this is a valid tech concern seeing as how i'm looking for a school to learn more technical stuff....

I'll be graduating from a decent college this year with a degree in business. I have a coulple options, get a job in an office like my friends ($40000-50+) and hate every minute of my life or i could persue a career in the automotive performance area. Having a degree in business, plus the certifications from the technical schools seems like it would be a good combo for getting hired on at some of the bigger performances shops and then eventually opening my own shop.

So who can give me some names or links of performance, hotrod, body or other types of schools in the country. I know there are some in texas and maybe colorado....

can anyone help?

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1986 Trans Am
305 TPI
"If it's not one thing, it's another!"
http://www2.hanover.edu/hierlmeier

 

86,

Having owned my '86 TPI Trans Am for more than a few years leads me to believe trying to get performance out of that such ownership experience should be education enough to steer you away from such a venture.

I all seriousness, there are several technical schools in every state in the Union. Given today's performance market and the direction performance vehicles are heading, I would advise that a strong electronics background should be a major part of any such education. There are many theories pertaining to the mechanics of making horsepower and torque with a piston engine. They all rely heavily upon electronic controls to manage fuel and spark. Soon, the controls that manage valve events and timing will become more popular, as well as those that change the shape/design of the intake passages during engine operation. There are already several vehicles using dual-range camshafts and at least one with a "modulated" intake manifold. These eyetems are destined to become more prevalent and require sophisticated controls to manage them.

It may seem an unusual route to automotive performance, but right around the corner of the lake in Waukegan, IL is the headquaters for OMC. They design and build relatively high performance piston engines. A bit farther in the same direction from you is Kiekhaefer/Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac, WI. They build even higher performance engines (they were the builder-of-choice for the Corvette ZR1 345CI engine). Either or both of these organizations will likely have engineers that would have a fairly good idea of what course of study may be best for your goals. They may even have intern programs for engineering students. I know they have scholarships.

------------------
Later,
Vader
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"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

Chaffy College in Ranchocucamonga, CA has a very good Highperformance program as well as a good genaral program. If you want more information just E-mail me.

 

Just one I found out about. Not affiliated in any way.....
http://www.nc.edu/

I'm actually thinking of applying there for the Winter 2001...

[This message has been edited by Brent (edited October 19, 2000).]

 

You might try Wyoming Technical Institute. They always sponsor Horsepower Television and there commercials look pretty cool.

 

WyoTech is supposed to be one of the top schools know of lots of guys that go through that program and get snatched up quickly and you can do more than just the engine portion of the program they do everything from the ground up, inside out.

P.S. not just saying this cause Im in Wyoming either

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'87 Monte Carlo SS,with '89 IROC 350,700 trans, blew up 3.73 posi stuck with crappy 2.73's neeed gears! hooker headers, flow's 2 1/2" exhaust true dualls

 

while we're on this topic, anyone know of anyplace close to the NJ and/or tri-state area that is a good auto-tech school?

 

thanks for the replies

anyone else have any names, actually i'm just getting this to the top since it looks like some other people are interested too....

------------------
1986 Trans Am
305 TPI
"If it's not one thing, it's another!"
http://www2.hanover.edu/hierlmeier

 

Im up at wyotech and its a awsome school they teach you the in and outs of eveything i came from ny and it was a longggg trip and kind of a culture shock its funny that theres 2 other new yorkers in my class that live in my area that i neve knew id deffinatly come here still if i knew how it was here allso evey employer that comes over to interview seems to think its one of the best schools aswell

 

here is a couple,
UTI in Chicago and Lincoln Tech. Also Northwestern in Ohio

 

my frends frend goes to uti in chicogo and he likes it its a good school aswell just the hotrod /streetrod programs arent nearly as good as they are here allso this is just my experiance the recruters from uti that called me where full of alot of bull especially when they talk about the coustom tranning prgrams liek bmw jag ect.. i talked to the guy that recruts for them and he said he takes the most students out of all the schools from wyotech. if you want info let me know id happy to tell you the goods and bads of it

 

Please tell me the goods and bads about it, im planning on attending there next year. LEt me know thanks


IROCZMAN380

 

I have something to add if anyone ever does a search for this... I just watched another one of those UTI informercials, not to drag up an old thead or anything.

I went to UTI in Glendale Heights, IL from August 2002 to April 2003. I was supremely disappointed with almost every aspect of the school.

First of all, it's insanely priced-- almost $20,000 for just the ~48 week automotive program and upwards of $25,000 for auto/diesel. That's on par with some of the most exclusive universities in the country.

Courses start every three weeks and are broken into 'phases.' Most of the phases are three weeks long.

Why was I disappointed? Where do I start? Well, good instructors are few and far between. Most of the time they up there reading slideshows at you for 5 hours, basically talking at you instead of teaching you anything. Most of the instructors I had seemed determined to fail you instead of teaching you-- like it was a competition. And many of them were very competitive to the point of confrontation if you dared to question anything they're spewing at you. They just seemed to be above teaching at a tech school or just had some chip on their shoulders and were intent on taking it out on the students.

