Nah - it was more than fun!

Thanks to Stef for letting me on at the last minute.

A very big thanks to Rob Mac who took me out for my first laps of the Autodrome. There I was - first time on this track, new turbo fitted and completely new ECU without any hard driving done with it - and Rob Mac is pushing me harder and harder - heres me checking for knock - for boost control - too much information

Any Rob you have improved my track driving beyong measure - thank you!

Finally a bit of feedback on S03s - they have been great on the road - but they really were very poor on a hot track. Both myself and Brother Pat were using S03s and they were entertaining at best! Gripless at worst!

Trout

 

Have to agree.

It was the best day of the three Í've done at Bedford.

Went up to spectate, nightmare drive up (3 hours !!) but *somehow* ended up on track

Driving was really good, everyone very relaxed and well mannered, with an absence of *heroes*.

Great convoy to the pub afterwards down a great road.

Well done Stef, Pete, Chizzer

DJ

 

Shame about the noise control.
Funny really as I`ve seen Honda Touring cars up there and helicopters and stuff.
Guess Steve will just have to put a different can on tho old Skyline

 

Great circuit, great fun. I'll do more laps next time, now I know what tyre wear is like. Took Puff out for a passenger ride ("can we go a bit faster?" -- cheers Puff ), forgot everyone else's names, couldn't keep up with the lowest-powered Scoob in the country (mind you, he did have a Nurburgring sticker on the back and it was my first time out). Next time, I think I'll get some laps in with RobMac and get prodrive settings done beforehand. When's the next one at Bedford?

BTW in case anyone wondered how somebody managed to destroy the second set of the cones after the watersplash, it was me -- I went wide before the first lot then ran over the second lot getting back on the track. In my defence, Pete Croney did the same thing behind me

I'm going to Trax 2001 but it's not much track time, there's no instructors and a lot of armco

Must get a big exhaust, big wheels and a personal numberplate -- I think I must have been the only person with a standard car there.

 

Carl - no you weren't!

Mine's totally standard aswell - but not for long. I think I'm going to have to get my salary redirected to Pete Croney, like other members on the list,

 

Look, dharbige, if you do some upgrades then I'll have to. You've already cost me the price of WaxWizarding both my and the missus's cars, with your "shiny engine bay" and "shiny wheels"

BTW it was me looking at your engine bay with 'The Wizard'.

 

Glad you guys had lots of fun. I couldn't make it this time. So I am rather jealous.

Everybody make it round in one piece?

Ian

 

already posted on another thread "Bedford" can't be arsed to do it all again

Steve

 

Trout

The S03 has been much maligned on this board, IMHO unfairly so, and frequently it would appear from people that haven't even driven on them but have jumped on the "S03's are rubbish" bandwagon!

In their defence, I presume yours are nearly new - ANY road tyre with more than 3mm or so of tread will overheat badly and go off at Bedford after a few enthusiastic laps.

The exception to this is probably Pete Croney's Michelin Sport Cups, but they are really a road legal competition tyre rather than a pure road tyre (and are only moulded with 4mm tread for the above reasons).

One of the reasons I didn't go to Bedford yesterday is because my S03's are almost new and I knew that a) it would kill them and b) they would be useless after a few laps if it was dry.

IMHO (again) they are an excellent road tyre (at least my experience - MY01, Leda, and in size 225/40x18) - and this is what they were designed for, not track work.

Conversely, the crappest tyre on the road is the OEM RE010, and these I found to be one of the best dry track tyres when used with about 2-3mm tread left.

 

Dave T-S,

your comments re level of tread are quite fair. In my defence - as if I needed one:-

- I was one of the very first people in the UK to get SO3s fitted to a Scoob - so they already have quite a few thousand miles on them - maybe 30-40% worn

- I remain a very big fan of them for Road Use and have posted this many times

- I am comparing like with like as a ran reasonably high tread S02s on a dry track for at least four times the distance I did yesterday and they were fine - even running 30minute full sessions at Donington

So I am not speaking from second hand experience - this is my personal experience - and just as a final comment - they didn't grip from the first lap, never mind waiting for them to go off.

