autocross driving skills

im a noob, and im getting into autox. for anyone that has been to any racing schools, whether it be evolution or skip barber or anything, i would like to know what u think of them and their value for the money. also, i would like to know what important stuff u learned that i should practice. i know about basic stuff, like looking ahead to the next turns, and heel-to-toe and stuff. thanks alot, sorry for the long thread

We were just covering that in this thread. I am too lazy to re-type it all.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=158358

i read that, and thats not what i wanted. i want to know personal experienced people telling me what they think is important

try to keep an open mind. The best racing school I have ever been to is not a racing school at all.
I went to a car club and hung out with a buch or guys in their 40's and 50's who were ex race car drivers and just talked to them. I've been to a few schools out here in California, and they were pretty basic. The best bet is to do some AutoX and talk to the oldest, most experienced drivers there and find out what it is that makes them faster.

You asked what we thought of various schools and if they were worth the money. I think I covered that in the other thread.

You touched on some of the techniques you learn in these schools.

Looking ahead - sometimes further ahead than you think. I am sometimes 2 or 3 gates ahead of where I am as far as looking.

Smooth is fast - If all hell is breaking out in your car your porbably not going very fast. Some of my fastest runs did not feel that way but they were really smooth.

Driver position - Contrary to what you see in the ricer scene. Seatback upright seat foward to the pedals. You need to be in good control of the car and not reaching for the wheel or pedals. Hand position at 9-3 or 10-2 is very important. Shuffling your wheel and keeping your hands there is hard to do and even more important. Keeping your right hand off of the stick shift and on the wheel is hard to do, we develop bad habits, only grabing the shifter for shifts is harder than it sounds. You should only be touching it long enough for the actual shift and that is it.

Planting your left foot on the dead pedal and not resting it over the clutch is another bad habit. Planting it in the dead pedal makes you feel stronger in the car and you will go faster I have proved it to myself.

Plenty of rest the night before a race is important. I have attended out of town events and seen many drivers boozing it up at the bar the night before in the hotel bar as I am heading up to my room to bed.

I never drink the night before an event and I do drink a lot of water the night before and during an event.

My brother (co- driver) and a friend went out boozing the night before an out of town Autocross. They got in at 2 a.m. and had to get back up a 6:30 a.m. the course was fast and also had tight technical sections. They did horrible 2 of 3 runs were DNF and the one that was not a DNF was terrible. I went to bed at 10:00 and drove one of my best events getting Fastest time for a car at the event. The only vehicle faster was a Rotax.

They complained that the course was too hard to memorize. Hmmm... They did not like my answer to them. I had no problem with the course or its layout.
Yes, it was a very difficult course, I just look at that as a challange.

Good luck! Dont take it too seriously. The more relaxed you are the better you wil do.

thanks alot. thats awesome and very helpful