RI A6

I'm no high performance driver, I just play one in my RS4, ... which is why I just returned from 2 days at the Skip Barber High Performance Driving School in Lime Rock, CT.

First off, I have to say this was one of the best courses I've taken, in any field. There was a good balance of classroom and hands-on exercises, with instructors that were clear, professional, and quite a bit of fun. This driving course is rather new for them and builds from their experience teaching driving and racing classes. Driving skills are taught and honed in high performance cars. On hand were: Porsche Boxster, Porsche 911 Carrera, BMW 330i, BMW M3, Dodge Viper, Dodge Dakota, Audi S4 and an Audi RS4. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to drive the RS4, as it wasn't fully prepared and broken in.

The first day and a half consisted of the basics: vehicle dynamics, ABS and threshold breaking, heal/toe shifting, slides and recovery on a skid pad, lane toss and accident avoidance, proper race lines, autocross, and competition breaking and cornering. All of these taught with group and one-on-one instruction in some nice cars. A Dodge Dakota truck was used for the skid pad exercises, which proved to be one hell of a lot of fun. Porsche Boxsters were used for the breaking and lane toss exercises. Then Boxsters, M3s and the Vipers were used on the small autocross course to teach proper breaking, cornering and throttle control techniques.

After we'd gotten the basics down on the last afternoon we went down to the track and split into three groups, each with three cars to drive and an instructor lead car (Dodge Neon SRT). Two of the groups got to drive a 911 Carrera, an M3 and an S4. The third group substituted a BMW 330 for the S4, since the RS4 wasn't ready to drive. (BTW, the S4s were brand new, with 750 miles on the ODO.) I felt sorry for the group that had the 330i. They all complained that it couldn't keep up with the other cars.

I had the opportunity to drive the M3, the S4 and the 911 Carrera, in that order, on the track at Lime Rock for most of the afternoon. Each group had 6 drivers. While 3 drove a car, the other 3 rode with an instructor in the lead Neon SRT. Fortunately for me, I was in the first group to ride with the instructor, which allowed me to better get the feel of the track and the proper entry and exit lines, as she provided commentary. Cindy Mini is her handle, and she rocks! (She races an original Mini Cooper, here in the east.)

The M3 is a different kind of car. Very responsive. It feels lighter than it is. It was interesting. The M3 was not a love at first drive sort of car, but it kind of grows on you. The interior is still sub-Audi. It's not as comfortable and refined. The M3 can get squirrelly because of it's responsiveness, but with some finesse you can point it pretty much anywhere, and it is predictable and you can drive the hell out of one. Unfortunately, it was the 1st car I took out on the track, when I was getting acclamated to driving at the limits. Quite frankly, I wish it were the second car I drove, because I was a better driver by then, knew the lines on the track and wasn't exhausted.

The S4 was also not bad. But, you definitely felt the extra weight, the additional understeer, and you feel the suspension lean. The lean is easy to compensate for and you can still drive the hell out of it on a race track. But you know you are in a heavier car, and you know that it's a bit slower to respond to driver input. It was clearly easy for me to keep up with the driver in an M3, since we were all at the same driving level. But I could tell I was working the S4 hard. I was driving my best with the S4, probably because I was more used to the car, had enough experience, and knew the corners well by that time. But ...

... there was a driver 20 years younger in the Carrera that was on my tail all the time when I was driving the S4 .... DAMN HIM .. every time I thought I'd pulled away, he was right there on my ***!!! The 911 was my last drive on the track, and I have to say it is the most distinctive car of the group. You know you're in a true sports car, low to the ground and with a suspension that allows you to feel every bump, every ripple on the road. There is a visceral experience that the M3 and S4 do not have. The 911 was the better driving car of the three, no question. But it should be, since it's a true sports car. There's nothing insulating you from the experience of the track. You're also very well aware of that weight on the back that you're swinging around. This is one car where you have to be very careful about TTO (Trailing Throttle Oversteer). You don't want to drop throttle in a corner under breaking, since the rear will slide out easily. But, it's also easy to recover, since it responds to inputs well.

If the RS4 had been prepared, it would have kicked ***. I had a chance to play with mine on some twisty roads on the drive back, with my newly acquired knowledge. (A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!) The body lean prevalent in the S4 is just not there. The RS4 responds much faster. I think the current suspension is pretty good, stiffer than the S4, with much less roll, but still softer than the M3 and the 911. Having experienced what those cars felt like with harder, more compliant, suspensions, I think the Stasis kit would turn the RS4 into one bad *** beast in cornering.

After spending 2 days learning how to drive from the basics to the track, my opinion about modifications has changed. I always thought my first mod would be new exhaust, and an ECU upgrade when it comes out. But, for pure enjoyment, I truly believe that the best bang for the buck modification would be a suspension upgrade. I can see how that would make the car even more responsive and fun to drive.

KEVIN97A4

wow thats one expensive driving class

sparkhill

Nice review.

RI A6

This particular class is expensive, since they have to pay for having all those nice cars around. The other "standard" driving classes, that use Dodge Neons SRTs and trucks, are less expensive, since Dodge effectively subsidizes the cost. I'm thinking about sending my wife to one of those classes.

abwc

Now take the 3-day Racing School, then follow that up with the 2-day Advanced Racing School.

I recommend Laguna Seca !

RI A6

They gave us the option of putting $200 down for a 20% discount on our next class within a year, which I took. That's a nifty discount on the 3-day Racing School.

Given the recommendation, I take it that you've been?

abwc

Yes, this driving thing is one of my most favorite things to do on the planet.

All of my Skip Barber experience has been at Laguna Seca. 3-day course in the little H-pattern racecars, 2-day course in the bigger sequential shift/winged cars, a couple of lapping days, and the Car Control Clinic, followed by a short stint in 2001 in the Western Amateur Racing Series.

At least one of my series mates from that year went on to the Toyota Atlantic Racing Series.

This all started about 20 years ago with a Rocky Mountain BMW Club driving school (in a SAAB, of all things!), after which I was totally hooked.

Ever since I finished the Skip Barber experience, I have been an Instructor for the Rocky Mountain BMWCCA.

Laguna Seca will teach you things I don't think you can learn anywhere else; the most interesting of which I found was that sometimes you have to keep your foot IN it in order to keep the car from spinning !