martinmac Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Will bring the box brownie, just depends if I have done all my chores ( mother, not wife). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickya Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Good article for trackday prepeation & tips http://www.matey-matey.com/trackday-preparation_1.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Sarnie - Doesn't look likelyZedrush -He boked his Car in the garage on this date AndyC - Will be spectating hopefully Beavis - we await the birthday boy to join us sl114 - Cannot attend Dan - Cant attend due to commitments MartinMac maybe joining us to watch too and hopefully Kev (fingers crossed) More the merrier, so if anyone else wants to join me and ricky then give me a shout or book it with Donington. Still not sure on this date yet, i will know in a day or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedrush Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Sarnie - Doesn't look likelyZedrush -He boked his Car in the garage on this date AndyC - Will be spectating hopefully Beavis - we await the birthday boy to join us sl114 - Cannot attend Dan - Cant attend due to commitments MartinMac maybe joining us to watch too and hopefully Kev (fingers crossed) More the merrier, so if anyone else wants to join me and ricky then give me a shout or book it with Donington. Still not sure on this date yet, i will know in a day or two. Rickya you forgot him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickya Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Sinbad just study this from 4min 7sec onwards, thats my homework till Tuesday!! ps Im getting a bit over excited, just bought these in blue http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=370016128378&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=024 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinbad Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Sinbad just study this from 4min 7sec onwards, thats my homework till Tuesday!! ps Im getting a bit over excited, just bought these in blue http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=370016128378&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=024 Nice will watch vid in the morning. Might get me some of them gloves. Need a helmet i think, i better ring round tomorrow. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickya Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Just had my mechanic give the car the once over; fix the broken reverse light clip (thanx to someone tw&t at my gym giving it a shunt most probably & causing some scrathes in the laquer & breaking light fittings ). Also changed brake fluid to Motul RBF600, thanx to Phil @ ESR & for his advice recently regarding clutch & trackday advice- Cheers mate Also weather looks very good for Tuesday http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?id=1653 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 So who is up for this, weather looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinbad Posted February 11, 2008 Author Share Posted February 11, 2008 only just managed to get done. I did my engine mounts yesterday which was a piece of well you get me and i did the rear droplink and tracking done today, although i think the tracking settings are wrong. weather is looking better and better by the minute. cant wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinbad Posted February 11, 2008 Author Share Posted February 11, 2008 only just managed to get done. I did my engine mounts yesterday which was a piece of well you get me and i did the rear droplink and tracking done today, although i think the tracking settings are wrong. weather is looking better and better by the minute. cant wait. Martin text me if you still have my number. i lost yours when my fone disapeared in brummie land. I just found out my Tracking settings are wayyy out , anyone know where i can get it done near donny? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Hi bud, Will be there about 11, have a drop off to do first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinbad Posted February 11, 2008 Author Share Posted February 11, 2008 you better edit that number out.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Just got back after a brilliant day, thanks Sinbad for arranging it. Great to meet you at last. The weather was perfect and the track was pretty quiet so it couldnt get much better. Amazing range of cars though. Much respect to Ricky for allowing a pro to drive his car, your face when you got out was priceless. It proved to be worthwhile though as your lap times fell rapidly. A couple of pics And cooling off Thanks also to Clive who took time out from testing to show Ricky a few lines. Great guy. And totally off topic for the comp winners. They hace finally arrived, will post them tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinbad Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 well just got back safe and sound. What a fantastic day! I cant wait to go again. I really wished more Zeds turned up the weather was perfect and the track was pretty quiet with me and Ricky getting full use of the garages. Full write up now: Id been wanting to do a trackday for along time and after christmas