Porsche Experience - Atlanta

Hi, all.

As a retirement gift, my bosses offered me two driving sessions at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, with airfare and a short hotel stay.

Has anyone done this, or know about it?  I have a few questions:

• I'd like to offer one of the sessions to my wife.  She is a good driver, not timid, but not an adventurous one either.  I know all the cars are PDK so that's good for her.  Is there a "beginner" session that she would enjoy without getting too nervous?
   
• I've never done a track day but I have plenty of autocross experience.  Which session would you recommend for me?

And some more generic Atlanta questions:

• What's the best time of year to go (normally)?  I assume March / April would be nice.
   
• What else would be fun to see if we rent a car and extend our trip a few days?

Thanks!

My wife booked me the "Mid-vs. rear" for a wedding gift. It was a ton of fun. I have done very little competitive driving, but during Covid they gave you a radio and coached from another car and that was really fun. Not sure how it works now, but it was very much at your own pace. They coached to wherever you wanted to be. 

Probably 90% of the people who do Experiences are rank beginners, and have never done anything more than driving a car on the street.  The instructors are very good and will tailor the experience for the driver.  I've taken a number of business clients there and they all had an amazing time regardless of experience level.  Pretty much any time of year is good, but the weather in Atlanta is particularly nice in March and April.  If you're footing the bill yourself, the base Boxster/Cayman is as much fun as any other car there.  If someone else is footing the bill then you know what to do.

If you drive an hour north of town to Dawsonville you can do the kart track at AMP.  They have public rentals most days, and it is really fun.  There are also a bunch of good hiking trails near there.

In reply to Duke :

For noob drivers I know that they offer simulator sessions in Assetto Corsa with Fanatec rigs

In reply to Duke :

I was/am one of the instructors there (I worked there for the past two years but am currently inactive since I moved to FL a few months ago).  The PEC is fantastic, you'll both love it!  There are two courses there, South and West.  The South track is the original one.  It's about .9 miles in length and has some fun curves, enough to really give you a flavor of what the car feels like.  The West track opened less than 2 years ago.  It's about 1.6 miles and has more elevation changes and banking.  It also has a tendency to induce motion sickness in guests.  Within each course there are different modules that you can do.  You can experience Launch Control, full force braking, try drifting in the wet, try to catch a forced spin (the kick plate), do a slalom, etc...  As has already been said, the coaches will tailor to your skills and desires.  If you're up for it, they'll challenge you on the modules.  Push the car as hard as possible.  You are also in control of the experience.  If you do the kick plate once and hate it, you don't have to do it again.  If you want to spend your entire 90 minutes on the circuit and not do any modules, that's fine too.  

The mid vs rear program is fun, the one downside is you don't really get enough time in either car to master it.  The West track is mostly for the GT cars...GT3, GT4 RS etc...  IMO, the sweet spot is the 718 or 911 in GTS trim on the South track.  

The facility itself is also fun to check out.  2 story museum, a restaurant and a gift shop, a design studio and a sim room.  For you movie buffs, the headquarters scenes for The Avengers movies were all shot there.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.  I miss being there.

My brother and I did a Cayman experience a few years ago. I hadn't driven a RWD car in 20 years and it worked out fine. They do tailor the experience to the group. We had radios in the car and followed the instructor since it was during COVID. 

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:

In reply to Duke :

....... The PEC is fantastic, you'll both love it!  There are two courses there, South and West.  The South track is the original one.  It's about .9 miles in length and has some fun curves, enough to really give you a flavor of what the car feels like.  The West track opened less than 2 years ago.  It's about 1.6 miles and has more elevation changes and banking. 

WoW that sounds like a lot more fun than the Porsche Experience in Los Angeles , 

The LA "Track is maybe a mile or so  long  .......

I haven't done any courses there but I have stayed at the hotel next door and it's cool!

It's been a few years, but I've been lucky enough to attend several corporate events at PEC Atlanta that each included a couple of hours of driving time.  It's a heck of a facility, and makes me wish I had more disposable income to spend there!

Thoughts from my first PEC event in 2016: https://tractioninc.tumblr.com/post/132225218631/

And from another visit in 2019: https://tractioninc.tumblr.com/post/183170178861/

I've never done an experience but I know plenty of folks who have. They're highly personalized. Student/instructor ratio is basically 1/1, and the instructors are savvy enough to give you whatever experience you're looking for and are capable of handling. So I wouldn't worry about a novice at all, provided that novice is enthusiastic about the idea of driving a Porsche quickly. 

