13.06.2010 - The EVO Triangle...
Discussion
Me and my dad had a ride out to The EVO Triangle on Sunday. I'm sure most of you will have heard of this track, errr, I mean road before... But for those who haven't, it's a triangular (no sh!t) circuit of road in Wales where EVO Magazine take their cars for roadtests and photoshoots.
We'd never been up there before and had been meaning to go for about 6 months, so an early get up (0700 on a SUNDAY!!!) and a quick dose of V-Power and we were away. We took a bit of an alternative route on the way there sticking mainly to B roads instead of the A5, and we took a different route still on the way back throught Ruthin which led to some more fantastic roads again.
The scenery was beautiful, the weather was perfect (dry, cool, overcast) and both cars performed brilliantly. We're going over there again on 04.07.10 with 8 friends from our local car club Zero260, so if any of you want to tag along and boost the fine car contingent then you're more than welcome...
Here's the piccies;
We'd never been up there before and had been meaning to go for about 6 months, so an early get up (0700 on a SUNDAY!!!) and a quick dose of V-Power and we were away. We took a bit of an alternative route on the way there sticking mainly to B roads instead of the A5, and we took a different route still on the way back throught Ruthin which led to some more fantastic roads again.
The scenery was beautiful, the weather was perfect (dry, cool, overcast) and both cars performed brilliantly. We're going over there again on 04.07.10 with 8 friends from our local car club Zero260, so if any of you want to tag along and boost the fine car contingent then you're more than welcome...
Here's the piccies;
Edited by FLD_WILLIS on Tuesday 15th June 17:02
Once we got to The EVO Triangle itself, we only saw four other cars. The road surface is perfect for want of a better word, but you do have to be careful as there's a few places where you could become seriously unstuck. On or two sharp crests followed by very tight corners for example. Our average speed (according to the Clio) for the whole trip was 57.8MPH, this included 80Miles to and from The Triangle on A, B and Motorways as well as having a good blast around once there.
We didn't see any Police on The Triangle itself, to be honest there's not really anywhere they could stop or hide. But we did see a few mobile speed traps on the way back. By this point we were going back through small villages so that was to be expected. There was a lad in an 80's 911 up there giving it some severe punishment too.
Comparing the cars. The WRXS has now just covered 300Miles (200 of them being on Sunday) so is nowhere near run in, but it is an absolute monster. I'd say that the Clio has a definate advantage on the brakes and I could carry a little more speed into the corners but as soon as my dad got back on the throttle the WRXS just pulled and pulled... I was chaning between 3rd and 4th, with some flat in 5th where as my dad was able to stay in 4th for almost the entire route. Obviously, 390NM of torque comes in handy on roads like this and it's what the Impreza was always best at. But, the Clio definately didn't embaress herself.
Trip fuel consumption = 30.1 MPG for the Clio and 27.3 MPG for the WRXS.
We didn't see any Police on The Triangle itself, to be honest there's not really anywhere they could stop or hide. But we did see a few mobile speed traps on the way back. By this point we were going back through small villages so that was to be expected. There was a lad in an 80's 911 up there giving it some severe punishment too.
Comparing the cars. The WRXS has now just covered 300Miles (200 of them being on Sunday) so is nowhere near run in, but it is an absolute monster. I'd say that the Clio has a definate advantage on the brakes and I could carry a little more speed into the corners but as soon as my dad got back on the throttle the WRXS just pulled and pulled... I was chaning between 3rd and 4th, with some flat in 5th where as my dad was able to stay in 4th for almost the entire route. Obviously, 390NM of torque comes in handy on roads like this and it's what the Impreza was always best at. But, the Clio definately didn't embaress herself.
Trip fuel consumption = 30.1 MPG for the Clio and 27.3 MPG for the WRXS.
FLD_WILLIS said:
We didn't see any Police on The Triangle itself, to be honest there's not really anywhere they could stop or hide.
Good write up. Although I would say there are a fair few places the police could hide on the right side of the Triangle (B4501). Last time I was there there were vans and cars etc parked behind trees in little side turn offs, one of them could easily have been a Police car. The A543 is open enough though, and the A5 part of it can be used to just cruise at a steady 55mph and let the brakes cool off.Cheers guys!!! 
Oh yeah, it really is an awesome stretch of road. The cars were well in their element up there, to be honest I think both cars have far more talent then either my dad or myself could extract from them!!! If you ever get the chance to drive a Renaultsport or one of these Impreza's then you really must give it a go to see just how capable they are.
