hi all,

i think i'm going to learn now to drive my mustang better.

anyone attend this school? its looks really good!

http://www.millermotorsportspark.com/schools-high.php

 

Haven't seen that one, but we had a great time at this one. . .

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...64338182898501

 

Is that your mustang in the video?

 

It is indeed. If we signed a waiver, we were allowed to autocross in our own cars. It was a blast.

We also drove the Vipers on the track and rode with the instructors for some hot laps. Well, basically one very long power slide!

 

check out the Nasa in your area they have track days all the time. A little cheaper too.

 

A typical High Performance Drivers Education (HPDE) weekend is about $250. They are also called Track Days. That should get you about eight, 30 minute sessions with an instructor.

A lot of national organizations put them on, including NASA, Porsche Club of America, and the BMW Automotive Club of America.

Here in Texas we also have the TWS Motorsports Club and The Drivers Edge.

I've done a total of four days now, and the first day you are just too overwhelmed to learn much. Those 340hp Mustangs are nice, but you really should learn in a slower car.

IMO, look around your area for track days. Leave your car stock. Learn to drive before modifying the car to be faster.

 

The one day class would be a tease that really wouldn't get you very far at all. I did a 3-day high performance driving class at Bondurant in Phoenix that was great. It takes a full day of of basic control technique before you should even think about getting out on the track. By the end of the third day I had qualified for my SCCA license. One recommendation I have is don't use your own car if you have the option of using their's instead. You can easily run through a set of tires and brakes in a track session and that'll cost you more than the cost of renting their cars.

 

I would suggest a school where you DO drive your own car. It'll help you get to know your own car much better. If you're green, it's unlikely you'll tear up your tires and brakes in one weekend. Whatever you do, don't just attend a lapping day without instruction if you've never been on track. Make sure you get some quality training with classroom and track time. I'm partial to BMW club sponsored events as you're assured of a quality experience by VERY qualified instructors. You can often see who is doing sessions when by going to a track's website and checking the schedule.

 

We didn't run our Mustang all day - simply a specific number of laps on the track, and we still had instructors with us at all times. We weren't on the track until 2nd half of day two. We were doing skid pad, braking-at-the-limit, and emergency lane maneuver exercises before track time arrived.

It was the car version of "wax-on-wax-off, sand floor, paint fence." Anyone remember "Karate Kid"? Then we put it all together on the track.

We mostly wore out THEIR tires and brakes.

To me it was definitely worth it to have some limited track time at the wheel of my own Mustang. But it is certainly an individual decision.

 

I would never drive my car the way I drove their's on the track, and I surely wouldn't ever drive that way on the street. I know, someone's going to tell me that I need to know how the 'stang's going to react in an emergency, etc., but lets all be serious - these cars don't handle all that well and the brakes stink. The techniques I learned are pretty universal and they made me a better driver overall. I have a great time beating the cr*p out of Bondurant's well-maintained Corvettes on the track with no regrets about killing my own car. Just my humble opinion.