TrackScotland Trackday @ Knockhill - 17th April 6pm to 8pm

[TrackScotland]

Ian - just spoke with Fee, she mentioned she was keeping the GT3 of 'the guy i used to work with' honest

She seemed to have a hoot in the loaned car.... standard suspension, standard engine, our old brakes, our new seat, our spare wheels and tyres... a very makeshift car!

She was also asking if you'd have any video footage?

I heard about an Integra having an 'off', what else happened?

Roll On the next one, hopefully I'll make that

[gdr]

Thanks to Adam and Fee again, another good event and the weather held this time.
The red flags did spoil things a bit but got enough laps in to check out new car. Still a bit tight with only 1300 miles, but feels pretty quick. Not too far off Ian's GT3 on the straight I think, and plenty enough grunt to dispose of a lot of other cars that I would have struggled to pass in the n/a Exige. Took a while to get back in groove in twisty bits (didn't want to bin it straight out of box) but towards the end I think I was picking up a bit of pace in the corners. Started to experiment with the adjustable TC, and it is good, much better than the all or nothing set up. Setting it mid way (4%) allowed a bit of drift but nothing unruly and drive out of the corners was excellent - cheating I know, but we of limited talent need all the help we can get.
Also very good to see the Ultima I built up there - it is still seriously fast in a straight line with "only" 400hp. Still running on my DIY Megasquirt EFI. Hamish was making it go round the corners reasonably quickly too, must be braver and/or more talented than I ever was.

[a4drk]

Yeah, i saw the Asian bloke in the White Integra spinning at the bottom of Duffus.
He hit the tyre wall pretty hard. The car went 90 degrees on its side & then fell back onto all 4 tyres - nearly rolled over.
Sad thing was, there was a wee boy as a PAX who was taken away in the ambulance. think he cut him self.
didn't see the car leave.......
it will probably be in the field outside Knockhill.................

david

[TrackScotland]

As far as I was told both the driver and the passenger are fine. The little girl's helmet came off when they crashed and I think she got more of a fright than anything.
The car looked like it took a fair whack!
I'm pretty sure I saw it loaded up on a trailer at the end of the night.

Was a good night though, was nice to get back on track, even if it wasn't with my own car!

Fee

[Modena Scotland]

Still a bit tight with only 1300 miles, but feels pretty quick.

George

By how much do you reckon the SC is faster than your old N/A?

Mass

[gdr]

Mass,

S PP Feels quite a bit quicker - on both straights at KH the S PP was just about running out of revs in 4th which not something that was an issue with n/a (I think same ratios) - I was short shifting into 5th sometimes. Drive out of corners much better as plenty torque from 5000 rpm up.
Ian's 996 GT3 was good reference - could just about keep up out of hairpin, was getting very good drive out of there, but the Porker was eventually pulling away a little bit at higher speeds as you would expect with the extra power.
Would be interesting to see how PP compared with regular S. Certainly more performance to come with this engine when it loosens up I think. It revved to red line OK but still a bit strained - n/a was the same for first few 1000 miles.
In corners, not much in it compared to the n/a - S is a bit heavier, but no more than a passenger or fat driver vs skinny driver. Much better under brakes - ultimate braking of course down to tyre grip, but the big brakes with RS1.4 pads have more bite and gave me more confidence to brake later than before - anti-lock staying out of it too until last minute, so pretty good. Certainly don't feel over-servoed like they do on the road sometimes.

So for me who is not exactly a track-god, extra power could make difference in lap time quite significant although not sure exactly how much. For a very good driver who can carry a lot of speed through corners and keep an n/a car above 6200 rpm all the time, difference may be less.

One thing I don't like much is the MY08 steering wheel with the thumb hooks - getting used to it, but still inadvertently press the horn bits on spokes which are too close to rim IMO. Caused a couple of random toots at KH last night, luckily not close behind anyone or I would be labelled a right tw@t, rather than just a tad odd.

And one more thing, I really need to fit a harness - tried unsuccessfully to fit the Luke from the old car alongside lap belt - fact that it is airbagged not really the issue, rather the extra centre console trim reduces space to accomodate both the lap belt buckle and harness. May have to try alternative mounting bits and maybe a Schroth which has different shape tab. Any ideas welcome. Using a CG lock instead but not so good as harness on track.

[Andy G]

there's a great video clip of Ali C in a Exige NA chasing Gav Kershaw (Lotus race driver) in an Exige S. It takes Gav a fair time to shake Ali, so if you keep it in 2nd cam, there's not a huge amount in it, fall out of it, and the S will romp away.

Was SO close to buying an Exige S at one point Great cars!

Anyone else thinking about next Friday night?

[Modena Scotland]

Most likely to be there on Friday Andy.

I am getting the Brakes done by Al over the weekend as my pedal is spongy and the pads are low (braided hose, RS42 and Castrol SRF). Should make a slight difference. My rear tyres are nearly gone. I need to last them till Kames......

George, I now have a Luke harness on the driver's side only. I used the side fittings as the anchor points. On my S, I never needed to used 5th gear on the straight so you must be carrying a bit more speed by the end of it. Will be good to compare the next time we are on the track together.

See you.

Mass

[Digital]

More pics on Pistonheads

[TrackScotland]

[TrackScotland]

[TrackScotland]

lots more pics here

http://www.trackscotland.co.uk/forums/v ... .php?t=437

[TrackScotland]

and a great onboard video from the black mini cooper of Andrew Winchester....

great driving

http://www.trackscotland.co.uk/vid/17th ... hApril.wmv