thinking of enrolling in a one or two day course at an advanced driving school, i figure it could really improve my driving ability, awareness, and all that good stuff. not to mention it'd be fun as hell.

i'm too poor to afford a $1500 skip barbar course, after looking around i couldn't find anything remotely affordable. i did find Jim Russell's driving school though

-> http://www.russellracing.com/

click on the test drive, it's only $500 and looks to be a single day day event, sounds awesome to me. apex corners, threshold braking, heel-toe'ing. looks pretty reputable, hell it's on Sears Point Raceway.

what do you guys think? anyone else interested? maybe we can arrange an H-T day

i called my insurance carrier, they said taking such a course would help my insurance rates to a small margin as well. i figure for $500 it'll pay for itself if it makes me a considerably better driver and even drops my insurance rates.

 

I'm taking the Advanced Driving School at Thunderhill Raceway near Chico next month. Whole day event, $175. Supposed to be pretty good... but I'll see.

Not sure if it helps insurance. I got it as a gift and going for fun. A lot cheaper than the other schools though.

 

hey where is that ? i live in chico, it'd be a lot more convient

do you have a website for that ?

 

Key, join NASA: http://nasaproracing.com/regions/norcal/sf.htm and enter in the High Perf Driving Events at Thunderhill, Sears Point or Laguna Seca! It's like $30 to join and $150 to enter for a day. You get a personal instructor and a ride in their race car! It's great! also join the mentor program and you get a "mentor" to answer any questions you have about your car, racing, driving, etc: http://www.geocities.com/nasamentor/ The mentor program is run by Dev Clough, who, by the way, is the best instructor!

Or just go to http://www.thunderhill.com/ or http://www.searspoint.com/ for info on their own racing/driving schools. It is a great learning experience! The blind hill at Thunderhill is scary but fun. And the Carousel at Sears Point is my favorite!!! You're turning the wheel to the left but the car is going to the right! It's a great spot to pass people!

 

Gee3 - wow, looks good. the registration's $30 and expires end of every year, so i think i'll register after december this year to get my money's worth and be set for 2002. it looks like it's actually about $179 per event. i think this is something i'm going to want to do eventually, but maybe next year.

i don't think it would be as productive as an actual class though, which is why i still want to do that. learn how to heel toe, bust out the right gear, etc. i'll probably try and find a good school to go to, and then do some HPDE's in 2002 when i have my membership. it'll give me something to do during the spring and summer after snowboarding season ends =D

 

I did the jim russel 1 day school at the point.
I would probably not recomend it.

It was more fun, than a learning experience.
Go to play with way way fun cars, not to learn on how to control your car

Gee3 is right about going to thunderhill. I will go there next after I get my 4 point cage installed and I have an open weekend.

I learned more about vehicly dynamics doing track sessions at thunderhill compared to the 1 day event.

I had a ton more fun at speedring (indoor karting) than jim russel. Do some races there, it is way more fun.

 

bob46802 - did you do the test drive thing, or something else ? doh, guess i won't sign up for that one then.

as for thunderhill, are you talking about the NASA HPDEs? for the same price range i guess i could do about 2 HPDEs from NASA, if you reccommend that over a single session from jim russell. i don't care about the fun factor as much about the driving experience, i _really_ want to learn how to control my baby better, and use it's full potential. not like those ******* ricers who get a $18k from their parents for graduation and can't drive worth sh*t.

what do you need the 4pt cage for? what have you done at thunderhill (program-wise)?

thanks for the help :D

 

If you really want to concentrate on car control, consider Autocross.. The amount of seat time you get per $ is lower, but the investment per event is also lower.. (usually $20-$30 per event).

Advantages of autocross:
Lower risk to your car (accidents do happen at autocross, but they are less frequent and severe than track acccidents)
Lower investment per event
Greater focus on car dynamics, quick transitions, (more turns packed into tighter space)

Advantages of track:
more seat time per $ and per event.
Don't expect to master car control, heel/toe, etc. from one event. And don't underestimate the power of the Go-Fast Crack Pipe. You could be starting an addiction that may have a powerful effect on your life.

Whatever you do, go there to learn and have fun, but most importantly, be safe! And don't expect to master anything on the first event.

 

Check with your local SCCA chapter. They usually do at least one school a year, and it's pretty cheap (under $200).
The Laguna Seca thing sounds awesome!!! Too bad I'm in Arkansas