This was one school that any beginner/novice should attend. Even if you don't plan on doing autocrosses, it is beneficial. I'll let the first timers report their experience.

From a 1 yr autocross novice perspective, it was a good refresher on things I had taken 15 events and a year to learn on my own. Wilkens got to do it in 2 days! Some of the skills I already had were even better honed. I now know which things I already do quite well at and also which things I need to improve with more seat time. Having an instructor show how well your car can go was the biggest benefit for me - particularly on the 2nd day where I took the NSX.

If I ever have the time, I'm going to look into running our own school.... Any interest? I expect cost to be around $100-150/day (Evo school charged $225). But we would need about 20 people to make it feasible. And someone would need to check up on insurance.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by s2ktaxi
[B]This was one school that any beginner/novice should attend.

 

Well, I finally have a chance to write my two cents on the EVO School....

I had an incredible time! And it was well worth it! This school is a serious toss up between me missing the Dragon Run that same weekend.

I had my newly mounted Pilot Sport Cups on my stock rims, and... well... it was too damn cold both days. I could barely get them warmed up enough between runs. And I think I put some serious wear on them when the ground and the tires were so cold. But on the second day, when it finally warmed up a bit... the tires did a great job. And I am happy with them. But I need to have a warmer day to really know.

I also just mounted my video camera for this event. It was great to have the tips and pointers that were given to me during my one on one session time with the instructors. Plus watching me from the first run and how I progressed towards the end of each day was very interesting. In fact it was an eye opener. Simple tips that made my runs quicker and smoother was very evident during my last couple of runs. There are a couple of things I will change with the mount and the camera though... I need to make the mount stiffer, or add some shock absorbing material to the mount. The camera was shaking quite a bit. And in the video it was a little hard to watch at times. Another thing is... I need to get an external microphone... the wind was pretty consistent the first day, and not that bad the second day... but driving with the top down didn't make it too easy... but overall the video came out pretty decent. The main point of the video camera was to remember all of the tips that the instructors were giving me. And it did exactly that!

The instructors were great in my opinion. They were very educational and shared the same passion of driving as all of us. But these people were not just instructors... they were National SCCA Champions and Finalists... they had the knowledge, and did a great job conveying how to be a better driver.

I am proud to say that... even though most will not believe this... but... I did not spin out once during the whole weekend! Even though I know two of us did This school gave the students the most driving time I have ever had in any event I have been to. And it was just soo much fun!

Next year, I highly recommend anyone to attend this school. Even if you don't plan on attending any autocross events. The instructors let you know how to control your car, to take it to the limit where you are in control, and not the car. And next year I will be back there! But just to take the PHASE 3 class... driving blind folded... those who did go to EVO School know what I mean.

Ummm... what else can I say about this... IT WAS COLD!!!.... ummm... yup... IT WAS COLD!!! and... hmmm... well at least I didn't get any nicknames from the instructors like... "Throttle Switch Tommy"

I would also like to commend how well Wilken and Chazzy progressed during the two days. Again, we had soo much seat time that one of the instructors said that "You are driving as much these two days as a whole year of regular Autocross's" (Actually he said that after I pointed out the wear on my brand new tires) and I totally agreed with him... so congrats on Wilken and Chazzy!

Oh... and thanks Francis for bringing up about having our own Autocross School. I totally agree with this. Now we just need... a location (possibly taken cared of), cones (umm... we have two now... we need a lot more!), and timing devices (I have no idea where to look for this). I have the insurance taken cared of) So... LETS DO IT!!!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by g-s2k
[B]
I am proud to say that... even though most will not believe this... but... I did not spin out once during the whole weekend!

 

Derrick,

Could this be Glenn's way of saying that he spun out more than one time?

 

Actually, it turns out it was the veterans who spun...

 

Yikes!

Maybe we should be driving Saturns?

 

Just wanted to drop in and put in my two cents worth ...

Glenn's spot on about the school. It sounded like a lot of money at first and I wasn't sure, but Steve Hazard advised me to do both days, even though I had never done an auto-x before. I'm glad he did, because I learned a lot from doing it. Everything that they talked about was obvious and something that you've heard before: look ahead, use smooth steering inputs, take your time through slow corners, think about the course, etc. But until you have the instructor there pointing out everything that you're doing wrong and telling you what you should have done and seeing the improvements for yourself, it really doesn't stick. Even after the first day, we all walked out of there thinking, "Ok, I see now." The very next morning, the very first run of the day, I don't think any of us did any of the things we were supposed to do. I was lucky enough to have the first run and the fear of getting out there and not knowing where to go was enough to keep me from looking anywhere close to far enough.

As the day progressed, I learned a few things:

1) Looking ahead isn't enough. You need to know when and where to look ahead. There was one portion where I found that it was best to look at a particular gate about three turns ahead because a) I had time and b) it was a complicated turn.

2) Trust yourself. Glenn mentioned that the Phase III "Challenge" school was running with windshields covered. The point is that you should be able to look far enough ahead to remember the course and know that your car won't hit a particular cone.

3) If you don't feel ABS starting to kick in, you're not braking hard enough. Halfway through the 2nd day, I realized that I had more braking power than I was using even though it felt like a lot. For the rest of the day, I challenged the maximum of my car's braking power, even past its maximum and consequently understeering after the corner. Now I have a better sense of what my car can do.

4) Smoothness counts for everything! I knew this before, but experiencing it was a different matter entirely. You could totally feel what a good run was like. My first few runs of the weekend, I ran a little fast, but not out of control. After that, I went totally smooth with everything and it just felt much, much better. This counts not only for steering, but also for throttle and brake inputs, too. "Toggle-Switch Tony" learned this!

Anyway, I got home and my tires are a bit ragged. I don't have a picture, but I will take one soon. The Pilot Sports are pretty good as street tires and they didn't wear too bad considering how much hard driving they went through. I might need to buy another set of wheels and tires, though!

It was great to see you guys out there and I'll see you in a little over a week at the same place!

 

Clarification... Phase III is not the Challenge School. The Challenge School (aka Extreme School) is a new offering that is not the same as the Phase III school.

 

Driving smooth is too boring in autocross, it's much more fun to hang the tail out in tight corners, 4 wheel drift in sweepers, bomb into the slaloms like the car is out of control. Not to mention it's much more exciting for spectators to watch as well.

Maybe I should participate in rally racing instead.