Steve
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Registered: 30th Mar 02
Location: Worcestershire Drives: Defender
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quote:
Originally posted by VXR
You use your eyes at drive according to the situation at the time.
I.e If you see a loon coming up behined you driving wreckless, pull over, let them past.
Same way that you shouldn't be trying to outbrake anyone in front of you, its a track day, not a race.
Your going on track, you have to be prepared to accept that the car may break/you may have an accident. If you can't accept the risks, you don't go on a racetrack. End of the day, a new car will handle and drive better than an older one (in standard trim). Driver levels will be different, you drive accordingly.
[Edited on 06-11-2007 by VXR]
daimo you cant avoid the idiots in old shitters that have no respect, so many times iv seen idiots take 20 year old bmw shitters out soleyl to try and drift them, seen things like astra 888's nearly taken out by such stupidity
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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quote:
Originally posted by AK
new car or not... oil is oil and its a vital part of a working engine  Trackdays aren't quite the same on engine wear as 100 town miles or motorway at 3k rpm.
Not saying it wont be fine, but preventative maintenance is the better than fixing a real problem.
Dont recommend prodding the brakes a few times before corners either, will unsettle your rhythm, the car etc. If the brakes are getting worse and worse and you are getting fade dont let the red mist take over and think one more lap.
Guess its how confident you are in the car and how you can drive it. Its not prodding the brakes to apply them and upset the car, its a gental tapping to get the pressure is up and that the bite will be there when the brakes are applied. Guess its how well you know and drive the car and how confident you are in the balance and how its going to react.
As AK says though, don't let the red mist come down, its very hard not to, but u've got to remember that thing, its a track day, not a race.
I know that after driving the astra on track, i found it difficult to want to take the skitty assed, noisey, rattley, skittish corsa on track. Astra just ran perfect. I was so shocked
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Baskey
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Registered: 31st May 06
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mabee somewhere like bruntinthorpe or another air field with large run off's if it your first track day. Then you can give it some beens without having to worry about stacking it into a wall
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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quote:
Originally posted by Steve
daimo you cant avoid the idiots in old shitters that have no respect, so many times iv seen idiots take 20 year old bmw shitters out soleyl to try and drift them, seen things like astra 888's nearly taken out by such stupidity
Bad marshalling then, badly run track day. If someones drifting, stay away. Its quite easy, run through the pits, create some room, have a word with a marshall about the bad driving.
You can deal with the situations, and accidents can easily be avoided on a track day.
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Steve
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Registered: 30th Mar 02
Location: Worcestershire Drives: Defender
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this was at combe btw
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VegasPhil
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Registered: 16th Jan 05
Location: Fareham, Hants Drives: Octavia VRS
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The last Combe track day there was no drifting allowed. Cars were getting black flagged I think if they did it. They had a drifting session toward the end of the day.
Corsa 2.0 16v Vegas - Sold
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Coombe isn't the place i'd go for a first track day, and having seen many videos, its almost as bad as knockhill with regards to marshalling.
Edit, after reading the above reply, that changes things. Drifters should be seperate, its very dangerous to have track and drift at the same time. If they are starting to seperate it though, thats good news.
[Edited on 06-11-2007 by VXR]
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Dr Pepper
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Registered: 21st Sep 02
Location: oxford Drives Renault Clio RS200
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I am not going out on a track where there will be loons in shitters - if and when I do this it will be at a club day or private booking.
Ive got a fairly good idea about what the car will be like on a track - im a fairly spirited driver and ive done a couple of rally days before o I know what a car feels like at speed - I dont want to rag the car to shite- I just want to be able to push it abit closer to the limit than I can on the roads. Feels like im wasting the car a bit if I dont track it a few times.
Ive done lots of karting before so ive got a fairly good idea what its like to be on a track with other vehicles.
The chances are I will go somewhere, love it and everything will be fine but with a new car its worth looking at worse case scenarios.
I think im going to get a quote for cover, try and get some spare rims and decent tyres and then look into where I go really carefully- maybe go and spectate at a few tracks before I actually go there myself.
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AK
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Registered: 5th Jul 00
Location: Aberdeen City
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quote:
Originally posted by VXR
its almost as bad as knockhill with regards to marshalling.
classic. How do you know this? From those team gimps vids on the hot hatch rammy days?
There are different session, those ones are commonly regarded as the trackdays were any old car can go on. Changed now though and needs to be MOT'd or properly scruitineered etc
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Have to admit, as i've not actually been to knockhill, ever it is based on those skatty driving days videos where everyone is hooning it about. Im sure its not always that bad, i've seen other sessions that arn't that bad.
But maybe the tracks are coming down on this bad driving lark, so hopefully everywhere will improve.
I want to own a racetrack 
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AK
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Registered: 5th Jul 00
Location: Aberdeen City
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DrPepper - check out vids http://www.trackscotland.co.uk/media.htm
Try TouringCarSpares, RaceCarsDirect or just good olf ebay for some wheels and tyres. It takes the issue away of worrying about having road legal tyres at the end of the day.
We used to get part worn cast off's from the local garage to rip up on the 205. Saved a few quid but ultimatly you want more grip than a nearly worn out road tyre can offer.
