HPDE: Where, When and Who With?

[RC51ed]

T-hill was alway fun on bike. I wonder how it is in a car.

[denkigrve]

Originally Posted by orthojoe

So, like any business you're gonna get some bad apples that just need to be thrown out. Thankfully, HOD has a nice eval process to find problems like this ASAP and get things taken care of. If you don't know, their coaches are basically drivers/past customers like you and me with good experience that are invited to be coaches. I don't think they are paid (at least not much if they are), but basically get free track time during the 'coach session' at the end of the day. Some of my friends have been asked to be coaches, but declined. Certainly an honor if you are asked. Getting a good coach that works with your driving style is definitely a little bit of a roll of the dice, but your odds are pretty good with HOD.

Exactly. My friends at work all pretty much do HOD stuff religiously, and they've recommended it extremely highly based on pretty much how responsible they are when bad things do happen. Plus one of the autoclub guys at work that's got more track time than probably half of the club combined is an instructor with them as well.

[denkigrve]

I also just watched all of that youtube video, and I'm really upset about it. I feel for that guy. You pay a lot of money for that track time, and the instruction is usually 10/10. Even though my instructor was being a tool he was helpful and very supportive. He was just overly eager to get in his car some more and be out on Laguna. Him bouncing after his off track was no good though. Definitely not as bad as that video though. When I was doing bad things he kept giving me tips on how to avoid them.

I want the instructor from that video to ride with my friend and his M3. He's got a slushbox and his shifts are HARD. The whole car shudders. But he does like 15+ HPDEs a year. The car is fully caged. He's driven every track on the west coast, etc. So I'd LOVE to see that guy give him shit.

[MyRx]

An instructor is good to have on your first or early track time. It gives the newbie a head start and "good" instructions from the beginning rather than wasting time, track time, and money trying to find it on his own.

That said, does HOD provide an instructor or he has to find one on his own (HOD event)? While NCRC does not provide one? Can a noob just find one coincidently at an NCRC event?

[orthojoe]

NCRC does offer coaches, but you must make a reservation and pay extra money ahead of time. Their driving school is horrible because they don't have enough coaches for everyone and you do a lead/follow instead, which is very painful. I'm a NCRC fan, just not for newbs.

HOD for newbs is not just about the instructors. Yes, there are enough instructors for everyone in A group, and you are assigned one. However, it's about the whole 'experience'. It's very well organized, the download/classroom sessions are good, and they also make sure you get some time to ride in the coaches cars to get a feel of what it's like to drive at pace.

[redGSRguy]

Bunch of fr-s/br-z at Thunderhill on the 29th for the NCRC event. One guy even drove from socal!! Good seeing you guys out there need to get a ride along one of these days.

[garfull]

I meet Jeff and Joe at the 6/29 ncrc event at thunderhill. Got a ride along with joe too!! It was an eye opener to feel how the brz handles at the limit. Makes me regret starting the mod process rather than just starting out stock for the track. Im going to take their advice and signup for the HOD event next time they are at Thunderhill, upgrade my brakes and use thicker oil.

[orthojoe]

Crazy showing of BRZ/FRSs along with the crazy hot weather. I'm glad I got a chance to meet @garfull and @oofie. Looking forward to seeing you guys at future events and seeing you guys progress. Thanks for the vote of confidence, garfull, but we weren't driving at the limits. Don't let our 'off' fool you. LOL. There are much better drivers than me that can do much better with a stock BRZ.

Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet some of the other guys there. I think there were a total of 7 of us???

I'll post my video when I get it all put together. Garfull and I have an exciting 'off' at turn 10

[orthojoe]

Here's the video, guys. Spinout at the end:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5RGkveUrDY"]BRZ debuts at Thunderhill. Spinout at the end. - YouTube[/ame]

[MyRx]

Originally Posted by orthojoe

Here's the video, guys. Spinout at the end:

Very nice! Great how you used the entire track. After listening to it loudly, you're making me reconsider my stock setup. Will still be stock but I'm now inclined to give the susp a little help. Thanks again.

[RC51ed]

Originally Posted by orthojoe

Here's the video, guys. Spinout at the end:

Nice video. Looks like. 5mph slide on the dirt.

[PMok]

good driving, fun video to watch... don't love the font choices though.

[sw20kosh]

Originally Posted by kster1

I'll be out at Thunderhill after it cools down a bit. Maybe Friday Sept 27 with NCRC?

I'll be there

[orthojoe]

Originally Posted by PMok

good driving, fun video to watch... don't love the font choices though.

Yeah, me neither. The choices on Adobe Premier elements suck...