New to trackdays
Discussion
Evening all,
As the title suggests I am completely new to trackdays. Managed to pick up an MG ZS Mk1 180 for a bargain price. It's fully stripped out, harnessed, polybushed, decat exhaust with slicks to match.
The car is SORN at the moment as it is locked away.
I've looked at insuring the car all year round but I am getting some ridiculous quotes. £350 fully comp for a car worth barely double that.
Now here are the questions.............
1) What hints and tips would you give about car maintenance before/during/after the trackday?
2) Is there any specific insurers that specialise in track car insurance or provide specialist insurance all year round?
3) Any advice about driving Llandow?
Cheers
As the title suggests I am completely new to trackdays. Managed to pick up an MG ZS Mk1 180 for a bargain price. It's fully stripped out, harnessed, polybushed, decat exhaust with slicks to match.
The car is SORN at the moment as it is locked away.
I've looked at insuring the car all year round but I am getting some ridiculous quotes. £350 fully comp for a car worth barely double that.
Now here are the questions.............
1) What hints and tips would you give about car maintenance before/during/after the trackday?
2) Is there any specific insurers that specialise in track car insurance or provide specialist insurance all year round?
3) Any advice about driving Llandow?
Cheers
For a start I`d remove the slicks and get either some decent road tyres or at a push some `R` rated tyres, but in my opinion you`ll learn FAR more with some road tyres.
Slicks on your first trackday is asking for trouble !!
A few things in this thread worth looking at regarding first timers on track.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Slicks on your first trackday is asking for trouble !!
A few things in this thread worth looking at regarding first timers on track.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
You say you are being asked for £350 for fully comp, and you think that is bad?
For a heavily modified car (with us not knowing your age/NCD?history) I would say that id pretty good.
I take it you didn't tell them the car has been rendered illegal for road use by negation of the emisions systems (decatted it) as that wouldn't be a positive! I am assuming the car is post 94 by what it is.
You also say the car is worth barely twice that, but with insurance that is of little interest as you could still write off a £500,000 Mosler with it!
With respect to special insurers, the best idea is to google trackday car insurance & get on the phone to as many as you can, some do allow you to fill in an electronic proposal online & will quote off it.
Aplan are worth a try, as are Adrian Flux, and Competition Car Insurance to name a few I have had dealings with over the years.
On the subject of maintenance you need to be very hot on suspension joints etc, brakes, and regular good quality fluid changes (all fluids that is, not just oil) and that but the rest is just as normal.
For a heavily modified car (with us not knowing your age/NCD?history) I would say that id pretty good.
I take it you didn't tell them the car has been rendered illegal for road use by negation of the emisions systems (decatted it) as that wouldn't be a positive! I am assuming the car is post 94 by what it is.
You also say the car is worth barely twice that, but with insurance that is of little interest as you could still write off a £500,000 Mosler with it!
With respect to special insurers, the best idea is to google trackday car insurance & get on the phone to as many as you can, some do allow you to fill in an electronic proposal online & will quote off it.
Aplan are worth a try, as are Adrian Flux, and Competition Car Insurance to name a few I have had dealings with over the years.
On the subject of maintenance you need to be very hot on suspension joints etc, brakes, and regular good quality fluid changes (all fluids that is, not just oil) and that but the rest is just as normal.
Do you have a road legal car with which you could tow a trailer? Don't insure the Rover, keep it as it is and you can hire a good car trailer for £50-60 a time - that's six track days a year with the insurance saving. And you can always get home, even if you crash or break your Rover.
It's not worth insuring a £700 car on track. The excess on my policy is £1000, and it only covers accident damage to my own car.
And I agree about not using slicks - they can break the car and you will eventually have your accident going a lot faster. Semi-track Tyres (Yoko AD08R, Federal 595RSR and similar) will serve you a lot better. Your call.
It's not worth insuring a £700 car on track. The excess on my policy is £1000, and it only covers accident damage to my own car.
And I agree about not using slicks - they can break the car and you will eventually have your accident going a lot faster. Semi-track Tyres (Yoko AD08R, Federal 595RSR and similar) will serve you a lot better. Your call.
Hi, ive driven llandow several times in my exocet track car as its my local track. As other have said get rid of the slicks and get some decent track tyres rsr/nsr etc etc llandow is extremely tough on tyres so that is a must.
Brakes again llandow has 2 main braking zone one at the first corner from 90/100mph to 30mph or so and the 2nd at the chicane at the far end of the circuit. Due to the short nature of the track there is a lot of accelerating and braking happening within a short time so brakes need to be able to work well and not fade so good quality track spec pads and high boiling point track spec brake fluid.
As long as they are done just general car checks making sure there is no fluid leaks and everything is topped up.
After that just book in and have some fun llandow is the perfect place to get into track days and was my first trackday 3 years ago in my 1.6 mx5.
