Argonaut

Took the level 1 class today at FedEx field near DC. Taught by Wash DC area SCCA club. 18 students and 3 instructors. After learning about tech inspection, course workers, safety, etc we strapped on the helmets and got to do 14 runs over the course of the day. Also did 4 runs with an instructor driving my car. The course was a short one, about 35-40 seconds.

Wow! Thats fun. The biggest thing I learned?....that I've got a lot to learn! LOL

There were two GTs in the class - we were by far the biggest, heaviest cars there and it was a rather slow and tight course. A couple WRX & STi's, a boxster (very quick), S2000, several civics and integras, a couple miatas and one sweet Lotus Elise (also very quick). It was a bit humbling to have a guy in a civic beat my best time by over 2 seconds - man that car was fast and he was a better driver than level 1.

I learned: braking and turning at the same time don't mix (oops, there goes a cone); you really can steer with the right foot (throttle oversteer at first, then I learned how to "feel" it and use it to rotate the car); sudden, snap inputs (wheel or throttle) are bad; hitting the brake and gas at the same time is really bad (there goes a wall of cones); looking ahead at where you are going is good; consistency is good (got a lot to work on there).

It was great riding shotgun with an instructor, man those guys can get on it! Really helped me learn the line, where to look, how hard to brake, etc(not that I could consistently take advantage of the info).

Tomorrow is Level 2 class. More seat time. Should be fun.

jayel579

What class did you take? Is this class with Evolution Performance?

http://autocross.com/evolution/modules/news/

Sam Strano

No.... he took a local school in the DC area. I taught a lot of those instructors way back when, including the school organizer.

jayel579

Ha nice, then I am sure they are very well educated.

Sam are you instructing at any classes this season?

I am attending a school this season too, with Evolution obviously (Central PA, May 3-4). Even though I am going into my third season of Auto-X, I am sure there will be something for me to learn. I am excited for the date to come.

Argonaut

Jay - the class was taught by the DC Region SCCA club. I think I'm going to take another class taught by Evolution, its next month near State College, PA (Penn State).

Sam - I heard the name "Sam Strano" more than once last weekend - being that I have a Mustang and many of the instructors know you. You must be talking aboutBrian G. Real nice guy, he was my instructor on Saturday. On Sunday I met a guy driving a gunmetal colored Mitsu Evo with a big wing on the back. His name was Danny and he had "Stranoparts.com" plastered all over his car. Your presence was felt

Argonaut

Just saw your update - thats the class I want to attend. Excellent - I better go make sure the class isn't full. Thats about 2 hrs from my house. Nice to have other Stangs in a class.

EDIT: the Evolution class is $250 - pretty expensive. The two classes I took thus far were on the order of $150 each, why is Evolution so much more? It looks like the only way to sign up is to print and mail a paper form, am I wrong?

jayel579

Yeah, that is the only way to sign up. There are only like 4 spots left for the May 3-4 event with Evolution. My check went in the mail today. If you want to attend send in a check ASAP. You do need to be an SCCA member to attend (SCCA membership is dependent on the region, some require it and some dont), but they are trying to organize one in the philly area. That one might be a little closer for you. There should be one out on Long Island in August, if I do not get into the Central PA event (State College) then I will be at the Long Island event. The last email I got from the Evolution School organizer, Pat Salerno, said that they are working on these additional dates and locations.

As far as cost, I really cant explain why Evo is more other then I am guessing actual event costs, i.e paying instructors, insurance, lot usage... But I can tell you it is very good, I have heard this from tons of people. My brother actually got seat time with Jason Burns a few years ago. Jason Burns is another National Champ, like Sam, in a mustang. Of course at the time when the names Sam Strano and Jason Burns were said, I had no idea of how big there names were in Auto-X.

And if you watch Speed Channel at all, there is a new show called "Setup". Amazing show but 2 guys on that show are also Evolution instructors; Kevin Dietz and Mike "Junior" Johnson. So Evolution does a great job of getting the best guys, hands down, to be instructors.

Sam Strano

I'm scheduled to teach the Evo in Central PA (about 1.5 hours from me, and my home region). Jason Burns is a good friend of mine, and student too. I setup his Mach 1, and his Shelby GT is pretty much cloned from what I run...as a matter of fact I'm doing some work to his car this weekend.

Mike Johnson is also one of my closest friends, and he too was my student waayyyy back in 2000 when he first came out of a Honda Civic into their Camaro.

Those two have done very well, and while I didn't make them what they are, both will tell you, and have told me,that I had an integral role in both the driving and the car setup which is flattering.

Is an Evo School worth it? If you're serious it is. What you took was ok for some basics. But I've been doing this for years now and we have a plan. What you took was basically an Evo School lite. Brian took more than one Evo school over the years and then started doing "his" schools. He didn't "steal" Evo stuff, but I'm sure--actually I know that it has influenced the instruction a bitoverall. That's fine, but it's not the real deal IMHO.

Argonaut

Thanks Sam - now I understand why the EVO schools cost a bit more. I put my check in the mail today for the May 4th EVO school (May 3rd is full). The coordinator told me there was only 1 slot left...keeping my fingers crossed it gets there in time.

GotMunchies?

Autocrossing the Rustang has been an interesting experience. The greatest enemy of the AutoX is weight - which the 'Stang has in spades, so trying to find a way to maintain momentum in tight courses is very difficult.

Best thing to do: BRAKE EARLY. Slow in fast out is the order of the day with trailing throttle in the corners to control the azimuth of the car. The same is very true regular track running.

Other things you can do: Get as much of the weight of the car away from the corners and down low. So lightweight wheels, lowering springs, with stiff damping to control roll. If you can keep the weight of the car under control, you can have a very fast car (which first of all requires driver ability). Until then, expect even mediocre Miata drivers to run four rings around you.


And remember, the best modification you can ever get for your car is the driver mod. That means SEAT TIME SEAT TIME SEAT TIME.