8 Hours at PEC Atlanta Experience - A Review

[Jhenson29]

Not exactly Taycan related, but maybe of interest.

I went to PEC Atlanta today, partially for my birthday (38 tomorrow) and partially to test drive cars since they’re MIA at the dealership.

Plans:
I had a 9am session in a 718 Cayman S and a 2pm session in a 911 Carrera S. I intentionally spaced them out because I was worried about back-to-back being too much, and I think that was the right choice. We also had lunch plans in the 356 restaurant.

I was originally just going to make a short trip by myself, but somehow it ended turning into a family trip with the wife and kid.

Overview:
It was a really great experience. Everybody was super nice and really helpful. Especially my instructor, who was the same for both sessions. Driving was super fun. And the different modules create really interesting experiences.

I’m not a track driver so this was the first time I did anything like this. My biggest take away is that I’m a terrible driver. ? Which basically just confirmed what my wife already knew. ?‍

Really, I have a new respect for anyone who tracks their car. It’s not nearly as easy as it looks.?‍

Here are the things I was bad at:

1. Handling circuit
2. Kick plate
3. Low-friction circle
4. Low-friction handling circuit
5. High-speed dynamics

Here are things I was okay at:

1. Parking between the lines at the end ?

FWIW, I also didn’t trip on any stairs.

Driving:
-Handling circuit-
I don’t feel like I ever got the feel for this. As we went along, I think the only thing I got better at was understanding how bad I was. I have a new unconditional respect for people who track their cars. I didn’t crash or anything like that. I just didn’t feel like I was getting the turns correctly. Maybe next time. I could feel a few times when I did it right, or at least more right because the next turn would be easier. Just don’t ask me to do it on command.

-High-speed dynamics-
This had two parts. Launch control/braking and slalom.

Launch control/braking I could do. Mash the gas in a straight line? Got it. Press the brakes? Got it.

Slalom was hit and miss. If I could hit a rhythm, I was fine. But that was a big if. At least I didn’t hit any cones. ?

-Kick plate-
I thought I’d do better at this. I live in St. Louis and deal with snow/ice every year. But the kick plate is mean…

I did better in a more relaxed driving position. If I stayed around 20 or 21 mph, it wasn’t too bad. And I managed to keep control at 27mph once ?; but in general, I spun out more often than not.

-Low-Friction handling circuit-
I felt like I did much better here than the regular handling course. We just kind of slid through all of the corners. But I have plenty of room for improvement. Could have been smoother.

-Low-Friction Circle-
This one was noticeably easier in the 911 vs the 718. I felt like I was guessing with the 718 while I could feel what the 911 wanted. Getting the 911 to break loose was just much easier. I was even able to drift some semi-circles (but that’s all the further I could hold it).

-Off-road course-
They don’t let the 911 on the off-road course. I asked. ?‍?

-Parking between the lines at the end-
Nailed it. ??

Other:
We had lunch in the restaurant, which was good. It was fun to watch other people do the course while we ate (the kick plate claimed many cars…). They also have proper coffee so I got two double espressos.

We went through the museum and talked to one of the people working there for a long time about Porsches. Especially my dilemma about what car to get.

My instructor let me take a look at and start up a Boxster Spyder, which is also on my short list.

He also took me to see more cars and colors. I got to see Python Green and Lava Orange on cars in person, which I hadn’t been able to do before (both colors I’m interested in).

Final thoughts:
I highly recommend it! Especially if you haven’t driven in that type of environment before. The instructors make it easy and do a great job coaching you through everything. Even if you’re terrible like me.

I’m sure I’ll be back and I’m considering delivery there, if I can figure out the PPF.

Me, wife, and perpetually angry 7-yo.

Just me.

 

[dwaltchack]

Thanks so much for all that info. Super interesting.

 

[charliemathilde]

Everybody is bad at these exercises the first time. Your first day isn’t nearly enough time to do more than begin to familiarize yourself with the car and the weight transfer behavior.

Most of the instructors are professional race drivers. Even if you were an exceptional amateur, they’d still find ways to push you.

