OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
Oulton Park trackday 2010
hey, well i've pretty much recovered from yesterdays fantastic trackday.
started off waking at 3am, set off at 4.30 still dark and my eyes still stinging. filled up at shell and let dad drive there to get use to the car.
got there abit too early as usual at 7.30
alot more hatchbacks and some porsches n ferrari at this track.
odd no one's at the reception at the end of the pits cos usually sign in round 7.45 and marshall told me its actually at the restaurant building at other side of car park, not an obvious place.
went over, signed in, booked helmet, met m8 and had breaky at restaurant.
briefing at 8.30 then sighting laps straight after, ppl scrambling back to pits to go out.
opened garage and unloaded our stuff
qued to go out, done sound check and guy said soz but suction mounted cam rigs not allowed, wtf crap. but my m8s been fitting his suction mount every time he comes here no probs. ah well at least he'll be following and filming behind me
first laps the car felt good. the circuit looks and feels much different to any simulation. some fast corners appear tighter and the 180deg hairpin is narrower and huge camber. the markings coming upto the next chicane are different to the game so had to relearn braking points. the last corner was the biggest shock as the exit dips down with neg G and then flips up with huge Pos Gs, i felt my breakfast and body n face n car squat down, makes me smile every time
that was just cruising around, race speed will be very different.
pit in, further prep and straight out. first fast laps tyres & brakes are cold n hard so take it gradually and warm em up. i was abit hesitant at the fast corners where you usually go flat out but in reality i just can't do that without going off and i abso dont want that.
corners 1 2 3 at medium speed, feed the steering in, felt grippy n stable. brake hard for the 180 hairpin, car nose dives and discs rapidly heatup and hear the grooves begin to whirr at the pads. turn in and follow the inside marker, the steep camber makes it easy to stick to it and floor it out the exit.
hard brake again for the chicane, car struggles abit up steep hill
now brake very hard for turn 7, nose dives forward and unloaded back feels loose. off the brakes and turn into the blind sharp right immediately sharp left. tyre squeals now for grip but if i stay mid power and steer smoothly she behaves. pushing too hard just spins wheel without turning any harder.
go up the long hill and now the very fast double right which is just a long right corner. in game its almost flat out and just turn but i had to lift slightly, simply trusting the tyres will hold, noticing the gravel & barriers ahead that corner is a real bum clencher and scares me.
brake hard for last hairpin, discs whirr away. sharp right and straight down hill like driving off a cliff and straight up like a ramp.
building more confidence and speed as day goes on and track gets hotter. was just a perfect day, hot sun no wind.
11am had a ride in me m8s civic with coilovers n same tyres to compare mine. geez he throws it into em corners and it sticks progressively and confidently. the reving vtec is just brutal. twas lotsa fun but as a passenger i soon started to get abit nausious as it got hotter inside. we pitted back and i was outa action for awhile before lunch
restaurant was not bad, nice cottage pie n chips. felt better.
back in action i gave m8 a ride, see what could be improved. after afew laps it was red flags again. first a 928 had broken down and then next red flag a white saloon had crashed n flipped heavily. popped 2 doors down the pits to see and it wasn't pretty, ouch. he had slicks and must've just let go instantly beyond its grip.
3pm i booked an instructor to take me dad out in me car for his first track drive. fingers triple cross please dont stuff it xx
dreading every time he passes the pit straights but he did alright still in one piece. instructor was a gr8 chatful lad, said dad was calm n patient n gr8 learner. good to hear
i drove once again with no passengers, see how i can push it, felt real good at fast corners, engine revs like mad, quick shifts. but when i test how hard i can press the brake, the car pitches and really wonders about even when braking straight. dont think abs kicked in but is concerning and doesn't got confidence for the turn-in.
m8 says the lowering kit is fine for normal fast roads but i prob need to upgrade to coilovers like his. the rear already appears too high now that theres abso nothing back there, coilovers would prob lower, stiffen and reduce the backends tendency to perch up and destabilise under hard braking. i'm really interested in considering coilovers now.
trackday over, packed up n real tired. driving home i noticed the steerings slightly off n when i acc hard it wonders to the right n quite concerning. pull over next service to check suspension and found the left wishbones front bush had been trashed allowing the whole arm to shift forward slightly and rock about, the rear bush is halfway out.
wonder if its wrecked from the trackday or its been damaged for awhile, couldn't have helped steering and may have been causing the fishtailing rear during hard braking.
ordered new arm tday
back home i got the new primary cat concical gasket and used downpipe
await new wishbone at looking into some coilovers
hey, well i've pretty much recovered from yesterdays fantastic trackday.
