Thinking about taking the Chim on the track

[Geo28]

As the title suggests,

I am a track virgin and have been thinking about doing a trackday, probably at silverstone as its local to me.

I'm looking for any advise and experience from other Chimaera owners who have been on the track.

Will the standard brakes be OK, or will I need new tyres and pads afterwards.

I always said I would never take this car on the track but now I'm itching to have a go and think it would be a great way to get the most out of it.

[im]

I've got a Chim and work for THE track day company in the UK.

If you bought your car to run on any kind of budget - don't track it.

If running or repair costs aren't an issue - go for it.

IMHO

[dbv8]

Id say go for it.
It depends how hard you drive.
A few laps with a cool down lap at the end of each session wouldnt do the car much harm.
Remember not to use your handbrake in the pits!

I went to Croft in my 400se a few years ago and had a fantastic day.
I intend a track day or 2 this year in my 450 Chim so maybe i will see you.

[tvrbob]

These cars easily cope with full-on track day use. You will need to think about changing your front pads after the day because standard pads can cook. That said provided you have the discipline to do a cool down lap before pitting you may get away with it. On standard wheels and tyres you can expect to spoil the fronts, outer edges take quite a beating. I have to say I'm surprised at [im's] comments, some cars do struggle, my new Mini Cooper S found it hard going but tracking the Chim is no bother at all. I've done two or three per year for the past 5 years and I do push hard. The price has been in tyres and brakes. (and 9 miles to the gallon, that hurts a lot)

[ph1l5]

check what the sound regs are before you pay any money, as most have a db limit of 100 and under.
or you can get silencers but they are £100.

[steve-V8s]

Do it, they are made for it.

[im]

tvrbob said:

I have to say I'm surprised at im's comments

Why would you be surprised - I work for them and have daily access to people and information that you don't.

I'll say it again, if it's at all an issue of cost for you then you'll not find an ounce of support for tracking your TVR from the people who know and see the stats. Get yourself a car that'll take the beating ie Caterham etc...unless you intend driving like your mum.

Of course tvrbob your probably coming from a position of 'cost is not too much of an issue' if your doing multiple track-days per year and buying brake/tyre replacements constantly and thats fair enough.

I am assuming that perhaps cost is a factor for this chap.

As I said - provided you go into it with your eyes wide open you'll have fun. If it's a one-off experiance you'll likely get away pain-free but don't let that lull you into a false sense of security...they go wrong...frequently...and the more you do it the more the stats come into play.




ETA: Oh, and as has been said, check your cars db output before setting out and have a plan to get you and the car home should the worst happen. Remember, if your car is unreliable in the outside world then tracking it is almost asking for a certain amount of grief.

steve-V8s said:

Do it, they are made for it.

Please...an average 12 year old *standard* Chim is not "made for it". It'll probably do it but it's not "made for it".

Edited by im on Thursday 21st February 17:46

[chris_chim]

Get some decent pads (I can recommend Ferodo DS2500) and the brakes will be fine.

[raceboy]

I track a standard 400 once or twice a year and can say it's not going to kill the car.
I don't drive like a big girl, but then I'm not out to set lap records either, follow the standard track day advice, always do a warming up and a cooling off lap and I wouldn't expect to have to change tyres and brakes much more than normal but then I don't exactly pootle about on the roads
My last day at Donington did finish off the rear discs and pads but they had done about 10k and 3 trackdays and at £40 for the whole lot it's not exactly expensive motoring.
Tyres will take more punishment than normal, but again if you're running standard wheels the tyres are cheap as well compared to most performance stuff.
Noise is an issue for me, but then I'm de-catted and straight through pipes so the standard days at Donington are out, as 98Db is a distant memory, but with Act cans it's fine, and before the straight through pipes it was fine anyway so if you're exhaust is standard noise 'shouldn't' be an issue either.
I wouldn't say Silverstone was the best track for a 400 but if it's local it'd be a good place to get you're trackday wings and compared to a lot of tracks I'd guess the runoffs are huge, another plus of Donington.

Don't be scared of the car or tracks, just keep within your limits, get some instruction and have fun.

It's never going to be cheap, but then running a TVR never is, Donington can be done for £100, then you want the same again on juice, but if any bits are on their last legs driving hard for 3 hours in the day is going to find them, and come next service time suspension and various other bits could be crying out for attention, but then the chance to upgrade stuff is always good.

[Geo28]

Thanks for the great response,

My intention is to do 1 or 2 trackdays a year. I don't want to hammer the car too much as its in excellent condition but then I don't mind a bit of wear and tear either.

A bit of tyre wear doesn't concern me too much as I've been looking for an opportunity to upgrade tyres and rims for the last year as I've got an eye on the SP wheels.

If all I'm gonna need is some new Brake pads then that won't exactly break the bank either. Also another opportunity to upgrade

Unfortunately getting a trackday car is not an option for me.

a) cos I've got 3 cars already
b) I could never part with the Chimaera or imagine owning any other weekend car than a TVR

As for noise I never actually thought about that purely cos I thought that a standard 400 would be ok.

Having a go at the track is an itch I have to scratch, learning how to REALLY handle this car is also something I am looking to get out of the experience.

[raceboy]

Geo28 said:

As for noise I never actually thought about that purely cos I thought that a standard 400 would be ok.

It should be, my 400 was under 98Db (Doningtons normal noise limit) even de-catted, it was only when I went to straight through pipes that it broke the limit.

[zadumbreion]

The first couple of times you take your car to a track you're probably not going to stress it that hard, even in terms of tyres and brake pads.

