Oxford trackday for zoners on 27/02/09.

[Simon13]

everyone had a fun day?

[Jon_Bmw]

A few calamaties but nothing too serious for anyone.

I've just got in, totally nackered. It was a great day in my book, hopefully everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did. Really good to meet some new faces and cars as well. The old schooler zone boys all agreed we need a potent s14 in our lives.

I think I said at least hello to everyone, at least I hope I did. Some very nice metal there as always.

[Brian28]

All good. Got there about 11.30ish, would have been earlier but wasted a couple of hours last night chasing a problem that turned out to be as mundane as a duff set of spark plugs. Didn't get a chance on track with many of the other E30s, got a chap in a black 205 to do a couple of slow laps so I could follow and get the hang of the corners (missed sighting laps etc at the start and everybody on track was well up to speed by the time we got out) but even his slow laps were too fast for me to keep up . Engine is well run in now and got to arse about with different spring rates etc to get the cars set up a bit better so a productive day. Apologies for tarnishing the E30 image with both cars filthy from garage grime, will allow time to give them a wash next time would also like more time to have a wander about and see the other E30s, we were parked up miles away.

[Jon_Bmw]

That guy in the 205 was clearly a cock for not showing you the lap properly I'd just like to say, that both of those 318's are flipping quick for what they are. I remember one instance when I had 'success balast' (i wish!) in the car in the form of Toms mate Simon. After the hard'ish right by the pits, there is the shallower one that can be taken flat. I was in the nasty 205 and the 318 behind, out of the corner of my eye in the mirror I spy an e30 race car pretty much on the lockstops! Which I presume was mickey as he was having the oversteer issues.

Did you get back down the a34 ok as I heard there was an accident on it. I ran, 1/4 of a mile, well walked to let you know, but you'd already chipped off I think. Sorry the pit setup was a bit strange, it was annoying not being able to get one spot all together.


You can have all of this:



but this still happens:





Silly dad!

[bss325i]

Just got back in, what a day! Had an awesome time especialy for my first track day, no mechanical dramas (apart from a sticky fuel pump relay on my last lap), great weather and a decent track layout. Only real dampner on things was during lunch break, after going to the local tescos for food and petrol, a retard in the 13t truck decided to try and squeez through a tight gap in a petrol station and take out my wing and bumper! Managed to straighten it out so i could carry on lapping but a pain none the less.

Appologies as i didn't get to say hello to everyone but there were quite a few E30's there. A couple of note were the S2000 powered white 320i and DawieM3's awesome car. (I forgot to come and grab a passenger ride )

I've certainly got the bug for it now!

[Jon_Bmw]

Oh yes, I forgot to say. Dave thanks very much for the passenger lap, it was an awesome experience. I think I set the tone for the day asking, as the rest of the day I didn't see his m3 without a passenger in it! Barry, I am shocked you didn't go in that, i'd have thought you'd be first in line.

I did as I nearly attempted to get in the drivers seat.

With regards insurance claim, I was mulling this over on the way back, and i'm not certain whats the best way to do it. I am sure Tesco won't pay out a payment without it dragging through the insurance as to them, there is scope for getting ripped off(not by you I hasten to add). Whatever you do, DO NOT LEAVE that car anywhere to get it inspected. As a third party you are in control. They can come to you to assess it, as much as they will claim they don't work like that, they will.

[e30convert]

Great day had by us.. was good to meet some of your there...
I thought the new track layout was pretty good with long straights and an entertaining hairpin!
Was getting some sad tyre envy as our car had some fine ditchfinder tyres fitted but that made for some ;interesting; handling moments... will have to get some nice slicks and suspension and seats!
We did about 120 miles today on track today.. and all we went through was 1 1/2 tanks of fuel, 1 set of brake pads and 4 tyres..

looking forward to the next one...

[Jhonno]

Ouch Barry!

I think I would have gone mental if that had been mine..


Nice easy repair though, even if the insurance wont see it that way..

[Jon_Bmw]

Great day had by us.. was good to meet some of your there...
I thought the new track layout was pretty good with long straights and an entertaining hairpin!
Was getting some sad tyre envy as our car had some fine ditchfinder tyres fitted but that made for some ;interesting; handling moments... will have to get some nice slicks and suspension and seats!
We did about 120 miles today on track today.. and all we went through was 1 1/2 tanks of fuel, 1 set of brake pads and 4 tyres..

looking forward to the next one...

Look here buddy:

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=127150


We did about 120-130 track miles as well. Thats pretty good value for money, £1 a lap.

I've killed one r888, 7 left to distroy. My front left, similar to Henrys, ended up rolling onto the sidewall a bit and its now track only at best. I need some negative camber badly! Well a decent caster setting would actually be a lot better, but with lego brick 205 suspension its unlikely.

In an insurance companies eyes, I think the damage is about £1000's worth. I am sure Barry could do it himself for £50 ish.