Semi Slicks wont bugger your suspension, but they will promote oil surge (lateral G's) and highlight where your cars may be lacking... brakes, suspension. i.e it'll corner like a boat rather than running wide for example
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Toby
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Registered: 29th Nov 05
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tbh if i was you i wouldnt be putting my car on the track if its a daily drive and is as new as it is
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Why not? We did, in fact, i think it had only done about 2000 miles when we put it on track Had more damage from the road than it got on the trackday.
[Edited on 06-11-2007 by VXR]
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AK
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Registered: 5th Jul 00
Location: Aberdeen City
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Fee took the Impreza TypeR on track the evening she got it
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barter
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Registered: 27th Oct 07
Location: essex
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been to combe a few times to watch track days when been down my old mans and to be honest it all looked ok.apart from a evo smashing the barrier but you cant not go to track days worried about smashing your motor up,your there to have fun,and im not doubting you get a few idiots but there on the road as well.
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AK
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Registered: 5th Jul 00
Location: Aberdeen City
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Another thing worth noting... You dont HAVE to drive at 100% on track.
I've done many tracks where we set out intentialy taking it easy just getting used to the car or testing things out. You can go as fast as you like, or a slow as you like (as long as you areant a mobile chicane)
You go drive to a trackday, and leave a trackday still road legal and in 1 piece quite easily
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Dr Pepper
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Registered: 21st Sep 02
Location: oxford Drives Renault Clio RS200
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I dont really see the problem with putting a new car on a track -- especially one that has been designed and built with the track in mind -- its under a three year warrante so surely its better to put a new car on a track than one that isnt in warrante.
Im not going to be racing and im not going to be ragging it to shit -- I just want to put in some spirited driving in a safe and legal enviroment.
I understand the risk of putting a daily drive on the track but at the end of the day I reckon I can make the risks fairly minimal ...... thousands of people do this accross the country without problems -- I am just going to put in some serious research before I get out there.
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Yup, take a few laps to get the tyres, brakes and engine up to temperature, learn the lines, braking points, gear changes, maybe even some heel and toe. Its about having fun, not trying to prove your the quickest there.
One thing you shouldn't do is drive slow in the corners, the go flat out down the straights. Those people who have slower paced cars, but drive quicker into/out of the bends, will get very annoyed
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Andy Stocker
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Registered: 31st Aug 00
Location: Herts Drives: Porsche 911
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Only been to one and that was at Knockhill with Adam and Fee, while there were the cars wanting to go round as fast as possible, there were also the people going round not so on the limit, not pushing as hard, but still enjoying themselves and to me that was what it was all about.
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Just dont ask Andy how to get out of harnesses 
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Dr Pepper
Member
Registered: 21st Sep 02
Location: oxford Drives Renault Clio RS200
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by AK
Another thing worth noting... You dont HAVE to drive at 100% on track.
I've done many tracks where we set out intentialy taking it easy just getting used to the car or testing things out. You can go as fast as you like, or a slow as you like (as long as you areant a mobile chicane)
You go drive to a trackday, and leave a trackday still road legal and in 1 piece quite easily
Thats the way im looking at it- I dont want to go out and break lap records- I just want to push the car harder than I can on a public road - I know how good this car is at speed and I just want to push it a bit harder without the threat of potholes, speed cameras, other road users ect.
I think it wold improve my road driving no end to get the car out on a track and try a few things out.
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Andy Stocker
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Registered: 31st Aug 00
Location: Herts Drives: Porsche 911
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quote:
Originally posted by VXR
Just dont ask Andy how to get out of harnesses
I'm too fat
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Pepper, yeah, it will improve your road driving as you will have more confidence in the car and how it responds to higher paced driving. I'd advise anyone to do it, its a grea day out, you'll be driving witha smile form ear to ear all day, and be gutted when the day is done.
Andy, fat now that is comical. Its not fat, its beer dude.
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Andy Stocker
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Registered: 31st Aug 00
Location: Herts Drives: Porsche 911
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I've not drunk in ages
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Arnie
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Registered: 24th Sep 02
Location: Maidstone, Kent Drives: Seat Leon Cupra R
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I went on my first track day a few months back at Brands Hatch and loved it, hopefully going to another one in a couple of weeks.
As it was my first go on a track day I took insurance out, cost me £105 for the day. Also I use my car for work so had to make sure I was covered if anything went wrong.
Because it was my first time on track (in my own car) I paid an extra £25 for an instructor to come out with me, he explained everything about when to brake, change down and turn in etc which helped a lot. I knew a little already from a previous driving experience but that wasn't at Brands.
As for brakes and tyres, I had fitted Ferrodo DS2500 a couple of months before so they were fine, never suffered any brake fade but again as it was my first track day I wasn't pushing that hard. With tyres though, I bought 4 brand new Goodyear Eagle F1's about a month before and that was a bit of a mistake Because the depth on the tread was so deep (being new) they got very hot and melted
Last thing as well is try and go for a novice day, I went when there were full on track day E30 M3's going about, which were great to watch but I spent a lot time letting them overtake, still had a lot of fun though!
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