Anybody in the Northeast Region tracking their car this year?
 

This will be the first season on the track for me and I want to do as much homework as possible before I head out there. I live in RI and am looking for a club in my area to join. I found SCDA to have many events at a variety of tracks near me including Thompson, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Palmer & Louden; The furthest one being Watkins.

Does anybody have any experience with this organization and its events? I'd love to hear some members chime in with their thoughts and who knows, maybe meet up on the track.

Another question I had - Since I am obviously a novice, how do you progress into other categories? (I noticed some sessions are locked to particular skill levels) Is this something that just happens over time or is there a test associated with driver advancement?

You might need to check in your region sub-forum if you don't get any replies here.

I do a bunch of track events in Texas, and I can answer your general question. To move up from one group, color, or level (whichever your particular club calls it) generally you need demonstrate car control, situational awareness, and course knowledge usually with an in-car instructor for the early levels and later from track times, fellow drivers, or an off-track observer.

At your first event you start as a novice with the novice group, you have a mandatory classroom session, and are assigned an instructor. Your instructor might drive you around in your car for a couple of laps, or you'll follow a lead car (lead-follow laps). Your early sessions will focus on learning the course, the flags, and how to check your mirrors.

Eventually, you'll prove that you can run solo. You'll be released to be a solo driver and you'll get faster and do a better job giving and receiving point-bys in the designated passing areas. After proving that you are a predictable and considerate driver, you will eventually move into the highest groups where you might be allowed to pass anytime you're given a point-by.

You could even become an instructor if you have the mental and intestinal fortitude to be a passenger at speed.

That's for HPDE's or "track days". If you want to do wheel to wheel racing you'll have to go through a licensing process that starts out similar to the track day deal but includes more classroom stuff and a little more structured advancement track.

If looking for another group... COM (Corvettes of Mass - hardly any vettes).

Also, SCCA (Track Nights in America)... etc...

--kC

COMSCC x1000000!

Great club, I've run with them since 1999

Events are two days, day 1 is driver's school, day 2 is practice and time trials.

As a beginner you would be in Group 4 in the driver's school. You'd have classroom instruction and an instructor for the day. Typically 4 on-track sessions of 15-20 minutes each.

To run the time trials day you have to be signed-off to solo by your instructor. This usually takes a few events to get signed-off, but if you sign up for both days and don't get signed off you get a refund for day two. And if you hang around you can usually get a ride-along with an instructor.

Anyway, COMSCC highly highly HIGHLY recommended!

I run with NASA Northeast and love it. I rarely run with any other group now.

HA :) I used to run with them since 1999 too (Rx7 R1 with John Levy and Eppley, mine was red and then later bought Marc Epstein's E36 :)

Anyways, recommend COM hands down! Equal (not conflicting schedule) is NASA NE. These guys are more on the serious side (competition oriented). If driving school or track driving is your focus, I'd recommend PCA or BMW CCA (Porsche and BMW clubs).

Enjoy in good health.

Cheers,

Lutfy

Thanks for the suggestion. Coincidentally enough, as I was searching through the past year's activity and records on COM, I found a guy I know and also follow on Instagram that races his e36. I'll probably reach out to him for some more info since he has attended every event. Thanks again!

Check out northeast 86CUP.

Little late, but I ran 10 events with SCDA in 2017. Great group to run with with very good instructors, 2 of them now run BRZ's.
Events are well organized and run very smooth.

2018 I will be doing mixed bag of events. Going to try the Northeast 86 cup and see if I can make all those events. Will also be doing some SCDA events especially Watkins Glen and Palmer, those are just fantastic tracks. I also want to get in some NASA events this year also since always hear good things about them.

I had been thinking of doing one event this year to branch out from Auto X, and it looks like the Palmer event is about $369, and another $160ish for track insurance.

I'll already have my RE-71Rs on for Auto X, and I had planned on switching to Stoptec pads this year, would I need anything else for my first event?

Also would it be better to wait and do an SCCA track night at palmer?

SCDA at Palmer is a blast. They will give you an instructor, I recommend Steve, he drives a Series Yellow BRZ so I am definitely biased. Kidding aside he is a great instructor.

