Well I just recently got my hands on a Evo IX MR and im treating the car very well, driving it nice and slow around town. When i do get on it, i dont feel exactly confident in my shifts. I was just wondering if anyone here has taken a performance driving class? And what kind of class do you think would benifit me the most? Im currently looking into panozracingschool.com . I was going to take a 3 day course for like 1.2k a day. I hope its worth it. Im OPEN to ALL suggestions. Thanks.

 

I think you should master driving the manual transmission before you go to driving schools. Its hard to learn advanced stuff when you don't have the basics down completely. Kinda like teaching calculus to a 4 year old.

 

Yup i totaly understand that, so you suggest me learning to performance drive on my own? When i say performance drive i mean "going fast driving" lol.

 

Yea, you can learn to drive fast on your own, just not as safe or as well as you would if you went to driving schools. You can find highway on/off ramps with a tight corner and try to go around it quickly or set up pylons at a large parking lot. After you get the basics you can compete in auto-crossing. When you feel you can't improve on your own anymore then go to driving schools

 

Don't do this. You are going to injure yourself or others.

The experience at a HPDS is invaulable. They will teach you much more than being "fast". You learn proper track procedures, safety, turning, braking and the ever important racing line.

 

Driving school helped me a lot, no way I would have ever learned how to drive correctly by myself. I highly recommend it. If you are going to learn by yourself, I'd recommend just a few things that I learned from the instuctors that I think are key:

1) Brake before the turn, not during it...
2) You want the car on the OUTSIDE of the turn before the turn.
3) Don't apex early... see 2)
4) The turn should be smooth, ie no sudden jerks on the steering wheel (unless you start to oversteer)
5) Accelerate out of the turn... especially in an AWD car
6) Look where you're going, not where you are

 

http://www.skipbarber.com/driving_sc...hp_school.aspx

 

ok, scratch the on/off ramps idea, but I still think you should be more exprienced with fast driving before you attend driving schools otherwise its a waste of money

 

Not really, green group in HPDE is really for beginners only.
If you don't understand anything about car dynamics, that's a good way to start since they teach you some. I would recommend it to everybody.
One can also learn ALOT on the Internet. There are quite a few good websites explaining racing dynamics, mass transfer, a bit about tire contact, how suspension and diffs work etc etc. If you understand physics then all that will be real simple to understand and just seat time is needed (since theory is one and actualy doing it another thing).

 

Are you serious?

HPDEs cater to all skill levels, that's the idea. If you don't know what you are talking about, don't post.

 

Don't waste your money at a high performance driving school yet. Contact your local Porsche and / or BMW club and find out when their renting a local track for a drivers education event. The cost will be reasonalble and they will put someone in the car with you to teach you from the basics all the way to club racing levels.

 

Don't get so offensive dude, I not here to argue with you. I just think that you can learn to be a competent driver on your own without spending three thousand dollars on driving schools.

 

I'm heading to raceschool.com next weekend for their two day. I chose raceschool because they let you use your own car.

The first day is on the streets of willow north of Los Angeles. The second day is on willow springs 2.5 mi track.

They told me that I could use my car on both days, but for the second day (faster track) I'd need a rollbar and safety harness which I don't have.

They have "race prepped" celicas which look like celicas with exhaust/safety equipment/suspension.

The best thing is that its relatively cheap. $475 for the day you run your own car. $675 for the second day using their car. Local hotel is $70/night for a single person $75 for two people.

I've never driven on a race track and I'm pretty excited. I've gotten in enough stupid trouble on the street driving cars and bikes.

I figured at my level (beginner), I don't need a 8 time world champion to teach me the basics in an open wheeled car at $1500/day.

I've studied race theory via the internet/espn/best motoring/wrc etc. and I've raced motorcycles (CBR 929RR RIP) and cars in the mountains. I can downshift/heel toe/rev match. I think I know where the fast lines are and I usually know when to spin out and when to try to recover, although not always.

Anyhow, if you have any other questions let me know. I'd be happy to give a full report latahs...

 

Join your local chapter of the BMW CCA. You do not need a BMW to become a member.

Then sign up for a car control clinic (sometimes called "skid school"). Cost is typically $50 or so. Once you get that out of the way, register for one of their high-performance driving schools.

Emre

 

Everyone lets you use your own car! Look at NASA, BMW CCA, PCA, Trackmasters, PBOC, etc. You can use your own car with any of them. Only the commercial schools (e.g., Skip Barber, Panoz, etc.) will provide you with a car.

BTW, the BMW CCA started doing driving schools in the late 1960's. The curriculum they developed has been adopted by just about every other organization in North America...including those expensive race schools. The PCA was not too far behind. You can't go wrong with the BMW CCA or PCA.

Emre