drockzcity

I've been really wanting to do this and wanted to know from those who have, what is your experience with it, how much drive time do you actually get out of the full 1.5 hr time frame, and was it all worth it?? The LA center will be the destination for me but does the experience at the Atlanta center any different or "better" in any way? Any feedback is appreciated, thanks! Oh, and the Peterson Automotive Museum is also on the list for the trip. Thoughts?

Guy Cline

I think the experience in the LA center will be very similar to that in Atlanta. There are some Youtube videos for each that you may want to view. Driving time is probably about 75 to 80 minutes depending upon the instructor.

For the money it is a great way to spend a little time in a Porsche on a track. It is not drivers ed, but you get some time with a great car and instructor on a short track, skid pad, kick plate, slalom and acceleration and braking. I drove a Cayman 718 GTS, which impressed even with the turbo 4. Next time I will go with a 911.

Also you should buy some simulator time. Not as good as driving but it is good fun.

kellen

Make your reservations a month in advance. It fills up.

Get the Petersen museum extended vault tickets. Amazing tour of old and new vehicles. Definitely worth the $50 or so. The Porsche Effect still has some stuff in the gift shop, some on sale.

ADias

Great value! Great instructors! Do not go for the thrill, go for the learning.

iammacey

My girlfriend did PEC Delivery in Atlanta and we both did a 911 Mastering the Manual experience at the LA PEC. The overall Atlanta experience is better, but that's due to it being their HQ. They have a nice museum and the overall facility is more unique. However, the actual driving experience and course are fairly equal.

In LA we spent the entire time in the car. Between the instructor driving, providing instruction, and cool down I was behind the wheel for a solid 80 minutes. Each instructor runs the experience slightly different. Meaning you go through different sections at different times depending on their approach. It's a great time and well worth it. Nice restaurant to have lunch as well.

Peterson Museum was on our list too and you'll love it. We were there last year when they had the Porsche display. We really enjoyed it.

Yet anothercrisis

I did the driving “school” at Barber Motorsports and loved it. We spent time in a Boxster, a Cayman, Panamera, a 911 GTS, a 911 Turbo, and maybe another, I can’t remember now. We spent most of our time in the cars for a very full day. Probably a 10 hour day with close to seven of those hours in a Porsche. I am an older guy and loved the education and the chance to drive on the track, a skid pad and an auto cross track...something I won’t do with my own C2S. With checking out if you have the desire to try different cars on the track and in various situations.

SharkB8

Wife and I both did it @ PEC LA last December for her bday. Her in a 718 GTS like the one we have, me in a 911 GTS. Both had an absolute blast. Very little talking (perhaps 5 mins), instructors wanted to know what we wanted to get from the experience...and they delivered. We immediately hopped in and went. Like above 80+ mins of solid driving and instruction. Well worth the $ IMHO.

Honkity Hank

I did the Atlanta Experience with my son. Out of the 90 minutes a good 10 to 15 minutes is spent with the instructor getting to know you, explaining the course, and going over the car. I knew a couple of the instructors from instructing with them at track days over the years, so we chatted for a few minutes about that too. I was in the driver seat the whole time except for a couple of short runs through the wet handling course, and when I was having a little trouble getting my mind around the wet skid pad. For me, I just wanted to do the low friction courses, so that is what we did. The track is pretty short not really what I wanted to do anyway. The time goes pretty fast as it was all new to me, I suspect if you did it a few times you would have a different perspective. It is well worth it, not cheap, but you aren't prepping your car, changing the oil, bleeding the brakes, changing the pads, etc... just show up and thrash someone else's car. The down side is, as a learning experience, I need time for things to sink in and the sub-conscious brain time to process it. It would be better if you were on the course for 45 minutes, take a 30 to 45 minute break and do it again. The low friction stuff is something you don't see everyday, so very fun to do. Brings back my winter memories of growing up in the north, only not so cold.

No regrets, the instructors are going to tailor the experience to your level of experience. They get a lot of corporate type events in Atlanta, so the average driver is pretty green. If you are experienced then they will let you loose a little more, but don't expect to drive the track section at anything more than 7/10's.

jfort

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...c-atlanta.html

drockzcity

Thanks everyone for the replies and input.Really excited and glad to hear its worth the entire experience as a whole. I'm looking forward to the knowledge and the technical skills sections of each course. For those of you who's actually done it, how did you pick your car? Did you choose something that would be similar to what you drive at home, something you're looking to drive in the future and wanted hands on experience, or a car that's just completely out of range and just wanted to drive it for the hell of it to experience and have fun in since it may or may not ever happen again?

drockzcity

I'd love to do this one day but unfortunately the LA center doesn't offer this. I may just have to make a trip to Atlanta for some fun.

drockzcity

Great write up on the experience. I'm excited for this!