Scott134
New member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2012
- Messages
- 336
Final update for now is from my first proper track day! :grin:
I had an open pit lane day at Bedford Autodrome GT Circuit. I went with a couple of friends who were driving a Porsche Cayman S and a 3.0 Z4. I was a little disheartened when I arrived at the circuit to find no less than 6 Ariel Atoms and more Caterhams than I could count! The aim of the day was trying to find something we could keep up with to have a bit of fun and trying to keep out of everyone else's way ... especially as I didn't know the track!
I had a 20 minute tuition session with the onsite racing driver, which helped a lot with lines and braking points and we had a fantastic day. By the end, the tyres were looking pretty borderline and the car had taken a fair bit of abuse, especially because my brother and I were taking it turns to drive it, so the car didn't get too much rest over the day. I also had a 2 hour drive each way to get to and from the circuit, but the car didn't miss a beat and felt great. The Wilwood brakes were especially impressive, pulling up strong and not fading through the course of the day. I am really pleased I had the coilovers fitted before doing the track day, as it felt so much better than before. We set the coilovers much stiffer for the track, 3 notches off of the hardest setting on the back and a little softer on the front (as advised by the racing driver). There are 30 different settings in total for stiffness on the Gaz coilovers. The difference from mid-setting to near-hardest was huge! It really tightened it up. I was pleased with how the car went but, as per my post above, I am looking for a way to adjust camber now so I can get it lower without compromising the handling.
Here are a few photos:
I had an open pit lane day at Bedford Autodrome GT Circuit. I went with a couple of friends who were driving a Porsche Cayman S and a 3.0 Z4. I was a little disheartened when I arrived at the circuit to find no less than 6 Ariel Atoms and more Caterhams than I could count! The aim of the day was trying to find something we could keep up with to have a bit of fun and trying to keep out of everyone else's way ... especially as I didn't know the track!
I had a 20 minute tuition session with the onsite racing driver, which helped a lot with lines and braking points and we had a fantastic day. By the end, the tyres were looking pretty borderline and the car had taken a fair bit of abuse, especially because my brother and I were taking it turns to drive it, so the car didn't get too much rest over the day. I also had a 2 hour drive each way to get to and from the circuit, but the car didn't miss a beat and felt great. The Wilwood brakes were especially impressive, pulling up strong and not fading through the course of the day. I am really pleased I had the coilovers fitted before doing the track day, as it felt so much better than before. We set the coilovers much stiffer for the track, 3 notches off of the hardest setting on the back and a little softer on the front (as advised by the racing driver). There are 30 different settings in total for stiffness on the Gaz coilovers. The difference from mid-setting to near-hardest was huge! It really tightened it up. I was pleased with how the car went but, as per my post above, I am looking for a way to adjust camber now so I can get it lower without compromising the handling.
Here are a few photos: