Goodwood 6th Aug with Focused Events (AMG track day)
Discussion
Got together with some friends and went for the Goodwood event today, to give my little Volvo "diseasel" a run around the track.
Being my first event at Goodwood, what a glorious and fast track!! Some 160L of fuel later, we really did have a very enjoyable day out; many thanks to Andy and his team from the AMG centre in Brighton for making us feel welcome and to our fellow trackdayers for their very good track etiquette. Also a special word of thanks to John Powis for his tips for getting round.
Being my first event at Goodwood, what a glorious and fast track!! Some 160L of fuel later, we really did have a very enjoyable day out; many thanks to Andy and his team from the AMG centre in Brighton for making us feel welcome and to our fellow trackdayers for their very good track etiquette. Also a special word of thanks to John Powis for his tips for getting round. I was there in my black E55, my first track day. That volvo was very quick, along with a couple very quick cars. It was the most exciting and enjoyable day, made better for myself, by the excellent instruction I recieved from Kevin and Simon of Foucussed Events, found myself getting faster and more relaxed the more I went out, and would love to go again. I also owe thanks to Andy Melbert and his team from AMG Brighton for the invite. Great day out.
burton_ii said:
popped in today to have a look to see what was going on. saw you out at about 11.30ish. have to say sounded very nice, what is it your running under there then? lovely day to be there today and especially as you had the track to only a few of you.
Its just a bog standard engine (hence the characteristic 5-pot engine note) with a full exhaust and ECU remap. Its also got uprated anti-roll bars and Carbotech brake pads, but everything else is standard as supplied from the factory. The car is primarily used for commuting, general holidaying and sometimes as a rapid respose medical vehicle, so has to be (and fortunately has been) very reliable; being a Volvo its also cheap to insure and maintain. I intend to get down to Goodwood a few more times so if you do see me there again, just give me a shout and I'll gladly take you out for a lap! It was a lovely day indeed - it did start raining just after 4pm but by that time, there were so few of us left it was virtually open pit lane!!
ricky s said:
I was there in my black E55, my first track day. That volvo was very quick, along with a couple very quick cars. It was the most exciting and enjoyable day, made better for myself, by the excellent instruction I recieved from Kevin and Simon of Foucussed Events, found myself getting faster and more relaxed the more I went out, and would love to go again. I also owe thanks to Andy Melbert and his team from AMG Brighton for the invite. Great day out.
Was your's the estate? I've always like fast estate cars (my other car is an estate) as it couples the performance with practicality; yours did sound lovely indeed when I was perched on the pit wall. Time to get out on a few more track days and enjoy your car, afterall that's what its all about!! 
T4RRR said:
burton_ii said:
popped in today to have a look to see what was going on. saw you out at about 11.30ish. have to say sounded very nice, what is it your running under there then? lovely day to be there today and especially as you had the track to only a few of you.
Its just a bog standard engine (hence the characteristic 5-pot engine note) with a full exhaust and ECU remap. Its also got uprated anti-roll bars and Carbotech brake pads, but everything else is standard as supplied from the factory. The car is primarily used for commuting, general holidaying and sometimes as a rapid respose medical vehicle, so has to be (and fortunately has been) very reliable; being a Volvo its also cheap to insure and maintain. I intend to get down to Goodwood a few more times so if you do see me there again, just give me a shout and I'll gladly take you out for a lap! It was a lovely day indeed - it did start raining just after 4pm but by that time, there were so few of us left it was virtually open pit lane!!
well like i said it sounds very nice, almost sleeper look to it. certainly left the pit quick enough! i too have driven goodwood a couple of times now and have to say it is a fantastic place.
T4RRR said:
ricky s said:
I was there in my black E55, my first track day. That volvo was very quick, along with a couple very quick cars. It was the most exciting and enjoyable day, made better for myself, by the excellent instruction I recieved from Kevin and Simon of Foucussed Events, found myself getting faster and more relaxed the more I went out, and would love to go again. I also owe thanks to Andy Melbert and his team from AMG Brighton for the invite. Great day out.
Was your's the estate? I've always like fast estate cars (my other car is an estate) as it couples the performance with practicality; yours did sound lovely indeed when I was perched on the pit wall. Time to get out on a few more track days and enjoy your car, afterall that's what its all about!! ricky s said:
Afraid not, think that was a C55 estate, mine was the black E class saloon, and your right I intend to get out there again, I am still on a high from it all 2 days later. Was that a typical track day, as I overheard some of the others saying that this one, was particular good, no OTT agressive drivers, well spread out, and with only ever the 7 cars on the track, loads of track time, and a mixture of beginners and experienced drivers. Do some of the track days get out of hand driving unsafely wise, and would you normally get this amount of track time we got on Thursday. I see FE have another one at goodwood in October.
Ah yes, now I remember your car! In fairness, I would not say it was a typical track day because most of those I've been to tend to have more cars booked and running on track so sometimes it can feel like the track is a little "crowded". However, I've also been to a couple of open pitlane events at similar circuits like Castle Combe, where there have only been a handful of cars out. Personally, I prefer open pitlane events because there's no "rush" and pressure to get the most from a fixed time session and the car tends to be out for around 30mins per outing (there's always 2 of us taking turns driving), with around a 10-15min rest period in between.In terms of driving standards, it does vary quite a lot. It doesn't always help that I take a Volvo out on a trackday because sometimes we do get deliberately held up by some who have better straightline speed but are much slower through corners, and ultimately slower over a lap, but I think you will find people will pull out of your way when you come screaming up behind them in an AMG!!
I tend to book with Goldtrack and BaT, both of whom have run very good track days and who deal with poor driving standards very well. If you get a chance, I would recommend attending a session at Castle Combe if you get a chance - similar in some respects and quite technical, but very rewarding when you get it right!Thank you T4RRR, its great to get experienced advice on these matters from people like yourselves, especially as I am such a novice in such events, and many thanks for your comments. I am proposing to tweak my car, brake wise, and hopefully book Goodwood again, but will also look at Castle Coombe venues as you suggest, I have got to get out there again. Many thanks
ricky s said:
Thank you T4RRR, its great to get experienced advice on these matters from people like yourselves, especially as I am such a novice in such events, and many thanks for your comments. I am proposing to tweak my car, brake wise, and hopefully book Goodwood again, but will also look at Castle Coombe venues as you suggest, I have got to get out there again. Many thanks
If you're ever coming over to Combe, let me know as its very close to where I live. If you're considering brake upgrades, I would first recommend looking at a good set of pads and using a good brake fluid. My car has Brembo 4-pots front and rear as standard, and whilst the standard pads did work pretty well, they did not really like sustained hard use on track. I was initially considering a disc upgrade but on the recommendation of a friend who is also a regular trackday enthusiast, I tried a set of Carbotech XP8 pads and was astonished at the difference they made. Those were the pads that I was using at Goodwood and that has been the main modification to my braking system. They give excellent brake modulation and they're also very kind on the stadard discs. Given my car has done thousands of miles on track in the last year alone, I'm on my second set of front pads and still first set of rears, which makes it a reasonably cost-effective upgrade too.The downside is they do squeal quite a lot but its a small compromise for the performance they give. Bear in mind that manufacturers need to consider things like pad noise, longevity and cost etc, so standard pads will always be a compromise of sorts. I'd think there'll be a variety of pad upgrades out there and would definitely be my first port of call before considering anything else. Fluid wise, I use Anglo American R600+ - if its good enough for the Red Bull F1 team, its good enough for me! LoL
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