started off waking at 3am, set off at 4.30 still dark and my eyes still stinging. filled up at shell and let dad drive there to get use to the car.
got there abit too early as usual at 7.30
alot more hatchbacks and some porsches n ferrari at this track.
odd no one's at the reception at the end of the pits cos usually sign in round 7.45 and marshall told me its actually at the restaurant building at other side of car park, not an obvious place.
went over, signed in, booked helmet, met m8 and had breaky at restaurant.
briefing at 8.30 then sighting laps straight after, ppl scrambling back to pits to go out.
opened garage and unloaded our stuff
qued to go out, done sound check and guy said soz but suction mounted cam rigs not allowed, wtf crap. but my m8s been fitting his suction mount every time he comes here no probs. ah well at least he'll be following and filming behind me
first laps the car felt good. the circuit looks and feels much different to any simulation. some fast corners appear tighter and the 180deg hairpin is narrower and huge camber. the markings coming upto the next chicane are different to the game so had to relearn braking points. the last corner was the biggest shock as the exit dips down with neg G and then flips up with huge Pos Gs, i felt my breakfast and body n face n car squat down, makes me smile every time
that was just cruising around, race speed will be very different.
pit in, further prep and straight out. first fast laps tyres & brakes are cold n hard so take it gradually and warm em up. i was abit hesitant at the fast corners where you usually go flat out but in reality i just can't do that without going off and i abso dont want that.
corners 1 2 3 at medium speed, feed the steering in, felt grippy n stable. brake hard for the 180 hairpin, car nose dives and discs rapidly heatup and hear the grooves begin to whirr at the pads. turn in and follow the inside marker, the steep camber makes it easy to stick to it and floor it out the exit.
hard brake again for the chicane, car struggles abit up steep hill
now brake very hard for turn 7, nose dives forward and unloaded back feels loose. off the brakes and turn into the blind sharp right immediately sharp left. tyre squeals now for grip but if i stay mid power and steer smoothly she behaves. pushing too hard just spins wheel without turning any harder.
go up the long hill and now the very fast double right which is just a long right corner. in game its almost flat out and just turn but i had to lift slightly, simply trusting the tyres will hold, noticing the gravel & barriers ahead that corner is a real bum clencher and scares me.
brake hard for last hairpin, discs whirr away. sharp right and straight down hill like driving off a cliff and straight up like a ramp.
building more confidence and speed as day goes on and track gets hotter. was just a perfect day, hot sun no wind.
11am had a ride in me m8s civic with coilovers n same tyres to compare mine. geez he throws it into em corners and it sticks progressively and confidently. the reving vtec is just brutal. twas lotsa fun but as a passenger i soon started to get abit nausious as it got hotter inside. we pitted back and i was outa action for awhile before lunch
restaurant was not bad, nice cottage pie n chips. felt better.
back in action i gave m8 a ride, see what could be improved. after afew laps it was red flags again. first a 928 had broken down and then next red flag a white saloon had crashed n flipped heavily. popped 2 doors down the pits to see and it wasn't pretty, ouch. he had slicks and must've just let go instantly beyond its grip.
3pm i booked an instructor to take me dad out in me car for his first track drive. fingers triple cross please dont stuff it xx
dreading every time he passes the pit straights but he did alright
still in one piece. instructor was a gr8 chatful lad, said dad was calm n patient n gr8 learner. good to heari drove once again with no passengers, see how i can push it, felt real good at fast corners, engine revs like mad, quick shifts. but when i test how hard i can press the brake, the car pitches and really wonders about even when braking straight. dont think abs kicked in but is concerning and doesn't got confidence for the turn-in.
m8 says the lowering kit is fine for normal fast roads but i prob need to upgrade to coilovers like his. the rear already appears too high now that theres abso nothing back there, coilovers would prob lower, stiffen and reduce the backends tendency to perch up and destabilise under hard braking. i'm really interested in considering coilovers now.
trackday over, packed up n real tired. driving home i noticed the steerings slightly off n when i acc hard it wonders to the right n quite concerning. pull over next service to check suspension and found the left wishbones front bush had been trashed allowing the whole arm to shift forward slightly and rock about, the rear bush is halfway out.
wonder if its wrecked from the trackday or its been damaged for awhile, couldn't have helped steering and may have been causing the fishtailing rear during hard braking.
ordered new arm tday
back home i got the new primary cat concical gasket and used downpipe
await new wishbone at looking into some coilovers
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