i thought sod it im going to go for it. between new year and the begining of feb id been discussing what track, who to go with, whether my car would be in tip top condition to take it on track. etc. etc..Well it came to the crunch and i ended up booking this about 2-3 weeks ago with my mate Ricky. I thought id prepared everything prior, i had the car serviced last week which showed up that i needed a engine mount and rear droplink.. the last thing i wanted.. Feck i thought. I was hoping tdi north could book me in the week before to have the work done. After numerous phonecalls the parts where on order but i was struggling to speak to paul to get a slot in the garage. by friday i was starting to get really nervous, especially with the trackday looming on tuesday. :? finally got hold of tdi friday who said my parts where in but there fully booked up monday!!! so having a quick search i managed to source an engine mount but the drop link was going to take up till tuesday :? Sunday came and i took a deep breath and thought sod it i'll fit the mount myself, I managed to get the engine mount on and put some ES upgraded mounts on at the same time too to stop any vibration from my dc manifold. Took me around 2 hours and was a piece of cake, especially as i didnt have a clue what i was doing with limited tools. car felt sooo much better, wished id done it sooner. Anyway, monday came and i was still struggling to get hold of tdi, i thought sod this, so i drove down to tdi and spoke to paul, picking up the droplink at the same time, i then went round to my mate stew workplace (who is a legend in his own right) for a camcorder mount. While i was there he showed me round the factory and starting up the Honda S800 for me .. drool.... 8) Anyway i left him to doss about and give some orders heading home to try and fit the rear droplink. Jacked the car up and 20mins later i was all done. I couldnt believe it, talk about last minute! finally my car was ready. gave it a double check, filled up with 99 and then started sorting out all my stuff to take with me. Tools...check. Water...check. Oil... check.. helmets...check! so i text ricky and mentioned everything id got sorted. he then got back to me asking if i had my license..... errrr :roll: Damn!!! 5 mins later... check! So i went to bed later that night and hardly slept a wink, just thinking id missed something as well as being excited. Id set the alarm for 5:45 but ended up getting up at 5:30 before it went off. I grabbed some grub, started the car and headed off to donington... Getting near to donington i started to get alittle worried, the weather report said it would be cool but sunny and all i could see was FOG! what the hell!! Pulled up at donington and signed on, whilst i waited for my bro who was an extra driver and ricky in his 350z. Just watching all the Porche GT3 RS's, skylines, Astons, Corvette, ferrari's, stripped out RX7's coming in on trailers worried me abit :shock: . but i was in awe.. i just couldnt wait. My bro and ricky turned up withing half an hour and after the briefing we headed over to the pits, which where all empty so pulling up the shutters me and ricky put our cars in, sorting our stuff out and checking the cars over again. we'd been told that as there wernt a large number of cars, instead of having 20 min sessions with amateur inter and pro drivers, we'd be having a 30min session of amateurs and 30min session for pro's... BONUS!!! :!: We heard the guy shout our group to the pitlane, so being so excited i slammed my helmet on as quick as i could with my bro in the passenger seat and ricky behind. After a quick briefing about the track conditions, mainly about dunlop straight having alot of ice we set off in a convoy for a few familiarisation laps. Most of the track was super dry as most of donny gets alot of the sun due to the way its laid out, but the pitlane and dunlop straight which have buildings casting shadows on the track mad for some tricky sections. After a few laps i felt alttle more comfortable to increase our speed still going no where near the limit of the car just getting it all warmed up, the safety car came in. Straight away a tuning company's RX7 overtook ricky down the straight overcooked it into redgate and spun into the gravel trap... what a pillock. Anyway by the time i came back round the session was over anyway.. good job. Next session, i gently increased my speed learning the track and trying different lines. It was so much fun by the end i was really getting the hang of things, i was keeping up with alot of stuff apart from the stripped out RX7, trying to hang onto a 500bhp supra, and even overtaking a E46 M3, E36 M3 evo cab, golf R32, Boxster S and Clio Cup to name a few. I was even more surprised later on when i went round the pits finding that alot of the cars had upgraded brakes and toyo 888's. Now it was my brothers turn in the next session. I trust my brother 100% with my car but he hadnt driven a performance car for over a year after having his latest daughter. For some reason he had a rush of blood and did a fast outlap, even though he didnt know the car, track and not really letting the car warm up. I tried not to say anything hoping he was just trying to find the limits of the car, so we head down the straight at full