Track day 12th May
Discussion
Hi Guys,
A brilliant day, and special thanks to Tux (of-green-pants fame) who did all the organising, and thanks also to the NOB guys for letting me and Ult-jim come play and gate-crash your party!
Was a little unsettled weather-wise in the morning, but generally the track was dry, and the afternoon was glorious from about 1:30 on, so lots of track-time.
No real incidents to report except for one mini pretty-much losing its undercarriage after coming off spectacularly on one of the bends.
As for me, well, I managed to keep mine on the track - super cautious for the first few laps, but got adventurous later on and nearly lost it at Arena, so brown pants time!
Pickys I have ordered from the site, + I have some of my own vids that I will cut down and post up later - some really good ones, so in a few days I will post them up.
I do hope nexyt time we can have a better showing of Ultima owners, cos you really are missing a fantastic time at silverstone, especially as we had the full F1 circuit to hoon around!
Again Tanks Si, and thanks Nobles club - I really enjoyed the banter and friendly atmosphere!
3Dee
A brilliant day, and special thanks to Tux (of-green-pants fame) who did all the organising, and thanks also to the NOB guys for letting me and Ult-jim come play and gate-crash your party!
Was a little unsettled weather-wise in the morning, but generally the track was dry, and the afternoon was glorious from about 1:30 on, so lots of track-time.
No real incidents to report except for one mini pretty-much losing its undercarriage after coming off spectacularly on one of the bends.
As for me, well, I managed to keep mine on the track - super cautious for the first few laps, but got adventurous later on and nearly lost it at Arena, so brown pants time!
Pickys I have ordered from the site, + I have some of my own vids that I will cut down and post up later - some really good ones, so in a few days I will post them up.
I do hope nexyt time we can have a better showing of Ultima owners, cos you really are missing a fantastic time at silverstone, especially as we had the full F1 circuit to hoon around!
Again Tanks Si, and thanks Nobles club - I really enjoyed the banter and friendly atmosphere!
3Dee
I've just seen some great photos posted by Jim on his FB page. Nice but what a pity only 2 Ults around on that great track. If I lived in the UK, I would be all over the track day offerings you lucky ba
ds have available. Come on guys, what's a track day for an Ultima? A great opportunity to test your vehicle and find where are the limits. It must be safer than doing that on public roads.
ds have available. Come on guys, what's a track day for an Ultima? A great opportunity to test your vehicle and find where are the limits. It must be safer than doing that on public roads.Nice one Keith!
Whilst it can be intimidating at first, Ultima's are actually pretty beign on track and tend to be neutral with a bit of nose push as standard - just like 99% of road cars.
If you've got the bug, you'd do well to invest in some tuition to get the most from the car as driving high power, mid engined rear drive is a skill that doesn't come naturally to most.
Anyway, main thing is you enjoyed it and came back in one piece! Now get those pics up!
Whilst it can be intimidating at first, Ultima's are actually pretty beign on track and tend to be neutral with a bit of nose push as standard - just like 99% of road cars.
If you've got the bug, you'd do well to invest in some tuition to get the most from the car as driving high power, mid engined rear drive is a skill that doesn't come naturally to most.
Anyway, main thing is you enjoyed it and came back in one piece! Now get those pics up!
Fantastic day at Silverstone GP circuit. Great to meet TuxMan, 3Dee, MarkWebb (driving a Radical) & others. Many thanks to all the Noble guys for letting us join in.
Being my second real track day and first at Silverstone I completed a total of 120 miles on track averaging 10mpg. Each session was about 5 to 6 laps (3.66 miles GP circuit) allowing for one warm up lap and one cooling lap. Then plenty of time between sessions to allow the car to cool, check it over and chat to everyone. No problem with temperatures all day. Lots of tread in my Michelins to do the same again many times and still drive home safely.
Silverstone is a safe wide track with plenty of run-off and very suitable for Ultimas. To get the most out of the car it is important to hold your nerve and late brake in to the corner all the way to the apex to retain front end grip & control.
Running with a stock LS7, Factory setup, Ultima single adjusted shocks (wound up hard), Factory road springs and Michelins, I can now understand how Kumho’s, Factory’s track springs and newer two way adjustable set correctly would give that extra grip on some of the longer open corners as I was suffering from body roll. However I was more than happy with my road set up as the car is more capable than I would ever be and I often found myself backing off as my speed was building.
It did feel as if I was improving throughout the day. Great round Copse and Stowe, enjoyed Maggots Becketts and Chapel corners as well. I did find the newer part of the track more challenging, having to brake more than I first realised round Abbey at the end of the new pits (nearly my brown pants moment in one of the earlier sessions with cooler tires). I felt my improvement and confidence throughout the day with speeds increasing along Hangar Straight and hitting the upper rev range more often out of corners in the afternoon.
I was a little apprehensive in the morning especially as up to now it has been a garage queen and show car for me (yes I do love polishing), but a track day was a box to tick with this car. Bring on Spa and the Ring next!
On the return journey I hit a massive rain storm but still drove on to Ace Cafe in London / Petrol Head’s Nirvana Monthly Monday meet to finish off the day fully.
Ok enough of me here are some photos.
Ult-Jim
Being my second real track day and first at Silverstone I completed a total of 120 miles on track averaging 10mpg. Each session was about 5 to 6 laps (3.66 miles GP circuit) allowing for one warm up lap and one cooling lap. Then plenty of time between sessions to allow the car to cool, check it over and chat to everyone. No problem with temperatures all day. Lots of tread in my Michelins to do the same again many times and still drive home safely.
Silverstone is a safe wide track with plenty of run-off and very suitable for Ultimas. To get the most out of the car it is important to hold your nerve and late brake in to the corner all the way to the apex to retain front end grip & control.
Running with a stock LS7, Factory setup, Ultima single adjusted shocks (wound up hard), Factory road springs and Michelins, I can now understand how Kumho’s, Factory’s track springs and newer two way adjustable set correctly would give that extra grip on some of the longer open corners as I was suffering from body roll. However I was more than happy with my road set up as the car is more capable than I would ever be and I often found myself backing off as my speed was building.
It did feel as if I was improving throughout the day. Great round Copse and Stowe, enjoyed Maggots Becketts and Chapel corners as well. I did find the newer part of the track more challenging, having to brake more than I first realised round Abbey at the end of the new pits (nearly my brown pants moment in one of the earlier sessions with cooler tires). I felt my improvement and confidence throughout the day with speeds increasing along Hangar Straight and hitting the upper rev range more often out of corners in the afternoon.
I was a little apprehensive in the morning especially as up to now it has been a garage queen and show car for me (yes I do love polishing), but a track day was a box to tick with this car. Bring on Spa and the Ring next!
On the return journey I hit a massive rain storm but still drove on to Ace Cafe in London / Petrol Head’s Nirvana Monthly Monday meet to finish off the day fully.
Ok enough of me here are some photos.
Ult-Jim
V8Dom said:
interesting how you are both running the canam mirrors, which makes me wonder are the factory missing an oppotunity hear as the GTR mirrors are getting used less and less now.
Much better, more simple alternative... and looks very OK on the car IMHO.... AND you can chose the mount height to suit!Great swivel exercise for your neck also, so double well-good...
Gassing Station | Ultima | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff