Future Racer Seeking Advice...
Discussion
So it looks like the opportunity of a lifetime has presented itself and I may be racing next year... I've just your average Joe so I never thought I'd ever get to race but it looks like that's exactly what might happen next year.
I've been doing track days for over 10 years now and I'd describe myself as 'competent' on track, but one thing I feel I need to learn more about is car set-ups. Pushing a car to it's limit is one thing but getting the most out of the car is another, and I don't know enough about the latter.
I've come here in hope that there are some knowledgeable people who can help me understand how to make positive adjustments to my car, instead of simply suggesting coilovers or R888's.
For example... How do I know how to set a car up? If I'm struggling how do I know if it's me, the car, the tyres, or the suspension?? Today I drove around Rockingham in the rain and I was hopeless, I don't mind admitting it. In my defence it's the first time I've driven this particular car on track and I wasn't comfortable in it, but I had no idea why I was so slow.
Where do I begin??
I've been doing track days for over 10 years now and I'd describe myself as 'competent' on track, but one thing I feel I need to learn more about is car set-ups. Pushing a car to it's limit is one thing but getting the most out of the car is another, and I don't know enough about the latter.
I've come here in hope that there are some knowledgeable people who can help me understand how to make positive adjustments to my car, instead of simply suggesting coilovers or R888's.
For example... How do I know how to set a car up? If I'm struggling how do I know if it's me, the car, the tyres, or the suspension?? Today I drove around Rockingham in the rain and I was hopeless, I don't mind admitting it. In my defence it's the first time I've driven this particular car on track and I wasn't comfortable in it, but I had no idea why I was so slow.
Where do I begin??
Good constructive advice... Looks like I've asked the right people!
To answer a couple of questions... If all goes to plan I'll be racing a Mk3 MX-5 in the BARC MAX5 Championship, and it'll be an 'arrive and drive' format so the car won't belong to me. The car I'll be driving has already competed and has been built by Roddison Motorsport, so all the main preparation has been taken care of. My weekend car is also a Mk3 MX-5 and was hoping to get it set up similar so I could get extra practice/seat time while I'm not competing.
As far as my driving goes I guess I'll just have to see how I get on. At circuits like Oulton and Donington where I've done most of my trackdays I'm pretty confident as long as it's dry. I think I'll encounter most of my issues when it comes to things like circuits I've never done, wet days and bumper-to-bumper driving that I'm not accustomed to. In the past I've compared my lap times to qualifying times of similar race cars and to be fair I've been on the pace.
After reading the comments I agree that perhaps I'm being a little too keen wanting to understand set-ups before I've even done a practice lap, so I may leave that on the back burner for now... I've got this thread to return to anyway when the time comes!
To answer a couple of questions... If all goes to plan I'll be racing a Mk3 MX-5 in the BARC MAX5 Championship, and it'll be an 'arrive and drive' format so the car won't belong to me. The car I'll be driving has already competed and has been built by Roddison Motorsport, so all the main preparation has been taken care of. My weekend car is also a Mk3 MX-5 and was hoping to get it set up similar so I could get extra practice/seat time while I'm not competing.
As far as my driving goes I guess I'll just have to see how I get on. At circuits like Oulton and Donington where I've done most of my trackdays I'm pretty confident as long as it's dry. I think I'll encounter most of my issues when it comes to things like circuits I've never done, wet days and bumper-to-bumper driving that I'm not accustomed to. In the past I've compared my lap times to qualifying times of similar race cars and to be fair I've been on the pace.
After reading the comments I agree that perhaps I'm being a little too keen wanting to understand set-ups before I've even done a practice lap, so I may leave that on the back burner for now... I've got this thread to return to anyway when the time comes!
Edited by SteBurns on Monday 15th October 20:38
Hi Paul,
Yes I'm Aaron's mate who you've already met several times already this year. Aaron is convincing me to have a go next year so I'm trying to find out as much as I can in the meantime. I recently bought a Mk3 road car and although I've not driven it much I'm convinced it doesn't handle right, and I'm hoping it's not the nut behind the wheel!
Yes I'm Aaron's mate who you've already met several times already this year. Aaron is convincing me to have a go next year so I'm trying to find out as much as I can in the meantime. I recently bought a Mk3 road car and although I've not driven it much I'm convinced it doesn't handle right, and I'm hoping it's not the nut behind the wheel!
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