pelt and suddenly the golf R32 (latest one) pulls out of the pit lane onto our line. My bro has to take the inside but goes wayy over to the inside for some reason trying to slow down for the corner whilst braking. Well i knew it wouldnt do it and as we hit redgate the back end starts to come round putting us in a 360 spin with my bro trying to apply opposite lock. We stop in the middle of the track in a cloud of smoke :shock: After a quick lecture from me, my bro gets on his way redfaced how i didnt wet my seat i dont know So we continue round for the rest of the session with me telling him what hes doing right and where i think hes going wrong, and my bro starts to really pick things up and get what we think are some really good laps in. I slowly start to let go of the jesus handle lol As the day went on the weather just got better and better and the icy sections where now fully dry and there was no need to lift off. again we put some more solid laps in, trying to hook all the corners up and relying on the brakes more as both of us wernt used to pressing the brake pedal soo hard. Not once did they let us down, always stopping shorter than you would imagine them to with no signs of overheating just a slight wiff after each session! I didnt feel any pressure from not being the fastest on track and just stuck to my own pace and would monitor it if i was near another car. The day was perfect for anyone wanting to learn there car, i mean ricky just got faster and better throughout the day completely transforming his driving and learning to trust the car more, it was great to see and me too. I managed to get some tuition at 2pm after lunch, i was sooo nervous but excited at the same time. I wanted to learn so much and here was my chance to really get something productive out of the day. I managed to jump in with a lady who races radicals and we set off just going at a steady pace makiing sure that even though we where going slow we always entered the corner in the right gear, turning in at the right times, getting the apex spot on and nailing the exit with steering and throttle, whilst taking all the correct lines, so that when i built up speed i was pretty much doing exactly the same as before just at a higher speed. The first 10mins where her just bollocking me basically as i was doing loads of stuff wrong. It was hard to cram soo much information in at once. We swapped over for a couple of laps whilst she showed me the correct lines again and things to look out for, using features on the track to get my lines right. (there where no cones on the track to show the apex etc..) So again we set off with me driving, i was picking out my lines better and slowly picking up the pace. id get one corner right and then mess up on the next. Finally on my last lap i pushed hard and got everything spot on.. i had such a grin on my face i thought ""right wait until the next lap"" but then i saw the red light and it was session over. Stopped the car in the garage and the instructor gave me a few more hints and basically praised me, saying it was great to work with someone who was so precise. She couldnt believe it was my first day, and even went as far to say i should seriously consider racing as i picked everything up really quickly. well, my head went so big i could hardly take my helmet off or speak to thank her for her tutuion. i was soo chuffed. i was more happy that id learnt something and picked it up quickly. I still have a love for driving even if my daily chore is boring these days so to be able to do it good gave me a warm feeling in my belly haha The tuition was a real eye opener and what i thought where good lines through bends where wayy off. It was all about slowing the car right down, turning in later and getting the car to turn in positively and progressively and then concentrating on getting a fast exit. I learnt soo much from spending 30mins with an instructor, id recommend anyone doing a trackday to get instruction as soon as they get there. Its money very well spent. You'll spend the rest of the day driving faster, safer, without bad habits and all the time keeping your car in as good condition as possible. Ricky even got Free tuition on the day too! the track was pretty much empty with loads of space and not once was i concerend about having an off, there was soo much run off space. The car felt soo balanced through the bends, it never feels as agile through the corners as the DC2, or as stable as the Z through the faster bends but it does feel very effective. I was never once felt pressured or bad about being slower than other cars. its only when your on track thats its all about how YOU are doing as a driver. Hooking all the corners up and trying to get that perfect lap. I did learn that its essential to check your tyre pressures (thanks again to stew) luckily i followed stews advice and bought a tyre gauge. Before i set off my pressures where set at 34psi front and 33psi back which is 1 psi over OEM settings (easier to let air out) on two ocassions after each session i checked my pressures and each time they had gone up 2-3 psi so that meant i had to let 6psi out of each tyre through the day to have the correct pressure levels when the tyres got warm... Like i said my car performed perfectly and wasnt too bad