E30 Zone

How was our first track day? What did you take out? How did you feel?

I'm feeling bloody nervous. The only thing going through my head right now is -

1) I just dont want to crash!

2) Because i dont want to crash Im going to go slow - will I piss other drivers off?

3) I dont want to crash!!!

4) Is my trusty 325i touring going to hack it round there (just spent loads on making everything is ok)

5).......I dont wanna Crash!!!


Sorry if my question sounds stupid.

Do not go too slow and be over cautious - this in itself may cause you to make the wrong decision.

There are two VERY sharp corners at Silverstone - be careful - many a car has left the circuit at this point.

Be very watchful of others not following the rules and overtaking on the inside (generally on these corners).
Just let them go and GO AT THE SPEED YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE do not let others make you go faster than YOU want to.

Other than that you will enjoy the day.

Karl

As Karl says, take it at your own pace.

When i first started at Silverstone i had professional tuition. This not only helped learn the circuit and correct line, but it also gives you confidence to push the car a little harder in places where your road driving judgement will probably tell you otherwise.

And definately be aware of the other cars. It depends how disiplined they are and how strict the organisers are, some will respect the rules and others will blatantly do what they like!! I have had several cars spin infont of me, sometimes the same car at the same corner so just keep sharp. Don't let anyone intimidate you with their GT3 RS, you have as much right to be there are they do, just let them past where possible.

Oh, and if you take out a Radical, I'll buy you a pint

If i get time in the afternoon Sal I will pop up and see you.

I should probably give you your strut brace back

Bugger that... just boot it!

lol - not really.

The secret is to be smooth and not let yourself get flustered. Once you've done a few sighting laps, you'll find that you didn't know what you were worrying about... just relax and have some fun, that's what it's all about. It's not a race, and don't make it into one.

As usual Giles manages to sum things up nice and succinct.

Your gonna love it, just chill and take you time to build confidence.

Book up early instruction, then have time on your own then do some more instruction and then just have fun on your own at the end of the day- this way you'll learn alot and get the most out of the day and go home feeling very pleased with yourself- teach yourself doesn't work

Fast cars aren't always fast so just coz you see a ferrari or porsche dont be affraid to go past them.

Crashes are few and far between, gravel trips are no biggy. You really have to drive like a twat to have a big stack or have someone else doing the same- a good TD organiser wont allow that anyway,

If you worry about going off you probably will so forget about it, and if your paranoid about damaging you car then you probably will.

Nerves is good as you wont think your alonso on your first few laps.

On my first day, i'm sure I felt the same but after a few you dont think about it, all you worry about is whens the next one.

In 2+years of track time in my exige and elise I had a blast, few offs, few spins and one graze along a tyre wall- but thats all half the fun

Enjoy!!

Go at your pace, don't try and copy / chase / follow others at their speed or brake zones as you just don't know if the standard looking 325i that you are 'following' has 6 pot brakes and can loose serious speed and stop pretty rapidly...

Basic checks on your car, have a look at:
Tyres - presure - tread wear
Oil levels and quality
Brakes - new, worn, Fluid levels..
HAnbrake - do not apply this after you have been out as you could 'weld ' the brakes on.
Allow the car to cool down, use a cool down lap, and time parked up.
Listen to what the cars telling you - unusual noises are warnings that somethings going to happen if you don't ease off or investigate..!!

I was packing it a bit on the morning of my first track day but at the end of it I was grinning like a cat from Cheshire - Enjoy! You WILL love it and it is seriously addictive....

Cheers

Ian

Lloydie38 wrote: HAnbrake - do not apply this after you have been out as you could 'weld ' the brakes on.

more a case of boiling the fluid

I first did a trackday when I was 17, driving loads of cars including Ferrari's and stuff, was well lucky! Didn't pay either, was corporate entertainment for my Dad and he brought me along!

My first uninstructed track day was at Oulton Park, my biggest mistake was: Being too excited, not reading the rules. I pulled over to the left to let people past.
You can only overtake on the straights, and only on the LEFT, so move over to the RIGHT if a faster car approaches.
Watch out for flags too, if you see a blue flags keep your mirror and move over (to the right ) if necessary.

It's easy to overlook checking your car over every now and again, keep the fluids (as mentioned already) before and after your sessions, a hose could burst after you turn the engine off.

Start off slowly, I'm sure you'll be fine.