I’ve had a lot of fun at PEC LA. Everyone was really helpful and welcoming.

 

[feye]

...and perpetually angry 7-yo.

Wow, exactly like mine.

 

[Viswaa]

Not exactly Taycan related, but maybe of interest.

I went to PEC Atlanta today, partially for my birthday (38 tomorrow) and partially to test drive cars since they’re MIA at the dealership.

Plans:
I had a 9am session in a 718 Cayman S and a 2pm session in a 911 Carrera S. I intentionally spaced them out because I was worried about back-to-back being too much, and I think that was the right choice. We also had lunch plans in the 356 restaurant.

I was originally just going to make a short trip by myself, but somehow it ended turning into a family trip with the wife and kid.

Overview:
It was a really great experience. Everybody was super nice and really helpful. Especially my instructor, who was the same for both sessions. Driving was super fun. And the different modules create really interesting experiences.

I’m not a track driver so this was the first time I did anything like this. My biggest take away is that I’m a terrible driver. ? Which basically just confirmed what my wife already knew. ?‍

Really, I have a new respect for anyone who tracks their car. It’s not nearly as easy as it looks.?‍

Here are the things I was bad at:

1. Handling circuit
2. Kick plate
3. Low-friction circle
4. Low-friction handling circuit
5. High-speed dynamics

Here are things I was okay at:

1. Parking between the lines at the end ?

FWIW, I also didn’t trip on any stairs.

Driving:
-Handling circuit-
I don’t feel like I ever got the feel for this. As we went along, I think the only thing I got better at was understanding how bad I was. I have a new unconditional respect for people who track their cars. I didn’t crash or anything like that. I just didn’t feel like I was getting the turns correctly. Maybe next time. I could feel a few times when I did it right, or at least more right because the next turn would be easier. Just don’t ask me to do it on command.

-High-speed dynamics-
This had two parts. Launch control/braking and slalom.

Launch control/braking I could do. Mash the gas in a straight line? Got it. Press the brakes? Got it.

Slalom was hit and miss. If I could hit a rhythm, I was fine. But that was a big if. At least I didn’t hit any cones. ?

-Kick plate-
I thought I’d do better at this. I live in St. Louis and deal with snow/ice every year. But the kick plate is mean…

I did better in a more relaxed driving position. If I stayed around 20 or 21 mph, it wasn’t too bad. And I managed to keep control at 27mph once ?; but in general, I spun out more often than not.

-Low-Friction handling circuit-
I felt like I did much better here than the regular handling course. We just kind of slid through all of the corners. But I have plenty of room for improvement. Could have been smoother.

-Low-Friction Circle-
This one was noticeably easier in the 911 vs the 718. I felt like I was guessing with the 718 while I could feel what the 911 wanted. Getting the 911 to break loose was just much easier. I was even able to drift some semi-circles (but that’s all the further I could hold it).

-Off-road course-
They don’t let the 911 on the off-road course. I asked. ?‍?

-Parking between the lines at the end-
Nailed it. ??

Other:
We had lunch in the restaurant, which was good. It was fun to watch other people do the course while we ate (the kick plate claimed many cars…). They also have proper coffee so I got two double espressos.

We went through the museum and talked to one of the people working there for a long time about Porsches. Especially my dilemma about what car to get.

My instructor let me take a look at and start up a Boxster Spyder, which is also on my short list.

He also took me to see more cars and colors. I got to see Python Green and Lava Orange on cars in person, which I hadn’t been able to do before (both colors I’m interested in).

Final thoughts:
I highly recommend it! Especially if you haven’t driven in that type of environment before. The instructors make it easy and do a great job coaching you through everything. Even if you’re terrible like me.

I’m sure I’ll be back and I’m considering delivery there, if I can figure out the PPF.

Me, wife, and perpetually angry 7-yo.

Just me.

Great write up. Back in July I spent 90mins driving/tracking 4S at PECLA. It was great experience and people over there were reallly nice. Surprisingly I was good at the track except drifting. I credit the coach. No matter how much I tried couldn’t drift. My wife was kind enough to let me enjoy this time alone as I couldn’t imagine managing a 3 and 7 yr old at the center. Now can’t wait for my 4CT to be delivered,expecting in Dec.