Plus you get to see Avengers HQ (at least before Thanos blew it up)

JG Pasterjak said:

So I wouldn't worry about a novice at all, provided that novice is enthusiastic about the idea of driving a Porsche quickly. 

 

Ha, during corporate events I've had guests who didn't want to go above 40mph...

Is it typically in-car coaching now that we're post pandemic?  I feel like she'd do better with that.

Thanks for all the input so far!

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:

In reply to Duke :

I was/am one of the instructors there (I worked there for the past two years but am currently inactive since I moved to FL a few months ago).  The PEC is fantastic, you'll both love it!  There are two courses there, South and West.  The South track is the original one.  It's about .9 miles in length and has some fun curves, enough to really give you a flavor of what the car feels like.  The West track opened less than 2 years ago.  It's about 1.6 miles and has more elevation changes and banking.  It also has a tendency to induce motion sickness in guests.  Within each course there are different modules that you can do.  You can experience Launch Control, full force braking, try drifting in the wet, try to catch a forced spin (the kick plate), do a slalom, etc...  As has already been said, the coaches will tailor to your skills and desires.  If you're up for it, they'll challenge you on the modules.  Push the car as hard as possible.  You are also in control of the experience.  If you do the kick plate once and hate it, you don't have to do it again.  If you want to spend your entire 90 minutes on the circuit and not do any modules, that's fine too.  

The mid vs rear program is fun, the one downside is you don't really get enough time in either car to master it.  The West track is mostly for the GT cars...GT3, GT4 RS etc...  IMO, the sweet spot is the 718 or 911 in GTS trim on the South track.  

The facility itself is also fun to check out.  2 story museum, a restaurant and a gift shop, a design studio and a sim room.  For you movie buffs, the headquarters scenes for The Avengers movies were all shot there.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.  I miss being there.

Awesome feedback as I've been itching to do a PEC ATL trip soon but I wasn't sure how it would be. I'm generally an "experienced" driver and would love to just hoon some GT cars I'll never be able to afford realistically. Sounds like they cater to everyone.

Hmmm...  sounds like a prime opportunity for a 'GRmOUPON'.  
 

I've been trying to get my friend to go up there with me, but his wife had a bout with cancer last year.  Now that she's done with treatment, that would be two spots for sure.

Duke said:

Is it typically in-car coaching now that we're post pandemic?  I feel like she'd do better with that.

Thanks for all the input so far!

 

Yes, the coaching is 100% in car and you stay with the same coach the entire time.  Part of our job is to get a read on what the guest wants before we get in the car and tailor the coaching to that.  We try to make them as comfortable as possible and build a relationship with them.  That makes their experience so much better.  Like I said, the big piece of the puzzle is that the guest is in control of the experience.  They can do whatever module they want, whenever they want.

How much does the driver "training"  move over to front engine / front wheel drive or front engine / rear drive ?

This assumes you  get your training in a rear or mid engine Porsche .

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

Excellent, wonderful!

Can you go see the museum without doing the driving experience? I go past there a lot for work headed to parts further south, but could kill an hour or so in the museum if it is open to the public. 

californiamilleghia said:

How much does the driver "training"  move over to front engine / front wheel drive or front engine / rear drive ?

This assumes you  get your training in a rear or mid engine Porsche .

Most of the cars in the fleet are mid or rear engine, very few Macans or sedans.  All of the cars are the latest and greatest, cars only stay in rotation about 3000 miles.  Yes, skills would transfer to any layout of car.  It focuses on car control, keeping your eyes up and such.

The facility isn't open to the public but I'm pretty sure you can book a tour which costs next to nothing.

octavious said:

Can you go see the museum without doing the driving experience? I go past there a lot for work headed to parts further south, but could kill an hour or so in the museum if it is open to the public. 

Absolutely. I've done just that. 

octavious said:

Can you go see the museum without doing the driving experience? I go past there a lot for work headed to parts further south, but could kill an hour or so in the museum if it is open to the public. 

You have to schedule in advance. They have a security gate at the front and you can't get through without a reservation.