[bss325i]

I'm not going to bother going through the insurance as i dont have agreed value and i will just be written of and receive a cat C/D. F*ck that for £100's worth damage.

I'm just consoling myself with the thoughs of the cars i was quicker than. Wether or not it was their car or the drivers ability, i'm happy i was going quicker than them!

Not bad for a boat anchor S50!

[Jhonno]

What was the handling like compared to the 'Ring? Less understeer? Did you get hold of some saloon rear springs in the end?

[bss325i]

but with lego brick 205 suspension its unlikely.

[bss325i]

What was the handling like compared to the 'Ring? Less understeer? Did you get hold of some saloon rear springs in the end?

Yes i got some saloon H&R 35mm springs and I had the steering geometry checked and adjusted last week.

It was much better than last year at thr ring just from changing the position of the top mounts to negative setting and the front roll bar to medium setting. Only real understeer was at the hair pin which was sharp but the back just want to step out as soon as you come on the power what with it being light on the rear. All very controlable though and neither me or my co driver span at all despite a few very sideways moments. I guess the E36 rack and the Z3M diff helped with contolling this. To be honest, the track was quite a fast circuit which suited it quite well.

Still need an S14 though!

[Jhonno]

You don't need an S14 Everyone who has been out in mine has commented on the handling being 'potent'

Still driving the 'courtesy' bronzit.. Complete with drift spec zip tie now

[Jon_Bmw]

I don't think I got passed by anything I was unhappy about when I was driving. GT3 au revior but I think little miss daisy was behind the wheel. The proper nice 205(non yellow one) Daves m3 and a red elise were the only things from memory that went past, excluding Caterhams. When the old man was driving, I am sure a 1.1xl fiesta did him

I think Rays s2000 lump is a great choice, thats 250bhp for £3500 iirc, you couldn't buy and get an s14 to that spec for that money. Both sounded very, very nice in their own ways.

[Jhonno]

You could an M52 though.. Shedload more torque also

[Jon_Bmw]

You don't need torque in a trackcar, seriously. You want a linear power and high revs, something the m3 and s2000 have an abundance of. I would say that was one of the many reasons an m3 is a seriously well balanced car. Even as a passenger, you know exactly what the car is going to do, when it is going to step out and you haven't even got hold of the steering wheel.

[Jhonno]

M52 can offer both.. 200bhp out the box with grandad spec cams, throw some cams in, light flywheel, M50 inlet and a remap and it will rev nicely

[bss325i]

I managed to serve the GT3 and leave him but as you say, miss daisy. That Monaro boat got taken more than once and early in the day that E39 M5 was a victim. They were the cars of note but there were others. I got passed by various caterham/westfield/elises and that yellow 205 once.

One car that did surprise me was that blue scrappy E36. He also got served but was quite quick.

[hoshy]

Really gutted I missed out on this one. Will post a link up when I'm next going in case any body is interested.

[Jon_Bmw]

That e36 had f''k all weight in it. It looked like trash, but it went ok. He was a bit crap at cornering, but nailed it down the straights which is very annoying in the 205. As it didn't have enough grunt to get past, he refused to move over, despite about 3 blue flags, eventually he pitted. I think he missed the bit in the breifing about if the car has come up behind you from nowhere, it must be that the car behind has more bhp

I didn't have any problems with the yellow 205, but then his was only an 8v and fairly identicle in terms of what the car will do on corners. I past him about 4 times, we kept on being out on track at the same time in the sessions. The silver one was fast, but had issues early on in the afternoon I think.

Shit, anyone else just want to go back tomorrow and do it all again.

[bss325i]

That e36 had f''k all weight in it. It looked like trash, but it went ok. He was a bit crap at cornering, but nailed it down the straights which is very annoying in the 205. As it didn't have enough grunt to get past, he refused to move over, despite about 3 blue flags, eventually he pitted. I think he missed the bit in the breifing about if the car has come up behind you from nowhere, it must be that the car behind has more bhp

I didn't have any problems with the yellow 205, but then his was only an 8v and fairly identicle in terms of what the car will do on corners. I past him about 4 times, we kept on being out on track at the same time in the sessions. The silver one was fast, but had issues early on in the afternoon I think.

Shit, anyone else just want to go back tomorrow and do it all again.

In a flash!

That E36 wouldn't move over for ages for me either!

[tomson]

What a day!

I am totally sold on the S14 now, Dave's M3 is a f****n PROPER chariot! I'm so pissed that all my engine's are anchor's, M50 or M52 (like my M20) just would not have cut it today.....

[tomson]

You don't need an S14 Everyone who has been out in mine has commented on the handling being 'potent'

Still driving the 'courtesy' bronzit.. Complete with drift spec zip tie now

I promise you had you have been out in Dave's M3 today you would have a different view....

(it does have 270bhp mind)

[Jon_Bmw]

How was the traffic on the a34/m4 then mate? We found a cracking route back, lots of twisty bits to diff it up!

I'm already looking in the MSE calender to work out what date is best for the next one.

[tomson]

Well it was fine for about 10mins, till I txt you, so we crawled to the next exit and then turned the shat nav on and for once it came up trumps. I put in a Swindon postcode and it took us through all these deserted country lanes which was exciting!

I had an email from MSE today, Combe in a few weeks but its £200. I have to sort the suspension out before I do another track day though, something else on the long list

[bss325i]

I would possibly like to do another before the ring this year.

Ric wants to bring his 320iS next time.

[tomson]

Ring, now thats what I'm talking about.....

[Jon_Bmw]

I'm a pikey and can't quite justify £200 for coombe. You lads best not go to the ring when I am doing my finals or I can see my degree getting delayed somewhat.

Shit, I didn't realise Ric had a 320is! I've seen a diamond black one all tech2 kitted up at Keevil many moons ago, he was the most sideways out of everything, including an rs500 driven by a loon.


Daves beast in question:



The thing is, once you have been out in that, you just 'need' 275bhp. Its worth bearing in mind in that picture he is midway through exiting a corner where you might expect a fair bit of bodyroll, Nope, none.

[DawieM3]

Well, A Good day out, Nice to put a few faces to the names.

Car went well, ran two slicks to the canvas, but the highlite was nailing the R8, even though he had the entire long straight to try and pull away. Just shows you can have as much horsepower as you want, but if the car dosn`t handle and brake then then you will get past by lesser cars.

The s14 is a good engine but the down side is the cost to modify one. So a six is cheaper, has more power and torque ( S50 ) as standard, but you loose on the handling. Its a case of each to their own.


cheers


Dave

[tomson]

A very valid point there Dave, the S14 is also a lot more £££ to buy in the first place!

Oh that induction roar though....

[hoshy]

did you enjoy the slip diff jon?

[Brian28]

That guy in the 205 was clearly a c**k for not showing you the lap properly I'd just like to say, that both of those 318's are flipping quick for what they are. I remember one instance when I had 'success balast' (i wish!) in the car in the form of Toms mate Simon. After the hard'ish right by the pits, there is the shallower one that can be taken flat. I was in the nasty 205 and the 318 behind, out of the corner of my eye in the mirror I spy an e30 race car pretty much on the lockstops! Which I presume was mickey as he was having the oversteer issues.

Did you get back down the a34 ok as I heard there was an accident on it. I ran, 1/4 of a mile, well walked to let you know, but you'd already chipped off I think. Sorry the pit setup was a bit strange, it was annoying not being able to get one spot all together.

The A34 worked to our advantage, we saw the tailback ahead just in time to turn off into a lane, more by luck than judgement (we had no map or sat nav with us) after a couple of villages we spotted signs for Chievely and ended up back on the A34 at Newbury the other side of the accident. No traffic at all from then on as they were all stuck back on the A34, made good time all the way down. Well, until two cretins (no, not me and Mickey ) decided to drive into each other on the A31 at Poulner Hill, got stuck for half an hour there.

Yup, that'd be Mickey or else me in his car, we swapped a few times during the day. By the end of the afternoon we got a set up that more or less worked, still a bit more oversteer than we'd like but not too bad to catch and a shed load better than it was when we arrived. As is the way with these things I though his car was faster, he thought mine was faster, (getting our seasons excuses in the bag early ) we did a quick session at the end together and they were much of a muchness, ended when Mickey did a 180 at the pits right hander .

[ROC]

ended when Mickey did a 180 at the pits right hander .

I remember that corner from last time I was there, quite easy to make a mess of, right in front of everyone watching

[DawieM3]

A very valid point there Dave, the S14 is also a lot more £££ to buy in the first place!

Oh that induction roar though....

Quite right Tomson on cost, but when the car has the ballance ( 4 pot ) and power to four wheel drift through corners with slicks on makes for a nice enjoyable ride. You can carry so much speed through the corners that you can get the jump on more powerfull cars. I`m sure at some stage I will get bored with the 270bhp it currently has and need to go shim under bucket and run some 3XX motorsport cams to go North of 300BHP but to do that you won`t have much change from another 2K.

At the moment I would rather put the money into my 2002 project ( Road & Track ) as its 80% complete. Also fitted with a low powered S14 by the way as a starting point.

Regarding the induction noise, can be a problem at some circuits, but driving the car I unfortunaly don`t get to hear it from the outside. ( sorry I` dont need offers to drive the car so I can hear it )

So many people build a track car and the first thing they do is up the power. Wrong way to in my opinion, smooth is fast, and starting with suspension, brakes, tyres, roll cage, weight reduction, and then the power. This should be done over a period of time, so you grow with the car, and build up more confidence and up your own performance. Taking a few lessons with a pro on a track day can do wonders for your driving ability, but so many people invest thousands in car development but Zero in driver development.

I`m by no means a tallented driver, but I do know my car, its limits and my own, and that what helps you bring it home each track day in one piece year on year.


cheers,


Dave