on track. I drove from home to donington and drove most of the day with just 1 full tank of fuel. Tyres and brakes holding up fine. I learnt soo much in one day its hard to cram it all in. Definately money well spent, i should have done it sooner. If anyones thinking about doing a trackday, then get it booked. Its soo much fun, safe if your sensible and just a great experience. Everyone i met where really friendly with just one idiot who i still managed to keep up with alot of the time in a FQ360 who obviously had all the gear and no idea trying to race everyone. Me with Ricky following Dunlop straight, you can see the shadow that caused some icy patches, 500bhp supra and a fezza drove by some women Craner curves You can see the RX7 behind ricky that later had 1 or 2 off's. 32GTR that spat 2 foot flames! Affter standing on the pit wall i realised that even amongst some stripped out cars mine was one of the loudest cars there at full song :shock: with the race RX7 being the loudest. well thanks for reading, if u have any questions then fire away. i think ive made most peoples eyes bleed by this point so my apologies. Hope you enjoyed the write up. Once i get some of the video footage i'll post it up also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 And just to clarify, there was no pressure to go fast and everyone was so helpful, if antone wants to learn how to drive this is well worth the money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 you lads had a belting day for it weather wise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinbad Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 you lads had a belting day for it weather wise no no no, it was a belting day full stop! Like martin says, the day was perfect for anyone wanting to learn there car, i mean ricky just got faster and better throughout the day completely transforming his driving and learning to trust the car more and me too. the tuition was a real eye opener and what i thought where good lines through bends where wayy off. I learnt soo much from spending 30mins with an instrucot. Ricky even got Free tuition on the day too! the track was pretty much empty with loads of space and not once was i concerend about having an off, there was soo much run off space. I was never once felt pressured or bad about being slower than other cars. its only when your on track thats its all about how YOU are doing as a driver. Hooking all the corners up and trying to get that perfect lap. Ive learnt soo much today its hard to cram it all in. Definately money well spent, i should have done it sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I'm envious of you lot. Looks like you had a really good experience. We should try to do something like that north of the border. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 sorry could not be there, just no time off before april. Looks like you got the bug for it. If going for another one please please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 This is Clive who very kindly gave Ricky the free tuition. He has a lot of experience and offered to sort out a forum track day if anyone is interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Nice one guys!! Looks like you had a good day out!! Quality pictures as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinbad Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 Cant tell you how good it was. Just watching some of the other cars GT3 RS's, Corvette, aston, F430, skylines, super quick RX-7 made me The teg did so well im tempted to keep it lol... Ricky has got some good pics too so hopefully he'll post them up. Will definately be doing another one and im sure Ricky will be up for it so watch this space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Cant tell you how good it was. Just watching some of the other cars GT3 RS's, Corvette, aston, F430, skylines, super quick RX-7 made me The teg did so well im tempted to keep it lol... Ricky has got some good pics too so hopefully he'll post them up. Will definately be doing another one and im sure Ricky will be up for it so watch this space. And dont forget the Mondeo So where is Ricky, not still there is he Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickya Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Great day out & many thanks to Chris & Chris's brother; Martin & Martins friend (sorry name escpaes me this morning!) for great company & help during the day! An absoloute perfect day; hottest Febuary on record; almost empty track; very friendly drivers; lovely cars; no accidents & an amazing track. Perfect. Martin made the long trip with his friend all the way from the Lake District. Much respect for him as it was good support for me & chris to have some friends there in our garage In fact we had quite a bit of interest in our garage people strolling in to see the Jap cars, in fact I dare to say Chris's JDM Inetgra Type R (DC5) got more interest than my zed. I was very impressed with Chris's driving & his car it was IMO faster on a track like Donnington than the zed, the car being over 300kg lighter & made as a track car & with a power to weight ratio almost same as zed, it was flatter & more balnced in the tighter corners around Redgate & Craner curves. On a bigger track like