I will continue to use them on the road - but I will look for different tyres for the track - P Zero Cs anyone?

Trout

[This message has been edited by Trout (edited 11 August 2001).]

 

naaaaa it was rubbish my car kept going sideways

 

Had a great day speccying.

Thanks to Dave for the food. Got to meet the owner of a scooby i pass on the way to work. (Hi Jane - if you read this).

Got to meet the Wizard at last after numerous phonecalls of advice. Thanks for the freebie Mark. How you got those engine bays that clean I'll never know.

Met a guy called Anthony who only does about 4000 miles annually in his 22B UK.

Thanks to Mark for the passenger laps. Grip from the Pirelli slicks was unbelievable.

Saw lots of various spoilers which has confused me even more regarding the choice for a new one for my 95 WRX!

Nice to put some names to some more faces.

Well organised. Great circuit. Wonderful time. Good stuff. Good bye.

 

Trout

I've just taken my car out and given it the "Sunday morning fetch the newspapers Haverhill bypass roundabout (purely in the interests of science) test"

(Rural bypass, no houses, no cars and peeing down with rain ).

On the last one where I do a 270 degree curcuit of the roundabout I just could not get the MY01 (Leda/S03's) to unstick where the MY00 (std suspension/S02's) would be in a nice four wheel power slide. Wet grip is not an issue!

So, back to your S03's .

As you are a fan, and I haven't driven them on track yet, i'll take your comments as fair

Probably the way to look at this is that it is unfair to ask any road tyre with most of its tread left to perform on the track under a 1385kg car, and the S02 seems to stand up to this better than most.

As for alternatives, well like anything else it is a case of how much money you want to throw at the situation......

If it were me and money were no issue (it isn't and it is ), then I would have three sets of 18" wheels, S03's as my road tyres plus track use in the pouring rain, Michelin Sport Cups (or Pirelli Cups) for damp, and a set of slicks for the dry

The compromise (i.e. reality - cheapest option) would be the OEM 17's plus part worn S02's.

 

Yup BA was fun

Only came as a spekky & didn't turn up until 18.30, but managed to blag 4 rides before the chequered flag

Went out with Hunty in his EVO Mak. 1st time in one of them & was well impressed with its speed & agility. Hunty certainly likes to throw himself at the corners as well and was using his slicks to their maximum potential. Also not surprised why his Brembos only last 3 laps before getting fade Good gigglefactor

DocJock was second & whilst he said he'd have to look after his tyres as he was driving home on them, proceeded to give them max aggression so as to get the back end out as much as possible Glad to see ol' Red working so well & the addition on the DP makes for extra aural stimulation Noticed that Hawkwind was off the play list & Whitesnake on But the volume was very low so as to hear the zorst

Dave Mackay & his P1 was next. Good safe drive, my first time in a P1. I think he was slightly under orders from his gf as he'd had a wee spin a few laps before Could appreciate the extra power & just watching the rev counter use those extra 1000 rpm had me break out in jealousy

Carl was last but not least. It's always fun to jump into someone's car & find out this is their first time on track Not a problem tho' as BA is nice & open & Carl was driving safely with good observation. After nearly completing the first lap gently at motorway speeds (inc a leisurely 5th gear down the back straight ) I did actually enquire as to whether he was going to go any faster! "Don't worry, I will be, just doing a warm up lap"! I wasn't to be disappointed as we went up a gear (so to speak) and started pressing on. Carl was fighting against severe u/steer around all the corners, which meant that we took 'em wide, but not a problem at BA. Just beginning to get into the swing of it & out came the chequered flag - fun over

So thanks a lot guys for the rides

Although I took my camera along, didn't take any track action pics & only a few of Craig H's - artistic ones that I got told off for for sticking his car on the grass! Will post when developed & film scanner working

It looked to have been a great day - many big smiling faces at the end of it. Shame that W9 wasn't allowed on Glad the weather stuck out good, as I wouldn't have fancied the ride back home in the dark & rain...

