For less than the cost of a cat-back exhaust or chip, my car is now much faster and safer.

Evolution runs several levels of driving schools, geared mainly toward autocrossing. I arrived a the autocross lot at 8 am and met some of the other course participants. I had the only MINI, and one of the few European cars. Most participants had Miatas (1st or 2nd generation) or WRX'es. Some notable vehicles were a Porsche 996 Twin-Turbo and a Mallet 383 (a tuner Corvette).

Anyway, while chatting with the other students, many people seemed to feel their cars understeered too much to be fast on the course. There was a driver's meeting and safety lecture, followed by each student doing 3 runs on the elaborate autocross course to get a baseline. The course started with a 3-cone slalom, followed by the clockwise circle, then a short straight to a left-hand turn (a little sharper than 90-degrees), a gentle right hander leading into a right-hand sweeper, then a "Chicago Box" (sort of a very small slalom - while going straight, you need to turn sharply to the right, then left, then right back onto the straight), a gentle right hander led back onto the straight and back into the circle (this time, counter-clockwise). Particularly tricky, was that ~20 ft circle of cones.

I had previously done one autocross event in my MINI, but didn't really know what I was doing. As a result, my first three runs were less-than-stellar. My first three runs were 43.1s, 41.6s, and 41.2s. We got split times for each segment of the course as well, to see which segments needed the most improvement. For me, that would be all of them.

My time through the slalom wasn't very good I found that I was watching each cone, trying to thread my MINI through the midway point between each cone. I came into the circle fast, and just plowed wide at full lock, trying to scrub off speed and get around the circle. As I later learned, this is not the fast way around. The sweeper was somewhat of a mystery - I felt I was either going too fast (plowing while trying to scrub off speed) or too slow (plowing while trying to accelerate through the corner). My name might as well have been Farmer Andy.

So, after trying the course myself, the next two runs were with national-level champion instructors in the passenger seat, quietly watching all my mistakes. With Mike Johnson (1999 Pro-Solo E-stock Champion, 2nd place in F-stock at 2001 SCCA Nationals) in the passenger seat, I made two runs, concentrating on making exactly the same mistakes I had on my first three runs. Sure enough, my consistency was good and I ran 41.9 and 41.9. :smile:

Mike and I swapped seats and he took the MINI out for two runs, pointing out to me what he was doing, and which areas I should concentrate on. First, on the slalom, he showed how I should be concentrating on putting my inside rear tire close to the backside of each cone. This seems like an odd idea, but works very well in practice. In the circles, Mike nearly came to a stop and went around the circle very slowly, but very tight to the cones. He explained that it feels funny to be going so slow, but the distance is shortest by going slow enough for the tires to maintain grip. Mike's results certainly showed me that I had room for improvement - he nailed 38.4s and 36.8s. Most notably, through the sweeper and Chicago box, he shaved 2 seconds off my times!

Now, with Mike's instructions fresh in my mind, we swapped seats and I did three runs with constant instruction from the passenger seat. My times were 40.6, 39.7, and 40.1. I slowed way down for the circles and amazingly cut about 0.5 seconds off each of them! Going slow is fast, who woulda figured? My approach to the sweeper had changed, braking heavily before turning, then keeping my foot partyly on throttle as the MINI turned smoothly around the big arc. Mike showed me how I could control the size of the arc by adding a little throttle (to make it bigger) or letting off on the throttle (to make it smaller). By letting off completely, the car tucked to the right to dip into the Chicago Box. Amazing! Steering with the throttle in a front wheel drive car!

Mike hopped out and told me to do the best three runs I could, remembering the lessons I had just learned. I pulled off 39.7, 39.7, and 39.3. In less than an hour of practice and instruction, I had shaved 2 seconds off my times. More importantly, I felt MUCH more in control of the car and much more confident about my abilities.

During lunchtime, we ate sandwiches and I had a chance to compare times and notes with other students. Everyone was ecstatic about their improvement and there was no more grumbling about the capabilities of cars. Also during lunch, groups of 3 students took rides in a WRX with Mike at the wheel, showing us how to look ahead several cones from our present position. This is a very difficult skill to master, but as Mike pointed out, we do it every day on highway offramps, etc.

With a belly full of food, and some new skills to try out, I got back in the driver's seat with the second instructor riding shotgun. Dean Sapp ('94 F-Stock Solo 2 National Champion, lotsa other victories) watched my progress through the cones, and I managed to show some further improvement over the morning, with a 40.3 and 39.0.

Dean took the driver's seat and showed me some additional tips for the sweeper and emphasized looking to the next section of the course. One amazing phenomenon he demonstrated was the tendency of the car to go in the direction that his helmet was pointed. Dean ran a 37.3 and 36.0.

Dean and I swapped seats and I concentrated on looking ahead, turning my head toward the section of the course where I needed to end up. It worked very well, and my four runs yielded 38.3, 37.5, 38.1, and 38.0. Not only were my times significantly improved, but they were approaching the pro's times! It should be noted the instructors were self-admittedly driving at about 85%, but I was happy nonetheless.

