abingdon my first track day

Post Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:38 pm

hi,

i was hoping to go to abingdon for my first track day on 23/10, i had a couple of questions to anyone who has already been.

firstly i am a complete novice and the only racing i have done is in go karts. so is it a good track for novices?

Also what time does it start/finish?

What id do i need to take with me? driving license, counterpart, V5 etc...etc.

I will be running a standard 325i how much petrol am i likely to use? i was thinking of full tanking it and hoping that will be enough? i know its hard to say but roughly how much do people use?

Apart from the 100db rule, is there any other check they make on the car? my car is completely road worthy has current MOT, would they need to see this?

Sorry for the long list of questions.
thanks for the help

Post Fri Oct 02, 2009 5:14 pm

It is a good layout. Nothing to hit which is good. The first left hand bend you come to will puzzle you all day long as to the best line.

It all kicks off around 9am IIRC, but aim to get there for 8.45. It will end about half 4 when the light falls.

You need your driving licence and anyone else that wants to drive. Take the counterpart, I doubt you'll need it, I have never been asked for mine. Passengers must be over 16(or 18?). No v5 needed, no MOT needed, unless it really looks like a shed.

How far away are you from the circuit? If more than 20 miles, you'll do more than a tank. Well you might not, but you'll need more than 1/2 full or it will start to fuel starve round corners. There is a Tesco filling station 2 miles away.

No other tests bar the noise test which it will breeze through at about 84DB on a standard system. You would have to have something properly offensive for it to fail.

Have you got a Helmet, you'll need that. If not you can rent one. Arms and legs need to be covered all day, so take a long sleeved T shirt. A jumper will cook you.

I would be there, but this is currently going on:

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... 30&start=0

We'll have it running by then, but I doubt we'll get enough miles on the car, so we can't really run it in on a trackday.

Enjoy it.

I am thinking of trailing down our 200sx to Hullavington, to make the most of the handling area!

Post Fri Oct 02, 2009 5:40 pm

thanks for the reply, im only 30 miles away and car will be towed there so all good,
there will be 2 drivers possibly 3.

the car is not that bad was driven daily until tax ran out. already got helmets so semi prepared

Are there any alterations that i should make to the car?

I was thinking oil service and brake fluid change, pads have been changed less then 1000 miles ago.

Im gonna take the rear seats out and loose as much weight as possible.

How hard is the track on tyres? i was thinking to taking 2 spare wheels down.

Post Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:03 pm

There are so many varying factors in your questions so i'll do my best to answer. I was going to ask you "Are you likely to do trackdays again?" But it is a silly question, you will be.

Yes to oil change, get some 10w40 or 10w50 if you want to splash more cash. I use vaux semi synthetic with is changed every event, that is a 10w40.

Change the brake fluid to something decent, once you have boiled your standard stuff once, it is as good as game over for the whole day. I suggest Motul rbf500, or ATE? super blue(you can get it from euro carparts or GSF I think, anyone else know?) or halfrauds do a 'racing brake fluid' The last is what we use. Works fine.

I would change your brake pads to EBC yellows, they can be had for around £56 IIRC. You won't fade these. Standard pads will be ok for about 5 laps, then useless. I stay out for around 20+ laps on yellows and decent fluid.

Tyre wear depends on too many varibles really. I suspect you'll be using standard road tyres, in which case, do NOT stay out more than 10 laps as you will melt them, almost literally. You are likely to scrub the outside front tyres quite heavily as a standard e30 understeers quite a bit. 2 extra tyres will be fine if you are trailering it home. I'd be suprised if you canvassed the rears, but if you are obsessed with arse out action, it is possible.

HTH

Jon

Post Sat Oct 03, 2009 10:43 pm

thanks mate some decent advice there, good luck with your 205 cannot wait for it now lol

Post Sun Oct 04, 2009 9:42 am

Where abouts are you mate? With the fuel there is a petrol station just in abingdon. Not even 3 mins away, take a jerry can with you. It'll only cost 20 or so!

Post Sun Oct 04, 2009 12:05 pm

should be a good day im hoping to go on one soon too

Post Sun Oct 04, 2009 4:36 pm

MarkT wrote:Where abouts are you mate? With the fuel there is a petrol station just in abingdon. Not even 3 mins away, take a jerry can with you. It'll only cost 20 or so!

im coming from aylebury so not far, the car will be towed there and full tanked before and i am planning to have several jerry cans with me just in case lol.

Post Sun Oct 04, 2009 4:50 pm

Would take plenty of fuel money, on my first track day we went with a full tank and filled up twice more, couldnt get enough of it. Gave the car a right thrashing all day and drove home afterwards without any issues.

The surface on these airfield circuits can be hard on the tyres though.

Am sure you will really enjoy it.

Post Sun Oct 04, 2009 5:31 pm

[quote="Simon325i"] on my first track day we went with a full tank and filled up twice more, quote]

really?

i have been asking on other forums and they seem to think that 1 tank will be enough. I guess not then, will take enough for 3 tanks just in case.

unless you have a really heavy foot

Post Sun Oct 04, 2009 7:00 pm

Its was an open pitlane event and we stayed all day and spent nearly all of it out on track, it was a top day and would have stayed longer except it finished at 5pm!!!!!

Post Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:31 pm

How many track miles did you do Simon?

Post Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:43 pm

No idea Jon, this was about three years ago now.

Was a great event with mostly everyday cars and everyone there with the same intention of just haviing a good time.

Post Mon Oct 05, 2009 11:29 am

Simon325i wrote:Its was an open pitlane event and we stayed all day and spent nearly all of it out on track, it was a top day and would have stayed longer except it finished at 5pm!!!!!

I hope that i dont get no problems either and stay on the track as long as possible, since there are 2 maybe 3 drivers we all hope to get enough track time in.

thanks for the advice guys

Post Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:08 pm

Just to confirm, I can't be at this event i'm afraid. Car is now running, but wifey wants to do something on the day.

Book it soon, as it will sell out!

Post Tue Oct 06, 2009 6:49 pm

Jon_Bmw wrote:Just to confirm, I can't be at this event i'm afraid. Car is now running, but wifey wants to do something on the day.

Book it soon, as it will sell out!

sorry to hear that mate, was looking forward to seeing your car looks

anyone else coming?

Post Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:24 am

Thinking about it, but not sure at the moment.

Abingdon is a good surface, and given that the fuel station is so close, I would trailer empty and fill up just before, that way you don`t have to trailer another 60/70KG`s of weight all the way. Especially as that weight is behind the wheels of the trailer.

Cheers,

Dave

Post Sat Oct 10, 2009 10:29 am

DawieM3 wrote:Thinking about it, but not sure at the moment.

Abingdon is a good surface, and given that the fuel station is so close, I would trailer empty and fill up just before, that way you don`t have to trailer another 60/70KG`s of weight all the way. Especially as that weight is behind the wheels of the trailer.

Cheers,

Dave

good one, but have decided to tax the car and drive down since i cannot get hold of a trailer, just hope its in good enough shape to drive back