[trackcar]

As a novice you shouldn't be too worried about your suspension and tyres etc, just make sure teh car is serviced properly and go out and have fun ... one thing to bear in mind though especially at a fast track like silverstone is your brakes will take a hammering ..

the reason is that on a long straight it doesn't really matter whether you're on your first track day or you're Alonso .. at the end of a long straight you will be going very fast, but whereas Alonso might get your car round by shedding only 30mph off his speed you as a novice will probably want to shed a whole lot more than 30mph to get round the end corner safely, for this reason novices tend to be very hard on brakes because they don't know/realise how fast they can take the corners ..

so my one piece of advice as regards the car is : make sure your brakes work!

Other than that, grab an instructor to show you the lines but DON'T let him make you go faster than you really want to until you're happy getting a sliding car back under control.

Have fun

[RichB]

im said:

I've got a Chim and work for THE track day company in the UK.

If you bought your car to run on any kind of budget - don't track it.

If running or repair costs aren't an issue - go for it.

IMHO

I disagree, the chap wants to do one or two track days a year and any well maintained TVR should be quite suitable for that. Simply ensure that your car is prepared as it should be and read some web sites aimed at novice track-day drivers where you will get advice on stuff like helmets, clothing, warming-up and cooling down, not using the handbrake, tyre pressures, oil levels etc. I would perhaps suggest a TVRCC organised day as your first one then you won't be bombing around with a load of 205GTi's and stripped out BMW 3Series's

[im]

RichB said:

im said:

I've got a Chim and work for THE track day company in the UK.

If you bought your car to run on any kind of budget - don't track it.

If running or repair costs aren't an issue - go for it.

IMHO

I disagree, the chap wants to do one or two track days a year and any well maintained TVR should be quite suitable for that.

Oh FFS



Look, I never said it wouldn't do a track day or two each year, I said it wasn't a good idea if your running your car ON A BUDGET.

Now that I know the chap has 3 cars and cost isn't a particular issue then YES - Do it.

But...If you've only got 1 car and it's your daily driver for work, you can't be without it and your a little tight for money I'd advise against it.

Got any idea why we never entertained running TVR's as track day cars for the general public - despite testing them on more than 1 track and using various ex-pro and semi-pro drivers simulating various driving styles together with Parts & Labour costings associated with those tests?

...or how these numbers compared with other popular track-day cars?

Proportionately, which cars do you think were the most unreliable/costly to keep on track over a given period of time?

Again, proportionately, how do you think TVR's compare with Porsche/BMW/Caterham/Renault/Nissan/Jaguar/Aston Martin/Various other tested makes in the track-day recovery ratio's?



Please read what I actually said before commenting on what you think I said.

Edited by im on Friday 22 February 12:29

[RichB]

im said:

RichB said:

im said:

I've got a Chim and work for THE track day company in the UK.

If you bought your car to run on any kind of budget - don't track it.

If running or repair costs aren't an issue - go for it. IMHO

I disagree, the chap wants to do one or two track days a year and any well maintained TVR should be quite suitable for that.

Oh FFS



Look, I never said it wouldn't do a track day or two each year, I said it wasn't a good idea if your running your car ON A BUDGET. Now that I know the chap has 3 cars and cost isn't a particular issue then YES - Do it. But...If you've only got 1 car and it's your daily driver for work, you can't be without it and your a little tight for money I'd advise against it.

Got any idea why we never entertained running TVR's as track day cars for the general public - despite testing them on more than 1 track and using various ex-pro and semi-pro drivers simulating various driving styles together with Parts & Labour costings associated with those tests?

...or how these numbers compared with other popular track-day cars?

Proportionately, which cars do you think were the most unreliable/costly to keep on track over a given period of time?

Again, proportionately, how do you think TVR's compare with Porsche/BMW/Caterham/Renault/Nissan/Jaguar/Aston Martin/Various other tested makes in the track-day recovery ratio's?



Please read what I actually said before commenting on what you think I said.

Jesus, lighten up mate, I'm only giving the bloke some advice which is what you were doing. In any case, I did read your post and still disagree, I've done several track days and they haven't cost me anything over and above what I normally spend on maintanance of my Griff.

[tvrbob]

RichB said:

Jesus, lighten up mate, I'm only giving the bloke some advice which is what you were doing. In any case, I did read your post and still disagree, I've done several track days and they haven't cost me anything over and above what I normally spend on maintanance of my Griff.

I think [im] has been unfortunate and has fallen foul of broken bits due to track day use. To be honest that's normally down to the quality of the car and the standard of maintenance.

These cars are good for track day use and so say the majority.

[spend]

Lighten up guys, it would be ferkin boring if we all agreed

Brakes are weakest point on the car as everyone has said. Drivers brain is weakest point in the package - get that right, as Joo says don't push too much, and you will come out better for it IMHO.

I do agree in a sense with Ian, it is essential that the car is in reasonably good std of maintenance, which should not be assumed. We hear of a lot of problems and badly maintained cars on here - it should be a caveat, not a show stopper.... but comparing leasing track cars to hooligans & occasionally tracked owner driven cars is a bit of an extreme comparison old boy?

Dave

[Geo28]

Thank you all for the advice,

from whats been said I think that its safe to say that the odd trackday or two in the year won't break the bank or the car (providing I don't drive it into a barrier of course)

I'm happy that the car is well maintained as I've had it 2 years now and its well looked after by myself and Silverstone Performance who aren't so far away from the track I'm interested in

Seems a normal trackday could involve;

- New tyres although they do have a load of tread on, almost like new, so maybe not first time out. Would give me the chance to replace with the larger sp wheels anyway
- New Brakes, again not the end of the world although probably won't want to start doing too many trackdays and if I did then could think about uprated brakes package to help cope

- Oh and of course lots of fuel, by the way can you get additional fuel at the track?

So now I need to go find out more about trackdays and helmets and kit and all the other stuff I don't know about. Thanks for your help

[tvrbob]

spend said:

Lighten up guys,