Soldato
- Joined
- 5 Jul 2007
- Posts
- 5,511
- Location
- London
lol, that sounds fun
Track car project - including diary of a track n00b
- Thread starter Vix
- Start date
They dont really add much drag at all due to the way the car is designed, There is a thread on IMOC and Twobrutal with computerised air flow tests and they air doesnt really go near the wing to create drag or downforce.
If you put 2 cooling fans blowing upwards in under the engine lid and the air goes no where near it
If you put 2 cooling fans blowing upwards in under the engine lid and the air goes no where near it
Not sure on the rules for the sprint series, so please excuse my ignorance if wrong, but could you not remove the window winders (electric or manual) altogether and also the glass and fit fixed lexan windows with small sliding air vents, will save loads of weight.
Also they are loads safer, if you ever, (god forbid), have a nasty, you do not get loads of glsss shards flying around the car.
Oh yeah, fantastic thread and very well done for having the guts to go and do all this, good luck for the future to both of you.
Lexan windows are on the cards for the rear quarters and rear screen at some point, not sure what to do about the door glass as they're frameless doors and i'm worried that lexan windows won't be rigid enough and will end up flapping about in the breeze.
And then there were three.
Phil has been stripping Mister Two (the blue one!) all week end ended up with a shell, which he then proceeded to fill with lots of unwanted metal, old brake discs, standard suspension, odd springs etc.
Weighed it in for £65, which is better then a kick in the teeth I guess.
The man at the scrapyard said it would be flat within the hour
RIP Mister Two, you gave us some good times, may your metal be put to good use.
Phil has been stripping Mister Two (the blue one!) all week end ended up with a shell, which he then proceeded to fill with lots of unwanted metal, old brake discs, standard suspension, odd springs etc.
Weighed it in for £65, which is better then a kick in the teeth I guess.
The man at the scrapyard said it would be flat within the hour
RIP Mister Two, you gave us some good times, may your metal be put to good use.
Weirdly was about to dig this up to ask about spectating at woodbridge, am I able to just turn up and pay?
I'll be nosey about the trackday too, when will it be? May spectate that too if I haven't crashed and burned at Silverstone on Wednesday!
I'll be nosey about the trackday too, when will it be? May spectate that too if I haven't crashed and burned at Silverstone on Wednesday!
And then there were three.
Phil has been stripping Mister Two (the blue one!) all week end ended up with a shell, which he then proceeded to fill with lots of unwanted metal, old brake discs, standard suspension, odd springs etc.
Weighed it in for £65, which is better then a kick in the teeth I guess.
The man at the scrapyard said it would be flat within the hour
RIP Mister Two, you gave us some good times, may your metal be put to good use.
Is it me or did you not get a very good rate for weighing that in? I've weighed in a boot full of junk a couple of months ago and got £30 for it?! Did they give you x pence per KG?
There wasn't a huge amount of it left by the time I weighed it in, was basically a bare shell with a few old brake discs and suspension springs and stuff lobbed in there for good measure. The paperwork says I had 540kg @ £120 per ton. I'd guess that cars are a particulary low value type of scrap as there must be a fair amount of processing to get anything useful from them.
Due to a bit of quick thinking I did manage to sell myself for about £9 of the total as well. When we got there they weighed the scrap, trailer, tow car and occupants (2 of us). Then I got out to untie the shell from the trailer. They then removed the scrap and reweighed the trailer, tow car and driver whilst I stood and watched hoping they wouldn't notice what I'd done
Due to a bit of quick thinking I did manage to sell myself for about £9 of the total as well. When we got there they weighed the scrap, trailer, tow car and occupants (2 of us). Then I got out to untie the shell from the trailer. They then removed the scrap and reweighed the trailer, tow car and driver whilst I stood and watched hoping they wouldn't notice what I'd done
15th July
We have a trackday booked at Snetterton tomorrow so today has been spent doing little checks on the car and preparation for the trackday. A lot of people ask what preparation is necessary for a trackday so here are the things we have checked today:
The Weather. As we have a choice of tyres, it is important we know what the weather is going to be like in order that we can take the right ones. Fortunately tomorrow is set to be warm and dry so we will be going on our R888s, the normal track tyre. If the track was far away. We’d be driving on road tyres, but as Snetterton is only down the road, we have changed the tyres today:
Whilst the wheels were off, we checked the brakes to make sure there was plenty of pad left. There is!
