Xtreme Xperience Review

"pedal-force" (pedal-force) 08/09/2014 at 18:00 • Filed to: xtreme xperience, cmp

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For my birthday my wife got me a package with Xtreme Xperience when they were swinging as nearby as they swing to Charlotte. I'd never been to Carolina Motorsports Park, and wasn't even sure where it was. I'd heard of Xtreme Xperience, but didn't know a whole lot. We ended up deciding that I'd drive the four cheap cars and skip the two expensive ones. The four cheap ones were a Lamborghini LP560-4, an Audi R8, a Ferrari F430, and a Nissan GT-R. I thought it would be fun to compare all four of them and get more laps. The two I skipped were a Ferrari 458 Italia and a McLaren MP4-12C.

I had a couple weeks before the actual day so I could prepare. Took some time looking through the course map, watching some videos, reading about the cars and the track. I was nervous to go and was worried I'd screw it up or not have fun, or at least not enough fun for the money. I was worried we overpaid. I read (in my preparation reading) that paying list was a bit silly and I was feeling a bit of buyer's remorse, after spending $699 on just one day, for just me.

Kershaw, SC, where Carolina Motorsports Park is located, is about an hour and a half from my house. Luckily we'd picked the 1 PM slot so we didn't have to get up at 3 AM to make the 9 AM slot. We still got up pretty early so we'd have time for breakfast and still get there plenty early. I wanted to get there about 11:30, so we wouldn't have to rush, and could take our time there. Breakfast was Bojangles (I'm a sucker for Boberry biscuits). It was very, very slow at Bojangles (Sunday morning in the South, go figure). The biscuits weren't really done and the tea was oversteeped. A disappointing breakfast and a disappointing start to the day. I wasn't in the best mood at this point. The drive to the track was on some nice back roads through some very rural areas and small towns that have seen better days. Living in a big city I sometimes forget how many people live in all the small towns (or no town at all). We got to the track run almost dry on gas (we passed the one gas station that was decent thinking there would be a good one at the track, there was not). At least we were early, like we wanted.

When we arrive at the track all the cars are lined up on pit road but there isn't much activity. I go to check in and they tell me there's a mandated quiet hour on Sundays from 11 to noon. Gotta love the South. There's also a classroom course starting right then, so I decide to go hop in that real quick. The classroom course is pretty basic stuff. They go over basic car control, separation of controls, late apexing, and the layout of the track and corners to watch for. Towards the end of the classroom course the cars have gotten re-fired and people are lapping again. It's a bit hard to pay attention with the glorious sounds outside. The instructors explain that the lead car is a V6 Mustang, nothing special except some upgraded brakes. No turbo, no supercharger, not a GT, just a basic V6 with a good driver. They say that's the only thing that will limit your speed, and most people won't catch it anyway. They tell us our cars have no limiters, and the instructors in the car with you are there to push you, not slow you down. They only ask that you don't kill them. He leaves us with the solemn reminder that at least one instructor has died at CMP, on a gray day like today, so remember to drive safe, but have fun. They also recommend taking a ride along in the lead Mustang before you start driving, to learn the track and get some tips. This is only $45 so I decide after spending $700 what's another $45, if it helps me enjoy the rest.

The ride-along is what I do first. I grab a headsock, a helmet, and get in the Mustang. The instructor driving is quick and smooth, but is certainly not holding much back. He gives good tips over the radio in my helmet and teaches me the course. We take three laps (out lap and in lap included, so it's really 2.9 laps) and head back in. By now I've completely forgotten anything about being nervous or worrying about how much we spent. Now I'm just excited and ready to drive.

I decide that first I'll try the Lamborghini LP560-4. I hear them talking as I get in, saying that the car needs brakes but it has one more run in it. I get in, squeeze the brake to get my seating position right, and notice how extremely spongy the brakes feel.

You can see them above checking the pads. I imagine this isn't how it comes from the factory and is due to the shot pads, but I don't know. We head out on track, and I leave a good buffer to the car in front of me (something I read online in reviews, and it definitely is important) and then set off. My main memory of this car (and all the cars) is the squirming under hard braking. Coming down from 100+ and the back end wants to walk around. Nothing alarming, but definitely feels weird. They certainly do push you the whole time. Every corner he's telling me to brake a little later, turn in a little later, on the gas a little earlier. It's intoxicating and intense. I'm so focused on the driving that I barely remember the specifics of the car, other than this one feels focused but ever so slightly out of control.

