Good place to practice driving in SF bay area?

I couldn't disagree more (in a friendly way of course). You need profesional instruction to learn how to tip toe to the limits. There are many ways to do this, but you could follow my example, since I tend to be very conservative and risk averse.

Start by autocrossing, then take BMW, Porsche and Ferrari driving programs (track and ice driving), and supplement it with track days with "vetted" clubs. It is all a building process. What you learn in parking lot by yourself will not help in an extreme situation.

Some will say that the Manufacturer programs are expensive, they are but a lot cheaper than extracting sheet metal from the side of the track. They also give you the ability to separate the "wheat from the chaff". A lot of guys (and Instructors) talk about how great they can drive, but the guys who make a living at it are the guys I trust.

Of course, it is possible to do it on your own, but unfortunately the skill required to find the local level of expertise suggests that the deck is stacked against you.

Like everything in life, you can pay now or pay later...and even when all is said and done, even the pros leave a few cars in the barriers when pushing the limits. The guys who keep the shiny side up are the guys who never test the limits, and know their limits. They are also not caught up in bragging rights.

You never want to spin your car!

PM me if you want more detail.

 

So long as the program really is a good one, I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately there are a few lame ones out there.

--Dan

 

When you finally get done sorting out all of the many responses to this post from all the people who went to these schools, PM me. We'll go find an empty parking lot and push our cars over the limit so that when (not if) it happens in real life, we'll know what to do.

 

Good point!
Believe me, when I have the time and the money, I'll be the first in line to attend a real school.

 

For only $600 you can buy a PS3 and the Formula 1 game. You can drive all the GP circuits anytime and be able to race with F1 drivers! What better way to learn huh?

Seriously...I'm actually surprised Mike has never taken formal driving lessons. I think he's a pretty good driver with good car control. Gary would be another good resource to get pointers from. But nothing compares to doing the actual track day/school...

Thunderhill is where I would start...

 

An hour north of Sacramento. Awesome track.

 

A previous poster mentioned autocrosses by ESCA in Santa Rosa. These are no-frills events, w/ few amenities save porta potties. You must join the club BEFORE showing up for an event, and you may not bring friends, SOs, etc., unless they are members as well. You will typically get 5 or 6 timed runs and must do a stint as a course worker during the day. No matter how quick you think you are, you will NOT beat the time of a small-block powered Lotus 7 clone on racing slicks known as the Rotus. All that said, these are good events for car control practice and most course designs have a fast (in auto-x terms) sweeper and, in general, create more of a mini road course sense than most Bay Area auto-x. If you go, you'll have fun. Check it out at:

http://www.empiresportscar.org/

(Whoops, I forgot to renew my membership)

Cheers

 

You will not learn in a parking lot what (and when) to do coming from 140MPH to 60MPH, at least I hope not.

Professional instruction is a must.

If you can't afford the instruction, be conservative and patient, and don't get ahead of yourself.

 

A cheaper alternative is to take go-karting lessons at Infineon. I think it costs $600+ for a whole day class.

http://www.jimrussellusa.com/karting/karting.php

 

ding ding ding...

start learning high performance driving with something OTHER than your expensive exotic.

Go buy a spec Miata and get instruction, race a whole season for the cost of one serious screw up in your exotic. Learn TONS more about driving, and learn that driving a VERY high performance vehicle (like your exotic) isnt easy, and screwing up isnt cheap.

 

Keep in mind almost all racers (F1, Le Mans, WRC, etc.) started their careers racing go-karts.

I personally think the sensation you get driving go-karts are much closer to actual race cars (single seaters) than using your road car on the track. The principles are the same and will (I think) develop you to become a better driver than simply doing track days in your road car.

Those little things beat you up!

 

I'm afraid to try one of those big shifter karts for fear that I'll run out and buy one. I have friends who tried them and are now spending upwards of ten grand on these things.

 

I'd recommend Hooked On Driving ( http://www.hookedondriving.com ). They usually have their events @ Thunderhill & they
have a lot of good instructors & it's very safe. Their emphasis is on track driving & not racing but you can pass. Talk to David Ray.
Thunderhill is a great learning track without any walls. (http://www.thunderhill.com )

If you take a HPDS/car control clinic class, take one with Ferraris to find out the limits of your car.



These are most popular clubs & geared more towards racing:

http://www.nasaproracing.com/norcal/
http://www.sfrscca.org/

 

Thanks alex rogo for posting the link to the ESCA site. As mentioned the site does not have any amenities, but there are a lot of nice friendly people at the venue and you are welcome to bring in whatever you desire except for alcohol. It is true that you are not allowed to bring a guest with you unless they are a resistered member, but this was put into place because of the insurance liability. As far as the Rotus goes, it is fast but it is beatable by the right driver. Hey what fun is it if a little friendly competition isn't involved. Anyway, I hope some of you turn out to at least one of the events. It would be great to see some other amazing cars there.

 

If you really want to get a feel for your car, go out to Infinion... Once a month they have a course called "High Prerformance Day". Check it out.. You will have a new perspective on what your car can do...

 

Checkout Nor Cal racing at http://www.ncracing.org/index.html. They rent differnt tracks for the day and have different run groups. There will be a beginner group and they have excellent instructors to work with you. After you have gone with them a few days then the instructor will move you up to the novice group.

 

Try the local Walmart parking lot at 2:00 am. Just look out for those stray shopping carts.

Oh, I think I watched Mischief Dynasty one too many times!

http://www.amazon.com/Mischief-V-Dynasty-Teckademics-Mischief/dp/B0007PIDHU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6307930-9220023?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1181107186&sr=8-1

 

Reading this thread for the first time, I'm surprised by the number of references to an "unused" "abandoned" airports. There are none in the San Francisco Bay area.

Hamilton Air Force Base like Alameda NAS looks too rough and is torn up in sections.

If someone does get on a runway, they may have a minute to light up the car but getting out of jail will be the fun part.

Note- when the tower is closed, aircraft landing using a only common frequency to announce intentions to OTHER PILOTS. Anyone on the runway will never have a clue whats comming. And, since 9/11, security is heightened with private rent a cops patroling the chained facilities at most bay area airports. We can't even land our planes without a rent a cop questioning our intentions and logging the N numbers. What chance would an F-car et al have out there? None.

Please, lets drop the idea of racing on runways/taxi ways or anywhere else on the airport. The thought of someone driving F-car (or any other) on a runway terrifies pilots. Yikes!

 

The only two de commissioned airports in the bay area are Hamilton Air Force base and Alameda NAS. They are fenced and some of the runways are torn up. There is security everywhere, 24/7. Its a prescription for trouble.

Re Livermore (or any other airport). A pilot's worst fear is someone on the runway. As a driver, you have no way of knowing whats comming. If you could get on the runway (security will go ballistic) after the tower closes, you won't know what's inbound.

Today, I can't land, since 9/11, after the tower closes without security asking what I'm doing and taking my N number for the record. You won't have a chance.

Finally, there is an assumption underlying someone driving on the runway. The driver assumes an emergency (by probablity) is NOT in progress. You will never know. The driver will never have a clue.

Reality 1A, the runway is the only safe place to put the airplane, that is, if the pilot can get to it in an emergency.

Visualize an $18M Lear or Citation inbound with one engine out? I know this from experience. And, you're on the runway with a Fcar. You won't hear the MAYDAY, Lear 5 miles, landing, runway 25, engine out. Mayday.

Yikes. The Lear's choices are slim to none. The plane and car will be tragically married, so to speak. Bent metal an fire everywhere.

Please stay off airport runways!
commercial pilot, A&P

 

But we can outrun a Lear jet...

 

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=154407