I then checked the coolant, and as you can see from the picture, there is plenty.
And the oil, which was a little on the low side:
So we chucked some more oil in:
And checked a few minutes later – now there’s plenty!
I also added a purchase from the weekend, A sticker of Snetterton circuit:
Phil then fitted the harnesses to the passenger side, (Usually we don’t sprint with a passenger seat in, but we will use it for trackdays). Today he has also utilised some trim from the old cars in order to clean up any sharp edges in the interior usually covered by carpet. Currently he is sorting out a leak we have discovered when it rains!
We have a trackday booked at Snetterton tomorrow so today has been spent doing little checks on the car and preparation for the trackday. A lot of people ask what preparation is necessary for a trackday so here are the things we have checked today:
The Weather. As we have a choice of tyres, it is important we know what the weather is going to be like in order that we can take the right ones. Fortunately tomorrow is set to be warm and dry so we will be going on our R888s, the normal track tyre. If the track was far away. We’d be driving on road tyres, but as Snetterton is only down the road, we have changed the tyres today:
Whilst the wheels were off, we checked the brakes to make sure there was plenty of pad left. There is!
I then checked the coolant, and as you can see from the picture, there is plenty.
And the oil, which was a little on the low side:
So we chucked some more oil in:
And checked a few minutes later – now there’s plenty!
I also added a purchase from the weekend, A sticker of Snetterton circuit:
Phil then fitted the harnesses to the passenger side, (Usually we don’t sprint with a passenger seat in, but we will use it for trackdays). Today he has also utilised some trim from the old cars in order to clean up any sharp edges in the interior usually covered by carpet. Currently he is sorting out a leak we have discovered when it rains!
I envy you. I'd love to have the space and spare cash to do this myself. It's got me written all over it, but alas I'm young with a mortgage on terraced shed, expensive car etc. Still, one day eh?
Great thread for anyone interested in such things. Thanks for contributing. Hopefully i na couple of years I'll be in aposition to play out a bit more
Great thread for anyone interested in such things. Thanks for contributing. Hopefully i na couple of years I'll be in aposition to play out a bit more
Well we're hardly old and we have a mortgage on a nice house which we bought at the 'wrong' time! Fortunately modern cars don't interest me though so the money other people might spend on finance for a modern car, we just fritter away on projects and racing
I think it helps if there are two of you too, although I don't help much financially! Perhaps you can find a mate who's interested too.
I think it helps if there are two of you too, although I don't help much financially! Perhaps you can find a mate who's interested too.
Today we had a trackday at Snetterton, so a fairly early start got us to the circuit just after 8. We got ‘our’ garage, number 25 and set up camp for the day. Signed on, noise tested and briefed, and ready to go by 9. I decided to do the sighting laps to get a feel for the circuit again, not that it’s really necessary, there’s 4 corners, 2 straights and 2 chicanes but it also got me used to Humphrey again too.
It was a great warm and sunny day with no sign of rain, so we were looking forward to some good laps. Once the sighting laps were done, Phil got ready to drive, however just as we were about to set off, the track was red flagged and everyone came in. We didn’t think it would be very long so we joined the queue ready to go out when the track was re opened. It was quite a quiet track day with only about 30 cars altogether, and most of them were fairly experienced, so it was very pleasant being out on the track as you could get some good clear laps, and people were being courteous. My favourite car out there was this fab Beetle:
Phil put some stonking laps in and managed not to spin once. He was really throwing Humphrey around, making the tyres squeal and putting the back out, and I was so concerned I would *never* be able to go that fast!
So it was my turn once Humphrey had cooled down a little. My first few laps were rather sedate, but I felt more relaxed as there weren’t as many cars to move out of the way from. Phil started to give me some instruction on braking points, when to life and not to lift, and what sort of gears I should be doing corners in, which helped so much, my confidence was building loads. Too much in fact, as I took Seer corner a little too tight and fast and ended up spinning! Not quite a 360 but it was fun. Humphrey had stalled during the spin and there was a bit of a hairy moment trying to start him back up, but I was off the racing line so it wasn’t that stressful. After the spin we went back to the pits to check him over and have a rest.
