Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Bondurant, Wyoming

Bondurant, WY Car Consumer Discussions

Well...

by santiagofdz on Thu Aug 21 18:18:15 PDT 2008

I liked the article. At a very tense day at work it served me nicely, I was laughing. As a Corvette fan, I'm happy to see such a competent version finally on sale!!! Also I think it's fairly obvious the "unnamed driving school" would be Bondurant because well, they just happen to use C6 Vettes, C6 Z06 and probably still have a few C5 up for duty... oh and they're GM's "Official high preformance driving school" (says so on their webpage). Hell, I'd be surprised if some ZR1 mules didn't run there, that place is great for brutal, hot weather testing.

Re: What could they [louiswei]

by tagman on Sat Jun 14 10:48:41 PDT 2008

Lou, I'm in Hawaii until next Thursday, but the time zone shift has me up too early, so I'll take the time for you here. When I was younger, I went to Sears Point Raceway and drove the race cars provided by their High Performance program. It was a blast!! Back then, I didn't own any car of my own, as I had a company car, and I was not financially capable of owning a car that I could track. Anyway, the program was cool, but the original Sears Point Raceway needed some updating. Infineon purchased Sears Point and reconfigured the track, and the spectator's view of the track as well... in a massive multi-million dollar renovation project to bring Sears Point up to a world class level. It is now Infineon Raceway... and Jim Russell Racing replaced Bob Bondurant Racing. Later in life, I started my own business, and when I bought my first Porsche, I never wanted to bring it to the track. Since then, I've owned some nice cars, but the only one I really wanted to track was the recent Lotus Elise Sport. I had been invited to Infineon Raceway with a group of Lotus owners, but I had just suffered a serious and horrible neck injury, as some here knew about, and I had to decline the experience. In fact, I had to sell the Lotus. I traded it in on the Carrera S. I still have no interest in tracking my Porsche or my 135i. However, I will be registering my daughter for Jim Russell's driving classes in the near future, so I might grab some track time with THEIR cars, just for fun. Also, my Porsche and 135i, as Convertibles, wouldn't be allowed on most tracks. So... Sorry, but you can't include me on your list for the reasons explained... I haven't driven my OWN cars on the track, and, frankly, have no intentions of doing so, unless I buy a Lotus again... which I am considering. BTW, I am now within about two weeks of getting my 135i Convertible... It has been a torturous wait! Perhaps you would like to bet me that it can beat your Lexus in a head-to-head... easily. ;) I get the impression it's time for you to step up to a real performance car... I can just tell that you really want one . LOL. ;) TM :)

Re: Skip Barber Driving School [buylow]

by marinedoc on Tue Apr 29 14:26:51 PDT 2008

You're right on. I have done the Porsche High Performance driving course at Road Atlanta and also did the three day Bondurant racing course, which, if successfully completed, qualifies you for an SCCA racing permit. They are both excellent courses, but obviously, one is geared to racing and the other is instruction in high speed, high performance driving, in obviously, the Porsche Carrera. I've taken several such courses, including ones for motorcycle, and all are good, and each one, while different, makes you a better driver, both on the track and in the street. Doc

"Road Hugging Weight"

by senormechanico on Sun Jan 27 10:51:18 PST 2008

Remember those Ford Pinto commercials back in the '70's? All the better performing imports were kicking Ford's butt in acceleration and cornering, so Ford's commercials claimed their Pinto was "better" because it had more "Road hugging weight". What it really was, was a slug. Weight by itself does nothing for performance or handling. In fact, it degrades it. Take a look at any race car, boat etc, and you'll see lightweight characteristics throughout, especially in the ends. Over the years, I've owned a lot of fast boats both power and sail and there's nothing better than keeping the weight down (and what weight you have properly placed) if you want good performance and handling. The same goes for cars. I went back to message 1 on this board to find out what post #1254 was all about and all I can say is, take a car handling course if you really want to find out about what makes a car do what it does. Bob Bondurant or similar courses are a great learning experience and worth every penny. In the late '80's, my wife and I went for a full day course at Seattle International Raceway and had a ball learning how to react in 50mph skids and emergency stops on wet courses while driving brand new Audi's. I've owned Porche 911's, a Saab 900 turbo, and several other performance cars most of them purchased new. I currently own a Chrysler 300m as well as my "toy car" a '95 Geo. Driving the Geo is more like sailing a dinghy whereas driving a large car is more like piloting a boat. (Although my 300M certainly does not drive like a boat LOL!) Basically, a larger car with a longer wheelbase responds a little slower to directional forces. The Geo will behave the same way as any bigger car, but due to the smaller mass, things just happen a little faster. Keep that fact in mind and you'll be fine. I've got aftermarket 13x6 alloy wheels and good tires. It's a ball to bend the car around corners and with over 164k on the odo I get high 40's for mileage. Steve B.

Just bought certified pre-owned A3 2.0T

by jtford on Fri Dec 21 18:22:24 PST 2007

I just bought a red A3 2.0T w- DSG, S-line/cold-weather packages. Got a tremendous deal on a certified pre-owned 2007 with 10k miles. Been driving it for 3 days now, and I LOVE THIS CAR. The combination of power/handling/luxury/nimbleness/safety/fuel-economy is amazing- I love every moment behind the wheel. The 2.0T is a terrific combination of power/torque/fuel-economy for that size car. I also autocross, and am looking forward to springtime with this car-- I've screwed around braking/downshifting into 90-degree corners at high speeds, and the DSG is spectacular. I spent over a day and a half at Bob Bondurant just learning heel-toe downshifting, and this DSG is like cheating. The perfect transmission for daily commutes in stop-and-go grind + weekends at the autocross. Road feel and cornering with the S-line package is tremendous. Sport suspension setup and 225/45/17's combine for excellent cornering and extremely solid feel at highway speeds. Behind the wheel, the car feels more like a sport coupe than a hatchback. I have two sons, ages 2 & 3, and car seats fit fine in the back. Triple 5-star crash scores and IIHS top-safety pick make me not think twice about putting the little guys in there. In summary, I couldn't be more pleased with this car. It's such a joy to drive.

Re: Outsiders' take on US lane discipline [ny540i6]

by ruking1 on Thu Oct 11 15:53:43 PDT 2007

Some of it is truly, "When in Rome, do what the Romans do." Truly, perceptions play a large part. If you look at the statistics for European and USA, they indicated the accident, injury and fatality rates are roughly the same. So much for the superiority of either "system". So for example, a European who drives here quickly adapts to the ... "It's my right to drive as fast/slow/in between as I want in whichever lane I want" trip"... The US driver who typifies the ..."It's my right to drive as fast/slow/in between as I want in whichever lane I want" trip"... who drives in Europe quickly adapts to lane discipline, smooth high speeds, etc. Very few English folks who drive here drive on the left, and very few American folks who drive in the UK drive on the right. Very few Europeans get speeding tickets in the USA for 120 plus. Very few US drivers get impeding traffic @ 65 mph in Europe. As for Mr. 16 year old, it truly might be how a boy is wired as opposed to a girl. Another is the type of hormones that run through each. A 16 year old boy is immortal in his own mind. Truly most are over the problem in three years or so, or that is what the IIHS statistics indicate, as the insurance tends to cost way less at that point. I sent both my daughter's to a Bob Bondurant type school, with app 1 year's driving experience under their belts. The instructors ask each student why they are there and what they hope to get out of the course. It is amazing to hear how many (young) folks either got speeding tickets, totalled brand new cars, other accidents, this is for both boys and girls.