Does anyone on here do track days in your Aston?
Discussion
I have recentley booked a day at Silverstone, one on one driver tuition to get the feel for the car and experience the cars full potential.
I have hired a trailer to get the car there just in case things go wrong and cat drive it back... And have asked david at appleby enineering to sell me a used set of GT4 wheels & decent tyres..
I think that if I enjoy this as much as I think I will, I will want to do another track day, but some of my mates who do them regularly have said that there is always one idiot and what a shame if one bumped into your Aston...
I would be interested if anyone on here does track days and if they have found that some are better than others etc....
Thanks....
I have hired a trailer to get the car there just in case things go wrong and cat drive it back... And have asked david at appleby enineering to sell me a used set of GT4 wheels & decent tyres..
I think that if I enjoy this as much as I think I will, I will want to do another track day, but some of my mates who do them regularly have said that there is always one idiot and what a shame if one bumped into your Aston...
I would be interested if anyone on here does track days and if they have found that some are better than others etc....
Thanks....
not regularly, did a trackday and a track training day when I first got it, to see what it could do
drive car there, drive all day - 20 min sessions, fill up, drive home
you will have to let the tyres down a bit when warm and pump them up again at end of the day for road use, check the oil at end of the day ...thats about it really
you would be surprised how "standard" some of the cars are that race in the lower GT classes...if you do it regularly of course then things will wear out a lot quicker....
drive car there, drive all day - 20 min sessions, fill up, drive home
you will have to let the tyres down a bit when warm and pump them up again at end of the day for road use, check the oil at end of the day ...thats about it really
you would be surprised how "standard" some of the cars are that race in the lower GT classes...if you do it regularly of course then things will wear out a lot quicker....
I may have done 1 or 2 
Did I ever mention SPA?
Personally I would not take my Aston on an open trackday with some of the complete bell ends that drive a £50 piece of s
t around and then think it would be fun to try and overtake the rich bloke in the Aston.... <rant off>
I enjoy the Aston days (although expensive) as other like minded individuals are there, I also enjoy the days I do with other Supercar owners for charity as they are all like minded (i.e. want to drive home in one piece) However I did a charity day last year (not saying which one) where they put supercars and track cars in the same session and it nearly came to tears on more than one occasion sadly. The organisers weighed up the power of the supercar and the track car and decided that lap times were similar and therefore should work well. What they fail to understand is that a supercar is massively quick on the straights and not so in the corners (compared to a track prepared car). So what happens is a race car slips behind a supercar for a nice tow down the straight, gets close enough to throw the car down the inside under brakes and ......... yep you guessed it, some very close encounters.
So my advice is if you do it, be prepared to compromise your line or lap for a bell end that WILL turn up and try to race you. If you are lucky enough to be out with observant drivers, I am sure it will be good fun. I am not trying to ruin your fun, I love taking my car on track, just ensure that you find yourself some space by letting cars past on the straights instead of racing them to the corner to find that the guy runs out of talent and grip while trying to overtake into a corner. I am sure plenty of these guys have left a circuit saying that they overtook some supercar easily, not knowing that the driver of said car was letting a potential accident overtake them
.
Did I ever mention SPA?
Personally I would not take my Aston on an open trackday with some of the complete bell ends that drive a £50 piece of s
t around and then think it would be fun to try and overtake the rich bloke in the Aston.... <rant off>I enjoy the Aston days (although expensive) as other like minded individuals are there, I also enjoy the days I do with other Supercar owners for charity as they are all like minded (i.e. want to drive home in one piece) However I did a charity day last year (not saying which one) where they put supercars and track cars in the same session and it nearly came to tears on more than one occasion sadly. The organisers weighed up the power of the supercar and the track car and decided that lap times were similar and therefore should work well. What they fail to understand is that a supercar is massively quick on the straights and not so in the corners (compared to a track prepared car). So what happens is a race car slips behind a supercar for a nice tow down the straight, gets close enough to throw the car down the inside under brakes and ......... yep you guessed it, some very close encounters.
So my advice is if you do it, be prepared to compromise your line or lap for a bell end that WILL turn up and try to race you. If you are lucky enough to be out with observant drivers, I am sure it will be good fun. I am not trying to ruin your fun, I love taking my car on track, just ensure that you find yourself some space by letting cars past on the straights instead of racing them to the corner to find that the guy runs out of talent and grip while trying to overtake into a corner. I am sure plenty of these guys have left a circuit saying that they overtook some supercar easily, not knowing that the driver of said car was letting a potential accident overtake them
.Have a set agenda for the day as it's easy to get carried away. Literally.
Different tracks, different corners, overtaking opportunities are a consideration as are the fellow drivers. It will take a few laps to spot erratic or "interesting" driving techniques. A mixed track with saxo's could mean there is a target on your back with individuals wanting to overtake, out brake the nob in the Aston.....that said the cheaper track days attract the nob heads as the marshalling is pretty lax which can lead to individuals handing out straighteners themselves in the pitlane.
The main focus for me was to always ride back from the track and have fun which meant riding within my abilities and not pushing too hard. I used the same principle with Aston although I never tracked my own car.
I spent one of the best three days of my life at Jerez, two days tuition and one day with a free track. That was on two wheels though and whenever I've taken an Aston on track it falls short on the adrenaline but its still great fun. One aside was when I was thinking I'm really moving an instructor flew past, turned around, one hand on the bars, thumb up and continued to set a fantastic pace. Me, I stopped willy waving and continued to "pottle round".
My advice would be drive to the track in your beloved and use a hired Aston for the track and the back up that provides.
Different tracks, different corners, overtaking opportunities are a consideration as are the fellow drivers. It will take a few laps to spot erratic or "interesting" driving techniques. A mixed track with saxo's could mean there is a target on your back with individuals wanting to overtake, out brake the nob in the Aston.....that said the cheaper track days attract the nob heads as the marshalling is pretty lax which can lead to individuals handing out straighteners themselves in the pitlane.
The main focus for me was to always ride back from the track and have fun which meant riding within my abilities and not pushing too hard. I used the same principle with Aston although I never tracked my own car.
I spent one of the best three days of my life at Jerez, two days tuition and one day with a free track. That was on two wheels though and whenever I've taken an Aston on track it falls short on the adrenaline but its still great fun. One aside was when I was thinking I'm really moving an instructor flew past, turned around, one hand on the bars, thumb up and continued to set a fantastic pace. Me, I stopped willy waving and continued to "pottle round".
My advice would be drive to the track in your beloved and use a hired Aston for the track and the back up that provides.
AMDBSNick said:
What cockernee said 
+1 Used to track my other cars and got fed up with the "sheds" trying to prove a point
When I got the Aston I decided I don't want the consumables costs of track work nor the risk of damage
A lot of the guys I know who started using their road car for track work end up buying a track car that is lighter (& therefoe cheaper on consumables) and cheaper to fix
I went to a Bedford Autodrome "novice" track day last year.
A few sheds but also quite a few 911s (incl. GT3s) and a group of GT-R. My V8V stood out a bit but everyone was generally well mannered and rules were pretty strict and well enforced, e.g. no overtaking in corners.
Car was absolutely fine, brakes do overheat quite easily after a 15-20min spirited session, so plan sufficient down time between runs, and don't stay on the track too long or you'll find yourself with no brakes! (I almost did)
Think the trailer is a safe idea, but a bit overkill frankly. Unless you prang the car you really have little risk of needing it.
Assume (hope!) you have track day cover?
As said above, even with standard exhausts the car can potentially fail the noise test, particularly with fuse 22 removed. So check that out before you go!
A few sheds but also quite a few 911s (incl. GT3s) and a group of GT-R. My V8V stood out a bit but everyone was generally well mannered and rules were pretty strict and well enforced, e.g. no overtaking in corners.
Car was absolutely fine, brakes do overheat quite easily after a 15-20min spirited session, so plan sufficient down time between runs, and don't stay on the track too long or you'll find yourself with no brakes! (I almost did)
Think the trailer is a safe idea, but a bit overkill frankly. Unless you prang the car you really have little risk of needing it.
Assume (hope!) you have track day cover?
As said above, even with standard exhausts the car can potentially fail the noise test, particularly with fuse 22 removed. So check that out before you go!
AMDBSNick said:
Cockernee said:
fk me same picture again. So you went on one trackday once and suddenly you are a Lewis Hamilton. Next you will be telling me that you overtook me once as well 
FYI this picture has never been on the forum k me same picture again. So you went on one trackday once and suddenly you are a Lewis Hamilton. Next you will be telling me that you overtook me once as well 
There's only one 'naturally talented' racer on here with his hard-earned seat in his dad's car
You guys just walk in the garden of his turbulence
in my view, these cars are not made for trackdays. The v12v will be as close as it gets. The sticky pzeros are great when warm, very grippy, but the cars are simply too heavy for this job. The mechanical stress inflicted on components is huge.
Get yourself an elise and drive it like you stole it without worrying about the pain inflicted to the car.
Now, if you want to do the very occasional trackday to discover your car, then why not? Spa is good as it is relatively fast. I would not do more than a couple of 20-25 mins sessions and I would not dare push the car to its limits. For me that would be a one time only.
That's entirely personal though.
Get yourself an elise and drive it like you stole it without worrying about the pain inflicted to the car.
Now, if you want to do the very occasional trackday to discover your car, then why not? Spa is good as it is relatively fast. I would not do more than a couple of 20-25 mins sessions and I would not dare push the car to its limits. For me that would be a one time only.
That's entirely personal though.
AMDBSNick said:
Cockernee said:
fk me same picture again. So you went on one trackday once and suddenly you are a Lewis Hamilton. Next you will be telling me that you overtook me once as well
FYI this picture has never been on the forum k me same picture again. So you went on one trackday once and suddenly you are a Lewis Hamilton. Next you will be telling me that you overtook me once as well 
Recognise the Reg.No though - I think
burntout said:
I have recentley booked a day at Silverstone, one on one driver tuition to get the feel for the car and experience the cars full potential.
I have hired a trailer to get the car there just in case things go wrong and cat drive it back... And have asked david at appleby enineering to sell me a used set of GT4 wheels & decent tyres..
I think that if I enjoy this as much as I think I will, I will want to do another track day, but some of my mates who do them regularly have said that there is always one idiot and what a shame if one bumped into your Aston...
I would be interested if anyone on here does track days and if they have found that some are better than others etc....
Thanks....
Why trailer a road car to a trackday? I have hired a trailer to get the car there just in case things go wrong and cat drive it back... And have asked david at appleby enineering to sell me a used set of GT4 wheels & decent tyres..
I think that if I enjoy this as much as I think I will, I will want to do another track day, but some of my mates who do them regularly have said that there is always one idiot and what a shame if one bumped into your Aston...
I would be interested if anyone on here does track days and if they have found that some are better than others etc....
Thanks....
I have been on many many trackdays in several countries and the only contact i've seen is people putting themselves in walls and gravel traps, never each other. What you aston lot are forgetting is that everyone on a trackday is driving their P&J whether it cost £1k or £100k and no one wants ANY contact. Marshalls are usually extremely quick to flag to race control anyone drivng like a knob or beyond their own capabilites.
I've done quite a few track days in the DB9. It's amazing how capable it is as standard.
These have always been the standard MSVR days at brands hatch. Never had too much of a problem apart from being black flagged a few times for drifting....
http://youtu.be/uUfSCjStsF4
The last lap was just having a bit of fun!
Brakes get a bit hot as standard so could do with extra cooling and the standard tyres do not have much grip... Do Aston recommend a certain track tyre for the DB9?
Mike
These have always been the standard MSVR days at brands hatch. Never had too much of a problem apart from being black flagged a few times for drifting....
http://youtu.be/uUfSCjStsF4
The last lap was just having a bit of fun!
Brakes get a bit hot as standard so could do with extra cooling and the standard tyres do not have much grip... Do Aston recommend a certain track tyre for the DB9?
Mike
Robbo66 said:
Why on earth would you ever want to track an AM ?. They're GT cars, not track scalpels.
Mr Robbo sixty six, have you considered that some people enjoy Aston ownership in a different way to you? Why do you need a 'scalpel' on track? It's good to learn the limit of every car you own, I always track every car I have for this reason. We're all different.Are you saying that every time you get into your Aston, making sure no-one has seen you naturally (oh the shame, the shame if they did), that every journey you undertake is a 'Grand Tour'? A bit of a grandiose term for squirting round the lanes unseen I would say.
But then I also like driving fast in convoy and hanging out with friends too, toe-curlingly shameful as that is just thinking about it
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