Second, the tools and training aids are always either missing, stolen, broken, tampered with, or all of the above. The clips (half cars) you work on in certain phases will frustrate you to no end, unless you find a working one.

The class sizes are simply too big. Some phases I had to sit at tables made for 3 people, yet having to cram 5 people at the table. Keep in mind you have to lug around huge binders and two pretty big text books everyday, on top of a digital multimeter, and safety glasses. This goes back to the instructors talking at you and not getting personal instruction if needed.

The school is run like a combination of pre-school and prison. Your shirt must be tucked in at all times, the hat rules got changed every phase, piercings, hair, etc. I support and understand the need for a standardized dress code, but the enforcement of it bordered on the gestapo. Most of my instructors did talk down to you like you're some snot-nosed spoiled brat. I was 25-26 when I went with three college degrees, but still look like I'm fresh outta HS.

The testing procedures were comical. Picture a boring/droning instructor talking in your general direction for 5-6 hours and trying to stay awake. (I took the morning classes 6:45 - 1:15 or 7:00 - 1:30 if I remember right). Then being tested on it the next day after lunch after the first half of the day you had different stuff crammed into your head. Then actually going to lab to work with what you got tested on already. Remember though, most the tools and lab aids are broken or missing. Basically, it's rapid-fire cramming and they test you on your memory skills.

The employment center... geez where to start? If you aren't interested in a manufacturer's program (like me), they act like you're a mad leper. They must make a commission on every recruit they get or something.

I have to note for those planning on attending UTI in IL that a couple instructors were very good. Tony Blum went above and beyond to help the group that I hung out with, he's a class act. If all the instructors were half as good as him, I would have no complaints at all.

All in all, if UTI cost me half of what it did I'd still consider it a rip-off. I withdrew from the school with 7 phases left and just couldn't take it anymore. I cut my losses and ended up owing $11,000. I left the school still being reletively clueless about cars. I had perfect attendance and a perfect grade average, so I didn't slack off and blame it on the school/teachers.

If you are interested in going into a dealer service shop, then I'd have to say it might be worth it because you get all the manufacturer's training for free after you complete the basic auto or auto/diesel program. ONLY if you agree to the possibility of relocating and working at that dealer for at least 6 months. I was only interested in the Hot-Rod University part of it but I couldn't take anymore and dropped out before I got that far. I heard varying reports regarding Hot Rod U-- some say it was disappointing, some say the cars were beat to crap, some really liked it.

All in all, it wasn't ideal for me. Many people have liked it, I suppose. This was just my experience... I did make a good friend through mutal love of thirdgens, one of which is on this board. Then promptly lost contact with because of my withdrawl from the school. Oh well, it's my loss...

Anyway, enough rambling. Hope this helps someone.

 

I just graduated from the uti in Glendale Heights and while everything may not be perfect, its really a pretty good school. You only get what you put into it thou. If a clip(half car fwd) is broken then you can either bitch about it, or fix it. You can learn alot more fixing something that is broke than toying with something that already works. I mean seriously how many times is someone going to come into a shop with a car that is in perfect working order. Of all the teachers i had there i would only consider one bad and that just because he had a heavy accent and i couldnt really understand what he was saying so i had to work a little harder that phase to learn what i had to learn. Tools were also always around. 10 scanners for 26 kids that work in groups of 3 max sounds good to me.

Back to your original question about performance classes. The performance section of the school is only 9 weeks out of the almost year of training but youll need most of it if you want to mess with the electronics. It was a good set of classes that taught alot about how to get max power out of just about any engine. We were actually able to pull 400+hp and torque(rear wheels) out of a 350 with only a 100 shot(the motor had stock heads). So id say i learned a little something about performance.

P.S. - I actually got into the FREE Audi training program and yeah i might have to relocate(cant wait to move away from home anyway) and you have to work at a dealer for 6 months but if i stay at that dealership for about 3 years my total out of pocket to uti will be the large sum of $0. Completly free schooling, a job for three years, and carear sounds good to me.

 

Yeah, our group was always getting extra credit for fixing broken clips. I agree that cars won't be going to shops if they don't have something wrong with them. But when you go into a lab session with the intent to learn certain things to increase your knowledge in something you need to know to get a passing grade in the phase, and you can't do the lab exercises because the tools and equipment are broken or missing, then it is frustrating. You're studying a certain thing in a phase and trying to learn about it, not troubleshoot something that has nothing to do the phase most of the time.

Being a graduate, you would know as well as anyone that you only had a certain amount of time to complete a lab. And lab time was as good as gold in some phases. 4, 5, 26 come to mind.

Our group would gladly work on broken clips after we were done with our labs.

