What a bloody brilliant trackday!
As mentioned before, I'm lucky enough to have a group of good mates who are all also massive car bores. Yesterday was just the perfect day out for a bunch of blokes who don't get together often enough (for the usual middle-aged reasons). 9 of us in 6 cars (some sharing, some just passengering) meant that we spent the whole day following each other on track, sharing passenger rides and standing around talking car bore stuff while the cars took a breather.
My track car isn't the most extreme or the fastest thing you'll see on track, but I've focused on trying to make it reliable and enjoyable on track without sacrificing the need to hop in and drive it at a moment's notice. I've spent money to make it as reliable as possible, knowing that there's nothing worse than losing track time because your car is broken.
Yesterday was a great vindication of this. It was absolutely sweltering (27 degrees at lunchtime!), and the car managed 130 miles on track being given an absolute pasting without complaint. Hacking around a race track with the roof off, with your best mate in the passenger seat laughing like a lunatic, is just the absolute best way to spend a day.
(Yes, I'm going to buy a photo - I'm just waiting for them to all be uploaded)
As ever, trackdays tend to give you pause for thought about what to do/change. So far:
1. Tyres. My fronts were really struggling after 5 laps on such a fast circuit, and they were gaining pressure like crazy in the heat. I think I might need to switch up to something stiffer and more fade resistant. Currently trying to track down the last Pilot Sport 4S in my size (not easy), and they may have to come from Italy. Joy. If that fails, I might end up on something a bit more extreme like Cup 2s.
2. Suspension. Bedford is a really well surfaced track, but has a few kerbs that can be used as part of the racing line. I set my coilovers to halfway as a compromise, but was still getting a bit more roll than I'd like. I wish the rears were easier to adjust, but I think I might tighten them up next time out.
3. Diff. I'm looking forward to getting that diff in to see how much it can help perk the car up out of the slower corners. A couple more gearchanges would be a reasonable sacrifice for a bit more get-up-and-go.
4. Brakes. The Carbotechs were incredible. One of my passengers actually laughed out loud at how late I was braking, and they stood up to 5-6 laps of abuse, at a track where there are some very big stops. I think I'm going to upgrade the rear pads, as I'm conscious that the OEM stuff might leave me a bit unbalanced.
5. Oil. I need that gauge, pronto. I felt like I was flying blind yesterday, and on a hot day it's always useful to see how much abuse your car is taking.
6. Seats. The E89 seats were absolutely the right decision. 2hrs there and back, and a lot of track driving and I've got no aches and pains today. They aren't the most extreme seats, but they currently feel like the best compromise.
Overall, I'm VERY happy.
