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Staffs Deltic Now in an FK8
- Thread starter Staffs Deltic
- Start date
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Another small addition courtesy of fleabay. Been looking out for an aluminium fuel cap and sure enough one came up. Bid made, won and fitted this morning (crap pic but all I've had time for today).......
That's it for this year, not spending any more money on mods (famous last words). Now it is time to enjoy and that is what I plan to do.
That's it for this year, not spending any more money on mods (famous last words). Now it is time to enjoy and that is what I plan to do.
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- 423
Looks good matethey feel so much more solid and well finished compared to the basic one.
Can't agree more. Well pleased with it.
- Messages
- 423
- Messages
- 423
The camera mount is coming off. Have had numerous attempts at getting rid of the rattle with no joy. It seems the location in the FN2 is just so harsh with all the vibrations coming up through the head rest.
Going to have to look at something else.
Going to have to look at something else.
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- 423
Managed to get away from work early so thought I would take the opportunity to do a little write up on my first track day..............
Early start as I wanted to make sure I got to the track for the 07.30hrs sign on. Look out the window and sure enough, overcast and wet. Headed off to fill up with fuel and then off to meet my mate and my old man. Rain not too bad, just light drizzle.
Arrival
Arrive at Oulton Park and the weather is not getting any better, constant light rain. Sign in done it was time to do a couple of checks on the car and look at all the other cars (or should I say teams) that were arriving. It was becoming very clear that this so called track day was basically a testing day for many race cars (Ferrari 360 / DB7 / Ultima's to name a few), I wasn't that nervous until I saw some of the machinery I was going to be on track with. Once the briefing session in the cafe had been completed it was time to go out for the sighting laps by which time the light rain had turned into heavy rain!
Sighting Laps
Car had to be noise tested before going on the sighting laps. 'Give it 6000rpm please', well 4000rpm and launch control kicks in on Flashpro. 'Thats all I can give' is my response (he must have thought it was a diesel), either way it passed no problems. Off we set out on to the track and it was soaking, there wasn't too much in the way of standing water but it looked slippy.
Out on Track
Being let loose for the first time was a great feeling. Really excited at getting out on my 1st track day and a little apprehension at the conditions and how far I can really push. To say that it was slippy was an understatement, there was no way that my tyres were going to get any heat whatsoever in these conditions. The one thing about the track in the wet is that whilst there is low grip it is constant through out. First few laps went ok as I started to feel my way. 4th lap and approaching Druids corner there was a Honda S2000 off in the gravel, head straight back to the pits as the session was bound to be stopped (which it was). With the conditions as they were this was going to be quite a frequent occurrence during the day. I think in total there were something like 8 red flags, some resulting in damage to various cars. As the day wore on the track started to dry out when the rain eased off, however there was a period where the grip got worse before it got better. The track became very greasy between being fully wet and reasonably dry.
After my first 2 sessions out on track I had a 20 minute session with an instructor. Anyone who hasn't been on track with an instructor before needs to do so. By the end of the session I was driving considerably quicker; however the car was a lot more stable than it had been beforehand. Some of the things you do on road are inappropriate for the track and it is hard to stop habits gained over 20+ years of road driving!
As the day wore on it was clear that I was spending considerable portions of some laps getting out of the way of faster cars and some of which in my view were racing (there were a large number of Caterhams that were the main culprits here). Just a matter of keeping cool, pull over to the right and let them choose how they want to pass. As the track dried out I was able to push more, but not too much as there were constant light showers which kept you on edge a bit. That said I was most definitely quicker and more confident come the end of the day.
The Car
The car performed superbly. The balance was spot on, slightly light on the rear which helped turn in (into some of the chicanes in the wet it was 4 wheel drifting), the fast road setup working a treat. The instructor himself made comment about how well the car handled. As for the brakes, well to be honest I didn't get anywhere near to the point where they were being used to their full potential. One thing I will say is they inspired confidence and at no time did I feel I was going to not make a corner (perhaps I wasn't pushing hard enough). Grip wise I had the Yoko Parada Spec 2's which I have heard good and bad, all I can say is that they provided good grip through out the day and whilst there may be stickier rubber on the market I personally have no complaints with the manner in which these performed. During the day I kept the obligatory eye on tyre pressures (which did need adjustment later in the day when it had dried up some) and oil levels. I left Oulton Park with the same oil level as I arrived with, not a drop lost, can't fault that!
