Safe road testing Options

[VaccaRabite]

How do you folks figure out what your cars can do in a safe surrounding?

Now that my car is driving, I'd like to find out how it corners, where it can be pushed, and where it can not. I guess a big parking lot would work, I know I don't want to do this on the open street. And I'd prefer not to learn my car on an auto-X course.

I'm interested in doing things like Drivers Ed and Auto-X, but I want to get an idea of my limits w/o trees, poles, other cars or babies in prams getting in my way - and preferably in an environment where Johnny Law won't ticket me for it either.

in a factory built and balanced car, I figure they have done the basic handling testing. In my car, none of that has been done yet, and I am driving it like a pussy cause I don't know when the back end will come loose or the front end is going to push, or what will happen when the wheels lock under emergency stop conditions, etc.

Zach

[Bruce Hinds]

I like the large corporate parking areas. You don't have to go crazy or fast.

Pick a point in the center, or often times there are a few light poles, and do a constant radius turn around the pole. As you increase speed following the same line you will find the cars limits and how it responds to throttle.

Accelerating and decelerating doing figure 8s will give you a real good idea of what the car will do.

B