Question about Summit DE

[marlinspike]

In reference to the Summit Point Driver's Ed thing being offered by the GWS

So...dad says the ol 380 is too old to be doing any DE...but we did recently acquire an '02 911 6-speed...is it a big poo-poo to bring in a non MB? Also, is track day insurance recommended (I've heard of this but don't know much about it). Also, is there a non-participant fee (i.e. someone who won't be driving, but will be there)?

[wwhopper]

That we have had cars at our defensive driving and track events that he probably drove as a kid (that was before they required licenses - right? :rolleyes: )

Participant fee - just come on out - no fee charged for spectators - only those who drive the event - this is a great way to come out and see what it is all about, and if you are nice, some one may let you ride shot-gun!

Track Insurance, You crash it, you take it home and deal with it. - This is not RACING it is DRIVER'S EDUCATION.

Bringing a non-Benz? - You Bet, plenty of our members run everything from Toyotas to SLR's. Bring what ya GOT! Benz, Subaru, Toyota, Mustang, evene Porsche and BMW's are welcome (but they do have to park in the quarentened area) :p

No matter what you bring, you have to fill out your registration forms, get your mechanic to do a tech check, have your brake fluid replaced, and pay the entry fee!

So go onto the www.GWS-MBCA.org website and sign up - this year we even offer Paypal as an option for registration. Just remember the rest of the paperwork.

An apporved Snell Helmet is also required - as are long sleeve cotton shirts and pants and you must wear shoes too!

Come out and have a great time - it will be the best money you spend all summer!

[Robby Ackerman]

Bring both the 380SL and the 911. :)

[JimVillers]

One other item, unless I am incorrect, the car needs a top or a roll bar.

[VLayton]

So...dad says the ol 380 is too old to be doing any DE...


There is no such thing! What about the guy who bought a 1927 that was in a musuem for over 50 years and drove it in the 1997 Peking China to Paris France race? A 380 is so modern, it wouldn't even qualify for such a race!

Condition, condition, condition! :D

[marlinspike]

Well, I know the 380 is capable, but dad just won't believe it (don't ask me how i know but it can do 120 for 2 hours straight no problem).
Question about the brake fluid replacement - does that have to be done right before? The porsche just had the brake fluid replace last weekend.
Richard

[JimVillers]

Richard .... I can feel how much you want to get the Porsche on the track. Unless you have some track experience, I would recommend the 380SL. You can learn more and have just as much fun in a slower and less capable car. The Porsche will hide poor technique and at the greater speed, you can get into more trouble. My first track experience was in my 230SL which was definitely slow but it helped me learning to feel the car and the track. The fun of the track is learning how to drive again.

[marlinspike]

Richard .... I can feel how much you want to get the Porsche on the track. Unless you have some track experience, I would recommend the 380SL. You can learn more and have just as much fun in a slower and less capable car. The Porsche will hide poor technique and at the greater speed, you can get into more trouble. My first track experience was in my 230SL which was definitely slow but it helped me learning to feel the car and the track. The fun of the track is learning how to drive again.

I completely agree with you (though it's an SE, not an SL), but dad has made it clear: racing the mercedes is strictly verboten. Personally, I rather get the 380SE on the track than the 911: it's my car, I'm more familiar with it, and it would keep me from killing myself.

[wwhopper]

Summit is less restricitve than other tracks on M-B convertables, but saftey is key no matter - better safe than sorry.

Brake fluid - changed within the last 6 months is a good idea.

And time on the track, you will get a little less than a half an hour on the track about 4 to 5 times - spread out over the day.

And let me tell you it goes by quick, and you are exhusted when you come in, because you do move - not at 120 the whole time, but from 10 mph going around a tough turn to a very high rate of speed on the straight away.

Bring out your own M-B - have Dad come along as pit crew - he will get hooked.

For the price - less than 500 bucks for a weekend at the track - you can't beat that for a weekend of fun. You would pay that skiing, golfing or down at the beach. Your car will thank you too - mine loves it after a day of autocrossing or a few days at the track.

Also GWS has loaner helmets (this year brand new ones too) so you don't have to spend a fortune on a helmet for this one event. Once you are hooked, you will be buying one of your own!

Come out, and have the time of your life!

[marlinspike]

Bah, now I'm being told not with any car...oh well, one day when I'm out living on my own I'll come out to a DE.

[wwhopper]

Bah, now I'm being told not with any car...oh well, one day when I'm out living on my own I'll come out to a DE.