Did have a good little convoy with Dave Mackay tho' back to the A1 Just went to remind me how slow those P1s really are

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Puff The Magic Wagon!:
[B]Yup BA was fun

DocJock was second & whilst he said he'd have to look after his tyres as he was driving home on them, proceeded to give them max aggression so as to get the back end out as much as possible Glad to see ol' Red working so well & the addition on the DP makes for extra aural stimulation Noticed that Hawkwind was off the play list & Whitesnake on But the volume was very low so as to hear the zorst
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If I'd known I was gonna drive I'd have brought some PF for you m8 The Hawkwind was in the glovebox.

That tarmac at BA is 'kin great, wear was minimal to say the least (must go faster)

DJ

 

WIICCKEEEDDDDD afternoon. Thankyou Stef, and Thankyou Mark for the slicks and your hard labour. Much appreciated guys.


Ricky23 glad you enjoyed the ride.

Dave & Jane the Dane thanks for the BBQ


It’s a good circuit, and a hard one on brakes. I managed to run my fronts (10mm) down the metal, for a grinding finish to the afternoon.

It’s a shame the Makinen only went out once in a blue moon, and for a couple of laps, as I was hoping to follow him round Amazed he suffered bad brake fade

If anybody is interested I have on tape Mr. T Quinn spinning out, a complete 360° spin off onto the grass, all on tape We then proceeded to have 4laps of bumper to bumper fun (not racing of course). Excellent laugh. It’s a shame my camera mount fell forward while braking rather violently for that nasty hairpin with the Armco


Thanks again.

M

 

Thanks to all you guys for making it a great day - my slicks seem to be wrecking my wheel bearings, as after 2 sessions right hand bends were causing alot of noise on the front left wheel. Shame, as I didnt push it as much as I wanted from then on !!

The day ended badly though - after leaving the track I queued for abt an hour to get my tyres done - that was ok, and big thanks to Mark for the efforts. But then I realised my bag was still in the portacabin on the track. I spent 1 hour with security trying to get the doors open but finally admitted defeat (they had every key but the one needed !!!). So resulted in driving home at abt 2245hrs, arriving after Midnight, then leaving at 0700hrs next morning back to Bedford, and then straight back home again. Wife was really impressed !
So, sorry Stef, Andy, Alex, Millie etc for not arriving at the pub - real pain but didnt really have a chance.

See you all soon

 

great fun, good track, little tyre wear(must get slicks), lots of run off.

Well done Stef and particularly Mark who worked his little socks off, even when ably assisted by his youth experience boy (Puff)

Good time on track , eventually, after a rambling briefing (pass on either side?)and a delay for their corporate day to finish.Also, although I was already heading for the TN truck at about 7:50, I saw several annoyed scoobies trying to get on track for some last minute heroics being turned away by the pit lane gnome.

Strict rules for some and not for others - Jonathan Palmer ditracted me somewhat into turn eight by buzzing me at about 40 feet with his bloody helicopter, I'm not sure he was quieter or more sensible than the Skyline somehow.

Finally off track excursion of the day award must go to the guy in the silver scooby who was about 200 feet off track,pointing the wrong direction,and parked up to his hubs in what looked like a small pond

 

Huge thanx to Stef et al involved in organising the track and the food afterwards..

A really great day, my PZero Rossos stood up well, garage reckons they took 30% extra wear-n-tear from the day Shes been serviced now, so is running smoothly again

Only had a couple of slight excursions, more just running wide out of bends than anything else....

Oh, who was the P1 that spun infront of me on the first S-bend after the long straight??
I thought we were gonna meet on the other side of it for a moment

Awesome day.. when can we go again?

Alex

PS. Trigger, give me a call mate or at least text me your mobile no, I don't seem to have it. Cheers.

 

Superb, but shame we were short changed an hour of track time.

Great pub food after, much better than the BBQ at the first event... Two courses for a fiver... Suits you

Cheers Stef and co. for another top day :S

James.

 

Yes what a fantastic day all round even better than the first one.

DrEvil,

It was I who spun in front of you after the long straight I think, sorry if it caused alarm it did me. Must remember not to back off and keep the boot planted!!!!

Dave

 

Dave - I was just glad you stopped spinning when you did, otherwise I was gonna head for the grass on the left of me.. or rather, the left, the right , the left, the right, the left, the right of YOU!