My dad's previous car was an '07 ''Hawkeye'' WRX and the difference between that and the new one is more than you might imagine. In my four years of driving, I've had a 205 GTi, Puma 1.7, 106 Rallye and a FIAT Coupe 16VT... All of which I'd say were decent handling cars as has been well reported, but all of them really do show their age when compared to how poised the Clio is. It's just so much fun, it's got an unbelievable amount of grip and balance for a FWD car and never really feels unsettled, but even when the tail does start to wag it's very predictable and progressive.
Funny you should mention that, on the way back we saw a Police bike blast past a line of cars, seemingly just for the hell of it!!! My dad saw a Police car parked up behind a phonebox too which I missed, but luckily we were trundling along towards Ruthin at that point. Hahaha, thanks, I got some strange looks from a cyclist down by the lake whilst scrabbling through a bush trying to get a good angle for one of the photo's!!!
I really can't wait to get up there again, I've got a feeling it might become a regular Sunday morning drive.
Oh yeah, it really is an awesome stretch of road. The cars were well in their element up there, to be honest I think both cars have far more talent then either my dad or myself could extract from them!!! If you ever get the chance to drive a Renaultsport or one of these Impreza's then you really must give it a go to see just how capable they are.
My dad's previous car was an '07 ''Hawkeye'' WRX and the difference between that and the new one is more than you might imagine. In my four years of driving, I've had a 205 GTi, Puma 1.7, 106 Rallye and a FIAT Coupe 16VT... All of which I'd say were decent handling cars as has been well reported, but all of them really do show their age when compared to how poised the Clio is. It's just so much fun, it's got an unbelievable amount of grip and balance for a FWD car and never really feels unsettled, but even when the tail does start to wag it's very predictable and progressive.
Funny you should mention that, on the way back we saw a Police bike blast past a line of cars, seemingly just for the hell of it!!! My dad saw a Police car parked up behind a phonebox too which I missed, but luckily we were trundling along towards Ruthin at that point. Hahaha, thanks, I got some strange looks from a cyclist down by the lake whilst scrabbling through a bush trying to get a good angle for one of the photo's!!!
I really can't wait to get up there again, I've got a feeling it might become a regular Sunday morning drive.
Edited by FLD_WILLIS on Wednesday 16th June 16:21
pedal fast, post up your average speeds on here, and publicly disclose when you will be there next at your peril...
there are traffic police in and around the area and there are PLENTY of spots where they can "hide"!
its a wonderful stretch of tarmac, yes, which i have driven plenty of times. just bear in mind that its infamy is also its downfall
sounds like you found some of the other, less obvious, great stretches of tarmac though
there are traffic police in and around the area and there are PLENTY of spots where they can "hide"!
its a wonderful stretch of tarmac, yes, which i have driven plenty of times. just bear in mind that its infamy is also its downfall
sounds like you found some of the other, less obvious, great stretches of tarmac though
Hahaha good point!!! That average speed does include around 120 miles of steady motorway driving though, obviously it'd be irresponsible to average that sort of speed around The Triangle itself... I point to the combined MPG of each car in my defence your honour. 
That average speed does include around 120 miles of steady motorway driving though, obviously it'd be irresponsible to average that sort of speed around The Triangle itself... I point to the combined MPG of each car in my defence your honour. Edited by FLD_WILLIS on Thursday 17th June 20:45
FLD_WILLIS said:
Hahaha good point!!! That average speed does include around 120 miles of steady motorway driving though, obviously it'd be irresponsible to average that sort of speed around The Triangle itself... I point to the combined MPG of each car in my defence your honour.
That average speed does include around 120 miles of steady motorway driving though, obviously it'd be irresponsible to average that sort of speed around The Triangle itself... I point to the combined MPG of each car in my defence your honour. Edited by FLD_WILLIS on Thursday 17th June 20:45
my post may have sounded quite harsh - wasnt supposed to, but you do hear on occassion the roads in question being regarded as somewhere with no rules. Its not the case and I for one would hate to see a) a terrible accident there or b) it being regulated a la cat and fiddle with average cameras etc.
It is a wonderful area - not only for the quality of the tarmac, but it does worry me that its growing popularity and publicism could end up leading to its demise
OT - im sure i recall you (your username rings a bell) from a trackday we did back in feb 2008 at oulton park....did you have a stripped out pug/CRX or something similar...??
