Quick question biblically slow car track days
Discussion
I have a Clio only a 1.4 8v 0-60 in a month and 100 in a millennia and I was wondering if taking it on a track day was a good idea. I dont care about it being slow its plenty fast enough for me to get myself in to trouble 
More worried about those around me last thing you want is to be belting it around a track to find a car crawling along in comparison to you. Closest track to me is castle combe which I have been told by a few work colleagues probably is not best to start out with. Ask them about the speed of my car relative to others but none of them have experience as they all have a lot faster cars than me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
More worried about those around me last thing you want is to be belting it around a track to find a car crawling along in comparison to you. Closest track to me is castle combe which I have been told by a few work colleagues probably is not best to start out with. Ask them about the speed of my car relative to others but none of them have experience as they all have a lot faster cars than me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
cant wait!Just done my first track day at Castle Combe in a slowish car (MK1 MX5).
Make sure you take advantage of the free instruction, it's very good and will make the day much better. If it goes wrong there isn't a lot of room for error. As long as you keep an eye on your mirror and indicate that you've seen people then you should be fine. There were a couple of times when it got busy, I just hung back and kept out of the way.
It's great fun but you do need to be aware, I spun on the last corner just as I was thinking of finishing and came to within about 6 feet of hitting the barriers. It was wet and there was grass on the track...... During the briefing they do make a big thing of Castle Combe having the most accidents of any UK track.
Make sure you take advantage of the free instruction, it's very good and will make the day much better. If it goes wrong there isn't a lot of room for error. As long as you keep an eye on your mirror and indicate that you've seen people then you should be fine. There were a couple of times when it got busy, I just hung back and kept out of the way.
It's great fun but you do need to be aware, I spun on the last corner just as I was thinking of finishing and came to within about 6 feet of hitting the barriers. It was wet and there was grass on the track...... During the briefing they do make a big thing of Castle Combe having the most accidents of any UK track.
Edited by jumare on Sunday 5th April 23:10
Agree with all above, but will add do your preparation before going.
If you can get a set of spare wheels & fit the best quality part worns you can, something like Conti S/C 3 or 5, Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrical 11. Also if you can, drop tyre size for better stability and acceleration. eg. if your tyre size is 195/60/16, go down to something like 195/40 or 50/16.
Make sure you get a new set of front pads fitted & keep a close eye on them all day, even try some Ferodo DS2500 perhaps, and have a fresh spare front set just in case (you WILL be surprised how much abuse they get & WILL wear massively quicker than normal) and fully change your brake fluid before hand. You have no idea what the effect of boiling old brake fluid will do until you hit the brakes at the end of the straight & the pedal sinks to the floor!
Also during the day your tyre pressures will go up dramatically, so start with the correct pressures & IMMDEDIATELY when you come in check them & drop them back to correct. You may need to do this a couple of times until they stop going up. So you will also need a small cigarette lighter powered compressor for the end of the day.
Do all of the above & you WILL be able to enjoy the day safely, at which point I am certain you will then start losing weight off the car and modifying for next time out. You are then hooked.
If you can get a set of spare wheels & fit the best quality part worns you can, something like Conti S/C 3 or 5, Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrical 11. Also if you can, drop tyre size for better stability and acceleration. eg. if your tyre size is 195/60/16, go down to something like 195/40 or 50/16.
Make sure you get a new set of front pads fitted & keep a close eye on them all day, even try some Ferodo DS2500 perhaps, and have a fresh spare front set just in case (you WILL be surprised how much abuse they get & WILL wear massively quicker than normal) and fully change your brake fluid before hand. You have no idea what the effect of boiling old brake fluid will do until you hit the brakes at the end of the straight & the pedal sinks to the floor!
Also during the day your tyre pressures will go up dramatically, so start with the correct pressures & IMMDEDIATELY when you come in check them & drop them back to correct. You may need to do this a couple of times until they stop going up. So you will also need a small cigarette lighter powered compressor for the end of the day.
Do all of the above & you WILL be able to enjoy the day safely, at which point I am certain you will then start losing weight off the car and modifying for next time out. You are then hooked.
Serious overkill. Make sure what you've got is in decent condition, there's some meat on the pads and rubber on the tyres; take it for a razz, enjoy.
A 1.4 clio doesn't have enough grunt to eat brake pads or tyres, you have to put the energy in before you can take it out (and that's not meant as a slur
) Most standard cars unless woefully under-braked (e.g. mate's z3) will get at least a couple of trackdays (most likely more) from standard pads and tyres - if not, you're probably doing something wrong like braking too much, or not letting the tyres cool off now and then/adjusting the pressures.. Likewise, brakes don't suddenly disappear. The pedal will go spongy and 'long' plenty before you loose them completely - take heed, go and cool things down if you need to.
A 1.4 clio doesn't have enough grunt to eat brake pads or tyres, you have to put the energy in before you can take it out (and that's not meant as a slur
) Most standard cars unless woefully under-braked (e.g. mate's z3) will get at least a couple of trackdays (most likely more) from standard pads and tyres - if not, you're probably doing something wrong like braking too much, or not letting the tyres cool off now and then/adjusting the pressures.. Likewise, brakes don't suddenly disappear. The pedal will go spongy and 'long' plenty before you loose them completely - take heed, go and cool things down if you need to.Edited by upsidedownmark on Monday 6th April 16:44
Much less hassle than the tubes who can't drive but do have a powerful car. Slow through the corners then blast you on the straights, these us would die being overtaken by a 1.4 Clio 
Enjoy your day OP, as others have said, book the instruction and you'll probably come out of it a better driver.
Enjoy your day OP, as others have said, book the instruction and you'll probably come out of it a better driver.
Mr MXT said:
Do a sessioned day rather than an open pit lane.
Not my recommendation because if someone red flags your session, then you will not be able to recover that time later in the day. But if you do, then queue up at the back of the group so you go out last and won't have to worry about anyone behind you.
supertouring said:
then queue up at the back of the group so you go out last and won't have to worry about anyone behind you.
For a lap or so anyway. Just keep an eye on the mirrors and make sure you get out of the way. People will have a lot more respect for you than they will for someone in a "faster" car who spends all day in everyone's way.
upsidedownmark said:
Serious overkill. Make sure what you've got is in decent condition, there's some meat on the pads and rubber on the tyres; take it for a razz, enjoy.
A 1.4 clio doesn't have enough grunt to eat brake pads or tyres, you have to put the energy in before you can take it out (and that's not meant as a slur ) Most standard cars unless woefully under-braked (e.g. mate's z3) will get at least a couple of trackdays (most likely more) from standard pads and tyres - if not, you're probably doing something wrong like braking too much, or not letting the tyres cool off now and then/adjusting the pressures.. Likewise, brakes don't suddenly disappear. The pedal will go spongy and 'long' plenty before you loose them completely - take heed, go and cool things down if you need to.
SERIOUSLY DISAGREE!A 1.4 clio doesn't have enough grunt to eat brake pads or tyres, you have to put the energy in before you can take it out (and that's not meant as a slur
) Most standard cars unless woefully under-braked (e.g. mate's z3) will get at least a couple of trackdays (most likely more) from standard pads and tyres - if not, you're probably doing something wrong like braking too much, or not letting the tyres cool off now and then/adjusting the pressures.. Likewise, brakes don't suddenly disappear. The pedal will go spongy and 'long' plenty before you loose them completely - take heed, go and cool things down if you need to.Edited by upsidedownmark on Monday 6th April 16:44
Obviously it has never happened to you, but it did to me, exactly as described, bend -1 all OK, next bend 110mph foot to the floor, that was on my second track day.
I also personally know of a few people who will account exactly the same story.
If all you do is fill & bleed all lines through & fit new pads, I PROMISE you, you will not regret it, especially when others tell you the same story.
Lack of go is no problem on a track day , lack of stop is a serious problem on a track day.
Forums | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff