bi22le
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| posted on 20/8/20 at 09:16 AM |
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My return to track - A quick write up
Due to 2nd child child, work, study and life I have been away from driving the car fro over 4 years. During that time I have done a few things to it
but nothing major.
Finding space on a track day was a right pain. Covid had meant that people were booking up for months in advance, but I managed to find a guy on
facebook wanting to sell a day as he could not make it. So on Tuesday I did my first track day in over 4 years. Open pit at Brands, perfect for
ironing out teething issues and only 10 mins home if it all goes that bad.
Weather leading up was massively hit or miss but I was going regardless. So with enough spares to fill the A4 tow car I was off on my own for the day
of testing really. I would have been very happy to see the chequered flag and use up the fuel.
My first worry was noise. One of the few things that can end your day prematurely and really are out of your hands. I have mentioned a few times on
here about getting kicked off for noise at brands 5 years ago. Since then I have changed my inlet to keep that side of the engine down, but done
little with the exhaust. I had with me a little dB killer and a plan to fit that in my silencer if needed or a big bolt on secondary silencer with a
very tight 180deg bend (already discussed on here). With the original set up I static tested 97dB (102 limit) and to my surprise I was not black
flagged for drive by (92 limit). This made me very happy, although I was gentle for most of the day, I thought I would be loud. This is a good point
to note about noise. My car probably tripped the drive by noise because of induction noise, something to consider if others are having issues.
In my worry of exhaust noise I removed, checked and refitted my exhaust. I probably over tightened the bolts when refitting which meant I spotted an
issue after my 1st outing, a big crack on a weld where the exhaust manifold joins one of the headers. It didn't seem to affect the power or
noise but certainly something I now need to fix.
With lots of coming in and out of the pits to check things and tweak my DD2 lite settings I found myself more and more comfortable. Oil temps were
quite high at around 110 peak, but it was a hot day on track. Water temps were 80deg constant.
I did have a massive spin which started at the top of paddock Hill after hitting a bit of oil (Clio in front also lost it and they then red flagged it
clean the track). I also had a little (unrelated) oil leak which should be an easy fix from the oil rad feed. Annoyingly a clean up and new Jubilee
clip didn't solve it.
By the end of the day I was peddling as fast as comfortable. Noticeably not as fast as 4 years ago when I was doing 5 track days during the summer. I
ended up about 0.5sec off my fastest, which with the mods I would have liked to have improved on.
Overall, a great day and result. The car run really well with some areas of improvement. Mainly the bits mentioned above, some oil rad cowling and a
front ARB. I must have covered around 150 laps and drank 50 litres of fuel.
Final point to mention. It was a BUSY day. There must have been 60 cars there and there was never any queue. Some times there were only 5-10 cars on
track! 3 red flags IIRC, one of which was due to a guy who collapsed in the pits.
I want to book up my next day now!! Who is doing what and when, it was a little lonely at times with not friends or family allowed to spectate.
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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peter030371
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| posted on 20/8/20 at 02:40 PM |
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If you find any more days available at BH then let me know, I need to get my backside in gear (and the car) and do something with it this year. After
the C19 shut down stopped the planned sprint season I have found it difficult to find any enthusiasm to do anything with the car 
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bi22le
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| posted on 20/8/20 at 07:43 PM |
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Would you fancy anywhere else like Snetterton for example?
I quite fancy Cadwell / Oulton / Mallory.
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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peter030371
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| posted on 20/8/20 at 08:09 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by bi22le
Would you fancy anywhere else like Snetterton for example?
I quite fancy Cadwell / Oulton / Mallory.
If I had the time. Brands is just a day out, the rest are a 2 day trip and time is tight.
I'm tempted with the Javelin Sprint at Caldwell in October (I was planning 6 or 7 sprints in the series this year but that never happened) but
I do need to bed my brakes in and then adjust the balance first which I can't do at a sprint
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jeffw
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| posted on 20/8/20 at 08:44 PM |
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"With lots of coming in and out of the pits to check things and tweak my DD2 lite settings I found myself more and more comfortable. Oil temps
were quite high at around 110 peak, but it was a hot day on track. Water temps were 80deg constant."
That doesn't seem right. 80 Deg water temp is too low and 110 oil is on the high side.
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bi22le
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| posted on 20/8/20 at 11:13 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by jeffw
"With lots of coming in and out of the pits to check things and tweak my DD2 lite settings I found myself more and more comfortable. Oil temps
were quite high at around 110 peak, but it was a hot day on track. Water temps were 80deg constant."
That doesn't seem right. 80 Deg water temp is too low and 110 oil is on the high side.
Funny enough, I was thinking the same as I was typing that. It reminded me of a conversation I had with Ed (eddie99 on here?) many years go with
similar symptoms. It ended up being a faulty oil temp sensor reading high. Water may have been higher, I was not really paying attention to it.
It really shouldn't be over heating. I have a 19 row oil cooler with good air flow to it, it should be sitting lower. Probably another thing to
look into.
Thanks for flagging that up Jeff. I'll swap the sensor out and see if it makes a difference.
[Edited on 20/8/20 by bi22le]
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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bi22le
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| posted on 20/8/20 at 11:17 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by peter030371
quote:
Originally posted by bi22le
Would you fancy anywhere else like Snetterton for example?
I quite fancy Cadwell / Oulton / Mallory.
If I had the time. Brands is just a day out, the rest are a 2 day trip and time is tight.
I'm tempted with the Javelin Sprint at Caldwell in October (I was planning 6 or 7 sprints in the series this year but that never happened) but
I do need to bed my brakes in and then adjust the balance first which I can't do at a sprint
Snetterton is a day. The others you can drive up after work and stay in a cheap local hotel, drive back afterwards fueled on red bull! That what I do
with the more distant ones.
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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CosKev3
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| posted on 21/8/20 at 07:01 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by bi22le
Would you fancy anywhere else like Snetterton for example?
I quite fancy Cadwell / Oulton / Mallory.
You might get lucky and get a Oulton late Autumn/winter day,but deffo no summer ones now
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peter030371
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| posted on 21/8/20 at 08:00 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by bi22le
Snetterton is a day. The others you can drive up after work and stay in a cheap local hotel, drive back afterwards fueled on red bull! That what I do
with the more distant ones.
Snetterton is circa 2.75hrs each way towing for me. I would drive up the night before and kip in the trailer 
I prefer to stay at the track overnight with the car these days. Seen people poking around car trailers at hotels before so that's put me off
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bi22le
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| posted on 21/8/20 at 11:16 PM |
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Snett is less than 2 for me.
I would kip in the tow car or tent at the track for further ones. I have also stayed in hotels but also called before a discussed secure parking.
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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