A few more runs each and my confidence was building, as was Phils. I was even overtaking people and learning not to drop back so much behind a car that was slow on corners but fast on straights, so they’d let me go past.
Just before lunch, there was another red flag so we decided to grab an early sandwich and then have a break. In true vix style, I then fell asleep in the pit lane.
Not for long though as we were soon ready to go again
A fairly uneventful afternoon ensued, I was getting better at most of the track except from the first chicane, the Esses. Even when Phil was driving I was feeling he was taking it too fast, although we emerged from it unscathed. I just didn’t have the balls to hurtle down the Revett straight at 100 and then take two sharp corners. Phil was telling me when to lift and brake and change gear but I just couldn’t take it all in. I managed to get the entry in the corner right, once, then flapped and had a mad swervy tank slippery moment through the rest of the chicane, although for some bizarre reason managed to keep completely on the black stuff!
So soon it was nearly time to pack up, mainly due to the fact we were about to run out of fuel!!
We’d had a great day, and Phil commented that if I drive like I had today at the Sprints, I’d be much more competitive. Here’s hoping!
It was a great warm and sunny day with no sign of rain, so we were looking forward to some good laps. Once the sighting laps were done, Phil got ready to drive, however just as we were about to set off, the track was red flagged and everyone came in. We didn’t think it would be very long so we joined the queue ready to go out when the track was re opened. It was quite a quiet track day with only about 30 cars altogether, and most of them were fairly experienced, so it was very pleasant being out on the track as you could get some good clear laps, and people were being courteous. My favourite car out there was this fab Beetle:
Phil put some stonking laps in and managed not to spin once. He was really throwing Humphrey around, making the tyres squeal and putting the back out, and I was so concerned I would *never* be able to go that fast!
So it was my turn once Humphrey had cooled down a little. My first few laps were rather sedate, but I felt more relaxed as there weren’t as many cars to move out of the way from. Phil started to give me some instruction on braking points, when to life and not to lift, and what sort of gears I should be doing corners in, which helped so much, my confidence was building loads. Too much in fact, as I took Seer corner a little too tight and fast and ended up spinning! Not quite a 360 but it was fun. Humphrey had stalled during the spin and there was a bit of a hairy moment trying to start him back up, but I was off the racing line so it wasn’t that stressful. After the spin we went back to the pits to check him over and have a rest.
A few more runs each and my confidence was building, as was Phils. I was even overtaking people and learning not to drop back so much behind a car that was slow on corners but fast on straights, so they’d let me go past.
Just before lunch, there was another red flag so we decided to grab an early sandwich and then have a break. In true vix style, I then fell asleep in the pit lane.
Not for long though as we were soon ready to go again
A fairly uneventful afternoon ensued, I was getting better at most of the track except from the first chicane, the Esses. Even when Phil was driving I was feeling he was taking it too fast, although we emerged from it unscathed. I just didn’t have the balls to hurtle down the Revett straight at 100 and then take two sharp corners. Phil was telling me when to lift and brake and change gear but I just couldn’t take it all in. I managed to get the entry in the corner right, once, then flapped and had a mad swervy tank slippery moment through the rest of the chicane, although for some bizarre reason managed to keep completely on the black stuff!
So soon it was nearly time to pack up, mainly due to the fact we were about to run out of fuel!!
We’d had a great day, and Phil commented that if I drive like I had today at the Sprints, I’d be much more competitive. Here’s hoping!
What a disastrous weekend.
Got in Sakura on Saturday morning to find the clutch pedal went right to the floor and can't engage any gears. Got a leak somewhere, although we had been feeling that the clutch was failing and Phil had planned to fix this next weekend in preparation for a sprint we were going to do at the Lotus test track. We are unable to do this sprint in Humphrey due to MSA regulations, basically you need a cage if your car is stripped out, or you need a proper dash, and carpets etc!
