Ride from Phoenix to ????

[2006PolarBlueElise]

Calling all Lotus drivers from Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Apache Junction, Chandler, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, Glendale, Peoria, Sun City, Litchfeld Park, Avondale, Surprise, Sun City, Phoenix, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills, etc...

Let's get a caravan of Lotus's to some not-too-distant scenic area... perhaps Tortilla Flats... or Apache Lake... somewhere interesting over one of these upcoming weekends... before the holidays take away all of our available time.

Submit your suggested destination/date/time/meeting place and let's see what happens!:

[nvrblu]

I'd like to join in... when I get my Elise back. I was hit by a motorcycle 3 weeks ago while driving in Colorado... broken toe link, rear clam, tire & wheel damage. It could be several more weeks before I get it back... and the motorcyclist might be underinsured

[fishguy]

Take the scenic interstate 10 to Firebird raceway over thanksgiving weekend.
proautosports is having a track weekend, with racing and HPDE groups.

http://www.proautosports.com/

Good group to run with, and the scenery looks great going at speeds on the racetrack, though i will only be looking at cones and apexes while racing the Swift DB-1 Formula Ford.
Nice seeing you last time out MikeW, great looking car!!!!
Fishguy

[MikeW]

Nice driving! Hope to see you in Nov.


Nice seeing you last time out MikeW, great looking car!!!!
Fishguy[/quote]

[sgraves]

Count me in.. sounds like fun!!!

[2006PolarBlueElise]

Originally Posted by fishguy

Take the scenic interstate 10 to Firebird raceway over thanksgiving weekend.
proautosports is having a track weekend, with racing and HPDE groups.

http://www.proautosports.com/

Good group to run with, and the scenery looks great going at speeds on the racetrack, though i will only be looking at cones and apexes while racing the Swift DB-1 Formula Ford.
Nice seeing you last time out MikeW, great looking car!!!!
Fishguy

Perhaps... but what about more of a touring/destination ride? I'm also not sure I want to spend extra $$$ while I'm risking damage to my car on a track. I've never done this before....Perhaps some more feedback might be helpful.

[MikeW]

Originally Posted by 2006PolarBlueElise

Perhaps... but what about more of a touring/destination ride? I'm also not sure I want to spend extra $$$ while I'm risking damage to my car on a track. I've never done this before....Perhaps some more feedback might be helpful.

You won't be able to just get on the track and go. You spend a day in a classroom and on the track following and instructor and other cars (follow the leader). You do a few sessions in this manner and then get a license. You then start in the lower of 3 levels of street cars (passing on straights only, with the point by) if you come back the next day or whenever.

[cdn_alien]

Count me in!

[cdn_alien]

Call me a heretic, but I too prefer a nice twisty country road than the track. I've only been to the track a few times, and may be it'll become second nature. But instead of enjoying the scenery and the wind in my face on a pleasure drive, the thought of crashing into the wall is always on my mind.

I prefer Sunday mornings, but I'm flexible.

[2006PolarBlueElise]

Originally Posted by MikeW

You won't be able to just get on the track and go. You spend a day in a classroom and on the track following and instructor and other cars (follow the leader). You do a few sessions in this manner and then get a license. You then start in the lower of 3 levels of street cars (passing on straights only, with the point by) if you come back the next day or whenever.

What does something like this cost? 1 day... 2 day... 3 day...?

[2006PolarBlueElise]

Originally Posted by cdn_alien

Call me a heretic, but I too prefer a nice twisty country road than the track. I've only been to the track a few times, and may be it'll become second nature. But instead of enjoying the scenery and the wind in my face on a pleasure drive, the thought of crashing into the wall is always on my mind.

I prefer Sunday mornings, but I'm flexible.

I drove out to Tortilla Flats yesterday afternoon.... 60E to 88... what a great ride! The weather was good, outside of Apache Junction on 88... nice twisty, mountainous, loopy roads, a couple of one-lane bridges... great views... these cars were built for these kind of rides! The handling around hairpin turns was amazing...Very enjoyable!


Sundays work for me as well.

[MikeW]

Originally Posted by 2006PolarBlueElise

What does something like this cost? 1 day... 2 day... 3 day...?

