GuthNW

I'm less than a year into my S2000 ownership experience feel that I could benefit rom advancing my skills as a driver. I already feel that the car's capabilities far outweigh my own. So I'm interested in upgrading my driving skills (I intend to leave the car all stock, but I've got lots of room for improvement). I'd like to learn more about what options might be out there for me to consider. I'd simply like to increase the enjoyment I get out of this car out on the local twisty roads for example and therefore I'd like to better prepare myself to deal with unexpected variables that present themselves from time to time out on the road. I'm not talking about driving like a total idiot out on the street. I'd just like to increase my confidence as driver based on the skills that I acquire and ideally I'd like to do so in a more controlled fashion rather than just simply pushing things more out on public roads.

As a point of reference, I grew up with rear-wheel drive cars and dirt bikes and I learned quite a bit from those experiences. Even though I had spent many years riding motorcycles in my youth, I felt that taking the basic rider training class many years later was worth my time before I got my motorcycle license (now more than a decade ago). So while I've learned a fair amount in all my years, I'll just say that the S2000 is capable of delivering a much more "dynamic" experience than say the Triumph Spitfire that I had when I was a kid. Now I'd just like to bring myself a bit more up to speed. I know that they have Advanced Rider Courses for motorcyclists and I've been giving that some thought lately as well. What would the equivalent be in the automotive world — would something like a performance driving class be appropriate given my goals? (I've seen HPDE mentioned here and elsewhere, but have little idea of what's actually involved?) If not, what other options would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

hoobastnk90

You should be able to look up some SCCA or Nasa events that run events at tracks in your area. They generally have different levels based on your skills, and they will assign you an instructor to ride with you and teach you different techniques. There generally called Performance Driving Experience or PDX for short, but they are a lot of fun!

Car Analogy

You can also consider autocross. Cheap, accessible way to get more seat time. Not a track, but...

HPDE is High Performance Driving Event. A track day. Sometimes with some instruction.

Even if you sign up for a paid track driver s ed course, like Bondurant, etc, its worth it to go on some track days first.

I ise this strategy for all adult ed stuff, like tech classes for work. Never go to class cold, with no experience, as your first exposure to the topic. Always play around with it on your own first. Learn the easy stuff, figure out what you don't know. Otherwise you waste experience class time learning stuff you could have on your own, and miss some of the important details you just didn't have the attention span to pick up on.

GuthNW

What kind of things are you thinking of — anything in particular?

GuthNW

There must be a few others out there with some valuable feedback. I've previously noted responses talking about this sort of thing (driving classes) when someone raises their concern over the way this car handles. I'd just like to know a bit more about what to expect from such a class. The idea of a class where there is an instructor with advanced driving skills riding along in the car on a closed course sounds like it might be ideal.

Strike

Getting with some type of "certified" instructor on a closed course would probably be pretty expensive. Getting on a track in general isn't cheap. I think you haven't gotten more feedback because the best answer has already been posted. Attend an HPDE at your local track. Most HPDE's I've been a part of offer instruction. The people instructing you may not be former race car drivers but usually they're very experienced track drivers that the organizers of the event trust to judge and teach the newer drivers.

DanielB

I think it depends on how much you want to be guided vs. how much ownership you take yourself. You could attend a professional school such as Bondurant for a significant amount of money. You could try a club based school (e.g. here in CO the Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing club offers a 2 day school every year in the spring for just a few hundred dollars). You could come out to some of the structured events (e.g. Track Night in America with SCCA) that are designed to get noob out onto the track but aren't really structured as a class - rather someone will ride with you if you ask. Porsche club often will allow non-P-cars to attend their weekend schools on a space available basis and they provide an instructor as part of the two day event. I've heard some BMW clubs do the same. And you could just go to open track days and ask for guidance from others - you'll be pleasantly surprised how many people will jump in to help guide you. It's really up to you to decide which approach works for you best.

BTW, some events will require more safety gear than others which might affect where you want to get started. For example, S2000 roll hoops are considered by some groups to be adequate for rollover protection (even though they really are not for a taller person). Others will want to see a proper roll bar - probably something you're not going to want to do on day one, or perhaps at all.

Fokker

The Evolution Performance Driving School - Building Champions since 1993 - Autocross, Driver School, HPDE, License

They have some dates during the summer in Washington. I don't know how close that is to you in Oregon, but the prices are very affordable as focused driver instruction goes and you can learn a lot that is applicable to both autocross and track.

Reading material to prepare for driving fast:
Ultimate Speed Secrets: The Complete Guide to High-Performance and Race Driving - Ross Bentley
Drive to Win: The Essential Guide to Race Driving - Carroll Smith
How to Drive: The Ultimate Guide, from the Man Who Was The Stig - Ben Collins
Competition Driving - Alain Prost
The Racing Driver: The Theory and Practice of Fast Driving - Denis Jenkinson
The Soft Science of Road Racing Motorcycles - Keith Code
A Twist of the Wrist - Keith Code

hoobastnk90

Either way just get a helmet , make sure your tires are good and you could prolly get away with stock pads for now and get out there and get some seat time. HPDE's are great, and everyones goal that day is to have fun and of course be able to drive your car home at the end of the day!

HarryD

+1 for Evolution Driving School (phase 1)

Also keep an eye on https://www.motorsportreg.com/calendar/ for your local ZIP codes...