Has anyone experienced Spring Mountain knowing they would never see a track?
 

Fellas,

I'm looking into planning a Vegas trip with my lady friend in April. I am considering the Ron Fellows Driving School since I'll be in the neighborhood.

Is the experience worth it knowing you won't be putting in track time? As much as I want to experience the track, I went with a Grand Sport Convertible, and I have no desire to install a cage in my car. I chose the drop top experience over racing.

With that being said, has anyone experienced the 2 day course knowing they won't be racing their C7's at the track? It doesn't seem like a bad deal at $1,000 for two days which I believe includes one overnight stay. Did anyone find the training beneficial for every day street use i.e defensive driving?

Thanks.

You worry for nothing. The Spring Mountain experience is done with one of their C7's. Yours sits in the parking lot.

Enjoy!

Very worthwhile for just a street driver...wet road emergency braking AND steering, wet road figure eight drifting - are part of the course...stuff you may need to know at any time when cruising on wet roads. Blind windshield exercise is fun and informative.

Then , just knowing how to create "balance" in the C7 when making a higher speed turn and braking is great to learn.

I may never do a track day in my C7 but, if I do, the course will be a big leg up versus if I had never done it.

Food is good, accommodations are good.

Its ALL GOOD.

Yep, all that and it's a boat load of fun IMO, I'm going again for the Z06 version. No better deal then having a blast in someone else's C7 for 2 days for $1,000. Best deal around.

Every driver would benefit from a high performance driving school, because these courses teach vehicle handling skills that make you better and safer on the street. I sent my daughter to one shortly after she received her driver's license.

Yes, I am aware. I will be flying in from the east coast.

By the way, I hear that my guest gets to ride shotgun with an instructor in another C7. True?

Yes, she might bring her own barf bag :D

Just returned, best $1000 ever spent. Your significant other can join you for class and as many instructor ride alongs as she can stand —my wife had a great time and is encoraging a return for level 2. Go for it, you won’t be dissapointed. Recommend you pay for an extra night before day 1 as breakfast/registration starts at 0645 and the drive from Vegas is an hour.

You get a ride along middle of day #2....that's when you see what the car can really do...up to then the lead / follow can be less than perfect when you aren't right behind the instructor....you lady can also sit in on ALL the class room stuff...lots to learn there.

Very informative posts! Sounds like a no brainer. Now the question is should I hit Vegas before or after the course? My bet is (no pun intended) that I should hit Vegas after the course as I don't want to be flying around a track with a hangover.

:eek:

The "blind windshield exercise" reinforces the fact that a driver should always be looking at where they want the car to go, not necessarily out of the windshield.

A good (and sometimes tragic) example of the downside of windshield fixation is when a driver loses control and departs the pavement. If that driver is staring at the trees, they'll likely hit them. They should be looking in the direction of avoiding the trees.

Never say never
 

I went to the school knowing that I did not intend to track MY car. That awesome 2 day class changed everything. YMMV

Go for it while you can and while GM is paying most of the cost. Life is too short.:thumbs:

:rolleyes:

Yes. That is the major lesson I took from the school. Look where you want to go and you steer naturally to that position. Helped me a lot in my spirited everyday driving. :thumbs:

Good idea. My second day was less than perfect after dinner at the winery. You'll learn more about the car in two days than you will in 2 years of trial and error. Very nice accommodations and lots of activities for both guests. I'll never put my car on a track but now I know what I can do--way less than what my car can do!

I did a SCCA Track Night in America last summer and then 3 months later, did the Spring Mountain HPDE. I wish I'd done the opposite. In any case, it's well worth the time and effort...great instructors and you're using their cars doing some things you'd never do on the street.

One of lessons that impressed me the most was the wet-braking exercise. Knowing how these cars can perform while braking on a wet road could be very useful in real world driving.

Just dont do it right after lunch....

The vast majority of people in my class had no intention of ever taking their car to a track. You will be in like company.