Bedford GT circuit or Silverstone the bigger engine & torque of the zed may come more into play, I dont know but Donnington suited the Type R down to the ground. Will post pics later today of some serious motors, being an unsilenced day that was more expensive than normal days meant it was mainly the big boys who were out to play in GT3 Rs's; 600 bhp Skylines; Tunning company's RX7's; as well as race prepped cars comming off trailers!! The only cars in a similar catergory to mine & Sinbad's were an E36 M3 evo cab/ 2 E46 M3's/ Gti R32/ Boxster S/ Clio Cup/. Apart from the Clio cup & one of the M3's which were driven partly by instructors we were faster than the others IMO. But the driver has a lot to do with this than the car, e.g. whe the instructor was driving the E46 M3 he was leaving me standing but the other M3 I passed a couple of times. Though I hate to say it down the Dunlop straight the E46 was quicker Things about the car I discovered is that lowering tyre pressure to 34psi was alot better than the journey up on 37 psi; Toyos can go a bit soft after 25 mins of track time & better to go out in 15 mins stints; Motul RBF 600 brake fluid did the job perfectly with no brake fluid boiling; std suspension just about copes with trackdays but if I was going to do more regularly I would definetley consider adjustable coilovers. Finally brakes: I thought they were going superbly (Brembo Calipers/std discs/EBC Redstuff pads) with no brake fade & I was confidenly approching Redgate braking later & later. But when instructor CLive drove it he did say that he thought either pads/ discs or both are not up to the job as they were rather spongy & did not bite enough. The red stuffs were definetley an improvment over std pads but may not be good enough for track, only fast road use. In fact i need to post some pics as this morning I inspected the pads & there are couple of chunks 2cm holes torn off the pads as well as cracks that appear to go right up the pad!!! I think the correct terminology is they are shagg3d!!! These were put in about 6 months ago but Im wondering whether I can get any more road use out of them or not? Definetley they cannot do another track day. ps Also many thanks to big Phil for all his advice regarding tyre pressures/ brakes & clutch May need some pads now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickya Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 This is Clive who very kindly gave Ricky the free tuition. He has a lot of experience and offered to sort out a forum track day if anyone is interested. As Martin says Clive is a very nice, helpful guy who is also a lunatic driver....the word Stig comes to mind, in fact he drove my zed round Donnington quicker than the Stig could have!! I was in fact almost lying down in the passenger seat, holding onto the door handle in utter shock & fright for 2 laps!! Clive kept saying are you alright mate!!! I was saying something like Holy sh%t we'r dead!! In fact rather than dying Clive caught a 580 bhp Supra in 2 laps that was leaving me for dead all day. As well as showing me the lines around the track (mine were ok apart from Redgate & the start of the middle of the Craner curves) what he showed me the zed could do was invaluable advice. I was discussing with Martin & Chris about how the zed felt a bit heavy & undeersteery in the quick, sharper corners as was unsure whether it was my driving style or the car? Clive showed me obviously it was not the car but the driver! I was taking a smooth line almost like how a FWD car should be driven, but Clive taught me how the a RWD car should be driven!! In a simplified form on a right hand corner: he made come further from the left, using all of the track & then turning sharply into the apex, almost turning right, this causes the rear end weight to shift left & step out slightly, them hit the throttle & try & balance the throttle & steering (as he said "steering with the throttle") to dial out any understeer & hit the apex & continue to try & hit the bump strips on the exit. This allows you to really cut the corner in a straight line with the cars nose in the right direction & using more throttle & slight opp lock to straighten car or less throttle to allow rear to step out more. In theory I had read lots of issues of Evo & thought I knew what to do, but realised how little, until I got out on the track! In fact the two morning sessions I did without Clives advice would have been far more worthwhile had I had some instruction from him before. IMO at the next trackday I will definetley book instruction with a pro driver or instructor to show you the lines & more importantly show you how to drive your car you thought you knew how to drive. In fact I would definetley consider Clive who organises track days for groups also, as well as running customers race cars. AVON RACING, based in Uppingham Rutland. (pm me or Martin for tel no etc) ps As well as Clive we also met another great chap Mike Wilds who is an ARDS Grade A instructor who gave some advice as was very helpful. He had raced on Formula 1 in 1974 & 1975; 7 times Lemans; 9 Brtish Championships; as well spending years in Japan raciing for Nissan/Nismo!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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