It's very reasonable.

New members pay $150.00 and go Fri or Sat. ..pretty sure your license is included. Bring a helmet but you can borrow also.

After that, $140.00 per day, 2 days for $260.00
If you register in advance, you get a 10% discount. All cars run Fri, Sat, Sun.

There are 3 tracks that they use, all Firebird. East is 1.25 mi., west is 1.1, main is 1.6mi. Main uses the staging are, dragstrip and shutdown area for the straight.

yearly membership renewal is $40.00

Passengers are allowed, $20.00 for the day. You can sign up an addition driver for the car, forgot the fee.

There's one free track day each year, this one's December 15th.@ main track
It will be busy,cause it's free. There are some stingy people that renew for $40.00 and just show for the freebie day.

They have a time trial event Sunday for street cars (if you can call some of them that). My 'Vette friends that I ran with are now up to 551 whp, could be intimidating if your in a Lotus. The karts are all over like killer bees, 45 of them on one of the smaller tracks gets tense. Ex Superbike champ Eddie Lawson runs his 90 hp kart with them.

There a 3 levels of street groups. The green group is really pretty mild. Some of the stuff looks like a wives car, sometimes some nice stuff is there. Middle of the road would be a Miata for example. The Lotus does extremely well thru the turns compared to most everything you'll run with. Ok on the short straights too unless you're with vettes. You will learn a lot as you drive, know matter how great you "think you are".

No charge to watch. Suggest you do the school and see if you like it. About 1 in 10 continue on. Sometimes gals (and guys) show just to say they did it and wave their license around to show their friends. You'll never know if this is for you unless you try.

www.proautosports.com

[fishguy]

good write up MikeW.
You know much more about this info than i do as far as the HPDE goes with the proautosports HPDE.
I run my formula car with the club, and it can, at times, take a fair amount of time in the pits to work on/ do changes to the car before the next session. Mike, I know we were trying to talk during one of those times, and i felt badly that i couldnt give you much more of my attention. Sorry, for that.

If time allows, I would be happy to try to help anyone(lotus drivers) who wanted some help by going out on a ride along as an instructor. Also, as always for anyone at the track, i have a trailer full of all the tools needed for the day, as well as an air compressor for your tires.

Its an open offer, all you need to do is ask.

My car is the one pictured in my avatar, so its easy to find me.

I will not be there on friday as its just an open practice day for the race group, saturday is a 100 minute enduro race for the formula cars (as opposed to the usual 20 -30 minute sprint races that we run). I am still undecided(though will likely not be able to resist) if i am going to run the enduro. its a lot of wear and tear on the car and exhausting for the driver(30 minute sprint races in the car kicks my butt mentally), and since i joined the group mid-year, i am out of the points race anyway. I will also need a pit crew to refuel at least once, maybe twice, and need to work those things out as well before making the commitment to that this season.
I will be there for sure on Sunday for the entire day.
As mike has said, its well worth the experience to try, you will likely be hooked, and you will also realize how different it is being on the track as opposed to public roads. The track is so much more fun, and SO MUCH safer.
HPDE is not racing, so you dont need to feel any pressure to do anything your not comfortable with. You will learn alot about your car, and yourself, and how to control the car. This alone will make you a much better/safer driver on the streets, as well as realizing that there is a time and place for everything. The track provides a place to drive your car aggressively w/o the fear of tickets, and many of the unpredictable things that happen on public roads.
Fishguy

[MikeW]

Possibly it would help to know where everyone lives. Phoenix area is large and maybe we could try to keep this convenient for some living on the outskirts.

Can't think of too many close to town, I always went to Wickenburg, Oak Creek Canyon or Jerome to get out of town.

Bartlett lake is the best thing I can think of. The scenery is excellent. You gotta pay to park, there are restaurants in nearby Cave Creek (hamburger, steak, Mexican food. I know a few. No bad surprises with the food.

If no ideas, maybe a meeting at a restaurant sometime?

