Just got back from my first proper track day at blyton(my previous track experience was an evening at cadwell about a month ago) and what a brilliant day i had.Heard and read on different forums about the circuit and all i can say is it was all true its a really great place to learn about your car and learn how to drive it.The fact that your not going to hit anything if you go off gives you confidence to go that little bit quicker.
The car ran faultlessly all day and handled great although i definately need new tyres before my next trackday .
Can i say a big thanks to Neil(Nedski) for setting the geometry and alignment it was a big improvement thanks pal.
So just got to save for new tyres and i will be booking another trackday
I came over the other weekend to Blyton to watch the trackday to get a feel for how it all works. I have been preparing a car for trackday/ autotest use and am looking to try out a trackday once it is sorted. I dont have too much more to do but the car won’t be as well sorted as yours by the sound of it. I just have the brake pads to updrade before its will be ready to try. I am sure that more will need doing to the brakes to make them stronger but hope that this will be enough for a first timer! I have also fitted a 5 Racing bar and was impressed with the company and product.
I was interested to hear your comments about Blyton as a first time driver and how safe you feel the track was. I did speak to one other driver who was on a first track day and they were having a great time, also feeling that it was a safe environment. I am not too far from Blyton and suspect this will be my first event venue in the near future. If you have any further advice for someone, like you, approaching the first run I would be happy to hear your thoughts.
Hi mate cant really give you stacks of advice but can give you a few pointers .
First make sure the cars up to it the last thing you want is to come in after a few laps with problems,i gave mine a thorough service changed gearbox and diff oil changed cambelt and waterpump checked fluids ect.Another thing is brake pads i know you say your upgrading but make sure you get something half decent, i couldnt believe how hard there worked and how hot they get in fact at blyton the paint on my wheels started to melt!! Oh and on the subject of brakes make sure you bed them in, i didnt and i wondered why the pedal had gone hard and no brakes.
I dont know if youve had it done but one of the best things you can do is get your alignment done by someone who knows what there doing, cant reccomend Nedski enough if you need it doing.
When you go out on track after your sighting laps dont try and keep up with the more experienced guys because believe me from experience you wont, take your time and progressively get used to the car and track you will benefit.The way iwas doing it was to learn one corner at a time then progress to a series of corners,there was a couple of corners i just couldnt get right but its all a big learning curve at the end of the day.Dont forget to come in after a few laps and check your tyre pressures because they will have increased by quite alot ( another thing i didnt know and wondered why it was handling funny lol ),think mine was 36psi when i came in!
Dont stay out for too long i think i was staying out for 15 mins 20 max and that was plenty then coming in for about the same time to let things cool down.
Im sure theres loads more but i have limited experience its all about learning and more importantly having FUN!!!
Let me know when you go for your trackday i dont live too far away either.
Thanks for such a quick reply. Your experience wil prove very useful I am sure. I did speak to a trackday newby on the day and they ran on standard brakes seemingly with no issues, that said he admitted he was very slow but learning quickly! I suppose everyone will have their starting point. I am on with a service at the present time. The car has had recent discs but I am updating to Greenstuff pads on their own initially (not the best way to do it I am sure - but hopefully sufficient for the first time out) Was sent incorrect ones for the fronts so will get these swapped this week.
One issue for me is that the car is not road legal so there is no opportunity to give it a ‘shake-down’ and to gradually bed in new pads. I know this is not ideal as a track is not the best place to gently run in pads! My full intention is hopefully to have the fun. I know the car will not be ideal in almost standard spec’ other than bar,belts ,slightly better brakes etc but just fancy having a go at trackdays. I have done a fair amount of autotesting in the past and have recently started this again - doing quite well, and also some rallying previously. Just fancy a good drive without the fear of the dreaded cameras!
I am not sure how far in advance bookings have to be done and have been in touch with MOT. Was considering possibly doing just the morning of the sprint day next month if I could get work completed and also get an entry sorted out.
My advice would be to not over think about this. Track days are suitable for just about everyone. If you have, as I am sure you have, driven fast on a country road, you know where the pedals and steering wheel are then you are not going to have any issues on one of our days. You have done all the right things to your car and the advice above is good.
You will find you are faster than some, slower than others, it is not a race, it is just fun and the best way is just to give it a go.
You don’t need to bring a mobile work shop with you either, however it does not hurt to bring some top up oil and check your oil at lunch time, a foot pump and tyre pressure guage never hurts either. Other than that, if your cars is maintained, then it will be fine. Just like any other sport more "gear"comes the more involved you get.
Hi Alastair. Yep, by the end of the day at Bottom, my brakes were just beginning to cook a bit if I did a longer run, so although the standard pads were OK I’d say if you’re changing them anyway, I’d go for something a bit better. Apart from that the standard mk1 was great and didn’t use a drop of oil.
The other thing I’d say based on my experience is to get some tuition, ideally as early in the day as possible. Failing that, have a passenger ride with someone else. Gary took me round and it really helped me believe how much the car would grip.(obviously taking into account that the car might not be exactly the same). Instruction made an even bigger difference, too.
Anyway, good to meet you there and hope you get a chance to get on track soon!
I definitely agree with DeanoB - Blyton was brilliant and to anyone thinking about doing a first track day, go for it.
Hi , did my first on the Blyton bash in the summer.
One thing regarding brakes I learned : when you come off after a session, do not leave your foot on the brake pedal, put car into gear , switch off engine and do not engage handbrake, if not the heat in the discs can boil your brake fluid !
Thanks for all of the thoughts and insight on your own experiences. I have booked the morning only at Blyton (19th Oct) and hope to really enjoy the session and use this as a starting point. Hopefully I will learn a great amount, not just about the car but also about my own abilities etc.
I spoke to you very briefly at Blyton earlier this month, sorry I rushed off, was just about to hop in the car with someone.
I haven’t really got anything new to add but as Tim said, getting passenger laps with someone else with a bit more experience, especially someone in a similar car to your own, can be a very eye-opening experience (quite literally!)
Yes, really looking forward to it and I am sure that I will learn loads on the morning. Hopefully I will find someone more experienced who will be willing to let me be a passenger with them. I am sure that would be a great experience and I will be surprised at how fast some drivers actually are. Like everything in life it looks fairly easy until you actually have a go.
Have had some really useful tips from a number of people on this post and will try to remember as many as I can.
Had mine through today so all looking good,will see you there.
Nick
Only need tyres for this track day so going to try and get some part worn,am running 16s at mo but gong to 15s next year so dont want to buy new.Will be in touch when i need a full set .
Just going to run on tyres I already have. If dry I will use Pirelli P6000 which are worn but should be Ok I suppose. If wet I have some Hankook Ventus that are only part worn I got with the car. Both sets are 15 inch. I intend finding out what other people are using on the day and what they feel are best.
The brakes beat me today as other issues came up and I ran out of time - tomorrows job now!
Glad it went well for you, and your happy with the geometry setup. It just shows there are plenty of people with all the gear but no idea when it comes to geometry setups.
