Driver aids should be banned

[levensnevel]

Clarkie must have been hit with a stroke of genius when he explained the difference between a Jaguar D-Type and a PorscheCarrera GT.
He wrote in his weekly column in Times Online while reviewing the Renault Megane CC
qte...
I’ve driven any number of modern supercars but none is quite so thrilling as a D-type. Let me put it this way. In, say, a Porsche Carrera GT, it feels like you’re on a rollercoaster, sitting there soaking up the vivid acceleration and absorbing the g forces. In a D-type it feels exactly the same, except you have to do the steering. Using your own skill, you have to keep it on the rails.
You have no electronic driver aids, no traction control and no antilock brakes. The first indication that man and machine were no longer singing in harmony would come when the skinny crossply tyres started their descant screech. Followed in short order by a million-pound Prokofiev discord as you hit the hedge.
I didn’t care, though. ....
...unqte

Full column of Clarkie can be read here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,588-974653_1,00.html

Personally I think that powersteering and antilock brakes are all that you need. All other (electronic) drivers aids should be thrown right out of the window. These gadgets make you a worse driver and kill al the fun and pleasure of motoring.

[TT]

Personally I think that powersteering and antilock brakes are all that you need. All other (electronic) drivers aids should be thrown right out of the window


So true :)

To bad many manufacturers want to put like 400 hp in a hatch, or 1000 on a GT.. and then they need to tame that with tons of electronics.. and since they are already up to it, why not put them all also in a small Fiat Pianda? ;) ...

I'm 100% with you and most of the others JW members... powersteering if it still trasmit messages to you and don't create a super-light and easy steering is sure ok, especially in town... same goes for ABS obviously.. all the rest yes, need to be dumped.. :D

[jon_s]

This is a yes and no answer....they should be in place for the public roads, but there SOULD be an OFF button for the track!

[levensnevel]

[off topic]
Clarkie overlooked one, not insignificant, other difference:
The Jaguar D-Type won the LeMans 24 hrs race ''overall' three years on the trot (1955, 1956 and 1957) Remains to be seen if the Porsche CGT will be able to equal that feat.
[/off topic]

[budagboy2]

Im agreeing with jon, all people arent the best drivers and they rely on their electronics, so to take all of them outi think we would see alot more accidents. Second levensnevel why are you calling him Clarkie, it kinda sounds like ur his gay friend?

[TT]

Ok for normal roads.. but if somebody is not good driver.. he could just drive slower and learn to know his limits instead of wanting to go flat out thanks to the aids... no?

[levensnevel]

BudagBoy,

well you never know, I might be :wink:
No seriously, you might have noticed that I'm a Tiff man in the Tiff vs Jeremy discussion.
When you go to this
http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5610
thread and read the article you'll notice (in the third column) that Clarkie is the nickname Tiff used when he addressed Jeremy while they presented TopGear. So ...

[RC45]

This is a yes and no answer....they should be in place for the public roads, but there SOULD be an OFF button for the track!

Which is exactly what we get in the Corvette... ;)

On - Traction Control On, Active Handling On, ABS On

Competitive Mode - Traction Control Off, Active handling On, ABS On

Off - Traction Control Off, Active handling Off, ABS On

:D

And these modes can be switched on the fly.. ;)

[stradale]

I understand where you're coming from, but in general I don't think driver aids should be banned. The great majority of drivers don't really know what they're doing. They don't know how their actions with the steering wheel and the pedals might upset the balance of the car under the circumstances in which they're driving at that moment. Let alone that they look for the condition of the road surface or camber. These people, and therefore other motorists as well, benefit from driver aids. I'm aware there's also a downside to this. The people I've been referring to might think they're invincible and that when they make a mess of it the car will sort everything out, resulting in more dangerous driving. Still, I think it will save lives.

From a more experienced, committed, educated driver's point of view driver aids spoil the fun. Although it has to be said also this category can benefit from driver aids. When I would drive a boring long haul on motorways in bad weather conditions it would be nice to have stability control and traction control at my disposal. I don't mind these things on a car. However, one should be able to turn it off.

[Fluxlo]

[off topic]
Clarkie overlooked one, not insignificant, other difference:
The Jaguar D-Type won the LeMans 24 hrs race ''overall' three years on the trot (1955, 1956 and 1957) Remains to be seen if the Porsche CGT will be able to equal that feat.
[/off topic]

From what i've read, Porsche has no plans on entering the CGT into Lemans competition.

[Fluxlo]

This is a yes and no answer....they should be in place for the public roads, but there SOULD be an OFF button for the track!

Alot of cars have things like this. Well performance cars at least. This list includes Ferrari's Porsches, Lamborghini's and others. If a car is meant to be a real drivers car it will have the option to shut em down. I mean they are just stepping stones for amature drivers who want to get better. I don't agree with ABS on that list though. In my own view i think that ABS helps people drive harder since you can stomp the brakes pretty hard without having your wheels lockup. Ever driven a car without ABS around the track? It's not all that fun.