porsche0nut

Hello everyone,

I am looking to take a performance driving course, and am hoping that people here will be able to give me advice on where to go.

I don't have a track-worthy car so DE days are unfortunately out of the question, and I don't have the financial means of travelling for the school (such as the Porsche Sport Driving School).

I know that BMW has courses and they provide the cars, but from the descriptions on their website they seem rather bland until you get into their "upper level" courses, which you can't do until you've done all of the "lower level" ones. I would like to take a course focused on performance driving and the BMW school - at the lower levels at least - seems to be focused on "defensive" driving techniques, rather than performance car control and track-oriented driving. Perhaps this is for a good reason and I need to take the time to go through the levels... but it seems like a money-making scheme to me (making students pay for pre-requisite courses).

Any insight/advice/experiences are welcomed!

Thanks,
-Jonathan

rideau

I would suggest that the BMW course is a good option for you. You will learn something at every level that will help you in your street driving as well as on track.
First level teaches you proper seating position, mirror placement, wet/dry braking without and with ABS and other exercises (most importantly how to keep your eyes up).
I know when I started this hobby, I thought I knew how to drive as I had been driving for 40 years...was I wrong.
The above basics will help you at every step in elevating your driving skills.

Torontoworker

http://www.apexdriving.ca/home.html

Christien

When you say your car isn't "track-worthy", what exactly do you mean? Do you mean it's unsafe, or that it's just not very fast? If the latter, you're fine. There are tons of slow cars out there, even a few automatics. I remember driving behind a 928 auto - I asked the instructor how he handled the gear shifts in a turn, he said you just mash the pedal one second before you actually want to accelerate

The schools that provide cars are very expensive (last time I checked $700-$1000 for the day), compared to your straight registration fees ($300-$500).

I've always said the PCA Introductory school is probably the best way to start. It's a full weekend. The first day starts with classroom instruction, then you move on to the skidpad (driving in circles on a huge wet circle of concrete) to learn what it feels like to spin and then (hopefully) how to recover from that. Then it's braking and slalom exercises. The 2nd day is on the track, with an instructor. Everybody's *****-footing, because they're all brand new, and they don't tolerate people being jerks. It's a great way to get your feet wet.

chopperzz

If your looking for defensive driving style of instruction, find a session that does skid pad. You can use any car for that and the cost is minimal with little wear on brakes and tyres. Move up from there.

jumper5836

Bridgestone Racing School

porsche0nut

Christien: My car is an automatic '99 Jetta 2.0 with 296,000km on it. I don't think it would be safe on the track or skidpad, and also don't feel that I would learn what I want to learn with it. It also needs to last me the rest of the summer so I can't break it yet!

I've heard excellent things about the PCA school but unfortunately I don't own a P-car (yet).

My goal is to improve my car control skills and to be introduced to performance driving, and to me, doing so in a manual transmission is an essential part of that.

rideau: I will look more into the BMW school, it looks like you can start at the second level, and they provide a fleet of 335i's for the school.

Doug: Thanks for the link! The only downside is that I can't justify $1k for a car rental for the day.

chopperzz: I would be looking for a performance-oriented style of instruction, and one that I wouldn't have to use my own vehicle (for reasons above).

Has anybody done the BMW school?

porsche0nut

That looks fantastic! A little bit out of my league, but it's been put on my "to-do" list for the future!

chopperzz

Good luck on your research. Chances are slim that you're going to get much change back from 1K in whatever you decide. Keep us posted.

rideau

porsche0nut
I have attended BMW. The chief instructor is Pierre Savoy who was Jacques Villeneuve's driving coach and my friend Kelly Williams (first female CASCAR driver) is a lead instructor.
I have had the pleasure of Pierre's personal instruction at a Dexter Day and he is tough, demanding and a great instructor.
Good cars, good instructors, good program and a good lunch for less cost than other alternatives.

Christien

I'll second Pierre. He took me out after I crashed and got me "back in the saddle", so to speak. Excellent coach, and a really nice guy, too.

FFaust

Now THAT looks like fun

Porsch0nut, the PCA introductory driving school (IDS) can also be a one-day event (that's what I did earlier this year). I understand that this is the only PCA driving "school" where you do not need a P car.

Your Jetta might not be the most enjoyable for the day, but you should be able to use it. It's $190 for the day and, as Chris said, you do skidpad, slalom, and minitrack.

I'ts a pretty good bang for the buck. GL

ronnie993tt

I was told I could not use my Z for the IDS. Not wanting to track the tt, I'm looking for an option like thre BMW school as well. Do you have the site handy?

ekam

http://crm.bmw.ca/drivertraining/dt_main.asp?lang=en

FFaust

That's odd, we had an older 323 with us that looked like it was about to flip over on the skidpad.