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Did you do or are doing V academy

Did you do or will do the V academy class

  • Yes, new owner and did or will do the free class

    Votes: 52 92.9%
  • No, new owner and will not do the class

    Votes: 3 5.4%
  • Yes, pre-owned owner and paid for the class

    Votes: 1 1.8%
  • No, pre-owned owner and did not do the class

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    56
What was something specific to the car that you learned from their instruction?
Not to be flip, but everything. Obviously every car is different so if you push it as hard as you're personally capable, you learn how it responds dynamically to the laws of physics and to your inputs. For the 5V BW relative to other cars I've driven hard at speed, I learned that it is generally surprisingly benign. On the street its massive amount of hp and torque do not make it feel "normal" or benign, but on the track it felt pretty much like a regular 3-pedal car, except that you could mostly drive the entire short and tight Spring Mountain course in 3rd (you can grab 4th briefly at the end of the front straight). I had to more consciously squeeze the throttle rather than simply matting it in a ham-fisted manner like I can do in cars with < 300 hp, but the "squeeze" could be made quite quickly with a little practice. Of all the control inputs, I also learned that I like the brake-by-wire least. On the track they provided perfectly adequate stopping power, but they felt rather "wooden" to me, a bit devoid of feedback and more tricky to modulate than the steering, shifter, or accelerator.
 
Get used to that. Kids are good at interrupting your other plans and its worth every second.
Lol. I'm not anti-kids.
I'm anti-kids for myself. I commend those who make the choice, it does seem quite rewarding and I'm happy to see people when they are excellent and involved parents.
 
Not to be flip, but everything. Obviously every car is different so if you push it as hard as you're personally capable, you learn how it responds dynamically to the laws of physics and to your inputs. For the 5V BW relative to other cars I've driven hard at speed, I learned that it is generally surprisingly benign. On the street its massive amount of hp and torque do not make it feel "normal" or benign, but on the track it felt pretty much like a regular 3-pedal car, except that you could mostly drive the entire short and tight Spring Mountain course in 3rd (you can grab 4th briefly at the end of the front straight). I had to more consciously squeeze the throttle rather than simply matting it in a ham-fisted manner like I can do in cars with < 300 hp, but the "squeeze" could be made quite quickly with a little practice. Of all the control inputs, I also learned that I like the brake-by-wire least. On the track they provided perfectly adequate stopping power, but they felt rather "wooden" to me, a bit devoid of feedback and more tricky to modulate than the steering, shifter, or accelerator.
Having driven a 1LE several times on the track, and my CT4 at a few Auto-X events, and hard on the ToTD it's very similar. The wheel base being narrower means the back end is easier to control once it slides out. I didn't notice much with the brakes, other than they were easy to modulate and resisted fade. Steering, shifter feel, suspension settings, all very similar to the 1LE. Power delivery is smoother than the LT1, and the added weight means the rear end is less likely to slide out in a straight line.

Engine thermal control was a bit worse than the 1LE, but that's to be expected. I know it doesn't have a dedicated oil temp sensor but, the gauge was reading 260 degrees plus, although coolant was largely in check at 210. (Ambient being 85 degrees)

The lower HP makes the weight transfer more manageable than the CT5, which I can imagine is quite sudden.

I'd like to take the class, and take advantage of the instruction, I always have a lot to learn, I just don't see it in the cards.
 
I had a vasectomy last week and I've had a weird pain ever since. Going to the doctor tomorrow to see what the hell's going on. All I can say is it better be straightened out before I go to the academy the first week of April!
Be glad you didn't get a BMW with the nut crunching carbon buckets they offer.
 
Be glad you didn't get a BMW with the nut crunching carbon buckets they offer.
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Had one last year! 😆
 
HA! GM reversed their decision! I'M GOING!

Good for you brother. I was a little surprised they said no. When I bought my 4BW, I had scheduled to go, and about a week or so before, I pulled my back. I called and explained and they understood. I got an extension. SM are really good people to work with.
 
Good for you brother. I was a little surprised they said no. When I bought my 4BW, I had scheduled to go, and about a week or so before, I pulled my back. I called and explained and they understood. I got an extension. SM are really good people to work with.
SM people are great, but they're still beholden to GM's decisions on whether to pay for it. Alea from SM called me and was like 'so.. I'm a little surprised but GM changed their mind for some reason!'
 
I hate to point out the obvious, but this thread is our testament to how great SM is:

 
I did it for my C7 and I've also done the Ron Fellows Experience here in Canada twice where you basically do the day 2 lead follow session but in a Blackwing, ZL1 1LE and C8Z so you experience all 3 cars on track.

Since I'm in Canada I would have to pay for flights and a rental car as well (they used to cover the rental).

All this to say it isn't worth it to me, I can spend less and just do the experience again and get right to the good stuff (track driving).

If you have never done any high performance driving its a great way to learn. If I lived in the States I'd probably do it since the V Academy is free (Corvette costs $1000). But being out of the country it costs more for me to get down there then the value of doing it again.
 
I'd love to do it if it was closer, but that's a long drive from Louisiana. It's a significant time investment.
You drive their cars at the track. Get to Nevada in whatever mode of transport works for you.
 
I hate to point out the obvious, but this thread is our testament to how great SM is:

I'll stay on topic.
I've been triple schooled this evening. I'll put my posting fingers away.
 

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