After having completed my first school event, 2 days I would like to give you some advice.

Know your car. Knowing and trusting your car is one of the single most important things that you can possibly learn. If you don't trust it, you will never ever feel comfortable with your own abilities to drive comfortably.

Be humble, don't think your hot stuff because the instructors can out drive you 10 fold, I never went out that way but alot of the porsche guys seem to think they are gods. Kinda fun when you can make them sweat a bit on the curvies. Same with the m3 and m5s :D

Again, don't ever doubt your mini, it can do things you never thought possible. Items to focus on should be smoothness. Speed is something that comes with practice. I started getting fast at the end but I started way slower.

Biggest problem is you start seeing the line everywhere you go. It's horrible. I went to the grocery store the other day and started looking, huh I could make it throught there if I take the apex right around.

Horrible horrible habbit. you;ll never be the same again

Items to bring
Water, gatoraide, a snack, tarp to cover stuff in case of rain, good tire gauge.

a nice light wieght sweater shirt thingy is quite nice. your window will be open while driving so it should almost be a must in the cold.

A camera system is really nice. I suggest getting a chasecam headrest mount and borrow or rent a small video camera if you don't have one. or the costco then return it thing also works.

Also did I mention have fun. and yes you get hooked. cannot wait till my next time out

 

you crazy hawaiians...you have events in february and all that jazz. here in chicago the last event i ran was in october, and it was chilly, and i have to wait until april for my first school...

 

I'm signed up for the local BMW club's driving school in 2 weeks. As opposed to thinking I'm "hot stuff" I'm nervous about being way out of my league and my element. I just want to get through without making a total fool of myself .
Annette

 

guess what, you will and thats okay... because you learn more about yourself as a human and about trusting your car and own abilites than anything. I was REALLY nervous. and you know what, I'm so happy I did it because I don't fear this car now, I embrace it and drive it like it should be driven!

 

Are you sure it's nerves and not anxiety . There is absolutely nothing wrong with be nervous. You will find after a couple of laps, after you have started breathing again that you are a lot capable than you thought and that little car you are driving will take care of you pretty well.

Make sure you read everything you can from the BMWCCA driving school. They sent me a great package that has a ton of awesome reading on car control and some of the mechanics behind car handling. Something I'm sorry to say didn't happen at my first (not BMW) driving academy.

They are the leader of the pack when it comes to instructors, track time and safety. Enjoy! Make sure you touch base with us after your experience.
Another thing, don't worry about embarassing a couple of Bimmers along the way. That's waaaaaaay fun

 

If the intention is to give beneficial advice to others, then I will add: exercise a degree of ethics.

 

if i were to take a class should i have any suspension mods on my car

 

No, not unless you intend to track or autocross your car. The car (assuming you have an S) will do just fine for the school on stock suspension. Go for it! Have a blast!

 

thanks.

 

The reason there are classes is so you can learn! The reason there are beginner groups is so you can learn comfortably!

Thinks to remember....

Listen to your instructor. They know what they're talking about, and aren't *********s who want to get you in trouble.

Pay attention to the corner workers. They are your eyes to what you can't see!

Work on smooth. You do smooth, fast will come. You do fast without smooth, spins will come!

If you have a day or two, you don't have to do it all at once. Take your time, and don't rush yourself.

Breath. Remember to breath! Sounds stupid, but it's wayyyy easy to get too tense, especially if it's your first time out.

Drink lots of fluids, so you can stay hydrated.

Remember, you're there to have fun! If it gets too late in the day, and your tired and start to loose focus, take it down a few notches. Tired and pushing = bad news!

And don't be embarrased to not be an expert first time out. You learn the most the fastest at the beginning. Confidence will build with seat time.

But don't get too confident..... It takes a long time to get real good.

And you'll really start to appreciate the saying "the best mod is to tighten the nut behind the wheel!"

Matt

 

Just completed my first "real" school this past weekend and my instructor mentioned EVERY word that Matt just did. Great advice. The only thing I would add is that you have to drive the car first. You can listen all about early and late apexing and throttle steering, yada yada yada........you still have to drive the car. You'd be amazed at how much will come naturally if you let it.

One other thing......pressure is self imposed. Unless you are driving with a bunch of morons, and sorry to say it happens nobody is going to pressure you to go faster than you are comfortable with. Have a good time and learn as much as you can.

 

I am going this weekend, I CANT WAIT!!!