I was at Oulton in November last year in a caged/stripped Seicento!?!
No offence taken Snokel Sucker, I don't think your post seemed harsh at all to be honest!!!
With that being our first visit to the area, we did air on the side of caution. The 911 we saw was certainly going at a much fairer rate of knots then we were... It's a lovely part of the world, the scenery is spectacular and I'd like to go back at some point when it's not quite as overcast. We passed a nice pub up there that seemed to be very popular, that's on the cards for my next visit.
I suppose The Cat & Fiddle became notorious due to the sheer number of accidents and the unfortunate minority of idiots that were driving needlessly fast. I've only been up there a couple of times myself despite it only being 15-20 minutes from where I live. The main reason for this is not wanting to meet a biker coming the opposite way at 90MPH!!! I agree with the Angry Sheep that these sort of roads don't have to be driven at excessive speed to be enjoyable, the most enjoyable thing I found about being up there was in fact the lack of traffic!!!
No offence taken Snokel Sucker, I don't think your post seemed harsh at all to be honest!!!
With that being our first visit to the area, we did air on the side of caution. The 911 we saw was certainly going at a much fairer rate of knots then we were... It's a lovely part of the world, the scenery is spectacular and I'd like to go back at some point when it's not quite as overcast. We passed a nice pub up there that seemed to be very popular, that's on the cards for my next visit.
I suppose The Cat & Fiddle became notorious due to the sheer number of accidents and the unfortunate minority of idiots that were driving needlessly fast. I've only been up there a couple of times myself despite it only being 15-20 minutes from where I live. The main reason for this is not wanting to meet a biker coming the opposite way at 90MPH!!! I agree with the Angry Sheep that these sort of roads don't have to be driven at excessive speed to be enjoyable, the most enjoyable thing I found about being up there was in fact the lack of traffic!!!
topless_mx5 said:
FLD_WILLIS said:
We didn't see any Police on The Triangle itself, to be honest there's not really anywhere they could stop or hide.
Good write up. Although I would say there are a fair few places the police could hide on the right side of the Triangle (B4501). Last time I was there there were vans and cars etc parked behind trees in little side turn offs, one of them could easily have been a Police car. The A543 is open enough though, and the A5 part of it can be used to just cruise at a steady 55mph and let the brakes cool off.Best advice I can give is NEVER speed on the A5. Enjoy the B4501 and A543, but be careful and watch your speed on the long straights.
snorkel sucker said:
pedal fast, post up your average speeds on here, and publicly disclose when you will be there next at your peril...
there are traffic police in and around the area and there are PLENTY of spots where they can "hide"!
its a wonderful stretch of tarmac, yes, which i have driven plenty of times. just bear in mind that its infamy is also its downfall
sounds like you found some of the other, less obvious, great stretches of tarmac though
Well said snorkel, I made similar comments on Rennlist (Atgani) and got pilloried for being a killjoy.there are traffic police in and around the area and there are PLENTY of spots where they can "hide"!
its a wonderful stretch of tarmac, yes, which i have driven plenty of times. just bear in mind that its infamy is also its downfall
sounds like you found some of the other, less obvious, great stretches of tarmac though
http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/964-forum/54...
The two most vociferous oponents to my comments on the thread reconsidered their stance and sent their apologies via PM.
It's very simple, the more people who use the Triangle, the quicker the Police presence will escalate. End of.
Use it occasionally and sensibly and all will be fine, start driving on it every weekend and doing multiple laps and you'll be speeding up its demise.
I've done the Evo, enjoyed it but will move on. It's basically far to risky a road to go for a "nice relaxing drive of a sunday afternoon".
BiB presence on lots of roads recently seems to have got more prolific - I wonder if they are ditching Gatsos and going back to old fashioned Traffic Policing (but with radar traps).
If you find a good road you enjoy, best to not publish it on t'internet and invite 40 mates. That way, you have a half decent chance of enjoying a "nice relaxing drive of a sunday afternoon".
BiB presence on lots of roads recently seems to have got more prolific - I wonder if they are ditching Gatsos and going back to old fashioned Traffic Policing (but with radar traps).
If you find a good road you enjoy, best to not publish it on t'internet and invite 40 mates. That way, you have a half decent chance of enjoying a "nice relaxing drive of a sunday afternoon".
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