Overall
A thoroughly enjoyable day. One which leaves me wondering whether I want to further upgrade the car. Before this track day I had been considering an LSD and hearing the stories about rubbing arches I was also thinking about suspension upgrades. With regards the LSD I now wonder if that is the right way to go at the moment. Yes I would have had more traction out of the corners but I kind of enjoyed playing with the available grip on the throttle. Perhaps I need to drive anLSD fitted car to see how different it feels. As for the suspension, well I'm going to wait and see, no point trying to cure something that as yet I haven't had yet. What ever the case I can safely say I am really happy with the car and the way it performed. I might not have been the quickest (quite possibly the slowest actually) but having given the car some stick and been able to drive in a manner not allowed on the highway I can safely say that a track day is an experience not to be missed. Oulton Park is a great circuit with excellent facilities and I would recommend it to anyone.
Roll on my next track day.
Few pics taken by the professionals.............
Early start as I wanted to make sure I got to the track for the 07.30hrs sign on. Look out the window and sure enough, overcast and wet. Headed off to fill up with fuel and then off to meet my mate and my old man. Rain not too bad, just light drizzle.
Arrival
Arrive at Oulton Park and the weather is not getting any better, constant light rain. Sign in done it was time to do a couple of checks on the car and look at all the other cars (or should I say teams) that were arriving. It was becoming very clear that this so called track day was basically a testing day for many race cars (Ferrari 360 / DB7 / Ultima's to name a few), I wasn't that nervous until I saw some of the machinery I was going to be on track with. Once the briefing session in the cafe had been completed it was time to go out for the sighting laps by which time the light rain had turned into heavy rain!
Sighting Laps
Car had to be noise tested before going on the sighting laps. 'Give it 6000rpm please', well 4000rpm and launch control kicks in on Flashpro. 'Thats all I can give' is my response (he must have thought it was a diesel), either way it passed no problems. Off we set out on to the track and it was soaking, there wasn't too much in the way of standing water but it looked slippy.
Out on Track
Being let loose for the first time was a great feeling. Really excited at getting out on my 1st track day and a little apprehension at the conditions and how far I can really push. To say that it was slippy was an understatement, there was no way that my tyres were going to get any heat whatsoever in these conditions. The one thing about the track in the wet is that whilst there is low grip it is constant through out. First few laps went ok as I started to feel my way. 4th lap and approaching Druids corner there was a Honda S2000 off in the gravel, head straight back to the pits as the session was bound to be stopped (which it was). With the conditions as they were this was going to be quite a frequent occurrence during the day. I think in total there were something like 8 red flags, some resulting in damage to various cars. As the day wore on the track started to dry out when the rain eased off, however there was a period where the grip got worse before it got better. The track became very greasy between being fully wet and reasonably dry.
After my first 2 sessions out on track I had a 20 minute session with an instructor. Anyone who hasn't been on track with an instructor before needs to do so. By the end of the session I was driving considerably quicker; however the car was a lot more stable than it had been beforehand. Some of the things you do on road are inappropriate for the track and it is hard to stop habits gained over 20+ years of road driving!
As the day wore on it was clear that I was spending considerable portions of some laps getting out of the way of faster cars and some of which in my view were racing (there were a large number of Caterhams that were the main culprits here). Just a matter of keeping cool, pull over to the right and let them choose how they want to pass. As the track dried out I was able to push more, but not too much as there were constant light showers which kept you on edge a bit. That said I was most definitely quicker and more confident come the end of the day.
