OcUK Trackday Date - Feb 10 or 17?

Simon said:
Out of interest where was the oil on the dipstick?

Donington IME is not that power dependant, certainly nothing like Castle Combe. In a 26front drive something like a LSD would have a bigger advantage than 40hp more. Then of course 300hp would be a bit of a handful in the corners (from experience)
Click to expand...

Above the min mark after the engine died, granted it had used a bit of oil, it was above half way between min and max before that run :(

Simon said:
I think that will be due to the driver rather than the car, lets not kid outselves that a Cupra R has higher corner speeds than an Elise or Ferrari.
Click to expand...

Quite, but the point he was making was that any driver can nail their car in a straight line, and the extra straight line speed would have helped me more in the situations I was in, as it would have meant that the cars with a higher top end wouldn't have kept re-catching me down the straights, given that I was already driving faster through the bends (down to driver talent/braveness).
 
Tesla said:
How can you possibly know better than Paradigm considering he was driving the actual car around an actual track?

He is no slow-coach beginner, he has a good idea of what he is doing.
Click to expand...

TBH I don't think Jonny is saying Paradigm doesn't know what he's doing. His point is if you can carry more speed through a corner and exit a corner that much quicker, you will be quicker round a track than merely throwing more horsepower at the car.
 
paradigm said:
Above the min mark after the engine died, granted it had used a bit of oil, it was above half way between min and max before that run :(
Click to expand...

You may have remembered the arguement that broke out when, about a year ago, (think it was before Donington last time actually) Merlin recommended running the oil just over max when going on the track. I know it's a bit late now, but I still think this is a good idea when taking a car around a track. Certainly ensuring it is on max if you're concerned about running over it.

Could be worse, your oil filter could have come off like a few S2000s do and the engine pretty much grenades itself.

Have you had a look at the spark plugs?
 
Only way for my car to have been quicker through the bends was less body roll and more mechanical grip... Something which I would look into would I be interested in keeping the car more long term.
 
paradigm said:
Only way for my car to have been quicker through the bends was less body roll and more mechanical grip... Something which I would look into would I be interested in keeping the car more long term.
Click to expand...

LSD.

But to be honest, on the track more grip would have only exacerbated the issue with oil surge. Hence why simply sticking semi-slicks on an otherwise unmodified car is not always the best of ideas.

Thing is though, for a road car you need compromise. You will always find weaknesses on the track.
 
Simon said:
Have you had a look at the spark plugs?
Click to expand...

Yeah, they were bone dry, didn't look "too" bad, although would probably have needed changing after the trackday looking at the state of them. Weren't coated black, weren't really "off" colour at all.

And yeah, In retrospect, overfilling with oil may have been an idea, but given that so many owners have had issues with too much oil, and that the manual really goes out of its way to make sure you don't, I didn't. :(
 
HI there

I think there is a saying that good brakes are the equivalent too 100BHP on a track.

My brakes seem to have completely failed now, driving to work and having to slow from speeds like 70mph the car feels like its shaking apart, in fact quite worrying and my disc look an absolute state.

So whether I want too or not means a big brake kit all round needs to be ordered and fitted, which in turn means I will be doing more track days to make use of them. :)

At least with working brakes I won't have most the field catching me on braking all the time as will have confidence to brake later.


P.S. Elliot keep your chin up m8, as we will have your car back on the road in no time. :)
 
Yeah, you really need to get those brakes sorted, I couldn't believe the state of the discs last night :eek: Being able to brake later and harder than most things on the track was a great help in catching them up!

Don't worry, I'm still in high-spirit, no point in letting it get me down, and cheers for all the support and offers of help! :)
 
Simon said:
You will always find weaknesses on the track.
Click to expand...

^ Let that be known, sound advice.

Even my "track ready" DC5 got hurt on track. I melted the tyres and toasted the brakes and the gearbox oil boiled so changing gear became a problem.

Don't delude yourself as to what is required to make a proper track ready car. It involves immense thought and expense to make something properly track ready. Best bet is to separate road and track over two cars.

Feel for you Para - I know you needed to sell it soon too. Bummer. :/
 
Its just a shame you have to bin your pads Andy, the discs look quite bad on the drilled holes and on the way back home it really didn't feel good when on the brakes.

Nice to see you're keeping your spirit up EL, it shall live again and just think when it starts for the first time thats going to be a great feeling and a major accomplishment :)

Just take photos so you can prove you actually do your own work :p
 
merlin said:
Feel for you Para - I know you needed to sell it soon too. Bummer. :/
Click to expand...

Its only a minor delay fortunately, or at least it should only be a minor delay, assuming I can find what is wrong with it in the next few days! Its the financial outlay that is more annoying, but alas, its worth more fixed than it is in bits so I have no choice.

Firestar_3x said:
Just take photos so you can prove you actually do your own work :p
Click to expand...

Ah yes, that moron from the other thread who shall go un-named.

engine1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Gibbo said:
HI there

I think there is a saying that good brakes are the equivalent too 100BHP on a track.

My brakes seem to have completely failed now, driving to work and having to slow from speeds like 70mph the car feels like its shaking apart, in fact quite worrying and my disc look an absolute state.

So whether I want too or not means a big brake kit all round needs to be ordered and fitted, which in turn means I will be doing more track days to make use of them. :)

At least with working brakes I won't have most the field catching me on braking all the time as will have confidence to brake later.
Click to expand...

AP 356mm and 6 pot? :) I only did the front (as the rears weren't available when I did it years ago), but it's better balanced with the rear upgraded to 4 pot.
You'll have to bin your pads that you've only just bought :(

If you also use the Cup tyres the stopping power will amaze you.

P.S. Elliot keep your chin up m8, as we will have your car back on the road in no time. :)
Click to expand...

There's another Elliot! :eek:

:D
 
Last edited:
Tesla said:
How can you possibly know better than Paradigm considering he was driving the actual car around an actual track?

He is no slow-coach beginner, he has a good idea of what he is doing.
Click to expand...

Its physics?

Just trying to help clear up the confusion that power = only way to make a faster car. If you leave a corner faster there is less requirement to accelerate over the resulting straight, two identical cars but one leaving a corner 5mph faster will pull quite a leave over a good length of straight.
 
Gibbo said:
HI there

I think there is a saying that good brakes are the equivalent too 100BHP on a track.

My brakes seem to have completely failed now, driving to work and having to slow from speeds like 70mph the car feels like its shaking apart, in fact quite worrying and my disc look an absolute state.

So whether I want too or not means a big brake kit all round needs to be ordered and fitted, which in turn means I will be doing more track days to make use of them. :)

At least with working brakes I won't have most the field catching me on braking all the time as will have confidence to brake later.


P.S. Elliot keep your chin up m8, as we will have your car back on the road in no time. :)
Click to expand...

What pads are you running Gibbo?

I find it suprising that another track focused OCUK car manages to cook its brakes at a track day, maybe its just the road pads they fit to the factory cars?
 
He had pagid's on it, don't know the exact model, but they were certainly up to the job. His problem was the rotors IMO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom