Bedford yesterday
Discussion
Had a great day yesterday at Bedford, gave the 3r a good spanking and it didn't miss a beat.
Sun shone for most of the day, until I was passengering in a certain blue M400 and the heavens opened.
Just as i was commenting on how well the Corsas were doing braking for the chicane, Joust demonstrated the high speed (100mph) reverse grass cutting abilities of the rear venturi
. I was even more impressed with the way the cuttings were collected in the side pods 
No harm done and a great demonstration of the car, so thanks mate for making me want one so badly..
Other highlights were a ride in a 550bhp flame spitting yellow ultima piloted by a 65 year old mad scientist, and the look on my girlfriends face after she got out after a ride in Steve RW's M400.. at least I think it was the car she was so impressed with..
Sun shone for most of the day, until I was passengering in a certain blue M400 and the heavens opened.
Just as i was commenting on how well the Corsas were doing braking for the chicane, Joust demonstrated the high speed (100mph) reverse grass cutting abilities of the rear venturi
. I was even more impressed with the way the cuttings were collected in the side pods No harm done and a great demonstration of the car, so thanks mate for making me want one so badly..
Other highlights were a ride in a 550bhp flame spitting yellow ultima piloted by a 65 year old mad scientist, and the look on my girlfriends face after she got out after a ride in Steve RW's M400.. at least I think it was the car she was so impressed with..
diceman said:
Had a great day yesterday at Bedford, gave the 3r a good spanking and it didn't miss a beat.
Sun shone for most of the day, until I was passengering in a certain blue M400 and the heavens opened.
Just as i was commenting on how well the Corsas were doing braking for the chicane, Joust demonstrated the high speed (100mph) reverse grass cutting abilities of the rear venturi
No harm done and a great demonstration of the car, so thanks mate for making me want one so badly..
Confucius say
"When less than 1.5mm on tyres, after rain just put standing water on track, do not try to take left right corner at end of straight at dry speeds"
I thought for a moment I had caught it, but just couldn't get from lock to lock quick enough to catch the slide the other way.
Still - as they say, unless you go off, you aren't trying hard enough - and Bedford is the safest place to demonstrate the limit of "almost slick" Corsa's...
Glad you liked the ride - the M400 didn't miss a beat all day and put a lot of smiles on the passengers.
J
joust said:
Confucius say
"When less than 1.5mm on tyres, after rain just put standing water on track, do not try to take left right corner at end of straight at dry speeds"
why am i not surprised this happened.... it was very impressive the way you were making the m400 'dance' round the track when you took me out for a few laps, but i did think 'he's gonna come unstuck at some point today'...
thanks too for the pointers you gave me when i took you out too. good day all in all...
So Justin, whats your opinion of GT2/GT3 straight line speed vs the M400 on the straights? Some of the porker owners had the legs on you on the bigger straights apparently?
Whilst it pays to be warey of Journo set times, I seem to remember a GT2 vs GT03 head to head where the m12 came out faster.
The Porsche clearly is better after 120ish - just look at the shape of the two cars.
On the first straight after West 8 I was hitting 135 according to my passenger before hitting the brakes. In the GT2 I saw 139, and to be fair, the driver wasn't exactly 'trying'.
Of course the fact that I then took the left/right kink before the next straight at ~20mph more than he dared to do in the GT2 shows the relative differences of the cars (and probably I have more 'stupid genes' in me)
It's no different to what we've found at VMAX - the M12 (and we'll find out with the M400 at the next one) stuffs TT X50s between 20-120, but then the slippery shape of the Porsche just takes over.
Let's face it, a Merc Sprinter Van is probably more aerodynamic than the M12 - what with it's splitter, wing and rather "blunt" front end/windscreen
J
>> Edited by joust on Wednesday 4th May 17:58
On the first straight after West 8 I was hitting 135 according to my passenger before hitting the brakes. In the GT2 I saw 139, and to be fair, the driver wasn't exactly 'trying'.
Of course the fact that I then took the left/right kink before the next straight at ~20mph more than he dared to do in the GT2 shows the relative differences of the cars (and probably I have more 'stupid genes' in me
) It's no different to what we've found at VMAX - the M12 (and we'll find out with the M400 at the next one) stuffs TT X50s between 20-120, but then the slippery shape of the Porsche just takes over.
Let's face it, a Merc Sprinter Van is probably more aerodynamic than the M12 - what with it's splitter, wing and rather "blunt" front end/windscreen
J
>> Edited by joust on Wednesday 4th May 17:58
DanH said:See above - yep, they clearly have the edge on the first straight after West 8.
So Justin, whats your opinion of GT2/GT3 straight line speed vs the M400 on the straights? Some of the porker owners had the legs on you on the bigger straights apparently?