Go a small amount of the spin on film

Alex

 

Huge fun! I agree with Dave t-s on the 010's when worn. Mind you I think any tyre is OK in the dry it's in the wet that real differences are felt.

Carl, I have the lowest powered scoob and I had a hopeless 1st session - you would have easily passed me. I took Paul (instr) out on the next go and he really showed me what to do. I think we went faster than my brakes could cope with (he had more faith in them than me - 125mph+ towards the armco bend before hitting the anchors :eek as when we stopped my pads were almost on fire . After the tuition I had a much better time and really enjoyed the track.

It's strange because before I had the right lines and brake points, I thought my car was really crap with bad handling and brakes. It was just me all along, the car behaved much better when I knew what I was doing.

Thanks to Doc for the !spin! in the red machine.

Ta to Stef.

1st time on track without insurance, very safe track and very good etiquette from all other drivers that I saw. I don't think there were any incidents either for the whole day.

Top.

F

 

Mark

Hunty suffered brake fade 'cos of the way he was using them

Inside the 50m marker at the end of the long straight still accelerating @ an indicated 135ish (from my view) before <B>STOMP</B> Same at the other corners that specifically required brakes & some corners where others broke, he just drove through

hehe

 

Hi guys. Thanks to Stef for organising a great evening (and turning a few more hairs white by overtaking someone who hadnt seen him).

I believe I must lay claim to the slowest car on the circuit - totally standard and I am sure that every one went past me at least once - thanks for missing me

Also thanks to Mick for his tuition and constaintly telling me not to brake! I did eventually trust him and get the message throught to my right foot.

Dispite not adding any extra air to my tyres and my initial horror at the state of them when I came off circuit, I don't appear to have taken very much rubber off at all!

It was great meet you all and to see/hear the effect of lots of different mods - seriously thinking about replacing back box for more responsiveness and better noise (I for one dont think it realy needs more power). Also performance appears to have picked up, is that because it has had a good thrashing or is it the effect of unsing SUL?

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Puff The Magic Wagon!:
<B>...Inside the 50m marker at the end of the long straight still accelerating @ an indicated 135ish (from my view) before STOMP</B> ....<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Heh!!! I had a similar experience in Scott's car when he was still on the power @ 140+ at that point - I have to say that I was impressed with his AP6 pots!!!

Must get some of them!!!

Thanks go to Stef for the organisation and to Dangerous Dave/Shark for letting me abuse his car round the circuit!!! See you all at the next one...

Matt

 

Great evening, excellent fun. I'd recommend this place to everyone. It was a shame about BA/local council being so retentive about noise regs. That place had military aircraft flying in and out just a few years ago. Those things would have sent the noise meters way off scale. I had to run my car in stealth mode, boringggg! Choked off loads of power too.

MRK, I lent my car to Rich_R for a few laps (honest,) sounds like his style of driving to me. Seriously, that run was good fun. You were the quickest car that I came across all day. Nice bit of driving. Can you sort me out with a tape at some point please?

 

Thanks for having me, I really enjoyed it!

My brakes have taken a real bashing lately with 3 track days in the last 3 weeks.

They are the only real problem with the car which runs perfectly otherwise. I notice many of you are running AP's or the big Prodrive set up's, I will be looking at AP's myself soon!

Glad you enjoyed the ride Puff, I wish more of you had asked I would of gladly obliged!

Bedford is a top track, I have booked again for the Evo active day on the 28th Aug with 2 other Evo VI's. Give me a shout if any of you are around!

Thanks again for a top afternoon

Kevin.

[This message has been edited by HUNTY (edited 13 August 2001).]

 

Huuuuge fun

The Cups were staggering. Michelin had recommended 34psi hot, but the centre of the fronts started over heating. They were much better at 32psi and didn't go off at, no matter the abuse and duration on track. Even at 34psi, they were good enough for Rob Mac to feel sick from the g forces

Great to see lots of new people losing their track cherry and thanks to the pub landlord for some top grub at a very reasonable price.

 

Again! Again! Again!

Great track day - when can we go back?