I left all the gearboxes in auto mode, to focus on the driving. This car always had the correct gear chosen, so it was never a problem. We get in to the pits, I shake the instructors hand, he says I did well, and I get out.

The next car I pick is the F430, the only RWD car I'll drive that day. I squeeze into the car (the only car I didn't have trouble fitting in was the GT-R) and introduce myself. The instructor is a big, friendly guy. I'd end up with him again in the GT-R later. My favorite instructor of the day. He warned me that the F430 would reward good driving and punish bad. He pushed me faster the whole time, even after I got it a little loose in the high speed kink. I'm not sure what upset it, I think a little too much gas after upsetting it on the curb, and the back end started to come around at 100+ mph. I caught it, and all he said was "nice catch" and then gave me the braking point for the next corner. I keep pushing (never 10/10, more like 9) despite having the cheapest level insurance, and really not wanting to end my birthday in a wall. I'm just having too much fun to slow down. We come back to the pits and he tells me I did well. He actually seemed a little impressed.

Next car was the Audi R8. I was the least excited about this one, and I ended up hating it even more than I thought I would. The gearbox was just atrocious. Incredibly bad. Despite driving it just as hard as the other cars, it was ALWAYS in the wrong gear on corner exit. So you put your foot down just a little, starting to put the power down on exit as you unwind the wheel, and it's in too high of a gear. So you put your foot down a little more, and a little more, and then you finally get almost straight, put your foot down, and it finally downshifts. Violently. And slowly. The whole car shudders and wants to scoot wide. It was awful. I never got comfortable. The lead instructor for the track said later that it was because I wasn't driving it hard enough. Considering I was threshold braking into each corner, I'm not sure how hard you'd have to drive to get the computer to be in the correct gear. This was one with the 6 speed. Newer years have improved apparently.

My final car was the GT-R. The fastest car around this course according to the instructors (faster even than the 458 or MP4-12C). I had the same instructor from the F430. I get in and he says "oh, the wild man is back". I ask if I'm actually that wild (I really don't feel I'm driving that fast) and he says "yeah, you're a little wild, but you're fast".

My main take away from the GT-R is the amazing computer. When I got a little deep into a corner once, he said just give it a little gas and the car will rotate. I didn't really believe him until I tried it on the next corner. Holy crap. You just point the wheel, give it a little gas, and the car rotates where you point it. It's magical. We get back to the pits and he says "you're pretty fast. You've definitely got a knack for it.". That was nice to hear. I actually outran the V6 Mustang by a good margin in the GT-R. The order going out was Mustang, 458 Italia (with instructor driving) and Lambo. I passed the Lambo and ran up the back of the 458, which was all over the Mustang (obviously), before I let off some. I think I was probably around 10 sec/lap faster, on a track that is maybe 1:50 or so. The GT-R was also OUT of gas when we got back. I got in with 13 miles showing on the gas, and the track is 2.3 miles and we did 3 laps almost flat out. You can do the math and see we didn't have much left. So, I got to back it up to the fuel truck. Oh, and don't hit the 458 behind you please.

My only experience on a track before was the inside course at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a teen driving school. My Mercedes 300TD Turbo had so much body roll that I broke the dead pedal trying to stay in the seat. Well, that and Gran Turismo.

I had a blast and I don't care at all how much it cost. It was worth every penny. I'm still excited about it, and it's a week later. It did make me want to race more. If I had the time or money (honestly, mostly time) I'd love to get into it. Even iRacing would be wonderful, but I don't have the time for even that these days. Maybe someday.

IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK > pedal-force 08/09/2014 at 18:15

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Sounds like a good time. You should do this next:
http://forums.24hoursoflemons.com/viewtopic.php?…

They're looking for a driver at the same track you were just at for a race in September. $650 and you'll get more like 4 hours of seat time instead of what, 12 or 15 laps?

pedal-force > IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK 08/09/2014 at 18:27

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I have no fire stuff. So it'd be more like $650+600. Does sound like fun, but not this time.

IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK > pedal-force 08/09/2014 at 18:35

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Fire stuff won't cost you anywhere near $600. They'll lend you helmet/shoes/gloves. You can rent a high quality 2 layer suit for $100 here: http://www.racesuitrental.com/rent_gear.html Or you can buy less comfortable suits for less than $100 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seconds-3-…
So it would be $650 + $100 +$50 for your lemons race licence which is good for a year. So $800 total, or $55 more than you spent on this for actual wheel to wheel racing.

f86sabre > pedal-force 08/09/2014 at 18:46

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I assume they let you guys run the long course that has you turn left past the pits? CMP is a fun track. So, if you were buying one of the cars which would it be?

You should come down and watch us run LeMons at CMP in September. If you have the bug now than that will make you really want to do something!

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > pedal-force 08/09/2014 at 18:50

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I drove an r8 in auto and it didn't seem too bad, but honestly the track I was on was more of a glorified kart track so I was very rarely heavy on the throttle on corner exit. Found the car overall to be more of a GT car than a track car though. Would be an excellent car to chew up miles in.

pedal-force > f86sabre 08/09/2014 at 18:51

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Yeah, full course. If money was no object, it would probably be the F430, because Ferrari. But in the real world it would be the GT-R, no doubt. It's the fastest, easiest to live with everyday, by far the cheapest. September is busy for me, so I really doubt I'll be able to make it. We'll see though.

pedal-force > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 08/09/2014 at 18:52

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What year was it? The newer box is much, much better supposedly.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > pedal-force 08/09/2014 at 18:58

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I don't know what model year it was but I'd guess it was an earlier car. Didn't have some of the refreshed details of the last few model years. It didn't have any punch coming out of the corners but it accelerated at a good rate. Like i said though I could only get on it hard on one corner exit and even that only lead onto a less than 1/4 mile straight. The other corners I didn't get a chance to speed up much in between except in the Ariel Atom I drove that day. That Ariel Atom was A LOT faster than the R8 overall though, I think due to the low weight meaning I could brake much later.

pedal-force > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 08/09/2014 at 19:03

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Yeah, the only time it would shift down for me is if I put my foot on the floor, then it hit a little switch (like a car from 1995) and triggered a downshift. Other than that it's adequate, but not blistering, because it's only at like 3k rpm.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > pedal-force 08/09/2014 at 19:08

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I did my first LeMons race there. I liked the track. I managed to get over 100 on the back straight.

Also, fire gear is a one time purchase. Good investment.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > pedal-force 08/09/2014 at 19:17

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I just prefer a manual for stuff like this or at least a good dct or auto with manual mode. It was so refreshing to get into an Atom after the R8 and have no power anything, even manual brakes. That's the perfect track car in my eyes.

pedal-force > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 08/09/2014 at 19:29

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The R8 was a 6 speed single clutch electrohydraulic I think. Same as the F430 F1 transmission. The GT-R and Lambo both had dual clutches I think. None of them are slushbox automatics. But yeah, for a track car, the Atom is where it's at. I'd love a sequential manual, clutch only for starts, no power anything. My dad had an Alfa Romeo Spider when I was younger that I drove. No power steering, it was glorious. Manual steering a light car is just awesome.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > pedal-force 08/09/2014 at 19:40

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I've never driven a sequential actually, really want to now. I want to get a weekend track car that's just manual everything and a nice comfy DD one day to have all the bases covered. I wonder what atoms go for now...

Xtreme_Xperience > pedal-force 02/19/2015 at 15:54

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What a great way to spend the weekend! This is the type of thing we recommend to all petrol-heads, who sit behind a computer, wondering what it's like to drive these cars but never do - get out and drive! There is no other way to get a better understanding of how these cars perform than on the track and at speed. Once you've done that, you can (and will) truly have something to compare them to.

In response to your concerns about the brakes. We meticulously monitor our brakes and tires, and will routinely swap brakes and tires at the track, when needed. Due to this, we have not had any issues to date.

We'd really like to have you come back and check out the new cars in the fleet: 991 GT3, Lamborghini Huracán, and the 2014 Nissan GT-R. Here's a little discount for your return - XXRICH.

Thanks driving with us,

Rich S
rich@xxspeed.com