2023-07-03 Teesside Autodrome - Evening Trackday
Arrived early at the track to fit all my cameras and prep the car on this lovely warm dry day
Was also pleased to see another K11 preface red Micra turn up which was Mark Dodds
Swapped over to the semislicks
Car setup / changes
Changes since 2023-06-19:
- Welded cracked crossmember
- Changed oil & filter
- Reinstalled dashboard
#16.50 Warm up laps
15/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.6/2.7bar cold
57/43 brake bias
dry warm track
35% fuel
Driver only
Warming up the brakes & tyres
#17.16 Run 1
15/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.6/2.7bar still cold
57/43 brake bias
dry warm track
35% fuel
Driver only
POI:
@02:28 Rear tyre still cold & slippery
@03:17 Let honda & clio pass
@03:50 Let bmw & mx5 pass
@04:20 Stuck behind bmw
@05:50 Pass bmw
@06;04 Enter 180 bend too fast above 50mph with rear end slipping
@07;00 Let white bmw pass
Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
60.16 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
65.16 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
64.72 (2nd, 3rd, 2nd) let car pass
59.92 (2nd, 3rd, 3rd) traffic
59.92 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
Initially taking it easy on these old tyres to slowly get them thoroughly warmed up.
Since I started the cold pressures at their hot pressures, it'll keep rising as it gets hot and reduce grip, especially the rear end which takes long time to warm up, but I just have to check & bleed it back to the normal pressure every time I pit until the pressure stabilises.
Noticed I can't go above 50mph at the last 180deg bend or else the rear end will slide out, probably a sign of the old hard rubber struggling to bite at the faster long bends?
It was a very busy track and noticed the 35% fuel drops near red during a run, so I soon pitted to recheck the pressures & add some fuel.
#18.00 Run 2
15/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.6/2.7bar hot
57/43 brake bias
dry warm track
50% fuel
Driver only
POI:
@01:30 Turn up fan cos abit warm
@02:15 Let mr2 pass
@05:00 Spot Mark in his red Micra
@05:16 Catch up behind red Micra
@06:25 Pass Mark in red Micra
@06:40 Slight oversteer mid-corner
@07:38 Entering 180deg bend at 55mph
@09:24 Pass hyundai
@09:33 Lockup front left
@09:40 Add more rear brake bias
Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
59.16 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
59.88 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
58.48 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
59.32 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let car pass
58.64 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) following Mark
58.16 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) following Mark
57.60 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58.04 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
57.88 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58.20 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
Reducing the hot pressures back down to 2.6/2.7bars helped reduce the slippery rear end.
Saw if I kept a higher speed through the long last bend and through the chicanes, it could save upto 1sec a lap.
The 1-2 laps I was following behind Mark in his red micra was a gr8 moment to learn the differences between our builds.
Down the straights we had very similar power/acceleration and he had fresher Nankang NR2R on proper 13" Volks TE37 but I had slightly better brakes & cornering speed, obviously I'm holding back & braking little earlier to avoid getting too close behind
Soo nice to drive with a similar paced micra
#18.50 Run 3
15/30 damper
Federal 595RSR
2.6/2.7bar hot
57/43 brake bias
dry warm track
40% fuel
Driver only
POI:
@02:57 Trailbraking oversteer
@03:40 Entering 180 bend at 55mph & running slightly wide
@04:37 Pass black toyota
@04:54 Braking too late into chicane & running wide
@05:05 Caught up behind red Micra
@05:10 Let blue golf pass
@05:30 Pass red Micra
@05:47 Let mr2 pass
@07:40 Lockup rear slightly
@08:38 Lockup front left
@08:47 Full 50/50 bias
@09:35 Lockup front left again
@11:45 2nd through chicane then 3rd through fast left bend
@12:53 Let honda & audi pass
@13:54 Brake too hard at hairpin
@14:17 Pass black toyota
@14:40 Oversteer through chicane
@15:23 Lockup front left
Lap Times: (gears through 1st chicane, straights, 180 bend)
58.84 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58.08 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58.36 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) traffic
59.12 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) traffic
62.76 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd) traffic
58.80 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58.24 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
58.08 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
57.68 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
57.96 (3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
57.76 (2nd/3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
57.24 (2nd/3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
60.72 (2nd/3rd, 3rd, 3rd) let cars pass
56.72 (2nd/3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
57.40 (2nd/3rd, 3rd, 3rd)
Car felt good on this final long session with the tyres & brakes finally thoroughly heated up. You can see the laptimes gradually getting quicker as the tyres heat up and fuel weight burns off.
Near the end I learnt the fastest gearing through the first section is to hit the chicane S in 2nd gear (for max acceleration & increased lift-off oversteer rotation) and then shift to 3rd before the fast left corner (for better stability and continue accelerating without hitting the limiter)
I also noticed in the pits after each run, she tends to push her coolant into the expansion bottle and there's lots of empty gas in the radiator, plus the rad hoses would collapse after cooling down
I suspect the extreme track abuse at high rev is lifting the head bolts and leaking gas into the cooling system
Driving normally at low revs, it's fine.
It's been a brilliant day