[cdn_alien]

Originally Posted by 2006PolarBlueElise

I drove out to Tortilla Flats yesterday afternoon.... 60E to 88... what a great ride! The weather was good, outside of Apache Junction on 88... nice twisty, mountainous, loopy roads, a couple of one-lane bridges... great views... these cars were built for these kind of rides! The handling around hairpin turns was amazing...Very enjoyable!


Sundays work for me as well.

Yeah, I've done Tortilla Flats a few times too. It's a hoot! Another nice ride is Mingus Mtn (Hwy 89 s/o Jerome). Have you ever driven Hwy 191 south of Springerville that runs down to Thatcher? I heard that has a lot of nice curves.

[cdn_alien]

Originally Posted by sgraves

Count me in.. sounds like fun!!!

Hi Sharon,

It was nice meeting you at the Autocross. I didn't realize it was you until I saw your "Chiller" plate on the avatar.

[2006PolarBlueElise]

Originally Posted by MikeW

It's very reasonable.

New members pay $150.00 and go Fri or Sat. ..pretty sure your license is included. Bring a helmet but you can borrow also.

After that, $140.00 per day, 2 days for $260.00
If you register in advance, you get a 10% discount. All cars run Fri, Sat, Sun.

There are 3 tracks that they use, all Firebird. East is 1.25 mi., west is 1.1, main is 1.6mi. Main uses the staging are, dragstrip and shutdown area for the straight.

yearly membership renewal is $40.00

Passengers are allowed, $20.00 for the day. You can sign up an addition driver for the car, forgot the fee.

There's one free track day each year, this one's December 15th.@ main track
It will be busy,cause it's free. There are some stingy people that renew for $40.00 and just show for the freebie day.

They have a time trial event Sunday for street cars (if you can call some of them that). My 'Vette friends that I ran with are now up to 551 whp, could be intimidating if your in a Lotus. The karts are all over like killer bees, 45 of them on one of the smaller tracks gets tense. Ex Superbike champ Eddie Lawson runs his 90 hp kart with them.

There a 3 levels of street groups. The green group is really pretty mild. Some of the stuff looks like a wives car, sometimes some nice stuff is there. Middle of the road would be a Miata for example. The Lotus does extremely well thru the turns compared to most everything you'll run with. Ok on the short straights too unless you're with vettes. You will learn a lot as you drive, know matter how great you "think you are".

No charge to watch. Suggest you do the school and see if you like it. About 1 in 10 continue on. Sometimes gals (and guys) show just to say they did it and wave their license around to show their friends. You'll never know if this is for you unless you try.

www.proautosports.com

Thanks for the very thorough description! It actually sounds more reasonable and enticing than I originally thought. (Are there any walls or barriers to worry about on these tracks?) I have several full-cover motorcycle helmets… if this will do.

So where is this event held? (including address, approximate distance and time to drive there) I’d be departing from near Queen Creek Road & Power Road.

If staying more than one day… and the distance is rather far…. Are there some reasonably priced places to stay nearby the event? Are there others here considering staying for 2-3 days?

Perhaps if we have several Lotus drivers interested, we can meet up somewhere on the way, and make a caravan of vehicles to trek the remaining distance to this event. This sounds like it will be fun… and perhaps a bit scary!

[2006PolarBlueElise]

Originally Posted by fishguy

good write up MikeW.
You know much more about this info than i do as far as the HPDE goes with the proautosports HPDE.
I run my formula car with the club, and it can, at times, take a fair amount of time in the pits to work on/ do changes to the car before the next session. Mike, I know we were trying to talk during one of those times, and i felt badly that i couldnt give you much more of my attention. Sorry, for that.

If time allows, I would be happy to try to help anyone(lotus drivers) who wanted some help by going out on a ride along as an instructor. Also, as always for anyone at the track, i have a trailer full of all the tools needed for the day, as well as an air compressor for your tires.

Its an open offer, all you need to do is ask.

My car is the one pictured in my avatar, so its easy to find me.