What were you told, and by whom?

The final decision rests with the event chairman Joe Wozney.

[marlinspike]

No, you have that wrong. The final decision rests with my parents, especially since they pay my college tuition :p :rolleyes: :(

[wwhopper]

So your parents are going to let you go another year without doing a driver's education event? 365 days and on any one of them, you could need and use this training to save your life!

So you will not have the skills to handle your car in emergency situations, or at highway speeds. You will not know what your car can do, and how it handles under difficult conditions?

This training makes you a better driver - yeah it is fun, but it does help you on the highway. Almost everyone who has attended this event, has then said within the next year, they have used the skills learned to save their lives on the highway.

Well if they won't let you do the Summit Driver's ED..... Come out to the M-B only Defensive Driving and autocross event on June 4th in Winchester - you will learn alot there as well - and have the same amount of fun. Bring Mom or Dad - or both and they may change their mind when they see that this is all about learning, not just driving fast! - It's a trip, but I drive out from Chevy Chase once a month for the regular A/X event, so it is not that bad a trip!

[marlinspike]

Well, it's not a done deal yet, I'm working on it. How long do you think I have until it's filled up? I think my dad doesn't completely grasp exactly what this is, he thinks it's just racin'. I need to sell that it's driver's education. The problem is he thinks my MB is too old to take it and that I'll end up wrecking the Porsche...I'm trying to convince him that it's SCCA where people wreck, not MBCA DE's and that there won't be much wrecking here. It's funny, since he's a car guy too, thought he'd be into it. I wonder if there's any stuff down in NC that I could do when I'm back at school.

When I told him that you aren't on the track for over 40 minutes at a time it seemed to improve my chances (first said these cars aren't set up for racing, to which I said it's a Porsche, so he said well it is but being on a racetrack for hours at a time will still reduce its life, so I said ah hah, it's not hours, and that seemed to help a bit).

[wwhopper]

You know the old joke - what is the difference between a Porsche and a Porcupine???

Get your dad or mom to come out to the MB only event in June - and you will be enrolled in the Summit Point DE event in July by the end of the day!

On the NC side - we have two MBCA sections in NC - one in western (tarheel) and one in eastern (triangle,) so check them out to see what they do, as a member of MBCA, you can go to any section event. Mid June we are at VIR - just on the VA NC border!

Just because we hold these events at a race track - does not mean it is racing. You are not timed, you are not running against anyone, YOU WILL HAVE an experienced INSTRUCTOR with you at all times.... And YOU WILL be a BETTER driver because of it.

And I have to tell you - yes we have had wrecks, but usurally not first timers, it is often the guy who thinks he is good, and still has something to learn....

And better drivers do save lives on the road!

[marlinspike]

I think I may have broke him, though more in an "I don't want to hear it any more way" than an "I agree way" Here's another question...if you only bring one car, any sense in multiple drivers? I'm thinking no.

And I'm telling you MB is no way no how, that car is not allowed to be tracked, driven hard, anything. The only other car that can be taken is the BMW 540iA, but even that one I think is an only if we want to have two drivers thing. If just one, it's the Porsche. Mom will never come out btw, but that also means she doesn't care much about it either.

[wwhopper]

<quote> And I'm telling you MB is no way no how, that car is not allowed to be tracked, driven hard, anything. </quote>

Just come out to one of our track events, and see, this is not your father's Mercedes-Benz! See Jim Villers or Robby Ackermans - 16 Valves run, watch anyone one of the AMG's out there.... You will see that M-B's are made for high performance driving...

On the question of two drivers, yes, some do have multiple drivers, but it does add to the wear and tear of the vehcile - the track is not just a sunday drive. It can be done, though harder for 2 novice drivers, because they should be in the same group, and that does not give the car cool down time.

On Mom, bring her out to the M-B only DD event in June - It will make her more proficient in her daily driving too. Safe a life, learn to drive!

[wwhopper]

If you got out this weekend to Summit to try out the Shenandoah Track, you found it to be a hot weekend.

Autocrossers loved it, and a few of the VIR die hards missed the long straight aways.

But everyone had a great chance to try out this new track and spend some quality car time with about 80 other drivers.

If you missed this, keep an eye on the GWS website. The next section Summit date is scheduled for May 21 2007, the day after Star Tech so that the sponsors of Star Tech can show off their products to our membership.

Additional VIR and Summit Track dates will also be on the schedule for next year.