Computer Car Session Cost for 2007

[cdh]

I looked thru sb.com but didn't find the cost of a computer car session for 2007, anyone know?

I also welcome comments from those who have used the c-car, do's and don'ts, how to best utilize the data you are given, etc.

Thanks

[WatertownNewbie]

Originally Posted by cdh

I looked thru sb.com but didn't find the cost of a computer car session for 2007, anyone know?

If you click on "Our Locations" and go to LRP, the price is listed as $595.00.

[dalyduo]

Don't know cost but my suggestion would be to take human bites.

My first time (last year at Sebring) I wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be... Meaning the amount I was off at each corner didn't seem like much... Until it was pointed out that the collective effect of being off a tenth or two or three multiplied by 17 turns turned into a 3 to 4 second deficit per lap!

After initial overwhelm and with expert (Gerardo) guidance my focus went to turns that would yield the most improvement. Gerardo was very helpful in prioritizing where to focus and how to achieve better results.

MHP, Gerardo, Phil... all the computer car instructors that I've worked with, or looked over the shoulder of while working with friends, have their own way of working the data and they're all wonderfully articulate and helpful.

The cool thing about the data is it shows you exactly where you are braking, turning and getting on the throttle. It's pure scientific data. So you'll discover with absolute certainty how and why you are fast where you're fast and slow where you're slow. It's really a kick seeing first hand how good those instructors are at putting the cars at the limit lap after lap. If two guys are working the trailer and one bests the other by a tenth the other will want to go out and find that tenth... And they will, without crashing the car. It's a real priviledge to be coached by them and see their absolute lap data. A little window into a world most of us seldom visit.

Take notes. Take your time. Assume there are no dumb questions, be prepared to be humbled and have fun!

[Gerardo]

Our feedback is given in a language that YOU can understand. Every single feedback session is adjusted for the driver sitting in the hot seat. Your feedback will be what's best for you, at your level, using words you normally use, and perhaps a few new ones.

Computer Car is good for anyone that has at LEAST a few days in the car, but more effective for those that have at least a few race weekends. Six seconds off the pace or six tenths off the pace, its helpful.

My last season of National racing in 2005 I paid to drive the Computer Car three times (my customer hat on). MHP and Phil were working. Even at the level I was then, it was very helpful. I was desperate for more information at VIR and Mid-Ohio. You never know it all. I still learn how to drive these cars better every time I teach this program.

Anyone is welcome to watch feedback as long as the paying customer doesn't mind you listening in. As Pat will attest, its very helpful to listen in.

Cheers,

[rgreist]

I find the computer car helpful, but also advocate lead-follow sessions. For me, lead-follow provides feedback that I can more easily operationalize than computer car data -- though I'm better at making changes on the basis of computer car sessions now than when I first started racing.

Computer car sessions also offer good training at telemetry data interpretation for those who plan to move on to series that use this technology.

Both are great training tools and can make a marked improvement in your driving.

[PT Cruiser]

Suprisingly, one of the most useful things about the computer car is that it can tell you where you are already doing things right.

This might not sound like useful info, but it can actually be quite helpful to know that changing your approach to turn X isn't likely to help your lap times --and might actually make you slower. Keeps you from barking up the wrong tree, and allows you to focus your attention on those parts of the track where meaningful improvement is still possible.

[Tom jr]

Doug 2006 being my first season to race I found the computer car sessions to be one of the most valuable programs.

To be able to benchmark along side of the pros to me is very valuable information to see where I am compared to the potential that is available.
But I believe a lot of what the racer gets out of it is up to them in the way they approach the session. I take notes on a track map of all the differences the instructor is showing me primarily on entering and exiting. Then I study it to practice on several of the major points that will net me the best results when I get back on the track.

They show you not only where you are lifting compared to them but how much you are lifting as well as where you are braking and how much you are braking and then the same type info for your steering and your accelerating.
When they show me that I am lifting 30 feet earlier into turn 1 at Lime Rock and braking much to light and loosing 2/10ths just because of that, it gives me the confidence to lift later brake harder. Its that information around all points of the track that I will study and take action on.

But people do learn differently, I have herd peolple say they tried the computer session and they just dont get it, to them they paid 500.00 to do 8 laps. Either their brains are just not wired to read a computer screen that looks like a heart monitor because it is somewhat an analitical approach to racing or they are not capitolizing on tacking notes to do home work.
Either way they are missing out on what I believe to be one of the best ways to enhance their race craft.

As you can tell I am an advocate of the computer car sessions, I feel the same about Lead Follow. Without both of them as part of my overall first year race training program my learning curve would have been much much longer.
Tom

[Jim Pace]

Seat time is good. Seat time with a purpose & plan is better! A significant portion of the value for both the Computer Car and Lead Follow is the experience of the instructor on the other end. Data by itself or just following a driver around is not so important. It is having the right guy on the other end encouraging you to acheive at a higher level. Those are intense sessions! The difficulty of that higher level is determined by the instructor/coach that knows how hard to push. CCar shows it on a screen for all to see, LF shows it the moment it happens. Both are undenyable and immediate, lap after lap (either scrolling the page or driving the lap). Recognise it and fix it is the goal.
It works for the new guy as well as the rest of us. Don't just drive around and expect something to happen, that is what the other guy is doing. Seat time w/ a purpose! That is where the value lies.
Thanks for allowing me to play a part.
JP