pics from my trip to the nurburgring

[gareth]

i've just recently got back from a nice long weekend at the nurburgring and i simply love the place! the people there are so frendly and we mest some true leg-ends on the trip. both german and english.

i've taken hundereds of pics but here's a few of my favorites:

arriving in dunkirk:


my bro trying to work out where to put the light defelector jobbies... meanwhile i was doing nothing as i'd just twisted my headlap centres round for euro spec!


the bmw m-power test centre - 50 yards from our hotel!


a nice corrado racecar we spotted:



MK2 RS2000 x-pack... just like the one i used to own




nice E30 M3 in the Lidl car park in adenau


and a porka GT3-RS



a proper ring slag spotted at the ringhaus



Rich_W's M3. very tasty


the old bus looking very very small next to a Audi A8


view out of the window in the hotel - that's the ring over that flyover!


our hotel is the building in the middle - pm me for contact details if you want them


more to follow as they upload...

[Steve-E30]

Been trying to ring you about that disc and bits you wanted .
Glad you got sorted mate and will be in touch as want a trip out there this year , Probably not in the i.s. but the sport if it goes on the ferry

[Jon_Bmw]

That A8 is facking enourmous! It must be the best part of 2 tonnes.

I think its an s4/s6 towing the carrado. I like.

[Theo]

Good fun out there innit!

How did the laps go?

[gareth]

first thing we saw in the car park - that didn't help our nerves at all!!!



a few local 'weapons'


lightweight galvaniser! in all fairness, the 'pilot' was a total hero and very rapid!



beirut taxi owners yearly 'ring visit!


uber cool polo!












very nice C2.7, made my old bus look awful!


wierd E36 cab thingy...


awesome Tech-Art GT-Street RS being tested one evening. 710bhp, went past us at 191mph! the guys there were amazingly friendly and helpful. just car nuts who are let loose to build what they want and they just want to talk about it!

[bss325i]

Great pics. That Escort in the show room in Adenau was there when some of us (Si13, Ant, Oguz, BobS, Demlot etc) went in May.

Awesome car!

[madaboutthe30]

Love the pics, thanks for sharing them with us

[JGG1]

Those pictures are awesome mate, looks like you had a quality time!

I really want to do the ring in the 335 bus!!

[gareth]

steve, all sorted for most of it, i just bought a tomtom one XL europe traffic in the end

Jon, huge doesn't describe it! my car looks like a toy!

Theo, it's damn damn good fun! i'm so going again!
a few problems as usual... i don't get column to manifold contact on the road any more, but managed it on the ring that made me cool it a lot on left handers! especially the foxhole bit (what's it's name? still learning my way round!). oh, as some rotten swine has 'my' brakes, i'm using standard-ish stuff (mintex pads, grooved disks etc) for the time being while the next kit is developed. problem being, i struggled to make my brakes last as long as the adenau bridge before cooking! due to this, i really only had a few trial runs to prepare me for a better attempt next time. i did get videos though... i know timing is bad but i'm happy with a fairly smoothish 10:00 run on my 3rd attempt, though i had to use the handbrake to stop it in the parking space at the end! the brakes all round were smoking and the disks were blue! i guess more experience will let me brake less and preserve them but i still think upgrades are more than essential! i think the torque + weight + lack of balls all added up!
oh, i did have 2 socket sets, a large toolbox, trolley jack, spare wheel, lpg stuff, axle stands etc in the boot too

bss325i, it was so nice! they had some wierd machinery in there too... including a suzuki swift cabriolet! must be a conversion?

[gareth]

Those pictures are awesome mate, looks like you had a quality time!

I really want to do the ring in the 335 bus!!

sleeper 335 tourings FTW!!!!
mine even had a towbar on for added rear traction!


oh, another thing if forgot to mention, on the way there i managed an equivalent £/mile using gas compare to petrol of...... 57mpg!

[JGG1]

sleeper 335 tourings FTW!!!!
mine even had a towbar on for added rear traction!

Mines a proper sleeper, tow bar and 316i badge!!

How much did the trip cost you in the end if you don't mind me asking?

[bss325i]

Theo, it's damn damn good fun! i'm so going again!
a few problems as usual... i don't get column to manifold contact on the road any more, but managed it on the ring that made me cool it a lot on left handers!

I had the same problem with the S50 touring, especialy on the sharp left a bit before the Adenau bridge.

[gareth]

we took 2 cars, one diseasel, one on LPG so both effectively doing 50mpg+ economy-wise. for three people, 2 cars, 5 nights in a B&B, inc all food, some laps, beer etc etc etc. i recon it was about £700-800 for the lot, door to door.

camping would save more money and could be a giggle if a group goes.

[Theo]

Sounds like you had an amazing time mate, i'm hugely jealous of course. Not been there this year

The bit after the foxhole is Adenauer-Forst where there are often lot's of people waiting for a spin or hero action. The sharp left before the bridge is Wehrseifen, I think these are the two points where brake fade is most likely as you've been going downhill for a while and on the brakes a fair bit.

p.s - sorry for being a 'rotten swine' LOL

[gareth]

some action shots from adenau bridge:

dom (wee bro) in his seat leon cupra tdi:


hold on tight dear!!!











not in fact 'my' white bus, but another!


fudging fast mini - "honda powered" on the bumper. was hunting the porka GT3-RS's!!!!


some rather amusing lads in a mk4 escort, embarassing more expensive machinery in the crappest track car they could find!

[gareth]

Theo, it's damn damn good fun! i'm so going again!
a few problems as usual... i don't get column to manifold contact on the road any more, but managed it on the ring that made me cool it a lot on left handers!

