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      09-28-2008, 01:24 AM   #1
karmasabish
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Tomorrow is a big day

I'm attending my first BMW CCA Car Control Clinic and track day. Anyone else in Los Angeles area going?

Should be classroom then in car instruction. No track time as the Roadster and any other convertible is not insured by the CCA, unless you have aftermarket roll bars. I'll have to get the M3 in better shape before i do any CCA track days but all the NASA stuff i can do in the Roadster.

Anyway, wish me luck! i'll try to take some video for everyone.
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      09-28-2008, 09:10 AM   #2
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Have fun!
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      09-28-2008, 04:15 PM   #3
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Good luck, should be fun!
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      09-29-2008, 08:33 AM   #4
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so.... how was it?
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      09-29-2008, 01:04 PM   #5
karmasabish
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well, no video. They had us so damned busy it was ridiculous. Showed up around 7am and got a covered paddock. then a short meeting and they had us doing braking and emergency lane change manuevers. The Roadster accelerates so quickly that you really have to have your reaction time and movements at a hightened level. At first i was having trouble getting up to speed but then finally started nailing the manuevers. We then broke for lunch (Subway never tasted so good) and then had three parade laps on the track. If you left enough room in front of you you could actually build up some speed and hit the turns hard, lots of fun. California Speedway is enormous and the banking on the oval part of the track is pretty steep.

After that we headed over to do some skidpad manuevers where you set the steering and throttle steer the car in basically an oval pattern. Lots of fun and MUCH harder than one would imagine.

Finally they set up a slalom course similar to an AUTOX course and that helped us put everything together. i had an instructor take me through the course in my car to see what they were really looking for, and that really helped me get up to speed. The instructors were awesome and helpful, although you have to find the one that sorta gets you and knows how to teach you. Otherwise its alot of different people telling you different things which can be overwhelming.

All in all here is what i learned outside of the actual control skills:

Traction Control off is the way to go if you have a safe environment to play in. Its an absolutely different machine with the fun sponge turned off

You might THINK you're a good driver, but you're not. Not until you've started to go to a number of these things. There is ALOT to learn.

Burning rubber and getting into a smooth rhythm through turns is right up there with the greatest experiences of life.

Overall it was A++. I will be doing more of this, including the Autocross in mid October at the same place.
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      09-29-2008, 01:29 PM   #6
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The Saturday CCC group got some track/instructor time while the driving school groups got some skidpad time in the afternoon. I didn't notice if there were any roadsters in the CCC on Saturday - do you know if they would have let you in that track session with yours? I don't know how hard they let them run, but they did have instructors with all of them.

I had a great time with the HPDE, my first 2 day school after a couple of single day schools earlier in the year - it was very helpful to continue the learning curve into the second day. Even my wife had a good time tho she wasn't driving, but found a good excuse for better lenses for her Nikon (as if that wasn't predictable!) I'll be doing a CCC with her in a few weeks with the Golden Gate Chapter and see if we can burn off the front tires on her Camry.

Your e30 would probably be a better starter car for the track schools anyway, if you can get it into shape - less power and nannies to mask your mistakes and more need to maintain momentum. The BMWCCA schools are quite good for those of us just getting started - maybe others can comment on how they compare to the commercial outfits like NASA, Hooked on Driving, etc.
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      09-29-2008, 02:12 PM   #7
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Glad it was a good experience. I'll have to look at the ones around here next summer.
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      09-29-2008, 03:59 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CalRick View Post
The Saturday CCC group got some track/instructor time while the driving school groups got some skidpad time in the afternoon. I didn't notice if there were any roadsters in the CCC on Saturday - do you know if they would have let you in that track session with yours? I don't know how hard they let them run, but they did have instructors with all of them.

I had a great time with the HPDE, my first 2 day school after a couple of single day schools earlier in the year - it was very helpful to continue the learning curve into the second day. Even my wife had a good time tho she wasn't driving, but found a good excuse for better lenses for her Nikon (as if that wasn't predictable!) I'll be doing a CCC with her in a few weeks with the Golden Gate Chapter and see if we can burn off the front tires on her Camry.

Your e30 would probably be a better starter car for the track schools anyway, if you can get it into shape - less power and nannies to mask your mistakes and more need to maintain momentum. The BMWCCA schools are quite good for those of us just getting started - maybe others can comment on how they compare to the commercial outfits like NASA, Hooked on Driving, etc.
BMWCCA insurance does not cover roadsters or convertibles to go on tracks unless they have an aftermarket roll bar or hard top. Its annoying as i had actually signed up for the saturday CCC. But its all good. With the traction control off there were no grannies in the roadster but i really do agree - the latest M cars have such immediate responses. You want to get to 60mph? press the gas and you're their. YOu want to stop, stand on the brakes and you're there. So it can be tough to get the feel of what they are trying to teach.
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