Whilst it pays to be warey of Journo set times, I seem to remember a GT2 vs GT03 head to head where the m12 came out faster.
However, doing "passenger ride swaps" between the kind GT2 driver and myself the M400 is just stupidly fast around the corners, and is probably more 'savage' on things like the straights on the North circuit that make up the GT circuit it was a case of "
could you let me pass". In fairness Rob has only just started to get used to the GT2 and so a side by side comparison isn't really valid given I've had the M12/M400 for nearly 3 years - but I'd pretty much say that the M400 would be quicker around the whole circuit than a GT2/3 if both were driven by a "pro".
J
joust said:
One final thing to remember of course is that the GT2 was ~£120,000-130,000 list when new.
The M400 is a "lowly" £60k.
Puts things into perspective (although given my chat with Rob, clearly GT2's are some of the best used bargins of the world!)
J
A bit off topic but I'm curious about if the GT2 is drivable on a normal road, i.e. is it too "hard" for normal use - any ideas?
I'd love a GT2 if I had the funds. They really are a 'bargain'. Only issue is that its mechanically more complex than a GT3 and heavier, which probably means it will cost more to run.
Still got my eye on a GT3 though.
GT2s are meant to be ok on the road, but obviously have a widow maker rep. According to Chris Harris who's now got one, its was mostly due to poor tyre choice, and running with Corsas he says its much better. Its still a very powerful car with no PCM though, and the chassis is less forgiving than a Noble. Its GT3RSs that are alledged to be way too stiff for Brit roads.
just to make a few points.... i only picked up the gt2 about 1 month ago and this was my second track day ever, so clearly i have a lot of learning to do. there to compare which is better round a track with me doing the driving is pointless. i have to say though the m400 felt much grippier.
i did manage to get upto 153 on the straight at one point in the day, but i have good brakes that can slow me down rather rapidly.
as far as this widow maker thing is concerned, let me just say this: i saw plenty of of signifircantly less pwerfull cars (with 4 wheel drive, traction etc etc) spin off, skid around etc etc at relatively slow speeds, whereas I did not. clearly i am not wishing to tempt fate or make myself out to be any better a driver than i am, but i the first thing i did when i bought the car was have a driver training day at millbrook proving ground where i learnt about the dynamics of the car in a safe environment. this tought me a lot and as a result i have a good idea what i can and can;'t do with it. the major prblem with the gt2 is that speed build up very easily and its very easy to go into a bend 20 - 30mph faster than you think you are going, then you have to take serious action which upsets the balance and leaves you having a picnic with the wildlife in the nearest hedgerow.
regarding road manners - it's very easy to drive - good alround visibility, very straightforward. only problem is you only have about 3.5 inches ground clearance at the front to road humps are a problem.
as for tyres, i run michelin pilot which i think are good all rounders. the corsas are not to be trusted in damp conditions (wheelspin at 115mph is a story i've heard). at least i'm not ready for them yet!
steer clear of bravado and vanity when driving a gt2 and you'll be ok - that's my motto! i plan to develop my skills over time! speed is nothing if you have no control... etc etc
if i can get to play around on the track like joust did in due course, i'll be quite happy.
on the price front, gt2's can be picked up for as little as £65k now. that represents a real bargain.
here endeth the sermon...
amen.
i did manage to get upto 153 on the straight at one point in the day, but i have good brakes that can slow me down rather rapidly.
as far as this widow maker thing is concerned, let me just say this: i saw plenty of of signifircantly less pwerfull cars (with 4 wheel drive, traction etc etc) spin off, skid around etc etc at relatively slow speeds, whereas I did not. clearly i am not wishing to tempt fate or make myself out to be any better a driver than i am, but i the first thing i did when i bought the car was have a driver training day at millbrook proving ground where i learnt about the dynamics of the car in a safe environment. this tought me a lot and as a result i have a good idea what i can and can;'t do with it. the major prblem with the gt2 is that speed build up very easily and its very easy to go into a bend 20 - 30mph faster than you think you are going, then you have to take serious action which upsets the balance and leaves you having a picnic with the wildlife in the nearest hedgerow.
regarding road manners - it's very easy to drive - good alround visibility, very straightforward. only problem is you only have about 3.5 inches ground clearance at the front to road humps are a problem.
as for tyres, i run michelin pilot which i think are good all rounders. the corsas are not to be trusted in damp conditions (wheelspin at 115mph is a story i've heard). at least i'm not ready for them yet!
steer clear of bravado and vanity when driving a gt2 and you'll be ok - that's my motto! i plan to develop my skills over time! speed is nothing if you have no control... etc etc
if i can get to play around on the track like joust did in due course, i'll be quite happy.
on the price front, gt2's can be picked up for as little as £65k now. that represents a real bargain.
here endeth the sermon...
amen.
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