Linus27 Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Jetpilot - It's not a case that being on track automatically means you are going to crash but the risks are greatly increased, either by your own lack of skills, other driver skills, the risks involved driving at greater speeds and the increase in abuse to the car. You also need to consider something happening totally out of your control. All these factors add up to the fact that the percentage of something happening is higher and if you were to have an accident on track, the chances are the damage could be far more serious than if you are just driving to the shops. I'm not a racing driving so I don't get the chance to spend lots of time on track. So every time I get to go out, it is a learning curve for me, either improving my own skills or understanding the car better. At some point, something will happen, its inevitable. I'm either going to go in to a corner a little deep, lock up, lose the back or spin. Hopefully, nothing will come from it but because the risks are greater, there is the chance I may do some damage. Thankfully so far, that has not been the case. At Donington last year, a few cars aquaplaned off the track. A brand new Elise totally smashed the back end up and had to be taken home on a trailer. If this was my car, I probably could not afford to pay for that to be repaired. If however it was my actual track car (DC5) then yes I could. I can afford to replace my £7000 DC5 but I can't afford to replace a £40,000 Lotus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Fair enough, but i cant see it, i personally think driving on the roads is far more likely to result in damage to your car than a trackday by your error or a third party, there are far more hazards on the road (trees, lamposts, kerbs, walls etc) and the greater speeds achieved on track are catered for in most cases with large run off areas. If your happy driving your pride and joy on the road insured, i see no difference taking it on track insured. There have been a few posts of some pretty nasty crashes on here this last year, mostly spinning out, i would prefer my odds of spinning on track and coming off unscathed than that dude who ended up in a ditch on his roof for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxrob Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Cadwell is a great track but it is tight, narrow and twisty. If its been raining then be very careful in the mountain section as the trees overhang and it takes ages to dry out. It has caught a fair few out. It is also prone to aquaplaning on the main straight so be conscious of that. Apart from that its a great little circuit so have lots and lots of fun. You will love it To be honest, cadwell wouldnt be my first choice for a car trackday, as you say, narrow and twisty, Ive done it many times on my bikes, I can imagine it just being a procession in a car I may be wrong I'm sure Nock will enjoy it anyway Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Have you got any video equipment Nic? would love to see how a supercharged 370z gets on round cadwell - you'll be blasting past most stuff like its standing still I suspect, and potentially could be pretty quick through the corners as well. Keep an eye on tyre pressures, if you can get any heat in them the pressures will shoot up, you'll need to drop them back down to recommended pressures otherwise grip levels will suffer. Also, unless you're feeling particularly brave i'd leave the TCS on and see how you get on. If you see the light flickering then think about what you're doing to make it come on and try and correct it so it doesn't come on in the same place the next lap. Equally think about what corrective action you'd need to take if the TCS was off - don't know how adept you are at controlling oversteer, and Cadwell probably isn't the place to experiment! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Fair enough, but i cant see it, i personally think driving on the roads is far more likely to result in damage to your car than a trackday by your error or a third party, there are far more hazards on the road (trees, lamposts, kerbs, walls etc) and the greater speeds achieved on track are catered for in most cases with large run off areas. If your happy driving your pride and joy on the road insured, i see no difference taking it on track insured. There have been a few posts of some pretty nasty crashes on here this last year, mostly spinning out, i would prefer my odds of spinning on track and coming off unscathed than that dude who ended up in a ditch on his roof for example. Do you drive on track the same way as you drive on the road then? For me I drive very different, on the road I keep my speed sensible, drive defensively mostly and tailor my speed and approach to the conditions and environment. I'm certainly not redlining in every gear, getting the back out, attacking every corner and getting the car out of shape to the point where the laws of physics are being challenged. For me, driving on track is a totally different technique and mentality. Like chalk and cheese. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Have you got any video equipment Nic? would love to see how a supercharged 370z gets on round cadwell - you'll be blasting past most stuff like its standing still I suspect, and potentially could be pretty quick through the corners as well. Keep an eye on tyre pressures, if you can get any heat in them the pressures will shoot up, you'll need to drop them back down to recommended pressures otherwise grip levels will suffer. Also, unless you're feeling particularly brave i'd leave the TCS on and see how you get on. If you see the light flickering then think about what you're doing to make it come on and try and correct it so it doesn't come on in the same place the next lap. Equally think about what corrective action you'd need to take if the TCS was off - don't know how adept you are at controlling oversteer, and Cadwell probably isn't the place to experiment! Very good point this. Check your tyre pressures before you go out, then do your sighting laps/first session and then check them again. You will see they have risen so let some air out and see how you get on next time out. You will be amazed at how horrible the car will drive with wrong pressures. Also, before you come back in at the end of a run, use that lap to drive easy to let the car cool down. When you do come back in to the pits, don't put your hand brake on or keep your foot on the brakes as you will warp the discs and cover them in brake pickup. Put it in gear and turn engine off. Check oil all the time and take spare with you to top up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Fair enough, but i cant see it, i personally think driving on the roads is far more likely to result in damage to your car than a trackday by your error or a third party, there are far more hazards on the road (trees, lamposts, kerbs, walls etc) and the greater speeds achieved on track are catered for in most cases with large run off areas. If your happy driving your pride and joy on the road insured, i see no difference taking it on track insured. There have been a few posts of some pretty nasty crashes on here this last year, mostly spinning out, i would prefer my odds of spinning on track and coming off unscathed than that dude who ended up in a ditch on his roof for example. Do you drive on track the same way as you drive on the road then? For me I drive very different, on the road I keep my speed sensible, drive defensively mostly and tailor my speed and approach to the conditions and environment. I'm certainly not redlining in every gear, getting the back out, attacking every corner and getting the car out of shape to the point where the laws of physics are being challenged. For me, driving on track is a totally different technique and mentality. Like chalk and cheese. Yeah of course i drive differently on track but as i said above, i consider the risk of crashing far higher than on the road due to the infinite number of hazards, hence why i take it to the track as if i do get it wrong the consequences are staked in my favour of not hitting anything, if you think differently thats your call. I just dont get the "i can afford to smash it" mentality as imho that will give completely the wrong impression to people who like the op who are concerned about taking their pride and joy out on track because of people in disposable cars. If your out of shape and getting the back end at out every corner and challenging the laws of physics i think we see track days very differently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted January 15, 2016 Author Share Posted January 15, 2016 Have you got any video equipment Nic? would love to see how a supercharged 370z gets on round cadwell - you'll be blasting past most stuff like its standing still I suspect, and potentially could be pretty quick through the corners as well. Keep an eye on tyre pressures, if you can get any heat in them the pressures will shoot up, you'll need to drop them back down to recommended pressures otherwise grip levels will suffer. Also, unless you're feeling particularly brave i'd leave the TCS on and see how you get on. If you see the light flickering then think about what you're doing to make it come on and try and correct it so it doesn't come on in the same place the next lap. Equally think about what corrective action you'd need to take if the TCS was off - don't know how adept you are at controlling oversteer, and Cadwell probably isn't the place to experiment! Very good point this. Check your tyre pressures before you go out, then do your sighting laps/first session and then check them again. You will see they have risen so let some air out and see how you get on next time out. You will be amazed at how horrible the car will drive with wrong pressures. Also, before you come back in at the end of a run, use that lap to drive easy to let the car cool down. When you do come back in to the pits, don't put your hand brake on or keep your foot on the brakes as you will warp the discs and cover them in brake pickup. Put it in gear and turn engine off. Check oil all the time and take spare with you to top up. Good info guys cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted January 15, 2016 Author Share Posted January 15, 2016 Fair enough, but i cant see it, i personally think driving on the roads is far more likely to result in damage to your car than a trackday by your error or a third party, there are far more hazards on the road (trees, lamposts, kerbs, walls etc) and the greater speeds achieved on track are catered for in most cases with large run off areas. If your happy driving your pride and joy on the road insured, i see no difference taking it on track insured. There have been a few posts of some pretty nasty crashes on here this last year, mostly spinning out, i would prefer my odds of spinning on track and coming off unscathed than that dude who ended up in a ditch on his roof for example. Do you drive on track the same way as you drive on the road then? For me I drive very different, on the road I keep my speed sensible, drive defensively mostly and tailor my speed and approach to the conditions and environment. I'm certainly not redlining in every gear, getting the back out, attacking every corner and getting the car out of shape to the point where the laws of physics are being challenged. For me, driving on track is a totally different technique and mentality. Like chalk and cheese. Yeah of course i drive differently on track but as i said above, i consider the risk of crashing far higher than on the road due to the infinite number of hazards, hence why i take it to the track as if i do get it wrong the consequences are staked in my favour of not hitting anything, if you think differently thats your call. I just dont get the "i can afford to smash it" mentality as imho that will give completely the wrong impression to people who like the op who are concerned about taking their pride and joy out on track because of people in disposable cars. If your out of shape and getting the back end at out every corner and challenging the laws of physics i think we see track days very differently Kind of in agreement here I would be building speed slowly and keeping things a smooth as possible Doesn't mean the next man is tho as they take you out lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 (edited) Fair enough, but i cant see it, i personally think driving on the roads is far more likely to result in damage to your car than a trackday by your error or a third party, there are far more hazards on the road (trees, lamposts, kerbs, walls etc) and the greater speeds achieved on track are catered for in most cases with large run off areas. If your happy driving your pride and joy on the road insured, i see no difference taking it on track insured. There have been a few posts of some pretty nasty crashes on here this last year, mostly spinning out, i would prefer my odds of spinning on track and coming off unscathed than that dude who ended up in a ditch on his roof for example. Do you drive on track the same way as you drive on the road then? For me I drive very different, on the road I keep my speed sensible, drive defensively mostly and tailor my speed and approach to the conditions and environment. I'm certainly not redlining in every gear, getting the back out, attacking every corner and getting the car out of shape to the point where the laws of physics are being challenged. For me, driving on track is a totally different technique and mentality. Like chalk and cheese. Yeah of course i drive differently on track but as i said above, i consider the risk of crashing far higher than on the road due to the infinite number of hazards, hence why i take it to the track as if i do get it wrong the consequences are staked in my favour of not hitting anything, if you think differently thats your call. I just dont get the "i can afford to smash it" mentality as imho that will give