Dean hopped out and I had an opportunity to show off my skills while he watched from the paddock. Feeling even more comfortable with my skills, I pulled off a 38.1 and 37.3.

My final three runs of the day were by myself, encompassing everything I learned. I got a 36.9, 37.3, and 37.0. Compared to the morning's results, my split times for the sweeper had dropped from mid-12's to mid 10's. My results were all within 0.5s of eachother and I had beaten half the runs that the pros had made!

One very important part of my learning experience that I have left out is the course work I did in-between driving sessions. By working on the course and running for cones, I got to see what other students were doing both right and wrong, and made mental notes to improve my own performance. Some students exhibited incredible improvement through the day, and everyone had much more confidence about themselves and their cars.

Total cost for the day was $225 including lunch for the 8-5 session. I wouldn't hesistate to do it again, and I intend to practice the skills I learned both on the street and on autocross competitions.

http://autocross.com/evolution/

 

Exellent post.

 

Farmer Andy, eh?

nice post

 

I AM JEALOUS

 

I have not taken a car driving class (yet), but have experienced the same type of improvements in motorcycle riding classes. I couldn't agree with you more that the cheapest improvement you can make to your car's performace is learning how to drive it properly. I know some guys that saved thousands of dollars by learning how to ride versus buying the latest hot bike or adding the latest performace enhancement to their motorcycles.

I strongly recommend getting track time. It is a safe place to go fast, and you get to take the same turns over and over expermenting with different methods and find out which ones really work. Qualified instruction at a track speeds the process. Those who think they know it all will soon be passed by those who are open to learning new tricks.

 

Andy - great post - I did the evolution phase 1 and phase 2 at the end of March and my experience was much as you describe. Great instructors and lots of seat time.

My tuning budget includes driver tuning too - not just stuff for the MINI.

 

I really appreciated the in-depth discussion above (driving school. ) ...loved the title " How to Tighten the Loose Nut behind the wheel".. How fitting, we all thought collectively :smile: :smile: :smile:

So, I did some searching on the WEB and found ,

tracktime.com

Now I've done a couple mods to my "S", (intake and exhaust) and I am considering a 15% reduction pulley. Now, while I'm trying to "grow" some huevos and just do this mod, I'm thinking perhaps a better investment or equally appealling one would be driving school, (especially while waiting to see how the pulley modded cars do in the heat of summer, ...you know.... the test of time. Also to see what kind of numbers are generated with the "perfect chip" :evil: :evil:


His, Chile Red all over /Hers, EB UJ on top.

 

If you stick to autocross, you should be able to make a good argument to the significant other. Autocross is about the safest motorsport there is (unless you are a cone!).

 

Great post Andy!

We sometimes get so lost in trying to make the car faster, that we forget about making the driver faster (same can be said about shedding weight in some cases!).

As far as insurance, I contract as a test pilot and road race and autocross. I have talked with my agent specifically about all three - no problemo! I would highly recommend talking with your carrier directly; they are usually very helpful.

Take a look at our autocross adventure from this weekend here.

 

I wish everyone whould stop calling me a loose nut!

 

UNLESS YOU ARE A CONE

If you wipe out on the parking lot( light pole or roll it) hmmmm do they ask you where you racing? I do not think so. I saw a mini on three wheels last weekend in Hershey at the autocross.It takes a lot to wipe out in a mini

 

What a fantastic post -love the loose nut. I have not raced in almost 30 years (well :smile:

 

Anyone know of any driving schools or categories where one can go helmetless? I simply can't fit in my car with a helmet on. I could probably drive my wife's WRX with one, but I'd rather learn to drive my car =)

thanks in advance,

js

 

You'll need a helmet, pretty much no matter what motorsports you do ... except drag racing in relatively slow cars at a few dragstrips (at NED, the cutoff was 14.0 or 13.5).

 

Track time is good and alot of fun but for learning true car controll auto-x is the best option... the penalty for a mistake on a roadcourse can quickly become very very large... 90 % of autocross mistakes result in a few killed cones and a ruined run.... allowing drivers to go to the limit... when I do a track event I drive at 85% at autocross I drive at 100% or more...

 

Thanks for the great writeup! Makes me want to hit the track even more!

I've always known that it was cheaper and safer to make my MINI faster by going to school instead of mods, but this did a good job of making the point. Cutting that much time with mods would be just about impossible I think!

 

A comment on insurance...talking to your agent is good, but don't just take his word. Ask to see "race or track coverage" in the policy. The agent doesn't pay out, it is the insurance company that pay a cliam and they follow the written policy, not what the agent told you. Some of the drivers courses are "safety" courses and these are much more likely to be covered.

Track vs AutoX ...Track is more risky, but I have seen some interesting damage occur at AutoX (wheels fall off, cars catch on fire, blown engines etc.) but nobody really hurt...except for their wallets.

What ever your preference, get out on a contolled course and improve your skills.