The corner as you come onto the straight for the start finish line is sharper than I thought, I touched the grass at Trax. Could have been a spin! I was lucky.

Don't get sucked into 'racing' other people, this is all too easy and your concentration on the track will fade, while you just concentrate on the back of thier car.

Keep an eye on the temp gauge!!

You will enjoy it.

I'm SO gutted I couldn't get the day off for this. I would call in sick, but they'd know exactly why.



Good luck!

My first track day was and airfield day in november last year in the newly turbo'ed 325. Obviously I was very nervous being my first track day and the first real test for the car. Some nerves are good though, they keep you concentrated.

I had and I do mean this a bootfull of spares and they did come in useful at one point in the day - I took two cars, one to cram all the shite in the beemer to drive. Some people don't take any spares at all, just depends how much you trust you car really.

Listen carefully to the drivers breifing as they will give you great advise and tell you where and what to watch out for.

Car preperation has pretty much been covered but I'd advise to change the brake fluid as it makes such a difference on the road let alone on a track where you be repeatably be braking from 100mph down to about 30.

If its open pit, use it to you and your cars advantage, take regular breaks. This will keep you more focused and give the car a chance to cool down. When I did it like this the temperature gauge never went above 2/3rds and that was only sitting waiting to get back onto the track.

When you come in, do a cool down lap, trying to keep off the brakes, but be aware of other cars going 2 or 3 times the speed of you! As already said, don't use the handbrake all day, plonk it in first.

Check wheel nuts half way through the day, and keep checking fluid levels anytime you come into the pits.

As Dave said its hard getting used to pulling over to the right to let cars pass, and be aware of tossers completely ignoring the rule of no overtaking on bends...they should be going home for an early bath if they are spotted or reported.

Put it this way if a testoroned 19 year old can survive a track day in a 325 turbo without any spins or offs i'm sure a more mature person like yourself will be fine...ENJOY IT.

Jon

Thanks for the replies guys.

Ive got my car sorted now.

Here's a little list for you to check

Ferrodo DS2500 front pads with new Brembo Discs
Textar Rear Pads
New bake fluid (Good quailty DOT4)
Bridgestone S-03 205/50/15

Newly fitted:
H&R Cup Kit
Engine mounts, prop doughnut, tie rods, control arms
Poly subframe bushes,poly E30 M3 TCA bushes.

Tracking all done with slight toe in.

Not feeling as nervous as before now - just going to be sensible and take all the advice from above. My main worry was about the brakes but these new brakes really are quite good - well, they are th best brakes Ive ever had on an E30.

Ceeman - would be great for you to pop down, strut brace would be nice to have back.

Just like to mention that Nigel, Jags + Boo at Bexleys have been very helpful in getting the car sorted for this track day + Demlot (Andrew) for coming round and fitting the brakes, doughnut, mounts and tie rods.

i have just got back from my first silverstone full GP circuit experience - apart from the bloody awful traffic on the A43 going home i had a good day (DONT USE THE A43 NEAR TOWCESTER-SILVERSTONE IT TOOK ME ONE HOUR TO DO 3 MILES !!! )

Silverstone is a very challenging circuit - i was very scared after the first few laps as the weight transfer from a heavy RWD car is really noticeable. what didnt help is that i was on a "lotus-on-track" day and was sharing the track with many elises/exiges/7's which just flew round the bends. My 200+ BHP was useful on bridge straight as i could easily get to 120mph but the tight corners in the complex section where a bit hair-raising !! especially the hiarpin leading into the start finish straight - it just seemed to go on for ever and ever and i had to fight to kepp the car stuck to the track (boy my arms were hurting last night !!!)

JIMMYC -you say you have done lots of track days in elises etc. which do you prefer elise or E30. i must admint that as all the elises zipped past me i was thinking "gotta get me one of those".

JCB wrote:i have just got back from my first silverstone full GP circuit experience - apart from the bloody awful traffic on the A43 going home i had a good day (DONT USE THE A43 NEAR TOWCESTER-SILVERSTONE IT TOOK ME ONE HOUR TO DO 3 MILES !!! )

Silverstone is a very challenging circuit - i was very scared after the first few laps as the weight transfer from a heavy RWD car is really noticeable. what didnt help is that i was on a "lotus-on-track" day and was sharing the track with many elises/exiges/7's which just flew round the bends. My 200+ BHP was useful on bridge straight as i could easily get to 120mph but the tight corners in the complex section where a bit hair-raising !! especially the hiarpin leading into the start finish straight - it just seemed to go on for ever and ever and i had to fight to kepp the car stuck to the track (boy my arms were hurting last night !!!)


