Guaranteed to make your car faster. [Professional driving coach] - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Lonman · 10th January 2002, 15:01

I was at a track day at Donnington Park, UK, a few years ago, when one of the few resident racing drivers/race instructors came up to me and hit me with, what i thought at the time, was a rash statement.
He told me. "that for a few hundred pounds, he could get my car lapping 4 seconds quicker that it was at present".
I have a fair idea of performance mods, and so was naturally intrigued as to what he had in mind, since to go 4 seconds a lap quicker, you have to do a fair bit to the car. Naturally, it costs a fair bit too!!
True to his word within a few hours i was lapping considerabley quicker than earlier on in the day. So what did he do??
First of all he took me to his workshop, sat me down, and showed me the correct racing line around the track for my car. (at the time i had a 911sc) as all cars will have a slightly different attitude. Then he took me out for lap upon lap of "my" perceived racing line, followed by "his" line. Low and behold, although it didn't knock 4 seconds of my time (i did ask for my money back, but was told no!!!) i was considerably quicker. £ for £ ( or $ for $ ) if i could suggest the best way to make your car lap quicker, this would be it........

Aussie2U · 10th January 2002, 16:08

Lonman, you are exactly right. A good driving school like Skip Barber, Panoz, private instructor, etc. will always make you quicker in your car vs. adding mods. I know everyones tendancy is to buy a car and want to take it right over to the hop-up shop, but it's the wrong approach.

When my dad told me at age fourteen we were going to by a 15' boat for the waterways we lived on, I had to go to a coast guard school to learn how to drive a boat. That course ended up teaching me all kinds of things the average "get in an shove off" type of boat owner would never think of. Before that I just imagined you pressed forward on the handle to go faster, backwards to slow down, whats the big deal?

Alot of people seem to think adding even more hp will make them "faster". This is basically true for only one situation, higher speed acceleration in a straight line. Where are you doing that all the time?

I think it's great BMW recognizes the need for education and offers the driving school program. While not entirely focused, it does offer a general overview of the basics of how to handle the car, which is a great step forward for most folks.

It's my belief that the first mods that should be done to make a car go faster are driving school instructions and then brakes. Once you learn the line, how to power deeper into corners and come back out in one piece, you'll be turning times much faster than many cars with way more hp.

And before anyone says the schools are too too expensive, most driving/racing schools can be had for the same price as the gas guzzler tax you paid on the M5.

MikefWA · 10th January 2002, 18:15

There are two ways to make one a better car driver. Carts and bikes.

Have you driven a modern go-kart? Most F1 drivers started in carts. Why? Corning forces, proper lines, steering, braking, etc can be learned very quickly, safer, and cost less than normal full sized cars. And the thrill factor is out of this world. I recommend a lot of cart time before going to a driving school such as Panoz, Barber, etc. You will get more for your money.

Why motorcyles? Because they teach you to read the road and keep your movements smooth and deliberate. Bikes also teach braking, weight and balance in manner not evident in a car. The ability to brake front and rear separate form one another demonstrates weakness and strengths of each brake under different conditions, i.e. cornering vs straight-away and shifting your weight around. But one of the most important things on a bike is tire contact patch and how important it is not to lose it, and if you do, what to do and not to do to regain control. I'm not suggesting that everybody go out and buy a bike. They are not for everyone. Even under the best conditions you are more vulnerable to catastrophic occurances due to externalities such as road surface conditions, other drivers. etc. It is not a matter of IF you ever going down, it is a matter of WHEN.

My dad always told me, there are old pilots and bold pilots. But there are no old, bold pilots.

2002 M5 Sterling, black lux, sound, phone etc,
2001 Jetta tdi, 40 mpg city car, semi-disposable (Can anybody tell me why this car is parked in and driven to the most god-awful places and gets no door dings? No rock chips? While you can get one on M5 without even driving it?)
2000 BMW 1100RT Faster than a speeding ticket

gman · 10th January 2002, 23:50

There are also some driving schools that offer instructors free of charge to novice and begining track drivers. BMW and Porsche both have regional and national clubs throughout the U.S. that are designed to get more people to the track and will only let begining drivers out if they are with an instructor (which is free of charge).

I have been to 3 events and have always had an experienced driver with me on the track. As a novice, there knowledge was invaluable and a great way to learn the first 80% of what will make you go faster on the track. The other 20% is what takes seat time, experience and good professional instruction.

MEnthusiast · 11th January 2002, 03:37

I dont go to the track but I think driving schools should be MANDATORY for licensing.

Adam · 11th January 2002, 14:15

You really can improve lap times by just learning racing lines...but mods and track learning/experience=even faster!

all the best
Adam

Gustav · 27th December 2006, 01:14

True!

EM5PWR · 27th December 2006, 01:22

Sounds like money well spent...

teej · 27th December 2006, 01:22

no mod $ beats a training $ for faster times on the track (except maybe tires)

Jasper · 27th December 2006, 17:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikefWA

There are two ways to make one a better car driver. Carts and bikes.

I would add autox to that list as a great stepping stone before going out on the track.

Karting is great, and I'm doing a lot of it right now to keep seat time between seasons, but it's not comparable to negotiating obstacles in your own car. Karting might make you go faster, but I'm not sure if it'll make you safer as the driving experience is quite different.

The other great thing about autox is that there are plenty of experienced drivers that are more than willing to ride with you and point our your mistakes. I've taken some schools and paid for professionals to teach me but I've also got some great feedback from a few national champion autox'ers without paying a penny.

gbogh3 · 27th December 2006, 17:49

I have been to the track a number of times, and always have a blast. Its this year I am looking to sit down with instruction multiple times and "learn" how to drive.

teej · 27th December 2006, 18:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper

I would add autox to that list as a great stepping stone before going out on the track.

Karting is great, and I'm doing a lot of it right now to keep seat time between seasons, but it's not comparable to negotiating obstacles in your own car. Karting might make you go faster, but I'm not sure if it'll make you safer as the driving experience is quite different.

The other great thing about autox is that there are plenty of experienced drivers that are more than willing to ride with you and point our your mistakes. I've taken some schools and paid for professionals to teach me but I've also got some great feedback from a few national champion autox'ers without paying a penny.

+10000 on the autox comment. I autox'd for 3 years before going to a track and made the whole track learning curve so much better. I still autox 8 or so times each season.