Here are a few shots from the gatehouse. Going to meet up with the crew at the Pahrump Golf Club for a Lunch prior to check in.
Spring Mountain Trip Live sort of
- Thread starter ABC
- Start date
I am enjoying the play by play @ABC. This thread sure is bringing back alot of memories. Glad to hear the US is taking safety seriously as per your posts. All the best and enjoy the instruction and track time. I am looking forward to more pictures and details. 
Definitely sent the right guy down for play by play, ABC all of us are glued to your updates, C8 Forum ROCKS and so does the car!I am enjoying the play by play @ABC. This thread sure is bringing back alot of memories. Glad to hear the US is taking safety seriously as per your posts. All the best and enjoy the instruction and track time. I am looking forward to more pictures and details.
gone
Power User
A request/favour to ask ABC: can you find out if they'll accept a 512GB SD card? I was told the C8 could take up to 2TB so thought a 512GB would be no problem and give me the entire time at Spring Mountain, plus about 4 or 5 days of recorded street driving. So I've already purchased it. Hopefully you're right and the 32GB max they mention in their materials is outdated and not the rule. Or maybe there's a reason for the reduced memory?
One other thing: I've now talked to a few "newly minted" C8 owners (including Zedaholic 2 days ago: NICE Accelerate Yellow coupe!) and none of them received a "GM coupon" entitling them to a reduced rate at Spring Mountain. Did you automatically get that from your dealer with the car or is that something you have to get direct from GM?
Thanks in advance for your answers.
One other thing: I've now talked to a few "newly minted" C8 owners (including Zedaholic 2 days ago: NICE Accelerate Yellow coupe!) and none of them received a "GM coupon" entitling them to a reduced rate at Spring Mountain. Did you automatically get that from your dealer with the car or is that something you have to get direct from GM?
Thanks in advance for your answers.
Adding this so that anyone reading this can easily take care of most inquiries, as it is so simple.
The COS comes highly recommended by anyone who has been there.
Lots of questions before going and many are easy answers to find.
Check out the website and then Phone Spring Mountain with the list of all your questions.
They will tell you everything you need to know. Great people there.
Dealerships have nothing to do with this in the past and some Corvette Owners are never even made aware of the program by their Dealership.
I'm sure not much will be different in this program.
All Spring Mountain needs is your VIN and Name along with intended date (availability is found online).
Spring Mountain does everything from there to validate and confirm your event and they apply for the GM subsidy directly.
Corvette Owners School
Click On The Corvette Generation You Own Below Take Advantage of Exclusive Club Spring Mountain Amenities During Your Stay
I took my larger formatted SD card with me ... no issue.
I went without the upgraded insurance when I was there
All was OK until they moved me up to be with the Z06 group.
I asked to be put back with the Rays after a couple of rounds
as I felt I was stressing my insurance-waiver strategy.
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I did receive an email as a Thank you for joining the Chevrolet Family etc. etc. and I did get told about the Spring Mountain thing. But to be fair, I had already heard all the recommendations from Corvette owners on several sites including of course this one. I called down to them long before my car was delivered. BUT they will not allow anyone to book until you have taken physical ownership of your car. You need the VIN and the Bill of Sale in order for them to validate you. GM subsidizes these events for us so they have to confirm eligibility for all in order for you to get the deal of 1,000.00. (USD) that includes breakfasts and lunches and one night accomodations in the Condos. Mine is lovely. reminds me of our place in Florida. These are all owned by others and they have garages underneath. I have a balcony that looks directly out onto the track.
So my advice is that you should all contact them directly. It is an independent program and other than the new owner discount, SMR is its own business. I shall inquire about the SD card but I suspect this is in the owners manual somewhere. I have a 256 gig installed in my car and it worked just fine, no formatting issues or limits. Today will be our first day events.
The fleet parking lot. They have Cadillacs, C7's and C8's, and even Camaro's, There is a class of C7 owners still running here the same week as we are.
