Jerry
Jerry Dork
4/23/14 6:45 a.m.

A co-worker forwarded it to me. I'm 99% interested until I read the part about tipping at the full amount. "Sample customary gratuity recommendations are: 18% of $549 = $98.82"

That's double the cost now. Anyone tried one of these? 3 laps in a Ferrari 360 or Lamborghini Gallardo. It's only 45-1hr away at Turfway Park in NKY.

Link to Living Social deal

Link to normal website info

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson PowerDork
4/23/14 7:10 a.m.

My wifes cousin did it in the CHicago area and while fun, didn't think it was really worth it. Just not enough seat time or speed to feel special, the course was so restrictive you could have don it all in 1st he said. To me that means it's totally location and course design dependent so I have no idea how it is in Cincy Vs the Windy City YMMV, I'd find someone local who has done it for feedback there.

Myself and Tom Spangler did a Living social NASCAR school at MIS, that was totally worth it and the Cousin really wants to do that. We got 8 laps at whatever speed our 'NAds would allow to hold the pedal down, no lead and follow, go for it. Hint, we probably barely hit 140mph, but we could have gone faster if we hadn't been old farts with an overly developed sense of self preservation.

Jerry
Jerry Dork
4/23/14 7:15 a.m.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

I'm guessing it's the same lot the Cincy region does their autocross. I'll have to ask my friend(s) how their courses work out.

wae
wae HalfDork
4/23/14 7:33 a.m.

So maybe I'm a little bit Mr. Pink-ish here, but you would give a gratuity for why exactly? Did anybody ever slip Chris $3.60 as a tip when they rented the Rallycross Probe?

dj06482
dj06482 Dork
4/23/14 9:27 a.m.

I did a 4 lap thing at E-Town in NJ that was something like $150. There was no tipping involved (suggested or otherwise). Overall, it was fun, but I probably wouldn't do it again.

The cars had some funky programming where they were locked in a very high gear, so the acceleration and sound wasn't very impressive. Handling and braking were there, but I did have some funky stability control intervention in my last lap (it was probably in the most restrictive setting, which was expected). It basically slammed on the brakes and slowed the car down. For comparison, the stability control intervention was far more heavy-handed than either our RAV4 or our Odyssey, both of which have pretty aggressive stability control mapping.

Overall, it was fun, but I was hoping to feel some acceleration and hear some of the famous Ferrari sound. In reality, it was more like a 4th or 5th gear pull from 25MPH - 90 MPH, with some corners thrown in.

Lof8
Lof8 Reader
4/23/14 9:35 a.m.

I've heard stories where people have to pay for revving past 4 or 5k rpms etc. They really keep you from pushing the cars at all.

N Sperlo
N Sperlo MegaDork
4/23/14 9:58 a.m.

I've seen these guys out having fun at one of the autox stadium lots. Looked interesting, but not interesting enough to stop and watch.

kylini
kylini Reader
4/23/14 11:16 a.m.
N Sperlo wrote: I've seen these guys out having fun at one of the autox stadium lots. Looked interesting, but not interesting enough to stop and watch.

I actually worked one of those events as a "driver instructor." Here's some simple facts and then some personal opinions.

Facts:

  • You get three laps around an over-coned course which you do not walk first. One of my jobs was to guide you around the course and get you looking ahead so you could actually enjoy a lap or two. I only had one client fail to manage the sea of cones; everyone else over 3 days had at least one brisk lap.

  • The cars are always flappy-paddle with automatic shifting. We had no issue if you rev'd our Ferraris out to "autoshift" near redline, but the Lambos were in much worse shape and required short-shifting to 2nd. Regardless of car, I told you to leave it in 2nd, mostly to keep it off your mind.

  • The cars always were set to "sport" mode traction control. This was enforced not through electronic gizmology, but through removing the knob with a pair of vice grips. It is still quite possible to skid in this mode, but spins were rare.

  • The cars will have summer performance tires of some flavor on them (mainly because you can't get anything else for 20s), but they might not be in the best of shape. We managed to cord them on one of our four cars, which retired the car until Walmart's Tire Shop opened the next morning. The tires won't be replaced any sooner for any reason.

Opinions:

  • Several clients actually knew what they were doing, mainly because they actually had W2W experience. If that was the case, I gave very abbreviated rally notes for one lap and shut the berk up for laps 2 and 3. Those clients had a very good time.

