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Originally Posted by w0ady
i actually skipped auto-x and went straight to hpde. i wont comment on things i havent done but ill say that having an instructor in the car with me was 1 of the best things for my personal improvement. now it can be hit or miss with instructors but thats why the more driving time and different instructors you ride with, the more you will learn. also try to ride with instructors in their cars to learn even more. i think the problem with starting off on your own is then having to unlearn bad habits you might start. then again the same thing may happen with a poor instructor so take everything with a grain of salt.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MightyBobo
The easy answer is simple: seat time. As much as you can get/afford.
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It's the easy answer, but not necessarily the complete answer. As was hinted at above, the seat time needs to be QUALITY seat time + in-car instruction + quality in-class instruction (which you almost never get with Autocross, and is a crap shoot with most HPDE's.)
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Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks
Sounds good. Go karts are fun but pretty useless for learning to drive a car. Their grip to weight ratio is much higher than a car, and the weight is rear biased.
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I disagree... MOST karts that people will drive are low on power, but even worse, low on torque. And that's PERFECT for figuring out how smoothness and the correct line through a turn (or complex of turns) affects momentum and performance... and you figure this out easily and directly, even without instruction.
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Video games are useless, driving sims are a tool. Driving sims are useful especially in that auto-x to track transition, they teach you about the racing line, braking zones etc. It will also impress your instructor if you can show up to a track and already have a good feel for the racing line, which the instructor can help you fine tune. Driving sims currently only exist on the PC, and you need a quality force feedback wheel and pedal set. Iracing's catalog of local tracks is gradually growing. If I'm going to do a track day I usually check to see if they have it and will do practice laps to familiarize myself before heading out. Although there is no substitute for real seat time with an instructor.
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IMO... iRacing is the only sim that should be used to work on driving techniques and/or to learn a track. They (to my knowledge) are the only sim who laser scans each track in the sim for the absolute most accurate representation. The do the same for the cars in the sim (although I have learned that they might base a new vehicle physics & adjustments model on a similar existing vehicle in the sim.) They are constantly updating and improving the physics of the vehicles, again, for the most accurate representation of real driving.
That said, the two most important things you will never be able to re-produce in a sim, is the g-force (seat of the pants) feel, and the sense of speed. In a real car, windows down, corner coming up... your brain starts using inputs your body gives you (kinesthetic) as opposed to JUST visual input (all you have in sim.)
There's one more thing that hasn't been mentioned (but I hinted at it above)... if at all possible...
start your HP driving "career" in a low-power, balanced vehicle.
I know that's not a popular suggestion, but you'll be a better driver for it in the long run.