Has anybody ever been to any of these racing schools like Skip Barber, or Bonnurant or any other racing schools. What do you think about them or do you recommend a different school or something just to learn some basic racing techniques.(like the Skip Barber 3 day racing course)
anybody?

 

Have you checked to see if any of your local car clubs put one on? They are a lot less expensive and can give you a good idea if you like them or not.

 

Nope, I want to really bad but I'm going to start doing some autocross first so I have a good idea of my car. I do it on the street but it's really not safe to push too much there, but on the track you can learn your limits.

 

It's OK to enter a HPDE school as a full novice. That's what most of them are set for. It's a great way to get comfortable with things are really find out what you and your car can do.

 

If you are going to do autox a good school for that is the Evolution school.

http://www.autocross.com/evolution/

 

thanks man that helps alot.

 

Did I just read another of your threads saying that you're shopping for are 350Z or a Camaro so the you can beat your friend's Civic? Now you're talking about racing school. Get serious will you.

 

but at the same time

 

haha shut up im just shopping around before I choose on something.

this would be for a factory five racing cobra anyways.

 

I really enjoyed Jim Russell at Infineon. They also had, at one time, local driving instruction set up at local tracks. I first attended at Pikes Peak International Raceway near me, and they offered all kinds of instruction from a lot of different instructors for around $300. It was a great experience, and led me out to their main campus in Sonoma. I don't know if they still offer anything like that, or on any tracks close to you, but you might want to check them out.
Will

 

I’ve got to hand it too you. You sure can talk some poop. “a factory five racing cobra” is quite a step-up from your

Location:
Indiana

 

Just in case you are interested. Here is the school that triangle Z club and THSCC run together..

http://www.thscc.com/timetrial/

 

^thanks man.

and david. the cobra is not mine. i am thinking about getting a Z but my dad has a corvette and is going to build a FFR cobra for fun.

 

The Skip Barber 3 day Grand Prix course is just about the most fun that you can have with your clothes on. You get to drive open cockpit, open wheel cars that can kick that crap out of any street car. The best thing I learned in the class was how to use the brakes properly. They have some great excercises that really teach you how to get the maximum from the car. After I took this class, there was no turning back... I was hooked. Got my racing license and went full-time racing. You have been warned!

 

^dude that is the best response ever. thanks so much. i might pm you with some ?'s.

 

NASA (National Auto Sport Association) has really good HPDE classes. I've been through several of them at Road Atlanta and Roebling Road Raceway. I highly recommend them.

http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/index.html

 

I went to one NASA and I will never go again. 44 cars in an big free for all. It was a waste of money even though it was cheap. The pit area was full of race cars that come in the day before. The day the HPDE group are jamed in with the race groups. It is way too many people and as a result there were 3 cars heavly damaged were most groupd like NCRC CFRA, TrackMasters limit and focus on HPDE. I would reccomend one of those groups for Nor cal people.

 

Stay away from Panoz. Skip Barber is probably the
best of the national ones. There are local SCCA schools
too. They are not very expensive.

 

Unless you're independently wealthy, I'd strongly recommend running HPDEs (or autox, if you prefer) for at least a year or two before paying the big bucks for a pro school. Learn the basics at $150-$200 a day before you pay $1,000 a day.

You'll get a lot more out of the real race car if you already have some track time in a street car, and are familiar with concepts like "the line," threshold braking, weight transfer, heel-toe braking, etc.

If the pro school is your first time on track, you won't use 50% of the capability of the race car. You won't exactly be wasting your money, but you won't be getting as much of a bang for the buck. With some HPDE sessions under your belt, you'll have a running start, and won't be so overwhelmed trying to take in all the concepts I mentioned above. The school will reinforce what you already know, and take you to a new level. And you'll be a lot better when you get back on track in your Z.

I've done the Skip Barber 3-day school (at Mid-Ohio), and highly recommend it. Well organized, good instructors, great cars. Since you'll be spending all that money anyway, consider taking it at a track that you wouldn't otherwise get a chance to drive. I'd love to do Laguna Seca, which I'll never do in my own car.

As for HPDE, I'm sorry to see that C Ray Z had a bad experience with NASA out in CA. I've had mostly good experiences with them out here. Sometimes a little too crowded, but the East Coast and Ohio chapters are well-run and professional. Yes, there are races going on along with the HPDE, but that just makes the weekend more interesting. Come out to Mid-Ohio with us next April. I'm sure there won't be as much snow as we had this year! (See the second page of this thread for more pics and snow stories.)

 

I have to agree with this. I had several years of auto-x before I took the Skippy school. I also had experience road racing motorcycles for several years, so I already knew about running the racing line and car control. You should try some auto-x's first, then some HPDE. When you think you need more, then is the time to take a racing school.