Driving to Walshy day from SW London
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Sorry for the slightly lame sounding post but...
I'v got a Car Limits day at North Weald Air Field tomrrow
and will be driving there from SW London (Fulham). I have never driven through London in rush hour (have to be there for 9AM) but I know nothing much moves.
Has anyone done this route or have a rough idea of when I should leave to get there for 9am? I really have no idea with the trafic and I wouldn't want to get there late.
Any insight much appreciated, again sorry for the boring post!
Cheers
Christian
>> Edited by ChristianM on Tuesday 25th October 17:39
Sorry for the slightly lame sounding post but...
I'v got a Car Limits day at North Weald Air Field tomrrow
and will be driving there from SW London (Fulham). I have never driven through London in rush hour (have to be there for 9AM) but I know nothing much moves. Has anyone done this route or have a rough idea of when I should leave to get there for 9am? I really have no idea with the trafic and I wouldn't want to get there late.
Any insight much appreciated, again sorry for the boring post!
Cheers
Christian
>> Edited by ChristianM on Tuesday 25th October 17:39
I live in Putney and have done two Walshy days... best bet is SET OFF EARLY.
I set off at 7, up Fulham Palace Road to Hammersmith, A4, M4, M25, M11 (?) and you're there. If your early I think theres a cafe near by for bacon sarnie/breakfast or you could just drive round to the burger van thing on the airfield for a cup of tea
I set off at 7, up Fulham Palace Road to Hammersmith, A4, M4, M25, M11 (?) and you're there. If your early I think theres a cafe near by for bacon sarnie/breakfast or you could just drive round to the burger van thing on the airfield for a cup of tea
Enjoy the day - Walshy is great. It is the best blend of learning and fun that I can remember. He starts off testing your braking ability - if it is wet tomorrow, that should be fun. Then the cornering limits. It was the first time I have spun a car in 20 yrs of driving.
By the end of the afternoon, you will have learned plenty of really useful things. Then time for the slalom course. I haven't laughed so hard in years. One of the blokes in a Honda S2000 was shredding his tyres down to the metal. (he had spares)
Interestingly, I was really worried about my tyres as they did not have a lot of tread to start with. They really coped well and were not noticeable worse at the end of the day. Andy says Toyo proxy's melt on the airfield days, but other tyres are fine on the elise as it is so light.
Enjoy it - and have a good laugh with Walshy - top bloke.
By the end of the afternoon, you will have learned plenty of really useful things. Then time for the slalom course. I haven't laughed so hard in years. One of the blokes in a Honda S2000 was shredding his tyres down to the metal. (he had spares)
Interestingly, I was really worried about my tyres as they did not have a lot of tread to start with. They really coped well and were not noticeable worse at the end of the day. Andy says Toyo proxy's melt on the airfield days, but other tyres are fine on the elise as it is so light.
Enjoy it - and have a good laugh with Walshy - top bloke.
top day highly and i would highly recommend it as a safe way to learn the limits of you and your cars ability (driver normally being the limiting factor 
) -better than trying crazy stuff on a run and ending up backwards in a ditch.
m11 may not be too bad going out rather than into london but ultimately i wouldn't worry -it's only your time that you are losing.
tup
) -better than trying crazy stuff on a run and ending up backwards in a ditch. m11 may not be too bad going out rather than into london but ultimately i wouldn't worry -it's only your time that you are losing.
tup
Did one last week and I can't recommend it enough.
My tips:
- Get a Macca's for brekkie just as you come off the M11 for the airfield.
- Don't drive across to the food van until you've been shown where to, and where not to by Andrew.... unless you like punctures.
- Don't forget to check your oil, tyre pressures and to fill up to the brim before you go. I used 3/4 of a tank getting there and during the day. There's a filling station nearby
- Do expect to spin the car alot and to give the tyres some grief (a few mm's worth)
- Do expect to find out that (if you have them) Toyo's are sh!t (at least the T1-S's are) and caning them at the airfield is the best thing for them so you can get some decent replacements
- Do expect to learn a helluvalot about the car, and yourself as a driver.
Above all, have fun, Andrew's a great teacher and will impart a huge amount of knowledge at one go. You'll be back. I know I will!
>> Edited by S Works on Wednesday 26th October 00:08
My tips:
- Get a Macca's for brekkie just as you come off the M11 for the airfield.
- Don't drive across to the food van until you've been shown where to, and where not to by Andrew.... unless you like punctures.
- Don't forget to check your oil, tyre pressures and to fill up to the brim before you go. I used 3/4 of a tank getting there and during the day. There's a filling station nearby
- Do expect to spin the car alot and to give the tyres some grief (a few mm's worth)
- Do expect to find out that (if you have them) Toyo's are sh!t (at least the T1-S's are) and caning them at the airfield is the best thing for them so you can get some decent replacements
- Do expect to learn a helluvalot about the car, and yourself as a driver.
Above all, have fun, Andrew's a great teacher and will impart a huge amount of knowledge at one go. You'll be back. I know I will!
>> Edited by S Works on Wednesday 26th October 00:08
Cheers for all the info guys...
Well myself and the car are now back at home and in good shape - In fact I even managed to reduce the weight of the car from factory slightly by sheding some excess rubber and pad material
Was myself and a S1 111S, a Westfield and a 993 911 Turbo. Great combination of cars and we all had passenger rides round the circuit in each others cars which was cool for comparing them.
Andy is a top bloke and amazes everyone with his car control skills. He could generate cornering and braking forces in your car you never thought possible! Alot has been said on here about Andy and the day so rather than repeat it all I would just like to echo all the positive comments and add that I had a massive amount of fun and will 100% be going back for more. What's great about that prospect is that he will taylor the tuition to your level, introducing more advanced techniques as you progress so you will always be learning and progressing and never get bored.
Also...I didn't think it was that hard on the tires (not worth worrying about) so don't let that put you off.
Highly recomended!
Well myself and the car are now back at home and in good shape - In fact I even managed to reduce the weight of the car from factory slightly by sheding some excess rubber and pad material
Was myself and a S1 111S, a Westfield and a 993 911 Turbo. Great combination of cars and we all had passenger rides round the circuit in each others cars which was cool for comparing them.
Andy is a top bloke and amazes everyone with his car control skills. He could generate cornering and braking forces in your car you never thought possible! Alot has been said on here about Andy and the day so rather than repeat it all I would just like to echo all the positive comments and add that I had a massive amount of fun and will 100% be going back for more. What's great about that prospect is that he will taylor the tuition to your level, introducing more advanced techniques as you progress so you will always be learning and progressing and never get bored.
Also...I didn't think it was that hard on the tires (not worth worrying about) so don't let that put you off.
Highly recomended!
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