Initial D Fan Fiction ❯ Initial D: From around the wrold prolouge ❯ Chapter 2 - Driving tips ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 2 - Driving tips

The next day...

Kile sat in a chair in the garage as he saw the sun set again besides his Z28...it was relatively quiet save for the occasional engine roar as Kile got up, getting ready to get back in the Z28 as he father walked in the pit garage, Kile had noticed and turned his way.

"Hey dad. What's up?"

"Hey son. I couln't help but notice the tire marks on the 1st corner." he said in a casual voice...

Kile felt his heart skip a beat...

"Y-yeah..." he replied... John only chuckled...

"No need to worry son, least you didn't wreck the car. I'm guessing you got your first real taste of oversteer in a different car."

Kile nods... now relieved a bit.. "Yeah...it feels so different from the GT- S and 240..the Corolla was a non turbo while the 240 a turbo...it's just as easy to spin out even though it's heavier."

"Well...weight is weight any way you cut it. But given how the Z28 behaves...there's a reason why it reacted the way it did."

"...why?"

"Judging from the tire marks you entered in at a very slow speed didn't you?"

Kile nods... "Yeah..."

"Tell me, did you recall the rev count just before you pressed the gas again?"

"...not really...I only tell by the sound...it sounded like the engine was just getting back up to speed..."

John nods... "Yep...I knew it.."

"Knew what?"

"Do you know the engine characteristics of the LT1 that powers this Z28?"

Kile shakes his head... "No...not really, why?" John sighed...

"...Son, a key to knowing how to push your car to the limit is knowing your car sometimes. This specific LT1 motor originally came from a Corvette, produces only 285 horses but 324 pound, feet of torque at 2400 rpms, and it lasts for a while too. Given what speed you entered the turn and how you were cornering...its very easy to spin out with this car."

Kile scratched his head... "So the LT1's maximum torque at that low an engine speed makes it that easy to spin out?"

"Not just that Kile, you went in too slow a speed to go at full throttle, don't you remember that when you brake from high speed to low speed...the weight shifts to the front...meaning there's less weight on the rear tires, making the car prone to oversteer. So when you reapplied the gas, there was more grip in the front tires than the rear...hense why you lost control."

"So the shifting of the weight...grip and power was the reason why I lost control."

"Also steering too...that is as important as how much gas or brake you give in addition to what line you take."

The son scratched his head...

"Yeah...now I remember, you said your theory of the fastest driving. Master the 4 elements... line, throttle, brake, and steering, and eventually you'll learn how to run fast."

"Yes, but that's only the 1st step. The 2nd step is learning your car."

"Learn the car?"

"It's arguable these days and no doubt in the future if a success in any race is either credited to the driver or car...in the end its the driver but the question is how much credit. Truth be told the relationship is honesty 50/50, the car, regardless of what it is needs to run at it's best, so the driver needs to run his or her fastest just like the car and vice versa."

"Oh..."

"Your skills so far are best suited for non-turbo FR cars."

"Non turbo FR?"

"Non turbosupercharged Front Engine rear drive."

"I knew that...I mean...does it really matter that much if a car has a turbo or not?"

"Yes, even with the advancements of the turbine setup since the 30's, a turbo will always have flaws due to it's construction. It uses exuast gases to drive a turbine to force more air in for more power, but for it to do that it needs to rotate real fast, thus affecting engine response. A turbo is a welcome friend on a strait but going into and out of corners, it affects your cornieng."

Kile thought about this...

"...so on a course with a lot of turns...a car with a turbo would end up actually going slower and slower compared to a car without a turbo."

"Right."

"So why do a lot of cars have turbo anyway?"

"A turbo is a cheaper way for more power despite the need to make the engine internals more stronger and resistant to heat, not to mention all the equipment to make one work properly, aftermarket parts included. It's more trouble in some sense to change the engine to generate more power, and even though it may not always be more powerful than a turbo, a N/A will always be more responsive than a turbo, what's more sometimes you can have too much power for the job."

"...uh..."

"I suggest you stick to a Non-turbo setup for your car and any other, FR as well."

Kile waited a few seconds to ask why only FR...he was unsure if his dad was going to give a lenghly reply to that like he did with N/A vs Turbo...then he decided...

"Why only FR?"

"Well...for starters it's a driveline you're most used to, and also because a 4WD for your case would work against you than for you."

"But one of my driver's test had me driving that Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III...I did well...but that car understeers too much..."

"That's it there."

"What?..."

"A 4WD or AWD transfers power to all four tires. A 4WD is supposed to be more stable than a FR...but it tends to understeer more, it's more like a FF but comparable to MR. But the hardest part of a 4WD is entering corners at steeper angles and constantly pressing the gas, what's more 4WD for your style would be better for muddy roads than tarmac...then again given you're more fixed on FR than anything else...you would probally be better with an FR on even snow than a 4WD."

