AzMotorhead

Time has come to invest into the best mod I can think of.
Driver education.
Any recommendations as to the best school to enroll? I live in Phx and Bob Bondurant school is here but they dont have Corvettes any longer(does it really matter though?)
Spring mountain is another choice.
I'm too old to start a racing carreer. So this will be to get a certified comp license so I can run NASA and SCCA events.
Looking to attend After the first of next year after my arm is healed from torn ligaments.
Lets hear some input
TIA

davidfarmer

if your car is capable, I'd use your own car and go through as many HPDE programs (bmwcca, pca, nasa etc) as you can. Then attend nasa or scca comp school. If you have already been doing track days forever and just want to do a double school to get a license, I still think a club school (even with a rental) is a better investment.

Spaggs

I've been instructing with the BMWCCA for almost 30 years. They have been conducting HPDEs, which used to be called Drivers Schools, for over 40. The Instructors sit beside you with a motorcycle type communications devise and coach you through the four (4) points to every corner and give you tips as you go along. Feedback is instantaneous. There is in-class instruction as well. A lot of the Instructors are current and former racers with a vast amount of experience. If you plan on going SCCA in the future, there, they teach from a corner as you go by in your car. They don't have a feel of where you have been or where you are going. I've been one of those guys, as well, and it is not a good teaching environment. BMWCCA has HPDEs all over the globe. You will get a really good jump start into your racing career from going this route.

Good luck.

Spaggs

z06801

I agree, I think that drivers who come up though our NASA program end up being better drivers as apposed to a racing school, The ford school at Miller is really good though.

TrackAire

I just read that Bondurant has been bought and will continue to offer services which is great.

Without knowing your driver education and talent, I would highly recommend a driving school first. I did the 4 day Bondurant Grand Prix course back in 2011 when they had us in C6 Grand Sports for three days and then an open wheel Mazda car for the last. It was by far the best investment I've ever made in driving. There is no way to get the seat time and repetitive training in a "controlled" environment like you can at a driving school like Bondurant or Spring Mountain. Being able to do certain exercises over and over again for 15 minutes at a time was awesome. The track is a fantastic "learning track" with increasing radius corners, decreasing radius corners, constant corners and different apex curbing to learn which to hit and which will upset the car.
In four days you'll learn more than 20 days of HPDE driving with an instructor and when you add up the dollars, it is much less expensive and no wear and tear on your car or tires. Once you have completed the course you can then start doing HPDE days with instructors to further your education and learning about your car.

Although I did the school in a Vette, the vehicle doesn't really matter.....the most eye opening vehicle they owned is a 15 passenger Chevy van that they take you out in to prove just how fast a correct line can be. When I did the course there were about 20 Navy Seals doing the classes with us. The Seals had just killed Osama Bin Laden yet a couple of these studs curled up into a little ball thinking the van was going to flip over....it really was going that fast with about 12 guys in it. So whether it is a Challenger or something else, the key is vehicle dynamics are vehicle dynamics.

Since you live in the area, you don't have to pay for lodging although the Wildhorse Casino across the street is pretty nice and cheap.

Olitho

My sentiments are similar. Getting a lot of track time is important, but I will add the caveat that learning the right skills and techniques early on is important too, Right now I am trying to unlearn some bad habits developed over the years from some of my own self coaching. For example, in my effort to get on the gas sooner coming out of corners I have actually over-compensated and developed a bad habit. Balance a lot of track time with making sure you have good coaching oversight.

Next, don't confuse driving school with racing school with race licensing school. In my opinion all three are different things.

1. Driving school is initially the most important. It is there you will learn the right techniques for driving fast. Focus on this your first year.
2. Racing school should be next. Here you will get coached on race craft and how to conduct yourself over the duration of a race. Driveas many open passing groups as you can.
3. Race licensing school is last. If you have done the first two above well, you might just get waivered into a race license. If not, or if you want to be formal, do the licensing school. Licensing school is really just a two day event where you are evaluated to make sure you are safe to put on a race grid. If your conduct in licensing school has the instructors thinking, "Damn, I would be scared to be gridded next to that guy" you probably won't be passed. A good friend of mine calls it citizenship class for the track.

You are making one of the wisest choices related to motor sports.

LilNutSac

I'm investing in the "best education" by modifying my exhaust and tune.

dclafleur

I did a driving school 3 years ago and a race school 6 months ago. I also spend as much time as I can get on the track. I'm a big fan of signing up for one of the schools that have instructors and cars which has classroom and in-car instruction. There is something to that immediate feedback and practicing skills as you learn about them. Taking worrying about your car out of the equation allows you to focus on learning. My most recent school was in Mustangs with Skip Barber and I thought it was well run, because I haven't spent any time at other schools I can't really give you a comparison.

AzMotorhead

Thanks for the inputs. I should have stated first that I have done many HPDE events and am member of Proautosport.
I've got 2 more than capable cars 09Z and a 07 Z51 which I'm stripping to be a track car. Last time I took the Z out I found out about the Michelin PSS death wobble
Its definitely a let down when your car performs worse than the driver.