So, with plans to fix Sakura next weekend, we set off to Phil's parent's as his family was over. I was designated driver, so spent the night on J2O and water! I went back to his mums for a little sleep whilst he got drunk with his family. The plan was for me to drive back home with him when he was ready as we were going to Snetterton on the Sunday. Phil came and woke me up about 11:30 and we got ready to go home. There is a small doorstep on Phils mums front door, which I managed to miss in my tired state, and fell flat on the ground. I felt like I had put my right foot down a hole, and upon inspection saw my foot was facing the wrong way to my leg :/ Cue a drnken Phil having to lift me back into the house and call an ambulance!!!
So, to cut a long story short, I'm in the ambulance breathing lots of lovely gas and air and getting very giggly. When I get to the hospital, they have to sedate me to put my leg back into the right shape and then X ray to find I have broken both my ankle and my leg, and I need surgery in order to put pins and a plate in there! Phil left me at about 5am Sunday morning and I was scheduled for surgery at about 8.
I'm not a morning person, especially after lots of painkillers and no sleep so I really can't remember much about going into surgery. I remember a conversation with the doctor about his son driving MG's in the MG challenge, which probably relaxed me a little, but nothing much else. When I came out of surgery I was even worse. I couldn't see properly and didn't know where I was, but the hospital managed to call Phil who arrived as soon as he could, which was nice.
I spent the Sunday in hospital, and was told I could go home on the Monday once the doctors had seen me. This happened at about 5pm so I was lolling around in bed most of Monday feeling sorry for myself.
I have the cast on until next Monday, when I have to go back for an x ray to see if everything is ok, and then a new cast. (Its orange and matches a shoe I have so it's ok)
No one's really given me an idea of when I'll be able to drive again but it looks like I'm out of the championship this year. So roll on next year!!
Got in Sakura on Saturday morning to find the clutch pedal went right to the floor and can't engage any gears. Got a leak somewhere, although we had been feeling that the clutch was failing and Phil had planned to fix this next weekend in preparation for a sprint we were going to do at the Lotus test track. We are unable to do this sprint in Humphrey due to MSA regulations, basically you need a cage if your car is stripped out, or you need a proper dash, and carpets etc!
So, with plans to fix Sakura next weekend, we set off to Phil's parent's as his family was over. I was designated driver, so spent the night on J2O and water! I went back to his mums for a little sleep whilst he got drunk with his family. The plan was for me to drive back home with him when he was ready as we were going to Snetterton on the Sunday. Phil came and woke me up about 11:30 and we got ready to go home. There is a small doorstep on Phils mums front door, which I managed to miss in my tired state, and fell flat on the ground. I felt like I had put my right foot down a hole, and upon inspection saw my foot was facing the wrong way to my leg :/ Cue a drnken Phil having to lift me back into the house and call an ambulance!!!
So, to cut a long story short, I'm in the ambulance breathing lots of lovely gas and air and getting very giggly. When I get to the hospital, they have to sedate me to put my leg back into the right shape and then X ray to find I have broken both my ankle and my leg, and I need surgery in order to put pins and a plate in there! Phil left me at about 5am Sunday morning and I was scheduled for surgery at about 8.
I'm not a morning person, especially after lots of painkillers and no sleep so I really can't remember much about going into surgery. I remember a conversation with the doctor about his son driving MG's in the MG challenge, which probably relaxed me a little, but nothing much else. When I came out of surgery I was even worse. I couldn't see properly and didn't know where I was, but the hospital managed to call Phil who arrived as soon as he could, which was nice.
I spent the Sunday in hospital, and was told I could go home on the Monday once the doctors had seen me. This happened at about 5pm so I was lolling around in bed most of Monday feeling sorry for myself.
I have the cast on until next Monday, when I have to go back for an x ray to see if everything is ok, and then a new cast. (Its orange and matches a shoe I have so it's ok)
No one's really given me an idea of when I'll be able to drive again but it looks like I'm out of the championship this year. So roll on next year!!
Oh pants, what a rubbish conclusion to the season for you I have been enjoying your posts and I am always amazed at just how good these Mk1 MR2's still are. I've driven Kitchsters a bit and its a really capable car, closely matched to my MX5. Hope you get better soon.
I have been enjoying your posts and I am always amazed at just how good these Mk1 MR2's still are. I've driven Kitchsters a bit and its a really capable car, closely matched to my MX5. Hope you get better soon.