Discussion
wellground said:
Zooks, I am at Combe on the 6th April too. If you have any questions or need any help. Come and say hi. Always willing to help a track newbie. We were all one once.
I will be there in my white and black Evo 10, with a big wing on the back.
Hope that helps.
Rob
Cheers Rob, I'll look out for youI will be there in my white and black Evo 10, with a big wing on the back.
Hope that helps.
Rob
I recently had my first track day at Brand hatch in my Exige and had a fabulous time, you'll love it. I was in a similar position to you, had absolutely no interest in holding others up or racing anyone... I just wanted to have fun, learn how my car handled on the limit. Now, I did have a couple of moments where some guys testing their touring cars tried to race me, but I just backed off and gave myself space because I couldn't be bothered with any of that.
Personally my brake pedal went a little long every single lap into graham hill bend... and recovered by the end of the next straight. So don't panic, just brake a little earlier for a few laps and manage the temps.
QBee said:
If the brakes start to go soft, go straight to the pits, as that is the start of boiling brake fluid and loss of all braking.
Maybe not what you meant exactly, but I wouldn't go straight back to the pits if the brakes went soft. Firstly because, if you do, you have to park the car while everything is massively hot and the heat soak will cause issues for other parts of the car. Do a slow down lap, preferably two, to get airflow through all the hot parts and bring the temps down. Personally my brake pedal went a little long every single lap into graham hill bend... and recovered by the end of the next straight. So don't panic, just brake a little earlier for a few laps and manage the temps.
QBee said:
What I meant was don’t keep going at full tilt thinking it will be ok, or half a lap later you will have no brakes at all
Prophetic or what. Did a track day at Cadwell on Tuesday, last lap before lunch this geezer noticed his brakes were going soft all lap, last corner before the pits he had no brakes at all and had to use the back of another car to stop himself. Result was about £3000 of damage to each car and end of day.
Take your time, no need to rush. Most people are helpful if you feel lost. Make sure brake fluid and pads are in good shape.
As a relative novice, on track days I have done, the first was being brisk but gentle in an Alfa and everything was fine. Since I have driven a knackered mx5 on it's door handles for any part of the day it wasn't overheating, leaving the brake pads finished by the end of the day. Destroyed some nearly new pads in 5 laps on my MR2 (previous owner had fitted "Blue print" ones), but brought spares after learning from the MX5 experience.
Don't worry about chasing faster drivers, as this is often when things go wrong.
I'd love to do Castle Coombe, it looks like good fun!
As a relative novice, on track days I have done, the first was being brisk but gentle in an Alfa and everything was fine. Since I have driven a knackered mx5 on it's door handles for any part of the day it wasn't overheating, leaving the brake pads finished by the end of the day. Destroyed some nearly new pads in 5 laps on my MR2 (previous owner had fitted "Blue print" ones), but brought spares after learning from the MX5 experience.
Don't worry about chasing faster drivers, as this is often when things go wrong.
I'd love to do Castle Coombe, it looks like good fun!
If you pit or go back to park somewhere, don't use your handbrake. The pads/disks will be hot, and can warp/stick together. Also as the brakes cool the metal will contract slightly and the handbrake can let go. Don't want to see you pride and joy heading down the car park hill of it's own accord. Leave it in gear and/or chock the wheels if you can.
Well what a great 1st track day at Castle Combe today.
I was a bit nervous after the briefing and track familiarity lap but soon got into the swing of it.
I was in the grey Audi TT Coupe, It was great to give it some beans and I was well impressed with the handling and grip from a standard road car. I got a bit carried away a couple of times but the nanny aids scooped it up and sorted it out
Also overcooked the brakes once or twice so had to sit a session or two out to let them cool down.
I'm not exactly going to worry the lap record but think I did ok for a first go and drove the car home in one piece so all good.
Also thanks to Rob (wellground) for the advice. The Evo sounded awesome on full chat, shame about your tyres going off.
I also got a good lesson in what happens if you push too hard into Quarry, not my BM and the owner seemed cool with it
I was a bit nervous after the briefing and track familiarity lap but soon got into the swing of it.
I was in the grey Audi TT Coupe, It was great to give it some beans and I was well impressed with the handling and grip from a standard road car. I got a bit carried away a couple of times but the nanny aids scooped it up and sorted it out
Also overcooked the brakes once or twice so had to sit a session or two out to let them cool down.
I'm not exactly going to worry the lap record but think I did ok for a first go and drove the car home in one piece so all good.
Also thanks to Rob (wellground) for the advice. The Evo sounded awesome on full chat, shame about your tyres going off.
I also got a good lesson in what happens if you push too hard into Quarry, not my BM and the owner seemed cool with it
Great to meet you all. It was fun out there. I did get 4 pretty quick sessions, but the day was blighted by long queues to get out on track, which is poor.
My tyres had an issue. But to be honest, I think the recent rebuild and having much more power may be to blame, I don't think the latest rally tyres can cope with 630 bhp. They were too soft a compound and blistered, great lumps of rubber coming from the tread area. I will get the alignment rechecked just to be sure and use a harder compound track biased tyre in future. Great day out though.
My tyres had an issue. But to be honest, I think the recent rebuild and having much more power may be to blame, I don't think the latest rally tyres can cope with 630 bhp. They were too soft a compound and blistered, great lumps of rubber coming from the tread area. I will get the alignment rechecked just to be sure and use a harder compound track biased tyre in future. Great day out though.
Glad you enjoyed it. I was terrified on my first track day - Silverstone GP circuit. Loads of racing teams turned up and used it as a cheap test day which wasn’t nice as they didn’t take any prisoners at all. I ended up spinning off and narrowly missing the pit wall due to being off line as I was overtaken in the braking zone.
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