Red5 C8

I'm going in June and would like to be acclimated as much as possible before the class. What settings on the car do they use? What type of driving position do they recommend? Are there driving skills that I can practice before the class?

For example, I've read that they ask everyone to drive in manual mode which is something I almost never do in my C8.

TheJusticar

I wouldn’t sweat it too much. They will literally go over every topic you just listed in the classroom sessions as well as the reasons behind them starting with seating position and where and how to grip the steering wheel.

Day 1 will consist of a mixture of classroom sessions interspersed with some car control exercises (serpentine, emergency braking and steering control, skid pad, etc.) You will also have a couple of lead/follow track sessions where an instructor leads a group of students to show you the proper driving line, braking zones, turn in points, apexes, etc. You’ll also be introduced to Autocross which will allow you really push the car in a relatively low speed, low risk environment.

Students will be assigned randomly to one of three groups consisting of 6 students at the beginning of the first day. You will stay with that group for the entire first day. At the start of day 2, groups will be shuffled based on instructor observations to make the groups more consistent. People assume the groups are basically slow, medium, and fast drivers; but that’s really not the case. The instructors are looking for a variety of factors so just drive to your level of comfort and make sure you heed any instruction. These guys are far better at this than you and their ability to observe and evaluate while on track is simply amazing.

Day 2 will have more track sessions as well as a timed Autocross competition. Classroom sessions will consist of more technical overviews of the physics of driving and instructors will review your PDR data and give pointers on where you can improve. You will go through launch control exercises and learn the ins and outs of the performance traction management system and what each of the modes do. There will also be a photographer on day 2 taking pictures of each student on the track as well as a group photo.

Yes, they will recommend driving in manual mode so that you can control the shift points on the track as even in track mode, you will want to run the rpm’s higher into the power band than the drive mode will do. It’s not hard to do and makes for much better lap times. A little practice on the street in manual mode beforehand couldn’t hurt as it will get you used to which paddle up shifts vs downshifts. This can take some getting used to if you’ve never used paddle shifters before.

Even if you show up having never sat behind the wheel of a C8 before, you’ll have a blast.

BADBIRDCAGE

If you are able, drive your car to Spring Mountain. You can experiment with manual mode shifting on the trip. I put my wife behind the wheel a couple hours each day of our road trip there to get some seat time before she took the course. She wasn’t into manual shifting and so she drove the track sessions in auto mode.

Most importantly. Have fun. You will gain a lot of technical information about the car and the driving experience is fabulous.

Predator 007

Great advice here. I'm getting ready to book a trip for sometime this spring/summer. Can't wait.

I'm in Ohio, so it's a long trip just for two days. What else do you do while your out there? Vega, Grand Canyon?

arcticblast

This sounds so fun. I can't wait to set my trip up.

rwillitt

For other things to do...Vegas is fun if you haven't been there before (or even if you have if you're in to that stuff). Hoover Dam area is a nice visit. Death Valley isn't too far away. About 2 hours or so from Vegas, maybe an hour from Spring Mountain. Red Rock Canyon is beautiful. Spring is cooler weather, Summer is brutally hot.

Ken_C8

I went in December. It was so much fun and I didn't want it to end. The advice here is good and rest assured, the instructors are top notch professionals. I did 2 nights on the Vegas strip after the class and had a great time people watching, eating and walking.

BADBIRDCAGE

We took our time and went 11 days from South FL to Parumph. If you have opportunity the Grand Canyon is something to behold in person. You will also be within a day’s drive from Parumph to Zion National Park in Utah. From there Pikes Peak is also on a route back to Ohio. Rwillit mentioned Hoover Dam. Been there twice. Impressive to see that construction. Lots of fun available on Rt 66 if you have the time.

Phil1098

I would say some of how comfortable you are depends on your background a bit. For example, I owned my C8 about 4 months before I went and really didn't use manual shifting on the street at all. Shifted in manual mode the whole time at SM and paddle shifting was like breathing for me. I also rode sport bikes for 35 years where you use both hands and both feet (sometimes all at once) to operate it. One thing I did too was I set the seat farther back than I wanted, pulled my belt all the way out so it would ratchet and put it on with no slack. Then moved the seat forward and used it to make the belt really snug.

JT#7

Maybe the other thing to note regarding shifting during the track sessions, is that other than getting up to speed from a standstill when you start, you're really only shifting between 3rd, 4th and 5th gears on the track. Not much guessing on which gear you should be in (instructor calls that out to you). Some of the fun is deciding best point to make the shifts to maximize power for position on the track (I tended to shift to quickly reducing power and torque on acceleration). Shifting absolutely nothing to worry about - it's fun.

TBD

You should try to book TODAY if you want spring…even summer. Classes fill up vey quickly.

I tried to book March in late December…NOTHING was available. Got lucky and scored an April reservation.

Good luck.

Cheers!

johnodrake

What I would recommend: Practice manual mode. Familiarize yourself with all the track mode settings including Performance Traction Management. Here is a good youtube on PTM If you have a Go Pro you are going to use, check out the locations so you can quickly set it up. Know how to set the PDR to auto start so you don't forget to start the PDR.

Remember you are going there to learn and above all HAVE FUN!

dmraco2021

watch this video. The more comfortable you are with the track the better. It takes several laps to know the turns. Some advanced knowledge is always helpful Unfortunately we had to stop a couple of times right before turn 1 because we caught up to the group in front and "lapping" is prohibited.

SECLT22021

June? i will be there June 2-3.

Bigredwing

There are lots of threads here and the C7 section about Spring Mountain. You will have a blast. Just remember when you leave that the Police are well aware of the track locale. Dial back the adrenaline and watch your speed.

Warp Ten

I'll be there next week, so excited to Feel the performance potential of the Z51. My biggest fear is to try to push the car above my skill level.. (Very low skill level) Do the instructors push you to find the feeling of the traction limits during the autocross, maybe a few spinouts or understeer off the autocross track? I would think that will help during the track secessions.

JPierquet

I booked a week or so go for early May. Everything was booked. Brooke said that they were going to add some more dates, and to keep looking on their website. As soon as they added more dates, I called. Looks like now, they have some slots available end of July and into August.

IdRatherBGolfing

Yes they do. There are a number of exercises to test traction. The instructors will "push" you to get the most out of yourself and the car as possible.

As all have said, it's a blast.

Fast Dawg

True but nobody should let a summer session worry them. I went in late August 2015 and wore jeans every day. The instructors told us to turn up the AC to maximum if we needed to and I was never uncomfortable during my two day session. From what I am seeing now they let attendees wear shorts so that's what I'll be wearing. I need to book my session!!!

NextOne

Last fall I got my reservation less than two weeks out due to a cancelation. So watch for earlier dates and be ready to pounce if you can't wait any longer.