it's suppose to do.  Just don't fixate on either one. 

[Onslaught]

My brothers big into simulators and just got his pilots license. He's the first person at the school to get a perfect score on the test. I hate him.

[Raza]

Years ago, my wife gave me a flying lesson. About a 1/4 of the way in, the instructor asked if I'd done this before. "No, but I've put some hours in on Flight Simulator."

"It shows, you're the only first timer I've had who reads the instruments. All the others stare out of the window."

Haha! 

[Eye of the Tiger]

Years ago, my wife gave me a flying lesson. About a 1/4 of the way in, the instructor asked if I'd done this before. "No, but I've put some hours in on Flight Simulator."

"It shows, you're the only first timer I've had who reads the instruments. All the others stare out of the window."

I landed a Cessna with no assistance when I was 14, on my third flying lesson. Pffffffffffft. I would've gotten my license, but apparently I was supposed to
come up with the $2000 myself. Parents....

PROTIP for parents: when your kid shows a great natural talent and enthusiasm for something that they can make a great living at when they grow up, don't be a fucking cheapskate.

[giant_mtb]

I'll go with 5. Decent knowledge and ability, but obviously nowhere near as much experience as other guys.

I'll go with this one, too. 

[Byteme]

I landed a Cessna with no assistance when I was 14, on my third flying lesson. Pffffffffffft. I would've gotten my license, but apparently I was supposed to
come up with the $2000 myself. Parents....

PROTIP for parents: when your kid shows a great natural talent and enthusiasm for something that they can make a great living at when they grow up, don't be a fucking cheapskate.

Most professional pilots don't make a great living.  But it is something they love.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Most professional pilots don't make a great living.  But it is something they love.

I could have been a crop duster!

[Xer0]

I?m a decent driver.  Pretty alert and I pay attention behind the wheel.  Unfortunately, I am terrible with directions and I?m always, always getting lost.  It?s pretty bad.