Brake fluid and Pads and you should be fine.

Attend the classroom sessions in between track sessions, they help quite a bit. Palmer has fuel now and it is reasonable priced. They also have a lunch wagon and there is an air compressor there you can use to adjust tire pressures if needed.

Best advice I can give is don't be bashful, everyone I have met at SCDA sessions goes out of their way to help. Listen to the instructors, even jump in the car with them during their sessions to see the potential of the BRZ was eye opening for me.

Elivan Goulart is the SCDA leader, he is a professional driver and drives in the Pirelli world challenge and is a wealth of knowledge.

I drive a Series Yellow BRZ also, so hit me up and say hello. My car has black wheels, Steve's has ugly purple ones so you can tell the difference.

Oh woah, I didn't know that included instruction, that sounds like the way I'll go then, are there any membership referrals or sign up things that I should mention you in?

No, no referral discounts. See you at the track

I have a 2014 BRZ and run with COM. I did all 8 of their events last year and it was a blast! They are a great club and really do a good job of getting drivers to be faster AND safer. I'd be happy to answer any questions about classing, mods (hint: as few as possible!) or setup.

Some great info here guys. I think SCDA is the way to go, for me at least. Prices seem reasonable and this season is filled with events nearby. I also like the 5-day package discount, so I might have to jump on that.

- Anybody have some decently priced helmet recommendations?
- Is a fire extinguisher required?
- How do I determine what class I will be running in; does this correlate to modifications or skill level?

I'd love to coordinate with other members here to see what days you'll be attending. Would be nice to meet some of ya'll.

SCDA is non competitive so no fire extinguisher needed. However not required any safety equipment is a win.

Helmet I would try to find an actual store within driving distance so you can actually try it on and get proper fit. Especially if you wear glasses like me, not many allow room for glasses to fit comfortable. Try motorcycle shops, ATV stores etc in your area

You will be Novice class, unless you have previous track experience. Once you demonstrate to the instructors that you competent on track then you would move to intermediate 1 group. Moving from Novice to Intermediate 1 is multiple different track events. When you register just register as Novice if it is your first time with SCDA.

As many will tell you on this forum, regardless of group if an instructor is available have them go with you.

SCDA Run groups
Novice
Intermediate 1
Intermediate 2
Advanced
Instructor

The multi event discounts are nice, and I use them also.

I don't think there is many forum members here that run with SCDA, none I have met. Though at the final Palmer event last year we had 7 twins at the event. None on these forums except me that I know of.

Not trying to hijack this thread, but it's sort of related...lol... I've been sticking with the SCCA's Tracknight in America program, primarily because 1) I like the half day format...I always have a list of things to do, so it's much more convenient than having to schedule the entire day for an event 2) their events run beautifully, and 3)because it's only 150 bucks...this one doesn't really need explanation.

Are there any other trackday groups who do a similar 1/2 day program, or maybe giving you the option of morning/afternoon selection or whatever?

No problem! I'm trying to learn as much as I can too.

For a general intro to HPDE:

SCDA - https://www.scdareg.com/calendar/
- This is a good group for an intro to HPDEs. FWIW, a lot of this hobby is social, and you may find one group or another to be more to your liking. I liked SCDA for its social aspect more than I did for its driving aspects. At Lime Rock, for example, it could be CROWDED out there. However, that won't matter in your first few events, when you'll be focused on the basics of driving on the track with a bunch of other cars.

To focus on maximizing your driving abilities:

COMSCC - https://www.comscc.org/events/
- COM is a time-trial oriented group; as a result, they are very much focused on the quality of members' driving. I ran with COM for a number of years when I still had a race car - it's a great group, and I recommend them highly, even for a novice. There at some very fast drivers in this club (notice I didn't say some very fast cars - it's the drivers who are fast, and some of them even have fast cars, too :-), and those drivers are quite happy to share their hard-won knowledge with other club members.