The Car
The car performed superbly. The balance was spot on, slightly light on the rear which helped turn in (into some of the chicanes in the wet it was 4 wheel drifting), the fast road setup working a treat. The instructor himself made comment about how well the car handled. As for the brakes, well to be honest I didn't get anywhere near to the point where they were being used to their full potential. One thing I will say is they inspired confidence and at no time did I feel I was going to not make a corner (perhaps I wasn't pushing hard enough). Grip wise I had the Yoko Parada Spec 2's which I have heard good and bad, all I can say is that they provided good grip through out the day and whilst there may be stickier rubber on the market I personally have no complaints with the manner in which these performed. During the day I kept the obligatory eye on tyre pressures (which did need adjustment later in the day when it had dried up some) and oil levels. I left Oulton Park with the same oil level as I arrived with, not a drop lost, can't fault that!
Overall
A thoroughly enjoyable day. One which leaves me wondering whether I want to further upgrade the car. Before this track day I had been considering an LSD and hearing the stories about rubbing arches I was also thinking about suspension upgrades. With regards the LSD I now wonder if that is the right way to go at the moment. Yes I would have had more traction out of the corners but I kind of enjoyed playing with the available grip on the throttle. Perhaps I need to drive anLSD fitted car to see how different it feels. As for the suspension, well I'm going to wait and see, no point trying to cure something that as yet I haven't had yet. What ever the case I can safely say I am really happy with the car and the way it performed. I might not have been the quickest (quite possibly the slowest actually) but having given the car some stick and been able to drive in a manner not allowed on the highway I can safely say that a track day is an experience not to be missed. Oulton Park is a great circuit with excellent facilities and I would recommend it to anyone.
Roll on my next track day.
Few pics taken by the professionals.............
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Excellent write up! Fingers crossed the next one is dry!
You've mentioned scraping and that's probably my fault.
I'm thinking my problem is either my springs have dropped a fair bit or it's the tyres being very square on 7" wheels.
I'm thinking of getting some wider wheels with the idea that it might stretch the tyres a bit. Are you still using 225/40/18 on the TD 1.2s?
You've mentioned scraping and that's probably my fault.
I'm thinking my problem is either my springs have dropped a fair bit or it's the tyres being very square on 7" wheels.
I'm thinking of getting some wider wheels with the idea that it might stretch the tyres a bit. Are you still using 225/40/18 on the TD 1.2s?
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It wasn't just you who has mentioned scraping, a couple of other mentioned it on another forum. I know that before I had the wheels fitted mine sat a lot lower at the front, after it was on the ramps at Demon Tweeks it seemed to sit higher (and not just because I had smaller wheels on), the car looked level front to back.
Yes I've got 225 / 40 / 18s fitted. Like I said though in the write up, as the conditions were iffy I didn't really get chance to push as hard as perhaps I would have liked to. Will have to see if I get any issues next time, which I hope is a dry event.
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Quick video taken on mates phone........
http://s589.photobucket.com/albums/...k Track Day/?action=view¤t=IMG_1416.mp4
http://s589.photobucket.com/albums/...k Track Day/?action=view¤t=IMG_1416.mp4
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Couple of vids of the 1st 2 sessions on track at Oulton Park. First vid is a bit poor as there was so much spray the camera's was picking it up and it was getting glare. 2nd vid is a lot better. I will post up more as and when I've loaded them on to Youtube.
http://youtu.be/wFQLj9fca7w
http://youtu.be/pKiSui1IqX8
http://youtu.be/wFQLj9fca7w
http://youtu.be/pKiSui1IqX8
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- 423
Another couple of vids............
Keep and eye out in session 3 below around 3 min 18 secs at the 1st chicane when a Caterham spins out! Camera decided to slip on the mount which spoiled it a little bit.
Session 3
http://youtu.be/-HNeRmcDkdg
Session 4
http://youtu.be/Qsic6htXaxY
Keep and eye out in session 3 below around 3 min 18 secs at the 1st chicane when a Caterham spins out! Camera decided to slip on the mount which spoiled it a little bit.
Session 3
http://youtu.be/-HNeRmcDkdg
Session 4
http://youtu.be/Qsic6htXaxY
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- 145
im loving that colour, and the wheels