Kile was unsure how to respond to that save for feeling slightly insulted and disappointed at himself from that comment...unable to handle a 4WD?...

would I be crazy to say that sounded like an insult than a complement? Is a 4WD really THAT hard to drive?"

"Actually a 4WD in one sense was made to make up for a lack of skill...becuase it can provide things an FR under normal driving conditions would not be able to. Stability included. There is a technique though that applies to both, but for now we'll focus on FR."

"What would that be Dad?"

"The driving style known as drift"

"Drift? Like a powerslide?"

For John... the words 'powerslide' and 'drift' did not exsit to define the same thing...and after hearing that left him without words for a moment...

"... ... ...Baka...a drift is very different from a powerslide..."

"Baka?"... Kile replied...

"...a powerslide is when you open the gas on the exit of a turn and you skid all over the palce...it's elementary and it's only best to avoid spinning out. A drift is when you are skidding before or at the start of a turn getting your car as sideways as possible...with proper countersterring, throttle and brake...you can enter and exit a corner at high speed this way, it's the fastest way thru a corner in this sense not to mention it looks the greatest."

"Drift..."

"I'll show you myself..."

"Eh?"

"Come with me...I'll show you with your car."

"W-wait a second dad, MY car?"

"Yes, it would be best to show it that way."

"...but the suspension is normal, and the tires are too...this car doesn't even have bucket seats yet."

"Lets just go son, trust me on this one."

Kile sighed and nodded as they walked to his car. John opened the drivers side and got in, Kile got in not long after and the instant Kile fastened his seatbelt John started the engine. It came to life with a roar as Kile knew as John unshifted into 1st...he drives out of the garage and onto the pitlane...in less time than Kile took the day before they were out of the pitlane as John floored the accelerator, more so than Kile did as he felt himself pushed back into the seat, John on the other hand looked almost unfazed by the pushing G forces as the 1st turn, the uphill left bend came up fast...

"Uh dad...are you...gonna slow down...!?...dad?..."

They were less than 300 meters away as Kile immediately grabbed the bar just above and right of his head with his right hand bracing for a turn...150 meters to go John pressed the brakes, Kile felt his body jerk forward, only stopped by the seatbelts, John on the otherhand seamed to look almost unaffected as he downshifted from 6th to 2nd in a smooth fashion, the roar of the engine from 3rd to 2nd louder than from when he downshifted from any other gear as he turned into the corner before countersteering giving full throttle as Kile felt the rear of the car swing from right to left...

"crap!"

....Kile found himself screaming uncontrollably as he could almost see in front of him the edge of the track appearing almost parallel to where he was looking before he noticed the car was quickly sliding back into a strait line all in dizzying blur, the standard seats did little to keep him from being thrown all over the place as a sharp right turn came up...

"...please...slow...down...Dad!..."

Almost immediately after John had recovered from the 1st drift, he still kept the gas pedal down as he continued steering left as the car continued to skid going into the right turn, his car was literally sideways as he cleared the entrance, nearly touching the grass on the apex and immediately he reduced countersteering, little by little to none as the exit approached.

Kile took this short moment to take a breath as a sharp left was now ahead of them going downhill at a 30 degree delcine...His eyes widened as the corner quickly apprahced...John still looked unfazed by what was affecting Kile as he pressed the brakes with his right foot...having the toes on the brake itself while the heel on the gas, on the same instant he pressed the gas he pressed the clutch as the engine RPM raised to nearly redline before he continued turning in...the car once again sideways but now at the exit of this turn...

...Kile wondered why for an instant before his mental knowledge of the course made him look forward to see a sharp right turn...the car continued to skid, it looked almost as if someone was drifting for a turn opposite of what was actually threre as the car suddenly snapped with great force in the right direction as the front right tire again was barely touching the grass on the apex of that turn before finally the car recovered nearly going off the grass on the exit...

"...well son..."... John calmly said... "...do you have a bit of a better understanding to what drifting is?"

Kile...barely hearing what his dad had said...too distracted by everything going on around him...fainlty nodded...as his mind was all chaos yet blank at the same time in reaction to all that was hapening...John only cracked a smirk that Kile did not see as he knew his son would react that way as Kile's eyes were wide open as the next series of turns were coming up...

"...incredible...just amazing... .... what in the hell is going on?!...is he probally doing this with my car?...oh my G--"

Once again mental knowledge of the track suddenly made him stop as a long sharp right hairpin came up...similar to another corner nearly halfway around the world as John kept on the gas...Kile gritted his teeth...fighting the impulse to scream as John braked again...this time the force not feeling as strong as before...but the immediately feeling of being thrown left was as the car swerved violently nearly going sideways on the entrance as once more the front end seamed nearly parallel to the curving track as the right front tire was less than a inch from the ripple strip on the far inside as the car started drifting to the outside on the exit, the left tires nearly going off into the grass as it sped on...