I had the same problem with the S50 touring, especialy on the sharp left a bit before the Adenau bridge.

not funny is it!!!
scrapheap challenge "tinker time" required methinks!

[gareth]

Sounds like you had an amazing time mate, i'm hugely jealous of course. Not been there this year

The bit after the foxhole is Adenauer-Forst where there are often lot's of people waiting for a spin or hero action. The sharp left before the bridge is Wehrseifen, I think these are the two points where brake fade is most likely as you've been going downhill for a while and on the brakes a fair bit.

p.s - sorry for being a 'rotten swine' LOL

hehe, no worries! just need to kick keri up the arse and get the next size up sorted then i can go product testing in germany!
out of curiosity, have you ever timed a lap?

[Theo]

Not really, timed my 2nd ever lap and it was 10.37 I think, that was in my 325i. Never timed in my 3.5, too superstitious!

Only other lap I can remember timing was one in dave's civic, possibly it's last lap ever - that was an 8.35!

[gareth]

my second lap was a 10:38 but was nowhere near a clean run. i doubt i'd be able to walk properly if i had balls big enough to get mine round in 8:35!

we only looked back at the times after we'd finished and packed up, taking times from the few videos we'd recorded. thought it best not to see while we were driving laps still!

[Jhonno]

Theo, it's damn damn good fun! i'm so going again!
a few problems as usual... i don't get column to manifold contact on the road any more, but managed it on the ring that made me cool it a lot on left handers!

I had the same problem with the S50 touring, especialy on the sharp left a bit before the Adenau bridge.

Some great pics there Gareth!!

Whats with the wheels on the Touring tho?!

[gareth]

thought someone would spot them...
they're a 'bit' council but cheap and i needed four to get mobile again. i made sure i kept them well clear of those kerbs!

normal service will resume shortly... either some 16" BBS LM reps, or 16" steelies or something equally deviant!

[gareth]

ok gents, no taking the piss out of my high pitched sh1tting myself voice, or tom sounding overly posh or any of the utter b0ll0cks we were talking on the way round... or my lack of talent! i'll reel out the excuses if i need to (i had plenty!) but this was my 3rd lap of the ring, with mechanical issues and having NEVER done a trackday before... nothing like jumping in at the deep end ey?

enjoy: (now where's my popcorn...)

[Theo]

That's a good effort, those Leda's seem to be working quite well. Have you got an LSD on your car yet?

Here's my effort of filming a lap in davenotourings shed, sound goes a bit funny after a while
http://media.putfile.com/Nurburgring-Lap-91-Civic

[Jon_Bmw]

Looks like great fun Gareth. Some of your brothers comments were quality.

The difference between someone who knows the track and someone who doesn't is vast. Oh and the fact Dave is a fucking nutter.

I really, really want to go, but i'd be a road block in the iS and the mi16 would probably shit itself. Must convince brother dearest that it would be a good idea to go in his scooby

[maxfield]

Awesome dude!

I really want to go, but I can't until I'm 18

[gareth]

cheers fella! i'm not going flat out yet til i've learned it better but i was happy with that and was well within my limits. the ledas do work well and should work better once i've played with settings a bit to dial out some of the understeer.
no LSD yet, i'm running a 3.91 open diff, however with the rear end grip i had, i wasn't spinning an inside wheel up at all. a taller ratio will help though as a lot of corners were too short in 2nd but to low in 3rd.

that big mr dave drives that honda like a true hero! the little hondas do seem very quick round there.
we're toying with the idea of buying a rover 220 turbo coupe or something similarly wrong for a giggle. cheap, strip it and learn from there without worrying about damaging the hero turd!

[gareth]

Looks like great fun Gareth. Some of your brothers comments were quality.

The difference between someone who knows the track and someone who doesn't is vast. Oh and the fact Dave is a ******* nutter.

I really, really want to go, but i'd be a road block in the iS and the mi16 would probably shit itself. Must convince brother dearest that it would be a good idea to go in his scooby

not my bother on that lap, that was his lightweight (superleggera) mate tom! funny though!
if you have balls and can drive (like davenotouring!!!), the 'is' could be ok, i saw a few doing a lot better than me! the mi16 would be an animal though, that's on out list of possible track toys also... along with a trailer!

[gareth]

Awesome dude!

I really want to go, but I can't until I'm 18

can't be that long now can it?
get a passenger ride at the least!

[Jon_Bmw]

They are good fun, for FWD anyway.

Ours owes us about a grand I think and its fairly quick with a combination of slicks and r888's depending on the weather.

Getting the wallowly handling sorted with some new wishbones bushes and then trying to get 200bhp out of it is our next step. The step that unfortunatly costs the most.

A trailer is a must

[gareth]

luckily, my E30 makes a good track car and with the LPG, towball and large tool / luggage space makes a good towcar too! handy!

[maxfield]

Awesome dude!

I really want to go, but I can't until I'm 18

can't be that long now can it?
get a passenger ride at the least!

18 in November.

I've been before, but somehow it just won't be the same as a passenger!

A few track days this year hopefully for a bit of practice

[320Touring]

Nice work Gareth!!

The 'Ring remains the only track based action i've ever done, funnily enough, in a white touring

[gareth]

team alpine white touring FTW!!!!
27.8 mpg... i managed 32mpg on gas on the drive over! got my beast all the way there on less than £30!

[gareth]

a few more pics i found , cheers for rich_w for the heads up on a few sites and the pic of me going over adenau bridge

the question is: who looks more scared... me or my passenger!!!!!




go go baby bro!!!!!

[12345kevin]

the question is: who looks more scared... me or my passenger!!!!!

Or why the passenger feels the need to wear a Crash Helmet and you don't !!!