 

[kort]

the low friction skid circle actually turned me green from motion sickness

 

[Jhenson29]

Most of the instructors are professional race drivers. Even if you were an exceptional amateur, they’d still find ways to push you.

Yeah, mine was. I talked to him for a while about that and racing in general before and after my second session. Lots of helpful information.

Everyone was really helpful and welcoming.

Welcoming is an awesome way to describe.

No one I talked to seemed like they were just workers there for a job. Everyone seemed to really love being there, loved Porsche, and loved the fact that you were there too.

 

[Jhenson29]

I credit the coach.

I credit my coach for any of my successes as well. He did a great job of stepping me through things and trying something different if it wasn’t working.

My wife was kind enough to let me enjoy this time alone as I couldn’t imagine managing a 3 and 7 yr old at the center.

In general, if you have a choice, without the younger ones is easier than with. That was my original plan. ?

But, everyone was really nice to my kid there. And he did fairly well for the most part. He just hates getting his picture taken and always makes an angry face for it.

And my wife and kid left after lunch to do something else (all day would have been too long, for sure).

 

[ampitup]

As a member of the Porsche Club of America I had the opportunity to visit PEC Atlanta before it actually opened to the public. Spent the entire day and got to drive a Cayman S, Boxster S, 911 TurboS, Panamera and Cayenne off road. The launch control on the 911 Turbo S was amazing. All of that plus a tour of the facility and lunch was on Porsche. Its a wonderful facility and I hight recommend it to everyone.

 

[r553]

You might also like the Porsche Track Experience in Birmingham AL.

 

[Jhenson29]

You might also like the Porsche Track Experience in Birmingham AL.

Yeah, I though about doing the 2-day introductory course. But I thought PEC would be a good place to start, especially since part of this was to compare the cars. I’ll review it again next year.

Thanks!

 

[dwaltchack]

Yeah, I though about doing the 2-day introductory course. But I thought PEC would be a good place to start, especially since part of this was to compare the cars. I’ll review it again next year.

Thanks!

When you come to BHM, let me know I'll come by and say hi!

 

[XLR82XS]

Nice write-up! Did you eat at 356? I have reservations there this Saturday. I look forward to the visit.

 

[Jhenson29]

Nice write-up! Did you eat at 356? I have reservations there this Saturday. I look forward to the visit.

Yes we did. Food was good, but not enough to make it a destination restaurant. I.e., I probably wouldn’t go if it was just a restaurant on the street. I don’t want to undersell it either. For sure worth eating at if you’re there.

The view really adds to it though. We ate at 11:30 and got window seats for the track and just watched people spin out on the kick plate. They also had some coaches taking a pair of 718 Spyders around the track by themselves which was fun to watch.

By the time we left the restaurant. around 12:45, there were enough people that not everyone was getting nice window seats; that would be less fun.

And as I mentioned earlier, they have decent espresso, if you like that. I’m a big coffee drinker, so I enjoyed this. Helped perk me up for the afternoon session. ?

 

[XLR82XS]

Yes we did. Food was good, but not enough to make it a destination restaurant. I.e., I probably wouldn’t go if it was just a restaurant on the street. I don’t want to undersell it either. For sure worth eating at if you’re there.

The view really adds to it though. We ate at 11:30 and got window seats for the track and just watched people spin out on the kick plate. They also had some coaches taking a pair of 718 Spyders around the track by themselves which was fun to watch.

By the time we left the restaurant. around 12:45, there were enough people that not everyone was getting nice window seats; that would be less fun.

And as I mentioned earlier, they have decent espresso, if you like that. I’m a big coffee drinker, so I enjoyed this. Helped perk me up for the afternoon session. ?

We have an 11:45 reservation at 356. We'll be dining at the hotel as well and a sushi restaurant in the city. I'm a big coffee consumer as well and exclusively drink espresso - I look forward to their offerings.

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