Our group is great. Wonderful people spanning all across the US and ages. I am not the youngest but I am also not the oldest. One of the characters in the group is a gentlemen named Gene and his wife Jo. He is on his 27th Corvette that started with the purchase of a brand new 72' in 72. They are from Arizona and drove here. LBR with glass roof. Absolutely hands down this is the best Corvette ever made according to Gene. He loved all of them and he has been here to this Spring Mountain Course many times. We all hung out (6' apart of course) down by the pool here. The amenities are quite extensive. There is a pool ( feels like they actually chill it) a hot tub. A well equipped gym with lots of equipment. A large bar area with pool table etc. I will not load up all the pictures here. I will wait to create a media folder that is public. I just have not figured out the uploading of photos. I think all my photos in media are all in my own private folders. Need to chat with Nik to get the tutorial.
This is Gene and his wife Jo. They buy their cars from a dealership in California, they pick them up at the museum in Bowling Green and live in Arizona.
This is Gene and his wife Jo. They buy their cars from a dealership in California, they pick them up at the museum in Bowling Green and live in Arizona.
in talking to the others around the pool, the insurance is $200.00 USD and then caps your exposure to a 2,000 deductible. Sounds steep now, but if you run off the road, the repairs may exceed 2K quickly. I think I will take the insurance. It's just a Just in case thing.
When we were there we took the insurance. I think it was only $100 on the C7 and only one person went "off road" but he didn't even do any damage. I tend to be aggressive + Smart as I'm not wealthy and can't afford too many repairs. I worked hard but smart and try to drive the same way.
Day 1 Training ReCap
So the day started early. Breakfast starts at 6:45 and it is a served buffet by staff all wearing PPE. Tables are clearly spaced out for you to use at your own comfort level.
Our two days here had our group of 12 in the C8 Program and there was also another group here for C7 training as they're still completing delivery of the 2019 program. COVID shutdown has caused delay's in every ones business.
Our group had to complete the waiver signing and check-in. Purchase of insurance if you want. ( More on this decision later) and of course the shirt to take home.
The class starts at 8:00 am with an introduction from Rick Malone who is the operational head down here. Ron Fellows actually lives in Mississauga and was not down this week. But does come down frequently.
Rick took us through a run down of the events and then the class was divided into to flights of 6 students to make the exercises more time efficient and split between two instructor groups. We then were fitted for our helmets and Simpson hybrid back/neck restraints. Glad I did not bring my own helmet down as I would not have been able to connect to the restraint system anyways.
We are allowed to select our cars and we keep those for the duration of the training.
Day 1 morning program consisted of two exercises in the cars. 1 - ABS Braking and 2 - The Serpentine.
The object of the exercise with the ABS is to teach the driver to look ahead far enough to improve our reaction times to road condition and course layout. Also to become comfortable with the cars braking abilities.
The Serpentine was to show the drivers how to look out the side windows to look for the cones to indicate the Apex of the turns and use our peripheral vision. This was done with full views and then with a screen to prevent looking out the windshield.
Lunch on Day 1 was at 11:00 am. Again multiple groups have to share the facilities so I am guessing schedules have been adjusted for COVID.
Food is very good here.
We did some additional exercises then had some track time. The end of the day had us drive in the passenger seat of our cars with a skilled driver out on the track. The course was 1.5 miles with a good variety of turns, straightaways, and a dip. As a novice to this I was a little intimidated and as such my track times were not what I wanted. But to sit shotgun to a pro was a great experience to see them push the car hard. They all agree that this car is amazing and it is. Today will give us a chance to apply more of the training themes we learned yesterday. So far a great experience.
Oh and they give you their own 16 gig SD card with the track layout already setup. So not sure why that was a big secret. I guess they may be doing it only now as a COVID bonus. Not sure but I do have PDR vids and will share them when I have my 14 days to kill starting Thursday. Haha.
Our group did the winery here last night for dinner. The food was very good. My steak was a fillet mignon and it was so tender. The lack of wine was not a real issue and I am sure they are now working on solving the issue. Lesson Learned, you can't fight City Hall.
Our Lead Instructor's Ride
My ride for the training is this Torch Red. with the High Wing. 3LT. Murray would approve. All cars are Z51's
So the day started early. Breakfast starts at 6:45 and it is a served buffet by staff all wearing PPE. Tables are clearly spaced out for you to use at your own comfort level.
Our two days here had our group of 12 in the C8 Program and there was also another group here for C7 training as they're still completing delivery of the 2019 program. COVID shutdown has caused delay's in every ones business.
