Respect vs Fear

[Snake2998]

Care in driving a Cobra (The more power the more care!!) is essential and even after years of ownership (28 Yrs) they still surprise you sometimes. I recall overtaking at low speed in the face of oncoming traffic (still plenty of room) in second gear (gave it a bit of wellie) and as I turned in after overtaking I took my foot off the throttle too suddenly to avoid running into the car ahead and the tail stepped out. Must say it caught my attention and gave me a valuable reminder that any sudden moves on or off throttle will cause problems and also not to become too complacent.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by Snake2998

Care in driving a Cobra (The more power the more care!!) is essential and even after years of ownership (28 Yrs) they still surprise you sometimes. I recall overtaking at low speed in the face of oncoming traffic (still plenty of room) in second gear (gave it a bit of wellie) and as I turned in after overtaking I took my foot off the throttle too suddenly to avoid running into the car ahead and the tail stepped out. Must say it caught my attention and gave me a valuable reminder that any sudden moves on or off throttle will cause problems and also not to become too complacent.

Thats trailing throttle oversteer and why in a racing class you are taught to have foot on throttle or brake but never coast.

I would add that a high performance driving class is almost essential to the safe operation of a Cobra. I went to Bondurant three times (hey, slow learner . Really, though, in the advanced class you got three full days of 8 hours a day of essentially open track with instruction. Well worth the repeat visits.) In the early classes they teach you on a skid pad about the various over- and under-steer conditions and what to do. It's not book learning, but actual skid pad driving. Very helpful to actually do it. They teach you about all of the things to do but you'll never remember them, and in some cases the correct recovery isn't the safest action either. The one you can always remember is "all in": Foot on clutch and full on brakes.