Brakes again llandow has 2 main braking zone one at the first corner from 90/100mph to 30mph or so and the 2nd at the chicane at the far end of the circuit. Due to the short nature of the track there is a lot of accelerating and braking happening within a short time so brakes need to be able to work well and not fade so good quality track spec pads and high boiling point track spec brake fluid.
As long as they are done just general car checks making sure there is no fluid leaks and everything is topped up.
After that just book in and have some fun llandow is the perfect place to get into track days and was my first trackday 3 years ago in my 1.6 mx5.
I race a V6 180, and use another one for coaching on track!! Firstly, as everyone has said, get rid of the slicks, because many track day organisers will not allow them to be used unless the car has a substantial cage fitted!! The ideal tyre is a Federal 595 RSR which is available as a 215/45 x 17, and can be bought from My Tyres for around £60 all in!! They may just catch the arches initially, but it is nothing to be concerned about! Forget all the advice regarding brake pad material, use EBC Blue Stuff, with EBC Fluid, and if possible, change the flexible hoses for HEL or similar braided hoses! Other than that, don't bother with any suspension modification, (springs or dampers) because the car is the best handling saloon straight out of the box!!! Forget spending money on any type of 'boy racer' modification, and any spare money you have, pay a decent instructor to coach you! Driven correctly, you can embarrass many drivers in far more expensive cars, and the satisfaction is when you overtake them in 'your old Rover'!!!
The slicks issue has been done to death so will avoid that.
Make sure the brakes are good - it's literally the most important thing on track. Replace with fresh fluid as you won't know the condition of the stuff in there, recommend ATE superblue or equivalent as its high temp dot 4 stuff which can be thrown in there like any other normal brake fluid. You'd benefit from exercising the pistons in and out a little too as again you don't know how much use they have had recently. Check pads for decent and even (within reason) meat on them all round. Check the condition of the lines to each caliper. Heat can show up some strange issues with brakes that are not apparent on the road so it's always good practice to check everything over beforehand. Inspect suspension components for wear, bushes and joints and stuff.
Fresh oil for engine, gearbox, diff. Do a few warming up laps before giving it death, get everything up to a decent temperature first including the brakes. Do the same cooling down, do a couple of laps at half pace to allow air to circulate, minimal brakes. Park up in gear not with the handbrake (otherwise you're clamping a hot pad and disc together and will case material transfer = vibrations). You don't need to leave your engine running after a session unless you're running a turbo.
Take things like cable ties, duct tape, WD40, hammers, spare fluid, other general tools, jack, axel stands, foot pump & pressure gauge. You never know what you may need to do to get home - it's always better to have something and not need it than need something and not have it - especially if you have one sitting in your garage at home already.
I've drifted Llandow 4 times and its a pretty cool little track. It's quite abrasive so should still give half decent grip in the wet. Beware of the lack of run off on the outside of the track though, you run out of room very quickly if you mess up at pace. Kerbs there are pretty damn vicious through the bus stop, just avoid them to save yourself headaches. Many broken suspension and steering components at drift events due to people throwing the car over the first kerb into the bus stop under the control tower. There's good straight-ahead run off on the outside of this corner too, so if you really want to test your brakes do it here and not on the back straight.
Make sure the brakes are good - it's literally the most important thing on track. Replace with fresh fluid as you won't know the condition of the stuff in there, recommend ATE superblue or equivalent as its high temp dot 4 stuff which can be thrown in there like any other normal brake fluid. You'd benefit from exercising the pistons in and out a little too as again you don't know how much use they have had recently. Check pads for decent and even (within reason) meat on them all round. Check the condition of the lines to each caliper. Heat can show up some strange issues with brakes that are not apparent on the road so it's always good practice to check everything over beforehand. Inspect suspension components for wear, bushes and joints and stuff.
Fresh oil for engine, gearbox, diff. Do a few warming up laps before giving it death, get everything up to a decent temperature first including the brakes. Do the same cooling down, do a couple of laps at half pace to allow air to circulate, minimal brakes. Park up in gear not with the handbrake (otherwise you're clamping a hot pad and disc together and will case material transfer = vibrations). You don't need to leave your engine running after a session unless you're running a turbo.
Take things like cable ties, duct tape, WD40, hammers, spare fluid, other general tools, jack, axel stands, foot pump & pressure gauge. You never know what you may need to do to get home - it's always better to have something and not need it than need something and not have it - especially if you have one sitting in your garage at home already.
I've drifted Llandow 4 times and its a pretty cool little track. It's quite abrasive so should still give half decent grip in the wet. Beware of the lack of run off on the outside of the track though, you run out of room very quickly if you mess up at pace. Kerbs there are pretty damn vicious through the bus stop, just avoid them to save yourself headaches. Many broken suspension and steering components at drift events due to people throwing the car over the first kerb into the bus stop under the control tower. There's good straight-ahead run off on the outside of this corner too, so if you really want to test your brakes do it here and not on the back straight.
Edited by Andy S15 on Friday 8th January 12:15
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