Ekona Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 My lack of posting probably went completely unnoticed, but for anyone that did the reason that I wasn't around is because I was at the Nurburgring for the very first time! It was a proper trackday organised by Bookatrack as part of their 10th year anniversary rather than a normal tourist day, and I'm very glad I chose to do it that way for my first time. Started the day off with a walkround from Ron at RSR, then a couple of sighting laps and then it was full open pit from 10am to 5pm so plenty of seat time along with plenty of cooldown time, which was needed with ambient temps hitting 30deg, track temps at least 8deg above that and me in my racesuit probably a fair bit hotter still! Thoroughly enjoyed the day despite the heat though, and the Zed was perfectly behaved. Well, almost perfectly as I did get a very long pedal at Breidscheid and had to let the brakes cool down but they were fine after that (interestingly they were fine in the afternoon when it was hotter and I was pushing more, never really did get to the bottom of that but I suspect the OEM rear discs gave up compared to the PF fronts I'm running). After making the effort to get BaT to bring my R888 shod Rays with them I then forgot to check that the locking wheelnut key was on the car, and so I had to drive on the PS2s instead. Luckily they had plenty of tread left and it was only the heat that made them a bit slippery when pushing on, but it would have been much worse on anything less than the Michelins. Neither myself nor the car were particularly quick but then that wasn't the aim, but considering that my car was the heaviest there by some margin (I reckon by at least 200kg, not including the X5 that did a token lap first thing) I felt no shame given that most cars were either Elises, Caterhams, GT3s or F430s along with the occasional 458 and an LMGT2-spec F430! I also came home in one piece without a single track incident, which was more than could be said for the sad owners of an S2K (write off) and 997.2 GT3 (heavy rear damage), so I consider that to be very successful overall. I did have a great play with a boggo S1 Elise which I was delighted to be able to be even stevens with round the Ring. Quickest time I managed to get was a 9:38 BTG which I'm happy with given it was my first time, the weight of the car and on road rubber along with having to move over for just about everything else! Also topped the car out at 140mph on the main straight, it simply wouldn't go any faster than that and the slight incline just after the bridge saw the speed drop 5mph with my foot flat on the floor. Very average vid time! Not sure I'd go again given the cost (I could do four UK days for the cost of that trip) and also that the day was just about perfect, and I think that any future trip would be an anti-climax. Unless I take the racecar MR2 there when it's finished, of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Nice one mate, I cant watch the vid at work but it sounds like you had a great time. Yes we did notice and stopped your wages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Nice write up, Dan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 Yes we did notice and stopped your wages. Wait, there's supposed to be wages?! *logs request for back-dated pay* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNABASHED Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 sounds like a good day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Looks like fun, Dan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 nice one dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Looks like a nice drive in the country with just a couple of 'Sunday' drivers out All very smooth and incident frree - nice vid and write-up BTW, the rest of the team can put their feet up now and leave you to it and if there are wages going - get in line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Great video Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff-r Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Looks awesome mate, I'd be tempted to go myself but everyone goes on about the costs being astronomical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Nice one Dan -lucky bugger - looks like you had a great day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 Looks awesome mate, I'd be tempted to go myself but everyone goes on about the costs being astronomical. Not sure I want to do this, but... Trackday: £500 Crossing: £100 Hotels: £160 Fuel: £240 Food & beer: £120 ...so that's over £1100 before you take into account any extra wear and tear on the car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Looks awesome mate, I'd be tempted to go myself but everyone goes on about the costs being astronomical. Not sure I want to do this, but... Trackday: £500 Crossing: £100 Hotels: £160 Fuel: £240 Food & beer: £120 ...so that's over £1100 before you take into account any extra wear and tear on the car! F*ck Me! Should be a Mastercard add...."Priceless" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimm Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I am at work and watched the whole vid(no sound) amazing fun. It was great when you managed to over take the first car and then paired up with the other one that got flagged for not moving over quick enough to let the super cars past and then you got him on the straight at the end Magic vid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Are the times bridge to gantry taken from the bridge at the start of ya vid or the one just after the cones as you come onto the track? I'll upload a screenshot tomorrow to help with clarity? I was there a couple of weeks ago, its an awesome place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronzee Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Nice smooth run there, only watched to 3 minutes. It's a nice smooth track too. Whatever that white flea that zipped past you at 1.45, was motoring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Are bridge t gantry times from this bridge or this one? Just curios... as they are nearly 25 seconds apart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jixaman Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Saw you there... You and another blue Z, a coupe... I was on the bike and had to wait till 5 to get track time, it was a bit mad when we went on as everyone was just going mental after the long wait, quite a few going off... I posted on the spotted or flyered section and it looks like you enjoyed it anyway, nice one... Jixa... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Are bridge t gantry times from this bridge The BTG time is from this "Bilstein" bridge at start of Tiegarten and ends with the "Audi" bridge as you get unto Dottinger hohe straight I am sure this video is not that of his best 9:38 lap as this particular lap would be about a 10:35 BTG, if as you rightly pointed out include 30 secs of missing footage between his video start (@ Hohenrain) and the odd 5 secs missing before he got to the Audi bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 23, 2010 Author Share Posted July 23, 2010 Correct, the bloody battery ran out on the camera when I did the quicker lap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Correct, the bloody bettery ran out on the camera when I did the quicker lap Anyway congratulations Dan for popping your Ring cherry and had a good time doing it It is so bloody expensive which is why i don't do a UK track days for 2 yrs now so i can focus all my eforst there and i think its worth it! The trick is to buy a Jahreskarte and so you can drive unlimited laps the whole year and your subsequent trip become more affordable I think its a good thing you did not get to use your R888s as it would goaded you to carry more speed into corners and possibly run into trouble but also the brakes would be called to do more work and overheat Your laps were conservative as expected but smooth following classic racing lines but if you spend longer there you would find that most Ring corners require late braking and turn-in to get the best weight transfer and rear-end grip therefore confidence to put power down earlier. So BBKs will shave a big time of your lap My first laps where 10-11sec then 9-10sec on a standard car as confidence grew but a could never seem to get into 8s. I did high 8s with suspension upgrades and uprated pads but after i got my BBK i am in low 8s with best BTG of 8:15. I am sure that getting more experince has also contibuted but the BBK just gives you so much confidence. I am yet to try with R tyres and that would be my next test when i go this summer and i should get some footage now armed with an HD bullet cam and the £10 jobbies Anyway how many laps did you get out of the £500? Did you get any inar tuition? That and chasing an ring veteran improves your knowledge of the track alot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 23, 2010 Author Share Posted July 23, 2010 I'm guessing I did about 15-20 laps, not really sure tbh as I wasn't counting. No tuition although it was available but only on a half day option, which I felt would've taken some of the fun out of the day as an exercise in fun exploration. I have been thinking about a BBK recently but I just can't justify it on something that is mainly a road car. This is the first time I've had any kind of issues since running my current setup and it's a fair bit of cash to spend on a car that's never going to be a track weapon, same reason the suspension is still stock I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choptop Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Nice one Dan. It is one of those circuits you have to do at least once in your life. It was 14 years ago for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I'm guessing I did about 15-20 laps, not really sure tbh as I wasn't counting. No tuition although it was available but only on a half day option, which I felt would've taken some of the fun out of the day as an exercise in fun exploration. I have been thinking about a BBK recently but I just can't justify it on something that is mainly a road car. This is the first time I've had any kind of issues since running my current setup and it's a fair bit of cash to spend on a car that's never going to be a track weapon, same reason the suspension is still stock I guess. Everything makes sense now Dan because i know your track day credentials should have got you closer to very early 9s or late 8s......but not with std suspension and just pads upgrade for your first weekend I always thought your zed was heavily modded for track work If you choose to go it privately next time you will get 25 laps for £325 so you can do the same weekend for about £7-800 if you book hotel and ferry in advance The only difference is it will be a touristfarthen rather than the special pit lane you enjoyed so heavier traffic to deal with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 24, 2010 Author Share Posted July 24, 2010 Bit more than just pads, also running the PF front discs along with the Z-compound on the rear and 01 on the front + Endless fluid as well as the full Summit bracing. Still can't get round 1750kgs and the sloppy suspension though, apparently it's horrendously comical to watch when I'm on the R888s as I get so much grip from them that the suspension really can't keep up and I end up at 45deg angles to the road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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