completely the wrong impression to people who like the op who are concerned about taking their pride and joy out on track because of people in disposable cars. If your out of shape and getting the back end at out every corner and challenging the laws of physics i think we see track days very differently For me, as I have had one accident on the road which was 19 years ago, I don't find driving on the road such a risk compared to driving on track. Granted that driving standards are much lower these days and a lot of idiots on the roads but I am never trying to find the limits of my car or my talents and always driving to the condition. It's not a case of affording to smash a car up, but for me personally, taking a £40k GTR on the road poses a lower risk than taking it on track. On track I would be driving much faster than I would have experienced on the road, putting my abilities and the car under test. It would be a whole new learning curve and frankly not one I would want to get wrong because I can't afford to replace a £40k GTR but if I got it wrong in a £1k MX5 then yeah, I'm a muppet for getting it wrong but the financial pain won't be so great. Put it like this, if you asked the OP whats his car is like on the road at 70, braking down to 40, then to 20 and then doing a u turn around a roundabout in the wet, he could I hope be able to tell you his approach, gearing, how he would brake and how the car would react. In most cases, it would be very similar. If you then asked him how his car would behave going through Craner curves in the wet, speed, gears, steering and braking input, I imagine he wouldn't know. Then ask him about Paddock Hill and then Surtees, he wouldn't know. Even I wouldn't know in my DC5 despite doing three track days in other cars at Brands. It's not a case of getting out of shape at every corner, it the fact that this should not be happening on the road but the potential for it to happen on track is higher as you develop your skill and understanding of the car under higher speeds and stresses. The OP should not have any concerns about taking his car on track, hundreds do it incident free but he should go in to it with his eyes open. This includes knowing what to expect, what insurance actually covers, how to look after the car on the day as well as the risks involved. As they say, Motorsport is dangerous Anyway, we should stop now as we are both going round in circles a bit and it's probably getting a bit boring for everyone else. Let's just agree that we are both right Edited January 15, 2016 by Linus27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Gm posted a video of his session round Combe and it looked perfect to me Nissanman, let anyone on a mission get clear, find some space on the track and build your speed and if anyone is gaining, give them room and then press on again, you will have a blast. Enjoy Absolutely zero reason why should expect to crash or someone into you and if you think someone is being irresponsible, talk to a marshall, you probably wont be the first on the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted January 15, 2016 Author Share Posted January 15, 2016 Cheers guys all great points raised I shall keep you informed on how it goes And yes brillo I got ago pro for Christmas so hopefully I'll be able to get you some good footage and no accident footage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Cheers guys all great points raised I shall keep you informed on how it goes And yes brillo I got ago pro for Christmas so hopefully I'll be able to get you some good footage and no accident footage Some places are funny about window suckers for GP mounts. Have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 Just thought I'd let you all know cadwell was awesome and so was the car and it's tucked up safe in bed Had some help from friends that got me going a lot quicker than I've been before and also learnt so much about the capabilities of the z so much more confident with it now Thanks for all you advise 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodyboarder81 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 How did George get on with my zed ? How did it compare yours mate ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Pleased you enjoyed it, sounds like it was a pleasant surprise hope that wont be your last Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 How did George get on with my zed ? How did it compare yours mate ? Awsome mate I went out in your old one it was a dream and he can peddle it well 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 Pleased you enjoyed it, sounds like it was a pleasant surprise hope that wont be your last Yes indeed The conditions couldn't have been better dry bright and cold to aid cooling perfect day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fake ben taylor Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I love cadwell, fantaztic circuit. Im booked on for the 28th april if you fancy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 I love cadwell, fantaztic circuit. Im booked on for the 28th april if you fancy it Yeah it was awsome I was worried on how tight it was but it was all good A little help from friends saw me taking the bend at the end of the pit straight up the hill between 100 and 110 might not seem fast to some but it was bloody fast for me lol The zed was popping some big flames as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fake ben taylor Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Yeah I know the corner you mean, apparenlty you nail that corner when ypu can take it flat out, zero lift or braking.... Ive not wuite got there yet lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 Yeah that was mentioned lol Flat out no lift would of gone a little wrong I feel lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fake ben taylor Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Ive not been brave enough yet..... Yet ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Just thought I'd let you all know cadwell was awesome and so was the car and it's tucked up safe in bed Had some help from friends that got me going a lot quicker than I've been before and also learnt so much about the capabilities of the z so much more confident with it now Thanks for all you advise Great news Nic. Any video/s though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 Just thought I'd let you all know cadwell was awesome and so was the car and it's tucked up safe in bed Had some help from friends that got me going a lot quicker than I've been before and also learnt so much about the capabilities of the z so much more confident with it now Thanks for all you advise Great news Nic. Any video/s though? Sadly not unless the others got some I was to focused on driving to put it on lol Although I'll ask the other lads as the try said I was firing out some meaty flames down the pit straight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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