BnS Racing

I am interested in what racers and track day drivers are using for driver/car development. Lap timers? Data acquisition? Video? Some combination?

Thanks.

va122

Data is good and all, but I highly recommend getting a coach

FTS

I find data acquisition to be a must for development, video on top of it is icing on the cake IMHO. Getting a private coach periodically is also a great way to complement, however I cannot imagine anyone steadily improving their driving without data acquisition. I say this based on the assumption that we are talking about a HPDE environment and doing 10-20 events a year, or less.

Veloce Raptor

So do I !









Professional Racing and Driving Coach

BnS Racing

Thanks for your respoinses. Hope to get more input.

mobonic

seat time and GOOD coaching ... there is a lot of ****ty coaches out there .. so be careful who you give your $$ too.

Word of mouth is the best way to find a good coach in your area, or just hire a proven PRO (like a proven ALMS driver .. not a self proclaimed pro).

chopperzz

Consider looking at the Porsche Sport Driving School (PSDS), in Birmingham Al. It is a great way to get exposure to several accomplished race drivers and a very good starting point.
The price point is a bit high, but I think it's worth it considering what bad instruction might do for a beginner.
Self proclaimed instructors are a risk by comparison to the PSDS team.

Gary R.

+1
Also, where are you in terms of experience right now and where is your car as far as development? If just starting out then at least do some Driver's Ed's with PCA in your area. If advanced then it's a different plan..

Of course, as you seem to be in here promoting Race-Keeper I would assume that is where this is really heading...

Circuit Motorsports

Totally disagree on the ALMS driver being the 'Pro'. It's not about the driving skill of the person who does the teaching but the ability of the person to teach. Teaching is an art form and for the most part pro drivers are not teachers. The perfect example is how you can find lots of people/pros who can look at data and tell you where you need to go faster. The good ones will not only do that but then spend the time working on a method to make that actually happen.

There are many out there who put the time and effort into learning how to teach and foucsing on multiple learning styles. Those guys are the ones to look for. While some are current top level pro drivers there are still a good number who have never been.

Bill Verburg

I just do DEs and try to get a coach in the car whenever I can, it's not always easy as the instructors have other responsibilities but it sure is great when they can hop in the car w/ you

For this year i'm going to add data acquisition and video to the repertoire, i'm pretty sure that will add to progress.

sundog

I've been doing the DE thing for 3 years now. I started out with just the street car, and the PCA instructors. Got a different one every day for about 5 weekends. Very helpful to have them talking me through the track, and my approach to driving.

Then went to things to make the car better on the track, and me a part of the car, seats, harnesses, roll bar, R-compound tires, race pads. Still try to get an instructor for the first session of a day.

The best thing for self evaluation was a in car video camera. I can see my consistency, and check lap times by the timer on the camera. You can see each and every mistake in approach, turnin, apex, and completion of the corner. It is the best thing if you don't have an instructor with you.

And then there is simply following somebody in your group who is getting better lap times than you with a similar car.

va122

Just because they can race doesn't mean they can teach...

va122

A coach will be there for the whole day (or half if you split him) on track and off, think how valuable that it rather then TRYING to get an instructor and running solo the rest of the day and potentially practicing mistakes.

himself

I agree (generally) with the concept that some pros may not be able to teach and if you want to improve and have someone articulate where you can go faster, a proper coach/instrutor is the ticket. However, some of the "education" is also up to the student. You have to do your diligence and find the instructor that fits your needs at the time. For example, if you hired a top echelon pro, but you drive in the beginner/green group, the disparity in skill level might prevent any learning at all - and you might think the coach couldn't teach, when in fact you were not ready to learn. Also, any driver (but especially advanced ones) have to go into a training session prepared to learn, not just drive like you are at a DE. You have to switch over to "student" mode, which can sometimes be difficult. With any pro - even those that are not the best teachers - there is still substantial value in having them drive your car. If you take data and video, you will learn mountains from their driving even if they can't articulate what they are doing, or you don't have time to ask them questions about your driving. It just takes effort on the students part.

All that being said, there are some excellent instructors out there that are not winning ALMS races - or even racing anymore - that can take your driving to the next level. A few even frequent our board.

-td

sundog

Agreed. But for those of us doing DE's a few times a year in a moderately modified car it can be cost prohibitive. The majority of our instructors Club Race with the PCA, and I have had 80% positive instruction from them. A couple were good, just didn't click with me as a student.