I will not be there on friday as its just an open practice day for the race group, saturday is a 100 minute enduro race for the formula cars (as opposed to the usual 20 -30 minute sprint races that we run). I am still undecided(though will likely not be able to resist) if i am going to run the enduro. its a lot of wear and tear on the car and exhausting for the driver(30 minute sprint races in the car kicks my butt mentally), and since i joined the group mid-year, i am out of the points race anyway. I will also need a pit crew to refuel at least once, maybe twice, and need to work those things out as well before making the commitment to that this season.
I will be there for sure on Sunday for the entire day.
As mike has said, its well worth the experience to try, you will likely be hooked, and you will also realize how different it is being on the track as opposed to public roads. The track is so much more fun, and SO MUCH safer.
HPDE is not racing, so you dont need to feel any pressure to do anything your not comfortable with. You will learn alot about your car, and yourself, and how to control the car. This alone will make you a much better/safer driver on the streets, as well as realizing that there is a time and place for everything. The track provides a place to drive your car aggressively w/o the fear of tickets, and many of the unpredictable things that happen on public roads.
Fishguy

Thanks for additional information and the generous offers! If I manage to stay there until Sunday, I would really appreciate having you go along on a ride as an instructor. My overall goal is to learn to drive this vehicle as efficiently and safely as possible, while also maximizing it's driving potential!

[2006PolarBlueElise]

Originally Posted by cdn_alien

Yeah, I've done Tortilla Flats a few times too. It's a hoot! Another nice ride is Mingus Mtn (Hwy 89 s/o Jerome). Have you ever driven Hwy 191 south of Springerville that runs down to Thatcher? I heard that has a lot of nice curves.

I haven't driven any of those rodes. That's what I'm hoping to do: explore new interesting roads and find new destinations. It doesn't matter to me if its north, east, south, west, or any combination of these... from where I start.

It would also be great to find some other lotus owners to travel with... bring girfriends, wives, both (if you can squeeze them in) , friends, or ride solo. The Elise is now my excuse and motivation to journey during the weekends and holidays!

[MikeW]

Originally Posted by 2006PolarBlueElise

Thanks for the very thorough description! It actually sounds more reasonable and enticing than I originally thought. (Are there any walls or barriers to worry about on these tracks?) I have several full-cover motorcycle helmets… if this will do.

So where is this event held? (including address, approximate distance and time to drive there) I’d be departing from near Queen Creek Road & Power Road.

If staying more than one day… and the distance is rather far…. Are there some reasonably priced places to stay nearby the event? Are there others here considering staying for 2-3 days?

Perhaps if we have several Lotus drivers interested, we can meet up somewhere on the way, and make a caravan of vehicles to trek the remaining distance to this event. This sounds like it will be fun… and perhaps a bit scary!

A bike helmet is ok, I think a Snell 2000 should work. Wear or bring a long sleeve shirt and pants. It's supposed to be required, but hey, it's Arizona. They have a map on the Firerbird International Raceway website, should have hotels shown. I think it's exit 162 or 161 on I-10, Gila River casino is nearby. Queen Creek rd. runs just south of Firebird. It crosses I-10 at exit 164. Main track uses the dragstrip so it has a concrete wall on both sides, there are other concrete barriers. Concrete isn't a real issue on the other tracks. Check mapquest for the distance but I'd probably just drive home. Friday PM traffic is the exception, I have to leave about 2:30 pm to drive many miles north. I don't think I'd be worry about concrete the 1st day while you're being trained. Just stay in the red group thereafter (you'll have to anyway) and use some discipline for a while after that. There's just 1 bad place on the main track, you'll see where that is! I'd suggest just getting to the track on time and not getting a caravan together. You'll kill too much time. It will make for a long day!!! Students park in an area somewhat near the classroom trailer usually. Meet at the track, (we almost always come in thru gate 1, bring a hat, chair, food or pay $6.00 for a hot dog or whatever. I bring food and water, they have water anyway. If you get motion sick at all, you may want to consider meclizine. Mooching a ride or even driving can occasionally bother some people. Playing lead and follow the 1st day likely won't bother anyone. You might check with Proautosports (aka PASA) and see if they have enough students signed up for Sat and Sun. Then pick the best day for you. Sunday is the best day to watch, because of actual races and the street car time trials (they break it down into 2 events actually, 20 minutes each). Sorry I can't give any rides, the passenger seat has been replaced with a fire extinguisher.