Journeyman73

how is it any different than something like golf - if never aspiring to money tournaments or professional tours, why keep a score? Why have any amateur handicap system?

why have colored belts in martial art disciplines if not entering into tournaments?

ScottsGT3RS

rear end = your butt. At a point you go behind what your butt can tell you and need the data to take it farther.

Manifold

I know rear end = butt. I feel lateral and longitudinal g forces with my whole body. ‘Butt’ is better for feeling rotation of the car.

One can get better and better without detailed data analysis. In the old days, pros only had a stopwatch.

VVG

You are absolutely right, and I have thought about exactly this type of thing for a number of pursuits. What is ever the end point? To me, it all only matters once you start getting up to the ranks of world class or at least show promise to be on that trajectory. Otherwise there is no point. It all just becomes for fun, which is great in and of itself. I think martial arts are a bit different as you are also learning tangible self-defense skills.

But I think my view on this also explains to some degree why I enjoy the variety of sensory experiences of 100 miles of mountain roads just as much (or more) than a track day. And yes, I love being on track and seeing what I can do and what the car can do, but then what? Without writing my autobiography, I will tell that I have been at what would be regarded as a very high level in a certain aspect of my life, so I know that feeling, and as such, when I am doing something where I am not at that point, competing becomes meaningless to me.

rjag2034

Nope, Track driving hasnt ruined street driving....frigging lane diets and bike lanes have ruined street driving...

VVG

You are absolutely right, and I have thought about exactly this type of thing for a number of pursuits. What is ever the end point? To me, it all only matters once you start getting up to the ranks of world class or at least show promise to be on that trajectory. Otherwise there is no point. It all just becomes for fun, which is great in and of itself. I think martial arts are a bit different as you are also learning tangible self-defense skills.

But I think my view on this also explains to some degree why I enjoy the variety of sensory experiences of 100 miles of mountain roads just as much (or more) than a track day. And yes, I love being on track and seeing what I can do and what the car can do, but then what?

Without writing my autobiography, I can say that I have been at a very "high level" in a certain aspect of my life, so I know that feeling. As such, when I am doing something where I am not at that point, competing becomes meaningless to me.

tammer

This is the way. Once you know what a car can do, you realize there is more fun to be had driving a slow car on the street so you can safely exploit its performance. Laugh all you want, but the most fun street car I owned was a Ford Fiesta ST. Super light, modest power, modest tires, able to feel movement at street speeds without going fast enough to endanger others or attract negative attention. The GT4 RS is for “fun” track and occasional open road, the race car is for “serious” track use. A 993 is the current fun street car, but even that has high enough limits to require pretty high speed to break loose. I often miss the Fiesta.