  • Several autocrossers did not know what they were doing because the courses, while tight, actually had a certain amount of apexing and accelerating out of curves. They still had a good time because it quickly turned into "whoa, I don't have to stab the throttle randomly" and "wow, this car is FAST." I would tell them when to squeeze onto the throttle for a stupid-fast back straight, which was appreciated.

  • You will have a choice of car for most of these events. Pick the most basic Ferrari. They have the best handling, the least weight, and the best brakes of all the cars that will be there. We boiled the Lambo brakes on an autocross course, if that tells you how bad they are (one of the instructors bled them with Superblue afterwards).

  • Even though I was guiding you around, I too had no clue what I was doing! Every "instructor" has different limits and different experiences. Just because I let competent drivers do most anything doesn't mean others will too.

I had a blast, but I got 3 days sitting in and occasionally driving the fast cars while getting paid. If you can pick up a course quickly, understand throttle control, and pre-clear what is and isn't allowed with your instructor, you'll probably have a great time too. It still might not be worth it!

Jerry
Jerry Dork
4/23/14 5:47 p.m.

I'm still kinda interested. I posted it on Facebook and a few non-SCCA friends seem interested. It's also my birthday month so maybe a gift to myself? Probably never get a chance to drive a Ferrari or Lambo any other way so even if it's kinda crappy it's like pizza. Even when it isn't that great, it's still pretty good.

nderwater
nderwater PowerDork
4/24/14 12:23 p.m.

Don't feel like you're in a hurry to buy or else you'll miss a deal - the companies that host the events in my area (Xtreme Xperience, Imagine Lifestyles, Velocity Motorsports, Gotham Dream Cars, Golden Era Motors) do so throughout the year. In addition to Living Social, you can also find similar packages on Groupon, TravelZoo, SweetJack, etc.

I felt that paying $250 for two brief sessions in a Ferrari F430 was a great intro to Atlanta Motorsports Park, a fantastic track that I had not driven yet. I had done similar events in the past, including autocrossing a Ferrari 360 and Audi R8. Each drive has been pretty memorable, and there's aren't many opportunities to get behind the wheel of exotic cars for less money.

CGLockRacer
CGLockRacer Dork
4/24/14 12:33 p.m.

I instruct at these as well. Well, maybe not instruct, but keep your butt safe and having fun. The group I run with has a Gallardo and a 360, both flappy paddle. Our courses are typically about a mile and a half, mostly straights with a couple of chicanes and wide turns (one on an airport and one on a proving ground). We do per lap or different packages. Most people do 4 laps driving + 1 hot lap with the instructor driving. Most people are pretty reserved, but every now and then you get someone who thinks they're showing us how it's done...until one of us drives and they're hanging on for dear life . If you want to know about the group I work with PM me. We're based near Detroit.

Edit: We let you drive as fast as the instructor is comfortable with you driving. If we feel you are out of control, we can shut the car down with a kill switch. Usually shouting works. Haven't had to kill a car yet. :knock on wood:

daytonaer
daytonaer HalfDork
4/24/14 2:46 p.m.

I went to a gotham dream car "autocross" near nyc, chose the f430. Impressive car, the stability control was in "rain/snow" then the knob was yanked. The course was tiny and dirty and the f-car understeered with the grit and stability control. I got yelled at for driving too fast and had to "pit" early. More of a bragging point to tell your friends you "floored" an exotic than actually enjoying one. No tipping required, and I believe it was purchased (I received as a gift) with a coupon for $100.

If I were to do it again I would spend more time observing and enjoying the inside of the car getting setup (moving the seats, touching the carbonfiber) and leave it in autoshift mode. The learning curve for paddleshifters is too steep for 1.5 laps (or 3 if you dont drive to fast..)

Mr_Clutch42
Mr_Clutch42 Reader
4/24/14 3:21 p.m.

This sounds similar to a program where a company charges a reasonable amount ($400-800 maybe) for you to drive an exotic car on a race track in Las Vegas for 5 laps.

http://www.exoticsracing.com/

But if they can get this restrictive about autocrossing an exotic car, having a short track day could be even worse.

Maybe instead of being super restrictive about autocrossing an exotic car, they should let people drive it around town or on curvy back roads for 20-30 minutes if they're located close enough.

Jerry
Jerry Dork
4/29/14 12:49 p.m.

Just signed up for the Lamborghini.

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