JIMMYC -you say you have done lots of track days in elises etc. which do you prefer elise or E30. i must admint that as all the elises zipped past me i was thinking "gotta get me one of those".

It's funny you say that, because after several days of doing Silverstone GP in my 'Sport', i now feel it is far too inferior for my enjoyment. I push it to the limit and it is just not good enough. This is probably ampified by the fact that i always seem to be on track with GT3s, Exiges, Ferraris these are usually race cars not even road going versions. Besides this, i feel the humble E30, although great for cheap thrills or cheap racing, is not a very accomplished track day toy, unless you spend silly money, and even then, you could buy something better.

I have spent Ԛ£6k over the last 6 months on parts, labour and VAT , only to feel it was all wasted, and find myself looking for a 968CS or Elise etc... Oh, well we live and learn and it was fun while it lasted.

on the other hand i do think and E30 is harder to drive than a lighter/stiffer car and thus improves your driving skills. I did get satisfaction out of correcting a big sideways moment and also learning about ultra smooth application of the right pedal. I also feel safer in that it does tell me when it is on the limit and that i shoudl not push it any harder plus if i do go off and hit something there is a good lump off steel and a roll cage around me unlike the flimsy plastic of an elise !!
i do know what you mean though - i was driving round thinking why cant my 200BHP race prepared car keep up with a production type-R (although i dont knwo what mods they have done to the suspension ?)
good news is the new exhaust is really sweet - great sound and nice and quiet for noise regs !

Type Rs are fast they kept up with my dads s4 on the ring but we did lose him in the end.

I agree with some of what you say.

It has been great for learning, it's tough and reliable and wouldn't have been the end of the world if i had stuffed it into a wall. These were all reasons why i chose to use it in the first place.

I do now feel that it is holding me back from honing my driving skills. It doesn't have enough power to have to balance the car, many of the Silverstone corners i can take flat out fairly easily. It would probably be a different story on other circuits, but as Silverstone is on my doorstep, that is where i will go the most.

I totally agree with you on the Elise, they are a bit hairdresser for my liking (*wait for the replies*), i'm more interested in the 968CS, more powerful than the E30 and near 50:50 weight distribution, but i will have to wait and see. I might just get an M3 CSL for road and track!!

problem there is that if you stuff a CSL into a wall you will be well upset and well out of pocket. its all a balance of performance vs cost. I have got 210bhp per tonne and a lot of safety (roll cage, race seat, harness, plumbed fire etc etc) for 6k and it doesnt cost too much to run / maintain. infact i have a peach of an engine (look at the photos on www.greenbmw.co.uk) which has only done 4 track days since a total rebuild. Also i think i have got good saleability as the E30 is popular - especially as i am taking the time to get the car sorted and look after it. i do know what you mean though - i think i want something , longer term, that is more nimble. shouldnt complain though as at least i have a track car and can afford to take it out !!!

most corners flat out at silverstone either you drive really slow therefore flat ou is not very fast or you are a nutter !!!

JCB wrote: most corners flat out at silverstone either you drive really slow therefore flat ou is not very fast or you are a nutter !!!

LOL - come down next time i'm there and i'll show you what i mean. On the last track day a couple of weeks ago my mate who drives a 996 GT3 RS was behind having a right laugh because it looked like the tyres were coming off the rim!! 50 Profile Colway F2s at their limit. I think he was exaggerating a little, but i checked the tyre pressures again just in case

To be honest, it could do with coilovers and flat floor setup, the H&R cup kit wasn't designed for hard track use, and i don't want to be unfair to the E30 it has been fantastic fun and just won't break.

The dilemma i have, is spend even more money on coilovers, set up, power upgrades like 2.7 and cams etc.... or cut my losses and buy something already done?

It's a hard life huh?

i guess my advantage is that i bought an ex race car with full LEDA coilovers and a pretty mean engine. all i need to do is sort out the tyre and suspension set up to get the best out of the car. I think the ledas are getting ona bit an perhaps need a service and the tyres could do with being softer compaound as they are struggling to get sticky in the cold !

Yeah, i think that is the way to go. Let someone else foot the bill, a bit like the bargain someone will get when i sell mine

Leda coilovers would be the way i would go, hand built in the UK and i have read they are as little as Ԛ£50 to rebuild!!