Minutes later the Z28 pulled into the garage and came to a stop as John opened the door and calmly stepped out...a few seconds later Kile opened his door but it took him much longer to actually have the door out enough for him to get out as he nearly collapsed getting out...his face showing surprise, awe, and yet at the same time a bank mind as he tried to stand...he blinked...

"...I've seen dad drive like this before...but this is the 1st actually time I actually rode in a car he was driving on a searous level..." he thought... he slowly turned back to the black Camaro...unsure if that really was the same car he had drove yesterday...

"...he drifted with a car he never actually drove before...and...he was doing it so well...my Z28 is actually fast...so fast..."

"Hey...Kile." John called... Kile's train of thought was interrupter as he looked at his father... "Yeah dad?" his voice suggesting he was still suprised...

"So now son, do you have an idea now of what drifting is?"

He nodded faintly... "...an idea...yeah...but...dad...how were you able to drift with a car...you never drove before?"

"...well...it takes skill..."

"...skill?"

"...it takes time, determination, and practice on a constant basis to some scale. It's not something that can be easily taught or learned. Even with all you've got from the racing school you still have a very long way to go."

Kile sighs and nods... "Yeah..."

"Don't get discouraged..."

"I'm not..."

"...you sound like it..."

"...sorry..."

"Don't be...just keep at it, to first learn what you can do, you first need to understand your car inside and out. Once you reach that, once you reach the limits of your car, then push beyond that and apply yourself."

"...?...uh...dad...what's that supposed to mean exactly?"... Kile asked...

"Once you get there, you'll understand."

"Right..."

"Well..."

John takes a look at his watch... "You've still got a few good hours of track time...I suggest you try and practice some more with your car...don't try and do what I just did immidately...first you need to see how far you can push your car without losing it's grip...then try and learn how to manage without it...once you get past that, everything will be clear to you. I'll be at home son. Later."

"Right dad...see ya."

"Oh yeah...before I forget, in about 2 weeks, your car's going to be outfitted with a number of parts for racing purposes."

"Parts?"

"Yes. A car usually built to race has some parts that allow certain things about the car to be adjusted."

"What kind of parts?"

"Well, for starters a fully adjustable transmission, same for suspension, racing brakes, and a muffler and air cleaner for more power."

Kile scratches his head... "Do I really need those parts?"

"You actually are going to get a lot for this car."

"Why? Couln't this car be race...able as it is?"

"Yes, but if you want to unlock your vehicle's potential sometimes you need to install parts to achieve that. But even so, your car will still require a LOT of skill to drive with, unmodified or modified, a car is useless without a skilled driver."

"...okay..."

John sighs... "...well...least I'm certain for now I didn't spoil you after all during your childhood." he replied with a smirk

"...dad..." Kile replied... a hint of embarrassment in hsi voice...

"Well...I'm off. Be back at the house by 10."

"Okay dad..."

With that John walked out of the garage, a half minute later, Kile heard the roar of a familiar big block V8 engine as a 69' Corvette Stingray drives out from the garage onto the road leading off the track and eventually to a highway...Kile looked back at his Camaro...he sighs...he repeats what his father said in his head...

understand the car...inside and out..."

He sighs again and gets into the Z28...He starts it...revs it twice and pulls out of the pits...in a short time he was on the track as the 1st turn came up...

understand the car inside and out...well...guess this is a real start of a long relationship...don't you agree.?..." he muttered to the car as he braked turning in before applying the gas partly as he cleared the corner at a moderate speed...he upshifts a gear as he clears it, a bit more smoothely than yesterday as another corner approached... "...I look forward to it...I am going to be a great racer!" he thought as he braked for the next turn...

--- Well there goes chapter 2. Not my absolute best but I wanted to establish a few things. For one John, Kile's dad has incredible skill, think of him as the American equivalent to Bunta, save for a few things I woun't spoil now for you, from here on in hopefully the chapters will get better.

And just in case you were wondering, yes the Corolla GT-S is the US model for the AE86 Trueno that is the infamious 86 (or 'hachi-roku') of Initial D driven by the one and only Fujiwara 'Tak' Takumi, and yes it was one of Kile's first cars to drive besides what he did drive in driving school, why it's mentioned may be explained later on.

Although I made the decision final to keep Kile with the Z28 Camero, I wanted to also point out that he has had experince with other cars, reason he spun out with the Z28 the 1st time is the simple fact he's unfamiliar with the car. He's no Fujiwara Takumi but trust me he'll be on that level in time.

I guess that's it until the next chapter