[QUOTE]Originally posted by 2004S2000
I want instruction that will help me with curves on winding roads.

 

Actocross schools don't just teach you autocrossing. They teach you how to drive. What, do you think autocrossers come up to a curve on some twisty and go "god, no cone - I don't know what to do"? The bottom line is, first time into a corner that you can't see through, you'd better be below the limit - remember, even rally drivers are going on the pace notes of their co-driver. There are tricks though, such as looking at the points where the inside and outside converge and seeing if they move away from you (radius increasing), stays in the same place, or starts moving toward you (radius decreasing - hope you aren't at the limit).

An autocross school (not your regular autocross - I mean an Evo school, or local chapter shcool) is an excellent way to learn car control - which will benefit you on the street. At an HPDE a novice driver doesn't come close to max performing his car. I did my first HPDE before even autocrossing - I found out that my car at the time could corner way faster than I'd ever imagined - also got some classroom instruction that I'd already known from Skip Barbers Going Faster Book - it had just come out that year. Went to my first autocross school a year later, a PCA school. I learned a lot more about handling there. We did skidpad excercises, threshold braking (not that important with ABS, but you'd be shocked how many street only drivers don't use maximum braking), skidpad, etc. Don't know how to steer with the throttle, the skidpad'll teach ya; don't know about the transitional responses of a car - run a skidpad. Put it all together and you'll be faster "with curves on winding roads"

I would agree, just going to a single autocross is not going to teach you much - except how slow you are if there are any decent drivers in your region. I mean that as a general statement not directed at a particular poster.

 

Why would you risk it by taking your car to the track? Sounds a bit pointless to me.

 

very helpful web site.

I want to learn to better handle my car, a mid front engine wthout stability control, not a very differently handling car.

 

You can also bring your own car to Mid Ohio and it is cheaper. Most Porsche club regions, BMW CCA regions all run drivers ed programs it will run you around $250.00 for a weekend and you get about 3 hours of instructed track time and it is not a timed event so it is covered by most insurance. NASA also does schools at most tracks. I have been instructing for 7 years now it is a great time.