All i need to do now is decide what to get

Drop me a pm next time you're going to Silverstone, i'd like to see your motor.

Phil

Phil,

looks like you've gone quite hardcore!

I dont think you should spend more money on doing 2.7's and coilovers.

An E30 M3 is the way forward for you I think and they are capable of serious power if money is thrown at them

If you had an E30 m3 in the first place and thrown 6k at it I think youd be a smiling bloke right now!

A 200 bhp M3 fitted with ledas and proper track tyres should is said to be fantastic around tracks.

My m3 had Schnitzer suspension and outhandled 325i's with coilovers easily. I could carry so much more speed round bends and it felt alot safer aswell!

Theres going to be atleast 2 well setup M3's at silverstone (one with 285 bhp) - come down and see what they go round like.

Fair enough Sal.

I will try and get up to see you on Monday.

A couple have mentioned over taking rules as on the left only- this totally deoends on the organiser- so listen to the briefing and see what they say dont assume its on the left only!!

As fo do I prefer the elisees/exige to the e30- I cant answer that yet as my racer is still in bits, should be able to feedback next week though (fingers crossed- not having to cancel trackday number 3!)

I have had an s1 and s2 elise and they were bith great fun, but the s2 exige I had last year was sooooo much better, quicker and an amazing amount of grip- they give you alot of fast fun but are not perticually challenging. The lotus' are what got me into the e30 racing as the PBMW is run and organised by the lotus club, and from all accounts a well set e30 with standard engine will be great fun, slower but still lots of fun.

If people are looking at LEDA, I can get a very good deal for you on GAZ- thats whats on my racer- lots cheaper amd basically the same product.

Saw the pics of greenbmw up on the LOT site, how did your day go?

my day went well - i think i was a bit intimidated by the track on tyhe first couple of sessions. i found it quiet tricky to learn and get the lines right. i did enjoy trying different lines out and seeing the result. i think differnt cars need to take different lines depending on their set-up. my car seems to respong to a really late but quiet abrupt turn it so that it stays straight as long as possible and then i turn in and get the power down quickly. maybe i dont have a clue what i am talking about but it worked for me !!!!

i was also a driving on the mirrors a lot due to all the fast elises/exiges - i didnt want to hold them up too much. I only had one sideways moment which i managed to correct and one trip on the grass due to looking in the mirror rather than through the windscreen !!!.

I am still finding out about the car - i amused to driving my 7 on the track which is a different beast. I also think it is worse when you cant drive the car on the road - i know alot about the handling of the 7 due to throwing it about the local lincolnshire lanes. i dont get this with the BMW as it is not road legal so all my experience is gained on the track.

i need to get some softer tyres and the Kuhmos i have are too hard a compound and take too long to get hot. i am a bit tight though so dont want to spend Ԛ£400-Ԛ£500 on a set of yoko A048's though !! (i paid Ԛ£15 each for used kuhmo race tyres !)

Get the car corner weighted, some decent used slicks and you'll stay with those elises! I presume you were using our old tyres, which, are crap in the cold, there's at least 2 seconds in a better tyre, maybe as much as 3-4 secs around the GP with slicks in the cold. Our E30 which is not dissimilar to yours Jonathan (albeit probably lighter) scared alot of E36 M3's last season! Really wished I could have been there, instead I was getting burnt to a bastard in the Caribbean!

dom - i know you keep telling me to get the car corner weighted but the cost puts me off !!! i am on a smaller budget that you !! you mentioned about getting the LEDA serviced - where do i do this ?? i presume i have to remove the shocks and send them away ?. is it worth it (remember i am not racing so getting an extra second a lap is not really a big deal to me !)

i am still playing about with the ride height as the offside rear is fouling the arch still.

what do they actually do when they corner weight ?? do they just set up the springs / shocks or could it involve costly new parts ??

I have been looking into Leda suspension myself.

Try Leda themselves for the servicing: http://www.leda.com/index.htm

Unless anyone has a better suggestion

As i said above look at GAZ if your looking at LEDA.

I have a deal set up (based on PMW racers) that should save you about Ԛ£500 for a similar and poss superior custom shock, its not an off the shelf item and is not availiable anywhere other than direct

He will also service LEDA and does for a number of khumo cars again at less money than LEDA

PM me if anyones interested

GAZ is just as good if not better and a hell of alot cheaper than LEDA.