Our group had to complete the waiver signing and check-in. Purchase of insurance if you want. ( More on this decision later) and of course the shirt to take home.
The class starts at 8:00 am with an introduction from Rick Malone who is the operational head down here. Ron Fellows actually lives in Mississauga and was not down this week. But does come down frequently.
Rick took us through a run down of the events and then the class was divided into to flights of 6 students to make the exercises more time efficient and split between two instructor groups. We then were fitted for our helmets and Simpson hybrid back/neck restraints. Glad I did not bring my own helmet down as I would not have been able to connect to the restraint system anyways.
We are allowed to select our cars and we keep those for the duration of the training.
Day 1 morning program consisted of two exercises in the cars. 1 - ABS Braking and 2 - The Serpentine.
The object of the exercise with the ABS is to teach the driver to look ahead far enough to improve our reaction times to road condition and course layout. Also to become comfortable with the cars braking abilities.
The Serpentine was to show the drivers how to look out the side windows to look for the cones to indicate the Apex of the turns and use our peripheral vision. This was done with full views and then with a screen to prevent looking out the windshield.
Lunch on Day 1 was at 11:00 am. Again multiple groups have to share the facilities so I am guessing schedules have been adjusted for COVID.
Food is very good here.
We did some additional exercises then had some track time. The end of the day had us drive in the passenger seat of our cars with a skilled driver out on the track. The course was 1.5 miles with a good variety of turns, straightaways, and a dip. As a novice to this I was a little intimidated and as such my track times were not what I wanted. But to sit shotgun to a pro was a great experience to see them push the car hard. They all agree that this car is amazing and it is. Today will give us a chance to apply more of the training themes we learned yesterday. So far a great experience.
Oh and they give you their own 16 gig SD card with the track layout already setup. So not sure why that was a big secret. I guess they may be doing it only now as a COVID bonus. Not sure but I do have PDR vids and will share them when I have my 14 days to kill starting Thursday. Haha.
Our group did the winery here last night for dinner. The food was very good. My steak was a fillet mignon and it was so tender. The lack of wine was not a real issue and I am sure they are now working on solving the issue. Lesson Learned, you can't fight City Hall.
Our Lead Instructor's Ride
My ride for the training is this Torch Red. with the High Wing. 3LT. Murray would approve. All cars are Z51's
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I can ask Rick this morning about that for you. Lots of merchandise available. I have not had time to fully shop but wanted to get the shirt for sure.
Nice to read about the experience. It sure brings everything back from my April 1'ish 2017 COS
and also the return I had for my Wife's COS April 1'ish 2018 along with @ddgermann.
Included a similar Dinner enjoyment as well at the Winery.
Looking forward to reminiscing Day 2 with your continued report/review.
Hello to Rick. I enjoyed a lot of chat with him the weekend before as he prepped for the ZR1 reveal at Spring Mountain
while we were on the 2018 trip. If the Shop is open (hopeful with the covid thing) take a photo inside so that the C8 fellas
can see that they will need to make sure there is plenty of room on their credit card for shopping the goodies.
BTW ... unrelated side note ...
Buy your Pilotis in Canada and not in the USA before you head down.
I remember seeing them priced the same down there except the
exchange rate makes the a much better purchase in Canada.
Cheers! Have Fun
Yes the Piloti shoes are cheaper directly from their Canadian site. Much better deal than here and yes the store is open and yes can easily spend lots. I bought just the one signature golf shirt. $60. USD.
This water bottle was one of the best "take-aways" from COS.
An awesome water bottle that does not pop out of the
C7 console cup holder while on the track.
I still use it on all my Mountain Journeys.
Was awesome on the Coquihalla to West Fest last year
(not one drop of wine was spilled ... lol)
So many little things from the COS makes the COS the Best
Are these the same at your C8 COS ?
Do they work just as well when in the C8 cup holder while on the track?
An awesome water bottle that does not pop out of the
C7 console cup holder while on the track.
I still use it on all my Mountain Journeys.
Was awesome on the Coquihalla to West Fest last year
(not one drop of wine was spilled ... lol)
So many little things from the COS makes the COS the Best
Are these the same at your C8 COS ?
Do they work just as well when in the C8 cup holder while on the track?
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Have not seen them. No drinks in the cars allowed. Just the radio system so the instructors can talk to us.