I'm glad it worked out for you, honestly. My problem was I never went into UTI with the intent of going into a manufacturer's program (which supposedly wasn't a big deal, according to the school), and didn't get what I wanted out of it. Bottom line is, it could and should be much better than it was.

I agree, the FREE training you get from the manufacturer's programs is awesome if you're interested- as I originally posted.

edit: Again, I had perfect attendance and a perfect GPA, yet I felt like I was learning absolutely nothing.

 

I currently attend the University of Northwestern Ohio, and will graduate with an associates in High performance technologies. Its a great school, I am learning a ton. Plenty of hands on!!

You sound like me, I went to a business college for a few years, but I didnt see myself in an office all day. It would be very easy for you to get an assosiates from here because all your business credits would transfer. All you would need to do it go straight through the automotive and high performance classes. You have the boring part done, like me

We have 2 engine dynos, 2 superflow benches(flow heads), a full machine shop. You can have roll cage installed in your car for ~$70(cost of materials). You can build your own engine in your custom machining class. The school owns a race track, a few of my friends just went to Daytona speedway, they take some students to SEMA in Las Vegas. Seriously check it out. Its in Lima, OH

http://www.unoh.edu/academics/colleg...?curriculum=35

It not insanely priced either. You have 1 class for 6 weeks for $1100. You goto school either Mon-Thu 7:30am-12:30pm, or 1:00pm-6:00pm, or 6:30pm-11:30pm......OR Mon-Wed 12:00AM-6:30 or 7am, cant remember exactly. Monday 12am is basically Sunday night at midnight. I think of it as Sun-Tues night.

 

sweets10, you may have just possibly changed my future. that school looks awesome, and even though the curriculum is pretty long, it looks like it'd be a lot of fun. it said it was a 120 week program. with breaks and everything, how many years is that?

 

It is pretty long, but well worth it. 120 weeks doesnt include breaks. There are 9 sessions a year, 6 weeks each. After 3 sessions you are able to take 2 classes at once if you so choose. Thats 10 hrs of school a day- 4 days a week.

Ive been through Auto A/C, Manual trannys, and Automatic trannies so far. Its extremely fun. In manuals you have to completely tear down the T-5 aobut 4 times. In autos I had to tear the 700r4 apart at least 4 times. I recharged my A/C. Put a trans in a mercury mistuque. Changed a clutch on a toyota truck. Changed A/C compressors on a dakota 5.9L, pressure checked my trans, tore down and set up Gm 12bolts, 10 bolts, and ford 9" rear ends and all other kinds of stuff..its a blast. I look forward to school everyday

EDIT: oh yeah, I forgot to add that they keep classes small, a strict limit of 20 per class, so its really nice

 

nice. man that sounds like so much fun but i dunno if i want to get in the industry. it appears to be you either make it big or you go out of business.

 

That does sound like a great program. I only chose UTI because it's local for me-- and their supposed reputation. Besides, I can't go out of state for a program.

WyoTech is supposed to be awesome too, but it's in Wyoming... Waubonsee CC has an auto body program in the Chicago area that I checked out too. Hopefully, more and more custom and hi-performance themed schools will pop up. I was never intersted in being a general technician/mechanic... I just don't want to get burned again like I did at UTI... When I spend that kind of money, am I wrong to set my expectations proportionately?

Until then, I can only hope to find apprentice jobs at speed shops or restoration shops. Haven't had any luck yet. Gotta start somewhere though. That, or go back to computers- which isn't working out either...

Anyway, good luck!

 

Is this for legal reasons? If not, your limiting your options a lot!

 

Lol, no... Call it marriage reasons.

 

i think somebody's whipped j/k

 

Nice... I can't/don't want to pick up and leave for a year.

And yes, I am whipped. ...:hail: She pays the bills though.

I did send for some info from WyoTech a few minutes ago though. We'll see what they have to offer. www.wyotech.com

 

Do what I did, get married and move the next week, to goto school.....again..lol

 

Hey guys im 19 years old and have been attending a local university(lewis) for 1 year now. Held a solid 3.4 gpa in an accounting major. The Schooling is just so BORING! i love working on cars, though i have very little experience. Im looking into Lincoln Tech rihgt now. Was wondering what u guys thought of their schooling. I dont want to go their for 2-4 years and come out onl making 20k a year. I want to be into more high performance engine/transmission building. I dont want to be hanging exhaust my whole life though. Anyone have any better suggestions and what i can look forward to in this line of work.

 

Odds are that you wont go right out of school into a performance shop. Even if you go to a school that specializes in performance you probably wont get hooked up with a race team or shop right away.

Theres always the posibility of coming out of school and making 20k a year but theres also the posibility of over 100k your first year. Depends on how much you want to work and how good you are.

Theres actually alot of different things you can do in the field besides turn wrenchs. Theres the service writer(guy who writes stuff down when you drop off the car). Service manager(more of a white collar type job but usually an ex tech because they have to work on cars sometimes). Tech line guys are the ones the mechanics call when they get stumped.