Alan

I'm looking into potential Christmas gifts for my wife. She is interested in is a driving school that can teach her the in's and out's of performance driving.

Something she is interested in is learning how to hone her manual transmission skills. I honestly think she is good, but she wants more direction in how to "aggressively" drive a manual transmission car (i.e. fast launches, fast shifts, downshifts, etc). Everything I know came over time and I've tried teaching her, but unfortunately I am a terrible teacher. Any clue if there are any classes out there that touch on the subject of manual transmissions for performance driving?

I was going to sign her up for the Evolution class, but they don't have anything listed past October and I really don't want her out there chewing up the tires on her daily driver (f-ing tires on her car are pricey). Seems like Skip Barber is one of the better options out there since she wouldn't be out there thrashing the daily driver, but they are a bit pricey. Are there any other good options out there?

Loren

Tough call if I'm reading you correctly.

No performance driving school (be it an autox school like Evolution, or a track school like Skip Barber or any of the smaller autox or track club schools) is going to spend a lot of time on the art of shifting. Primarily for the very reason you mentioned... it's something that is learned over time, hard to teach much in a day... and when you've payed for TRACK time, the focus of their teaching is going to be things like the finer points of late-braking, smooth turn-in and late-apexing.

If she really wants to focus on shifting... some sort of private instruction is in order. I'd be happy to offer to instruct for a small fee if you have a vehicle she can learn in and are flexible about where the training takes place. I used to do driving instruction, so I know of a few places where there are open parking lots that basic low-speed "technique" stuff can be practiced.

I can teach her the basics, but as you know... it's going to take a lot of practice on her part to master it.

One of the things I sort of got in trouble for with some of my students (I was mostly teaching teens who were trying to get their licenses) was sort of blurring the lines between "performance" and "street" driving. I taught them avoidance maneuvers, agressive braking, stuff like that. And if the school had a car with a manual transmission, I'd have made sure they knew how to drive it!

Anyway, if you think I can help, shoot me an email.

Chuck 98 RT/10

Bondurant Racing School is the best and they have a Teen and Advanced Teen driving school that your wife might enjoy. Don't let the title of "teen" fool you. Bondurant is great at all levels.

Skip Barber has discounts if you look around. You might consider calling them and asking about any courses where you can use your own car.

ViperDays.com also has great training but they only do Sebring once a year.

treekiller

Alan:

(Raises Hand) depending on what exactly she is looking for there is no reason I can't set up a "custom" Lesson Plan.. If your worried about the car, It's only fractionally more expensive To use our rent-a-racer. However I'd recommend at least some time in the car she intends to drive to get used to clutch engagement and the foiboles of that car.

I agree With Chuck Bondurant is a great school but at $1200 for their 1 day advanced Teen it is a bit expensive. (well I guess not THAT expensive if you can afford a Viper )

The prices are all going to hinge on how creative she wants to get and if I need to secure space. any high speed training will involve a rented facility. one nice thing Is I am fairly friendly with most of the Autocross clubs and can pre-arrange a day where she runs the course normally but with pre-arranged focused full time instruction.

So it's all going to hinge on your budget, expect anywhere from $75 for 1/2 day basic low speed instruction, to $500+ for dedicated lessons on a hot track. to over $1000 for private sessions on a closed track. (prices are "arrive and drive" Tires, brakes, car fuel etc. included) so get back to me, I have several facilities at my disposal which we can rent for even a fraction of a day.. if you split the cost amongst 2-3 people It will make it less also, I have a few people I trust to instruct, if we need more then one.

LDadrenaline

here is part of an FAQ I did on floridagerman for some of the HDPE (high performance drivers education) clubs... Only one not listed is SAFE, because I haven't run with them yet... Also SAFE wouldn't really be an HPDE since there isn't really any instruction.


All clubs run with point-by passing on straightaways only unless otherwise noted.
PBOC and NASA are around $180 a day and $350 for the weekend. You usually get 3-4 25 minute sessions of track time. With PBOC they have a supersolo group for experienced solo and instructor drivers with open passing, but your car must meet certain safety requirements. Lately they have been combining solo and instructor groups to get more track time for them. Only instructors can take people for rides, and only registered drivers can be passengers. NASA has 4 groups. Group 1 and 2 are instructed groups. Group 3 is for solo drivers and instructors with passing anywhere on the track with a point by, even in turns. Group 4 is where advanced instructors and solos and TimeTrial drivers run. Group 4 is open passing anywhere like supersolo, but no extra safety requirements. Any group 3 or 4 driver can take passengers, and even spectators can pay to be passengers. If a group 4 driver wishes to take passengers, however, they must drive in the group 3 session because you can't have passengers in an open passing session.

PCA used to be the same but has now raised their prices to $225 a day. The different regions are Suncoast (our region), Goldcoast (West Palm Beach, Coral Springs, Mami area), Space Coast (Orlando region), and Citrus (more norther and central region). Most events are either suncoast or goldcoast region, but the other regions occasionally host events at Sebring. They run two instructed groups (novice and advanced), a solo group, and an instructors group. You can expect the same 3-4 25 minute sessions with them if you are running with suncoast. Suncoast has been allowing the solos and instructors to run together after lunch. Goldcoast has a different format where they run everyone separate in the mornings, and in the afternoon combine instructors and solos into one group and novice and advanced into another group. With this format they have been able to get almost 3 hours of track time. Only instructors can take passengers with PCA, and the passenger has to be a registered driver.

Chin motorsports is the most expensive of the groups. Until you reach solo status it costs $350 *per day*, and once you are a solo it is still $290 per day. They charge this because they guarantee you 4 hours of track time. Chin runs dual group formats. The four groups are novice, intermediate solo, advanced solo, and instructor. The first group combines novice and intermediate solo with the usual passing rules. The second group combines advanced solo and instructors, which uses the passing anywhere with a point-by, even in turns. Any group 2 driver can take passengers. Any registered driver can ride along for free, and any spectator (over 18 can pay $20 and ride with any group 2 driver all day. They run hour long sessions, which honestly will be too much time your first few weekends. You think you are spending extra money to run longer, but your car really won't last the whole hour session and neither will you.

3dglasses

Great info guys! I'm definitely doing some open track events (with instructor) ASAP!

Chuck 98 RT/10

Regarding HPDE and open track club events like SAFE, Chin, etc. most of them allow ride-alongs with any experienced club member willing to take you. Typical cost is about $30 for the day and you can ride with different instructors and experienced members in a variety of cars and ask them questions afterwards. It's a pretty affordable way of getting some experience.

LDadrenaline

I mentioned ride-alongs in my post

S60R

If your wife is hot I'll teach her how to properly handle a stick for ya, lol.

(sorry, I couldn't resist)