Tuition at KH - before or during trackday?

[mark_h]

Ah, it was someone from here. It was mentioned that an Exige went off earlier in the day - very glad to see it's nothing a short skoosh of the pressure washer won't sort! At least you can't be accused of not getting the most out of the 'experience'.... did I hear right that you got it on video?

How did the car stand up otherwise? I lost a bit of feel in the brakes after ~8 laps so will be looking for new pads shortly. That and the strong desire I now have for a 4-point harness means I definitely have the track bug!

Next step is a Walshy day and Spa!

Cheers

Mark

[caveman]

Some guy who was behind me in a civic type r had an onboard cam. He'd left before I got a chance to get him to send it on to me. Just going to keep an eye on YouTube every now and then. Was hoping they had some footage at the track but no luck. Got some pitlane straight flyby vids but they're not very exciting, got a decent one of me passing the 360 (some old boy out for a cruise) though, but that's about it.

Definitely got the most from it I think...towards the end I really felt like I was getting really smooth and quick through the corners. Brakes on mine were fine, i've got the yellow stuff pads on mine and they definitely seem to do the job. Worth a look if you're close to changing.

What did you think of the day? Have you done many track days in the past?

[mark_h]

Never done any trackdays before and it was a definite tick in the box in terms of an introduction to my car on a track. Hopefully I'll be a relatively frequent visitor to KH and at least I'll be able to pitch up now without as much nervousness.

I was genuinely impressed at how progressive the car was though - I'd really expected it to be more twitchy at higher speeds but found it relatively easy to keep in hand. Had the back end squirming a couple of times (and a little more than squirming at the hairpin) but the smile on my face was limited by the helmet squashing my cheeks into my mouth.

I'd like to discover more about how the car behaves near/at the limit, and also what happens when one pushes too hard - probably wasn't too feasible yesterday given the consequences of things going wrong. All in, pretty happy and got out all I could have hoped for and really looking forward to getting back there.

Have you thought about one of the driver training days?

Mark

[caveman]

Found that too with the car, the only other time I've been on the track was a tuition day at knockhill with my old Z4M and it was a completely different experience...

Driver training day - Is that a more comprehensive thing to the one we were on? Do they do that at knockhill? I was thinking of taking the jump and doing a hot marques day or something next

[Andy G]

Hi Guys

The best training is http://www.carlimits.com, no doubt.

The KH instruction is ok, but nothing like Carlimits. KH instruction tends to be specific to the circuit, will help you with lines, braking points etc, and pick up some areas of improvement, but that will just help you mainly with this circuit, not your driving and car control in general.

Carlimits (Walshy) will teach you all about you and your car, and then get you to combine the 2 to maximum effect. From learning to steer and brake properly, to the high speed bend, to drifting - you will have an absolute blast.

It is a bit of a trek, but what a laugh!

Go see Walshy if you really want to improve.

Also, having the car on the airfield gives you the chance to get used to the feeling of the limit, beyond the limit etc etc in absolute safety (unless you own a Fiat 500)

[jen]

If you do a car limits course, you could get a wee discount on your insurance policy too, depending on your insurance company.

[mark_h]

I'm trying to dovetail the carlimits in with the Spa trip - unfortunately I'll probably be on my own (in terms of other SE members) on either 10th or 12th November which will mean either an extra day I wasn't planning for, or more likely, doing the Friday and head across afterwards meaning I'll miss Nurburgring etc.

From earlier comments, it a sacrifice I should probably make, particularly given I probably wouldn't have driven the 'ring anyway...

Cheers

Mark

[Shug]

If it's a call between the ring and a visit to the Welsh Wizard, I'd always want to see Walshy as the priority. If you want that frisson of danger and living on the edge that the Ring provides, just go out for a few pints with him later...

[kenny]

I lost a bit of feel in the brakes after ~8 laps so will be looking for new pads shortly.

Brake fade or just feel different? The Exige brakes sometime feel a bit odd on track when they go from cold to hot. If you're getting brake fade I would change the fluid as well.

[mark_h]

If it's a call between the ring and a visit to the Welsh Wizard, I'd always want to see Walshy as the priority. If you want that frisson of danger and living on the edge that the Ring provides, just go out for a few pints with him later...

Like the thinking - guess the benefit of the Walshy day will last a lifetime. I'll try and keep things civilised afterwards, mainly because I'll probably heading straight to dover/chunnel to get across to Belgium.

I lost a bit of feel in the brakes after ~8 laps so will be looking for new pads shortly.

Brake fade or just feel different? The Exige brakes sometime feel a bit odd on track when they go from cold to hot. If you're getting brake fade I would change the fluid as well.

I think different/odd would be fairly accurate - they lost quite a lot of feel but didn't get too spongy or fade too much that I got concerned. They still did the job of stopping me. Did a couple of cool down laps but even then I think the heat soaked into the fluid... very noticable when I drove off later.

On that note, I've done a little digging on the pads but wondered if there's a recommended fluid to replace with?

Cheers

Mark

[kenny]

Motul RBF600

[Brian C]

I was told as soon as I arrived that someone (in a Lotus!) had already been off the track in the morning by Graham my instructor, was it him you were with?
Anyway he encouraged me to build up speed slowly and at the end I felt like I was going pretty fast but still had to pull over for Mark in his Exige S, and when he went past I couldn't keep up for long!
It was great fun to be able to drive the car on the track and be shown the racing lines and braking points with very little traffic on the circuit.
However I would still like to learn more about how to really handle the car and it seems like a Walshy day is highly recommended.
Are Walshy days ever held in Scotland or North England?
If not, can anyone recommend a route that is fun and doesn't take too long to the M25?

[Brian C]

Forgot to add (Mark) that Friday 12th November is a possibility for me as well and it seems that there are no bookings on that day yet on the website if anyone else was thinking of going from SE?

[mark_h]

It was great having the chance to chat after the session Brian - definitely one of the benefits of owning a Lotus!

I think I'm going to try for the 12th. I'll be with a mate that has yet to decide if he wants to do the day (as it would be in my car) or spectate, so at the very least there'll be banter (although I cant guarantee any sort of quality - we are both Fifers after all) !

Would be great if you could make it.

Cheers

Mark

[Andy G]

Forgot to add (Mark) that Friday 12th November is a possibility for me as well and it seems that there are no bookings on that day yet on the website if anyone else was thinking of going from SE?

If you mean Friday the 12th Nov, he's going to be with us at the Ring.

You also dont need to go as far south as the M25 - A1/M1 to A14 to M11 i think if memory serves me right