brillomaster

well its looking increasingly like the Silverstone contract will be ended... http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/40518666 hopefully f1 will see sense and not simply race in countries where the governments are prepared to stump up the most cash (looking at you, Azerbaijan, Russia and Bahrain). they should value the big historic events, and reach a price that is reasonable. with none of this 5%escalator BS. about £15m should be fine.

cant really see a big deal, 360kgs towed isn't a great deal, probably wouldn't even have to be braked. Put a heffer in the passenger seat and you're halfway there already!

I'm hoping for a best of both worlds situation... a plug in hybrid, with a little 200bhp 2 litre turbo petrol engine powering the rear wheels, and a 100bhp electric motor driving the fronts. the electric only range needs to be at least 60 miles, that way I can drive to work and back on pure electric, but have the long distance ability of a fuel tank. the bmw 330e is closest to that spec, but the electric only range is so short its not worth the bother yet.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2017/07/04/f1-expected-to-put-brakes-on-british-grand-prix-in-the-next-week/#44d052704add not looking good for the british grand prix... despite being one of the oldest and best attended races on the calendar, its just not profitable enough to continue. something seriously wrong here in my opinion, formula 1 should give special status to historic grand prix circuits in the same way they give special status to Ferrari.

great news, really glad to see he's back behind the wheel. I wish him all the best for the future, really hope he's back competing soon.

funny you don't rate EBC pads... ran the yellows for a while on an old BMW 330ci, they were ok, but didn't last that long. Have since switched to EBC bluestuffs which have been a lot better, even with no other upgrades on my 328i the stopping power has been excellent with no hint of fade, and the fronts lasted 6 trackdays, rears lasted 4 (though that may have been down to a slightly sticking caliper) given that the fronts are £85 a set, I'm hard pressed to spend double that amount on anything that should be better. PS are you planning on running a second set of wheels with track oriented tyres on? if you are I'd recommend federal 595 RS-Rs, my rears have done about 15 trackdays now, and basically refuse to die!

i don't bother with insurance, cheapest quote I've found for a day was about £90, regardless of whether the car is worth £800 or £8000. ps be sure to post up when you book onto a trackday, I'm always looking for some friendly *strictly non competitive* competition!

my dad was the only other person to drive my zed when I had it, he was more nervous than me as he appreciated it had a decent amount of shove and was RWD - he was used to AWD. but he was fine with it, as I knew he would be. no one else besides me drove either of my road beemers - though my track beemer has had loads of drivers! though that's what its for, I really enjoy seeing what other people make of the car, only very occasionally have I thought that someone had left the braking a bit late for a corner (wendy )

just retrospectively DQ him - should have been black flagged at the time and disqualified. everyone behind him shuffles up the order, the championship points gap shrinks, but more importantly, both cars are still on track for the next race. if it was any other race series a driver would be black flagged for deliberate contact. I also think a lot of fans would be particularly miffed if Vettel wasn't present in the Austrian Grand Prix, and it wouldn't be a good idea to annoy the fans just as things were starting to get interesting.

mostly grip driving... though not adverse to having a slide when the marshals aren't looking nah cant weld the diff, my wife occasionally drives it down the road to pilates, don't think she'd appreciate a tyre skipping whilst going round corners!

dont have a zed any more! daily driver is a 330d now... but the 328i is the track slag, though its not good at drifting, still running an open diff. but its bags of fun, still puts a massive grin on my face even though i've been tracking essentially the same car for the last 4 years now.

the trusty beemer is booked in for another trackday at Rockingham in a couple of weekends time, any of the trackday regulars on here going along? I have a love hate relationship with rockingham - there are some corners I really like, and when the sun is shining I really enjoy driving it. however, rockingham has killed one beemer and made a reasonable go at killing another when I overcooked it in the wet - hoping for a safe dry track this time!

The Union Jack is flying proud outside Prodrive right now, been a long time since we took class honours at Le Mans. there will be a big champagne celebration once Darren Turner and Jonny Adam get back from a few days well deserved holiday!

I'm not sure I really use my heel for anything, its mainly left side of ball of foot does brake, right side does throttle. I think heel and toe is misleading, as it implies the pedals are aligned vertically, whereas pedals are normally side by side. I guess its kinda heel toe if the brake pedal is top hinged and the throttle is floor hinged, ie BMWs.

Following on from heel and toeing, for gawds sake don't try to left foot brake while moving slowing in traffic... you'll press the pedal too hard, then the anti stall instinct will kick in and you'll depress the clutch - except it'll still be the brake pedal, so you'll come lurching to a stop AND you'll stall, and you'll be thoroughly confused and worried you've forgotten how to drive. surprisingly, left foot braking is also easier on track, little dab on the brake with your left foot while mid corner to tuck the line in feels surprisingly natural.

PS Puma Drift Cat 5s FTW! lovely pedal feel, not too pricey, not too racy that you look like a Hamilton wannabe in daily use.

neither are good... in extreme examples, under revving might lock the driven wheels, and induce a spin akin to pulling the handbrake. over revving may cause the rear wheels to over rotate, also inducing a spin akin to a clutch kick/doing a burnout. but as Aashen says, practice makes perfect. I find it a lot easier on a track while braking at 100% effort, find it hard to brake lightly and rev match, as I struggle to keep a constant pressure on the brake pedal. a lot easier when you really stand on the brakes.

PS I feel photos need to be added to this thread, since I'm going to photograph mine to see if anyone can beat it!

do notice it has got worse the last few weeks... last weekend was going to the pistonheads sunday service, but didn't wash the car the evening before thinking it wasn't that bad. come out to the car in the morning to set off and literally THE ENTIRE BONNET is totally covered in birds**t. looks like numerous birds ate so much the simply exploded in crap across the bonnet. now I'm normally not fussed about what other people think of my car, but even I couldn't face the shame of turning up to a car meet with that much s**t on the bonnet, so cue a quick trip to the drive through, followed by a few minutes scratching at the 'dried weetabix' consistency remains. luckily managed to have a clean car for the meet, only for (I presume) another flock of birds to explode on the entire bonnet the next night too. Sigh... On the plus side, my wife pointed out I would have been livid if I HAD actually spent two hours washing my car the night before. I sincerely hope the people who rent our flat now don't mind bird poo, cos any car that parks under the tree is going to get coated in it!

I'll be there with a mate from half 8. i'll look out for a bright orange 6 series (doubt anyone will give a dirty black 3 series much attention) but yep, mainly going for free racing!

Without telling me the results, which i dont know, should i go out of my way to watch the Spanish or Monaco Grand Prix? normally they're pretty dull, but on the off chance there was any of the following... wet/changeable weather conditions good drivers starting out of position on the grid due to poor qualifying performance/ penalties any good charges through the field any decent scraps, either up front or mid pack. big crashes. If mercedes or ferrari romp away in a lights to flag victory in perfect sunshine, i wont bother watching them. problem is, if i asked google the above question i'd find out the result!

ahhh, the special forum status...

whats with everyone moving in immediately after buying a property? we've had the keys to our new place for over 5 weeks now, and we're still at least a month away from moving in... or is it just us? admittedly paying two mortgages isn't much fun but we have done a lot of decorating in that time, we're now waiting for sofas and furniture to arrive, then we might be in a position to move in!

jap import, aftermarket rear foglight switch. probably.

indeed, 45 year old Russian businessman, thought rather than do trackdays, he'd buy a Ferrari 458 and race at Monza, which I guess is fair enough... apparently he'd done a few other races, but yeah, gentleman driver - and not a good one at that. clearly needed a lot more practice laps to get to grips with both car and circuit.