Boston BMWCCA - http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/events/...-calendar.aspx
- The Performance Driving 'Ground School" and Open House on Sat., 3/24 will be held at HMS Motorsport in Danvers, Mass. The Ground School is well-worth attending - if you decide to go, sign up early before it fills up: http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/events/...px?EventID=987 HMS has a full showroom of track-related gear, including helmets from multiple manufacturers that you can try on. HMS tends to supply quality, top-line gear, however, so I don't know that you'll find any bargains. The key thing with a helmet is to find one that properly fits your skull - sometimes that's a challenge.
- The annual Bimmers Across the Border event at Mont Tremblant (one-hour north of Montreal) is always a terrific event, and I recommend it without reserve. More here: http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/events/...px?EventID=982. I go every year, whether I'm driving or not.

NASA NE - http://nasane.com/events_registration/
- This is another great group to run with that has events in your region.

There are other outfits sponsoring driving events in the Northeast. I ran with a number of them and found the four noted above to be the ones I would recommend to someone just starting out. To get a full picture of what's available at a given track, go to the schedule posted by the track itself - you may find that on a date when you can make it to that track, there's an event scheduled by a club that you've not yet heard of.

PM for any help you need. I am the chief instructor for NASA-NE. And I have done events with most of the groups you mentioned and they are all excellent.

Jesse, to that end... pay close attention to how the Instruction works for any particular group. Good in-car instruction is going to help you stay safe and start with the proper foundation. Grabbing some clubs and a bucket of balls and heading to the range is a bad way to learn golf. If you start off the right way, with coaching / instruction, you'll have fun more quickly and it could be a hobby you'll enjoy for years.

Have Fun.

^^^ This...all of it.

This is the right advice. Know that different groups put different emphasis on in-car instruction. Porsche and BMW clubs tend to focus on it more. I haven't run with COM or SCDA but have run with non-marque clubs and when there is more of a focus on racing and time trials, I find that in-car instruction suffers. This is a broad generalization and can change from club to club and chapter to chapter.

Regarding your helmet question above, buy the lightest, most comfortable helmet you can afford from a reputable shop. Go to one that has a large inventory of multiple brands. Reputable shops will not sell crap helmets most likely.

On the flip-side, there's an issue with finding more qualified instructors... many I know that used to, have stopped... mostly because powerful cars and people that just don't listen, think they know better, or malfunctions.


Case in point, this weekend at a PCA event. 70yo driver dead, instructor lifeflighted hanging on for life.


I know it's easy to say you'll listen, but it's also very hard sometimes when the adrenalin is pumping, or you *think* you can go faster and *show them (because they don't really know)*.


Promise, seriously, you have to make a promise to yourself that every word an instructor says will be followed. If they say slow down, you do it, now. Period. It's not only you in the car... in what could be a risky situation.


--kC

I think I'm going to sign up for the Palmer event on April 7th. Will you be attending?

Thought I would jump in and add another plug for SCDA. A good group, I'm planning on going out with them on March 31st at LRP. I've run with NASA, APEX, and PCA as well, have not had a bad experience with any. I'd like to get out with Chin at some point, great feedback from anyone I know who has attended.

SCDA does, or did have a "refer a friend" policy, where the referring driver and the guest would receive a discount on their next track day.

Motorsportsreg.com. I use this website to find and register for all my events. It pools all different kinds of motorsports events into one site and will tell you what's close by. You should try a few different organizations instead of sticking with 1.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/86cupNE/

Check us out. :)

Another COM member chiming in. I started on track two years ago. Very friendly and welcoming. Mentor program to help answer getting-started questions (brake fluid was the answer). There is a first-time discount (and a referral bonus but that should go to whoever mentioned it on here first). Four 20 minute classroom sessions covering communication & safety, track walk through & landmarks to follow "the line", vehicle dynamics, and "talk the track" which is a very helpful exercise. Four on-track sessions of 20-25 minutes with an instructor in the seat beside you full-time. I did the first day only for a while but at the end of last season did my first time trial and first time solo in the car at NHMS.

We drive at NHMS, Palmer (awesome), Thompson, Watkins Glen, and Tremblant (7 events total) this season. A BRZ won my class last year.

Happy to answer any specific questions, and hope to see you out there!