Miata Mailing List: January 1995, Message #169
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   From: Jim Andreas 
Subject: Miatas - where is the edge?
   Date: Thu, 5 Jan 1995 15:02:07 -0500

Hi Folks,

I have been holding onto this question for a bit.  Now that we
have a good number of new Miata owners on the list, it seems
a good time to ask.

The question is:  How to you "feel" the edge of the handling
envelope in the Miata?   When will the car actually start
to spin out on you?  How close to the "edge" do folks actually
drive their cars?

Here is an example:

----------
I was putting Juliet through her paces before Christmas,
still getting used to the excellent stock handling.  I came
up to a nice flat country intersection, and turned a 90
degree left turn with probably too much power.  The back end
started to slip out (the car eventually turned about an
extra 45 degrees left into the turn :-) and I corrected
probably too much, the car grabbed and whipped back too far
right.  You get the idea.  The classic teen-ager fishtail
dance in the car.  Anyhow after that I didn't push the car
quite that much. :-)
-----------

I realize that is something that you get too "feel" through
practice, but perhaps somebody out there can give us newbies
a talk-through on Miata driving tips.

Also, anybody know about a driving school in the Pacific Northwest?
Is a driving school useful even for folks who don't (currently) have
plans to drive in competition?

Jim Andreas
Red 93A "Juliet"