Spring Mountain

ImportConvert

Cannot sum up how awesome of a time it was and how much I learned about balance, etc. there.

I also took away a few other points:

-They keep their corvettes for 12-14K miles. During this, it's all track and skidpad exercises at the hands of instructors, and us students, some of which can be pretty ham-fisted. Noone babied the cars except on take-off, which we did engine take-off's as launching the car was not part of the information we were trying to gain.
-They have never had one blow an engine, transmission, or rear-end, and after 2008, wheel-bearings were no-longer an issue, either. Only had about 3-4 clutches go out so far on the C6, and it was a hydraulic issue, not wear.
-Us students got oil temps up to about the 230's tracking the cars following instructors.
-On a hot-lap that I got an instructor to take me on, which consisted of 1 warm-up lap, and then 1 lap at about 90% of the car's potential with the 100* ambient and hot track. The oil temp hit 273.
-They use standard fluids except in the rear-end.

I just found it interesting how durable cars really are. All the whining over 240* oil temps in the 370Z makes me LOL even more, now, except that yes, I can see how the 370Z will easily hit limp mode if you know how to drive it. Nissan needs to fix that, but unless you track the car, 240* oil temps are meaningless. They also were breaking in some CTS-V's for a big GM press-show yesterday. The cars got VERY hot very fast, especially the differentials. I wasn't told the temps.

They REALLY! push the Michelin PS2 ZP tires, and I LOVED! the feedback the tires gave me on the wet exercises.

Anyway, I am sure there are other driving schools than Spring Mountain, and probably a few that cater to the 370Z. I think that you owe it to yourself to go. I find myself driving even my little Infiniti much smoother and more competently. A LOT! can be learned, and if you do attend the Spring Mountain facility, there is a lot you can take home to your 370Z, too.

Will post horribly crappy video I took of the warm-up lap my instructor took me on before our hot lap.