merl Posted July 30, 2015 Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 Anyone going to Blackhawk on Monday ? I will be there with the e28 ... Come say hi if you are there. andyhundley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvusHatesCones Posted July 31, 2015 Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 I'll be there on Tuesday with the SCCA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_cars Posted July 31, 2015 Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 i wanted to be there but I can't justify the $210 cost for such a small amount of session time. I talked to some board members of badger bimmers about it to inform them that other groups I run with provide usually seven 20-minute sessions for the same price on a weekend. On a weekday like this event is, in June I just paid 165 bucks for seven 20 minute sessions with GPS Tracktime on BHF. Just overpriced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris3 Posted July 31, 2015 Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 Merle is there for free! Congrats on the e30 picnic draw.Part of the difference is run groups. GPS has three (novice, int, advanced) . BB has four, since they run a separate instructor group. Also the sessions are longer if I remember correctly (25-35 minutes). Instructors are provided in novice and intermediate, and at times for a check off in advanced. Classroom time also for novice. Different animal. andyhundley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_cars Posted July 31, 2015 Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 Sadly even with longer sessions it doesn't even come close to making up for it, at least not for me personally. For this event with BB you get four (4) 25 minute sessions. When the difference is 100 minutes vs. 140 minutes with other organizations, to me that's a lot of track time to be losing out on for the same price. It's an HPDE, the only real difference between any one organization are the cars/quality of drivers. Price-wise no matter how the run groups are structured (3 or 4 groups or whatever), any standard RA day will cost you roughly 350 bucks, and any standard BHF day will run you roughly 215 bucks. GPS also does classroom time for novice after the driver's meeting is over. *shrug* to each their own, but until I have enough money where I don't have to care about how much I spend on track days, I have to be a bit more discerning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyhundley Posted July 31, 2015 Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 I went to this event last year and we had more than 25 minutes on the track per session. Especially toward the end of the day even though I only ran 3 of the 4 due to brake issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris3 Posted July 31, 2015 Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 Understood on choices and it also depends on your level. Intermediate and esp advanced and just looking for track time and no instruction then mvp and other orgs like it are good. I started out with BB and expanded to Porsche and Audi club events, GT Track Days, MVP Track Time, SCCA, Midwest Council, and NASA DE and now NASA racing. Always benefitted from instruction esp from guys that had a lot of experience. Still have a lot of learning to do.Funny thing as for track time unless you go enduro, a race weekend has less track time than DE. Practice, qual and race is typically 70-90 minutes total per day. Granted the intensity is a bit different... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_cars Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 Yeah I mean I've been considering an already-built up Miata for a dedicated track car cuz you can get them for like 7k (Spec Miatas are all like 10-12k so screw that) so it's cheap enough where I don't feel like I need to pay for track insurance. Right now, for my 135i I spend an average of 650 bucks for a 1-day event after insurance/entry fee/fluids. At this point for me maximizing seat time is everything. Tons to learn and I'm not getting any younger. I've definitely latched on to LAPS Inc and MVP. I will always support Jimmy over at GPS, but his events are still growing and he just sticks to Autobahn & BHF. Doesn't really command the quality of drivers and cars that you see with MVP or LAPS who have been around longer and do more serious tracks from Road Atlanta all the way up to Road America. I went to Northwoods Shelby on the Autobahn in May just to see what they are about (didn't drive). I may pick up an event with them next year. I considered doing the audi club's 2-day RA event in June but had no money for it. I heard from Clemens at BB that the audi events are pretty good. Really though, every time I see the cars that MVP/LAPS pull in, I realize I'm in the wrong income bracket for this All their instructors kick ass. An old co-worker of mine, Mladen Grgic was a BB guy and used to instruct at RA, been in the game for 15 years now and he'll still ask for other instructors to come ride and assess. No matter how experienced you are, having someone else watch you can tell you a lot more than you see while driving, that's for sure. Every experienced driver I've ever talked to that instructs will say the hardest thing they fight with when training people is breaking them out of permanently etched habits that they don't even realize while driving. I should start a gofundme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merl Posted August 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Forgot the video camera at home but the car was really good. Was solo for the second half of the day. Will try to remember video next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_cars Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 I gave up on video until I get an external mic that I can run down into my engine bay. It drastically improves the sound and eliminates the wind noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merl Posted August 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 I'm not sure why I would want a mic in my engine bay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff F Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 I was at the BB Blackhawk event and I thought it was a fantastic day (full disclosure, I am president of Badger Bimmers). I got about 2 hours of track time in my car and another hour riding with my excellent instructor in their E46 M3. To me it was well worth the $210 or $215. I know the pricing thing is a sensitive issue for many. Badger Bimmers loses money at every Blackhawk event we run; it's a constant battle to keep the pricing reasonable and still have the events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_cars Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 I'm not sure why I would want a mic in my engine bay because recording your car and not having an external mic on the intake side of your engine bay sounds horrible. Unless you don't care about hearing awesome engine noises as your car winds out the RPMs at the track, in which case I guess then yeah you wouldn't want a mic. I was at the BB Blackhawk event and I thought it was a fantastic day (full disclosure, I am president of Badger Bimmers). I got about 2 hours of track time in my car and another hour riding with my excellent instructor in their E46 M3. To me it was well worth the $210 or $215. I know the pricing thing is a sensitive issue for many. Badger Bimmers loses money at every Blackhawk event we run; it's a constant battle to keep the pricing reasonable and still have the events. hey now, I'm still signed up for OktoberFAST !! I support my local cca chapter, demmit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff F Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 hey now, I'm still signed up for OktoberFAST !! I support my local cca chapter, demmit! Awesome! I'm signed up, too! I'm also going to Blackhawk again on August 22-23 with Northwoods Shelby Club. $350 for 2 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merl Posted August 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Jeff, I may join you at that event. Still working it out. Thanks for the BB event. I had a great time !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff F Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 Jeff, I may join you at that event. Still working it out. Thanks for the BB event. I had a great time !! Registration for the NW Shelby Club Blackhawk event closes on Monday August 10, but they still have a bunch of spots available. I really enjoy their events, especially since I don't have to do any club work at them! There are usually a surprising number of BMWs at their events, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_cars Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 yea northwoods is highly recommended. I'd be going to that event but sadly I'll be flying out to Maryland to drive back my new winter beater over the weekend ;(350 bucks for 2 days is hard to beat and that group has some good cars. If anyone is on the fence I'd say do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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